Art Materials Research Articles

Major trends in the development of modern fiber art in China

With the strengthening of cultural exchanges with the international community, China's contemporary fiber art has been developing rapidly. This reveals certain problems that need to be investigated and solved. The subject of the article is the development process of Chinese contemporary fiber art, to clarify the role that China's International Fiber Art Biennale "From Lausanne to Beijing" has played in the development of Chinese contemporary fiber art. The purpose of this article is as follows: to determine the role of innovative technology in the development of the art field; to trace the influence of how the development of forms and materials of Chinese contemporary fiber art affects the artists' forms of creativity; to make a comparison between the current situations of fiber art in China and foreign countries in order to identify the immediate development prospect in this field. To achieve this goal, the scientific methods of historical analysis, comparative analysis, case studies and content analysis were used to explore the development of contemporary fiber art in China and its future trends. This study provides an in-depth analysis of the impact of the International Fiber Art Biennale from Lausanne to Beijing on the development of contemporary fiber art in China, exploring the role of innovative technology in the art field and how the development of contemporary fiber art forms and materials has influenced artists' creative forms. Вy comparing the current situation of fiber art in China and abroad, this study reveals the development prospects of fiber art in China. The analysis of this area suggests that with the deepening of artistic exchanges at home and abroad, the market and collection of Chinese fiber art will gradually take shape, providing more opportunities for artists to display and develop, and promoting Chinese fiber art to the world stage.

Building the Black History and Visual Culture collection at Penn State University Libraries

The Penn State University Libraries recently published the Black History and Visual Culture digital collection — a curated selection of photographs, poster art, pamphlets and audiovisual materials documenting Black student life at Penn State, as well as Black political and social movements throughout the 20th century. The conception and development of the collection is highly collaborative, involving contributions from Special Collections Library curators, technical service specialists and the digital collections development team. Public programming in support of the collection and use of the collection in outreach and instruction are key parts of its ongoing stewardship. This paper analyses the initial development of the collection, the digitisation process and future plans for collection development.

The problems of a child's self-realization in Yulia Kuznetsova's trilogy about Varya and Olya

The article examines the problems of self-realization of a primary school-age child using the example of works written in the early 2020s, Yulia Kuznetsova's trilogy about Varya and Olya. The psychological features of this age group are revealed, as well as the original features of modern art for children aged seven to ten years. In this work, the topics of children's relationships in the family, the class collective, emerging friendships, as well as the problems of growing up and socialization are updated. A rather original typology of children's characters relevant to modern reality is presented. The significance and importance of this article is due to the importance of the problems posed, as well as modern and practically unexplored research material, which are the works of Yu. Kuznetsova, only included in scientific circulation. To understand these aspects, the following research methods are used in the article: comparative, hermeneutical and comparative typological methods. With the help of a systematic approach, an analytical study of the ways of communication between children and adults – parents, grandparents, neighbors, teachers - is provided. The main result of this work was the study of different types of characters of primary school children, ways of their interaction and ways of self-realization. The research of practically new and little-studied artistic material, which arouses genuine interest among both the addressee's peer and the adult reader, becomes relevant in this article. At the same time, the following tasks were solved: identification of key aspects of growing up and socialization of a child; analysis of friendly relationships, friendships and enmity-competition in Y. Kuznetsova's stories about Varya and Olya; identification of the features of the development of the main storylines and the figurative system of the analyzed stories, as well as the genre originality of the works under study. The key aspects of the article were questions about the typology of the characters of children of primary school age, the moral aspects of growing up a child.

