Regional Styles Research Articles

A Comparative Study of The Northern and Southern Styles of Zhuang Opera in the Guangxi Zhuang Aotonomous Region, China

Zhuang Opera is deeply rooted in the traditions, beliefs, and lifestyles of the Zhuang people, yet it faces numerous challenges in the context of globalization and modernization. In 2006, Zhuang Opera was recognized as a national intangible cultural heritage of China, offering an opportunity for its preservation. However, it continues to struggle with issues such as talent shortages, regional fragmentation, and the erosion of traditional practices. This study compares the two primary regional styles of Zhuang Opera—Northern and Southern—analyzing differences in dialects, musical styles, vocal techniques, instrumentation, and performance practices. Through fieldwork, interviews with practitioners, and detailed comparative musical analysis, the study reveals how these stylistic variations reflect the cultural values of the Northern and Southern traditions of Zhuang Opera. It also provides guidelines for the future development of Zhuang Opera, aiming to contribute to its preservation and revitalization while ensuring its continued significance in the cultural life of the Zhuang people.

Pipsan Saarinen Swanson’s Life Model Home: Mediation and Mythmaking in Postwar America

Abstract In a 1955 photographic essay, Life magazine published model interiors designed by Pipsan Saarinen Swanson, telling its readers they represented an authentic regional style called “Nordic Modern of the Midwest.” In this paper, I conduct a close visual and textual reading of the magazine spread as well as other archival documents related to Swanson’s model home. This reading I contextualize within design and cultural histories to demonstrate that Life framed the model home to suit its own agendas to, on the one hand, celebrate American culture and, on the other hand, promote modern design. I argue that in so doing, the magazine presented Swanson’s work in a manner that bolstered and expounded on a myth that had recently been circulating the design world in the United States. Promulgated by historians, writers, and designers, this myth revised the established history of modern design to relocate its origins from early twentieth-century Europe to pre-1900 America.

Prospection of the Red Biological Patinas Influencing the Urban Scenery Architecture in Portuguese Territory

Portugal’s architecture reflects a rich history influenced by Roman, Moorish, Neoclassical and Romantic styles, with the 20th century marked by Art Deco and colonial influences. Regional styles vary, with white-painted buildings commonly experiencing color changes due to biofilm formation. Visually striking are the red-colored biological patinascommon in the coastal areas. A survey of 120 historical buildings affected by bio-colonization helps to understand the reasons for the patinas’ growing, which beyond natural factors, is often linked to construction defects. A characterization of four samples utilizes Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) to identify the microorganisms composing the red biofilm, while the SEM-EDS, FTIR-ATR and XRD techniques provide further insights into the biofilm and substrate features. The comprehensive data of biochemical characterization indicate a wide variety of microorganisms, including bacteria and fungi, some of which exhibit potential as producers of a UV-tolerant red/yellow pigment (carotenoid) responsible for the macroscopic coloration of bio-colonization.

TYPOLOGY OF FACES ON ETRUSCAN TERRACOTTA (TO THE PROBLEM OF THE EVOLUTION OF THE STYLE OF HEAD TYPES ACCORDING TO P.J. RIIS)

Introduction. Etruscan-Italian fine art experienced a noticeable artistic influence from Greece. Iconographic types of the head and face were transmitted both through the import of finished Greek products and through the circulation of matrices and the artists themselves, which complicates the chronology and typology of monuments. P.J. Riis proposes to systematize the "evolution" of Etruscan terracotta styles by constructing a chronological series from the early archaic to the late classic [Riis, 1981]. The purpose of the work was to study the concept of P.J. Riis about iconography in Etruscan coroplastics and the creation of generalized morphological characteristics of local types (regional styles). Materials and methods. Illustrated chronological tables from P.J. Riis and the method of composite portrait in digital version were used. Results and discussion. P.J. Riis examined 352 types of images, their archaeological context geographically confined to Northern Etruria (Clusium), Central (Vulci, Volsinia), Southern (Caere, Veii, Falerii, Latium) and Etruscan Campania (Capua). The earliest production of Etruscan terracotta was concentrated in Campania, Southern and Northern Etruria, the first hellenized style of terracotta spread from Etruscan Capania into Southern Etruria. The composite portraits based on the combined samples of archaic art indicate the absence of significant sex differences. In the composite female portrait for all samples of the archaic period, a contribution of morphological elements of the types of Southern and Central Etruria is visually noted. The greatest contribution to the morphology of the face in the composite female portrait for all samples of the classical period was made by Central Etruria and Capua. The resulting composite portraits by region indicate the heterogeneity of facial iconography in the archaic and classical art of Central Italy and visualize the conclusions of P.J. Riis on the development of several local traditions of fine art style. Conclusion. The classification of P.J. Riis is constructed in such a way that it assumes for its further completion with new archaeological data, so it can be considered as an attempt to create a “visual” history of the Etruscan portrait, at least part of it.

