This article deals with innovative methods of teaching students-designers, which are based on using ornamentation as a basic element of shaping. Also the author of the article reviewed the principles of folk arts existing at the contemporary development level of society.
Teaching students to the shaping methods is on of the most important thing for designers profession. The lecturers start teaching them with an ornamental analysis of shape. Stylized design or transformation of natural motives is hardly the only way to teach students to shaping methods.
Why it happens?
Firstly, the ornamental structuring is the simplest and clearest to explain. It is a straight and spotty motif handling, shadowgraph emphasis and capability of ornamental handle, methods of composite drawing and graphic simulation. All of them help sequaciously and consistently passing on creation of new ornamental motif, not on shape, but ornamental motif.
Secondly, the composite principles are easier to treat on the ornamental composition, because it is clear and visual. The principle of three-component, intersubordination to integrity, consistency and simplicity are down visually and simply to the patterns pf 3 or 5 plane ornamental elements.
Thirdly, it is easier to convert the shape, we offer the variants aesthetic perception pf the shape and are fascinated with its sculptural characteristics, multiplicity of straight handling, wonder proportional designs, i.e. decorative components. We don´t create a new shape, but modernize an old one.
But in the result we should continue with the main, i.e. using an association circuit and converting shape further we should make them to imagine the shape without any forcing, just supported by the personal concepts and favors at perception of any natural motif. At this point we create a new style and also make authors attitude to the shape.
In this case the lessons´ organizing depends on a design objective. For instance, in the first instance a shape stylized design isn´t accompanied by the task to learn to find out its plastic characteristics in its simplified handle, etc. All their observations they should present in the sketch-pastiche, which emphasize the peculiar tasks of each of them, a line-plastic plane design of natural motif. A structure is its geometric shapes and proportional features of the motif.
It is necessary to overdo educed volumes that help to create a peculiar logic of link shape elements, to educe a unique trait and form personal idea of plastic characteristics of the natural motif. Finally, it allows creating constructive model of the natural motif. by means of transfusion of the shape peculiarities by presenting them in different stuffs: metal, glass and wood.
It´s important to place emphasis on the fact, that at this point a technical training of a student is very important. Topside is a connection with disciplines for composition, by means of which we hone general principles and rules of visual harmonization of the elements, and drawing, which allows easy reading student´s idea in the draft. Grasping of vivid and sharp expressiveness will help students to catch a spirit and to transfuse emotional features of the shape. A good drawing is an underlying basis of any constitutive activity, because the contemporary technical methods such as Photoshop or Corel DRAW, 3D max allow entering demote of an unique kind of create activity. It means that knowing IT and computer programs is an important aspect of the studying process. [1]
Let´s hark back to the architectonic drawing. In the first instance the students think that the model image is in the up-and-doing usage of a handle. But this doesn´t educe construction and practicability of stylized motif. That is why the lecturers often corrobate tasks by mottos, which allows directing student´s activity to the constructive tasks solution.
These mottos are taken from composite principles: integrity, graininess, symmetry, asymmetry, dynamics, static, etc. In order the student could get the clearance of functional shape production at the final stage, it should pass away considerable amount of time. The general tasks of such work are a simple contour educing, perfect proportion defining from the point of view of visual analysis, coherence of stylized motif element. This work is important and even necessary in order the future designers know the process hornbook and could define themselves the way and methods of project searching.
But as it turns out there is easier way of shape searching. It is an ornament.
In course of time the ornamentally stylized nature took shape of functional frames, containers, head-dresses, musical instrument and architecture. Here the shape and ornament merged in the unitary harmony and couldn´t exist without each other. The research of Kazakh material culture and many other nations allows to conclude as follows: firstly, the ornament, which is the way of decorating, at bottom is more complex and important basis of any world style of the art and material culture.
Secondly, at the heart of any ornament is the mathematical precision of the motives, proportional coherence of the shapes and volumes, exact scheme of constructing elements of the ornamental schemes were basis of order systems in the ancient Greece.
