Contemplation and Encounter By Gu Zheng Viewing Stanley Fung's photography, it is impossible not to think of a series of statements by Martin Buber, a German philosopher of modern religion, in his classic book Ich und Du, which I studied early. However, when I reread it this time, I felt nothing necessary could be said about Fung's photography. Although Buber's discussion of the “I-Thou” relationship didn’t refer to photography with even one word, it seems to have fully understood the mystery of the “I-Thou” relationship embodied in Fung's portrait photography. Honestly, I am terrified of narrowing Buber's universal and inclusive “I-Thou” discourse by my understanding. Still, paradoxically, it applies so well to Fung's portrait photography practice, thus further proving the universality of Buber's philosophy. Photography, particularly portraiture, is a fundamental way to be acquainted with people. This approach is also a process of knowing, understanding, and comprehending between the photographer and sitter. Portrait photography is also an attempt to transform the object from the pure other into the integrity of “I” and “Thou”, which contain each other simultaneously. This process may fail when the photographer lets go of the ego and tries to accept the other entirely. Still, it is incredibly vital for those who love others by photography. As Buber said, “It is itself ready on every occasion to become Thou for them, and open up the world of Thou—no; it is not ready: it continually approaches and touches...
M Art Center is honored to announce that on November 11th, we will present the solo exhibition "Lost in Forest" by artist FU Bailin. Curated by LU Mingjun, this exhibition will showcase FU Bailin's distinctive visual style through a selection of his photos, installations, and video works. The dense jungle and the trees are right there, flourishing and declining, unaffected by human observation. They don't wait for our entry nor do they reject our steps. They remain forever mysterious and enchanting. "Lost in Forest" primarily features two series of works, "Tree" and "Latent Image", showcasing a unique forest, an object landscape that highlights subjective cognition. "Tree" incorporates ink into images, creating hand-dyed works that not only contain the rich details that photography can capture but also present the charm of painting. The installation work "Latent Image" refers to the 19th-century animation device "Kaiser Panorama," hinting at "tree holes," "viewfinders," and "slides," reorienting the mode of viewing back into the heart of the jungle. "Xuan" literally means black, which means mysterious in Chinese. The saying goes, "Profoundly mysterious(black), the gateway to all wonders." FU Bailin skillfully uses black to create a rich and mysterious visual experience, forming a tension between objective imagery and the absolute subjectivity of image processing. This tension is also evident in the act of viewing: subtle and immersive tones come forward, distinct from ordinary recognition or scrutiny. It's more like a whispering exchange between the viewer and...
By/Cui Can Spring is mighty. It is fierce and cruel. It thrives and continues to rage, without stopping for anything or anyone. Aqin knows it. She believes her drawing is too slow to catch up with the pace of time. The flowers and fruits are withering as she paints. Her process is to outline what quickly fades first, leaving the enduring therafter, and finally painting the stems and leaf blades. And so, the flowers, branches, and leaves in one painting are drawn at different times, forming a sycnchronic presentation of duration evolution. Still lives of the 17th century also possesses this quality. For instance, the painter would combine flowers from different seasons together to present vividness with observations and memories. However Aqin cannot. Follow this process as she is very restrained in using watercolors, and there has no editing through portraying the areas. Her loyalty to details and textures determines the time required. She is very honest in her paintings: each petal and each corner of the tablecloth is scrupulous with no special treatment or special favors; just like what the spring breeze does when passing through the leaves. The word “Stilleven” is created by the Dutch in the 17th century. It consists of stil (still) and leven (life), two seemingly contradictory words in Dutch that build a crucial branch of painting. The keyword in the tradition of stilleven is "time": delicate bouquets, fresh fruits, and glass or ceramic containers....
