The History of Paper and its Relevancy in The Modern World
An Overview of Paper Art as Seen Throughout History
While there are many practical applications for paper, there are also many ways it can be utilized for artistic expression.
The Asian Influences on Paper Art
This image is of a Japanese folding screen and was retrieved from “A Japanese Folding Screen.” World History Encyclopedia, https://www.worldhistory.org/image/11016/a-japanese-folding-screen/.
While paper has many practical applications, it also serves many artistic purposes as well, but it took time to do so. Paper was originally reserved for buddhist texts and was not utilised by artists until the Song Dynasty, between 960-1279, which then it was utilised by the Literati painters (Bird and King). The production of paper in Japan began in the eighth century because of how crucial it was to printing sacred buddhist texts, and the prince of Japan was a strong supporter of buddhism and pushed for its influence. (“Collection”). At this time they were able to produce larger sheets to be used for such things as folding screens which could be adorned with landscapes or other large pieces of art. (Bird and King).
The Popular Art of Paper Mache
This image is of a paper mache anatomical model and was retrieved from Kreczak, Kathryn. “Conserving Dr Auzoux's Male Anatomical Model.” Science Museum Blog, 21 Nov. 2017, https://blog.sciencemuseum.org.uk/conserving-dr-auzouxs-male-anatomical-model/.
Paper mache is one of the most popular paper art forms, and the name translates to chewed paper which is how some manufacturers went about making it. Despite the French name it is not a European creation and was not introduced in Europe until the 17th century, though France was the first country in Europe to introduce the artistic technique. Like paper itself, the technique was created in China, before spreading to Japan and Persia, and quickly spread across Europe though it was not a popular ware until the late 1700s (Hall). In 1740, A particular technique known as japanning came about as an imitation of japanese lacquered paper mache. The technique was incredibly durable and able to rival wood. The technique was created by gluing prepared paper underneath heat which created tough panels (Hall). The method was used to construct anatomical models by Dr.Auzoux after being met with the challenge of preserving cadavers in the 1820s (Ortug).
The Art of Paper Collage
The image is one of Henri Matisse's collages and was retrieved from AnOther. “Matisse and His Collages.” AnOther, 17 Apr. 2014, https://www.anothermag.com/art-photography/3562/matisse-and-his-collages.
In the nineteenth century development of photography, as well as other modern artistic practices such as collaging. Collaging started to become popular in the early twentieth century when it was taken up by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso (Bird and King). The technique was later practised by artist Henri Matisse in 1943 after being affected by declining health (Heller, Vienne, and King).