This origami art book features the work of 25 contemporary master folders who are among the most innovative origami artists working today. They are pushing the boundaries of origami vigorously in new directions in terms of style, scale, materials, subject and scope. This elite group includes: Joel Cooper, Erik Demaine and Martin Demaine, Paul Jackson, Beth Johnson, Michael G. LaFosse and Richard L. Alexander, Robert J. Lang, Linda Mihara, Bernie Peyton, Richard Sweeney, and many more. The stunning photos and brilliant essays in this book demonstrate why origami is now an international art movement largely through the efforts and artistic genius of a few contemporary masters. The trailblazing efforts of Japanese artist Akira Yoshizawa elevated the paper folding to an artform by showing how subtle shapes and figures could be created from a single sheet of paper though a variety of non-traditional folding techniques. Artists in other parts of the world including the United States, France, England, China and Scandinavia took Yoshizawa's cue and pushed these techniques further and further. The result has been the emergence of many new and surprising sculptural forms created through techniques such as wet folding, curved creasing, tessellating and the application of alternative materials besides paper.