-common sense of folk art (3)

paper cutting

printing block

Paper cutting, also known as paper carving, window cutting or painting cutting. The difference is that when creating, some use scissors, some use carving knives, and some use micro-carving laser cutting machines. Although the tools are different, the artistic works created are basically the same, which is collectively called paper-cutting. Paper-cutting is a kind of hollow art, which gives people a sense of emptiness and artistic enjoyment visually. Its carrier can be paper, gold foil, silver foil, bark, leaves, cloth, leather and other sheet materials.

brief introduction

On May 20th, 2006, the paper-cut art heritage was approved by the State Council to be included in the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage list. On June 5, 2007, Zhou Zhaoming, a disciple of Wang Laoshang in Yuxian County, Hebei Province, was recognized as the representative inheritor of this cultural heritage project by the Ministry of Culture and included in the list of 226 representative inheritors of the first batch of national intangible cultural heritage projects. June 8, 2007, Shanghai Li

The world's largest paper-cut tiger

Master Paper-cutting Studio won the first Cultural Heritage Day Award from the Ministry of Culture.

On September 6th, 2008, Li Xiang Style Paper-cut Studio was formally established. On the basis of inheriting the traditional Shandong folk paper-cutting, the works were kneaded into exquisite and graceful southern paper-cutting, and the portrait paper-cutting was innovated and practiced.

On September 30, 2009, Chinese paper-cutting was approved by the Intergovernmental Committee for the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage of UNESCO and included in the list of the fourth batch of representatives of intangible cultural heritage of mankind.

20 10 is the year of the tiger. A single tiger paper-cut created by Mr. Zhu Weizhen, president of Zhejiang Tonglu Paper-cut Association, is 10 meter wide and 7 meters high. This work was certified on the spot and selected as the largest single tiger paper-cut in world record association, China, creating another world-class paper-cut art, adding peace and joy to the arrival of the Year of the Tiger.

history

China folk paper-cut handicraft art has its own formation and development process. China's paper was invented in the Western Han Dynasty (6th century BC), before which the art of paper-cutting could not have appeared. But at that time, people used thin materials to make handicrafts by hollowing out and carving, but it was popular long before paper appeared, that is, cutting gold foil, leather, silk and even leaves by carving, carving, picking, carving and cutting. According to Records of the Historian Jiantong Di Feng, in the early years of the Western Zhou Dynasty, a king claimed the title of king, and cut a plane tree leaf into a "reed" and gave it to his younger brother, who was named Hou in the Tang Dynasty. During the Warring States period, leather carvings (one of the cultural relics unearthed from Chu Tomb No.1 in Jiangling, Hubei Province) and silver foil carvings (one of the cultural relics unearthed from the Warring States site in Guwei Village, Huixian County, Henan Province) were all demolished together with paper-cutting, and their appearance laid a certain foundation for the formation of folk paper-cutting. The earliest paper-cutting works in China were discovered in 1967, when China archaeologists discovered two paper-cuts with flowers of the Northern Dynasties in Astana near Gaochang site in Turpan Basin, Xinjiang. They use hemp paper, all of which are folded sacrificial paper-cuts. Their discovery provides physical evidence for the formation of Chinese paper-cutting.

The history of paper-cutting handicraft art, that is, paper-cutting in the true sense, should begin with the appearance of paper. The invention of paper in Han Dynasty promoted the appearance, development and popularization of paper-cutting. Paper is a moldy material. In the southeast of China, the climate is humid, coupled with rainy days in May and June every year, paper products will rot over time, and folk paper-cutting is a popular thing. People don't keep it as a treasure, and they can cut it if it is broken. In the northwest of China, the weather is dry, the climate is dry, and the paper is not easy to get moldy, which may also be one of the important reasons for the discovery of paper-cutting in the Northern Dynasties in Turpan, Xinjiang.