Production of Hair Art Based on Rare Species of Flowers

Flowers are the outcome of plants. They have been commonly used as a material for art because they can express beauty with various colors and make diverse expressions possible. With the growth and development of the beauty art industry, people’s interest in hair art has increased. At the same time, materials for hair art have become diversified. For example, waste hair has been used for painterly-style art. In addition, color is emphasized for a formative meaning. In hair art created with flower images, hair is used to express flowers' diverse colors and 3-dimensional effects. The study results found the following: In Design I, dark colors were used to dynamically express the natural colors and vigor of wildflowers. In Design II, wildflowers were expressed like living creatures with the movements of petals. In Design III, dark colors were used to make flower stalks look like the janggu (Korean drum) stick, naturally expressing petals. In Design IV, the lively energy of the color yellow was expressed with flowers, vibrantly expressing leaves. In Design V, dark colors were used to create a straight look, expressing flowers and leaves with a natural violet color. In Design VI, the vigor of wildflowers was expressed with the diverse colors of flowers and petals, while their liveliness was created with leaves. This study further developed hair art into a practical field of study with rare flowers in the pictorial book of wildflowers, allowing anyone to make various attempts.

The subject of Kazakhstan in English minor genres of literary publicist

Relevance. The relevance of the study is that the subject of Kazakhstan can be traced in the history of minor literary genres through the prism of the relationship between English and Kazakh literature, which is most often manifested in the genres of ideological enlightenment and travel. English researchers have published numerous reference books and encyclopedias on the geography, anthropology, and ethnography of the peoples of Asia. The English works of the 19th century contain a large amount of information about the Kazakhs, who at that time lived in Germany, France, England, and other countries. One of the important sources of the subject of Kazakhstan is the corresponding essays and diaries presented in the journals of English literary critics. Purpose. The purpose of the study is to consider artistic materials that reflect the subject of Kazakhstan in English interpretation. Methodology. The methodological basis of the study consisted of the following approaches: historical, retrospective, and systemic. Results. Foreign travellers who visited the steppe lands often wrote travel notes and letters under the impressions, in which they characterised the spiritual, traditional, and everyday creativity of the peoples of those areas, introducing the inhabitants of Europe to the preserved way of life of a distant land located on the territory of the modern Republic of Kazakhstan. Since with the advancement of maritime and economic aspects, the activity in the discovery and development of unexplored countries for the purpose of trade has increased. English merchants of that time actively used the routes through Asia for expeditions, which further expanded trade relations. Kazakh-Anglo-American literary ties in the last century are one of the important facets of the spiritual culture of the people of Kazakhstan. Conclusions. The practical value lies in highlighting the main subjects and materials of the Kazakh people in English minor literary genres.

«Lay it into the open wounds». Art at war in Maria Kulikovska’s performative sculpture

The paper addresses the work of Ukrainian artist Maria Kulikovska, who resorts to military equipment as artistic materials and to destruction as an artistic method. In the first section, I contextualize Kulikovska’s performative sculpture within art history, claiming that it can be regarded as Destruction Art. In the second section, I turn to Catherine Malabou’s concept of “destructive plasticity” as a philosophical tool of an aesthetics of war, which offers a sound theoretical framework to further understand the implications of Kulikovska’s artistic activity. In the third section, I focus on the main material adopted by Kulikovska, ballistic soap, showing how the artist materially deconstructs inherited dichotomies that keep informing our understanding of wars. By considering the artistic practice of a feminist artist (M. Kulikovska) through the lens of feminist scholarship (K. Stiles, C. Malabou, J. Butler), the paper investigates the relations between war and the arts from a situated perspective.

The genre of the holiday story in the literature of the XXI century for children and teenagers

The article explores the genre features of a vacation literature about a children's health camp of the late XX – early XXI centuries. Both the traditions of the story about the pioneer camp of the twentieth century and the original features of modern literature for children and adolescents are revealed. The article actualizes the topics of the relationship between adolescents and children in a new team, the problems of growing up and socialization. A fairly extensive typology of child and adolescent characters relevant to modern reality is presented. The significance and importance of this article is due to the importance of the problems posed, as well as modern and practically unexplored research material, which are the works of V. Krapivin, T. Kryukova, M. Panteleeva, T. Mikheeva, etc., which are only included in scientific circulation. To understand these aspects, the following research methods are used in the article: comparative, hermeneutical and comparative typological methods. With the help of a systematic approach, an analytical study of the ways of communication between children and adolescents, their socialization and self-realization in a vacation story is provided. The main result of this work is the study of different types of characters of children and adults, ways of their interaction and ways of self-realization. The study of practically new and little-studied artistic material that arouses genuine interest among teenagers themselves becomes relevant in this article. At the same time, the following tasks were solved: identifying key aspects of growing up and socialization of a child / teenager; analyzing the relationships of children in the novels of V. Krapivin, T. Kryukova, M. Panteleeva, T. Mikheeva and other writers; determining the features of the development of the main storylines and the imaginative system of the analyzed stories, as well as the genre originality of the works under study. The key aspects of the article were questions about the genre nature of the stories, the typology of child and adolescent characters, and the moral aspects of growing up a child.

