How much is the seal of the "hidden rules" master of arts and crafts worth?

At present, there is a hidden rule in the field of arts and crafts: many successful masters almost no longer create their own works, but in the form of "producer", "producer" and "master studio", many processes and even the whole works are completed by their apprentices and assistants. Some masters are responsible for designing concepts, some make simple modifications after the works are basically formed, and some even just knock a seal at the end and everything will be fine. However, a large number of these handicrafts entered the market in the name of "masters" and got good prices.

So, is such a "masterpiece" valuable? Can collectible handicrafts be supervised and supervised? And listen to the relevant people.

Mr. Zhang, purple sand operator-

Master studio is a false proposition.

In the world of purple sand, more than 50% master pots are not made by masters, but they have to be forged to have some connection with them. Producers, including the master studio, have become a means of collecting money in disguise. Mass production of daily necessities or handicrafts, in the name of art, defrauds the money of art, but it is not true of art.

Do masters really have time to supervise the construction? The process of purple sand from ore to clinker, to mud blank and then to finished product is extremely complicated. For example, the teapot in Gu Jingzhou has been trimmed hundreds of times before and after, and it took 22 years to finalize the design, which shows the difficulty of creation. What should real supervision be like? I met Wang Hui, a professor of Ceramic Art Department of Tsinghua University Academy of Fine Arts, and designed several rhythmic pots. The artistic conception is wonderful, but his pot-making technology is not up to standard, so he invited Yin Huijuan and Cao, arts and crafts artists with more than 30 years of pot-making experience, to help him make it. In the whole process, these people get together every day to study, discuss and discuss every link. Finally, it is made into a series with pure materials and harmonious modeling proportion, which shows the charm of the pot in detail. This kind of real supervision has lasted for a long time, and at most one or two can be produced. How is it possible that there are hundreds of works produced by masters all over the world now? In fact, some masters just designed a model, and all the work was done by others. This is not supervision, but imitation at best.

However, some masters cherish their feathers. For example, He Daohong ordered one of his teapots. It will take two or three years to deliver it, and they can't book it yet. He publicly declared: if you don't recruit OEM, you will make two or three pieces a year, no more than five pieces at most. He certainly didn't make what was on the market. Even if he did do too much, he would rather knock on his daughter's seal than poke himself. This is also a marketing tool. We don't evaluate this method, but at least we won't mess up our own market.

The so-called master studio is a false proposition, just like the popular division of labor in the painting world: some people paint heads, some people paint clothes, and some people add scenery, all of which are the same. A commodity painting that is obviously only worth tens of yuan is sold to hundreds of thousands with the money of the master, and so is the production of teapot. In some master studios, everyone has a division of labor. Whoever gets up, seals the mouth and installs it, and then the master processes and seals it, which can fetch a good price. The homogenization of appearance pushes purple sand art to a dead end.

The worst "OEM" also depends on the so-called master studio. Many times it is like this: your pot is well made, but it is not famous. Then I invite you to come to the master's studio to make it. When it's finished, I'll help you revise it. It may only take a minute or two to stamp my master's seal. This is the most deceptive and dangerous, because the master made his own fraud, so the master's studio was nicknamed "meat grinder" by people in the industry. Some purple sand lovers, in order to buy the so-called master pot, go to the craftsman's house or master studio to pick the pot. But frankly, even if the pot you bought has a certificate and the master takes a photo with you, it can't prove that the pot is real. Many masters are seventy or eighty years old, their eyes are blurred and their hands are shaking, but many works are published every year. Is this possible?

I have been telling purple sand lovers that I bought a pot, not the name of the bottom of the pot. The same works by Gu Jingzhou, some can sell for1.200 million yuan, and some are only a few million yuan or even lower. Why? That is, the artistic content and level of the works are different, and the painstaking efforts are different. Before buying a teapot, we must first understand the purple sand craft.

China jade carving master Fan Junmin-

Master guarantees ideological design

Practice can let others go.

I think the most important thing in the development of jade carving today is the concept and design concept. We should devote ourselves to improving the added value of jade carving in this respect and making truly level works of art. As long as the national jade carving masters have the concept and design concept and put forward specific requirements, the practical operation part will be left to young people who can do better. I think there is no problem.

I have my own studio, and for a long time, the studio and my works have fallen behind. I just signed my own job recently, because some young people in the team are growing up and have become independent, so they should be given more room for development. But at the same time, we are still working together to complete some works, which are still launched in the name of "Fan Junmin Studio".

