The first time that many
of us came across the name Thoki Yenn, was
in Harbin's, "Secrets of Origami"
(1963) , which included Thoki's 3-D whale,
and said of Thoki that he was reputed to be
a wonder at paper-folding but it was always
difficult and sometimes impossible to locate
him precisely! In 1979 Mick Guy published
a letter from Yenn (BOS magazine number 79)
in which he said he had no contact with other
Origami enthusiasts. He also mentioned that
in a BOS pamphlet he had come across the word
Kirigami that was new to him and wondered
what it meant.
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At last in 1981 we met
Thoki in person when he attended the BOS
convention in Oxford. In the BOS magazine
number 89, Thoki wrote of his pride in being
accepted in a group of people that had created
so much ingenuity and beauty, he did not
know what he had been missing not being
among ORIGAmists! (Thoki's word). Since
that time we have realised what we have
all missed in not meeting Thoki much earlier.
I am delighted that Thoki has compiled this
video so we can all share in his own ideas
and creations of such ingenuity and beauty.
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| Let me make it clear
at the outset of this review that this is
not a video that aims to teach a few simple
folds to beginners. What it does offer us
is a visit to the enchanting and magical
world of Thoki Yenn, and what a rich and
diverse world it is! After showing several
ways to fold half of a square,we are beguiled
with some classical Origami including a
simple hat and the multi-form. I particularly
enjoyed the high speed folding sequence
of the traditional flapping bird. |
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Geometry is one of Thoki's
great loves and he shares this with us in
the paper-folding part of this video. He
shows in an absorbing sequence the way he
has divided up a cube and related it to
pyramid structures and other forms. The
puzzle box, a variation of the Moroccan
purse, and Fujimoto's cube make their appearance.
In Thoki's able hands we also enjoy meeting
the Golden ratio and the A sized paper (one
to the square root of two) and seeing how
to exploit their special properties. Enjoy
is the watchword here, there is so much
to see and hear in this wonderland but,
above all, so much to enjoy. We are often
treated to Yenn's delightfully quirky humour
given almost as asides. For example "the
Chinese stole my idea hundreds of years
before I was born!" |
| I found the demonstration
of curved folding and the resulting flexible
shapes fascinating, surely a world many
others will want to explore. In Origami,
Thoki is captivated by geometrical shapes
and relationships, but in his Kirigami he
shows his mastery of animal forms. |
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He tells us that he does
not use preliminary drawing as his fingers
know where to cut. His fingers certainly
do know where to go and we are let into
the secret of how a few of his creatures
are created. There follows a beautifully
presented Gallery of his work, full of life
and humour, wonderful stuff. I liked his
cat, giraffe and cockerel particularly.
Not content with Origami and Kirigami we
also are invited to share his napkin folding
with a mouse,dancer and obedient knot. I
think if I practise hard I may at last be
able to fold the mouse, which in Thoki's
hands become alive. |
| With Thoki everything
he does is exciting and beguiling. He shares
with us his enthusiasm and insight. Geometrical
shapes have not been one of my passions
in Origami but after seeing this video I
can't wait to try some of the ideas out.
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What more can I say?.
Go out and buy this superb video, it is
an enchanting, wise, witty and whimsical
production by one of the great creative
personalities of our time. |
| We are also promised
a CD soon which will contain diagrams, folding
instructions and Thoki's famous lectures
and much more. It is worth mentioning that
many of the geometrical shapes that Thoki
shows in his video are diagrammed in the
BOS booklet No. 13. |
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John Smith.
Vice-president
British Origami Society
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