Face sculpture character Qi Tian Great Saint Sun Wukong
Song Zhanke's Chinese style and national tide face sculpted figures
□ top news Yang Xiaoyanwen interviewee provided a picture
Flour is a common ingredient in northern families, and in the hands of craftsmen, ordinary flour can also be turned into exquisite works of art - face sculpture.
In an ordinary studio in Luoyang Antique City, the miracle from flour to face sculpture is staged every day, Song Zhanke learned face sculpture from his grandfather from childhood, every day he heard his face life, officially entered the industry at the age of sixteen, and did more than 20 years, Song Zhanke is now the inheritor of Luoyang Song's face sculpture art.
What is the charm of the face sculpture that makes him immersed in it? How do traditional crafts attract the attention of young people? In an exclusive interview with top news reporters, Song Zhanke talked about his ideas, "The distance between traditional crafts and the frontier of fashion is not so far, I hope I can let more young people understand face sculpture and fall in love with Chinese handmade." ”
Uncle Luoyang pinched the tide of the country with his fingertips
On September 19, 2021, Song Zhanke's facial sculpture appeared at the beginning of Henan's "China Festival" series "Mid-Autumn Festival Fantastic Tour", and in just a few seconds of footage, a group of face sculptures full of aura left a deep impression on the audience.
Sun Wukong wearing a golden crown and stepping on the clouds, the four heavenly kings of King Kong's anger, and the pavilion maid holding the violin with a hairpin flower... Each lifelike face sculpture is like a soul endowed by Song Zhanke's hand, or a smile, or angry and angry.
"When I was young, I watched my grandfather kneading people every day, which was also a lot of ears, and I began to learn at the age of 12." At the age of 16, Song Zhanke went to Tianjin to learn the art of face plastic surgery and began to officially enter the industry. The 43-year-old has been exploring "face sculpture" for more than two decades.
In August 2020, Song Zhan Ke was named the inheritor of the intangible cultural heritage of Song's face sculpture in Luoyang City.
The most difficult part of the face sculpture production is the facial shaping of the character, "Whether the character is vivid or not depends on the facial details, and I often observe the character's demeanor from various channels when I start creating." Song Zhanke said.
Face molding often requires the cooperation of other processes, such as woodworking techniques will be used in the base of the work, accessories, etc., even if it is as small as a thumb-like stool, Song Zhanke also strives to restore one to one, "the wood connection is made of mortise and tenon structure, the smaller the item, the more difficult it is to make."
A work takes about seven days, more complex often takes more than ten days, he introduced, "the other day the more fiery fighting Buddha, the production took ten days, the finished product is 35 cm high, about a pound weight, priced at 2600 yuan."
In Song Zhanke's studio, the face sculpture is not only arranged to present the traditional images of Fu, Lu, Shou, Tianwang, and Immortals, but also the National Comic Saint and Erlang God that meet the aesthetics of young people, customized two-dimensional game hands, couple statues, etc., as well as anti-epidemic medical workers and tang palace night banquet sisters who are all over the Internet this year.
Song Zhanke prefers Henan elements. "I know very well the elements of Henan such as peony flowers, Bao Gong, Yu opera, etc., and Henan has many images worth shaping." Through decades of getting along and researching day and night, Song Zhanke believes that face sculpture has become a carrier for his own cognition of society and thinking about the present.
"In my opinion, the distance between the most traditional craftsmanship and the most cutting-edge fashion is not so far." Song Zhanke believes that a firm love, a bold idea, and a cross-border cooperation can close the distance between the two.
Improving in the inheritance, let young people fall in love with Chinese style
How to use seemingly simple techniques such as kneading, rubbing, and kneading to produce face sculptures that meet the current aesthetics? This is a question that Song Zhanke thinks about every day.
As the fourth generation of inheritors of "Song's Face Sculpture", Face Sculpture needs both inheritance and protection for Song Zhanke. Therefore, in the inheritance, Song Zhanke is also constantly thinking about innovation and improving the face shaping techniques left by his ancestors.
The improvement of the flour mud alone took Song Zhan ke several years. "In the past, the face mold was easy to dry and crack and not easy to preserve, but I added glue to the traditional process, and now the face mold I make will not deform or break even if it falls on the ground."
Song Zhanke said: "Even if two works start at the same time, the final effect will not be exactly the same, all 100% handmade." ”
Regardless of spring and summer, Song Zhanke was crouched in front of the workbench at seven o'clock in the morning, until the sun set, and his body was inevitably damaged during the years. "But immersing myself in the production is my calmest time, and the finished product works well, and I am satisfied."
Nowadays, social development is changing with each passing day, is there still a need for old crafts to be passed down? Like the problems encountered by many non-hereditary heirs, Song Zhanke has also faced such doubts.
Song Zhanke introduced that through the short video release of the face sculpture production process, he gained a lot of fans, people in the north of the south of the sky will be on the Internet to discuss with him, in private message exchanges, Song Zhan Ke will often receive custom face plastic inquiries, and now he also has a lot of his own apprentices, for the next generation of Song face sculpture inheritance accumulated day after day.
"Nowadays, Chinese style and national tide have gradually become the mainstream aesthetic, and young people have begun to pay attention to and explore intangible cultural heritage." In Song Zhanke's view, the inheritance of intangible cultural heritage is not only the task of non-genetic inheritors, every intangible cultural heritage enthusiast can become the inheritor and guardian of intangible cultural heritage.
On weekdays, Song Zhanke often reads the works of domestic and foreign face sculpture and handmade masters. "I will absorb some of the more delicate and realistic elements in the works, integrate them into the traditional face shaping craftsmanship, such as character proportions, demeanor color matching, and also combine some game handmade elements to make young people interested." Can a traditional Chinese handicraft maintain its vigorous vitality? Song Zhanke believes that it should not depend on the age of the craftsman, but on the mentality and thinking of the craftsman.