Origami Holiday Tree returns to American Museum of Natural History.

2 days ago7 min read2 comments

The curtain is rising once more on one of New York's most enchanting and enduring holiday traditions, a production that, while smaller in stature than its famous Rockefeller Center counterpart, possesses a charm and artistry all its own. The Origami Holiday Tree is making its grand return to the American Museum of Natural History, a beloved seasonal fixture for over four decades.This isn't merely a tree to be lit; it's a meticulously staged performance where thousands of hand-folded paper sculptures take center stage. This year's 13-foot artificial spruce, opening to the public on Monday, draws its narrative directly from the museum's dramatic new exhibition, 'Impact: The End of the Age of Dinosaurs.' Co-designer Talo Kawasaki describes the theme as 'New Beginnings,' a poignant choice that shifts the focus from cataclysm to creation, exploring the vibrant world that blossomed in the wake of the asteroid impact that reshaped life on Earth 66 million years ago. Perched triumphantly at the summit of this paper-laden wonder is a golden, flaming asteroid, a striking symbol of that primordial turning point.Its branches, however, tell the rest of the story—a lush, colorful tapestry of origami fauna representing the explosion of mammalian and other life that followed. One can spot foxes, cranes, turtles, and bats nestled alongside sharks, elephants, and monkeys, a global menagerie united by the ancient fold of paper.Even the dinosaurs themselves, including a triceratops and a tyrannosaurus rex, are present, not as ghosts of a lost world but as foundational characters in this ongoing evolutionary drama. The creation of this annual spectacle is a global collaboration, a quiet backstage effort that unfolds for months.Volunteers from around the world are enlisted, their hands patiently transforming single sheets of paper into intricate artworks, a process that can take days or even weeks to perfect for a single model. This dedication results in a living archive; the tree is bolstered by stored works from prior seasons, including a 40-year-old pterosaur model from one of the very first origami trees in the 1970s, a veteran performer in this long-running show.Co-designer Rosalind Joyce estimates the current cast of characters numbers between 2,000 and 3,000 individual pieces, a density of art that makes counting a futile endeavor. In an age of mass-produced holiday decor, the Origami Holiday Tree stands as a powerful testament to patient, human-scale creativity.It is a quiet counterpoint to the city's larger, more commercial spectacles, offering a moment of contemplative wonder. Each delicate crane, each carefully folded leaf, speaks to a tradition that values the handmade and the narrative, transforming a hallway near the Central Park West entrance into a intimate theater where the epic story of life on Earth is retold, not with roaring animatronics, but with the silent, elegant language of folded paper.

#Origami Holiday Tree

#American Museum of Natural History

#dinosaurs

#New Beginnings

#featured

#paper art

#holiday tradition

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