Josef Albers, teaching Origami at the Bauhaus. Paperfolding was a tool to experience construction. Working hands-on, learning by doing. “The student had to solve it entirely independently. No technical explanations were given.” More about Origami as an educational tool at Bauhaus … read here.
I remember vividly the first day of the [Preliminary Course]. Josef Albers entered the room, carrying with him a bunch of newspapers. … [and] then addressed us … “Ladies and gentlemen, we are poor, not rich. We can’t afford to waste materials or time. … All art starts with a material, and therefore we have first to investigate what our material can do. So, at the beginning we will experiment without aiming at making a product. At the moment we prefer cleverness to beauty. … Our studies should lead to constructive thinking. … I want you now to take the newspapers … and try to make something out of them that is more than you have now. I want you to respect the material and use it in a way that makes sense — preserve its inherent characteristics. If you can do without tools like knives and scissors, and without glue, [all] the better.”
Hans Beckmann, Formative years, 1970
Design is fine. History is mine. 