1: Artistic conception

The emotions reflected in the image of the garden make the visitors feel emotional about the scenery, resulting in an artistic realm of blending of scenes.

Historical Origins

Garden art, bred on the soil of Chinese culture, is closely related to Chinese literature and painting. The ideological origin of the concept of garden artistic conception can be traced back to the Eastern Jin Dynasty to the Tang and Song Dynasties. The literary and artistic trend at that time advocated nature, and landscape poems, landscape paintings and landscape travel notes appeared. Garden creation has also undergone a turning point, from building as the main body to natural landscape as the main body; from praising wealth and wonder to using the natural expression of cultural literacy as the guiding ideology of garden design, thus giving rise to the issue of garden artistic conception. For example, when Emperor Jianwen of the Eastern Jin Dynasty entered the Hualin Garden, he said to the people accompanying him: "The place of understanding does not have to be far away. You can only think of Haopu in the forest and water." It can be said that he has appreciated the artistic conception of the garden.

Representatives of the founding era of garden artistic conception, such as Tao Yuanming, Wang Xizhi, Xie Lingyun, and Kong Zhigui in the Jin and Southern and Northern Dynasties to Wang Wei, Liu Zongyuan, Bai Juyi, Ouyang Xiu, etc. in the Tang and Song Dynasties were both writers, artists, and Garden creator or landscape developer. Tao Yuanming used "picking chrysanthemums under the eastern fence and leisurely seeing the Nanshan Mountain" to express the tranquil mood. Wang Wei, who is known as "there is painting in poetry and poetry in painting", runs Wangchuan Villa, which is full of poetic charm.

After that, the masters of garden creation in the Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties, such as Ni Yunlin, Ji Cheng, Shi Tao, Zhang Lian, Li Yu, etc., all integrated high literary and artistic accomplishments in poetry, painting, and gardening, and developed the artistic conception of gardens. The tradition of creation, striving for innovation, and making great contributions.

Characteristics of garden artistic conception

Garden is a natural spatial realm, which is different from literature and painting. The artistic conception of gardens is based on natural objects and their comprehensive relationships. Emotions arise from the environment but transcend the realm of things inspired by it, leaving the viewer with aftertaste or room for reverie. When the objective natural realm and people's subjective emotions are unified and stimulated, the garden artistic conception is produced. Its characteristics can be explained as follows:

Garden is a real natural realm, and its artistic conception changes over time. This change of time sequence is called "seasonal" change in gardens; the change of morning and evening is called "time phase" change; the change of cloudy, sunny, wind, rain, frost, snow, smoke and cloud is called "meteorological" change; the change of living plants is called "climate" change. "age phase" changes; and phenological changes, etc. All these make the conditions for creating artistic conception constantly changing.

In the change of artistic conception, the scene that is in the best state and appears with a certain frequency should be the artistic conception theme. The emergence of the best state is short-lived, but it is immortal, which is what is said in "Yuan Ye" that "a lesson can lead to immortality." For example, Hangzhou's "Autumn Moon over Flat Lake", "Remnant Snow on Broken Bridges", Yangzhou's "Four Bridges of Misty Rain", etc., can only fully exert their appeal in specific seasons, times and specific climate conditions. The emergence of the best artistic conception of these themes, although short-lived in terms of time, has been appreciated by thousands of people.

Chinese garden art is a synthesis of natural environment, architecture, poetry, painting, couplets, sculptures and other arts. Garden artistic conception arises from the comprehensive artistic effect of the garden realm, providing visitors with emotional information, evoking memories and associations of past experiences, and producing extraneous feelings about objects and unexpected scenery.

Not all gardens have artistic conception, and not all gardens have artistic conception at all times. However, artistic conception is more interesting, interesting and memorable. Therefore, artistic conception is the core pursued by famous masters of Chinese garden design for more than a thousand years, and it is also the inherent charm that makes Chinese gardens have global influence.

