A few days ago, I bought books in a bookstore in Japan. I had a “Tosho” card, a gift card for buying books worth 5000 yen. In Japan this Tosho card is a popular choice for a present for children. I couldn’t remember when, but I got this Tosho card that had a picture of an artwork by Pierre Auguste Renoir from someone and so I decided to use it to buy books. After the card lost its value, I took it back home with me and used it as the material for paper cutting.
Most of the time, I use a cartridge paper or photocopy paper or coloured paper to cut out the design when I make a papercut work. The idea of cutting out existing pictures or illustration on materials comes from an artist . Although the Tosho card is made of some sort of metal (as it is a magnetic card) and has a fair thickness and slippery surface, making the existing object to be an artwork is exciting and fun. It is like a style of pop art culture, represented by Andy Warhol’s Campbell’s Soup (just the concept is similar, the approach to the concept is different).
Controlling a cutter is very challenging when cutting the surface that requires appropriate amount of force and has no fibre to stop the blade from swerving off the design. I made many mistakes where thin paths were accidentally cut, but it’s all practice and learning to improve…
If I have time, I will experiment different printed materials and explore the possibility of using unique materials to create my own artworks.
Saran Kim | Blog 