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A wide variety of cultural arts exist in the world. Found in all nations, they range from visual arts, such as painting and sculpture, to sacred dances and rituals.

Visual arts[]

Paintings[]

Air Nomads[]

Painting

This flying bison mural shows three bison in flight.

  • Flying bison mural — One of the many ornate paintings present throughout the Western[4] and Northern Air Temple.
  • Painting of the former Air Nomad elders — Found in the Northern Air Temple.
  • Sand paintings — Traditionally made by the Air Nomads and ruined after they were finished.[5]

Water Tribes[]

Earth Kingdom[]

Fire Nation[]

Ozai painting

Ozai's portrait in the Fire Nation Royal Palace.

Statues[]

Statues glow

Avatar statues in the Southern Air Temple's sanctuary are arranged in tiers.

Air Nomads[]

Earth Kingdom[]

Fire Nation[]

Great Gates of Azulon

The Great Gates of Azulon were supported by a statue of the eponymous Fire Lord.

United Republic of Nations[]

Aang's statue

A colossal statue of Avatar Aang crowns the memorial islands that bears his name.

Others[]

  • Golden lion turtle statue — Small golden statue of a lion turtle, part of an international ceremony hundreds of years before the Hundred Year War. It was stolen by pirates and taken to the Icebound Labyrinth in the Southern Water Tribe. The archaeologist Wen and a group of adventurers in winter 99 AG.[39]
  • Lion turtle statue — Statue of a lion turtle, not to scale.[40]
  • Toph's statues — There are three known statues in the world dedicated to Toph; one adorns the facade of Republic City's police headquarters, honoring her as the founder of the Metalbending Police Force, and two more are located in the metal city of Zaofu.[29][41]

Photography[]

Aang, Katara, and their children

Aang and Katara had a photograph taken with their young children.

Motion picture[]

Main article: Mover
  • Bender: Never Say Bend — A failed blockbuster attempt produced by Varrimovers International.[48]
  • Ice Warriors — A mover directed by Wing Len.[49]
  • It Happened One Harmonic Convergence — A failed blockbuster attempt produced by Varrimovers International.[48]
  • Love of a Lion TurtleHongmei's successful debut mover.[48]
  • Ostrich horse at a gallop — A sequence of photographs depicting a galloping ostrich horse.[50]
  • Sengo: Lady of the Winds[51]
  • The Adventures of Nuktuk: Hero of the South — An anti-North propaganda mover.[38]
  • The Crescent Island Doom — A mover directed by Wing Len.[49]
  • Varrick: The Man, The Myth, The Legend — A failed blockbuster attempt produced by Varrimovers International.[49]

Writing and literature[]

Writing

A writing set owned by Zuko included brushes, an inkstone, and levelers to flatten and weigh down the paper.

Main article: Writing in the World of Avatar

Writing and literature are an integral part of society across the world. All four nations use a common system of characters borrowed from the Chinese system for daily purposes. The four nations primarily use writing for communication and literary purposes, but there are some who practice calligraphy, such as Piandao. There are many books and scrolls in the Avatar world, many of these are located (or at least have a reproduction) in Wan Shi Tong's Library.[52]

Calligraphy[]

Calligraphy is a form of art of giving writing a particularly artistic way to emphasize its beauty and shape. Paper, ink, a brush, and an inkstone are all essential implements in calligraphy. A paperweight is used to keep the paper straight and flat on the table, negating the need for one's hand to touch the clean paper. Piandao taught Sokka the basics as part of his swordsmanship training.[7]

Literature schools across the Earth Kingdom educated students in ceremonial calligraphy techniques. One noteworthy calligraphy setup was the Pianhai method, which took a great deal of formal training and was usually never learned by commoners.[53]

Classical Chinese is primarily a writing form. Being a condensed form, it is particularly difficult to master. People often use the fewest possible characters to express very comprehensive meanings and the specific meaning is almost entirely dependent on the context.[1]

Haiku[]

Haiku is a form of traditional Japanese poetry that consists of three lines of five, seven, and five syllables respectively. In Ba Sing Se, there is a group called Five-Seven-Five Society that focuses specially on haiku and is led by Madame Macmu-Ling.[21]

Known haikus[]

  • "Through all the long night, winter moon glows with bright love, sleet her silver tears."
  • "I am so sorry. Something struck me in the rear. I just ... wound up ... here."
  • "Five, seven, then five, syllables mark a haiku. Remarkable oaf."
  • "They call me Sokka, that is in the Water Tribe. I am not an oaf."
  • "Tittering monkey, in the spring he climbs treetops, and thinks himself tall."
  • "You think you're so smart, with your fancy little words, this is not so hard."
  • "Whole seasons are spent, mastering the form, the style, none calls it easy."
  • "I calls it easy. Like I paddle my canoe, I'll paddle yours too!"
  • "There's nuts and there's fruits. In fall the clinging plum drops, always to be squashed."
  • "Squish, squash, sling that slang. I'm always right back at ya, like my ... boomerang!"

