CMU School of Drama


Saturday, July 09, 2016

15,000 Origami Birds Were Folded To Make This Large Mural In Paris

CONTEMPORIST: A couple of months ago we shared some of the colorful origami installations done by French urban artist Mademoiselle Maurice. Today we’re sharing her latest piece – the largest urban mural to ever be created in the city of Paris.

3 comments:

Sarah Linquest said...

I have always loved seeing art on buildings. I am a huge proponent of preserving historic buildings, while simultaneously being excited when I stumble upon art like this. It is interesting that the artist chose to paint some of the birds and use paper for others. Once it rains and the paper gets destroyed, a new artist will be able to paint over what she has made. Her choice to create a temporary piece is helping maintain the cycle of art. The amount of effort put into this piece is remarkable. Between painting the entire building black and then folding 15,000 paper birds, attention to detail is evident. The piece made me think about perspective. From a distance you can see the pattern and the huge scale of the work. Up close, you can see the intricate details of the origami and better appreciate the effort that went into making the piece.

Celia HuttonJohns said...

What intrigued me to this post was the words origami and birds because I actually have some 500 odd paper cranes hanging from my ceiling back home. Paper cranes are the only form of origami I know, and they represent freedom in my mind. Not literal freedom, more like emotional freedom, freedom from my mind. So I hang them above me as a window to the world. So the fact that she’s doing this on a plain wall makes me think that this isn’t just any street art. Yes, murals are pretty and street art makes you stop and think, but this particular one, just because it’s a paper mural and is so fragile compared to the brick of the wall it strikes a chord within. The building looks abandoned as well, so the pop of color is a welcome sight in the midst of abandonment. Not only freedom is evoked, but hope as well. It says that color can be found in the darkest of places.

Rachel_precollegetech said...

This piece is truly stunning. The sheer size of it is truly amazing. And the amount of work that went into it is astonishing. This type of public art is a way to bring art to a larger mass of people. It gives people who don’t have access to an art museum the exposure to art. Because of the prices for admission into art museums, not all people are able to experience art in a museum. This art instillation breaks the barrier; it allows all people to see art free of charge. This is so important because art is something that everyone should be able to experience and enjoy. Art can be so powerful and moving in such an interesting way and in order for all people to experience the power of art it needs to be radially available to the public. Another interesting thing about this installation is that it combines multiple forms of art. It combines street are and public art with the art of origami. Because this piece is entirely made of folded paper the viewer can have two different perspectives of it. From a distance the lines in this piece look like solid blocks and shaped of color, but when the viewer looks closer they can tell that the shapes are made out of individual origami pieces.