In this kinetic art we are taking a look at the Kirigami as an example for the mechanism section. Kirigami (切り紙) is a variation of origami that includes cutting of the paper, rather than solely folding the paper as is the case with origami, but typically does not use glue.

In the United States, the term “Kirigami” was coined by Florence Temko, from Japanese kiri “cut,” kami “paper”, in the title of her book, Kirigami, the Creative Art of Papercutting, 1962. The book was so successful that the word kirigami was accepted as the western name for the art of paper cutting.

Typically, kirigami starts with a folded base, which is then unfolded; cuts are then opened and flattened to make the finished kirigami. Simple Kirigami are usually symmetrical, such as snowflakes, pentagrams, or orchid blossoms. A difference between Kirigami and the art of “full base”, or 180 degree opening structures, is that Kirigami is made out of a single piece of paper that has then been cut.