Insect Origami

Before the era of GPS, did you ever struggle with road and street maps? Or fail to fold package leaflets?

The latest issue of Geo has a fascinating article on the Japanese art (and science) of origami, with a focus on American scientist Robert Lang’s creations.

Interestingly, what emerged as the biggest challenge for origamists was the art of folding insects, which led to the so-called ‘Bug War’ in the early 1990s.

Robert Lang, Praying Mantis, opus 416, 2002.

Robert Lang, Hercules Beetle, opus 424, 2003.

Lang pioneered a computational method in which geometrical crease patterns on a single sheet of paper are worked into the origami sculpture – without using cuts, or glue. Limbs and extremities are based on circles, so the more circles there are in a pattern, the more intricate and complicated the figure will turn out.

Robert Lang, Irish Elk, opus 537, 2008.

Robert Lang, Desert Tortoise, opus 127, 1990s.

Robert Lang, Barn Owl, opus 538, 2008.

See here for a 2007 article on Lang.