Unveiling and Exhibition Opening
The USC Libraries will unveil the Mosely Snowflake Fractal at a reception and exhibition opening on September 20 in USC's Doheny Memorial Library. Also on view will be Wertheim‘s and Mosely‘s design sketches and digital design documents, items from the libraries‘ mathematics and science collections, and smaller origami modules that document the construction process. Light refreshments will be served at the reception, which begins at 5:00 p.m. RSVP online or by calling 213-740-1744.
Build Your Own Fractal
We hope you can join us at the September 20 unveiling, but if you're not in the Los Angeles area you can still create your own fractal origami artwork. Use these directions and your spare business cards to create a level-one Mosely Snowflake Fractal.
About the Project
The USC community has worked since February to bring this three-dimensional, mathematical art object into being for the first time in the history of the physical universe. Students, faculty, staff, origami folders, and mathematics enthusiasts built the fractal with more than 49,000 folded business cards. The cardinal-and-gold pattern of the fractal's paneling is based on a volume of Euclid's Elements from the USC Libraries collections
MIT-trained engineer Jeannine Mosely conceived the project, which is part of the USC Libraries Discovery Fellowship 2011-2012 programming curated by Discovery Fellow Margaret Wertheim. In 2008, Mosely constructed a model of the Menger Sponge the first 3-D fractal discovered in 1926 by mathematician Karl Mengerâout of 66,000 business cards. She later discovered a new 3-D fractal: the Mosely Snowflake, which the USC Libraries have now given form through the art of orgiami.
How to Participate
Stop by the folding stations in Doheny Memorial Library's Ground Floor Rotunda. Cards, construction guides, and other folding materials are available anytime during normal library operating hours. We are also planning a series of group folding sessions and will post information about them here as the sessions are scheduled.
For more information about joining the project, email Tyson Gaskill at gaskill@usc.edu.
Video Tutorials
Jeannine Mosely explains the basics of constructing the model in these video tutorials:
- Adding panelling cards to the faces of cubes
- Linking two rods of cubes to make a flat panel
- Assembling the X module of the Snowflake Sponge
- Assembling the Y module of the Snowflake Sponge
Facebook Page
Like the Mosely Snowflake Fractal on Facebook for news, photos, and the latest information about folding sessions.