Creative methods

The artistic conception of gardens is the expression of cultural literacy and the expression of affection, so the fundamental issue lies in the improvement of cultural accomplishment and emotional quality of the motherland. Technical issues are only an auxiliary method for creation and can be continuously innovated. The creative method of garden artistic conception has China's own characteristics and profound cultural roots. The creative method of integrating emotions into the country can be roughly summarized into three aspects:

The process of "bodying things". That is to say, the creation of garden artistic conception must make detailed observations on the appropriate expression of emotions in specific environments and scenery during the process of investigation and research. The images of things each have the characteristics of expressing personality and affection, which is an objective phenomenon. For example, people often compare willow silk to women and tenderness; flowers to children or beauties; and ancient cypress to generals and steadfastness. If the comparison and expression are inappropriate, it will not be able to express the emotional characteristics of things. Not just comparisons, but also careful observation and good at discovery.

If stones are used to symbolize firm character, then pebbles and flower stones are not as good as yellow stones and rock stones because they are not only in quality but also in shape. In this process of observation, I gained some insights and started to design.

The process of "managing by craftsmanship". Only by conceiving ideas on the basis of physical objects can expression of artistic conception be possible. Then plan the layout and tailor the scenery according to the idea. The richness of garden artistic conception must be "borrowed" according to conditions. In the chapter "Borrowing Scenery" in "Yuan Ye", Ji Cheng said that "scenery is borrowed", which is not only about borrowing scenes for composition, but also "borrowing" to enrich the artistic conception. Ji Cheng believes that the evening bell, dawn moon, woodcutter singing, fishermen's songs, etc. are all touching.

"Bi" and "Xing". It is a means of expressing the aesthetic consciousness of China's pre-Qin era. The interpretation of contrast and excitement in "Wen Xin Diao Long" is: "Comparison is attached to it; inspiration is inspired." "Comparison is to use other things to compare this thing", such as "Orchid grows in the deep valley, and it will not be fragrant if there is no one." It is a natural phenomenon that can be a metaphor for people's noble moral character. "Xing" refers to expressing feelings directly with the help of scenery, such as "The spring water in the wild pond, the late sunset in Huawu" expresses the joyful feeling in the scenery. "Bi" and "Xing" are sometimes difficult to distinguish completely, and they are often used together. They are both ways to express, express, express and convey affection through external objects and scenes.

2: Phase Land

It was originally a popular term used in China to survey and select a garden area. There is a monograph on surveying in the book "Yuan Ye" written by Ji Cheng, a gardener in the late Ming Dynasty. Chapter "Phase and Place" of the selected garden site. The phase includes on-site reconnaissance of the garden site, evaluation of the environment and natural conditions, assumptions about the relationship between topography, topography and landscaping composition, planning considerations of content and artistic conception, until the selection of the base site is determined.

In the first section of the chapter "Phase and Land", Ji Cheng introduced his practical experience in doing land mapping work, highlighted the key issues in the survey, and summarized it into five aspects: 1. Park foundation Regardless of the orientation, the focus should be on the favorable conditions for landscaping, such as whether there are mountains and forests to rely on? Is there a water system accessible? Can it be somewhat isolated from busy roads? And whether the original large trees, vegetation and other conditions are used. 2. The idea of ??landscaping composition must be developed at the same time during the survey process, not only paying attention to the topography (such as square, round, partial, straight), but also the topography (such as "circling", "cloud spreading" and other trends), and The possibility of "cultivating high and controlling low" utilization, overcoming the shortcomings of terrain and landforms to plan plans, etc. 3. We must pay attention to the issues of hydrology and water source management. In particular, the layout of garden buildings must be connected with garden water management, so that the building can have the advantage of being coordinated with the water surface. 4. The purpose of building the garden must also be considered when selecting the site. Although urban land is not a good environment for gardening, it can still be used in view of the convenience for garden owners to enjoy urban life. If rural land is selected for gardening, it should be convenient for overlooking the fields. The failure of the land. 5. Pay great attention to the preservation and utilization of original large trees.

The chapter "Phase and Land" also summarizes the land of the garden site into six categories, namely, mountain and forest land, urban land, village land, suburban land, residential land, and river and lake land for evaluation. Ji Cheng believes that the most ideal land is mountain and forest land, as the saying goes, "Mountains and forests are the best land for gardens"; the most convenient land is river and lake land, as long as "a small building can be built to capture the grand view"; the land that most needs to be transformed using gardening techniques is It is a village land, mainly for the transformation of the terrain. It is said that "three of the ten acres of land need to be opened for ponds, and...the remaining seven points of the land are for four."; in the countryside, "Pinggang Quwu" It is better to have a hilly terrain with "overlapping Long Qiaolin". As for the construction of gardens in urban areas and on land adjacent to residences, the purpose is to "protect the residence" and "convenience the home". Ji Cheng discusses the appropriate content and design artistic conception of the garden, all of which are subject to clear functional purposes.

