Paper Engineering from the Bauhaus: Josef Albers to the Modern Day

About

One of the mainstays of the Bauhaus preliminary course for first-year students was working with paper – to make something more with it that still spoke to the essential qualities of the paper itself. These exercises led them on a path of self-discovery and observational “learning through doing.”

Paper artist Eric Gjerde leads a course of experimentation and discovery in the spirit of Josef Alber’s preliminary course, using historical paper art exercises and creations from the Bauhaus School as well as modern designs and ideas that build on the original concepts. Paper architecture, pop-up structures, origami tessellations, kirigami, and complex crumpling are some of the techniques students on this course will explore.

Course leader

Eric Gjerde (Minnesota, USA, 1978) is a paper artist who explores shape and structure using complex folding techniques he developed through years of experimentation.

Target group

Best suited for: anyone dealing professional or personally with geometry, form and structure, and exploration of shapes and space. Like designers, architects or (paper-) artists. Some practical knowledge of paper-folding is useful but not required.

Course aim

In this course, we will follow a Bauhaus / Black Mountain College style form of discussion, open exercises and experimentation, and constructive group critique. Students will take techniques and create their own works within various design constraints, in line with Bauhaus methodology. Our intent is to open minds and expand horizons (while also having a lot of fun playing with paper!)

Fee info