Artist resurrects a lost art of book binding in painstaking detail

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Artist resurrects a lost art of book binding in painstaking detail

It is hard enough to revive lost ancient artistry, much less revitalize it in the modern world, but that hasn't stopped book artist Zhang Xiaodong.To get more art in the news 2021, you can visit shine news official website.

His exhibition "Leaves of Infinity," which will open tomorrow at the Art+ Shanghai Gallery, will display how the decorative skill of 1,500-year-old dragon-scale binding is being deployed in modern art.

Dating back to Tang Dynasty (AD 618-907), dragon-scale binding is based on a scroll, where pages are pasted with precise, equal spacing from each other. The illustrations in a book are cut into strips and each strip is pasted on the margin of each page. The result: When the scroll is spread out, the margins of the pages compose complete illustrations.The artistry was lost around the 17th century, after being passed down for generations by royals and scholars. Only one ancient example is left today, and it's housed in the Palace Museum in Beijing. This treasure records the pronunciation of Chinese characters in the Tang era.

Zhang, based in Beijing, came across dragon-scale binding in 2008, when e-books and mobile devices were beginning to dominate the publishing business. He was not afraid to go against the trend.

"I believe that one very basic human need is to satisfy the senses, such as sight and touch," he said. "I believe traditional books made of paper provide gratification for many people, including me. Dragon-scale binding is very old yet it has a sense of 'future' about it because of its dynamic flexibility."

The first book Zhang crafted will be displayed at the exhibition. It is a copy of the Buddhist scripture "Diamond Sutra," first printed during the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644) and written in 32 different fonts of Chinese characters.

With illustrations added to the book, Zhang's copy is indeed a feast for the eyes, with its delicate rice paper, dynamic illustrations and ink fragrance.

"When you flip through the book, one illustration disappears as soon as another appears," Zhang said. "That might give you the feeling of Zen."He doesn't stop with making books. Zhang also uses the techniques of dragon-scale binding to create or remake paintings, some of which are displayed in the exhibition.

The paintings are composed by an array of carefully cut colored pieces of paper, producing an effect somewhat like Venetian blinds. In a breeze, the paintings move like three-dimensional animations.He calls the art style qianye, which literally means "a thousand pages."

Two significant works in the exhibition are "Qianye Dunhuang" and "Qianye Dunhuang II." They depict frescos from the famous Buddhist caves of northwest China."I stayed in Dunhuang for a long time in 2020 and talked to many experts studying the frescos," Zhang said. "It inspired me to finish the works."

He calls the small pieces of paper that compose the paintings "leaves.""It's not easy to do because I often had to stop and ponder the shape of the 'leaves' so that they would perfectly portray the characters in the painting."

Also inspired by his experience in Dunhuang is Zhang's original work entitled "Non Sand."He said it was inspired by fascinating sunset scenery when he visited Mingsha Mountain, or the Singing Sand Dunes, near Dunhuang.

"I wanted to display the special texture there so that people would know Dunhuang has not only frescos but also stunning natural views," he said. "So I used a dye made from chestnut shells that had been soaked in water for more than two years to paint the 'leaves,' and then I cut them into a landscape painting.