Paper-cut in Tang Dynasty-Paper Flower

Paper-cutting has been in a period of great development in the Tang Dynasty. In Du Fu's poem, there is a saying that "warm water trapped my feet, and paper-cutting called back my soul", and the custom of paper-cutting called back my soul had spread among the people at that time. The paper-cut in the Tang Dynasty, which is now in the British Museum, shows that the paper-cut at that time had a high level of manual art and a complete picture composition, expressing an ideal realm between heaven and earth. Popular in the Tang Dynasty, the carved patterns of flowers and trees have the characteristics of paper-cutting. For example, the pattern of "Duiyang" in Masakura Hospital in Japan is a typical artistic expression of hand cutting. In the Tang dynasty, there was also block printing made of paper-cutting. People carved it into wax paper with thick paper, and then printed the dye on the cloth to form beautiful patterns.

In Song Dynasty, the paper industry was mature and there were many kinds of paper products, which provided conditions for the popularization of paper-cutting. For example, it can be used as "fireworks" for folk gifts, "window grilles" pasted on windows, or as decorations for lanterns and teacups. The application scope of folk paper-cutting in Song Dynasty gradually expanded. Jiangxi Jizhou Kiln uses paper-cut as the pattern of ceramics, and makes the ceramics more exquisite by glazing and firing. Folk also use paper-cutting to carve figures in shadow play with the skins of animals such as donkeys, cows, horses and sheep. The engraved version made by the blue printed cloth technology is carved into patterns with oil cardboard, and the scratched patterns are made by paper-cutting technology, which is divided into yin and yang engraving. Long lines should be cut off to distinguish facts from truth.

During the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the paper-cut handicraft art matured and reached its peak. Folk paper-cut handicraft art has a wider range of applications, such as flower decorations on folk lanterns, decorative patterns on fans and embroidery patterns, all of which are reprocessed with paper-cut as decoration. What's more, Chinese people often use paper-cutting as decoration to beautify the home environment, such as door battlements, window grilles, cabinet flowers, wedding flowers and ceiling flowers, which are all used to decorate doors, windows and rooms. In addition to the paper-binding pattern craftsmen who appeared after the Southern Song Dynasty, the most basic team of folk paper-cutting handicrafts in China is rural women. Female red is an important symbol of the perfection of traditional women in China. As a compulsory skill of needlework, paper-cutting has become a skill that girls have to learn since childhood. They want to learn paper-cut patterns from their predecessors or sisters, cut out new patterns through cutting, re-cutting, painting and cutting, and describe the natural scenery they are familiar with and love, the scenery of fish, insects, birds, beasts, flowers, trees, pavilions and bridges, and finally reach the realm of their will.

China folk paper-cut handicraft art, like an ivy, is ancient and evergreen, and its unique popularity, practicality and aesthetics have become a symbolic meaning that meets people's psychological needs.

history

Paper-cut art has a long history, which is widely recorded in ancient poetry classics:

1. Don? In the poems left by Cui Daorong, there is such a sentence: "If you want to cut Yichun characters, you can cut scissors for those who are cold in spring."

paper cutting

Zi ",which is now paper-cutting.

2. Don? Li Shangyin's poem Manyue says: "Carve gold to gain popularity, cut the ribbon to promote the people." Ribbon-cutting is also paper-cutting.

3. Don? Duan's Youyang Miscellaneous Notes said: "On the day of beginning of spring, the home of literati, paper-cutting is a kind of Xiaoping, which is hung on the head of a beautiful woman or decorated under a flower, and cut into a spring butterfly, which wins the drama with spring.

4. Southern Song Dynasty? Zhou Mi's Miscellaneous Notes on Poetry in Zia Hall wrote: "Therefore, everyone has a problem, and those who cut all kinds of colorful patterns are extremely exquisite. And those who are more ambitious in the Central Plains will be professional every time they cut their calligraphy. Later, some teenagers have been able to cut words and flowers on their sleeves very accurately. " That is, "Kaifeng" mansion, and "pattern paper-cutting" naturally refers to "paper-cutting".

5. Zhiyun, Jiande County, Guangzhou: "Lin Wenhui, the word outline is neat, the paper-cut is the word, and the tail is not bad. The room is decorated into a shaft, and it is easy to pay for self-sufficiency, which is called cutting."

