Recently, the results of the 6th CADA Japan Concept Art Design Awards 2024 were announced. Under the guidance of Xu Tengfei, a faculty member at Beijing Normal University's School of Future Design, the project "Realm of Art—The Life of Gauguin" by students Chen Hejia, Lin Han, and Liu Chang secured the Bronze Award. Instructor Xu Tengfei was honored with the Outstanding Instructor Award.

Award-winning work: 'Realm of Art—The Life of Gauguin'
Type of work: AI-animated educational short video
Team members: Chen Hejia, Lin Han, Liu Chang
Instructor: Xu Tengfei

Work Description

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence technology, its application in the field of art and art education has become a topic worth exploring in depth. In today's era of prevalent short videos, whether it is knowledge popularization or film commentary, people strive to acquire the most information in the shortest time to enrich fragmented periods and enhance their intellectual life. The creative team, relying on the basic master's course of "Chinese and Foreign Art History," used AI tools such as ChatGPT, MidJourney, and Runway Gen2 for text, image, and video generation to create an educational short video about the life of the renowned painter Paul Gauguin. This work cleverly combines technology with aesthetic education, aligning with the current popular forms of communication. After being released on multiple platforms including TikTok, it has been widely acclaimed and loved by audiences.

Creative Inspiration

The creative team started with the goal of conveying art history in a way that is interesting and understandable to the general public. They combined educational content with the short video format, aiming to explore a method of presenting art history that is engaging and easy to grasp. During the creative process, the team drew inspiration from the narrative techniques of popular "marketing accounts" on TikTok, which often feature intriguing storytelling. They used The Moon and Sixpence, a book loosely based on the life of Paul Gauguin, as a starting point to narrate the life of the artist. The short video incorporates elements like web-friendly copy, narrative voiceovers, and background music, presenting art history in the style of a "marketing account" and exploring new methods of integrating artificial intelligence technology with the popularization of aesthetic education.

Japan Concept Art Design Awards

The Japan Concept Art Design Awards are organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Bureau of Living Culture and the Osaka Visual Arts Association, under the guidance of the Tokyo Metropolitan Board of Education. Since its inception in 2016, the awards have been held in Japan for several years. As an international public welfare design award, it is open to participants from Japan, China, Korea, and other countries and regions. It conducts international competitions and calls for entries across various regions, aiming to establish an international platform for design professionals, explore new trends in global art development, and discover emerging talents in art and design. Past editions of the Japan Concept Art Design Awards have attracted participation from faculty and students of numerous renowned universities and art institutions, including Tsinghua University, China Academy of Art, Central Academy of Fine Arts, Zhejiang University, Tongji University, Chongqing University, and Lu Xun Academy of Fine Arts.