Traditional ornament in the multimedia space

Demidova Malvina PhD in Art History Associate Professor, Department of Information Technology and Computer Design, St. Petersburg State Institute of Culture 191186, Russia, g. Sankt–peterburg, nab. Dvortsovaya, 2 malvina.demidova@gmail.com Other publications by this author

Dadianova Irina Borisovna PhD in Sociology Associate Professor, Department of Information Technology and Computer Design, St. Petersburg State Institute of Culture 191186, Russia, g. Saint Petersburg, nab. Dvortsovaya, 2 newspaper2004@yandex.ru

It is difficult to imagine a modern cultural space without multimedia. Design projects implemented through multimedia technologies are actively introduced into the space of the human environment, contributing to the implementation of information and communication functions, providing various spheres of human activity: commercial, educational, leisure. A great demand for the use of expressive means of animation / motion graphics and sound can be observed in the cultural industry, which promotes the production of novelties in the field of theater, cinema, computer games and other, new musical and artistic genres and directions.

The St. Petersburg State Institute of Culture at the Department of Information Technology and Computer Design has accumulated a wealth of experience in designing and developing visual and audio multimedia compositions for introduction into the expositions of museums or modern exhibition art spaces. Their visual solution, as a rule, is determined by the figurative structure, visual elements, plots and content of the selected works of painting, and fragments of classical music are mainly used as musical accompaniment – material rich for research when performing not only student works. Description, analysis of the functions of morphological, semiotic and constructive characteristics of elements of works of classical art, of course, contribute to the activation of the creative imagination of the designer, streamline the process of random search for new compositional solutions. The traditional ornament also represents a unique material and subject for the study and analysis of how the original image, the structure of its shaping are able to direct the search for the content and meaning of the constructions of the digital image, and the implementation technologies are able to determine the search for technological techniques for creating it in a multimedia composition.

The theoretical foundations of ornamental art are devoted to the works of leading Russian scientists and art historians. The origin, symbolic and magical meaning, signification, semantic function of the ornament are considered in their work by N.S. Voronchikhin, N.A. Emshanova ^[1]. The authors considered the semantic roots of ornaments of ancient cultures, collected and presented various types and patterns of ornaments of different countries and peoples from antiquity to the beginning of the XX century, which can be used by designers specializing in different areas of professional activity. The specifics of the ornament in the system of spatial arts are considered in his research by Yu.Ya. Gerchuk ^[2].  The technique of performing Russian folk embroidery, its plots and the semantics of individual ornamented motifs is analyzed and described in his work by G.S. Maslova ^[6]. The article by the foreign researcher of architecture and urban planning H.P. Sousa (Jose Pedro Sousa) is devoted to the issue of ornamentation in the era of digital technologies, the study of cultural and technological conditions that form architectural practice ^[16]. T. Inglis (Theo Inglis) discusses the return of attention to the art of ornament, awareness of its aesthetics and significance, a kind of revival in the art of modern printing in his article ^[14].

The use of motifs of Russian ornaments in the new technological environment does not lose relevance at the present time, as it helps to attract the attention of the modern viewer, who is passionate about digital devices, to traditional culture, and, consequently, builds and strengthens the ties of tradition and innovation.

The purpose and objectives are to study the interpenetration and mutual influence of artistic techniques and creative methods of creating traditional ornaments and music for their application in the process of developing multimedia projects, as well as the analysis of motion graphics created for stage design and demonstrated both during the direct performance of concert numbers of the orchestra of folk instruments and during intermissions. The analytical method of pre-project analysis and the formal-stylistic method of describing and analyzing the internal structure and external appearance of the art form were chosen as the main ones in the process of solving project tasks.  

One of the most striking style–forming elements in art - ornament has always attracted the attention of the creators of works of decorative and applied art, painting, architecture and design. The ornament is capable of performing not only representational and psychological, but also operational and constructive functions ^[1].

