Montauk camera from the Lu Wanjiang Collection (late 19th century)
A scene where Chen Changfen uses a large-format camera to create
He Chongyue, "Mirror Red Era" series
Feng Jianguo's "Western Journey" series
Xin Shuchen, "Disappearing Hot Spots" series
Chen Shengbi, Jin Yong's inscription tablet, Lao Mowan
Zhu Yan, Tibet, Pangong Tso
Chen Changfen Waterwheel
Chow Yun-fat Untitled 1
Chow Yun-fat Untitled 2
The Liangma River is six or seven miles to the east, with hedges winding all the way, and the begonias are colorful. Hundreds of steps between the shore, suddenly meet the platinum palace gate, located on the riverside of the "Liangma Harbor Building" yellow wall arch window, showing the European architectural style. The new art space "Tuzuosha" is close to it, pushing open its glass door, and people who walk into the light and shadow seem to have pushed open the door of the world, lingering among the black and white photographs of high and low, feeling the ultimate, individual, and diverse visual impact.
On April 20th, a unique exhibition of handmade silver salt large-format classic works opened at the Liangma Harbor Soil Art Society Gallery, attracting many photography enthusiasts and art connoisseurs to come to watch. The exhibition gathers the original handmade silver salt large-format classics by top photographers such as Chen Changfen, Chen Shengping, Feng Jianguo, He Chongyue, Xin Shuchen, Zhong Shixian, Zhong Xudong, Zhu Yan, Chow Yun-fat (collected by Mr. Zhong Xudong) and other top photographers.
It is worth mentioning that as one of the first photographers to use large-format cameras in China and still working on them today, these works are limited edition works that the artists have personally completed every step of the creative process and carefully produced according to collectible standards. They have a deep feeling and experience of the whole process of black and white photography, and its production materials and craftsmanship are comparable to international standards, reflecting the collection and artistic value of photographic works. From these works, which represent China's top photography artists, people can not only deeply feel the artist's use of large-format photography to record and think about things and scenes, but also feel the close connection and profound integration of photography with history, culture and art.
The original photographic technique and the heart are the most appropriate
What is handmade silver salt?Handmade silver salt is a traditional photography process, mainly used in the black and white photography process. Its core technology lies in the photosensitivity of silver salts, a mixture of chemicals consisting mainly of silver chloride and solvents, in which a solution is applied to a photosensitive material such as film or photographic paper. When these materials are exposed to light, the silver salts undergo a chemical reaction to form black silver particles that record the image. Generally speaking, the silver salt process includes processes such as light sensitization, darkroom processing, etc., which requires photographers to carry out elaborate production in the darkroom for a long time, and each step requires rigorous operation and fine adjustment. It is this ultimate pursuit of technology and perseverance in art that makes the handmade silver salt large-format works have unique charm and value.
Chen Peng, the director and curator of the art space of "Tuzuo Society", said bluntly that there are circles for photography and groups for collections, and today, loyal fans of large-format paintings are actually all over the world. In particular, silver salt is born with only one chance, as Roland Barthes said, "It only happens once." In the eyes of persistent artists or enthusiasts, more advanced digital imaging systems and even the rapid development of AI have not completely replaced this obsession with "truth" and the sense of achievement brought by traditional handicrafts. "In fact, some of the works in this exhibition have been for a long time, which is indeed a reality, most of the large-format artists are not commercial artists, they need some time accumulation, and basically the shooting is completed and sold, this may be the case, although they are very famous in the industry, but they are not too much in the society, I want to present these works in this kind of public space in stages. Also, if there are frequent gatherings for artists, it may bring them some inspiration, and I am happy to see such exchanges. ”
What are the selection criteria for the works in the exhibition?"The works are all selected by the artists themselves, and I only have one criterion, which is large-format shooting and traditional hand-made. They are all very mature artists, one person has one experience, one person has one idea, one person has one point of view, so to hold this exhibition I must do a good job in the preliminary work, this must have a vision, to see the original work, I only have one, you are a celebrity to bring it to me, the thing is not good, I will not choose. Chen Peng, who specializes in the restoration of ancient books, said firmly. To Chen Peng's gratification, the kind of emotion when people at the scene appreciated the works was "exceptionally beautiful and worth cherishing".
Nowadays, the large-format silver salt image process is no longer a daily means of image acquisition, but from the eager communication of the photographers on the scene, we can feel that when they bend their waists and plunge into the darkness shrouded in crown cloth, they will involuntarily get excited to the point of rapid heartbeat and breathless concentration. The black viewfinder screen is like a mirror window of the heart, and the outside scene is transformed through the eyes and brain, directly from "seeing" to "seeing", and the "outside world" of one side generates the "world of the mind". It is the unique beauty experienced by many large-format photographers, coupled with the excitement and expectation of day and night operation immersed in the darkroom in the later stage, that makes the artists enjoy great pleasure in the value and extension of the image itself.
Chen Peng believes that without photography, there would be no so-called "contemporary" art. He gave examples of images replacing the blank space of words and philosophy, and the seemingly rational color expression method of Impressionism also originated from the color presentation method of photography, from Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, Picasso and many other artists have not escaped the shadow of photography. And the so-called "contemporary art" is even more unimaginable without photography, let alone film art, "although AI technology can extend the space of public thinking, but the original photography technology close to reality is one of the most appropriate and convincing display tools to the heart!"
