The Vietnamese youth are becoming increasingly absorbed with the modern-day art of kirigami (the creation of 3D paper artworks).
Despite being an ancient custom, this genre of art has developed among the nation’s new generation in recent times as the demand for presenting handmade greeting cards has increased.

Kirigami, a Japanese form of paper cutting, has seen Japanese women cut paper to decorate in festivals as well as to make paper art works since time immemorial.

In the early 1980s, Professor Masahiro Chatani of the Tokyo Institute of Technology, who is regarded as the inventor of modern-day kirigami, began to experiment with cutting and folding paper to make unique and interesting pop-up cards.
 
He combined techniques of origami (Japanese paper folding) and kirigami (Japanese paper cutting) as well as using his experience in architectural design, to create intricate patterns which played with light and shadow. Many of his creations are made of stark white paper which emphasizes the shadowing effects of the cuts and folds.

In the preface to one of his books, he called the shadows of the three-dimensional cutouts created a ‘dreamy scene’ that invited the viewer into a ‘fantasy world’. Since then, modern Kirigami was born.

Therefore, the genre of modern kirigami or so-called origamic architecture, which Vietnamese youth are fascinated by, involves three-dimensional reproduction of architecture, geometric patterns or everyday objects on various scales, using cut-out and folded paper, usually thin paperboard.

Visually, these creations are comparable to intricate ‘pop-ups’, indeed, some works are deliberately engineered to possess pop-up-like properties. However, origamic architecture tends to be cut out of a single sheet of paper, whereas most pop-ups involve two or more. To create the three-dimensional image out of the two-dimensional surface requires skill akin to that of an architect.

To make a kirigami work, you need to design them in Corel or Google Sketchup application, then print them on paper, cut and combine them into a perfect work. The final phase is putting them on to a card. The importance of kirigami is that artworks can be folded in order that it will create a number of surprises for viewers.

Nguyen Minh Vu, manager of Vietnam Kirigami Club in HCMC, said: “Kirigami not only requires creators to be good at IT design application but also needs them the creativeness, patience and diligence.” He added that most pieces take from a day to a week to complete.

There are some types of kirigami, depending on the aperture of the cards, such as 0-degree, 90-degree, 180-degree or even 360-degree angles. Creators need to use a specialized knife to cut the paper which is conqueror or kishu papers imported from Singapore, France or South Korea. “The important thing is that each detail of the work needs to be accurate rate in order that it will work harmoniously and can be folded into the card,” said Vu.

Apart from Western designs themed in holiday seasons such as Christmas, Valentine’s, New Year, Easter or Thanksgiving, many Vietnamese creators also draw designs of Vietnamese architecture such as Saigon Notre Dame Cathedral, One-Pillar Pagoda, Khue Van Cac Temple, Ben Thanh Market or some Vietnamese-styled houses. And of course our international friends like to develop designs of their own culture. Kirigami designs are very diverse from daily images of flowers vases, houses, musical instruments, and heart shapes to famous architecture works such as the White House, Eiffel Tower and Great  Wall of China.

Vu said that, although many Vietnamese people make kirigami cards to export abroad, most of the 100-plus members of Vietnam kirigami club often mix their art passion to decorate their home, make displays or present their works to friends at special holidays.

SGT