Due to the active use of electronic technologies in the design of the stage of various cultural and musical events, the designer faces the task of developing visual themes and searching for new, interesting solutions, developing compositional forms over time. The successful solution of these tasks is largely facilitated by working with traditional ornaments, which at first glance presents too many restrictions in the choice of elements, themes, and motifs. At the same time, such work reveals to the future designer a wide variety of directions for the development of temporary compositions, which he can develop and improve further in his professional activity.

In the educational process, students were given a task to develop a series of short multimedia compositions lasting from 15 to 40 seconds, which, as components, could be assembled into a single piece of motion graphics of the background screen of the stage for the concert of the orchestra of folk instruments of the St. Petersburg State University "Buffoons". It was necessary to activate thinking, to unleash the creative potential for synthesizing a set of possible solutions and approaches to the implementation of a design project with the active use of the sound component.

The task involved first choosing a motif or an integral ornamental composition that would correspond to the sound image of a fragment of one of the list of proposed musical compositions. Many researchers have repeatedly noted that the ornament as a pattern based on rhythmic alternation and organization of the arrangement of elements is consonant with music. The very principle of constructing an ornamental composition contributes to the development of improvisation with variation, repetition, turns and reflections of elements, their destruction into small particles and new ways of grouping.

Another educational task was the choice of computer programs, technological tools, and image processing techniques. The applied special effects were supposed to create a feeling of free, organic existence of traditional ornamental motifs in the modern digital environment. The scenario could be based both on a clearly readable storyline with the beginning and development of the action, its culmination and completion, as well as on a free, partly abstract game with variation, movement and transformation of individual elements and motifs of the ornament in time.

The work could be carried out both individually and by creative groups consisting of two or three people. It should be noted that not all students agreed to unite, someone decided to work independently. However, in modern conditions of development in various fields of activity, the demand for project activities and teamwork is increasing.

The term “project”, derived from the Latin word “projectus” (thrown forward, protruding, outstanding forward) means an event or enterprise limited in time and aimed at developing and obtaining new unique services, products or results. In the current conditions, projects are usually implemented with the involvement of teamwork opportunities. Team members who represent various specialties and fields of activity are connected by a single ultimate goal and shared tasks ^{[3, p.83]}.

In his book "How Projects are Born", Munari B. says that a problem solved with the help of design can be represented as a set of various subproblems, each of which needs to be optimally solved. The author also notes that the coordination of various solutions with the project as a whole is the most stressful part of the designer's work ^{[7, p.23]}.

A project can also be considered a certain set of activities that have a clear time frame, the purpose of which is considered to be the development of unique products, services or obtaining certain results.  Any project has a certain logic of development and goes through successive stages of implementation. The completion of the project life cycle occurs either when the project goals are achieved, or when it is impossible to achieve the goals, or when the need for the project disappears. There are properties that characterize each project without fail: the presence of a specific goal; the use of certain means; a certain execution time; uniqueness.

As a result of the project implementation, unique results are obtained, representing products or services. Uniqueness is an essential feature of the project, since the tasks of any project are always creative, requiring unconventional solutions. 

Along with the concepts of temporality and uniqueness, the essential property of the project is its consistent development.  Sequential development is realized by passing certain steps and stages in the process of working on the project. For example, at the early stages of development, the content of the project is formulated approximately, in general terms in order to be detailed and concretized later, when the goals and results of the project are formulated more clearly.

Examples of projects in the field of design can be the development of a company's corporate identity; the development of packaging design; the development of a corporate website interface; the development of a series of advertising printed products; the development of an image multimedia presentation or video.

To date, there has been a steady trend of using a wide range of information technologies in the activities of a modern designer.  The use of information technology in design is extremely developed. Designers integrate modern computer technologies both into their direct professional activities – they work in graphic packages, create animated videos, develop video clips, web page interfaces, three-dimensional graphics, and carry out auxiliary activities – they work with local and global networks, office applications, specialized databases.

