Thinking of the Midwest United States automatically brings up images of cornfields, seed caps, and the agrarian lifestyle. Papermakers might expand this picture with thoughts of Twinrocker; the University of Iowa Center for the Book (UICB); Columbia College Chicago Center for Book and Paper Arts; the activities around Madison, Wisconsin; or the new Open Book facility housing Minnesota Center for Book Arts (MCBA) in Minneapolis. Cedar Rapids, Iowa, does not usually come to mind as a place with bountiful paper associations. However, a show at the Cedar Rapids Museum of Art (CRMA), Making Waves in the Midwest: The Art of Asian Paper, may have changed that, at least for a few months in the summer of 2001. The core of this exhibition came from Out of the Floating Waves: Eastern Papermaking Tradition and Transition, a show held at MCBA and curated by Mary Jo Pauly, the Center's artistic director. Out of the Floating Waves was a part of MCBA's Winter 2000 programming on Asian papermaking. MCBA's effort was the inspiration and the assembled works the core for this second show, organized speedily by Jane Milosch, curator at CRMA. Although not a papermaker herself, Milosch realized that she was geographically surrounded by an incredible talent pool. She could literally jump in her car and easily reach a multitude of papermakers, paper artists, and paper experts. She invited Lynn Amlie, director of the UICB Research and Production Paper Facility, to help with the project. Amlie had formerly worked for the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis as an exhibition preparator, so she brought to this effort not only a wealth of knowledge about paper, her own didactic collection, her current work, and a string of contacts, but also practical installation and curatorial skills. Together Milosch and Amlie organized an outstanding exhibition reflecting the tradition, innovation, aesthetics, and versatility of Asian paper.  The show included eighty pieces reflecting the work of twenty-five artists, the majority of whom had strong connections to the Midwest, by birth, residence, or training in paper. Fourteen of these artists call Iowa home. Undeniably, the Cedar Rapids area is rich in papermakers and paper artists because of the presence of the UICB in nearby Iowa City. Countless papermakers and other artists have been influenced by the work done by Timothy Barrett, Bridget O'Malley, Jana Pullman, and Amlie at the UICB Research and Production Paper Facility. CRMA was, therefore, a logical location for a major papermaking show, although this one was not restricted to works by those with UICB connections.  In the first room of the exhibition, luminosity was the primary aspect of Asian paper to be considered. An array of lamps, layered panels, wall pieces, and vessels lit in various ways, often from within the pieces themselves, made a dynamic statement. An especially interesting piece, Self-Illuminated Book, a collaborative work by Timothy Barrett and Richard Flavin, was presented as a cornerstone of the show. This combination of lantern and book lights up when opened and allows the viewer to read text paraphrased from Being Peace, the work of the Vietnamese Buddhist monk Thich Nhat Hanh, on the stretched surface of the interior. Also notable were the gampi covered basket-like forms of Mary Merkel-Hess, which seemed to glow with peaceful energy, and the organic sculptures (made with mulberry and flax paper and twigs) of Ming Fay, which seemed to be growing and reaching up towards the ceiling lights. After experiencing these first paper pieces, the visitor could consider the origins of Asian paper through a series of cases filled with tools, historical photographs, paper samples, and paper objects. Items from China, Japan, Korea, Tibet, and Nepal filled these display cases and formed an excellent teaching and aesthetic resource within the show. Amlie's thoughtful selection of items created an area within the exhibition space that was a pleasure to examine and offered concrete knowledge about the origins of Asian paper. The additional exhibition areas were devoted to works reflecting other qualities and sensibilities of Asian paper. Nature and its expression in paper were highlighted by Donna Koretsky's untitled, stone-like gampi forms and various book pieces by Karen Stahlacker. Asian paper's ability to act as a graphic medium could readily be seen in several works. The most interesting and spare included Jonwong Lee's untitled piece, featuring tear-guard paper, shellac, and graphite, which was a marvelous combination of surfaces, negative space, and value. Also impressive was the freedom of the calligraphic pulp painting, Landscape Narratives from the Beach, by Pamela Paulsrud. A variety of fanciful books by Emily Martin included not only a traditional scroll format but also traditional Eastern hinges and Japanese paper, in The House Detective. The complex and beautiful quilt-like origami pieces by Gloria Zmolek and various lamps showcased this paper's ability to be used as a pliable and decorative medium. Finally, the exhibition included three prominent installations whose sculptural qualities and aesthetics illustrate Asian paper's use in an expressive and more spatial manner. Amanda Degener's Ancestor Balloon greeted visitors at the door of the museum and invited them to write family stories on the books attached to the balloon's basket. Paul Wong's piece, Burning History, included The Emperor's Bed, The Emperor's Boots, and Acupuncture Chart. Constructed of abaca, linen, and cotton papers and including watermarks and solvent transfers, these works evoke a ghostly Chinese culture of the past. Many viewers were startled as they rounded a corner to encounter the light, architectural spaces and texture of Karen Stahlecker's amazing installation, Vortices and Reveries.  Making Waves in the Midwest: The Art of Asian Paper was a snapshot of artistic endeavor, recording the work of people with Midwestern connections who are striving to keep Asian traditions and techniques alive and to make them expressive in innovative ways. In twenty or fifty years the exhibition will be an important document of the coming of age of Asian paper in the Midwest. It may also be seen as an important document of technique in transition and of cross-cultural aesthetic sensitivity. Kate Martinson