What are the artistic characteristics of the Yang family clay sculptures?

Abstract: The clay sculpture art of the Yang family in Longde is a kind of Han folk craft. It can be traced back to the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty and has been passed down from generation to generation by family mouth, ears and hands. Yang Qihe, an old painted sculpture artist who is still alive, is the fourth generation successor. Yang's clay sculptures have their own unique craftsmanship in terms of material selection, clay brewing, imaging procedures and color processing. The clay sculpture art of the Yang family is the continuation of the precious traditional folk sculpture art. It originated in the 12th year of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty and has a history of more than 170 years. It has experienced several rises and falls, but it still exists in the Liupan Mountain area with tenacious vitality, and their artistic footprints have spread to several provinces in the northwest. It has important historical value. The following article will introduce the inheritance of clay sculptures of the Yang family in detail, let’s find out together! The clay sculpture art of the Yang family in Longde is a Chinese folk craft. It can be traced back to the Guangxu period of the Qing Dynasty and has been passed down from generation to generation by family mouth, ears and hands. Yang Qihe, an old painted sculpture artist who is still alive, is the fourth generation successor. Yang's clay sculptures have their own unique craftsmanship in terms of material selection, clay brewing, imaging procedures and color processing.

1. Artistic characteristics:

The clay sculpture art of the Yang family is the crystallization of wisdom and artistic creativity passed down from generation to generation. It is rich in content and is a comprehensive art that integrates folk customs, art, and modern technology. In long-term practice, it has formed its own style and characteristics.

1. Characteristics of clay preparation: In the practice of clay sculpture, the Yang family has concluded that different clay brewing methods are used in different regions and with different soil qualities, so that the clay sculpture works are equally permanent. save.

2. Characteristics of the modeling skeleton: Bold use of exaggeration in modeling proportions, focusing on majesty, solidity, and honesty, forming the unique modeling characteristics of the Yang family characters.

3. Characteristics of color application: single-color flat coating, luxurious appearance, "three-point sculpture, seven-point color" formed the color style of Yang's painted sculpture.

4. Transmission of tradition and creative characteristics: The clay sculpture art of the Yang family mainly reflects the traditional aesthetic taste and customs of the region, and then uses a combination of traditional and modern techniques to gradually form Art works with themes reflecting real life fully demonstrate the rich content and diverse forms of traditional folk art in the Liupanshan area.

5. Craftsmanship characteristics: Yang Qihe has always followed the principle of art: he shapes every work of art with an attitude of "keep improving" and strives to be meticulous in every aspect.

2. Clay sculpture inheritance pedigree of the Yang family

1. Inheritance pedigree:

First generation descendant: Yang Kuishan (1827)

Second generation successor: Yang Tingfu (1855) Yang Tingbi (1844)

Third generation successor: Yang Weifu (1891---1951)

Fourth generation successor : Yang Qihe (born in 1928)

Fifth generation descendant: Yang Chengcheng (born in 1952) Yang Jianian (born in 1964)

Sixth generation descendant: Yang Xianxiong ( Yang Xianlong (born in 1975), Yang Xianqi (born in 1984), and Yang Jun (born in 1985). Apprentices: Zhu Baojun, Niu Laoli, Yue Bailong, Liu Xinyi, etc.

With the development of clay sculpture of the Yang family to this day, his inheritance lineage is no longer a closed family model. Instead, it is based on masters and apprentices, facing the society, recruiting disciples, and forming large-scale production. The inheritance of clay sculpture art in the Yang family has always been based on the teacher's virtues, and the virtues should be passed on before passing on the skills. Each inheritor is required to improve his own cultivation and character as the first step. If the character is not upright, the art will be difficult to achieve.

2. Profile of the inheritor:

Yang Qihe is 81 years old, with a primary school education. He has been practicing art for more than 60 years and is one of the leaders of Yang's clay sculpture art.

Yang Jianian is the fourth son of Yang Qihe. He is 43 years old and has a junior high school education. He has studied art with his father for 27 years. His main representative works include: "Rural Social Fire Team", "Twelve Zodiac Signs", "Yuyou" Rhymes of Returning Home" and so on.

Yang Xianxiong is the 32-year-old grandson of Yang Qihe. He has a junior high school education and has studied art with his grandfather for 19 years. He is one of the main members of the Yang family clay sculpture.

