Teaching students is being instructed. Wang Yue photography
Silver work, photography by Wang Yue
The tools are also made by hand. Wang Yue photography
Aurigrad is creating silver jewelry. Wang Yue photography
Ozygrad gave new creativity to the Mongolian saddle-making process. Wang Yue photography
Ozygrad with Enshien and Dawa. Respondents provided
Hand-drawn sample of Aozhgrad. Wang Yue photography
Ozygrad also misapplied the endangered craft of gold and silver to the making of Mongolian saddles. Wang Yue photography
Dagong Network Inner Mongolia News (reporter Wang Yue) Ao Zhigele, a Mongolian boy who grew up on horseback, was influenced by the ancient nomadic culture of his hometown, and was deeply attracted by the Mongolian silver handicraft skills from childhood, and later, Ao Zhigele switched from oil painting to metal craft, followed by mongolian craft master En and Dawa to learn metal craftsmanship, became the first graduate student of Enhe Dawa, since then, Ao Zhigele began to deeply love metal craftsmanship, began to specialize in Mongolian saddle culture and production, Shoulder the heavy responsibility of inheriting national culture and skills.
Historical Origins Inherit the spirit of craftsmen
AoZhigrad loves to learn metal craftsmanship, starting from his hometown of Inner Mongolia Bayannaoer Urat Zhongqi, Aozhigrad was born in 1984 in Urat Zhongqi. Urat – is a Mongolian tribal name, Mongolian meaning "craftsman", one of the oldest tribes composed of the descendants and descendants of The Brother of Genghis Khan Habtu Hasar in the Mongolian Yuan Dynasty. At present, there are 417 craftsmen engaged in ethnic handicraft production in Wulat Zhongqi, involving 35 varieties in six categories, such as Mongolian traditional costumes (headdresses), gold and silver jade, strange stone wood carvings, fine art leather paintings, daily necessities (horse tool incense, etc.), and special milk food (camel milk). The historical origin of the hometown has deeply planted the seeds of Ozhigrad. Aozygrad told reporters: "I have especially liked Mongolian silver crafts since I was a child, and I will love it every time I see it, maybe this is the national culture inherited in my bones." ”
Later, Ao Zhigele went out of his hometown and began to embark on the road of study, and successively studied oil painting creation in the Fine Arts Department of Xinjiang Normal University and the Tomus Seminar. From September 2010 to July 2012, he studied metal craftsmanship at the School of Vision of the National University of Culture and Arts of Mongolia and obtained a master's degree. Since January 2013, he has been teaching metal crafts at the School of Fine Arts of Hohhot Nationalities College, a lecturer, and a doctoral candidate. Ao Zhige served as a director of the Inner Mongolia Arts and Crafts Association, a member of the Inner Mongolia Artists Association, and also founded his own studio Inner Mongolia Yihe Wubo Cultural Communication Co., Ltd., from hand-drawn design to hand-made, the whole process is completed by himself, and each product is unique and cannot be copied. On this road of inheritance, step by step, we will move forward step by step.
The school has set up majors to cultivate reserve talents
Hohhot Institute of Nationalities Academy of Fine Arts in 2014 set up a product design major, students mainly learn is metal crafts and leather painting, Ao ZhiGele became a teacher, every year will recruit 5 students, from the first class of students graduated in 2018, so far, Ao Zhi Ge Ge has trained 16 students. Aozhigrad told reporters: "Some of these students are teachers in other schools, and some have returned to their hometowns to open handicraft workshops, in fact, they are also inheriting national culture and skills." On the road of inheriting national culture and traditional skills, Ao Zhigele said: "We have too few talents in metal crafts in Inner Mongolia, and there are too few people who inherit traditional skills, in the next step, I will focus on teaching, spend more time, train more professional talents, and carry forward the traditional skills inherited from the national culture." ”
Passing on the torch, traditional craftsmanship innovation and integration
"Because all the products are made by hand, including the early drawings, and even each tool, they are built by themselves, and they can't be bought in the market at all, and students will feel very boring and tedious in learning, and some students even don't learn to give up." Aozyler said helplessly. Modern people's lifestyle and aesthetic concepts have undergone great changes, especially the advent of the Internet + era, consumers' aesthetics are becoming more and more international, personalized, and life-oriented, and they have no interest in those traditional handmade products with old-fashioned shapes, rustic images, ordinary materials, and poor quality, which forces handicraft artists to come out of the traditional mindset, to integrate modern aesthetic tastes, integrate contemporary popular crafts, integrate current fashion elements, and create good works that make consumers shine and love to let go. Good product.
AoZhigrad is not outdated, he gave new creativity to the Mongolian saddle making process, he will be the domestic has been lost in the zipper embroidery process applied to the saddle, so that the saddle has more cultural connotation and inheritance memory, the traditional Mongolian metal production technology also adds luster to the saddle made by AoZhigrad, the metal decorative components present a dazzling effect, in the production method also combined with the gem setting process, so that the structure of the decorative graphics is clearer, the main and secondary patterns are more distinct, and the surface color and gloss effect are more significant. In addition to the art of zip-lock embroidery and gem-setting, Aozhgrad also misapplied the endangered craft of gold and silver to the production of Mongolian saddles, which are the finishing touches to the saddles.
Aurigrad said: "In the future, I will combine some contemporary fashion elements with advanced design concepts into products, so that more people can accept and like our handmade products." ”
Full of honors, stick to the road of inheritance
Over the years, AoZhigele's handmade works have won many awards, and slowly more people have recognized and liked it, and in 2015, his work "Green Fire" - Fire Rack won the silver medal of the Inner Mongolia Arts and Crafts Association", which also won the second prize in the Second Arts and Crafts Cultural and Creative Exhibition in Inner Mongolia in the same year. In 2016, his work "Set Mongolian Knife" won the second prize in the arts and crafts category of the Ordos International Creative Design Competition. In June 2017, his works such as "Mongolian Knife", "Steel Carved Stirrups", "Filigree Silver Bowl" and other works participated in the 6th International Intangible Cultural Heritage Exhibition sponsored by the Ministry of Culture of the People's Republic of China, the People's Government of Sichuan Province and the National Committee for UNESCO. In 2018, the work "Treasure Knife" won the gold medal of the first Hohhot Fine Arts Innovation Competition. In August 2019, his work "Auspicious Sulu Ingot" won the gold medal of the 3rd Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Arts and Crafts Works "Pegasus Award". In November 2019, his work "Horseshoe Incense Burner" won the Silver Award of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region Cultural and Creative Tourism Commodity Competition. In 2020, three works were granted national appearance patents. In November 2020, his work "Mongolian Saddle" won the first prize of the Second Regional Traditional Handicraft Exhibition.
These honors will also inspire Aozhigrad step by step, on this road of promoting national culture and inheriting traditional skills, and he will also become a microcosm of traditional craftsmen.