동아시아와 서유럽 게스트하우스의 에스닉 스타일 디자인 표현 요소 연구

This study aims to analyze the characteristics of ethnic style design elements applied to the bedrooms of guesthouses in East Asia and Western Europe, comparing their similarities and differences. First, the research investigates how ethnic styles are expressed in the bedroom interiors of guesthouses and establishes a case analysis framework. Second, using online platforms such as Booking.com and Tripadvisor.com, eight guesthouses were selected for analysis: two each from China and Korea in East Asia, and two each from France and Italy in Western Europe. Third, the selected cases were analyzed using the framework, focusing on key design elements including architectural elements, colors, materials, furniture, and decorative elements. The findings reveal distinct regional styles and emphasize the specific characteristics of design elements used to express ethnic styles in guesthouse bedrooms.

ARCHITECTURE OF BIKANER: DEVELOPMENT AND IMPACT OF DIFFERENT STYLE

one of the most beautiful & interesting centers of later Indian art, Bikaner, is the place where one can see a number of monuments constructed during span of time. Bikaner was established in the year 1488 and was ruled by several rulers to be precise 22 rulers after the demise of Rao Bika, the founder of the state. Maharaja Rai Singh, Gaj Singh, Surat Singh, Ratan Singh, Dungar Singh & Ganga Sing were few other predominant rulers of Bikaner who played a key role in the development of architecture in the state. The rulers of Bikaner constructed Junagarh fort (Maharaja Rai Singh), gaudy temples, palaces such as Lalgarh palace (Maharaja Ganga Singh), chattries or cenotaphs etc. It would not be out of place to mention the fact that it was rich & effluent class of Bikaner who predominantly contributed towards construction of major temples and all the Havelis. Although Bikaner does not have any specialized form of architecture of its own but comprises of Rajput, Muslim, Indo-Islamic combination of architecture and also found are some impacts of regional style such as Gujrati, Bengali, Jain, Buddhist and British style of architecture. For construction purpose the materials mainly used was red stone along with yellow Jaisalmer stone, white marble and for plastering bajri, roda, pieces of stones, sweet lime stone and raw & baked bricks were used. The artists & masons of Bikaner were both Hindu & Muslim, therefore, for ambience we found the impact of both religious architectural features, ornamentation and motifs in major.

GEOMATIC DATA FOR TREATMENT OF HISTORIC BRIDGES. THE CASE STUDY OF THE RIBNICA BRIDGE IN PODGORICA, MONTENEGRO

<p>Stone bridges, all around Europe stand as enduring testaments to engineering mastery, cultural heritage, and historical continuity. They served as crucial infrastructural lifelines, connecting communities and fostering trade routes. Their enduring presence symbolizes the craftsmanship and innovation of their eras, reflecting diverse regional styles and technological advancements. Geometric documentation of a stone bridge provides critical insights into its structural integrity, aiding in preservation efforts. Accurate data obtained through geomatic techniques ensures informed conservation decisions, safeguarding the bridge's historical significance for future generations. This paper focuses on the geometric documentation of the Ribnica Bridge in Podgorica, Montenegro.</p>

The problem of the correlation of individual and regional styles in the Tatar poetry of Bashkortostan