A special role in the designer's activity is given to multimedia technologies, which give a particularly wide scope for the implementation of creative ideas. The term ‘multimedia' (from Lat. ‘multum' - ‘many’ and ‘media’ – ‘means’) means “simultaneous use of various forms of information presentation and processing in a single electronic container object” ^{[11, p.52]}. The most widely used example of a multimedia product is an electronic presentation, which contains texts, graphics, audio and video information, and elements of interactivity.

Multimedia technologies have become widespread and popular relatively recently due to the rapid improvement of the technical capabilities of personal computers, as well as the spread of new media ^{[5, p. 135]}. Today we see numerous examples of the use of multimedia technologies in various fields (advertising, business, television, education, culture and art, etc.). In particular, with the help of multimedia tools, you can create a wide range of information products, namely multimedia presentations and image advertising sites, promotional videos, animated logos, banners, etc. ^{[9, 13, 15]}.

Design projects developed on the basis of multimedia technologies often involve the use of information presentation techniques by means of animation. Computer animation includes various motion simulation technologies implemented using specialized software that combines the capabilities of processing graphic objects and motion modeling. Computer animation is used in various fields, such as videos, traditional animation, commercials, computer games, electronic presentations, Internet sites ^{[4, p. 162]}.

At the moment, the market of software tools for creating animation effects is quite wide. Popular programs for creating two-dimensional animation are Adobe Animate, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Image Ready, and Corel Real Animated Vector Effects. Programs AutoDesk 3D Max, Blender, Maya, Bryce, Realsoft 3D are used for modeling and animation of three-dimensional environments and objects ^{[8, 12]}.

Working on the draft of the training assignment, striving to achieve the goal, each participant tried to fulfill the tasks facing him at a high professional level, such as: script development, preparation of graphic material by means of graphic editors, sound processing, implementation of the general assembly.

All project teams worked following a single algorithm.  Initially, musical compositions and varieties of traditional ornaments were chosen to support the mood set by the musical composition. A preliminary script for the future video was formed, the animation effects used were thought out. In the Adobe Photoshop graphics package, clausures of key frames were developed. Further, ornamental compositions were processed using graphic packages (Adobe Illustrator and Corel Draw) – they were drawn in a vector with the selection of individual elements – rapports of ornaments, flowers, animals, individual graphic elements. After that, the development of animated videos using a variety of methods in the Adobe AfterEffects program began ^[12]. As the main animation technique for all teams, it was proposed to use the kaleidoscope effect, implemented using the "contour displacement" shape tool in Adobe AfterEffects. To animate the characters in the videos, the "Puppet" tools and the technology of movement along the guide were used. To create smooth transitions between scenes, the effects of smooth appearance and masking of layers were used.

The choice of a sound fragment also at the initial stage of design contributed to a significant streamlining of the workflow, determined the direction of the search for visual materials, helped to build a script, planning time for the development of fragments of the project from the choice of expressive and technological means, to determining its place in the structure of a holistic narrative. The source of inspiration for the choice of themes was musical works, the artistic content and sound image of which are based on the reinterpretation of folklore material by a modern composer professionally proficient in the techniques of academic writing, Vadim Davidovich Bibergan. The works of V. D. Bibergan for the ensemble of folk instruments are clearly structured. Even an unprepared listener will hear how each new phrase, each part, having its own bright instrumentation and image, draw a unique sound picture of the life of the people (as, for example, in a small concert for the orchestra "Merry Torzhok", 1998).

Creating a composition based on the Petrikov painting, one of the creative teams chose a fragment from the Promenade Suite for bass quintet and percussion instruments, Part No. 3 - "Polka" (Fig. 1). The students decided to build a script based on a clearly readable storyline, made a plan for the stage interaction of the two topics. The main theme is the "dialogue" of the characters (two chickens), which develops as a cross–cutting action. The background, unifying theme is an abstract game with elements of ornament, which creates the necessary atmosphere of a light, relaxed, romantic atmosphere. The general compositional form of a multimedia composition is clearly divided into component parts with and without the participation of characters.

