In his Moby-Dick papercuts series, artist Qiao Xiaoguang brings together diverse elements to illuminate Herman Melville’s iconic novel. Qiao, a Beijing-based artist, professor, and director of the Cultural Heritage Research Center at the Chinese Academy of Fine Arts, learned traditional Chinese papercutting techniques from the elderly women who practice it in rural China. Consequently, his very contemporary papercuts reference the plants and animals of China’s countryside and depend on intricate design techniques that were developed in China more than 1500 years ago.
The Cutting Edge of Moby Dick is underwritten by the KU Center for East Asian Studies and Dr. Beth Schultz. (Exhibit runs through October 2.)
Click here for information on the exhibition.