Abstract:
Lacquer art is the resultant representation of people's understanding of
their connection with nature in daily life. A beautiful aspect of natural lacquer its
ability to cover but not dominate which allows it to be used with any material. By
creating lacquer-ware people are using nature to preserve natural products thus
creating sustainability. A thousand years of exquisite quality in a large variety of forms
and beautiful decorative effects completely enthrals the imagination of all.
On the foundation of innovations and developments in traditional
lacquer art introduced by Shen Shao'an, Fuzhou became established as the centre
for the bodiless lacquer ware craft. Various complex forms can be moulded and
coated using the bodiless lacquer technique. The richness, lightness, and malleability
in combination with thin multi-coating have all greatly enriched the decorative
effects in modern lacquer-ware art. In China the images of the twelve animals of the
zodiac have been deeply embedded in the national psyche and as result are deeply
loved and revered, each person has their own and the forms the animals take can
be diverse. An ideal method to represent this diversity in the animal forms of the
zodiac is Fuzhou bodiless lacquer art, the considerable flexibility of which confirms
its suitability.
The decorative art movement has a wide and important influence in the
history of modern art and has a far-reaching impact on the design of clothing and
accessories. With the rise of the retro trend in recent years, the inheritance and
development of tradition and the diversification and unity in the decorative art
movement, the combination of industry and art have been reborn in a new era of
creation. The decoration design has brought a lot of inspiration and reference. The purpose of this paper is threefold, first and foremost it is to present
an analysis and comparison between Decorative Art in general and Fuzhou Bodiless
Lacquer Art, secondly, provide an analysis which constructs the aesthetic and artic
characteristics of Fuzhou Bodiless Lacquer Art integrated with Art Deco and deals
with colour and form in relation to standards of contemporary aesthetics. Thirdly is
the need to create modern accessories using the Fuzhou Bodiless Lacquer technique
in combination with Art Deco styling. My research methodology has been comprised
of research through literature, on site field investigations as well as 'hands on'
creative practice. The results of this study, which followed the research focus, have
been positive and produced a Fuzhou Bodiless Lacquer Art bag and pendant, both
featuring the zodiac animals and set in the Art Deco style. I feel this achievent has
convincingly fulfilled the purpose of my research.