Charm and Packaging Design of Folk Art (I)

Folk art is a type of traditional cultural resource with “high artistic quality” and “rich human touch”. With its own mellow art language, lively and colorful expressions, it gives people in the mechanical era a spiritual comfort and makes people feel nostalgic. Warm and rekindled love for homeland.
Festive and warm colors, humorous and exaggerated shapes, and an innocent, “annular perspective” all add to its endless charm, filled with the true feelings of the working people. Behind that colorful image is the wisdom and simplicity of the working people of ancient China and their unfamiliar antique style.
The performance techniques of folk art are simple and unadorned, which has profound implications for modern art workers. Modern design often draws on and stimulates inspiration from folk art modeling. For example, the image of “The Rabbit Man” is a plaything favorite for children in the old Mid-Autumn Festival. It means “White Rabbit in the Moon Palace” and is sold in the downtown Beijing during the Mid-Autumn Festival. There are not only "rabbit children" but also "rabbits and grandmothers". It seems that there is a stove prince, and there is a stove king and grandmother. The human touch is even stronger. This kind of affectionate, lovely old man is like the elders of the family, giving people endless warmth. The packaging of modern moon cakes often uses images such as the moon and flowers, which means “flowers are well-rounded.” If we use “rabbits” and “rabbits and grandmothers” on the packaging of moon cakes, it must be something special.
Although the style of folk art is lovely, it cannot be applied. Because the styling of folk art contains a certain amount of metaphor, it is sometimes very serious. It is necessary to fully understand its meaning before it can be used correctly. Otherwise, it would be a joke. For example, the images of "Yin and Yang Fish", "Gourd", and "Drawing Doll Doll" are the products of the folk idea of ​​"Yin and Yang meet each other, everything lives forever," including the worship of life and reproduction. And these symbolic meanings are very strict. If you don't have the right taste, you'll lose everything.
Folk creation ideas and creations can also provide inspiration for today’s artistic concept. For example, folks have the practice of pasting rags into “liners” to achieve material regeneration. This “padding liner” can be the best material for soles, and it can also be a rigid lining. The customs of pulp and clothing even have more ancient historical origins. Today, Japanese clothing customs still retain the practice of separating kimonos and developing them every year.
The long-standing customs of life reveal the strong atmosphere of ancient oriental culture and even inspired the inspiration of contemporary designers. In 1993, a furniture designer in Milan, Italy, used a technique similar to the oriental “padding” process to process the broken fabric collected into a stylish chair that fits into the shape of the seated person using modern bonding techniques. When the Golden Award for Furniture Innovation Design in the Year, the ancient craft tradition in folk life spans the boundaries of time and reappears in modern design.
The most valuable aspect of the pity and use conventions in the folk life tradition is that its creativity is always seamlessly integrated with the local natural conditions, lifestyles, and resource environment, thus forming the most geographically unique methods and techniques. It is consistent with the spirit of "immaterialism design" emphasized today.
If we can integrate these elements into our own works in modern art practice, we will surely touch people. Whether in the ancient era or the ever-changing scientific and technological civilization today, folk art has an irreplaceable charm, especially for art lovers, it is simply a huge treasure trove of materials, a sparkling "living fossil."
To examine the relationship between a folk art, a wood craft toy, and art design, talking about our folk crafts, is to make a sentimental gift? Or get a theoretical summary? I want to say only one aspect will be one-sided, because the folk art is a combination of reason and sensibility, is the crystallization of wisdom and emotion.
I once thought that I hadn’t seen many folk crafts when I was a child. When I was more careful about walking in a busy city, I discovered that there have been silent silences of some folk crafts. Found a small shop, located in the corner of the bustling commercial street, the shop has colorful wooden toys, digital trains, wood Rubik's cube, and even household fruits and vegetables. The two-meter-square shop attracts many customers.
What is the reason why wood toys still exist and disperse after the changes of the times? Because it has a simple to complex process, from simple to romantic feelings. The child's heart is always simple, simple, longing for the sun and color, with wood fragrance toys may give them a gentle heart. This is the emotional guide, but also the selling point of the business.
In the modern society, with the great enrichment of commodities and the improvement of consumer tastes, consumers increasingly value goods for their emotional and psychological satisfaction, not just quantity and quality satisfaction. These cute and lovely wooden toys make people excited, open their pockets, and buy inexpensive ones. (to be continued)