Studying and using of the ornament in the project methods, a student is supplied with a ready composite material to solve the complex project tasks. You don´t need to get long way over from studying of the natural motif to its stylized and turning out to the ornament. You need to be able to use the ornament as a basic one to form in the design. However by no mans the previous knowledge should be neutralized, but the thing is vice versa, they help to hasten the project process. It is very important in the guillotine of work act and life process.
Any national ornament has been designed for Ages. The natural motives form the peculiar correlations of gross geometric volumes (macrostructure) with little ones (microstructure). They are built on the principle of shape harmonization. The proportional correlations of the parts, their configuration poses a special module for further its modernization into functional form. This means that in the point we have a ready composite scheme to create a new design objective. There is nothing to do but we apply this scheme to take a decision in favor of shape functional features.
The general stages of work with ornament for studying shaping methods are the followings:
Educing ornamental structure is the work with the ornamental motif at the module net. The next stages are finding out of different variants of contingence for searching an emphasis shape contour and its variants; an accent defining and composite peculiarities of shape elements; accepting of composite schemes according to functional and aesthetic peculiarities of shape; shape draughting on the basis of made composite scheme.
The suggested method is put up so that it can give students the clear ideas of the system of interaction between art and life. It foresees a participation of the students´ experience, also using widespread historic experience of many nations. Their development was in different historic epochs and in different directions, connected with objective conditions of people´s existing. The problems of national peculiarities are directly connected with the problem of customs and innovation in contemporary art. The academicism features, national peculiarities and the sense of a new-build certainly develop a tendency to appear an artist-designer creative work and by no means don´t come into antagonism with each other. If the ideas of an artist are progressive ones and he speaks sincerely at short notice and without preconceived thought, he knows well and feel root his own national culture and achievements of the world experience. To the extent that an artist takes into his head to make a national thing anyhow, combine rational the separate traditional elements with the modernity features, a remote and heartless stylizing succeeds. And the thing doesn´t turn out modern and national. An artist´s journey should be based on a creative putting into practice, which is conformable to the national features, not a mechanical wattage into the present-day life the artistic forms created long ago.
Therefore a topicality of this method is due to the following: there is a necessity of solving the problem of a lessons learned succession of the art experience, lessons learned by the folk craftsman generation, which is directly connected with a field of art education. An acquisition of theoretical and practical skills of contemporary design is very important. It possesses a rich arsenal of project and structural methods, the cultural significance of which is shown in the objective sphere organizing, synthesis of different art kinds, including an applied art. Meaning that it is directly relevant to succession, style forming processes based on the cultural customs. It allows implementing practical design more effective. [3]
The work objection is an establishment of the historically formed patterns of a composite construction of craftwork (weaving, metal- and leatherworking, etc.), defining of their connection to peculiarities of a trade education specify at Innovative University of Eurasia in order to implement and usage of methodic, graphic and semantic systems, which are peculiar to the folk art in contemporary designers´ works.
Based on principle that the ornament is tried-and-true, adjusted system of the elements, which form a certain rhythmic order, one can conclude that the ornamental element is also a tried-and-true structure. Its complex plastic features of the natural motif are set by means of simple geometric volumes. As a result we have a simple composite scheme, which doesn´t need to try the rules of composition. It is needed just to lead to the idea of practical, logic and constructive decision.
Knowing of sources, development of traditional crafts, knowing of history of the native country and world heritage of design is very important aspect of professionalism of the future designers. Today at the Age of a rising tide of interest to the historical roots, extend and at a new level studying of the folk art should become a part of an obligatory program.
References:
- Robert I. New IT in education; didactive problems, implementation prospects// Computer science and education. - 1996. №4. -p.18-25
- Guzeyev V.V. Planning educational effect and technology. M.: Popular education, 2000. - p.194-197.
- Jak D. Division and control work with projects// University education: from effective teacher instructions to efficient studying. Reports´ collection of didactics in higher school/ Belarusian state university. Center of problems of educational development. Mn., Propilen, 2001.-p.121
The work was submitted to international scientific conference «Priorities for Science, Technology and Innovation», Egypt (Sharm el-Sheikh), November, 20-27, 2008, came to the editorial office оn 10.10.2008.