In Shaanxi traditional folk paper-cutting, "Xintianyou" is used to develop the composition and modeling method
The composition method of modern art design pays attention to the mastery of the rules of formal beauty. This is the contribution of Western art theory, which requires reasonable layout arrangements to achieve visual "harmony." Due to the indoctrination of this law, our inherent understanding of "reasonable" composition relationships has been formed. This understanding is based on "conformity to visual principles". If it is said that "existence means reasonableness", then the "reasonableness" of the composition of traditional Shaanxi paper-cutting is based on the inner emotional needs of local humans.
Mr. Lu Shengzhong called this modeling method the "Xintianyou" technique in his article "An Overview of Folk Paper-cutting". "Xintianyou" is a folk song format popular in the border areas of Shaanxi, Gansu and Ningxia. It has a simple form and melody. It is beautiful and convenient for working people to sing impromptu in the mountains and fields. The singing can "travel with faith in the sky", hence its name. This modeling method often starts around the theme image of the picture, and unfolds the picture as the thinking develops, just like singing "Xintianyou" on the empty northern Shaanxi plateau. There is no need to arrange it in advance, as long as the passion is aroused, the lyrics are like It pours out like spring water, which can best reveal the true and changing emotions.
Shaanxi folk paper-cutting uses the song "Xintianyou" to express emotions, which can perfectly embody this modeling method. For example, the paper-cut "Yellow River People" by farmers in Yanchuan County, Shaanxi Province shows the living conditions of the people living on the banks of the Yellow River. There is a dragon shape at the top of the picture. In addition to auspicious metaphors in Shaanxis traditional shapes, dragons also represent water in image. There is a record in "Qiao Gong Ji": "The sky changes, fire is circled, mountains are marked, water is dragon, birds, beasts and snakes, and the positions of the four seasons and five colors are marked, which is called cleverness. All luxurious things will be described later. Su Gong.") Underneath the main body is the image of a dragon, what is shown is the life scene of the people on the bank of the Yellow River. NoThere are only human figures, but more of animal images. Sheep herding is a legacy of nomadic life in northern Shaanxi and represents the unique life style of this riverside area; the young men and women on the left side of the picture enjoy the nourishment of love while grazing; the vivid and powerful donkeys at the bottom are a symbol of farmers' daily life. It is an important labor tool and means of transportation; the jumping and lively image of the dog on the right end adds a vivid aspect to the picture. The entire picture diagnoses and interprets the happy life of people on the banks of the Yellow River from multiple angles. Each scene is different from each other and affects each other. The image and color of life are shown in the form of "you". In terms of picture processing, the size of the image is clearly prioritized, breaking the conventional rules of perspective. The combination of various perspective methods not only does not cause absurd results, but adds a lot of interest to the picture.
Another paper-cut by Yijun, Shaanxi ((Blowing Xiao) is also a very interesting work. The protagonist of the picture is a girl sitting cross-legged and playing Xiao. Out of the "seeking perfection" psychology of folk art, the author mobilized I imagined that the first supporting role should be the boy who played the flute accompaniment, and then I thought that the beautiful Xiao sound should be savored by a close friend, so I added partners and neighbors, some standing, some sitting, some climbing on the tree, dynamic They are all different, but they all enter the role, and even the birds in the sky fly down to listen. The author spreads the wings of his imagination to fully express the atmosphere of the picture, but ignores the rationality of the prototype of life, the strange, exaggerated and deformed folk The concepts are all reflected in the picture. The styling of the girl playing the flute and the breakthrough of spatial perspective can better reflect the vivid scene.
The above two paper-cut patterns have a common feature, which is that the main image is larger, followed by smaller ones. Although paper-cutting expresses objects on a plane, it can hint at levels and space in the plane through the contrast between the subject image and the object image. It often gives you such a visual experience: when you carefully look at the main image shown in the picture, you feel that the top, bottom, left, and right can rotate around the main image. These are expressed from a self-centered perspective and from a peripheral perspective.
In addition to the expansion and development of the main body in all directions, there is also a kind of composition, which is an all-round composition without subjectivity based on each object to be expressed. This kind of composition seems very messy at first glance, and the key points cannot be seen. But if you slowly browse through the picture, you will find that it has strong atmosphere creation and appeal, and it is a real "swimming" flavor. The following are scenes from "Going to the New Years Market", including riding a donkey to go to the market, killing pigs and sheep, rowing land boats and performing yangko, buying new clothes for children, etc. The viewers can watch and stroll around, and experience the joy of the New Year in the comfortable "tour" Joyful.
The composition method of Shaanxi traditional paper-cut art does not follow the standards of modern "scientific" "laws of beauty". Yet it can spreadThe reason for the thousands of years of time lies in whether it is expanding from the main body to the surroundings or "traveling" in an all-round way without a main body. The foundation of these two composition methods is, on the one hand, the legacy of the ancient view of modeling and composition; on the other hand, it is the result of the "Shangquan" thought of the Han Dynasty, and it is also the expression of emotions from the perspective of oneself.