6. Song? In Yang Wanli's anthology, there is also a paragraph that mentions a Taoist priest cutting characters, saying that he "takes the poems of Yishan over the years, cuts characters with green paper, and is realistic in composition."

create

First, the composition method

The basic material of paper-cutting is flat paper, the basic units are lines and blocks, and the basic language symbols are decorative points, lines and surfaces. In addition, due to the limitation of materials, paper-cutting is not good at expressing multi-level and complex picture content, light and shadow effects, and the volume, depth and fluctuation of objects and images. Therefore, we have to foster strengths and avoid weaknesses, and adopt head-up composition in composition, that is, change objects and scenes from three-dimensional images into two-dimensional plane images, boldly choose and choose materials, and simplify them.

Paper-cutting-dragon lining, in order to enhance the expressive force of the works, uses the plane view to express the objects of the world, which determines the planarization characteristics of paper-cutting, that is, any image creation exists in a specific visual plane. Folk paper-cutting adopts an expanded way of thinking, which is very arbitrary. Under the scissors of the creator, paper-cutting has become a natural and bold creation, without volume, space, perspective and proportion, relying on experience and spirituality. In order to express their ideas, creators can break the objective laws of nature and space restrictions and put objects in different time and space on the same plane. This kind of static planarization can represent three-dimensional, four-dimensional or even multi-dimensional space, and constantly depict the world in your heart through dynamic thinking. Folk paper-cutting is to make a fuss about the limitations of paper, gallop freely in the limitations, make the impossible possible and simplify the three-dimensional world into a two-dimensional space. Infinite space and infinite complex shapes are placed on a plane, and the flat outline has become the modeling basis of paper-cutting. Therefore, the unique expressive force of folk paper-cutting is realized on the basis of the thorough concept of two-dimensional space. Paper-cut creators play their true and pure artistic nature, break the shackles of the objective world, and express their artistic objects from multiple angles, directions and levels.

This composition thinking of folk paper-cut is not limited by living customs and subject matter content, and creatively organizes a number of images to make them coherent, comparative and foil. This expression technique of flattening and taking things enhances the subjectivity, time and space, three-dimensional sense and comprehensiveness of paper-cutting, and its ultimate goal is to pursue the integrity of modeling. Perfect psychology is the foundation of all this. In folk paper-cutting, the foreground and background of the paper-cut object appear on the same plane, and the object and the image do not overlap each other, so that we can see both the front object and the back object completely, thus showing a strong decorative style. The creator broke the obstacles of realization out of pure thoughts, feelings and aesthetic stereotypes, and fully expressed the image with the method of unity of form and spirit. For paper-cutting, the back, top, bottom or interior of the object can't be seen, but it has an inner feeling. Invisibility is reasonable, but it is unreasonable not to cut it out.

In addition, the structure and expression of folk paper-cutting is not a simulation or representation of a static visual image from a fixed angle, but a dynamic dialectics that fully integrates sensibility and rationality. China folk art does not pursue the depth of perspective, but has an aesthetic recognition of "seeing more and seeing more". Folk paper-cutting also embodies this aesthetic concept, which embodies the whole picture of things in two-dimensional space.

Scattered perspective paper-cut works

The composition form of folk paper-cut completely abandons the concept of "focus" perspective painting, which not only breaks the limitation of time, space and proportion, but also completely breaks away from the specific position of natural scenery, unifying the picture with primary and secondary images, symmetry and balance formal rules. At the same time, folk paper-cutting also has the method of scattered composition, that is, different materials are independent of each other and do not cross each other, and even each object has its own perspective, so the author can arrange these different materials in the same plane reasonably. This is unreasonable in reality, but it is naturally reasonable in paper-cutting.

Folk paper-cutting is not bound by the inherent shape of natural objects, and is not satisfied with the simulation of appearance, but expresses all objects on the plane. At the same time, in order to pursue the integrity and comprehensiveness of modeling, different scenes in different time and space are described, which fully embodies the creator's wonderful ingenuity and aesthetic desire to pursue perfection.

