Chinese Paper Cutting made to welcome good fortune and money
Contemporary works by 7 artists of traditional paper cutting
Breastfeeding, 2000, Li Yun-Xia
Chinese paper cutting artworks by 7 artists
Paper cutting art expressed cultural identity and shared community values and aesthetics.
At a showing of works by seven artist at a paper-cut exhibition at Artspace K, I explored if paper cutting was a folk art or a fine art?
Lucky Star – Good Fortune, Blessing and Longevity, 2021, by Lee Keng-Chun
The Internet has many definitions of folk art, but I like the one from the Glenbow Museum in Calgary, Alberta: “Folk Art can be described as art that is of the people, for the people and by the people. These artists are interested in making art that tells stories about daily life or the culture of their community.”
Related Rosanna Li ceramic sculptures rotund and joyful appearance
Webster’s dictionary describes fine art as “art (such as painting, sculpture or music) concerned primarily with the creation of beautiful objects.”
Bees Pollinating Chrysanthemum, Li Yun-Xia
It is likely that hollow-out art was applied to paper in the Han dynasty (202 BC-220 AD), shortly after the invention of paper. The earliest recorded archaeological evidence of paper cutting dates to the Six Dynasties (220-589 AD).
Related Lei Chung Uk Han Tomb and Garden
Over the centuries, as cheap paper became abundant, it became a common practice across Chinese rural communities for the women to create paper-cut art as decorations at Chinese New Year, and weddings and to be burned at funerals.
The practice was passed along informally from mother to daughter.
Harvest, 1991, Li Yun-Xia
Common themes were symbols of good fortune and happiness with images of lotus flowers, carp and goldfish and the Chinese characters for luck, double happiness and longevity.
Related Lingnan revolutionised Chinese calligraphy in the 20th century
Traditionally, the art form requires a single sheet of paper, usually red, cut using only scissors without any pencil draft.
Cutting variations included using different coloured, painted or dyed paper
However, as the practice became widespread across China, many variations appeared, including using different coloured, painted or dyed paper or cutting with a knife instead of scissors.
Kiss, 2005, Li Yun-Xia
During the Ming dynasty (1368-1644), when political stability and wealth became available to support the arts, there was a division between practices in the north and south, with practitioners in the south becoming more professional, and male.
Related Silk Roads the greatest link of civilisations in the world
Three of the seven artists on show attended the opening and I had an opportunity to speak with them. My goal was to understand where they were on the scale from traditional to contemporary practitioners.
Dragon and Lion Dance, 2000, Li Yun-Xia
Li Yun-Xia was born in Shaanxi Province in China and learned paper cutting from her mother and grandmother. When asked about her collage works, she indicated she only uses scissors and works without a draft.
Related Tea ware from Song dynasty on show alongside contemporary artists Yan Yung and Inkgo Lam
Her favourite work at this exhibition is Breastfeeding, in honour of her mother. Her work emphasises traditional themes of familial love, happiness and auspicious symbols.
Twin Joy, 2010, Li Yun-Xia
Lee Huan-Chan (1925-2015) was exposed to paper cutting as a child but did not become serious about it until he was twenty-nine, when he moved from Shandong Province, China to Taiwan.
Auspicious themes are of familial love and happiness
What started out as a way to relieve homesickness turned into a passion that consumed the remainder of his years. Without formal training, he became one of the most renowned paper-cutting masters in Taiwan.
Paper cut artworks by Lee Huan-Chang
Working only with scissors using single sheets of paper, the works on show are about traditional themes, with titles like Good Harvest, Children Announcing Peace and Child of Fortune.
Related Chinese Reverse Glass Painting from the Mei Lin Collection
He stepped away from tradition by occasionally using dyed paper and a damask fabric so that the artwork would last longer.
Related History of China in Silk and The Chris Hall Collection
His legacy lives on in both his work and the work of the many he taught, including Chen Yan-Ting and Lee Keng-Chun.
From left to Right: Fire, Treasure & Hide, 2021, by Chen Yan-Ting
Chen Yan-Ting graduated from the Pratt Institute in New York before completing post-graduate work under Lee Huan-Chan. He is a commercially successful designer as well as an accomplished paper-cutting artist.
Related Collection of the most lavishly made Chinese Snuff Bottles
His work departs from tradition by being gold instead of red, by using large sheets of paper, and by having three layers.
