During the World Origami Days, tomorrow we'll celebrate the 100th Birthday
Anniversary of Gershon Legman, who was born on November 2nd, 2017 in Scranton,
PA (USA). Although he was not an accomplished paperfolder himself, he did help
shape the origami movement of the 20th century in ways that we could not
conceive the artwork as it is today hadn't been for him. Legman was the first
person in the Western World to become interested, back in 1952, in the work of
Akira Yoshizawa, a young origami artist in Japan. Together with Ligia Montoya
from Argentina they began studying his technique via fruitful correspondence.
Legman was not wealthy but he managed to act like a true mecenas,
sending Yoshizawa small remittances and arranging for him his first solo
exhibition in the Western World for which he produced around 130 stunning
models, which were exhibited at the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, in 1955.
Legman seemed to have a special instinct for detecting origami artists, even if
the very person had never seriously thought about their own abilities before.
As such, he sparked the interest in paperfolding into several young
artists, such as Ligia Montoya, George Rhoads and Neal Elias, who soon were to
become part of the nuts and bolts of the origami machinery worldwide. At the
same time, his interest in the history of paperfolding led him to compile the
first bibliography of paperfolding that listed hundreds of books published
mainly in the Western World. Later, Legman strenghten ties with Lillian
Oppenheimer, founder of the Origami Center (later OrigamiUSA), helping her to
produce the first exhibition of paperfolding in America (Cooper Union, 1958).
During his active years in the 50's and 60's, Legman was always at the
center of the origami community, exchanging letters and advice to all corners
of the world. We pay tribute to Gershon Legman's legacy by learning more about
the art and history of paperfolding, a practice that has the power to unify
people wherever they are.
Laura Rozenberg
