1. Cantonese Embroidery
Cantonese embroidery is continually making changes according to the surrounding environment. For example the adoption of artistic style of Western oil painting and the principle during flourishing trade development with West. Besides, new embroidery techniques may be created by artists based on their own experience. In recent years, Cantonese embroidery suffers from the lack of talents and market, so people try to make changes and tend to extend Cantonese embroidery to other products, e.g. bag. Therefore, there is also a tendency to embroider existing paintings, so as to extend market and make it more valuable. Embroidery made by machines also became more widely spread in order to reduce time, increase productivity. However they are regarded as much inferior than the hand made one. These changes will somehow lead to the loss of traditional skills, so tradition should be better preserved through comprehensive record.
2. Cantonese enamel / Kwon-glazed Porcelain
Cantonese enamel wares signified the cultural exchange between West and East, and acted as a visual conservation of history, as seen from the Thirteen Factories image and the Gothenburg wine bowl. Also Cantonese enamel wares have been transforming the conventional genre of Chinese porcelains (from normal plates, tall bottles to fruit vessels and even decorations in the shape of high heel). Thirdly, since the Republican era, a revolution about Guangzhou porcelain is being led by Lingnan School and its “spiritual inheritors”. It is still in process, giving a new definition for porcelains made in Guangzhou.
Even so, the challenge is that hand-painted Kwon-glazed wares become rare due to the lack of students who wish to learn the craft and the use of offset lithography to print the image. In Hong Kong there is only one Guangcai industry - Yuet Tung China Works - left. People also have to think about the value of
Guangcai porcelain – Are they just for appreciation or are they have to be
practically used as containers? If they were broken, do they still
contain their value?
Chihei 瓷戲, a group of students learning porcelain drawing in Yuet Tung China Works, believes the broken pieces still process their values. They collect and remake the parts into accessories like rings, necklaces and brooches, because they treasure the time and effort being put in one single porcelain, because the porcelain is a piece of art[1]. Ironically Guangcai is not so much treasured in China except Guangzhou. Thus as to showcase to the public the beauty of Guangcai, besides Chen Wenmin (the nationally list master)’s plan to establish a museum specifically for Guangcai, what needs to be done to preserve the craft is a good question.
[1] Metropop 。瓷碎二次創作,第379期,第三段。<http://www.metropop.com.hk/contents/379/green/970/>
1. Chen Wenmin, Cantonese enamel as a decorative high heel.
2. A covered jar produced by Yuet Tung China Works.
2. A covered jar produced by Yuet Tung China Works.
3. Guangdong Ivory Carving
“The Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora” prohibited ivory trade in 1989 so animal bone such as ox bone started to replace ivory. Some modern master such as Zhang Minghui is specialized in using animal bone. Using of machine is another change in ivory carving and man-made chemical material is added in some works. Therefore, this makes traditional ivory carving difficult to survive in the market because they are time consuming. Hence, many masters or craftsmen are forced to leave this art field.
The lacking of successor is one of the big challenges because it takes more than 10 years to train up a craftsman and it is more difficult to have one master. In the present situation, there is no more than 100 people participating in this art field and only about 20 are masters. Guangzhou Daxin Ivory Craft Factory is a state-owned ivory carving enterprise and the average age of the craftsman is 48. There are only 3 masters who can make ivory ball and boat. Hence, some techniques have already been extinct such as woven technique.
There is the immersion of new elements or ideas from the modern ivory carving master. For example, Li Dingning suggests the mixing of northern technique and elements with Lingnan style in the work. He also emphasizes on the protection of Lingnan carving so he suggests a broader use Lingnan human figuresm pagoda and pavilion. However, these creative ideas also derive a concern on the missing of original Lingnan taste.
The lacking of successor is one of the big challenges because it takes more than 10 years to train up a craftsman and it is more difficult to have one master. In the present situation, there is no more than 100 people participating in this art field and only about 20 are masters. Guangzhou Daxin Ivory Craft Factory is a state-owned ivory carving enterprise and the average age of the craftsman is 48. There are only 3 masters who can make ivory ball and boat. Hence, some techniques have already been extinct such as woven technique.
There is the immersion of new elements or ideas from the modern ivory carving master. For example, Li Dingning suggests the mixing of northern technique and elements with Lingnan style in the work. He also emphasizes on the protection of Lingnan carving so he suggests a broader use Lingnan human figuresm pagoda and pavilion. However, these creative ideas also derive a concern on the missing of original Lingnan taste.