APW - Chinese Paper Cutting (625 hits)
Category: GraphicsLabels: APW
Rating: 2 on 22 reviews (Rate this item) (V)
Submitted by Susie Derkins (View user info) at 2006-09-27 16:01:03 EDT
On our last night in Vancouver this past Saturday, my sister and I had gone for dinner and a few pints. On our way back to the hotel, we stopped in a small Chinese shop (a Chinese store in Vancouver?? What are the odds?) to look at their jewelry and artwork. While I was flipping through the photo album of the owner's trip to Tibet, my sister called me over to where she was standing. She pointed to a portfolio on a low table and said I should see this. What was in the portfolio blew my mind.
Chinese Paper Cutting is thought to have started around the Han dynasty (c. 206 BC) when paper was invented. The only tools used were a pair of scissors or a knife. Paper was such a hot commodity then, that the art of paper cutting was limited to nobility and other wealthy people. It didn't take long to gain popularity and spread to the middle east and Europe. By later generations, paper cut art ranged from clipping intricate patterns using a tiny pair of scissors to often making cutouts into window decorations, clothes-making stencils, or embroidery patterns for shoes.
What blew me away is that it's all done by hand. How anyone's hands could be that steady and skillful and the patience involved is beyond me. But there it was in this portfolio. I did a google image search to share this art form with you. I've compiled the favourites of what I saw, what best shows off the intricate detail of the work. Rest assured that internet pictures do not do this artwork justice. It's definitely something to behold in person.
User Reviews
Submitted by Anansie (user info) at 2006-09-28 13:05:45 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Susie_Derkins (user info) at 2006-09-28 10:23:44 (#)
Ranking: 0
Anansie - what school did *you* go to where cutting out paper snowflakes gave you AIDS?
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I'm not allowed to say. You know... because of the lawsuit.
Submitted by Susie_Derkins (user info) at 2006-09-28 10:23:44 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
Icky - I didn't want to take any of them out of the plastic sleeves. Captian Clumsyhands here would probably tear it.
Anansie - what school did *you* go to where cutting out paper snowflakes gave you AIDS?
HV - thank you, I was waiting for someone to notice that
Submitted by CaptainThorns (user info) at 2006-09-28 08:31:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I can't fathom the amount of patience necessary for something like this. It has to be in the ballpark of e^e^e^79.
Submitted by HighVoltage900 (user info) at 2006-09-28 01:41:07 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Filename
Submitted by Ducky (user info) at 2006-09-27 23:47:14 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Woooo Vancouver.
Submitted by Life101 (user info) at 2006-09-27 23:30:39 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
APW
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-09-27 23:11:12 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Ahahaha.
I shall tell you one secret of your choosing.
Submitted by Orgasmatron (user info) at 2006-09-27 23:01:32 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
"This is why MORE Asians need to come to Uber."
It's impossible for me to forget my alter.
Submitted by Stagger_Lee (user info) at 2006-09-27 22:59:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Submitted by Orgasmatron (user info) at 2006-09-27 21:55:06 (#)
Ranking: 2
This is why more Asians need to come to Uber. To teach us about their tricky arts and crafts.
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Stop forgetting about me.
What arts do you wish to learn, round-eye?
Submitted by Orgasmatron (user info) at 2006-09-27 21:55:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
This is why more Asians need to come to Uber. To teach us about their tricky arts and crafts.
Submitted by TigerLilly (user info) at 2006-09-27 19:25:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Anansie (user info) at 2006-09-27 18:13:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
It's kinda like making paper snowflakes in school, but without the aids.
What? What school did you go to?
Submitted by kaos-king (user info) at 2006-09-27 18:07:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment
Submitted by Amontillado (user info) at 2006-09-27 18:06:10 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
I don't have the patience for such things.
Submitted by JonnyX (user info) at 2006-09-27 17:58:11 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
So, are you out of Alberta for good?
Submitted by Anansie (user info) at 2006-09-27 17:22:57 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Holy crap that's detailed. I must make a note to ask my friend about this.
Submitted by icarus1987 (user info) at 2006-09-27 16:17:06 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Were they on wafer thin rice paper type stuff?
Submitted by Susie_Derkins (user info) at 2006-09-27 16:12:50 EDT (#)
Ranking: 0
I suppose it could be mass produced by machines, but I would imagine there are more traditionalists that do it by hand.
One of the more bizarre thoughts that came to mind while looking at them was "these are a fancy version of the snowflakes we had to make in grade school."
Submitted by icarus1987 (user info) at 2006-09-27 16:06:36 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
My Chinese teacher gave me a bunch of this stuff. I wonder if they still do it by hand, or have most of it automated?
Submitted by MyTeeOne (user info) at 2006-09-27 16:06:31 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
That's pretty freaking cool
Submitted by Sacrilicious (user info) at 2006-09-27 16:06:00 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
Amazing.
Submitted by wookie (user info) at 2006-09-27 16:04:55 EDT (#)
Ranking: 2
No Comment