Black and White Library · Folklore Volume

Author: Guangxi Fine Arts
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-07-01
Features: Throughout the long history of humanity, various ethnic cultures have created splendid and brilliant cultures. Art is an extremely important part of this treasure trove of culture. History is like a rich and diverse stratum accumulated over millions of years, layered with magnificent pictures. Regardless of their artistic or historical value, these pictures are precious fossils of human culture. In art works, contrast is a crucial means of forming aesthetic beauty. Ancient Greece had a famous aesthetic maxim: "Contrast creates harmony." As a visual art, contrast emphasizes form, and the most intense contrast is that between light and dark, black and white. It can give both the eye and the mind a vivid and powerful impact. The Black and White Art Treasury attempts to adopt this simple yet vivid method to cut through the world of art, presenting the essence of human painting in black and white: from crude and primitive drawings to highly imaginative totems, from symmetrical patterns to three-dimensional spaces across time and space. Human painting has always strived to depict and recreate imagination. The art of the world is interconnected, yet each nation has its own brilliance. The vibrant African rock paintings, the exquisite Chinese dragon patterns, the overlapping Egyptian murals, and the simple yet elegant Greek pottery—all dazzling like a galaxy of stars. Due to differences in era, region, material, and designers, they exhibit a myriad of characteristics. In the contrast of black and white, the specific forms gradually recede, while the emotions they convey come to the forefront, evoking resonance and excitement. The original intention of compiling this book is to allow readers to appreciate black and white patterns more, understand the world better, and draw essence from the vast world of ethnic paintings. The Black and White Art Treasury will first release the Folklore Volume and the Animal Volume, both containing exquisite and exemplary works that shine with the wisdom of folk art. From primitive society to the present day, human material and spiritual activities have always been intertwined, with material products and spiritual products existing as a unified whole. Therefore, from the very beginning, primitive art carried both practical functions and national aesthetic tastes, making it folk art that encompasses and transcends the general realm of art. From the vast number of primitive rock paintings depicting hunting to the richly varied decorative patterns on utensils, all reveal the essence of folk art: bold exaggeration and distortion, roughness with refinement, simplicity with charm, offering aesthetic pleasure. The compilers' hope is to create a rich, systematic, and practical art reference book, providing a rare desk reference for those engaged in art design and creation. However, as I once said, "A good book is like a fine seedling, needing good soil to grow and good people to nurture it; otherwise, even the mightiest dragon trees and phoenix cypresses will be crushed by wind and rain." This book is no exception. Without the enthusiastic support of Guangxi Fine Arts Publishing House, the sincere assistance of my dear friend Huang Zonghu in my art research, and the love and dedicated effort of editor Zhong Yibing, this book would not have reached the readers. Therefore, as you admire these exquisite black and white patterns and draw inspiration from them, I hope you will join me in thanking the friends who have contributed their hearts to bringing this book to publication. The Black and White Art Treasury has picked out pearls from the vast ocean of world art and strung them together to present to you. May it shine with even more dazzling colors in your hands.