LANDSCAPE：Interactive Traditional Art Products

#Interaction Design #Visual Design #Traditional Fine Art

Team Size: Individual
Duration: Jan-May, 2021

_{The Challenge}

Chinese painting is losing its social and cultural foundations due to outdated themes, traditional framing, and the rise of digital art. As the creators and audience, the literati, disappeared with the end of the Qing Dynasty and the imperial examination system, the grounding of Chinese painting has weakened. Furthermore, its fixed ancient themes and decor don't align with modern aesthetics and interior designs, leading to a diminished interest from contemporary audiences.

_{The Objective}

To make Chinese painting easier to understand and to make contemporary youth interested in it. I tried to create an interactive Chinese painting representation: creating Chinese paintings in the form of photography, then using AR to render 3D images, and adding some interactive elements about traditional culture.

_{The Outcome}

The final product, an app developed for tablets, uses Augmented Reality (AR) technology to enhance understanding and appreciation of traditional Chinese paintings. By scanning real artworks through the app, users are able to unlock AR content that explains the painting's meaning and context. Moreover, interactive elements and mini-games are integrated into the experience, offering a fun, immersive, and educational way for users to engage with Chinese art, bridging the gap between traditional themes and modern tastes.

LANDSCAPE： Interactive Traditional Art Products

Background

Landscape painting was regarded as the highest form of Chinese painting, and generally still is. The time from the Five Dynasties period to the Northern Song period (907–1127) is known as the "Great age of Chinese landscape". In the north, artists such as Jing Hao, Li Cheng, Fan Kuan, and Guo Xi painted pictures of towering mountains, using strong black lines, ink wash, and sharp, dotted brushstrokes to suggest rough stones. In the south, Dong Yuan, Juran, and other artists painted the rolling hills and rivers of their native countryside in peaceful scenes done with softer, rubbed brushwork. These two kinds of scenes and techniques became the classical styles of Chinese landscape painting.

Design Purpose

To make Chinese painting easier to understand and to make contemporary youth interested in it. I tried to create an interactive Chinese painting representation: creating Chinese paintings in the form of photography, then using AR to render 3D images, and adding some interactive elements about traditional culture.

Problems

The disappearing social and cultural foundations of Chinese painting
The creator and audience of Chinese painting are both literati. When the last dynasty, the Qing Dynasty, came to an end, the literati class in ancient China disappeared. Therefore, the social foundation of Chinese painting was weakened. Poems and calligraphy are crucial elements of Chinese painting. Without the imperial examination, the cultural foundation of Chinese painting started to disappear.

The outdated, obscure theme of the painting
For young people, the ancient figures in Chinese history are challenging to understand. So do the stories. It is difficult for young people to fully understand the long history of Chinese dynasties, let alone numerous historical figures and stories. The theme of Chinese painting is relatively fixed, which is usually the people or scenery of ancient China. So it is comprehensible that modern people lack interest.

Outdated decoration or frame
The frame and decoration of traditional Chinese paintings often take the form of a hanging shaft, which is a perfect match for the ancient architectural style. However, architectural styles have changed. Traditional Chinese paintings are no longer suitable for modern interior designs. And young people are not fans of traditional Chinese paintings.

The impact of digital artworks
Under the influence of new art forms such as movies and television shows, it is an indisputable fact that traditional art, including Chinese painting, has been marginalized. At the Shanghai World EXPO 2010, people were willing to spend 4 hours waiting for a 15-minute-4D movie.