Papercraft: Research

 Right off the bat I decided on focusing on Hari & Deepti, as that type of papercraft has been one I've always admired. They make paper cut light boxes, using water color paper, they layer the work and use LED lights to backlight their pieces. Most of their works play off the use of the colored lights, as they include flames, stars, planets, city lights, etc.

Their work is so full of storytelling and imagination. They create full on worlds with their papercraft and create such detailed beautiful works. As I understand their work, there are common themes in certain pieces, such as the hunters we can see in the distance in the work pictured above. Mainly, each piece can stand alone and carry its story through its one image. The way their works appear when backlit is strikingly different from when there is no light on the piece. 

 Each piece has an immense amount of depth that we don't recognize when it is lit. Each layer provides a new shade, a new color, without there being any at all. Our eyes will always automatically assume based off of value, what color we think a shade is. The only aspect that affects Hari & Deepti's work is the yellow coloring of their LED lights. That gives the the desired glowing look to the pieces. Through almost every article I've come across about them, the writer quotes how they view their papercraft,  and they quote 

   “Paper is brutal in its simplicity as a medium. It demands the attention of the artist while it provides the softness they need to mold it in to something beautiful. It is playful, light, colorless and colorful. It is minimal and intricate. It reflects light, creates depth and illusions in a way that it takes the artist through a journey with limitless possibilities.”

They explained through their years of working with paper it has become more complicated yet simplified at the same time. Originally painting the watercolor paper and creating dioramas, they got rid of the paint and began creating a layered papercut style and playing with light boxes. This progression of their work is what inspires me the most. They're artists who work to constantly expand upon their work, going as far as to travel the world to get inspiration for their storytelling. I also chose this work because it's something I find beautiful. While all the papercraft shown in the various articles were intricate and captivating, Hari & Deepti's work really expresses fiction and how art can really take us away to new worlds, that it isn't only reserved for books. 

I've seen this style of papercraft before, but in a commercialized sense. Studio Ghibli had created some diy papercrafts. Titled "Enksy Paper Theatre" showcasing various scenes from Studio Ghibli movies. 

While nowhere near as detailed as Hari & Deepti's work, I think it's a nice insight to the more basic terms of their style of papercraft, and how we can adapt their works and simplify them, to hopefully work our way up to more intricate and original pieces.