Saturday, October 21, 12:30 – 2:30PM
Artist: Zhi Li
Event Fees: FREE
Location: 40 Rector Street, 2nd Floor, New York, NY 10006
For more than 1,500 years, ink rubbings have been a vital medium for preserving China’s art, culture, and history. A rubbing, by accurately reproducing every fine details of the inscription or pictorial design using ink and paper, provides a sharper and more readable image than the object or a photograph of the original. Due to the loss and deterioration of many original objects through the centuries, ink rubbings frequently are the sole remaining evidence of a significant portion of China’s artistic and cultural heritage.
The rubbing works are made by applying sheets of paper into the surface of the object, and carefully inking the surface to create a copy of the original. The advantage of this technique allows the applications to any hard materials, including stone steles, cliffside engravings, bronze vessels, jade carvings, or even oracle bones and figurines.
In the demo session, participants will obtain an overall understanding of ink rubbing in the cultural context, its history, different schools, and the techniques of making rubbings. Participants will learn to use the traditional tools, as well as tools and techniques developed by the instructor.