The distinctive genre of 9/11 literature about children

The article explores the genre specifics of American 9/11 novels about children. The genre features of 9/11 literature include a modification of the classic educational novel. Such genre elements as the hero’s growing up process, their journey beyond ordinary life, and their return as changed individuals, still form the primary narrative focus of these works. However, the temporality and the impetus for action development are altered compared to the classic educational novel, which is typical for the subgenre of the initiation novel. The main catalyst of the plot becomes the traumatic experiences of the characters, representing either the trauma of loss or mental traumatization of a loved one. The interplay of road motive and motive of search symbolizes personal development and introduces elements of a detective quest, while romantic motives are linked to the outcome of the initiation trial and the formation of the character’s personality. To implement the tasks set, this study employs cultural-historical and comparative-typological methods with elements of structural analysis. The scientific novelty of this work consists in conducting a study of the genre features of literature about children and teenagers thematically based on the events of September 11, 2001, on a little-studied corpus of artistic material. For the first time in Russian science, the author of the article attempts to identify and summarize the characteristic genre features of this body of works. The main results of the study lie in revealing of hybridization of genres: the initiation novel is supplemented with elements of detective and romance novels. An important aspect here is the presence of motives of travel and heroism, coupled with the problem of the trauma of not-knowing, traumatic experiences of loss, and orphanhood. This article deepens scientific knowledge on the issue of the specificity of 9/11 literature, highlighting the process of transformation and enrichment of traditional genre elements in the context of historical events that have been reflected in the literary work of the representatives of contemporary culture.

SARUKHETRI PITAL SARAI CLUSTER: ARTISTIC AND AESTHETIC SENSE OF FOLK ART FORMS ANTHROPOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE

Folk art and craft comprises art created by indigenous cultures, peasants, and other common individuals. It is frequently learned through rigorous apprenticeships or passed down from generation to generation within families. The patterns, themes, techniques, and materials of folk art and craft must have specific importance and convey a great deal about the culture or civilization to which they belong. In Assamese culture, brass metal articles, silk and bamboo articles are used for various purposes daily household activities, religious ceremonies, marriage gift items, musical instruments, etc. As an anthropological researcher when viewing folk art articles a careless inquiry occasionally pops into the researcher’s mind out of curiosity. The question might be, How did this item come into existence? who are the people who make these craft items, how are they skilled and who trains them? It often focuses on the many concerns surrounding traditions influencing and enhancing their learning process. Using an ethnographic methodology and narrative analysis, it is believed that all of these and many other questions will receive proper answers. Many Assamese tribal and folk cultures' traditional arts and crafts are currently in danger of being extinct. This article is an effort to describe and exhibit the rich artistic and craft traditions of the Barpeta district, Assam, which are currently in danger of extinction. In particular, it focuses on the collection of dying arts and crafts made by the metal craft communities of Assam. This research focuses on brass metal craft groups in the Sarukhteri region of Assam through mapping the structure of craft communities and external bodies between which knowledge exchange occurs. The purpose of this study is to gain an understanding of how knowledge has been transferred in Assam's craft communities and to subsequently identify and comprehend some underlying problem areas.

