Dr. Robert J. Lang is an Origami magician, he creates awe-inspiring designs by marrying mathematics with origami. "It's now mathematically proven that you can pretty much fold anything." he says.

Dr. Lang grew up in Atlanta, Georgia and before becoming a full time origami artist and consultant, he has been a physicist, engineer, R&D manager and has authored & co-authored more than 80 technical publications; he has written about 10 books on origami itself.


A former researcher with NASA, he is known as "The Renaissance man of origami', Dr. Lang has been very kind to spare some of his time to answer some of our curious questions. Read further to learn more from the artist himself:

I am 49 years old and have been folding origami since the age of six. I have always been interested in the natural world, beginning with the woods behind my childhood house; this led to an interest in science and math, and that led to the study of engineering and physics in college and a 15-year career doing research and development on semiconductor lasers and optoelectronics. But I was pursuing origami as a passionate hobby that entire time, and in 2001, I left my day job in lasers and became a full-time origami artist and consultant.

I take inspiration from many places; from the natural world, for my representational origami designs; from mathematics, symmetry, and patterns, for my geometric and abstract work. I take inspiration from other artists, scientists, and mathematicians for my study of the algorithms and mathematics of origami. I am motivated by the opportunity to discover new artworks, or discover new rules by which the world operates.

There are many branches of origami art, which evolved primarily out of the traditional Japanese craft but has drawn upon influences as varied as European napkin-folding of the 17th century, mathematics through the ages, and computer science of the 1960s and 1970s. There are no set “rules” of origami, but there are genres; the most common genre is the “fu-setsu sei-hokkei ichi-mai ori,” or “one-sheet, no-cuts, from square” style of folding. There is also “modular” origami, made from many squares folded identically and locked together, and “composite” origami, folded from many squares in different ways and locked together. And then there is origami from other shapes (rectangles, triangles, etc.), and origami that uses cuts — the traditional “sembazuru” style (chains of interconnected cranes) being the most famous example.

I am particularly interested in single-sheet, no-cuts folding (usually from squares), and so that is what I focus on in my own work. But I dabble in all of the different genres.

I’m not the creator of the most complex origami designs ever. The “most complex” is a rapidly moving target, and while some of my designs might have been the most complex at the particular time they were created, I am sure that everything I’ve done has been surpassed in complexity.

Of course, it’s hard to actually measure “complexity” in a way that allows comparative statements like “most complex”, and I don’t think it’s a terribly significant measure, in any event. We would not, for example, ask “which painting has the most brushstrokes?” What matters more, I think, is whether the work has emotional impact, and that is something that is not measurable in an absolute way.

Black Panther

I would say that I do have some unusual natural ability — which is a gift from the genes of my parents and the environment in which I was raised — but it also is the result of a lot of time and practice, and I think that many people have the potential to be great origami artists, given time and practice. Of course, part of the gift is that I find it fun to spend time and practice on origami, so it’s not a chore to practice; it’s enjoyable. The enjoyment of the process might be the most important “gift.”

I’ve written somewhere between 9 and 12 books, depending on how you count (some of them include materials from earlier books, so you might not count them as new). Most are “recipe books” -- they give step-by-step instructions for how to fold 20 or 30 different figures. The book of which I am most proud is “Origami Design Secrets,” which is not a recipe book; it, instead, describes the techniques one can use to create one’s own designs. For a beginner, I would recommend my book, “Origami in Action.” The figures therein are fun and many of them are easy to fold.

Owl

Right now, I’m finishing co-editing the book “Origami^5,” which is a collection of articles by many people (some by me) about connections between origami, art, math, science, and education. I’m working on a revised edition of “Origami Design Secrets” that will contain some new chapters describing new design techniques. And I’m writing a new book about geometric and mathematical origami.

In addition to the writing, at any given time I may be working on commercial commissions, working on mathematical ideas, or folding for fun.

I typically get started between 7 and 9 in the morning, and work through until around 8 pm at night, with a break for dinner and, sometimes, an afternoon coffee. The tasks are extremely varied, although the day almost always begins with answering emails that came in overnight. I might be designing, folding, programming, writing, or doing business work — invoices, accounting, writing bids, reading or writing contracts.

It doesn’t affect origami much yet, other than the easy online availability of books and paper. But that’s a good thing!

In the area of books and blogs, I enjoy books and blogs about natural history, skepticism and critical thinking; also well-written books about mathematics.

I have my favorite origami artists, of course — Eric Joisel, Michael LaFosse, and Brian Chan come to mind — and in other fields, greatly enjoy wildlife art; Robert Bateman is one of several I admire. My artistic taste tends toward representational, but I have a fondness for Calder sculpture and in general, any art that shows interesting pattern and elegant lines. Musically, my tastes run to late Romantic and early 20th-century classical composers: Shostakovich, Prokofiev, Copeland, Pärt, Hovahness, among others.

Learn the business of the art. You might be the worlds greatest artist from a strictly artistic point of view, but if you want to make your living at it, you’ll need to know how the business side works.

And then, if you’re doing commercial art to make a living, make sure you’ve carved out time to pursue some projects purely because you’re interested in them. Personally, I find that having a mix of both is good: doing personal projects lets me pursue artistic ideas that no one but me is interested in, but doing commercial projects also sometimes nudges me into interesting directions that I never would have tried on my own.

Thank you Dr. Lang for such a wonderful and insightful interview, we will look forward for more of your inspiring creations.

Visit Robert J Lang's website here.

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