The meaning of a photo
Posté par ITgium le 3 avril 2017
It is now straightforward to take a photograph with a mobile phone, and upload the end product immediately to the web, for anyone to see. It can be achieved with a surprising ease. Hundreds of shots can be taken in quick succession within a few seconds.
Thanks to today’s technology, almost anyone can declare himself a gifted photograph.
Each day, through this twenty-first century machine-gun, thousand of photos hit my wechat or facebook desk. No one can say we are immune of this heavy crossfire.
What kind of meaning should we give a photo when it is posted ?
- Selfies that say a lot about a generation egocentricity, self-absorbed by apathy, vacuity and emptiness;
- Landscape images overused throw it overboard without breaks;
- Conventional and spooky shots of company meeting, graduation ceremony or family gathering
Despite that material bundle, paradoxically, they are very few pictures that have an artistic, historic or societal value.
In the old times, a bygone era, photography was considered as a real and noble art. Each image was subject of a meticulous and untiring work that was a process that took time.
During the second half of the nineteen’s century, Nadar spent an infinite time to carry out the photographic portraits of the celebrities of his time.
“Rather one that one million” exclaimed Henri Cartier-Bresson.
“Taking a picture isn’t a neutral act” stated steadily the writer Anxmandae de Leira.
Howard’s tribe
A couple of years ago, I met Yán Péi Gāng (阎培刚) otherwise known as Howard.
The very first day I met him, he impressed me right away with his physical qualities: tall, muscular, a rugged good look.
Rather than the making of individual portrait, Howard’s work is to bring together people from different background, faiths and cultures, young and old, scholar or wild man, local and international, the majority with many different views.
Shanghai and Beijing as a backdrop, all mankind in a single shot, a split second in the history of time.
In every photograph, comes to our eyes a symphony of colors, loveliest finery of the princes and princesses of the night, the natural and diverse beauty of Chinese women in their traditional dress.
At the same time, each person stands out among the group. No two people are the same. Far away of an idealized image, every one is different from the other, each unique in their personality and spiritual charisma. But each one sheds a particular light on the world.
Howard’s work seems apparently improvised. It isn’t. Like a play, the success of those shots rests on the quality of the script, the staging, the acting and the involvement of the audience.
Carrying its glance beyond the borders, Howard takes special care that each one must find its proper place. He is always extremely painstaking in ensuring that everyone can make a contribution, opening his or her hearts and minds, wishing to create a more harmonious world.
As for me, as a down-to-earth man, one thing I love while gazing at people through a photo is to understand their strangeness, their way of seeing the world and their sheer madness, their taste of love.
Thanks to the Howard’s tribe, I’ve got my share.
jùn mǎ (François de la Chevalerie)
Publié dans Howard's tribe, Menaing of a photo, Yán Péi Gāng | Pas de Commentaire »