3: Layout

An important step in the overall planning of garden design is to determine the nature, theme, and content of the garden to be built according to the plan, and to carry out the planning based on the specific conditions of the selected garden site. The overall conception is to comprehensively arrange the various important factors that constitute the garden and determine their positions and relationships between them. Such as the selection of garden content and art form, the determination of the location and general outline of mountains and water bodies, the division and connection of different functional lands, the layout of activity and quiet scenic spots, the location of the main scenery of the garden, the arrangement of main entrances and main roads, etc. The layout must comprehensively consider the relationship between the plane and the elevation, so that the entire park structure forms a unity that can meet the functional and landscape requirements. After comparing multiple plans, a suitable layout plan is determined, and then an in-depth design is carried out. Whether the layout is appropriate or not is related to the success or failure of the garden.

Garden layout should be adapted to local conditions. Before layout, understand the requirements of the garden building unit or garden owner first, and conduct a detailed investigation of the situation of the garden base, not only to understand the base itself, but also to understand the surrounding environment. The layout must conform to nature, make full use of the original terrain and landforms, and make appropriate modifications to achieve a decent composition. The garden layout must reflect the spirit of the times, national characteristics and local style, and must constantly introduce new ones.

Gardens in various countries have different forms, genres and styles, including natural, regular, mixed, etc. The artistic form used in the layout depends on the intention of building the park and the base environment. Generally speaking, the artistic form of a garden should be unified and harmonious. If a mixed style is used, the transition between different forms should be handled logically. Sometimes the "garden within a garden" technique or the collection method can be used to arrange different forms and styles in an overall garden.

A garden is a multi-dimensional space for visitors to enjoy immersively. The organization of scenic spots and separation of spaces ensures that the overall situation is both separated and connected, and each scenic spot echoes and sets off each other. The layout should highlight the main body and distinguish the primary and secondary; use topography, plants, buildings, roads and other separated spaces to open and close, gather and disperse, with twists and turns, small in size and large in size, so that the whole garden has both change and unity. It makes visitors feel that there are endless sceneries and endless meanings.

The layout of scenic spots should not only pay attention to providing a quiet viewing effect for tourists to stop and appreciate it carefully, but also be good at using scenery perspective lines to connect and organize various scenic spots, so that tourists can feel the scenery disappearing and appearing as they move. , sometimes far and sometimes close, sometimes looking down and sometimes looking up, constantly changing, unfolding layer by layer, receiving a dynamic effect of changing scenery with each step.

The layout of any park must first consider some issues that are consistent in practical functions. For example, the location of entrances and exits is connected with external traffic, the distribution of people, parking of vehicles, the location of administrative areas, roadways for transport vehicles, debris storage yards, etc. must be located appropriately. Various facilities for tourists to stay, sit, eat, and use public toilets must also be carefully arranged.

4: Landscaping

Use artificial means to use environmental conditions and various elements that make up the garden to create the required landscape.

Overview

“Scenery” refers to the scenery of the realm, also known as scenery. It is composed of material image, volume, posture, sound, light, color and even fragrance. Scenery is the main body of the garden and the object of appreciation. The natural scenery (wild scenery) created by nature has not been processed by humans. Rivers, lakes, oceans, waterfalls, mountains and cliffs, caves, abyss, ancient trees and strange trees, the setting sun and the waning moon, flowers, birds, insects, fish, fog, snow, frost and dew, etc., are all natural scenery and should be fully utilized when designing gardens.

