Traditional decorative art is one of the forms of art in the history of human development and the most common form of art in human society. It is not a purely artistic phenomenon. It is first and foremost a creative activity of human creation for survival. No matter in which era, where, or during each period of human development, traditional decorative art can often reflect the culture of the era and Art level.
As the bell of the new century rings, humans have also stepped into a new beginning in the field of design. In China, after the reform and opening up, people adopt the attitude of “taking in†in all areas of design. Basic inherited and inherited modern design concepts and methods beginning with Bauhaus, functionalist concepts, constructivist styles, point-and-face geometry, and simple and abstract styles. These are widely used in various fields of design and have quickly become the mainstream of China's design industry. When a seat with a steel frame, a glass curtain wall, modern buildings with icy faces rise in the cities where we live, when we are surrounded by more and more high-tech products with functional features, While sighing that he has created a brand new modern life, he suddenly felt that he was starting to get lost in such a world of metal and cement.
With the development of modern science and technology, the application of network technology has eliminated the geographical boundaries in which we live. The trend of "globalization" also affects our country's design field. Design languages ​​and design styles are becoming increasingly international. And the multicultural system created by mankind is increasingly being eroded by “globalizationâ€. What we have missed in the new design concept is what causes us to start worrying and what makes us feel guilty on the way forward. . That is a sense of loss that has been overlooked in traditional culture. What makes us not lose ourselves when we shake hands with the world? In the past we lost, ---- that is, our traditional decorative art.
The traditional decorative arts have aroused the attention of the design community. Because the traditional decorative arts originate from life and originate from tradition, they have simple artistic styles such as lacquer painting, ceramics, clay sculpture, batik, and paper cutting, which reflect the essence of national culture. In modern society, it shows its unique vitality. In terms of design, it has strikingly consistent style with modern design. Therefore, traditional decorative art has become a valuable source of inspiration for modern design creation. The use of traditional decorative art in the modern design field, especially in visual communication design, is no accident. This phenomenon has actually formed a kind of cultural compensation.
Although the East and West fine arts are due to two different cultural systems, they have formed different art systems. However, in the sense of aesthetic consciousness, they infiltrate and interact with each other in the process of mutual integration. The modern design of the West and the traditional decorative arts of the East have more striking similarities. It also reflects the value that traditional decorative art can not ignore in modern society.
First, the modern trend of traditional decorative art reflects its artistic value in modern life.
1, simple and general. In the traditional decorative arts, it is the main feature of the natural image of "complicated censorship and simplicity." Such as our country's folk paper-cut, this simple feature is very obvious, the shape of more than a simple and neat appearance, while the model focuses on the performance of its shape and characters or objects, the design tends to be more flat. In traditional decorative patterns in China, there is a circle that changes into a straight line, and the natural form is regularized and geometrized. The characters on the portrait bricks of the Han Dynasty use this method, which is concise and highly generalized. It also has a planar feature. This artistic feature is exactly the same as the concept of modern design. The “less is more†advocated in modern design modeling, and the “purified form†coincides with this feature in traditional decoration.
2, form and order. Emphasis on the sense of form, the traditional decorative arts in the shape is very much emphasis on the "form sense" of the treatment, but also pay attention to the point, line, surface and the relationship between the various forms of processing, is very particular about the arrangement of the sense of order, with weaving patterns as an example, Tapestry, loom is a rhythmic movement, and the woven pattern is rhythmic and continuous. People use this rhythm to change the mechanical rhythm into orderly beauty. In the decoration of the clothes, beast markings, bird feathers and so on are all in this. The Peking opera mask ornament in the traditional decorative arts has an abstract appearance. Here, it is not difficult to find out how the size, gradient, and repetition of its ornamentation are as strikingly similar to the concept of "flat composition" mentioned by modern people. Here you find a lot of "shadow" of constructivism. This also illustrates the consistency of traditional aesthetics and modern design in the pursuit of formal aesthetics.
3, symbol and abstraction. The pursuit of abstract modeling seems to be the patent of modern art in the 20th century. However, in the traditional decorative art, the predecessors have been good at using abstract art language to express their feelings about the objective world. The early art image of rock murals was abstract. Human forms and abstract animal shapes are not difficult to find abstract traces. Symbolicity is also one of the key points of modern design. The symbolic treatment of traditional decorative art is similar to modern design. For example, the ancient fish plate and the symbol of “Yu†are more than a year, and the logo in modern design is often used. Symbolizes the intent. This is significant for modern visual communication design.
Second, the traditional social value of decorative arts.
The above lists only some of the traditional decorative arts' blend of modern design in terms of form and style, but its more important value is also reflected in the profound connotation that is rooted in the national art, that is, the traditional decorative arts in modern society. The cultural value. It is rooted in the heritage of traditional culture and is related to people’s lives. With the development of modern science and technology, the closure of the region gradually disappeared and the design language became increasingly internationalized. This internationalization, which tends to blend the ethnic cultures of many countries, has enabled the national art to receive more and more attention from people to the traditional decorative arts. Developed. Without the integration of the unique design styles of the nationalities of various countries, without the eager attention of people, the modern design style will become a passive water. Chinese traditional culture In social life, whether in ancient or modern times, people advocate peace, emphasis on tradition, emphasis on the main lifestyle, and recognition of local culture is sometimes much higher than that of foreign culture. Modern design intentions are conveyed through the visual, in order to arouse people's attention and resonance. First of all, we must design and target people's unique cultural psychology of different cultural backgrounds to make their design styles unrestricted, so as to be accepted by the public. In the sense of aesthetic consciousness, different ethnic cultures also lead to different popular psychological esthetic orientations and thinking tendencies, and thus become an experience passed down from generation to generation. For example, the image application of Chinese traditional patterns "dragon" and "phoenix" is a symbol of the Chinese nation's unique temperament, which is in line with the Chinese people's psychology of love of traditional culture, thus affecting their aesthetic consciousness.
Third, the traditional decorative arts have the humanistic value.
In modern design, taking the advertising packaging design industry as an example, many designers have taken into account the aesthetic psychology of the Chinese people and used the symbolic graphics such as “Magpies†and “Catfish†in Chinese traditional decorative arts to apply the design. Through this image, emotional appeal is reached in the public's cultural psychology. Another example is the use of images such as “knots†and “lions†in posters for posters to make Chinese people feel intimate and close at the level of their national cultural psychology, and to make extensive use of time-tested results. It can be seen that traditional decorative arts are of great significance in modern design. It originated from traditional cultural values ​​and was an important part of the accumulation and accumulation of Chinese civilization for thousands of years. At the same time, it has profound humanities and folk customs. Traditional decorative arts such as pottery, lacquer painting, paper cutting, and embroidery are closely related to people's lives. In these works, there is a rich humanistic connotation. For Chinese people, this kind of meaning is specific. The audience's familiarity and acceptance of these images is not something that can be replaced, but the information and content conveyed by them can be Let the audience immediately understand and achieve the ultimate goal of design. The diversity of traditional decorative arts also provides rich visual languages ​​for modern design. Each of the different decorative arts is a specific symbolic factor that reflects both the humanistic consciousness and the humanistic spirit. This characteristic makes it a specific design language in modern design.
While we are learning western modern design concepts, we need to integrate the essence of traditional decorative arts, pursue the unity of the Eastern and Western cultures in design, pursue the unification of tradition and modernity, not blindly pursue westernization, and be able to perform in modern design. The traditional essence of the Chinese nation has also made the design work more persuasive and “exquisite†where it is our long-term goal. The traditional decorative arts in the field of modern design, the value of modern society far exceeds our own design works.
Author: Wu Yi Zhi
Source: Design Online