The proposed article is devoted to identifying the main qualities of the regional style of Tatar poetry of Bashkortostan, through studying the features of the individual style of modern Tatar poets of the republic. The work provides a historical and literary analysis of the development of Tatar poetry in Bashkortostan in the twentieth century; the reasons for the emergence of such a literary phenomenon as “bilingual Tatar literature” are revealed, due, first of all, to changes in the socio-political and cultural life of the republic, the displacement of the Tatar language from the literary press and book publishing in the 1930s-1980s; the influence of these events on the individual style of poets is studied. Based on a© Фазлутдинов И. К., 2024qualitative scientific and theoretical basis, the author reveals the meaning and content of such literary terms as “style”, “individual style”, “regional style”; reveals the peculiarities of aesthetic perception and personification of the world in the works of the Tatar poets of Bashkortostan; emphasizes the importance of the artistic picture of the world as the main component of their individual style. Focusing on the diversity of opinions on the problem of the correlation of individual and regional styles in literary criticism, the author reviews scientific and literary discussions on the problems of form, content, creative method and the main motives of regional Tatar poetry. He comes to the conclusion that the Tatar poetry of Bashkortostan is inextricably linked with the traditions of the thousand-year-old Tatar literature and is currently its successor. Thus, the author enters into a polemic with scholars who consider the Tatar poetry of Bashkortostan as an independent literary phenomenon.

Generative artificial intelligence and building design: early photorealistic render visualization of façades using local identity-trained models

Abstract This paper elucidates an approach that utilizes generative artificial intelligence (AI) to develop alternative architectural design options based on local identity. The advancement of AI technologies has increasingly piqued the interest of the architecture, engineering, construction, and facility management industry. Notably, the topic of “visualization” has gained prominence as a means for enhancing communication related to a project, especially in the early phases of design. This study aims to enhance the ease of obtaining design images during initial phases of design by drawing from multiple texts and images. It develops an additional training model to generate various design alternatives that resonate with the identity of the locale through the application of generative AI to the façade design of buildings. The identity of a locality in cities and regions is the capacity for the cities and regions to be identified and recognized as a specific area. Among the various visual elements of urban and regional landscapes, the front face of buildings may play a significant role in people’s aesthetic perception and overall impression of the local environment. The research proposes an approach that transcends the conventional employment of three-dimensional modeling and rendering tools by readily deriving design alternatives that consider this local identity in commercial building remodeling. This approach allows for financial and temporal efficiency in the design communication phase of the initial architectural design process. The implementation and utilization of the proposed approach’s supplementary training model in this study proceeds as follows: (i) image data are collected from the target area using open-source street-view resources and preprocessed for conversion to a trainable format; (ii) textual data are prepared for pairing with preprocessed image data; (iii) additional training and outcome testing are performed using varied text prompts and images; and (iv) the ability to generate building façade images that reflect the identity of the collected locale by using the additional trained model is determined, as evidenced by the findings of the proposed application method study. This enables the generation of design alternatives that integrate regional styles and diverse design requirements for buildings. The training model implemented in this study can be leveraged through weight adjustments and prompt engineering to generate a greater number of design reference images, among other diverse approaches.

Historical Perspective on Literacy and Learning Resources of Traditional Chinese Fiddle Musical Instruments in Jiangxi

Traditional Chinese fiddle instruments have a long history, with their origins dating back over a thousand years. They are an integral part of Chinese culture and have evolved over time, incorporating various regional styles and techniques. The objective is to examine the historical perspective on literacy and learning resources of traditional Chinese fiddle musical instruments in Jiangxi Province, with a primary focus on Jiujiang City. The study employs a multidisciplinary approach, drawing from ethnomusicology, organology, and musical acoustics, to unravel the intricate cultural, social, and historical context of fiddle music. Key informants, including master craftsmen and experts in fiddle production, provide valuable insights into the region’s musical heritage. The research also explores the emergence of the Zhonghu, a plucked stringed instrument, and its role in Chinese folk music. The study’s findings reveal the rich cultural landscape of Jiujiang City, characterized by the fusion of fiddle music with silk and bamboo music, private music clubs, religious ceremonies, and Taoist traditions. In conclusion, this research contributes to the preservation and enrichment of Jiangxi’s cultural heritage and offers insights into the continued development of traditional Chinese fiddle music education and cultural preservation.

DualGGAN: A New Facial Style Transfer Network

In response to the background penetration problem of unsupervised style transfer algorithms in most cases, a Transformer style transfer network DualGGAN based on dual generators and fusion of relative position encoding is proposed. The network is trained using the least squares generative adversarial network, and the neural network is used as the image feature extractor to generate feature maps to obtain facial image features with attention weights from the feature maps, utilizing relative position encoding and mask loss to jointly constrain feature region style transfer. The experimental results show that the DualGGAN network effectively reduces artifact generation when implementing facial style transfer, maintains good background consistency, and has good generalization ability. Experiments have shown that the FID and KID indicators on the cat2dog and older2adult datasets are significantly improved compared to other algorithms.

