Arts in the World of Avatar

There is a diversity of cultural arts in the World of Avatar, ranging from visual arts, including portraits and paintings, to sacred dances and rituals.

List of Known Paintings

 * Flying Bison Painting - One of the many ornate paintings present throughout the Western and Northern Air Temple.
 * Iroh Painting - A portrait taken by Zuko when he left his home.
 * Baby Ozai Painting - Found by Katara in the Ozai's Beach House.
 * Ursa Painting - A painting of Zuko's mother.
 * Fire Lords Paintings - Located in the Fire Nation Royal Palace.
 * Sokka's Painting - Sokka's picture of nearby scenery that Master Piandao asked him to paint. The painting depicted a waterfall scene, including mountains and a rainbow.
 * Lo and Li Painting - Portrait of young Li and Lo wearing yellow swimsuits in their beach house.
 * The Birth of Kyoshi Island Painting - Located on the Kyoshi Island, it is a portrait painted on the day the island was created by Avatar Kyoshi. A scene is depicted of Avatar Kyoshi standing by the citizens of Kyoshi Island during sunset.
 * Earth Kingdom born Avatars Painting - Located in the Earth Kingdom Avatar Temple in honor of the Earth Avatars.
 * Sokka's Drawing - A drawing by Sokka in the Jasmine Dragon and crude representation of the members of Team Avatar.
 * World Map Painting - A map of the World of Avatar seen in Commander Zhao's tent most likely used for planning strategic attacks and for pinpointing the Avatar's current location.
 * Mai and Zuko Painting - A portrait of Mai and Zuko seen in the Fire Nation Royal Palace.
 * Painting of the former Air Nomad Elders - Located in the Northern Air Temple.
 * Painting of Lu Ten -A portrait owned by Iroh.
 * Painting of Fire Lord Ozai - Owned by Aang and accumulated at the Fire Nation School.
 * A picture of Fire Lord Ozai made in noodles - Made in a Fire Nation School and owned by Aang; later utilized during Aang's training for the invasion.
 * Sun Warriors' Mural - Located in the Sun Warriors' Ancient City.

List of Known Sculptures

 * Avatar Kyoshi Sculpture - Located in Kyoshi Island.
 * Avatar Roku Sculpture - Located in Crescent Island.
 * Badgermole Statue - Located in the Ruins of Taku.
 * Ozai Fire Fountain - Located in the Fire Fountain City.
 * Ozai Statue - Located in Omashu.
 * Avatar Statues - Located in the Southern Air Temple.
 * Monk Gyatso Statue - Located in the Southern Air Temple.
 * Yangchen Statue - Located in the Eastern Air Temple.
 * Female Air Nomad's Statues - Located in the Western Air Temple.
 * Painted Lady Statue - A little statue of the spirit in Jang Hui.
 * Dancing Dragon Statues - Located in the Sun Warriors' Ancient City.
 * Oma and Shu Statue - Located in the Cave of Two Lovers.
 * Dragon Warrior Sculptures - Located in the Cave of Two Lovers.
 * Chin Statue - Located in Chin Village.
 * Azulon Statue - Located in the Great Gates of Azulon.
 * Hei Bai's Statue - Located in Senlin Village.
 * Monkey Statue - Located in the Pirate Ship Boutique.
 * Flying Bison Statue - Located at the Northern Air Temple
 * A large statue of the Painted Lady - Located at Jang Hui.
 * Sozin's statue - Located in the Fire Sages Capital Temple.
 * Ozai's Statue - Located in the Fire Nation School.
 * Ozai's statue under construction - Located in Omashu, it was destroyed when Bumi liberated the city.
 * Lion Turtle statue - Seen in the pilot.
 * Monk statue - Located in the Northern Air Temple.

Writing and Literature
Writing and literature are an integral part of society across the World of Avatar. 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) at Wan Shi Tong's Library.

Calligraphy
Calligraphy is a form of art where one writes, draws, or paints characters in a particularly artistic way to emphasize its beauty and shape. The paper, ink, brush and inkstone are 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. Only the highest quality materials are used. It is unknown how widely calligraphy is practiced, but Piandao has been seen teaching Sokka the basics. 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.

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 5-7-5 Society that focuses specially on haiku and is led by Madame Macmu-Ling.

Ember Island Players


The Ember Island Players are a local acting troupe who perform at Ember Island's only theater. They do not have a reputation for quality acting, but they take themselves very seriously and almost always pack the house, though this is probably because the theater is one of the only sources of night time entertainment on the island. They recently aired the play, The Boy in the Iceberg. Their only other production mentioned is 'Love Amongst the Dragons' which (according to Zuko) is 'butchered every year.'

Puppet Show
Seen in the Fire Days Festivals in the Fire Nation in The Deserter. Team Avatar saw a puppet show where Fire Lord Ozai is presented as a great hero, facing off against "evil" Earth Kingdom soldiers. He can 'magically' sense a soldier behind him (which is ironic as earthbenders are far more likely to be able to do this.)

Music
In the World of Avatar, music is a very 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.

Songs
Songs are the most commonly seen musical compositions in the World of Avatar, 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.

Architecture


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.

List of Known Dances

 * Dancing Dragon - The Dancing Dragon is an ancient Firebending form employed by the Sun Warriors, who learned it from the Original Firebenders: The Dragons.
 * Ba Sing Se Waltz - This dance is demonstrated by Aang to the fire nation students in The Headband. It is apparently performed in Ba Sing Se noble society.
 * The Phoenix Flight - An old Fire Nation dance, demonstrated by Aang in The Headband.
 * The Camelephant Strut - An old Fire Nation dance, demonstrated by Aang.
 * Tap - Mentioned by Sokka in The Firebending Masters.