Hi Gerardo, We talked about wars, we talked about peace, we talked about inclusion, and we (all but me) mentioned origami as the perfect tool for all of this (for peace, against wars, for inclusion... and things like that). But why all this? On what basis? Is there something that origami has that crochet or fishing don't?
For those who strongly supported his thesis, the connection was that Origami is Art and, as such, it is peace, “because all Art is synonymous with Peace”, they said. Given that there is a lot of valid Art that stems from violence, conflict and opposition (and in certain periods and contexts of the past it was even the majority), and that Art connected with Peace is overall in the minority (and there is little to debate on this point), I could not even accept that Origami was considered Art. And that's how it all started, much longer than what I have written to you. Unfortunately, in my opinion many people have a pressing need to feel that they are on the right side, to assert themselves as good and honest people, to elevate themselves (in a certain way) from the ugly contemporary context in which we live. And Origami, for some, becomes the tool (baselessly) for all of this. Specifically, we were talking about Gaza, but the issue is still valid in any other context. Recently, someone wrote to me (accurately representing my thoughts): “I agree. It annoys me when people call for 1,000 cranes after things like mass school shootings rather than promoting rational discussion on how to stop these heinous acts”. This brief observation was in response to another comment of mine about the origami crane as a symbol of peace. I wrote: "The origami crane has a 15-century-long history, probably more, and its symbolism (healing from sickness and bad influence) is equally long. Sadako is “just” eighty years ago. We can of course (and we, contemporary people, already did actually) work for an analogy between Sadako's leukaemia and peace, but still it's a “modern/contemporary” thing. I understand that people want to be good, believe in peace, and demonstrate their kindness and pacifism, but the fact remains that countless objects and concepts can be uncritically associated with peace and made symbols of peace, and doing so distorts their original meaning and disrespects them. In my opinion, those who love origami should respect it more and not so easily accept that, out of an obvious do-gooder impulse, the crane is associated with a symbolism it didn't have. I like to mention: “If nothing matters, there is nothing to save” (said by an elderly Jewish woman, just liberated from Auschwitz in 1945, malnourished, who refused non-kosher food)." Regards, Lorenzo On Sat, 16 Aug 2025 at 23:42, Gerardo via Origami < [email protected]> wrote: > I really enjoyed your text, Lorenzo! It was very coherent and well-argued. > Thank you for sharing it. > > You mentioned that you had the opportunity to address the topic of > ‘Origami and Art’ and that your writing was in response to a specific > question. Would you mind elaborating on the context that inspired your > text? What was the situation? Were there different perspectives on the > matter? What was the question that prompted your writing? > > I believe that many discussions about origami and art could benefit from a > deeper exploration of their context to provide a broader perspective. > > > Thanks again! > -- > > *Gerardo G.* > gerardo(a)neorigami.com <http://www.neorigami.com> > [image: Image] instagram.com/NeorigamiCom > *Knowledge and Curiosity in Origami:* > *six private** classe**s online* <https://www.neorigami.com/classes> > > "(...) It doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it takes your breath > away and fills you with the true joy of *origami*. I experienced this in > my lessons with Gerardo G. I wouldn’t trade it for anything. Gerardo is > (...)" *C. R.* > *Read the full review* <https://www.neorigami.com/classes#h.q2mt4npahmc2> > > -- Lorenzo Lucioni Duesseldorf - Germany [email protected]
