Lacquer art inspires modern versions of an ancient craft
By Fei Lai |
March 30, 2013, Saturday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
CHINESE lacquer art - elaborate in workmanship, elegant in appearance, and harmonious in color - is one of the nation's cultural treasures.
"However, the art is shrinking in Shanghai and needs urgent protection," said Wang Shijun, a senior artist in charge of the Qingyun Workshop in Huacao Town.
Wang said he has seen eight companies specializing in lacquer art in Shanghai shut down, one after another. Qingyun Workshop is one of the few survivors.
The workshop is devoted in the revival and protection of lacquer art. Established in 2011, it features an exhibition hall that was expanded to 400 square meters last year.
In May, the workshop will open to the public, free of charge, under the name Shanghai Lacquer Art Museum. It will become an important center for promotion of the ancient art.
Stepping into the workshop, one's eyes are immediately drawn to brightly colored lacquer screens.
"They are all handcrafted," said Wang. "The process is complicated and time-consuming."
Captivating handicraft
The delicate lacquer art on display are certainly captivating. Among the collection, there is a painting entitled "Fahai Temple Mural of the Ming Dynasty."
The piece took Shi Jianping, a master of arts and crafts in Shanghai, one year to complete. Yu Huiping, a master at the Qingyun Workshop, said he is now exploring ways to keep that ancient technical skill from being lost forever.
"Using traditional lacquer techniques, modern artists have explored different qualities of lacquer and created many new ways of creating the art," Yu said.
Natural lacquer
"Lacquer is not simply a decorative material," he added. "It is now used on egg shells and metal pieces. It's also used as a cohesive to make colored paint with mineral pigment.
Modern lacquer painting has been developing for some 40 years. Its success owes to the richness of the traditional art form.
According to Yu, China was the first country in the world to use natural lacquer.
In the early 1970s, archaeologists unearthed a red lacquer wood bowl in an excavation site in the Neolithic Hemudu remains in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province. The bowl was deemed to be about 7,000 years old, the oldest surviving lacquer art in the world.
"Traditional Chinese lacquer art uses natural sap from lacquer trees," Yu said.
"China is abundant in lacquer resources. Lacquer trees can be found in almost 23 provinces."
Starting from red lacquer wood bowls and painted potteries in the Neolithic age, Chinese lacquer art enjoyed rapid development in the Warring Period (475-221 BC) and the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220).
Lacquer trees were widely planted during the Warring Period. Famous philosopher Zhuangzi, founder of Daoism, worked as an official overseeing lacquer plantations for some time.
At that time, lacquer was regarded to be as important as mulberries, fish and salt as household necessities. Linen lacquer work, for example, was shaped into a myriad of goods.
Unearthed objects indicate that lacquer art in the Warring Period was far superior to its antecedents.
At that time, lacquer art was used in household utensils, musical instruments, tomb pottery and even weapons.
The people of Chu, living in what is now Hubei Province, liked the color red and crafted large numbers of the familiar red and black lacquer art that has come to symbolize Chinese crafts.
Thanks to devotees such as those who work at the Qingyun Workshop, the ancient art is now gaining more attention from the public.
Promoting program
Last year, with the support of local government, Wang opened the first arts and crafts class for the disabled in Huacao. He said he hopes to expand training programs in the future, to attract an even wider audience.
"I hope more lacquer lovers will see the importance of protecting this ancient art and devote themselves to passing it on to the next generation," Wang said.
The lacquer art project at his workshop already has been designated as a cultural heritage icon in the Minhang District. It has applied for a similar designation from the Shanghai Municipality.
"However, the art is shrinking in Shanghai and needs urgent protection," said Wang Shijun, a senior artist in charge of the Qingyun Workshop in Huacao Town.
Wang said he has seen eight companies specializing in lacquer art in Shanghai shut down, one after another. Qingyun Workshop is one of the few survivors.
The workshop is devoted in the revival and protection of lacquer art. Established in 2011, it features an exhibition hall that was expanded to 400 square meters last year.
In May, the workshop will open to the public, free of charge, under the name Shanghai Lacquer Art Museum. It will become an important center for promotion of the ancient art.
Stepping into the workshop, one's eyes are immediately drawn to brightly colored lacquer screens.
"They are all handcrafted," said Wang. "The process is complicated and time-consuming."
Captivating handicraft
The delicate lacquer art on display are certainly captivating. Among the collection, there is a painting entitled "Fahai Temple Mural of the Ming Dynasty."
The piece took Shi Jianping, a master of arts and crafts in Shanghai, one year to complete. Yu Huiping, a master at the Qingyun Workshop, said he is now exploring ways to keep that ancient technical skill from being lost forever.
"Using traditional lacquer techniques, modern artists have explored different qualities of lacquer and created many new ways of creating the art," Yu said.
Natural lacquer
"Lacquer is not simply a decorative material," he added. "It is now used on egg shells and metal pieces. It's also used as a cohesive to make colored paint with mineral pigment.
Modern lacquer painting has been developing for some 40 years. Its success owes to the richness of the traditional art form.
According to Yu, China was the first country in the world to use natural lacquer.
In the early 1970s, archaeologists unearthed a red lacquer wood bowl in an excavation site in the Neolithic Hemudu remains in Yuyao, Zhejiang Province. The bowl was deemed to be about 7,000 years old, the oldest surviving lacquer art in the world.
"Traditional Chinese lacquer art uses natural sap from lacquer trees," Yu said.
"China is abundant in lacquer resources. Lacquer trees can be found in almost 23 provinces."
Starting from red lacquer wood bowls and painted potteries in the Neolithic age, Chinese lacquer art enjoyed rapid development in the Warring Period (475-221 BC) and the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220).
Lacquer trees were widely planted during the Warring Period. Famous philosopher Zhuangzi, founder of Daoism, worked as an official overseeing lacquer plantations for some time.
At that time, lacquer was regarded to be as important as mulberries, fish and salt as household necessities. Linen lacquer work, for example, was shaped into a myriad of goods.
Unearthed objects indicate that lacquer art in the Warring Period was far superior to its antecedents.
At that time, lacquer art was used in household utensils, musical instruments, tomb pottery and even weapons.
The people of Chu, living in what is now Hubei Province, liked the color red and crafted large numbers of the familiar red and black lacquer art that has come to symbolize Chinese crafts.
Thanks to devotees such as those who work at the Qingyun Workshop, the ancient art is now gaining more attention from the public.
Promoting program
Last year, with the support of local government, Wang opened the first arts and crafts class for the disabled in Huacao. He said he hopes to expand training programs in the future, to attract an even wider audience.
"I hope more lacquer lovers will see the importance of protecting this ancient art and devote themselves to passing it on to the next generation," Wang said.
The lacquer art project at his workshop already has been designated as a cultural heritage icon in the Minhang District. It has applied for a similar designation from the Shanghai Municipality.
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