Between the Folds

Between the Folds is a charming—if it's appropriate to use that word—Independent Lens feature about how origami has contributed to design, math, engineering and science. It's absolutely mesmerizing to watch the constructions that can be done with a sheet of paper. The plane can become disorienting through experimentation; consequently opening up the mind to not only dream possibilities, but to an ultimate reality. They showcased organic folds as well as mathematical. I found the case-studies about how origami has contributed to air bags and synthetic proteins inspiring. What's more, the pleasure these scientist-artists convey is authentic. I think it's because they will never lose the sense of inquiry and surprise that life, and their vocations, have in store.

[Photos from PBS Web site.]

Sirens of the Sea

Judith Schalansky is my latest delight. I bought The Atlas of Remote Islands during the middle of winter. Exotic island escapes seemed in order. I was vulnerable to a seductive, yet sparse, cover. The subtitle: 50 Islands I have Never Set Foot On and Never Will conjured another favorite author. In The Art of Travel Alain deBotton tells us of Duc des Esseintes who, in order to escape the hassles of oversea travel, made an aquarium so that ‘the imagination could provide a more-than-adequate substitute for the vulgar reality of actual experience.’ The Atlas was an easy sell.

I was more than a month into this bedside escape when I finally read about the author and made the shocking discovery … she’s the same designer behind Fraktur Mon Amour, another valentine from an earlier post of mine.  I should have detected her signature use of spot color and adoration of unusual typography. Now I am as envious as I am grateful for Judith Schalansky.

I might not have stumbled on the about the author page were I not seeking a note on the type. There was none, but a little research led me to the quirky, yet sublime, Sirenne. You should read about it here. I have no idea how this book came to be, but I imagine Judith said to herself one day “I’d love to make maps”; and then she did just that.