Last year, while visiting the Hans Hofmann retrospective at the Berkeley Art Museum, I was inspired to design origami paper that incorporated the colors in some of Hofmann’s paintings. There was supposed to be a show of my origami work this June (it will happen someday!), and I thought I would create an installation of nine boxes, with a label on the wall showing reproductions of the corresponding paintings.
Phosphoric Form(below), and a CBP box folded from it. The paper pattern employs the letters in Hofmann’s name.
I needed a box that would have some structural interest as well as large enough planes to show the papers to advantage.
The Crossed Box Pleat Box was the result.
Phosphoric Form,1946, by Hans Hofmann.
I’ve long been a fan of Thoki Yenn, who died in 2004. We sometimes corresponded by post or email, and he was a regular contributor to the Origami Mailing List. I loved his wit, talent and enthusiasm. His Crossed Box Pleat was the starting point for my box.
On Sunday (April 5, 2020), I taught the box during an Origami Connect session. Shortly before the class began, perhaps influenced by all the heart models that have been contributed to The Fold lately, I discovered a variation of the CBP Box that has a heart in the center. I’ve diagrammed both versions, and you will find a link to the pdf below.