2. Modeling method

Folk paper-cutting comes from life, and the creators of paper-cutting express their understanding of life and nature in this special art form, which is an expression of inner feelings. Therefore, this kind of artistic expression focuses on similarity rather than similarity. At the same time, due to the limitation of paper-cutting technology, it is not appropriate to adopt a completely realistic approach, but only highlight the outline characteristics of the object, and use deformation and exaggeration to highlight the characteristics of the object. Therefore, exaggeration and distortion have become one of the most commonly used expression languages in paper-cutting. Exaggerated deformation is the result of human creative labor and the crystallization of wisdom. Whether it is the painted pottery decoration of Yangshao culture, the graphic patterns of bronzes in Yin and Shang dynasties, or the stone carving art in Qin and Han dynasties, it shows its eternal artistic charm with the beauty of artistic exaggeration. As the direct carrier of primitive art, paper-cutting has outstanding performance in exaggeration and deformation. The performance content of folk paper-cutting mostly comes from real life, reflecting the life and things around working people, but not just

Niannianyou fish paper-cut

It is a simple and intuitive simulation of the image to be expressed in his works, but it goes beyond the objective expression of reality and changes the standard of the usual natural prototype by exaggerating and deforming the nature and shape of the object.

The creators of folk paper-cutting regard paper-cutting as a part of life, and the yearning for a better life and the worship of ancient totems are the main contents of folk paper-cutting. These themes full of folk customs, beliefs and philosophies can only be expressed subjectively, which makes the image of paper-cut arbitrary, and the depiction of inner images can not be separated from exaggerated artistic language.

The exaggeration of folk paper-cut modeling is a systematic and standardized process of complicated content, rather than an objective description of nature. Therefore, the image in paper-cut is more prominent and eye-catching than the prototype. This is determined by the big historical and cultural background and living environment, and comes from the rich life. At the same time, the processing and simplification of living raw materials is also the basis of folk paper-cut modeling. Eliminating non-essential things, highlighting the parts with characteristics and individuality, and turning complexity into simple art re-creation are the exaggeration of folk paper-cutting. Exaggeration emphasizes the characteristics of the object on the basis of ellipsis, and expands, shrinks, elongates, thickens and deforms the most special part of the object image to make the image more distinctive and artistic. In many folk paper-cut works, people can only see their eyes in facial modeling, because in people's minds, eyes are the most vivid, so the creators exaggerate people's eyes.

Sawtooth paper cutting

The exaggeration of folk paper-cutting not only embodies the characteristics of the object, but also requires the purpose of decorative beauty, which shows the creator's spiritual pursuit of life, such as ideals and wishes. In order to make the prominent part more clear, concentrated and eye-catching, some decorative patterns are often added to the image to achieve the perfect decorative purpose. The desire for beauty has also become one of the exaggerated contents. When representing a character, the clothes of the character are covered with flowers; When depicting animals, the fur on animals is exaggerated into a whirlpool shape, or patterns are directly added to it, so that the original ordinary image becomes transparent and shows strong decoration. Sawtooth and crescent are common decorative patterns in folk paper-cutting.

The creative process of folk paper-cutting is a process of evolution and deepening from "truth" in real life to "beauty" in art through exaggeration, and it is also a process of the creator's thoughts, feelings, aesthetic psychology and pursuit and embodiment of beauty. Through long-term observation and understanding of life and long-term practice, the creator understands the law of paper-cutting, and freely combines balanced, uneven, dense and irregular lines to form wonderful rhythm and rhythm, which adds interest and enriches the appeal of the image.

Three, paper-cutting tools and instructions:

Paper-cutting is not made by machine, but by hand. The common methods are scissors and knife scissors. As the name implies, scissors are scissors. After cutting, paste a few (usually no more than 8) paper-cuts, and finally process the pattern with sharp scissors. Knife scissors first fold the paper into several folds, put it on the soft mixture of ashes and animal fat, and then slowly carve it with a knife. Paper-cutting artists usually hold a knife vertically and process the paper into the desired pattern according to a certain model. Compared with scissors, one advantage of knife scissors is that they can be processed into various paper-cut patterns at one time.

