Paper is our staging ground between thought and physical reality. Intangible concepts that we wish existed in real life (but probably never will) make their initial step into the physical universe on paper.
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| More than a thought but less than a fact |
For thousands of years, paper has been the preferred delivery system for art, as well as literature and science; it is how we recorded and transmitted our greatest ideas. Paper hosted Issac Newton's revolutionary ideas in
Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica just as it hosted Michelangelo's sketches of the
Libyan Sibyl.
But paper is more than just a host for content; its properties can participate in its content.
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| Detail from an illustration by Arno Sternglass (below) |
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| Milton Glaser |
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| Toulouse Lautrec |
Paper has accompanied us on our human journey, enabling us to make our knowledge cumulative by preserving our achievements for the next generation. So before paper is completely eclipsed by electronic visual displays, I think we owe it a little thought. This week I will offer a series of perspectives about paper-- its origins, nature and supernatural qualities.
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