Fig. 1. Motion graphics for the concert stage of the orchestra of folk instruments. It is made based on the Petrikov painting. Freeze frames. Authors: A. Groll, V. Koptyaeva, A. Sevostyanova.

The other team chose for their composition a fragment of a Concert for the Sonorous harp with an orchestra, Part II – "Round Dance with the Goblin". Based on the elements of the plant motif of the Khokhloma painting, using a variety of technological and compositional techniques of drawing a pattern (arrangement and rearrangement of elements and their fragments, displacement of the compositional center, symmetrical reflection of elements, creating a kaleidoscope, adding special effects of glow), design students achieved generalization of form and gave traditional motifs a new, modern sound.

Fig. 2. Motion graphics for the concert stage of the orchestra of folk instruments. It is made based on the Khokhloma painting. Freeze frames. Authors: E. Rzayeva and A. Sablina.

Otherwise, the following author looked at the way of organizing a temporary composition, who preferred to work independently. Inspired by the patterns of Vologda lace, further simplifying the stylization of the elements of the floral motif, he subordinated their movement to the musical rhythm from a fragment of the Concert Suite "Russian Nursery Rhymes", Part V – "Naigrysh". Rhythm is an important, defining quality of the ornament, without which it is difficult to imagine this art. Ornament does not exist in principle without rhythm, as does another kind of art, such as dance, and "a sense of ornamentation is sometimes the main beginning in dance" ^{[10, p. 211]}. In a multimedia composition created by a student, all the movements of elements in the screen space resemble a dance drawing. They line up and group, conveying the outlines of the shapes of different figures, gather first around one, then two, and then several centers, creating amazing ornamental patterns that continuously change over time.

Fig. 3. Motion graphics for the concert stage of the orchestra of folk instruments. It is made based on Vologda lace. Freeze frames. Author: Ya. Mezhinsky.

It should be noted that the experience of completing the task of creating motion graphics for the background screen of the stage for the concert of the orchestra of folk instruments of the St. Petersburg State University "Buffoons", without a doubt, was successful and positive. Animation and motion graphics are currently actively used in the development of design projects for various areas of not only the cultural industry: concert activities, theater, cinema, computer games and others, new musical and artistic genres and directions, but also the educational field. The work on creating motion graphics on a given topic contributed to the development of students' skills and ability to work with different types of visual and audio information in different software development environments. The images of the musical works of Vadim Davidovich Bibergan determined the direction of the search for visual material, the choice of graphic motifs of traditional ornament, contributed to attracting the attention of the younger generation to the art of folk art not only visual, but also sound.

Thus, the following conclusions can be drawn. Firstly, the considered examples of student works clearly represent the potential for the development of the constructive functions of the ornament in the new digital environment, its possibilities in creating both abstract and plot composition. Multimedia effects are able to give a fresh reading to traditional motifs, revealing their plot and images that are close and intuitive at the subconscious level.

Secondly, the work on creating motion graphics for the backdrop of the concert stage of the orchestra of folk instruments contributed to the development of students' skills and ability to work with different types of visual and audio information in different software development environments, which meets the requirements of modern practice of a designer specializing in multimedia

Thirdly, at the early stages of development, the content of the project was formulated approximately, in general terms in order to be detailed and concretized later. Perceived simultaneously with the music, the graphic composition developing over time became part of the figurative structure of a single work, which was assigned the task of emphasizing a certain content.

To solve the problems of the project work, iconographic and formal-stylistic methods of studying the artistic form of the ornament were used. The development of the structure of the interaction of the elements of the composition of the traditional ornament, determined the appearance and content of the created multimedia compositions.

Fourth, the experience of working with sound composition was gained, the role of sound in creating the synthesis of visual and sound expressive means was comprehended.

Thus, the project process is always a creative experiment to achieve a goal and often involves teamwork. The integration of the art of traditional ornament into the multimedia space is an urgent creative task for a modern designer. The use of the motifs of Russian traditional ornaments in the new technological environment contributes to attracting the attention of the younger generation to traditional culture, strengthening the connection between traditions and modernity.