USC Libraries

An essay by Margaret Wertheim in Tuesday's New York Times features the Mosely Snowflake Fractal, a giant origami model on display now in USC's Doheny Memorial Library. Wertheim's essay explains how the art of business card origami can make fractals, which are usually abstract, mathematical shapes, into something that is tactile. As the inaugural USC Libraries Discovery Fellow, Wertheim helped students, staff, faculty, and other members of the USC community construct the Mosely Snowflake Sponge—named after its designer, the accomplished origami artist Jeannine Mosely—out of nearly 50,000 folded business cards. The feature appears in Science section of the Times' the January 22, 2013, edition. The online version includes a time-lapse video of the fractal's final construction.

As part of its Library Lab collaboration with the American Libraries Association, the popular blog Boing Boing today highlighted the Mosely Snowflake Fractal. The USC Libraries unveiled the giant fractal model, which USC students, faculty, and staff built out of 49,000 folded business cards, in September, and it is currently on display in Doheny Memorial Library's first-floor foyer. Wired, Gizmag, Artbound, Inhabitat, and the Library as Incubator Project blog have also featured the Mosely Snowflake Fractal.

Shrouded since its completion last month, the Mosely Snowflake Fractal will be unveiled today, Thursday, September 20, at a reception and exhibition opening in USC's Doheny Memorial Library. RSVP online, or keep reading to learn more about today's event.

KCET's Artbound program has featured the USC Libraries' Mosely Snowflake Fractal in a new video about mathematical origami. Inspired by USC Libraries Discovery Fellow Margaret Wertheim's recent Artbound article about L.A.'s origami moment, the video shows the giant fractal model in its final stages of construction. It also showcases several items from the USC Libraries' collections that reveal artistic representations of fractal structures. The video and more information about the fractal appear after the jump.

In its August 2012 issue, Artvoices magazine profiles USC Libraries Discovery Fellow Margaret Wertheim. A science writer and curator, Wertheim directs the Institute for Figuring--"Los Angeles' most quizzical institution," the magazine declares. The institute recently opened a permanent exhibition space in Chinatown. Keep reading to learn about Wertheim and her work as Discovery Fellow.

Last week in Doheny Memorial Library, the Mosely Snowflake Fractal took physical form for perhaps the first time ever. Built by hundreds of USC students, faculty, and staff out of 49,000 folded business cards, the giant origami fractal measures six feet cubed and weighs more than 100 pounds. The USC Libraries will unveil the finished model in a reception on September 20 in Doheny Library's first-floor entrance pavilion. RSVP now, or keep reading to learn more about the collaborative community art project.

In a recent story on KCET's Artbound website, USC Libraries Discovery Fellow Margaret Wertheim wrote about a "rare constellation of origami projects" in Los Angeles that constitute the city's "origami moment." Among those projects, writes Wertheim, is the USC community's effort to construct the Mosely Snowflake Sponge, a 3-D fractal model made out of 49,000 folded business cards. Keep reading to learn more about Wertheim's article and the Mosely Snowflake Sponge, which will be unveiled at a Thursday, September 20, reception in Doheny Memorial Library.

More than 50 students from the James A. Foshay Learning Center—part of the USC Family of Schools—visited Doheny Memorial Library on Friday, July 20, to help construct the Mosely Snowflake Sponge. With Discovery Fellow Margaret Wertheim on hand to provide guidance, the students folded business cards, assembled them into cubes, and then constructed nearly a dozen modules out of the cubes. Those modules will soon become part of the 3-D fractal model that, with the help of the USC community, is quickly nearing completion. Keep reading to learn more about this project and for photos from the students' visit.

Last week, volunteers completed the fourth of six constituent towers that will soon be assembled into the Mosely Snowflake Sponge, a 3-D fractal model made out of 49,000 folded business cards. Dozens of USC students, faculty, staff, and other volunteers have contributed to the project, folding cards, constructing cubes, and assembling larger modules. To learn how you can help, or to keep track of future construction sessions, visit the project page at www.usc.edu/libraries/sponge or follow the project on Facebook.