The American Museum of Natural History reveals the winter tradition of the Origami Holiday Tree, with 2,000 hand-folded paper animal creations. NBC New York’s Linda Gaudino takes you behind the scenes of the over 50-year tradition with the installation’s co-designers.
The American Museum of Natural History kicks off Thanksgiving week with the seasonal tradition unveiling the Origami Holiday Tree, celebrating its 52nd year with the theme Proboscideans on Parade.
The established practice began in 1971 after the American entomologist and origamist, Alice Gray, built a three-foot tree decorated with hand-folded paper insects. She showed off her craft to a volunteer, who happened to be a board of trustees member, and the rest is history.
The 13-foot origami tree is produced solely by international volunteers in partnership with the nonprofit, OrigamiUSA. The models used are a collection of years past, as well as new additions from members.
NBC New York spoke with the two co-designers, Rosalind Joyce and Talo Kawasaki, of the beloved installation as the duo prepared a quilt of hundreds of leftover origami elephants before the public reveal.
"It's magic. It's a marriage between math and art and some science. Many of these [models] have stories to go with them -- who folded what, how we got it from all over the world," Joyce told News 4, who continued to say the art is donated by amateurs and professionals.
This year's theme coincides with the new museum exhibit, The Secret World of Elephants, and features 1,000 trumpeting elephants within over 2,000 folded models in total. Popular museum highlights can be spotted within the tree, such as the blue whale and woolly mammoth.
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Joyce and Kawasaki begin planning the next season's theme a year in advance, paying special note to model alignment on the tree.
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Every September, new origami pieces are expected to arrive at the museum, and the co-designers sift through the collection. In November, the two have just a handful of days to put the pieces and final touches together.
"Origami, whether you're folding it or just seeing it, it's just going to make you happy, and that's all of the reasons we are involved with the tree, as well," noted Kawasaki.
The tree is free to visit with general museum admission starting on November 20 and is located on the first floor at the Ellen V. Futter Gallery.
How to fold origami: the 'trumpeting elephant'
Want to learn how to shape a beautiful piece of origami art?
OrigamiUSA's Talo Kawasaki demonstrates how to fold the "trumpeting elephant." Watch below.