Yang Xianlong is the grandson of Yang Qihe. He is 30 years old and has a bachelor's degree in arts and crafts. He has studied art with his grandfather for 17 years and is one of the important members of the Yang family clay sculpture. He closely combines modern arts and crafts theory with the family clay sculpture theoretical system and applies it to actual creation, making the Yang family clay sculpture art gradually become refined and popular* **Admiration, the height of simplicity and elegance.

3. Production Tools and Process

1. Materials

①Soil selection: generally use loess, red clay and other sticky, fine-textured non-gravel materials Soil is used as the raw material for making mud. Due to the different regions where it is made, the best local soil quality is selected as the mud material in each place.

② Cotton, hemp fiber; ③ Steel, wooden rafters; ④ Various stone-colored pigments, bone glue, drain powder, gold and silver powder, alkyd varnish.

2. Tools

Shovels, shovels, wooden hammers, hammers, mud-beating tables, trowels of various sizes, stoves, cylinders, buckets, porcelain bowls, writing brushes, and brushes , pen, scissors, pliers, hammer, axe.

3. Process flow

① Preparation of mud: Select the appropriate red clay, crush it and sieve it with a fine sieve, soak it with water and pound it to make it fine and moist. Place it in a vat and brew for 3-5 days before use. At the same time, several coarse, medium, and very fine mud materials are prepared for fine carving and exposure.

②Making the modeling frame: In the past, the main frame was made of wooden rafters, but now most use steel pipes to weld the basic shape of the posture frame, and use wheat straw and orange poles to pad and bundle it to make it plump and close to the image.

③ Apply coarse mud: Use a trowel to pile up the coarse mud layer by layer until each part of the image is completely accurate.

④ Apply fine clay and use a small trowel and fine clay to carve carefully to make the surface fine and smooth.

⑤Wood White: Mix talcum powder or lime powder with glue to make a paste, and brush the surface white for accurate color application.

⑥Initial draft: Design colors and patterns on the basis of wood white, and use drain powder to create various lines and stripes.

⑦ Color application: Based on the designed colors, apply colors layer by layer, and install gold and silver powder.

⑧Glossing: Depending on the object, some retain the original color, while others need to apply alkyd varnish to achieve a bright effect.

3. Artistic value

1. Historical value: The clay sculpture art of the Yang family is the continuation of the precious traditional folk sculpture art. It originated in the 12th year of Daoguang in the Qing Dynasty and has a history of more than 170 years. It has experienced several rises and falls, but it still exists in the Liupan Mountain area with tenacious vitality, and their artistic footprints have spread to several provinces in the northwest. It has important historical value.

2. Artistic value: The clay sculpture process of the Yang family is extremely complex and requires high craftsmanship. There is no written standard or unified model. It all relies on understanding and improvisation based on different objects and different identities. Its procedures and techniques are the crystallization of the long-term wisdom of Yang Qihe and his ancestors. They are difficult to replace with modern art methods and contain rich artistic value.

3. Folklore value: The themes of the Yang family’s clay sculptures mainly reflect the folk customs of the region. Each clay sculpture represents the traditional folklore meaning, which is closely related to people’s ideals and beliefs. combine. Therefore, the clay sculptures of the Yang family are also a history of folklore.

4. Economic value: Folk art will undergo tremendous changes with the development of the times. Once accepted by the market, it will survive and develop, otherwise it will disappear with the times. The Yang family's clay sculpture career has developed from a few members of the original family traveling to temples and temples in surrounding areas. Today, it has been recognized by society and accepted by the market economy. Today, the Yang family's clay sculpture has developed to a technical strength of more than 20 people. , responsible for the restoration of large-scale sculptures and cultural relics in key tourist areas in various provinces and regions every year, generating an annual income of nearly 200,000 yuan, which not only prospered the development of tourism, but also created an employment path for clay sculpture artists, which has become an important economic value. Although the clay sculptures of the Yang family have high historical and artistic value, they are still facing the crisis of being lost and discontinued. According to relevant surveys, the Yang family's clay sculpture art has become well-known throughout the country. Invitations from all over the country have continued, but they have been declined one by one due to lack of technical strength and funds. The Yang family can only undertake small-scale, small-scale clay sculpture projects.

In order to adapt to the needs and development of the market, it is necessary for the Yang family clay sculptures to change their business management model, move towards a corporate management track, face the society, boldly recruit talents, and enhance technical strength, so that the Yang family clay sculpture art has further developed.

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