Landscaping methods

Since the Southern and Northern Dynasties, China has developed natural landscape gardens. Garden landscaping is often based on imitating mountains and rivers, "the scenery follows its shape", "borrowing scenery has a reason", "has natural principles and obtains natural interest", "although it is made by humans, it seems to be created by heaven". The main landscaping methods are:

1. Digging lakes and mountains, shaping the terrain, arranging rivers and lakes, creating paths and roads, and creating mountains and waterscapes;

2. Constructing buildings, platforms, and pavilions , pavilions, halls, pavilions, pavilions, pavilions, corridors, bridges, boats, screen walls, walls, steps, terraces, scenic gates and other building facilities to create architectural scenery;

3. Use stones to build Stack rockeries, strange peaks, caves, and dangerous cliffs to create rockery scenery;

4. Arrange valleys, streams, rocks, and rapids to create stream scenery;

5. Stack huge boulders and cliffs. , divert water to pour down, creating a waterfall scene;

6. Set up a small shallow pool according to the terrain, build a stone mountain fountain, stock ornamental fish, plant lotus, reeds, flowers and grass, and create a water stone scene;

7. Use different combinations to arrange communities to reflect forest line and seasonal changes or highlight the posture of isolated trees, or prune trees to have various shapes and create flower and tree scenery.

8. Arrange various sculptures in the garden, either combined with the terrain and waters, or erected independently to become the center of the composition, with sculptures as the main body, shaping the scenery.

5: Borrowing scenery

Consciously "borrow" the scenery outside the garden into the visual range of the garden. Borrowing scenery is a traditional technique in Chinese garden art. The area and space of a garden are limited. In order to expand the depth and breadth of the scenery and enrich the content of the tour, in addition to using gardening techniques such as diversity and unity, twists and turns, gardeners often use the technique of borrowing scenery to capture the infinite scenery. among the limited.

Practice and theory in ancient times

The technique of borrowing scenery has long been used in ancient China.

The Tengwang Pavilion built in the Tang Dynasty borrowed the scenery of the Ganjiang River: "The setting clouds and solitary swans fly together, and the autumn water and the long sky are the same color." The Yueyang Tower draws on Dongting Lake near and Junshan Mountain on the far side, forming a landscape scene with a myriad of atmospheres. West Lake in Hangzhou, in the larger realm of "a clear lake with a clear blue sky, surrounded by green mountains, and six bridges locking smoke and water", the "Ten Scenes of the West Lake" borrow from each other, and each "scene" is self-contained, forming a series of vivid pictures. "Borrowing scenery" was first proposed as a theoretical concept in the book "Yuan Ye" written by Ji Cheng, a famous gardener in the late Ming Dynasty. Ji Cheng put forward in "The Theory of Xing Zao" that "the skill of a garden lies in the borrowing of causes, and the essence lies in the appropriateness of the body"; "the spring flows and the stone pours, borrowing from each other"; "the common is to reject it, and the good is to accept it"; "the borrower's garden Although there is no difference between inside and outside, if you find the scenery, you are not restricted by the distance or the distance" and other basic principles.

Types of borrowed scenes

Borrowed scenes can be divided into:

1. Nearby borrowing. Enjoy the nearby scenery in the garden.

2. Borrow from afar. Look at distant scenery in an unenclosed garden, such as a garden near the water, overlooking the open water and distant islands at the water's edge.

3. Borrow from neighbors. Enjoy the scenery of the adjacent gardens in the garden.

4. Mutual loan. Two gardens or two scenic spots borrow each other's scenery.

5, Yang borrow. In the garden, look up at the peaks, cliffs or towers of neighboring temples outside the garden.

6, borrow. From a high viewpoint in the garden, overlook the scenery outside the garden.

7. Borrow when appropriate. Borrowing scenery from a certain season of the year or a certain moment of the day, mainly borrowing from astronomical landscapes, meteorological landscapes, plant seasonal changes landscapes and real-time dynamic landscapes.

Methods for borrowing scenery

There are generally three types:

1. Open up a perspective line for enjoying the scenery, and organize or remove obstacles to the scenery, such as trimming off obstructions. Sight of tree branches and leaves, etc. Build pavilions, pavilions, pavilions, and platforms in the garden as viewing spots. You can look up or at the scenery, enjoy the leisurely smoke and water, collect the towering green of the clouds and mountains, watch the lofty sky of the Buddhist temple, and appreciate the desert of the flat forest.

2. Raise the height of the sight line so that the sight line breaks through the boundaries of the garden and creates the effect of looking down or looking at the distant scenery. In the garden, mountains, platforms, towers, pavilions, pavilions, etc. are built to allow visitors to see far away and see a thousand miles away.

