It's Only A Paper Moon

April 11, 2023

Humanity has invented countless different ways to make paper. The base ingredients change with the place & time. They can involve plant fibers, old fabric, wood, recycled paper, & even plastic. Price, variety, quality, & availability change too. However, one thing remains the same: as soon as paper becomes affordable enough, people start slicing it up & using it for art.

"Paper Cut" Boat My “paper” is digital. I drew this “paper cut” boat in Krita.

Sailing Over A Cardboard Sea

Paper cutting is an art form that has been popular since paper was invented in China roughly 2,000 years ago. As the knowledge of paper making spread around the globe, the concept of paper cut art followed. Each place adapted their recipe for paper to the materials they had available. This created different types of paper with regional variations. Each place also found their own way to incorporate paper into their culture’s traditions – again, with regional variations.

It Wouldn’t Be Make Believe If You Believe In Me

Some paper cut art traditions are so old, they pre-date paper! The Mexica people cut religious figures out of amatl; the bark of mulberry trees. This practice continued until the introduction of Chinese silk paper in the 16th century spurred the development of papel picado as we would recognize it. Silk paper was/is rather expensive (it’s made, like the name says, from silk fibers) so it was not until the introduction of more modern tissue paper that the practice exploded to the level of popularity we see today.

“Paper Cut” Night Sky This was my very first “paper cut” piece.

Yes, it's only a canvas sky

In some places, cut paper art became entwined with religious & cultural traditions. Paper cutting is frequently seen in Jewish folk art, & is still commonly used for modern ketubah & mizrah. I highly recommend image searching “paper cut ketubah” (sometimes spelled katuba or ketubbot) if the paper cut art style interests you, as there are countless beautiful pieces online!

Hanging over a muslin tree

In other places cutting paper was not only art, but performance art. During Japan’s Edo period kirie artists would create their pieces in front of an audience, often with musical accompaniment. They would even take suggestions of what to make from audience members!

Hans Christian Anderson is a world-renowned author known for stories such as “The Emperor's New Clothes”, “The Little Mermaid”, & “The Ugly Duckling”. Less well known is his talent for paper cut art. Anderson would cut paper while telling stories at parties, giving the finished pieces away to the other guests. Hundreds of his paper cut pieces still survive today, mostly in Danish museums.

How happy I would be

Paper cut art has risen to popularity over & over again. Late in his life the artist Henri Matisse turned almost exclusively to paper cut-out collages. The television show South Park, digitally produced now, began as paper cut animations. Video games like Nintendo’s Paper Mario series carry the concept even further.

“Paper Cut” Rocket Inspired by Matisse’s Fauvist period, clearly

If you believed in me

Nancy So Miller is an author/illustrator whose work truly inspires me. She combines painting & paper cut art to make amazing children’s books! Her book “Sun, Moon, & Star” is a joy to read. It was also the reason I really started thinking about trying paper cut art for myself. I am limited to digital paper cut effects for the moment, but I hope to be able to try it with actual paper someday.

Is there a paper cut style or artist more people should know about? Let us know! See you on Tuesday!

Karin Wanderer Learns