Amazing Art: Eric Joisel Turning Paper Into Dollars

Published on December 6, 2009 by C Jordan in Visual Arts

Amazing Art: Eric Joisel Turning Paper Into Dollars

When talking of art and paper in the same sentence one immediately thinks of sketching or painting. If the word origami is also introduced then the topic may become uninspiring as a pastime to keep children occupied.
Not in the hands of Eric Joisel. He has turned this into an exciting art form and his pieces now command thousands of dollars.

Origami is taken from two Japanese words that, as Eric Joisel explains on his website, simply means fold and paper. That is: no cuts no glue.

Eric has spent hundreds of hours developing his sculptures and techniques. In fact when asked how long a piece takes to create his answer is “35 years.”

The Artist

Eric Joisel is from Paris and was born in 1956. He took up art, in the form of painting and sculpture in 1972 and his work on paper folding began in 1984. This led to his first origami exhibition in “La menagerie de Papier”, Espace Japon, in Paris, along with a Japanese artist resident in Paris, Usataro Kimura. Since then he has had exhibitions on show around the world almost every year since, from the Louvre, to Japan and Seattle. (Interestingly enough there is another exhibition in January and February, 2010 again at Espace Japon with Naomiki Sato.)

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His work is most popular in Japan and the USA. As he said recently in an article in The Sun: “I sell mostly in Japan and America because Europeans see origami as being for children”

One has to admire his creative ability, patience and perseverance.

He describes the process of creating a piece:

“If one isn’t an origami folder, it’s difficult to explain the process of conception through to the finished model. The creation process is similar to a scientific method. When designing a person, one begins with the assumption that the four corners of the paper will represent each hand and foot. From that general assumption, a “crease pattern” is developed that blueprints all the folds required for the model. These crease patterns may be modified while the model takes shape. Some of my first creations, like the hedgehog, took 5-6 years to finally develop. Now, years later, the process is a little easier.”

Easier for who? Surely only a person of Eric’s ability! This little hedgehog is featured on his website, along with instructions, and is made out of one piece of paper measuring 20cm (8”) square and he states it will take three hours to make. It is accompanied with the wish “Happy folding”

Correspondent, Perri Lewis of The Guardian admitted defeat after attempting it for five hours! Under the heading “My attempt to create a paper sculpture soon folded”

“Then I realised it was 11pm and I’d spent the best part of five hours in origami hell. Oh, the shame of being out-crafted.”

The Art