My studio now publishes works 100 every year, and the whole team 16 people. As the person in charge, I will have basic requirements for the whole process, including material selection, design and technology, which are all under my control. I focus on design and modeling, and it's up to me to choose which place. But everyone in the team has their own expertise: some people are good at opening big materials; Some people are good at handling details. Every job will be discussed together, and different parts will be assigned to the people who are best at it. As a team, what we should do is to use our best resources as much as possible on a work.

I also make some works by myself, but it's totally interesting, one or three pieces a year. But I don't think there is much difference between the works of the studio and myself, and there is no inevitable difference between them. The jade carving made by Fan Junmin's studio mainly depends on the cost of materials and the effect of production, and has nothing to do with who made it. Sometimes, it is normal that the prices of things made by ourselves are not as high as those in our studio. The master didn't make it himself. It must be nice and expensive.

To tell the truth, jade carving masters generally begin to decline in all aspects of their eyes and hands after the age of 45, but they can't compare with young people. Therefore, there is no need to force a work to be done by a master from beginning to end, which does not make much sense.

Miao Changqiang, a master of China ceramic art-

There is a big difference whether a master does art himself or not.

Ceramic making is different from painting and calligraphy. Many steps require high physical strength, and division of labor and cooperation is normal. However, our Jun porcelain is unique, and every step of raw material selection, proportion, molding, glazing and especially firing will affect the artistic effect of the final Jun porcelain. So it makes a big difference whether the master does it himself or not.

At present, I basically do it alone in the studio, and the two apprentices mainly help me with the manual work of kneading mud and "burning". Ingredients, molding, glazing and firing are all done by myself. This is definitely slow, and there are only a handful of ideal works all year round.

But there are many kinds of master studios, such as mine, which are really made by one person, accounting for about three-fifths of the ceramic industry, and some studios rely on group cooperation. I have to admit that there is a situation that some successful masters have done little by themselves and helped many apprentices and assistants through supervision, supervision and studio work. Specifically, the master usually has his own secret recipe for this step of ingredients, and this step may be supervised, as long as the master pays attention to confidentiality; But whose hand does the molding steps is very different. Sometimes it's just a "line" difference, and the shape is not perfect. This "first line" has become the distance between masters and craftsmen, and the distance between artworks and handicrafts. As far as this step is concerned, there is no way to ensure the standard through producer and producer, and the master has to do it himself.

Generally speaking, when consumers judge whether it is a master work or a master studio, they mainly look at the bottom payment. The production of the studio will definitely fall into the studio's money, and the master's own works will definitely fall into his personal name. However, there are also some products that are in the name of masters, but actually belong to OEM. But I believe that real masters are both virtuous and artistic, and their works can stand the test of time both in modeling and aesthetics. It is safest for collectors to improve their aesthetic level and choose ceramic works with real collection value.

China arts and crafts master Liu Zhongrong-

The studio does not produce works of art.

At present, master studios are everywhere, and works are constantly produced in the form of master producer or OEM. Some masters can make hundreds of dollars a year, which is completely a "wandering in the rivers and lakes." Among hundreds of jade carving masters, more than 90% may be like this. For collectors, it is the money spent by the "master". In fact, they bought the products of the studio.

Studio, to put it bluntly, is a workshop. The products produced must be mainly commodities, although there will be fine products, but they can only be regarded as handicrafts, not works, not works of art.

My own situation now is that my work is a 34 Zhang Baiyu brand every year, with the signature "Zhongrong". The studio produces hundreds of pieces every year, and the signboard is "Zhong Rong Yu Dian". My studio now has more than 30 students, with a special design team and production team. I will check the quality and design of raw materials, including the carving process, but generally speaking, I will intervene from the perspective of maintaining the quality of goods, not from the perspective of making works of art, which is completely different from my personal creation.

Carving jade is a very personalized job, which head dominates which hand is doing it, which is very different. Real works of art must be completed by the master himself, and it is impossible to produce them under the supervision of the producer. In other words, if my personal gold content in Zhong Rong is 99.9%, then Zhong Rong Yu Dian is also related to me, but the gold content is only about 30%~50%. I can tell them apart very clearly now. However, some master studios are deliberately confusing. Obviously, things with a gold content of only 30% are forced to sell at a price of 99.9%. There are many situations.

I am still doing one thing. All my personal works of Zhong Rong have been registered for intellectual property protection, and the National Copyright Administration will issue "identity cards" to ensure the legality, authenticity and uniqueness of these works.

Now, no other jade carving master will do this except me, because most of them rely on the studio for OEM, and the work is not too hard. In fact, it is impossible to delve into it and it is not convenient to defend rights. But the risks that consumers have to bear have become greater: first of all, what you buy from this master studio at a high price cannot be guaranteed to be made by the master himself; Secondly, such jade carvings can be copied and are not unique, so the collection value will naturally be greatly reduced.