Four, paper-cut carving method:

1. Sculpture

Give priority to lines, keep the lines of modeling, cut off other parts, connect the lines, and keep the shape. Cutting off the outside is called orthomorphism.

Step 2 carve

Based on the block, the lines of the figure are truncated, the lines are broken, and the shape is cut empty, which is called negative shape.

3. Yin and Yang sculpture

Combination of male engraving and female engraving.

Traditional tools and processes

Tools that traditional paper-cutting needs to prepare:

1? scissors

2? pencil

3? cigarette paper

4? Wax tray

5? carver

6? Needle and thread

7? Dye or ink and brush

8? oil lamp

9? iron

10, micro-carving laser cutting machine

Traditional operation flow

1. Printing and dyeing paper-traditional paper-cutting artists in China will dye the paper with traditional China red with a brush.

2. Hot stamping-After the dyed rice paper is dried, wrinkles usually appear. Use a hot iron to iron wrinkled paper.

3. Make a template-the image of the butterfly below is very simple. Draw the outline of a butterfly with a pencil.

Butterfly paper cutting

4. Smoked template-Take a piece of paper dyed and prepared by Zhang Gang, wet it, and then press the template on it. Such that one side of the template faces the kerosene lamp. The template and the place where the template is not covered will be blackened by kerosene lamps. When the paper is completely dry, take off the template, and then leave the place smoked by kerosene lamps and the blank covered by the template that has not been found. This is a paper-cut model.

5. Stacking-put the paper-cut samples on a small pile of paper dyed with lewd colors, about 20 pieces, and then seal them together.

6. Paper-cutting-Paper-cutting artists in China usually choose scissors with sharp long handles, which have strong fracture toughness. Use it to cut the one with visible graphics, so that other papers can be cut at the same time. The first is to cut the pattern inside, and the second is to cut the edge outside.

Among all kinds of scissors in China, Yuxian paper-cutting is unique. It is a stippling paper-cut with negative engraving as the main part and positive engraving as the auxiliary part. Its technological process can be divided into the following six processes.

1. Painting: Designers draw patterns according to their own ideas or customers' requirements, which is generally called painting.

Second, the order: sort the painted looks on the rice paper (generally fifty pieces of rice paper at a time are appropriate), and divide them into small pieces with scissors according to the size of the looks.

3. Soak: soak the ordered goods in water and take them out, then squeeze out the water contained in them and dry them in the sun.

4. Carving: Put the soaked goods on the wax board and carve them according to the requirements of the pattern.

5. Dyeing: Coloring the carved products. Raw material coloring and dust removal; Tools are a writing brush and a clean newspaper.

6. Packaging: The products produced by the above five processes are packaged in the form of paper plastic or books, picture frames, gold and platinum.

Modern paper cutting

[1] Laser paper-cutting is to cut paper with [2] micro-carving laser cutting machine to form exquisite works of art. Laser paper-cutting is a new product of modern technology, but its finished product is not inferior to that of traditional artists for decades. At the same time, the use of laser paper-cutting has more advantages in time.

increase

Paper-cut mounting generally adopts the following forms:

1. Frame type

Generally, it is ok to sell photos and pictures in the market. When installing paper-cut, it is necessary to stick a small amount of white latex around the paper-cut on the supporting paper, otherwise the paper-cut will often fall or move after the hanger, which is uneven. The color choice of paper holder mainly depends on the color of paper-cutting, which plays a role in foil paper-cutting. For example, when paper-cutting is heavy color, the backing paper should be light color, and when paper-cutting is light color or white, the backing paper should be heavy color.

2. Paperboard installation

Cardboard installation can be divided into plane installation and vertical installation. When plane mounting, all the transparent latex used for paper-cutting is stuck on the pre-designed cardboard.

Yuanyang paper-cut

Yes Three-dimensional mounting is to divide the paper tray into two layers, the middle of paper-cut is fixed with transparent sheet, and the outside is pasted with transparent sheet or cellophane. This mounting gives people a feeling of three-dimensional space.