3. Borrow virtual scenery, such as Zhu Xi’s “Half Acre Square Pond”, the “upper and lower skylight” in the Forty Scenes of the Old Summer Palace, all borrowed from “skylight and cloud shadow”; under the flower wall in Yuyuan Garden in Shanghai The moon cave reveals the waterside pavilion in the next courtyard.

Borrowing content

There are the following categories:

1. Borrowing mountains, water, animals, plants, buildings and other scenery. Such as Yuanxiu Pingling, Pinghu Fanyin, Shuicun Shanguo, Qinglan Pagoda Shadow, Feige Liudan, Towers rising from the sky, pheasants flying diagonally, long bridges lying on the waves, fields crisscrossing, bamboo trees staggered, chickens, dogs, mulberries, hemp, etc. The wild geese and herons are flying, the red maples are intoxicating, the flowers are blooming, and the grass is green.

2. Borrow people as scenery. Such as finding fragrance on the waterside, outing on the green plains, chanting poems in the shade of pine trees, playing the piano in the bamboo, returning sails from a distant lake, fishing boats singing in the evening, ancient temple bells, Sanskrit chanting, wine flags flying high, and flutes and drums playing in the community.

3. Borrow astronomical and meteorological scenery. Such as sunrise, sunset, morning glow, sunset, full moon, crescent moon, blue sky, stars, clouds, rainbow, rain scene, snow scene, spring breeze, morning dew, etc. In addition, you can also use sounds to enrich the content of the borrowed scenes, such as birds singing, cicadas chirping, chickens crowing and dogs barking, pines and sea waves, and residual lotus raining at night.

There are many examples of using borrowed scenes in existing gardens and scenic spots in China. The "True Meaning of Lakes and Mountains" in the Summer Palace in Beijing takes the Xishan Mountain as the background in the distance and the Yuquan Mountain in the near side. When the sun sets in the west and the sky is full of clouds, the scenery is beautiful. Chengde Summer Resort takes advantage of the scenery of the mountains around Qingchui Peak. Suzhou gardens each have their own unique techniques for borrowing scenery. The western part of the Humble Administrator's Garden was originally the Zhang family's garden in the late Qing Dynasty. It is divided into two gardens from the central part of the Humble Administrator's Garden. There are two pavilions on the rockery in the west. They take advantage of the scenery in the central part of the Humble Administrator's Garden. One pavilion captures the spring scenery of both houses. In the western part of the Liuyuan Garden, in the Shuxiao Pavilion Tushan area, you can enjoy the scenery of the West Garden nearby and the scenery of Huqiu Mountain in the distance. The mountain-viewing tower of Canglang Pavilion borrows the shadow of the Languang Pagoda on the mountain above. The Pagoda Shadow Garden on Shantang Street is close to the Tiger Hill Pagoda. You can clearly see the reflection of the Tiger Hill Pagoda in the pool.

6; Sculpture

Garden sculptures match the garden composition. Most of them are located outdoors and have a wide range of themes. Garden sculptures can reflect a certain social spirit of the times and express certain ideological content through artistic images. They can not only embellish the garden landscape, but also become the composition center of a certain part of the garden or even the entire garden.

Garden sculptures have a long history. During the Renaissance, sculpture became an important part of Italian gardens.

Sculptures in the garden may be combined with garden water management, or may decorate the terraces, and even “garden museums” and “sculpture parks” that mainly exhibit sculptures have been established. Garden sculptures still occupy an important position in gardens in Europe and the United States.

Ancient Chinese gardens have been decorated with sculptures for a long time. During the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, there were stone fish, stone turtles, stone oxen, weaver girls, and bronze immortals standing on the gods' platform by the Taiye Pool in the north of Jianzhang Palace during the reign of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty. The bronze lions in front of the Summer Palace and the bronze cranes and deers arranged in the courtyard are not only beautiful art treasures, but also integral parts of the courtyard. Although the "specially placed" rocks in Chinese gardens are not artificial sculptures, they still function as sculptures. For example, Qingzhixiu in front of the Leshou Hall in the Summer Palace and Guanyun Peak in the Liuyuan Garden in Suzhou are both for people to appreciate in their natural form. In natural scenic areas, natural rock wall caves are often used to carve Buddha statues. In front of the imperial cemetery, stone figures and stone beasts line up on both sides of the corridor to increase the momentum of the central axis. In recent years, various types of sculptures have been installed in gardens across China.

