Use of Paper
Works in which the sheet itself becomes the medium, with paper folded, cut, layered, cast, woven or built into three-dimensional form.
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About
Paper was invented in China, with its refinement traditionally credited to Cai Lun around AD 105. Chinese paper-cutting, Japanese origami and Mexican papel picado banners all shape the sheet itself into image and form. Korean hanji and Japanese washi, made from mulberry bark, are strong enough for screens, lanterns and even clothing.
Modern artists and designers have exploited its lightness, translucency and ease of folding. Isamu Noguchi's Akari lamps, begun in 1951, stretch washi over bamboo frames, and Shigeru Ban uses paper tubes as structural columns. Kwon Young-Woo tore, pierced and layered hanji in abstract works from the 1970s, and Chun Kwang Young wraps small triangular pieces in old mulberry paper to build his Aggregation works. Kara Walker's large cut-paper silhouettes, first shown in the 1990s, turn a genteel craft on American history. Look for folds, cut edges, layered translucency and the fibres of handmade sheets.