3. Installation of reels

Scroll is the mounting form of Chinese painting. It is solemn and generous, hanging in the room with great verve and oriental artistic characteristics, which is naturally a superior choice for mounting paper-cuts. If you ask the calligrapher to inscribe and seal the mounted scroll, it can be compared with the central axis painting of China. Mounting scrolls are more expensive than picture frames, and mounting technology is difficult, but the artistic effect is quite good.

4. Glue pressing and installation

With the development of modern industry, there are more and more transparent chemical materials, such as transparent resin glue, adding a little coagulant, laying paper-cut on glass, pouring the prepared glue on paper-cut, then laying it on the glue with cellophane stretched on a wooden frame, flattening it with a rubber roller, and drying it under 400-degree light. This method is very beautiful and can be preserved permanently, but the technology is complicated. If the temperature is not well controlled during prayer, cellophane will be easily burnt and invalid. This mounting effect is similar to photo pasting.

Symbolic significance of paper-cutting

Folk paper-cutting is good at combining all kinds of objects and images to produce ideal and beautiful effects. No matter whether one or more image combinations are used, they are modeled by "image implication" and "meaning conformation", rather than by objective natural forms. At the same time, they are also good at using metaphor and combining the agreed images to create various mascots to express their psychology. Pursuing auspicious metaphor has become one of the ultimate goals of image combination.

The main reason why folk paper-cutting can be widely spread for a long time is the performance function of accepting blessings and welcoming auspicious events. The geographical closure and cultural limitations, as well as the intrusion of adversity such as natural disasters, aroused people's desire for a happy life. People pray for ample food and clothing, prosperity, health and longevity, and all the best. This simple wish is conveyed through paper-cutting. Folk paper-cut "deer and crane in the same spring" is a traditional folk theme pattern. According to records, cranes are "blackbirds", and blackbirds are the general term for "migratory birds". In folk culture, deer is called "waiting for animals" and cranes are called "migratory birds". Deer and cranes are symbols of spring and life. Folk deer and Lu are homophonic, and cranes are regarded as longevity birds, so the combination of deer and cranes means longevity. In the case of relatively low productivity of civil society, human labor has become the guarantee of survival, and it is an eternal ideal for people to get rid of the pain of birth, illness and death. Folk paper-cutting expresses the desire for life in various forms, protects life, praises life, shows the joy of life, and the worship of life becomes people's sincere belief. "Eagle stepping on a rabbit" is one of the favorite flowers in the folk bridal chamber, and it is also a traditional pattern, which is widely circulated among the people. Eagle means "Yang", just like chickens, birds and crows. In folk deification, the sun is called a "three-legged bird" and people call it a "crow". Rabbit means "Yin". People call the moon a rabbit. The eagle stepping on the rabbit is a metaphor for the love between men and women, which embodies the theme of reproductive worship. Sitting and enjoying flowers, which are common in folk paper-cutting, express the worship and pursuit of life in a metaphorical way. Paper-cut works with the theme of "buckle bowl", "catch bun doll" and "fish lotus" abound, and the list is endless.

The concept of praying for life endows folk paper-cutting with inexhaustible blood and vigorous vitality. When the creators of paper-cutting treat wealth and happiness, they always have firm and optimistic beliefs and endless hopes. Paper-cutting is the external presentation of their ideal of creating a better life. Folk paper-cutting integrates these auspicious meanings into various ethnic activities to meet the spiritual and psychological needs of the general public, support human survival and enrich human life. In folk paper-cutting, we can see many pictures reflecting production and life. The biggest similarity between these works is that they exaggerate the main body, such as big fish, big pepper, big silkworm and big grain. Through paper-cutting, people invented a beautiful image; Comfort one's soul, publicize one's great creativity in conquering nature, establish one's ideal world, affirm one's strength, and inspire people's courage to continue their struggle.

The expression language of folk paper-cutting is not a simple and straightforward description, but a kind of token information, which borrows the conventional concept image to pin people's longing for a better life and expectation for good luck and happiness. All kinds of simple and grotesque paper-cut shapes contain frankness and beauty, which come from the original visual thinking mode and folk aesthetic concept; It comes from a unique modeling system, which consists of program system and image statue; The original philosophy and worldview from China are even more touching.