Lobby wall

The lobby installation is constructed from our own handmade paper. Images of Whooping Cranes (scientific name Grus americana) – the tallest North American bird, whose total population was reduced to as low as 20 in 1940 – were cut from large sheets of handmade paper or cast from handmade paper. They were laminated between glass panes for the lobby wall and for the three doors in the Children’s Room. Names of known extinct species of birds were printed on paper that we handmade from fibers that are similar to those found in habitats of Whooping Cranes – hemp, abaca (banana leaf ), cattail, raw organic pigments. The paper was handmade in our studio at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

The large circle contains 999 pieces of folded handmade paper. Starting with a square, each successive ring of the concentric circles shows another stage in the folding of the paper crane. The folded paper crane is perhaps the most popular and famous of all origami objects. A Japanese legend tells that 1,000 folded paper cranes will bring health and good fortune. That legend has circulated around the world, and it is customary for individuals and groups to make 1,000 paper cranes for loved ones who are ill, in hope that they will recover.

It is our hope that this installation will remind us that while our civilization both advances and destroys with technology, we can heal ourselves and our victims with art.