From top left to bottom right: Little Red Riding Hood, The Little Match Girl, Hansel and Gretel, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland and The Wizard of Oz, 2021 by Lee Keng-Chun
His subjects are ornate Chinese words like Treasure, Money Fire adorned with apposite symbols.
Lee Keng-Chun, also a disciple of Lee Huan-Chan, is a passionate advocate of paper cutting art.
Related Contemporary ceramic sculptures from the imagination of Solan Chiu
He is traditional in that he only uses scissors, but he deviates from tradition by using four layers and western topics like Little Red Riding Hood, The Wizard of Oz, and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland to encourage a wider interest in the art form.
On the left: Treasure, 2021, & Hide, 2021, by Chen Yan-Ting: on the right: Paper Fern (series), 2021, Wuba Yang
Wuba Yang discovered paper cutting at the age of six and went on to study design at university before becoming an industrial designer.
Related Henry Steiner father of Hong Kong graphic communication
She is obsessed with Taiwanese ferns and for the last five years has focused on this one subject. Wuba uses handmade paper and paper cutting to produce fern leaves that are indistinguishable from their wild counterparts.
Paper cut art by Meko Cheng
Meko Cheng graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 2019, majoring in sculpture.
She participated in the Hong Kong Jockey Club’s cultural heritage education programme, taking traditional paper cutting courses.
Related Chinese calligraphy artworks echo joys and resonate
Cheng said her motivation for practising paper cutting is to improve her hand dexterity, so she uses scissors, not knives for cutting.
Original contemporary paper art created to be beautiful
Blooming Peony, (Left): Chrysanthemums, (Middle), Love for All Season (Right), 2021, Meko Cheng
Her designs are pencilled on before cutting. In this exhibition, her art depicts a single species of a flower, usually positioned asymmetrically in the frame, as can be seen in Blooming Peony, Circular Chrysanthemums and Eternal Life.
Circular Chrysanthemums, 2021, Meko Cheng
She is unafraid to use more than one colour of paper to create depth and contrast.
Related Bingyi contemporary artist breakthrough Chinese ink painting
Lau Ming-Hang is a stage lighting and three-dimensional paper art designer. He graduated from the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts in 2001, majoring in stage lighting design.
Rough for Paper II, 2021, Lau Ming-Hang
His interest in paper cutting evolved from the need to cut patterns in steel for lighting gobos. When asked about following the “rules” of paper cutting, he indicated that we should respect the rules (traditions).
Related Chinese motifs and patterns in art and culture of China
He says that after twenty years, he has the techniques, knows how to control his hands, uses the tools and understands the texture and character of the paper.
Rough for Paper I, 2021, Lau Ming-Hang
Along the way, he also learned about himself, how to make breakthroughs, how to improve and how to make something new. Lau uses knives for cutting and creates three-dimensional sculptures with paper.
Related Hoo Mojong trailblazing Chinese female artist bridged East and West
His paper-cut art is traditional in that it contains Chinese words and there are outlines of recognisable shapes like birds and people. It is original, contemporary and created with the primary purpose to be beautiful.
Rough for Paper IV, 2021, Lau Ming-Hang
I asked Meko Chen and Lau Ming-Hang what a novice should be looking for when trying to admire their work.
Related 8 Qing dynasty art pieces featured with 8 modern artworks
They each, in their own way, indicated we should be careful observers, and that by investing in this observational effort we can see the beauty and the blessings therein, and perhaps in so doing experience beauty and blessings in their own lives.
Peace and Harmony, Li Yun-Xia
Neither wanted to tell me what to see; that is for the observer to decide.
Related Chinese contemporary artist Cai Guo-Qiang’s firework art
Talking to these artists and writing this article has helped me to realize that folk art conveys a community’s cultural identity, whereas fine art displays an individual artist’s soul baring depiction of beauty.
Powerful Tigers, 2000, Li Yun-Xia
All of the works on show were created with the primary purpose of being beautiful, and with varying degrees each pays homage to the Chinese community from which the artists belong.
Related Sigg Collection 1990s Emerging Chinese Artists
Perhaps categorising the works on show are less important than careful observation and appreciation for paper cutting as an art form.
Text & photos by Martin Wray
