On View at Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport through January 2002

Atlanta, Georgia -- Sponsored by the Georgia-Pacific Corporation with additional support from the Public Art Program of the City of Atlanta's Department of Aviation, the Institute of Paper Science and Technology presents a major public exhibition, "The WORLD OF PAPER - A Global History of the Art & Industry of Papermaking" in the new T-Gate display cases at the Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport. The show opened March 23, 2001, and will remain on view in the nation's busiest airport until January 2, 2002. More than 80 million airport travelers are expected to view the exhibition during its display in Atlanta.

"The WORLD OF PAPER" illustrates the history of papermaking from its invention in China more than 2,200 years ago through the modern technology of today. Developed to be both informative and entertaining, the exhibition offers a global perspective, showcasing various cultural traditions, achievements, and technical innovations in papermaking from countries throughout the world, with more than 350 individual objects -- art and artifacts from the Dard Hunter Collection as well as historic photographs and other material from the museum and archives of the Institute of Paper Science and Technology. Designed for viewing from both sides of the four T-Gate cases, "The WORLD OF PAPER" tells the fascinating story behind the most ordinary (and most useful) of everyday objects - a sheet of paper.

The many highlights of this educational exhibition begin with the pre-papers -- rare tapa cloths from the South Pacific, Egyptian papyrus, and historic parchment legal documents from Great Britain. There are also great wooden Chinese and Japanese papermaking vats, and many antique papermaking tools - molds, deckles, and brushes from Asia and Europe. A scale model of the first American paper mill, Pennsylvania's Rittenhouse Mill, was designed and commissioned specifically for the airport display. The exhibit encompasses an array of decorative papers including French marbled papers, Chinese tea chest papers, American paste papers, Japanese lace papers and wallpaper designed by William Morris as well as a number of finely crafted limited-edition books, the most unusual being a sacred Tibetan book with gold calligraphy on blue-black tingshog paper. There are many paper molds, brushes, and early brass technical testing tools as well as the equipment used on the 1986 Space Shuttle Columbia to make paper in outer space. Three contemporary artists who work with handmade paper - Minnesota-based Marjorie Alexander, Lore Burger from California, and Emily Glaubinger who lives in New Jersey - are respectively represented by sculpture, collage and a pop-up book. The exhibit also includes paper clothing from both the 1960s and 1860s - a Pop Art dress and Victorian collars and cuffs made of paper. Visitors will be drawn to the most spectacular section of "The WORLD OF PAPER," a dazzling backlit display case of watermarks, featuring exquisite watermark portraiture, artistic Japanese watermarks, extraordinary Chinese watermarks, and inventive watermark designs used by American and European businesses.

Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific Corporation, the corporate sponsor of Institute of Paper Science and Technology's "The WORLD OF PAPER," is the world's largest tissue manufacturer and one of the leading manufacturers and distributors of paper, pulp, building products and related chemicals in the world. With annual sales of approximately $27 billion, the company employs more than 85,000 people at 600 locations in North America and Europe. Its familiar consumer tissue brands include Quilted Northern, Angel Soft, Brawny, Sparkle, Soft 'N Gentle, Mardi Gras, So-Dri, Green Forest and Vanity Fair as well as the Dixie brand of disposable cups, plates and cutlery. Paper is a major part of the American forest products industry, ranked as one of the top ten employers in 43 of the 50 states. Paper manufacturing is the second largest traditional industry in Georgia where 27 major mills employ 35,000 people with an annual payroll of $1.6 billion. Annual global revenues from the modern paper industry exceed $500 billion with about one-third coming from the U.S.

Established in 1929, the Institute of Paper Science and Technology (IPST) is a private graduate school and research facility affiliated with the Georgia Institute of Technology. Last year, the Institute was ranked as "the fifth most innovative graduate school" in the U.S. by the Research Foundation of the State University of New York on the basis of the number of inventions and patents issued per faculty member. IPST's museum, the home of the Dard Hunter Collection, has the most comprehensive collection of paper and paper-related artifacts in the world. The permanent exhibits trace the art, science, and history of papermaking from the forerunners of paper to the advanced technology of today. Hours are Monday through Friday, 9 am to 5 pm.