ideageneration
Josef Albers: Teaching with Origami
Paperfolding at the Bauhaus as a tool to understand form with the help of material. Working with hands-on. Learning by doing. The teaching of Josef Albers on the design principles and his paper construction exercises became legendary.
“The student had to solve it entirely independently. No technical explanations were given.”
Read more: erikdemaine.org/curved/history/
" I remember vividly the first day of the [Preliminary Course]. Josef Albers entered the room, carrying with him a bunch of newspapers. … [and] then addressed us … “Ladies and gentlemen, we are poor, not rich. We can’t afford to waste materials or time. … All art starts with a material, and therefore we have first to investigate what our material can do. So, at the beginning we will experiment without aiming at making a product. At the moment we prefer cleverness to beauty. … Our studies should lead to constructive thinking. … I want you now to take the newspapers … and try to make something out of them that is more than you have now. I want you to respect the material and use it in a way that makes sense — preserve its inherent characteristics. If you can do without tools like knives and scissors, and without glue, [all] the better.”
Hans Beckmann, Formative years, 1970
Josef Albers: Teaching with Origami
Paperfolding at the Bauhaus as a tool to understand form with the help of material. Working with hands-on. Learning by doing. The teaching of Josef Albers on the design principles and his paper construction exercises became legendary.
“The student had to solve it entirely independently. No technical explanations were given.”
Read more: erikdemaine.org/curved/history/
" I remember vividly the first day of the [Preliminary Course]. Josef Albers entered the room, carrying with him a bunch of newspapers. … [and] then addressed us … “Ladies and gentlemen, we are poor, not rich. We can’t afford to waste materials or time. … All art starts with a material, and therefore we have first to investigate what our material can do. So, at the beginning we will experiment without aiming at making a product. At the moment we prefer cleverness to beauty. … Our studies should lead to constructive thinking. … I want you now to take the newspapers … and try to make something out of them that is more than you have now. I want you to respect the material and use it in a way that makes sense — preserve its inherent characteristics. If you can do without tools like knives and scissors, and without glue, [all] the better.”
Hans Beckmann, Formative years, 1970