Monochromatic design in a polychrome world. Why our cities have become increasingly gray: A dichotomy between production and reception in architectural color design

AbstractColor is a central component of human experience, yet when we narrow our focus to the practice of city planning and architecture, color only plays a marginal role in the initial phases of the design process. This paper reviews various approaches to using color on buildings: for example, the evolution of regional styles due to the availability of pigments and materials, the use of color as a form of decorative drapery, and the emphasis of a building's pure form without any additional color. Central to the paper is the analysis of the dichotomy between the reality of the process of actually experiencing a city and its buildings on the one hand and the design process on the other—a dichotomy between reception and production, thus, a contradiction between an “atmospheric world” of human perception and cognition and a professional world of imaginative design, in which the spatial atmosphere created by color, material, and light often emerges only as a by‐product at the end of a conceptual and diagrammatic planning process. The paper proposes a different way of going about the architectural design process that encompasses holistic thinking in color, material, and light right from the start.

Baldock torcs: penannular neck rings from south-eastern Roman Britain and their significance for the development of provincial identities

This study defines and characterises the ‘Baldock’ group of copper-alloy penannular torcs, which were worn in south-eastern Britain during the 1st century AD. Torcs had an important local pre-Roman pedigree, but this new regional style of dress seems to have emerged around the time of the Claudian invasion and was worn in the heart of the new Roman province of Britannia. The significance of these torcs is explored, focusing on the new social contexts in which they circulated, their connections to new kinds of provincial identities, and the ways in which torcs were reimagined and transformed within Romano-British society. On cover:Late Roman wall, the portion immediately south of the West Gate (Porta Oea) with re-used blocks from first-century mausolea (Drawing by Francesca Bigi) and Tombstone of Regina from South Shields (Arbeia) (Tyne and WearArchives and Museums/ Bridgeman Images). E-ISSN (online version) 2611-3686 ISSN (print version) 0065-0900

Mirroring Mediterraneanization: Pottery production at Archaic Monte Iato, Western Sicily (6th to 5th century BCE)

With a total of 162 samples, one of the most extensive NAA sample series from one single inland settlement in Archaic Sicily is now available to address long debated issues about the impact of the so called ‘Greek Colonization’ on local pottery production. In a previous series, a wide range of wares manufactured on site could be determined, ranging from traditional style incised and stamped vessels via matt painted ceramics of regional style to Greek style pottery. The second series presented here was intended to extend and deepen the results obtained and to investigate the variability of the potter’s responses to new challenges and demands in the course of Monte Iato’s changing indigenous society. These responses were found to present even greater variance than expected before, fitting the overall picture of the site's increasing integration into Mediterranean networks.

Sexual art on Roman lamps: analysis of provincial data

AbstractIn the Roman world, lamps with replicated images of sex were in circulation from the late 1st c. BCE until the end of the 4th c. CE. This paper maps out key regional and chronological trends in the representation and consumption of these objects using data from 11 provincial sites. It demonstrates sustained sensitivity of replicated sexual disc-reliefs to distinctive regional styles of consumption and representation. It also shows that symplegmata disc-reliefs were interacting and changing over time, resulting in innovative imagery that produced new meanings in localized contexts. This is the first comparative systematic study of the styles of consumption and representation of replicated lamp iconography using statistical methods. As such, the paper contributes a novel methodological approach to Roman sexuality research and also advances our understanding of how Roman replicated sexual imagery came about, how it constructed meaning, and how it was consumed by different communities over time.

Where you edit is what you get: Text-guided image editing with region-based attention

Leveraging the abundant knowledge learned from pre-trained multi-modal models like CLIP has recently proved to be effective for text-guided image editing. Though convincing results have been made when combining the image generator StyleGAN with CLIP, most methods need to train separate models for different prompts, and irrelevant regions are often changed after editing due to the lack of spatial disentanglement. We propose a novel framework that can edit different images according to different prompts in one model. Besides, an innovative region-based spatial attention mechanism is adopted to explicitly guarantee the locality of editing. Experiments mainly in the face domain verify the feasibility of our framework and show that when multi-text editing and local editing are accomplishable, our method can complete practical applications like sequential editing and regional style transfer.

