Among Shaanxi folk paper-cut patterns, paper-cut patterns are suitable for paper-cut graphics.
In Shaanxi, especially in northern Shaanxi, many people live in cave dwellings. People use thin-edge wood as brackets for doors and windows at the entrance of a large area, and paper the inside side of the house with white paper, in order to have a better of lighting. However, in order to bear the force evenly, the bracket is divided into many panes. There are many shapes of the window panes themselves, mainly square and diamond shapes. Shaanxi paper-cutting is dependent on the specific living environment and cultural background of the people. In this aspect, Shaanxi paper-cutting can better reflect the precise practical characteristics. In order to be suitable for light transmission, Shaanxi folk paper-cutting emphasizes the awareness of hollowing out, thus forming an aesthetic effect of virtuality and reality, yin and yang scattered. Tuanhua is affixed to the roof of the cave dwelling, visually giving people a sense of radiating from the center to the surroundings, which is more decorative. The door letter must withstand the test of wind blowing, and hollowing out can reduce the intensity of the wind, which requires the connection between lines and a balanced density. When it is used as a kang surround, it is best to cut as few fragments as possible to prevent the fragments from falling off during friction.
For the purpose of practical material life, the composition of paper-cutting is "adapted to the shape" on this basis. This is the most widely used modeling method of traditional paper-cutting in Shaanxi. The constraints of "limited form" do not seem to imprison the creators ability. On the contrary, in a limited space, they create their inner world with extremely rich imagination. "Conforming to shape" has derived countless artistic shapes. The following is an analysis from two aspects to better understand the formal composition of "conformity" in paper-cut modeling.
We found that no matter how small the paper-cut pattern is, the images used are holistic and not partially displayed like in Western modeling techniques. The reason is the influence of the psychological foundation of "Shangquan" in Chinese culture. They believe that blocking images is disrespectful to the "gods". Therefore, the pattern should be changed as much as possible within the limited space, and the overall shape should fit within the frame to gain inner satisfaction. "Conforming to the shape" not only decorates the house, but as the basic style of folk modeling, it is also used in embroidery, such asChildrens bibs, womens shoulders, and embroidered pieces on both ends of pillows, etc. No matter where you are in Shaanxi, especially when walking in the countryside in winter, you will find that many childrens shoes and jacket sleeves have tiger shapes. We know very well that its meaning is to hope that the child will be as strong as a tiger. But why the tiger shape is used in these two positions, after observation, the conclusion is that it is "shaped according to the shape." Due to the cold weather in the north, in order to prevent children from freezing their hands, people in Shaanxi extended the upper part of the sleeves of cotton-padded jackets into a semi-arc shape and sewed them together to form a three-dimensional semicircle. In this way, the childs hands are just wrapped in this semicircle to keep warm. While being practical, it also requires perfect styling. The semicircular part just matches the shape of the tigers head, and with the addition of two ears, a vivid little tiger is formed. The shape of childrens cotton shoes can further illustrate this problem. Since the cotton shoes for children in the countryside are all made at home, we know that we need to have shoe samples before making shoes. Before the shoe pattern was made, it was all flat. The upper was made into a tiger head shape, the shoe body was made into a tiger body, connected to the sole, and a small tail was added behind the tiger to become a three-dimensional small tiger. The tail not only plays a decorative role, but also plays a convenient role for children to carry shoes. The "conformity" of paper-cut modeling is not only limited to two-dimensional graphics, but also enriches the expression of three-dimensional visual space.
The common "round flower" shape is an important expression in the shape of Shaanxi paper-cutting. The round shape not only gives people a sense of radiation, but more importantly, it symbolizes "a harmony" in peoples hearts. The theme of "snake and rabbit", which means auspiciousness and happiness, is often put into the circular shape, and the "circling" and "whirlwind" are used to achieve a good integration of form and meaning. There is also a group of flowers in the work "Bangs Playing with Golden Toad" by Zhang Linzhao from Fuxian County, Shaanxi Province. The vividness of this work is that the edges break the previous fixed symbolic decoration mode. The surrounding water patterns gradually turn into zigzag patterns, and the movement of the copper coins interacts with the shapes of the bangs and golden toad in the middle, making the whole picture not only full but also full of movement. In short, Shaanxi folk paper-cut creators are very good at turning passivity into initiative, turning limited space into a stage to show their charm.
