The modeling language of folk paper-cutting
"Paper-cutting art belongs to the category of plane modeling. The connected lines, highly summarized, highly concise hollow shapes and bright colors form the unique artistic temperament of paper-cutting. The reason for these characteristics is due to the development of ancient paper-cutting art. The creative group is mainly the working class among the people. Limited by the production tools and materials, they can only use the simplest way to depict objects." Over a long period of time, folk paper-cutting has formed the characteristics of highly generalized and concise artistic modeling.
Paper cutting is formed by the shadow or the outline of the shadow of an object. In terms of shape, paper-cut art should belong to a category of graphic arts. The painting structure of paper-cut art is similar to the modeling characteristics of ancient totems. It is a modeling activity that combines lines and surfaces, and has the characteristics of painting and symbols in terms of formal expression. There are two main techniques: negative engraving and positive engraving: one is to cut off the paper area outside the "yang shape" (or positive shape), leaving the paper pattern within the lines; the other is to cut out the "yin shape" (or positive shape). Blank the paper inside the shape and leave the area outside the shape, which is the intaglio engraving. The most important thing is that the two paper-cutting methods must require the continuous shape of the paper.
1. Highly generalized styling
Folk paper-cutting is a two-dimensional visual language that follows the inner essence of perfection, beauty, beauty, and harmony in shape. It is an important content in the ideology of the Chinese nation. Paper-cutting is composed of tools and materials. Its shape is general and its lines are bright and natural. This results in the different observation and expression of life of each paper-cutting person, with clear personality characteristics and distinctive style. Just like the characters or animal images in primitive artistic modeling, from a visual analysis: the body and face are mainly front and side, and the limbs, eyes and ears are all displayed in the picture. In terms of paper-cutting techniques, the lines of Yang pattern paper-cut works are connected to each other, while the lines of Yin pattern paper-cut works are disconnected from each other, forming an important feature of the continuous shape structure of paper-cut art works. Although exaggerated and deformed techniques are used in modeling, the formal beauty of pattern composition still follows some rules, such as symmetry and balance, repetition and change, etc. You can arrange the sun, moon, clouds, birds in the sky and trees, houses, people, and animals on the ground at the same timeIn the same scene, the artistic shape is exaggerated and concise, full of rhythm and rhythm. The art of paper-cutting not only pursues physical resemblance, but also emphasizes spiritual resemblance. In the creation of cut-out works, the author often starts from the characteristics of the object, extracts the specific image and external form of the objects essence and emotional color, and completes the outline production method through cutting and carving to depict the vivid expression of the object. Pursue perfection in visual styling.
2. Strong color contrast
Red and black are the two most commonly used colors for paper-cutting. In some places, bright red, bright green, etc. are used for paper-cutting. This is mainly due to the limitation of the color of the paper itself. In the early days, the colors used in paper-cut patterns were relatively simple, mainly red. With the improvement of peoples living standards and the renewal of concepts, paper-cutters continued to change their techniques and materials, and two-color, multi-color, color combination, and spelling appeared. The various forms of color present bright and strong color techniques and material characteristics. For example, the colorful paper-cuts in Hong, Huang, Foshan, Guangdong, Yan'an and Yulin in northern Shaanxi are known as "the art of blooming flowers". Yu County, Hebei Province mainly uses colors such as green and green to express hot, intense and bright and eye-catching artistic effects, a breakthrough in stylization. The bright colors of paper-cutting have also subverted the unique folk art tradition of paper-cutting, causing the folk paper-cutting art to change from a single red color to a myriad of changes, from simple cutting to baking, fumigating, carving, sticking and dyeing, etc. Techniques gradually transcend the limitations of folk art and move closer to new art forms.
3. Simple and expressive totem shape
The people and things represented in paper-cut art are things and totems that transcend time and space. Their shapes are not complicated, but are characterized by concise summary, revealing a unique fresh and simple atmosphere. For example, the totem tiger, which protects clan groups in traditional culture, is an amulet used by rural women to protect their dolls and play with them. There is the short-legged and chubby "Aihu", and there is the "Xiashanhu" with a ferocious appearance that kicks back and forth in April to hold the house. The bun doll in Shaanbei art paper-cutting is a totem-like "happy doll" shape, standing frontally in a fertility posture, with the symbols of Pisces and Sheng at its feet. There are also "human-headed fish", "sacred fish bottle" and "baby fish" as symbols of life, which are primitive cultural inheritance with fish, dragon and snake as totem shapes.
4. Image modeling
Folk paper-cutting is a plastic art that is mainly decorative. For example, the pigs head, which symbolizes the concept of life, flowers and plants, animals and the gods of nature, replaces the two dragons playing with beads; peonies decorate the roof, replacing the lifeless tiles; lotus flowers decorate the fish, replacing the lifeless fish scales; flowers and plants Animal patterns, decorated with human clothing patterns and animal fur, etc., these bold and unconstrained transformations in shape are the characteristics of paper-cutting. It can be seen that decorative deformation is not a unique feature of traditional Chinese art. There are also decorative deformations in Western contemporary art schools. For example, the decorative deformation of the Fauvist Matisse nude dance is a decorative deformation of the natural structure of the human body and the decoration of the characters' clothing. Deformation. The deformation of Braques figures by French cubist painter (GBraque) Georges Braque is also a decorative deformation of the concept of light and dark block shapes. But in the same transformation and reconstruction, there are still differences between the East and the West. In Western paintings, there is no expression technique similar to using the moon to decorate eyes, lotus flowers to decorate fish, small animals in the belly of animals, and moon flowers to decorate the roof of a house. Therefore, the uniqueness of Chinese paper-cutting art is not the decorative deformation of inanimate natural forms, but the decorative deformation of forms with living concepts.