Recycling and Shouting

Studying the MA Multidisciplinary Printmaking course made a significant impact on my practice and understanding of myself as an artist. My work can be neatly summarised using two words: shouting and recycling.
 Protest is an essential component of my practice and I use it to communicate around social issues using found and recycled materials. Being heavily inspired by the DIY punk movement, concerned about my impact on the environment, and having a low-income background has meant that high-quality art materials often aren’t available to me unless they are gifted or scavenged. This forced me to take an experimental, non-traditional approach to making work, which became a cornerstone of my practice. The MA enabled me to explore new processes within these parameters, but also to incorporate other skills, materials, and processes, such as textiles and embroidery. Additionally, I used my time on the course to build a stronger brand for myself as a freelance artist.

Technological Features of the Group of Nev’yansk Icons from Nev’yansk Icon Museum

The article is devoted to the technological examination of eight icons from the largest collection of Ural icon painting in Russia. For the first time the subject of study is the material component of Nev’yansk icons of the first half of the 18th century. The authors determined the painting techniques and artistic materials used by the first icon painters of the mining and metallurgical Ural. The phenomenon of the Old Believers’ Ural Region icon school of this period is doubted and questioned by some modern experts, but in fact this phenomenon is confirmed by the coincidence of technological features of the Nev’yansk icon “Our Lady of Egypt” (1734) and other icons of that period (identical processing of wooden panels, composition of prime and paints, style of so-called lichnόe (painting of exposed body parts) and dolíchnoe (painting of clothing), as well as the painting stratigraphy). The icons were obviously painted in a very small workshop. One technological factor speaks in favor of their Ural Region origin: the use of anhydrite as a filler for the prime. The technique of lichnόe is also very special — alternating layers of white paint and ocher when painting a carnation; in some cases applying the first modeling layer (white) directly over the sankir (proplasmos). The second point indicates the early Nev’yansk icon painters’ familiarity with the techniques of the court icon painters in the Armory in Moscow. The latter in turn agrees with the historical facts that from the 20–30s of the 18th century masters from the Volga Region who had previously been employed by the Armoury then moved to the Ural Region. In addition, the blue pigments are the most important chronological indicator for the icons of this period. The synthetic azurite predominates among the author’s paints; also, indigo and smalt are found, while Prussian blue is completely absent.

РАЗРАБОТКА СИСТЕМЫ ПОДДЕРЖКИ ПРИНЯТИЯ РЕШЕНИЙ ДЛЯ ОПТИМИЗАЦИИ ВЫБОРА ПОТРЕБИТЕЛЕМ МАТЕРИАЛОВ ДЛЯ ТВОРЧЕСТВА

In our article, we will consider the creation of a decision-making system on a specialized resource for the selection of artistic materials. At the moment, the market for art materials is expanding. Unreliable information about their properties leads to large costs on the part of consumers, misconceptions about the needs and requests of the audience on the part of manufacturers, as well as to a deterioration in the environmental situation due to the manufacture of irrelevant products. A distinctive feature of the field of art materials is the lack of clear, only correct criteria for evaluating watercolors. Often, artists master new techniques and techniques, learn to apply the shortcomings of materials and build a new style of their work on them. The article substantiates the need to introduce a system for the implementation of a multi-criteria selection of the optimal artistic material, describes the requirements for the developed model. The decision support system model can be used to simplify the selection of high-quality watercolors in the presence of a large number of expensive alternatives that require high-quality study before being introduced into professional activity. We have chosen the ELECTRE method, which allows us to more flexibly adjust the selection of alternatives to the requirements of an individual consumer. We have considered the advantages and disadvantages of the chosen method, tested the effectiveness of work in the chosen field. Thanks to the collection and processing of data from several expert groups, a more reliable and unbiased result is obtained. DSS can be used both by professional artists to automate and simplify the selection, and by manufacturers to calculate the opinion of the audience and the disadvantages of the manufactured product.

