ORI

In 2009, JEFRE was commissioned by Liberty Property Trust to create a permanent public art experience based on the location and context of the project. The site is located at Philadelphia’s Navy Yard and was installed in the lobby of Three Crescent Building. JEFRE collaborated with the Mural Arts Program Leadership Group students to document the history, environment, and spiritual metaphors that could influence the art experience. Photo documentation of the site revealed massive industrial structures and ships that have been re-purposed for other uses but have preserved the character of its time. Historic photos of war during maritime presented images of ship silhouettes in harbor, set within a background of natural fields of grass.

Three Crescent is a modern gateway building located at the entry of The Navy Yard. The Asian-inspired open atrium lobby is composed of cool, modern grays, with warm, large wood folding panels that rise from floor to ceiling. A 20-foot wall and back lobby serve as anchors to the entry experience, and was the natural location for the art installation.

The series of modern folds in the architecture lobby and images of the large ships provided JEFRE inspiration of the Asian art process making of Origami. Origami (折り紙, from ori meaning “folding,” and kami meaning “paper”) is the traditional Japanese folk art of paper folding, which started in the 17th century AD and was popularized in the mid-1900s. It has since then evolved into a modern art form. The goal of the art is to transform a flat sheet of material into a finished sculpture through folding and sculpting techniques, and as such the use of cuts or glue are not considered to be origami.

Working with students from Mural Arts, JEFRE created a series of origami-influenced forms based on these same techniques of folding. Entitled “ORI,” a large horizontal flat steel plate appears to fall from a curtain of wood folding panels that morph into the rise from granite floors and fold onto itself to create a paper motif of a ship or vessel.

“GRASSLANDS” is a 16’ digital mural composed of 25,000 plastic rods that serve as a complimentary background to “ORI.” Grasslands is an interactive tactile art piece that allows visitors to touch and manipulate the landscape fibers into various shapes and forms. Visitors can run their hands and bodies through the piece as if they were running through large grass field and hear and see the light in motion as they would do in nature. Colors change to reflect the current season and at night intensify and transform into lighting bugs, “fireflies” dancing in the landscape.

Location Note: Artworks are located in the lobby of a commercial building and may not always be available for public viewing.