Art: Fun with Paperwork

No one knows who invented the paper-folding technique the Japanese call origami. What is known is that origami long ago escaped the confines of the grade-school, arts-and-crafts classroom and entered the realm of modern-day mathematics, engineering and design.

Its geographical reach also knows no boundaries. The Germans call it Papierfalten; in Spain, its papiroflexia; in China, zhezhi.
A new exhibit at Bellevue Arts Museum explores the history and evolution of paper folding through more than 140 works by 45 masters from 19 countries. Folding Paper: The Infinite Possibilities of Origami presents an immersive experience in the discipline through videos, photographs, books and breathtaking examples of paper folding that fire the imagination and puzzle the mind.

While no particular individual is credited with having invented origami, the Japanese were the first to create a book on the technique: Hiden Senbazuru Orikata, or Folding Methods for One Thousand Cranes, published in 1797. The works in Folding Paper range from lifelike and lyrical to mathematical and abstract, paying tribute to this rich, appealing history.

Through September 21. Prices vary; free on first Fridays. 11 a.m.6 p.m. TuesdaySunday, 11 a.m.8 p.m. First Friday. Bellevue Arts Museum, 510 Bellevue Way NE, Bellevue; 425.519.0770; bellevue-arts.org.

Looks Good on Paper

The word origami comes from two Japanese words: ori, meaning folding, and kami, meaning paper.
The largest origami model ever made is a paper crane with a wingspan of 268 feet, 10 inches, created in 2009 at Hiroshima Shudo University in Japan.
Using the principles of origami, car designers learned how to fold airbags into small, flat shapes that would unfold quickly and easily.