Looking High and Low for Paper Artwork

Since the dawn of human history, critics have argued about what is and isn’t art. At Ernest, the Andy Warhol in us says that tons of things have artistic merit, and you’d better believe we’d make a case for packaging materials. Today on the Ernest blog we’re taking a look at works that prove paper has artistic merit beyond the canvas.

Luca Iaconi-Stewart is an artist and a self-professed aviation lover. His medium? Manila folders. But Iaconi-Stewart’s creations soar well past traditional paper airplanes. He spent the better part of a decade building a replica Boeing 777 airplane from paper, entirely by hand.

Since there were no design schematics available to him, Iaconi-Stewart relied on photos, a copy of the plane’s maintenance manual he found online and from parts of the jet engine on display at New York’s Museum of Modern Art. The result is a stunningly accurate replica of the aircraft.

Check out more from the artist’s gallery on Flickr

It’s difficult to imagine working on any single project for nine whole years, but the passion that went into this project is impossible to miss. Just look at the attention to detail in the cockpit – there’s even a tiny fire extinguisher strapped to the wall!

Intricate paper recreations are always a joy to behold, and things are no different across the Pacific. Meet the Omoshiro Block. At first glance it appears to be nothing more than an ordinary stack of sticky notes, but as you begin to tear them off…

Photos courtesy of Spoon & Tamago

BAM. Suddenly you’re an archaeologist, excavating some of Japan’s most beautiful structures. You’ll uncover temples, castles and towers that are beautifully recreated in paper thanks to laser cutting technology. Indiana Jones would be proud!

Whether you’re paying homage to intricate jets and historic sites or looking for the best way to package your product, the power of paper cannot be understated. At Ernest Packaging Solutions we’ve been pushing paper to its limits for over 70 years for our customers, and sometimes just for fun!

Speaking of fun, keep your eyes on the slopes during the world’s biggest celebration of sports coming up. You’ll see an athlete take to the snow riding the real-life counterpart to one of our Cardboard Chaos creations made in partnership with Signal Snowboards! Check out our white paper Creating a Corrugated Snowboard to see how form and function combine into one wicked ride!