Արցախի գրադարանները. փաստագրական ակնարկ

Thus, in the context of the cultural heritage of Artsakh, the importance of the mission of libraries was emphasized. Artsakh is known for its writing centers, handwritten magazines, printing houses, published books, press, etc. In different historical periods there were many libraries in Artsakh. Libraries were also severely damaged during the wars, as evidenced by statistics and other data.The role of the National Library of Armenia was great in replenishing the literature of various libraries of Artsakh. A group of library staff held discussion seminars in various libraries of Artsakh. It is important to note that at the initiative of the NLA, work has begun on the Dspace platform to create a database called “The Endangered Heritage of Artsakh.” The website of the Artsakh Electronic Library, which is a project of the association of young scientists and specialists of Artsakh (AYSSA), contains scientific and analytical information about Artsakh., educational and artistic materials in Armenian, Russian and English.

Navegando pelo “rio da vida”: a produção do cuidado em situações de urgência e emergência em um território da Amazônia

This study examined the production of care in healthcare services, adopting the participatory methodology “river of life”. Conducted in a riverside community in the interior of the Amazonas region, the research employed this reflective approach, involving the creation of a river using artistic materials such as colored pencils and cardboard. The technique fostered closeness with the stories, trajectories, and empowerment of community agents, users, and caregivers. This profound experience provided insights into the territorial challenges in accessing healthcare during urgent situations. Recording narratives during collective work sessions served as a data collection method, facilitating dialogue between the healthcare team and caregivers, enriching the understanding of regional dynamics involved in emergency care.

“This Is a Look Into My Life”: Enhancing Qualitative Inquiry Into Communication Through Arts-Based Research Methods

As researchers in communication sciences and related disciplines continue to embrace qualitative research methodologies, there will be a corresponding need for innovative methods and strategies for data collection and generation, reflexivity and knowledge translation to make qualitative research methods more inclusive. Historically, those who communicate differently from the status quo have been excluded from or spoken for in qualitative research. The resulting omission of these perspectives in the literature constitutes a critical research-to-practice gap as clinicians seek to deliver client-focused communication care. Arts-Based Research (ABR) offers researchers a means of augmenting potentially linguistically and cognitively demanding verbal interviews while inviting participants to share a window into their daily lives with researchers and knowledge users. Additionally, ABR offers participants alternative forms of expression and creates avenues for researcher reflexivity and participant-researcher reflexive dialogue. To illustrate how ABR can enhance communication research, we present reflections on a study that incorporated multi-media artistic materials in a reflexive arts-based collective case study design. Working with young people experiencing post-concussion communication changes, we used arts-based materials collected and created by participants to support and enhance data collection. These materials were analyzed as part of each case, across cases, and played a central role in sharing our findings. Additionally, arts-based materials facilitated participant-researcher reflexive dialogue and researcher reflexivity. The goals of this paper are to: 1) provide a brief overview of ABR as a method for researchers interested in communication; 2) discuss four ways to incorporate ABR in the research process; 3) provide a case example illustrating different types of creative works to illustrate the four ways ABR can enhance communication research; and 4) discuss benefits, considerations and implications of using ABR to support inclusive research design.

Remixing as a Ludus-Component of the Modern Culture

"The modern development of culture motivates the appearance of new modifications of the play element, based on the concept of Homo Ludens by J. Huizinga. The article substantiates a new scientific concept – remixing as the dominant principle of the organization of artistic matter. A definition of this concept is provided. The specificity of its manifestation is thought over using examples from pop culture, academic musical art (in particular, the creativity of the pianist-composer M.-A. Hamelin, the sketch duo Igudesman & Joo, the Rondo Veneziano orchestra), authentic performance, the opera genre (productions of “Alcina” by G. Handel, “La Cenerentola” by G. Rossini), products of the TV industry. The main vectors of the remixing process are characterized in accordance with the realization of the final artistic goal. The organic nature of the interaction of play logic with the combinatorial thinking of Homo Modernus is revealed. Keywords: principle of remixing, modern culture, remix, play element, Homo Ludens, Homo Modernus."

