Mongolian horse series East Hada photo
Explore the secrets of abstract art
Wen and Photography / Dong Hada
"Those who know are not as good as those who are good, and those who are good are not as good as those who are happy." I was an explorer who had become obsessed with abstract art photography because I had originally taught myself photography, and I unconsciously fell into a kind of selfless, infinite game fun.
Mongolian Dance Series 01 East Hada Photo
In the early 1990s, I was based in New York for my work, and in my spare time I often lingered in art exhibitions such as the MOMA Museum of Modern Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and various galleries in New York. Unexpectedly, what attracted me the most was all kinds of abstract works of art. Later, because of his work in the magazine "Civil Aviation of China", he went to France several times to carry out photography creation exhibitions, cultural exchanges and other activities. While in Paris, he also visited the world's largest contemporary art collections, such as the Centre Pompidou, the Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay.
Mongolian Dance Series 02 Dong Hada Photo
In 2005, during the Sino-French Year of Culture, I was invited to hold an exhibition of works of art with Wu Guanzhong artists at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, France, including my "Horseback Nation" photographic art topic. At that time, Mr. Zhu Dequn, a lifelong artistic academician of the Académie française, was also invited to attend, and I sincerely asked Academician Zhu for advice. Since then, I have carefully studied the representative works of artists such as Zhu Dequn, Zao Wou-Ki and Wu Guan, studied Kandinsky's abstract art theory, etc., and since then, I have entered a new stage of exploration of abstract art.
Mongolian Dance Series 03 East Hada Photo
I feel that "color" is one of the most important elements for the expressiveness of abstract art, and without a rich and unique language of color, the work would be dull and powerless. So I explored Chinese, European, Japanese, and other representative color systems, their structures, layers, and styles. When I create for the second time, I often listen to musical works while soaring with emotion and imagination, and the collision of music and abstract art brings me great spiritual satisfaction and artistic vitality.
Mongolian Dance Series 04 East Hada Photo
In the process of artistic creation, I constantly wondered, what will the integration of art and science bring to this era? I was exploring abstract works of art that captured pictures with a camera in the early stages, and then used PS to solve various problems that could not be achieved during the shooting process, and realized the "new unity of technology and art". The German philosopher Spengler once said, "Art is the science of emotion, and science is the art of precision." Then, the realization of this philosophical concept must also be synchronized with the times. Therefore, I strive to explore the different expressiveness displayed by various types of color styles, hoping to have both my own unique style and the expressiveness of the era of "art and science integration". I tried to integrate these ideas into the two abstract photographic art themes of the era I created, "Community of Human Destiny" and national style "Mongolian Horse Spirit".
Photo by Flower Wood Dong Hada
In my creative process, I have integrated more Chinese elements and traditional materials, so that the presentation effect of the work not only shows the integration of Chinese intangible cultural heritage, but also expresses the abstract picture of modern style. At the same time, continue to explore the idea of digitalization, because abstract art is not just a creation on paper, it will continue to change with the change of materials, including technology-assisted creation, VR technology, artificial intelligence, etc. integrated into one, towards the future of abstract art. Exploring how to merge my understanding of "traditional and modern" and "abstract art with other" art will be another new starting point for me.
Fish water Dong Hada photo
About the Author
Dong Hada, joined the Photographic Society of New York in 1993, joined the Chinese Photographers Association in 1994, won the "Silver Medal" award of the China International Photography Exhibition in 1995, was named an outstanding member of the Chinese Photographers Association in 1998 as an outstanding member of the "Virtue and Art Shuangxin", and won the "China Photography Golden Image Award" in 2007. Former Director of the Photography Department of The Civil Aviation Newspaper of China Press, he is currently the Executive Chairman and Secretary General of the Civil Aviation Photographers Association of China.
*Originally published in China Photographer Magazine, Issue 10, 2021