BY JASMINE ZHU
Daily Arts Writer
Published October 31, 2010
A collapsible tunnel, geometric flowers and unfolding spirals are among the many paper crafts meticulously constructed by Matthew Shlian, local paper engineer and lecturer in the School of Art and Design and LSA. For Shlian, paper isn't just a flat, two-dimensional material or canvas — it takes on a life of its own. From ordinary paper, he creates pop-up books, packaging designs, elaborate sculptures and more. Through his work, Shlian literally gives paper a new dimension.
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Three-dimensional paper artifacts have been around for centuries; after all, the traditional Japanese art of origami dates back to the 17th century. Unlike origami, however, paper engineering has more practical applications. Shlian’s work has led him to collaborate with businesses and scientific researchers at the University.
Shlian has done packaging work for Apple in an effort to make its packaging as recyclable as possible, he said.
“I’m doing a few other commissions," he added "I’m doing design work for a record label called Ghostly, based in Ann Arbor.”
Shlian’s interest in paper started at the New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University. Although he dual majored in ceramics and design, he found himself invested in paper instead.
"I’ve always been sort of interested in geometry and really understood spatial relationships in a certain way," Shlian said in an interview with the Daily.
After graduation, Shlian began experimenting with different methods of paper manipulation.
"I designed pop-up books for a number of years. That’s how I began doing paper engineering and from there it evolved into different places,” he said.
Shlian’s website features several different examples of his work. A video demonstrates a flipbook Shlian constructed that gradually translates the word “inhale” to “exhale” through paper cutouts. His blog also features current projects, such as his graduate thesis at Cranbrook School in Bloomfield Hills. It consists of two life-size, intricately pleated paper sculptures that slowly undulate up and down while suspended on string, one rising as the other folds down to the floor like a wilting accordion. Shlian’s work is typically minimalist and architectural in design, reflecting the basic medium with which he works.
His interest in paper engineering eventually led him to the University in 2006. Shlian had been doing research work with solar cells at the time by creating incredibly small moving sculpture — microscopic folding patterns too small to be seen in their normal state.
“It’s all rooted in paper folding," he said. "There’s a huge crossover between art and design.”
Paper folding technique is often very guarded, according to Shlian. But instead of keeping his techniques cloaked in secrecy, Shlian shares them with students at the University. Now in his fourth year teaching in Ann Arbor, Shlian has begun to contribute to the resurgence of interest in paper engineering on campus.
Last year during the annual FestiFools parade on Main street, his art and design students paraded in the streets of Ann Arbor in costumes constructed entirely out of paper, using pleating techniques Shlian had taught them in class.
In Shlian’s Creative Paper Folding/Engineering class — offered last semester by the Lloyd Hall Scholars Program — students engaged with paper in a much different way than they had previously experienced. Kyla Suchy, a junior in Art and Design, said that the course was unique in that the material was the focus rather than merely a canvas.
