Pattern Training -- Art College Entrance Exam Total Mobilization Series

Author: Xu Lihui, Zheng Jun
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2003-10-01
Features: Patterns are the designs and decorative motifs of product art, representing a form of art that combines practicality with aesthetics. Broadly defined, they refer to the artistic design of various products, while narrowly defined, they denote various decorative motifs. Patterns have a long history in China and are a decorative painting form that continuously evolves with the development of social economy and science and technology. They serve as a common foundation for the design of various specialized fields in arts and crafts. Their fundamental function is to decorate the main subject, beautify the environment, and allow people to artistically perceive the warmth and beauty of life. The creation and design of patterns originate from nature, from life, and from practice. Once they become artworks, they surpass nature, life, and practice. As early as the Yangshao Culture period thousands of years ago, vivid patterns were used on the diverse-shaped painted pottery, including fish motifs, bird motifs, and human-drawn fish patterns unearthed from the Banpo Village in Xi'an, as well as the silk paintings and lacquerware from the Warring States and Western Han periods in Changsha, which achieved a high level of artistic skill in line design and pattern coloring. During the Han Dynasty, the patterns on bronze mirrors, jade artifacts, relief sculptures, and stone carvings were exquisite. In the Buddhist art of the Northern and Southern Dynasties and the Sui and Tang periods, as well as in the porcelain of the Song Dynasty and the woven textiles of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, the patterns were highly refined. Folk paper-cuttings and shadow puppets used for performing stories from traditional dramas are also colorful and possess beautiful decorative and ornamental effects. When learning and designing patterns, one should take traditional patterns as references and contemporary decorative theory as guidance, widely gather novel materials, unleash the wings of imagination, skillfully employ artistic techniques, and create patterns with modern decorative characteristics to serve the beautification of modern material and cultural life.