So Paper Art or Papercutting originated in China from the 6th Century Six Dynasties period called Jianzhi. They would be used as health, prosperity, or decorative purposes and would often include symbols from the color red to the Chinese Zodiac.
Example of Jianzhi |
A lot of the more notable artists to come out of the Papercutting scene were more Dutch and American artists. One you probably have heard of is Kara Walker, who creates these wondrous silhouettes confronting many issues such as race, gender, sexuality, and violence . But they don't always have to be just 2D designs, many artists in contemporary art have voyaged into 3D sculptures of paper such as artist Nahoko Kojima.
Kara Walker, Grub for Sharks: A Concession to the Negro Populace, black paper, 2004 |
Nahoko Kojima, Jerwood, Byako, paper, 2013 |
Rogan Brown, Spore, paper, 2013 |
Kuin Heuff, Greta Heuff-Heg, acyrlic and paper, 2011 |
Artist Websites:
Kara Walker: http://learn.walkerart.org/karawalker
Nahoko Kojima: http://www.nahokokojima.com/
Kuin Heuff: http://www.kuinheuff.nl/index.php
Rogan Brown: http://roganbrown.com/home.html
Other Websites with cool Papercutting articles:
http://www.mymodernmet.com/profiles/blogs/rogan-brown-paper-sculptures