Development Of Woodblock New Year Pictures, Game And Interaction

As representative culture, art is of great significance to the understandings of the history and culture of a society. In addition to the in-depth interpretation of art from technical and artistic level, anthropologists of art advocate figuring out the conceptual system and meanings behind and other relevant factors through penetrating the cultural ideas of artistic creators. This thesis takes the woodblock New-year prints of Yangjiabu, Weifang city, Shandong Province as the object of study. Through observing different elements——state ideology, prints producers and consumers——and their interactions in the course of the artistic development of the prints in particular historical period since1949, the author explores how the New-year prints, as a folk art imagined and positioned by different state ideologies, being preserved or changed by the activities of producers and consumers, to discuss the gaming or interactive relations among different elements in the process of folk art through case study, so as to respond to the discussion of relation between structure and agency in anthropology.In research perspectives, placing Yangjiabu New-year prints in specific historical space, taking activities of different groups of folk art in particular historical period as the carrier, this thesis focuses on the performance of "person" in the practice of artistic production, and links the internal attitudes and behaviors of artistic practitioners and the external social and cultural impact, to explore the relations between folk art and social and cultural life. In research methods, the author employs the methods of participant observation, interviews, literature research and regional fieldwork-to analyze the social and cultural backgrounds in different historical periods by literature research, to penetrate the thoughts and specific activities of the "person" in the practice of artistic production by participant observation and interview, so as to discuss the reasons of various changes occurred in the development of folk art, and further observe the connection between art and outside world, in order to build a bridge between art and social and cultural life.This article is made up of four parts, including the introduction, main content, conclusions and appendix. The introduction briefly introduces the significance of the thesis and reviews the related academic research and theories of New-year prints.The1st chapter focuses on the involvement of professional art workers in the creations and productions of Yangjiabu New-year prints, with the New-year prints as the State ideology policy-oriented implementing instrument during the early stage of the new regime of PRC, in order to observe the different reactions presented by production groups and consumer groups under such a circumstances, and to discuss the social and cultural elements behind.The2nd chapter describes the survival situation and special positioning of woodcut New-year prints of Yangjiabu during the Cultural Revolution, the various actions of folk artists and consumers of New-year prints under the high-handed policy, and the preservation of traditional printing plates and prints during this special period, and narrates the multiple interactions and seeming compromises among state ideology, prints producers and consumers, to outline the specific scene of the woodcut New-year prints of Yangjiabu in this particular historical period.The3rd chapter describes the process of revival and development of Yangjiabu New-year prints after suffering the heavy loss in the former stage, with the new opportunities and situations brought by the new cultural policy space of the reform and opening up as a main line, to observe the different tasks and behaviors of different groups of print producer, and to discuss the new features presented in the process of development of prints in this stage under the local government's appeal of increasing local economy through tourism culture.The4th chapter takes the carrying out of folk culture heritage and intangible cultural heritage protection activities as starting point, to discuss the influence of state ideology on the policies of folk art rescue and protection, and on the living/survival status and artistic creations of folk art practitioners from several aspects such as the changes of the function of prints, the new demands along with the change of consumer groups, and the changes of artistic practice of producers, to further observe the trying of the prints producers' self-adjustment under external forces, and explore the future development of the New-year prints.With the discussions above, this thesis argues the following questions:Firstly argues the association between folk art and social and cultural life. Putting Yangjiabu New-year prints in a broad social and cultural context, it could turn out that small-scaled production of folk art would reflect not only a whole-scale lifestyle of social groups with external affection in specific period, but also the ever-going, never-ending social and cultural life adjusted according to the needs of different groups.Secondly argues the relationship of different elements in the development of folk art. Taking the development of Yangjiabu New Year prints as a case, the thesis observes the dynamic relations among state ideology, print producers and consumers, by using "auto-correlation","correlation" and "non-correlation" to analyze their positions and behavioral reasons in art practice through, to further discuss the developing rules of folk art and the different developing trajectory presented in the artistic practice of Yangjiabu New-year prints.Thirdly argues the behaviors and the role of "person" in artistic production field. By describing the survival and development status of Yangjiabu New-year prints in different historical periods, this article concludes that state ideology as the external structural system has an undeniable powerful force on Yangjiabu New-year prints, but the "person", as both the carrier of external affections and the artistic producer and consumer, would not submit to this external influence but act on subjective agency according to their own lifestyle and worldview within the range of external structure, conveying their understanding of the external forces through their attitudes and behaviors towards New-year prints, to conform to or push forward the change of external structure, and to ultimately form a relatively stable but never static and always sequential social structure open to all "people".