[Editor's note]
On March 23, 2024, Taiwanese photographer Feng Junlan's solo exhibition "Me and You" opened at M Art Space at M50 in Shanghai. Feng Junlan is a clergyman of a Christian church, and his artistic resume is known for his portrait photography. Beyond the objective record in the general sense, the people under Feng Junlan's lens are poetic and divine, and have the power to reach people's hearts.
Curated by Gu Zheng, a professor at Fudan University's School of Journalism, the exhibition "Me and Ru" features portraits of Feng Junlan, still lifes, and carefully constructed scenes that reflect his unique view of art, the universe, and life. The Paper published Gu Zheng's foreword for the exhibition, "Observation and Encounter", and used this article to get closer to Feng Junlan's photography.
明日何如（I Don't Know about Tomorrow），2023。 冯君蓝作品
Observe and meet
Text/Gu Zheng
Looking at Mr. Feng Junlan's photography, it is impossible not to think of a series of expositions in the classic German philosopher of modern religion Martin Buber in his classic book "Ich und Du" (I and You). Reading "Me and You" again this time, I even feel that it seems superfluous to say something about Mr. Feng's photography here. This is because, although Buber's discourse on the "I-you" relationship does not mention photography, it seems to have exhausted the mystery of the "I-you" "relationology" of portrait photography embodied by Mr. Feng's photography. Of course, I am deeply afraid that my understanding has the possibility of narrowing Buber's universal and inclusive discourse of the "I-you" relationship, but paradoxically, it is so appropriate to discuss Mr. Feng's portrait photography practice, and thus further proves the universality of Buber's philosophical thought.
Where Am I, 2023. Feng Junlan's work
祈灵常善救人的圣者（Praying to the Merciful One），2019。 冯君蓝作品
Fundamentally, photography, especially portraiture, is a way to get to know people. This approach is also a process of mutual acquaintance, knowledge and understanding between the photographer and the subject (sitter). Portrait photography is an attempt to transform the subject from the pure Other, to the unity of "me" and "you", you have me, and I have you. This is a process in which the photographer lets go of his ego and tries to fully accept the other. This attempt may not necessarily be successful, but the process is extremely important for those who love others in this way through photography. As Buber said, "Be ready to become 'you' for people, to open up your world to them, no, not just to prepare, to be close to them and to impress them again and again." (Buber, Chen Weigang, trans., Me and You, The Commercial Press, 2021, p33) The people in Mr. Feng's photographs are peaceful and serene, although they have superficial external differences, but in essence, they are all the sublimation and transcendence of photographer Feng Junlan after he gets close to and impresses the person in front of him through photography and rebuilds the "I-you" relationship.
婚戒（Marriage Ring），2021。 冯君蓝作品
"The artist looks at the encounterer, the image opens itself up in the observation, and the artist 'claustrophobic' it in the structure. (Ibid., p32) In a sense, portrait photography is the art of how the photographer "illuminates" the subject. The premise of "lighting" is to create the possibility of gazing at each other, and then achieve the goal of making the object glow, that is, "brightening" itself. Portrait photography is the art of gazing. The gaze is the conversation. The gaze is the awakening of each other. To gaze is to exchange each other's minds and reach a new spiritual understanding and conservation of spiritual energy. Mr. Feng's portrait photography is a relentless dialogue through constant encounters with others, using himself as an intermediary to transmit and distribute the power of transcendent to objects, while also sharing the brilliance of the other party, and thus shaping a new "I-you" relationship.
起云者1（Who Forming The Cloud 1），2014。 冯君蓝作品
有钉子的静物之一（Still Life with Nail 1），2019。 冯君蓝作品
道在瓦甓2，The Word in Forgotten Surfaces 2，2017。 冯君蓝作品
Mr. Feng conveyed to us the joyful beauty and beauty of the encounter with others through photography. His photographs are a portrayal of the beauty of encounters. Feng Junlan uses portrait photography to meet the other, and creates an opportunity for us as viewers to meet them (Feng as viewers and these people who are seen by Feng and then "seen" by us). It's a complex distribution and flow of spiritual energy, but in the end we see ourselves. This is the supreme joy of contemplation. "Look! There is a lively life boiling around you, and wherever you go, you will meet the present. (Ibid., p13)
第三日（The Third Day），2022。 冯君蓝作品
有分于这杯2（The Cup of Blessing 2），2021。 冯君蓝作品
By the way, the Chinese translation of Buber's book "Ich und Du" is generally translated as "Me and You". I have no objection to this translation. However, when I first read Buber's book, I used the Japanese translation of "I and You", so the title of the book "Me and You" was so deeply entrenched in my soul that I could not accept the more vivid translation of "me and you". Therefore, as a curator, when quoting the title of Buber's book as the title of the exhibition, I decided to use the translation "I and you". Please forgive me for being willful. This is also a small memorial to my personal spiritual journey.
Installation view of "Me and You".
Installation view of "Me and You".
Photographer Feng Junlan (pictured) at the exhibition "Me and You".
Exhibition Information:
Exhibition time: March 23 - May 25, 2024
Venue: 1st Floor, Building 2, No. 50 Moganshan Road, Shanghai, M Art Space