Bright and Beautiful By Dr. SHEN Qilan Enter a flower stamen, become a white cloud, and be a dumpling. Artist Liu Yi enters the world of ten thousand things with a unique perspective and brushstroke, a contemporary world of spirituality. As Paul Éluard's poem says, "There is another world, and it is in this one." There is light in all things, what Liu Yi paints is not the appearance of things, but the feeling and memory of the moment, which the glow of things is vibrating inside of us. What is amazing is Liu Yi's ability to keep himself amazed, he can always see and always be moved. He gathers and deepens the mind's attention, acutely entering the inside world of things. These works are the moments when mental feelings and visual images collide in the mind to take shape. Creation relies on the mind, not the medium of creation. What Liu Yi discovers is the mystery contained in things themselves, the lively and passionate outside world and the quiet and profound another one. The world he portrays also allows a new movement and focus of our attention, bringing the unnoticed back into focus and reopening the things we take for granted. His works offer a confidence that as we sail along with our unpredictable destiny, we are still accompanied by all bright and beautiful things. Flowers, vegetables, giant mountains, white and soft clouds, sunsets, birds ...... Both the dumplings...
For the past twenty years, the world has become my playground. My children play with the walls, the architecture, or the culture of the places where I paint them. I am constantly discovering new territories that inspire me to create new works. By wanting to speak to the people who live where I leave my mark, I force myself to understand and analyse the places I visit. By adapting myself to the walls before painting them, I want to open doors to which each of us has the key. The freedom that the canvas gives me allows me to constantly explore new ways of evoking the imagination of childhood. With the vortexes of colour into which I immerse my characters, I want to represent the richness of an inner universe that floods the space. They represent the passage to a new world, the entrance to the rabbit hole of Alice in Wonderland, fly the coop. -SETH
The Branches of Time -Photography Solo Exhibition of Fu Bailin By Xiang LiPing “Time keeps branching into countless futures.” - Jorge Luis Borges Heidegger used to say: “‘the life of man’ is a ‘dwelling for the poetic’”, “poetry first causes dwelling to be dwelling”, “But where is the space and time left for poetry in today’s dwelling?” The pursuit of fame, fortune, power, and influence fundamentally deviates from the nature of dwelling. From his perspective, what we called convenient and beautiful modern life is nothing but being alive; Sadly, we have no awareness of living in such poverty and darkness. Fortunately, we have artists. They are keenly aware of the poverty of the human spirit, the distance from the divinity, and the gloom of the world. Their creative work can bridge the rift between the poor era and the poetic dwelling. The Existence of Authenticity The living condition of Fu Bailin is like the authentic existence that Heidegger admired:“Once we choose our career, our life will be both in the present and in the future, and connected with the past at the same time. Everything is the present, and our life will blossom in this career with the surging passion of being alive...” Bailin followed his heart and nature, gave up the convenience of digital technology, returned to film photography, and explored in depth the mystery and magnificence of nature. He always treats his life and photography creation with such...
The Day is at Hand Danqing Chen It must be extra enjoyable to compose a poem to draw a picture, or draw a picture to compose a poem. I can't be a painter, or a poet who only writes, if I don't have the chance to enjoy. Although I am familiar with the joy of painting, looking at Daozi's subsequent paintings, I was infected with a strange pleasure. Is that the pleasure between poetry and painting? "Book Burning", "Sacrifice of the Sea", "Darkness at Noon", "the Blind Angel Weaving the Lightning into the looted Head"... I don't believe that he drafted these verses in advance. When he starts painting, he is no longer a poet—the entanglement and carnival of pen and paper belong to another dimension—when the painting is finished, the poet wakes up, jumps up, and intervenes, so there is "Elegy of the Righteous", "Skull of the Prophet", and "Ocean of the World", "Do not Go Gentle Into that Good Night." What does that mean? I don't guess the title of the painting, nor do I guess his painting. Even if he hides in painting because of despair, painting is still an extremely pleasant thing, and may not be equalized with emotions, thoughts, concepts, and even poetry: painting is close to a game. (Perhaps poetry is the same, but I don’t know.) Daozi is not the "amateur" painter we usually meet. Seeing his affirmation, recklessness, and changeability in his...
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