TsrNet: A two-stage unsupervised approach for clothing region-specific textures style transfer

Style transfer has been widely applied in the fashion industry for design assistance. This paper focuses on object-level image style transfer for specific texture regions on fashion images. The current methods mostly utilize extra conditional inputs to obtain regions of interest in fashion images, which take extensive time and cost to prepare these data. To address this issue, we propose a two-stage unsupervised approach named TsrNet for clothing texture style transfer between images. Firstly, we construct a network named Mask-GAN to unsupervisedly split out the clothing texture region. Secondly, we improve CycleGAN to interchange the texture on specific target regions of the two images. Specifically, considering the diversity of fashion texture, we construct a multiscale module (Drf-module) with dynamic perceptual fields and design an image gradient-based texture structure loss (GTS) to perform texture transfer. Qualitative and quantitative experimental results show the effectiveness of our algorithm for clothing-specific region style transfer.

Research on the Spatial Sequence of Building Facades in Huizhou Regional Traditional Villages

Under the influences of the regional environment, building communities within traditional villages exhibit regional styles and features. Based on the research team’s early studies, and given the protection and renewal practices of Huizhou traditional villages in Southern Anhui Province, China, this study investigated the spatial sequences of building facades and explicated the laws of these spatial sequences. This research involved a series of technical steps. First, in the case selection stage, typical traditional villages and spatial sequence paths were established. Second, in the data acquisition stage, 3D laser scanning technology was used to acquire building elevation data and conduct 3D modelling. Finally, the measurement indices were determined by vector analysis of the data. Factor analysis and cluster analysis were suitable for the reduction and classification of the above data in order to explore the constitution law of building units. Meanwhile, the regularity of the facade organization of building groups was further quantified by examining the combination and connection relationships between the building and spatial patterns. Then, the laws of facade organization of the building groups were explicated. The purpose of this study is not only to achieve accurate inheritance of historical data information, but also to explore the centralized contiguity mechanism behind the traditional villages through external features from the perspective of rescue. The results demonstrated that there are spatial sequences represented by building facades in Huizhou traditional villages. Moreover, internal laws of “largely identical but with minor differences” in the building unit composition and building group organization were identified. These findings: (1) provide a deeper understanding of the regional characteristics of Huizhou traditional villages in Southern Anhui Province, China; (2) offer a foundation for practical administration requirements; and (3) recognize a novel research perspective and a feasible technical route for the protection of traditional villages in other regions, with an appreciation for the value of spatial sequences.

Towards harmonized regional style transfer and manipulation for facial images

Regional facial image synthesis conditioned on a semantic mask has achieved great attention in the field of computational visual media. However, the appearances of different regions may be inconsistent with each other after performing regional editing. In this paper, we focus on harmonized regional style transfer for facial images. A multi-scale encoder is proposed for accurate style code extraction. The key part of our work is a multi-region style attention module. It adapts multiple regional style embeddings from a reference image to a target image, to generate a harmonious result. We also propose style mapping networks for multi-modal style synthesis. We further employ an invertible flow model which can serve as mapping network to fine-tune the style code by inverting the code to latent space. Experiments on three widely used face datasets were used to evaluate our model by transferring regional facial appearance between datasets. The results show that our model can reliably perform style transfer and multi-modal manipulation, generating output comparable to the state of the art.

Research on the Decorative Patterns of Modern Residential Buildings in Macao from the Perspective of Social Change

In the modern era, Macao has experienced another major turning point since the opening of the port, and the buildings of the Historic Centre of Macao were successfully declared a World Heritage Site in 2005, and Macao's architectural heritage has become an important part of Macao's culture Cultural export has also become a key focus for Macao's tourism development. However, it is still rare to express urban culture through the connotation of patterns, and traditional patterns are the main carrier of regional culture, reflecting Macao's special regional style and culture, and are also important cultural elements for the eternal vitality of the city. By digging deep into the correlation between the decorative patterns of residential buildings and social and historical changes in Macao in the modern period, the particularity of the architectural decoration patterns in Macao is sorted out and summarized, and finally the particularity and regularity of the emergence and evolution of the decorative patterns of modern residential buildings in Macao are obtained.