HISTORY OF THE USE OF WASTE MATERIALS IN VISUAL ARTS: CONCEPT AND ROOTS

Today the whole world is struggling with the problem of waste materials and their proper maintenance. Examples of the use of waste material are also found in art. An artist always needs a medium to create their artwork, and also, in contemporary art, many artists are creating artwork from waste materials and beautify their environment and make people aware of its reuse. The process of making artwork from waste material is today known as ‘Scrap Art’ or ‘Junk Art’. An early example of the use of waste materials in art comes from the ‘Dadaism’ Art Movement, which started in France in the 20th century, when artists started exhibiting industrially produced objects as artwork, along with their titles. From here, a question mark was raised regarding the idea of ‘Readymade Art’ and its aesthetics. Behind this was the main artist ‘Marcel Duchamp’ whose work 'Fountain' in 1917. The other two major Artists were Man Ray and Francis Picabia. The second developed form was seen in Picasso's 'Bull Head' artwork in 1942, where Words like ‘Found objects’ and ‘Ready-mades’ became popular in the history of art. Many artists in contemporary art are creating artworks using these waste materials. This is not only enhancing the beauty of our public places but also making people aware of their reuse and also showing a new dimension of art creation. This research paper analyses what new changes have taken place in terms of style and thought due to the use of waste material in art from the beginning till today.

Research on the Teaching Optimization Path in Children’s Creative Art Curriculum Under the Perspective of “Sanquan Education”

Children’s creative art curriculum is a professional course supported by art materials and techniques and facilitated through creative activities, aiming at cultivating students’ ability to organize creative art activities using various art materials and techniques. In light of the evolving focus in China’s colleges and universities from “what to know” to “how to apply,” the pivotal question for educators is how to maximize the value of children’s creative art curriculum. Based on this, this article takes “Sanquan education” as the starting point, combines factual and theoretical arguments, and analyzes the teaching optimization path of children’s creative art curriculum under the perspective of Sanquan education, to improve the quality and efficiency of teaching.

Can The Pushed-Back Speak? Tracing Narrative Agency of Enemised and Victimised Migrants in Poland

The pushed-back migrants are the main subjects of the humanitarian crisis on the Belarusian-Polish border; however their presence as public discourse producers are rather scarce. The aim of this research is to trace the narrative agency of these people and explore its link to their emancipation. Drawing on the postcolonial theory, we address the question of how the subaltern(ised) subjects produce their discourse. With the analysis of media content, literature, and artistic materials, we argue that the discourse production of pushed-back migrants in Poland is heavily limited, restricted, and often interrupted, however they manifest agency by manoeuvring victimisation and contesting the enemisation of themselves. Using these results, we conclude that the researcher’s role during this crisis should be a mix of translation and representation of what the pushed-back said and were forbidden to say.

The Impact of Operando Analysis in the Understanding of Oxygen Evolution Reaction Ranging from Intrinsic to Technical Scales

The development of state of the art and cost-effective catalyst materials for the sluggish oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is of paramount importance for realizing practical water electrolysis for green hydrogen production. Crucial for this endeavor is the determination of the OER mechanism and a better understanding of all these background processes that affect catalyst activity and stability. Thus, to further elucidate all these processes operando characterization techniques performed dynamically during OER are used as powerful tools which allow monitoring of key reaction intermediates, active sites, charge transfer and material transformation coupled processes etc. In this work we summarize our recent investigations covering noble and 3d transition metal-based OER electrocatalysts by different operando techniques and we show the importance of such techniques in the unraveling catalyst activation/deactivation mechanisms. Thus, our efforts are ranging from half-cell characterization of electrocatalyst intrinsic properties to single-cell analysis of phenomena occurring during their technical operation.Operando techniques like eQCM, XAS, ICP-OES and single cell testing will be presented aiming to emphasize on the critical role of operando in the understanding of fundamental aspects of electrochemistry [1], like intrinsic catalyst properties (Fig. 1a), the effect of electrolyte impurities such as Fe (Fig. 1b-d) on Ni-based electrocatalysts in alkaline environment [2] as well as mechanistic phenomena taking place during catalyst activation (Fig. 1e-f) leading to the formation of the active sites for OER in acidic environment [3].