Garden sculptures can be divided into:

1. Memorial sculptures. Commemorate historical figures or events, such as the Nanjing Yuhuatai Martyrs Group Statue, the Lu Xun Statue in Shanghai Hongkou Park, etc.

2. Thematic sculptures. Express certain themes, such as the "Five Sheep" emblem of Guangzhou City, the Mochou Girl of Mochou Lake in Nanjing, etc.

3. Decorative sculpture. The subjects are wide ranging, including characters, animals, plants and utensils, such as the swans about to fly in the Quchi Shengchun Scenic Area of ??Ritan Park in Beijing and the images of athletes, children and animals in gardens around the world.

According to the form, it can be divided into round carving, relief carving, relief carving, openwork carving, etc. The materials used include permanent materials (metal, stone, cement, fiberglass, etc.) and non-permanent materials (gypsum, mud, wood, etc.) . Garden sculptures commonly use round sculptures made of permanent materials, while relief, relief and openwork sculptures are often combined with architecture. Ice sculpture and snow sculpture are a unique sculpture art in Northeastern gardens in winter.

Sculptures can be placed in squares, flower beds, and tree-lined avenues in formal gardens, or can be dotted on hillsides, grasslands, poolside or in water in natural gardens. When setting up a sculpture in a garden, its theme and image should be coordinated with the environment. The size and scale of the sculpture should be in an appropriate proportion to the space in which it is located. The orientation, color and relationship of the sculpture itself and its relationship with the background need to be considered to ensure that the sculpture is in harmony with the garden. The environment sets off and complements each other.

7: Plaque couplets

The plaques are placed horizontally on the door or wall openings. In gardens, they are mostly the names of scenic spots or praises of scenery. many. Couplets often match the plaques, or are erected beside the door, or hung on the pillars of halls, halls, pavilions, and pavilions. There is no limit to the number of words in the couplets, and they pay attention to the part of speech, antithesis, phonology, level, and artistic conception. It is an evolution of poetry.

According to legend, the couplets began in the Later Shu Dynasty in the Five Dynasties. Meng Chang wrote the sentence "New Year's greeting Yuqing, Jiajie Changchun" on the peach charm board of his bedroom door. Plaques and couplets can not only embellish halls and pavilions, decorate door walls, and often express the thoughts and feelings of the garden designer or owner in the garden. They can also enrich the landscape, evoke associations, add poetic charm, and play the finishing touch. They are the key to traditional Chinese gardens. A feature.

In "A Dream of Red Mansions", Cao Xueqin used the characters in the novel to comment on the Grand View Garden and said: "If there is a big scenery, a few pavilions, and no title, no matter how beautiful the flowers, willows, mountains and rivers are, they will never be colorful." For example, Suzhou The poem "Who are you sitting with?" in the Humble Administrator's Garden expresses the self-admiration thought of "Who are you sitting with? The breeze, the bright moon, and me." Couplets such as "The breeze and the bright moon are priceless in Canglang Pavilion in Suzhou, and there is love for people near the water and mountains far away"; "It's cool to borrow the cool breeze and bright moonlight from the secluded residence in the Humble Administrator's Garden to watch the flowing water and the mountains quietly"; "The forest becomes quieter with the noise of cicadas, and the mountains with chirping birds become more secluded", both describe scenery, emotions, and are evocative. Even if visitors come here when there is no wind, no moon, no cicadas, and no birds, they feel like they are in this realm. .

A couplet in Daming Lake in Jinan says: "Lotus on four sides and willows on three sides, one city is full of mountains and half is a lake." A couplet on the Guanhai Pavilion in Hangzhou says: "The building overlooks the sea and the sun, and the door faces the tide of Zhejiang." , describing the scenery lyrically, and is very general. Another example is Zheng Banqiao's Reading Room at Biefeng Nunnery in Jiaoshan, Zhenjiang. There are three huts, and a couplet on the door says: "Why should the room be large, as the fragrance of flowers is not abundant?" to express the simple and elegant scene.

So plaques and couplets, especially famous couplets and famous plaques, not only add color to the landscape, but also make people think.

He Shaoji’s 102-word long couplet of Yueyang Tower and the 180-word long couplet of Kunming Daguan Tower are worthy of praise for their sceneries, expressions, diction, antithesis, calligraphy, and realm. They are works of art in themselves.