Theater[]

Known plays[]

Ember Island Players[]

Main article: Ember Island Players
Boy in the Iceberg play

The Ember Island Players perform The Boy in the Iceberg.

The Ember Island Players were a local acting troupe who performed at Ember Island's only theater. They did not have a reputation for quality acting, but they took themselves very seriously and almost always packed the house, though this is probably because the theater is one of the only sources of night time entertainment on the island. They aired the play, The Boy in the Iceberg, which was an acclaimed work in the nation. Their only other production mentioned is Love amongst the Dragons which, according to Zuko, who always went to watch it with his family, was "butchered every year".[56]

Hira'a Acting Troupe[]

Main article: Hira'a Acting Troupe

The Hira'a Acting Troupe is a theater group that resides in the village of Hira'a and is best known for its performance of Love amongst the Dragons. Ursa and her former lover, Ikem, were once members of this group until she was married off to Prince Ozai, and he left for Forgetful Valley as a result.[58]

Royal Theater School[]

The Royal Theater School is an institution in Ba Sing Se that provides training for citizens in a variety of theatrical classes, including classical opera. Avatar Kyoshi's father, Hark, was from a family who had trained at the school for generations. Royal Theater performers are known to be some of the most physically capable people in the Earth Kingdom, being able to dexterously mimic different martial styles on the stage.[59]

Puppet shows[]

Team Avatar saw a puppet show while visiting a Fire Days Festival in a Fire Nation colony where Fire Lord Ozai was presented as a great hero, facing off against an "evil" Earth Kingdom soldier.[60]

Wandering Mask Troupe[]

Main article: Wandering Mask Troupe

The Wandering Mask Troupe is a traveling theater group made up of skilled actors from all over the four nations. They are known to pride themselves on their uncompromising satirical art.[61]

Music[]

Fire Nation music recital

Fire Nation students performing in a musical group.

Main article: Music in the World of Avatar

In the world, music is an important cultural aspect to the people, especially for Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation citizens, and a prime source of entertainment. A variety of instruments are used to produce music such as the tsungi horn and the pipa.[1]

Songs[]

Main article: Songs in the World of Avatar

Songs are the most commonly seen musical compositions, much more widespread than full orchestral pieces. A popular song variation is the simple, pleasing folk song often performed by several people with the use of instruments.[1]

Architecture[]

Main article: Architecture in the World of Avatar
Northern Water Tribe entrance

The Northern Water Tribe style of architecture is showcased in the capital city.

Artistic and creative architecture is seen worldwide in the Avatar World. Examples include the Avatar Temples, the air temples, Wan Shi Tong's Library, and the Sun Warriors' ancient city. Locations, such as the Upper Ring of Ba Sing Se, are known to boast many ornate houses and architectural buildings. Other regions, such as the Northern Water Tribe, are magnificent civilizations constructed from certain elements common to that particular geographic location. In contrast, Republic City is a true modern urban center due to technological progress over time. The city has developed the architectural sophistication to construct taller buildings, resulting in significant high-rise development.

Dance[]

Aang described dancing as a form of self-expression that no one can take away.[3]

List of known dances[]

Aang dancing

Aang performing the Camelephant Strut.

  • Ba Sing Se Waltz — Performed in the ballrooms of Ba Sing Se; Aang demonstrated this to some students from a Fire Nation school.[3]
  • Tap — Mentioned by Sokka when Zuko and Aang came back after meeting the Sun Warriors.[15]
  • The Camelephant Strut — An old Fire Nation dance demonstrated by Aang.[3]
  • The Phoenix Flight — An old Fire Nation dance, also demonstrated by Aang to the students.[3]

Trivia[]

  • Many of the hanging paintings seen in the original series came from the extensive collection of animation director Seung-Hyun Oh.[62]
  • Kyoshi guessed that the portraits of Fire Lords and Avatars in the Royal Gallery could take artists' entire careers to finish.[13]
  • Before the Hundred Year War, Southern Water Tribe art and textiles were popular in the Earth Kingdom, and often inspired the newest fashions.[63]

References[]

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