Chow Yun-fat's two "Untitled" paintings are very tasteful
A huge silver salt work "Waterwheel" hangs in the center of the pavilion, the picture is delicate and the texture is real, making people feel as if they are in the moment captured by the photographer, like a dream. The creator of this work is Chen Changfen, a leading figure in large-format photography, who modestly said that these works were "picked up" by his intermittent and casual creations on major themes such as "The Great Wall" and "Sun and Moon", "There is no such scene again." ”
If you look closely, the huge waterwheel is rolling, the cycle is repeated, the bamboo forest is shaded, the waves are rippling, and the distant mountains are continuous, looming. Bamboo, mountains and water are important topics of traditional Chinese culture, which are expressed in poetry, painting and text, and "photography can express emotions and concepts, of course, natural phenomena are the only testable and real, and the illusory creativity of not doing photography in the later stage is also my loyalty and tribute to photography!" Chen Changfen sighed.
For more than 100 years, photography has documented nature and human life in an unprecedented way. In the 90s of the last century, the then "China Photographers Magazine" published a series of works and related articles taken by Chen Changfen with large-format cameras, allowing readers to feel the charm of details and perfect pictures, and many photographers joined the ranks of large-format shooting, opening a new era of artistic creation in China with large-format photography as the carrier. "Yesterday, scientific and technological inventions brought vitality to art; today, high and new technology bring an impact on art; and tomorrow, what will new thinking bring to art?" At that time, Chen Changfen put forward such questions and thoughts, he believed that the future of science and technology dominates the future and destiny of mankind, and contemporary artists should understand and think about this, and artworks should also take this as an important symbol of the "sense of the times". Only in this way can we organically borrow, inherit, and carry forward the traditional culture and art of the nation.
The highlight of this exhibition is Chow Yun-fat's "Untitled 1" and "Untitled 2" collected by Zhong Xudong, both of which are unique and very rare. They not only show Chow Yun-fat's use of large-format photography to record and think about still life, but also express his unique understanding and perception of art. As a friend of Chow Yun-fat, Zhong Xudong said bluntly, "I came to Beijing to do photography, and as a friend, he gave me these two works. Chow Yun-fat's first job was as a buddy in a camera shop, he preferred black and white photography, had a soft spot for large formats, and thought black and white photos were tasteful. He later attended the artist training class of Hong Kong TVB and began to enter the acting industry, where he was well known. He had a bit of a problem going out to take pictures, and he was always watched, so he took a lot of still lifes in his early years. He developed the photos by hand, and even the rinsing potion was specially ordered from the United States. Both of these works are one-of-a-kind, and only one was made. In Zhong Xudong's view, "The reason why Chow Yun-fat is successful, in addition to his acting skills, is also related to his way of life." He lived a very simple life, and he himself said, I am a child of a fisherman born and raised in Hong Kong. He has sold his photographs for charity on several occasions, with proceeds used to support various charitable causes. "Chow Yun-fat's keen grasp of composition, light and colour amazes the viewer, with an old, timeless taste.
In Chen Changfen's view, our nation's profound sense of collection and good tradition mean that there is a huge potential for the mainland photography art collection market in the future, and more importantly, our unique photography resources will provide a broad platform for the international photography collection market, and thus produce infinite charm. "The 21st century should be an era of inclusiveness, where it is easier for all genres, styles, expressions, and so on to find their own freedom in the field of art. Based on our excellent traditional culture, coupled with the advanced concept of modern civilization, coupled with advanced thinking, we can create a huge 'artistic energy' (artistic energy) and create great works worthy of the new century. ”
My work is the other side of my life
At the scene, "Jin Yong's Inscription Tablet" and "Shen Congwen Inscription Tablet" and other humanistic works attracted many young audiences, and the author Chen Shengping came from Zhangjiajie to communicate with everyone. He admitted that he has lived in Zhangjiajie since he was a child, and he joined the work at the age of 19 in the Zhangjiajie Scenic Area. When he was 20 years old, he signed up to study photography in a photo studio, and many of the promotional photos he took of Zhangjiajie have been spread on the Internet. After coming into contact with the Internet in 2005, reading the history of Western photography inspired him a lot, and he began to study Bresson, Adams, ...... Constantly trace the source, build a self-learning system, immerse yourself in it, and never get tired of it.
Later, Chen Shengping keenly captured the "man-made landscape" behind the natural scenery that people had neglected, and gradually clarified the direction of exploration, "the relationship between natural space and people in Zhangjiajie". He said frankly that in the 80s of the last century, Zhangjiajie was still a relatively primitive natural state, and over the past 40 years, with the progress of society and the development of the times, Zhangjiajie has changed from an unknown mountain into a world natural heritage site -- Wulingyuan, which has attracted worldwide attention. In this process, there are many stories, such as the graffiti on the rocks by early tourists to form a landscape, the inscriptions of many cultural celebrities, etc., forming the scenery in the landscape; there are also some popular Internet check-in points, such as the 86 version of Journey to the West Three Dozen White Bone Essence filming locations, many people go to find the Monkey King to catch the white bone spirit of the tree, the stone of the Flying Buddhist Sutra, the scenic spot is also paved with stone slabs, and the stone is also carved with golden whip rock, becoming a popular attraction. "The traces left by these people's participation have become a cultural phenomenon, which is actually a microcosm of a society and deserves to be documented. In my lens, people are withdrawn, although I can't see people, but the existence of people is reflected everywhere. For example, when I made Jin Yong's inscription tablet, I was a participant. So as I deepened my subject matter, I paid attention to artificial nature, which is different from the nature of the wilderness, and I felt that all these landscapes were restored to people and served tourists, and it had creative value. ”
In the past 20 years, Chen Shengping has always focused his lens on Zhangjiajie, and in his opinion, photography is divided into three stages: seeing the mountains are mountains, seeing the mountains is not mountains, and looking at the mountains is still mountains. "I'm at the stage where I'm looking at mountains now, and I'm going to see mountains or mountains as much as possible, which is too difficult. Sometimes I think about it, I am really lucky, 380 million years ago, Zhangjiajie was still an ocean, and then experienced continuous orogeny, 180 million years ago, these rocks were fractured and deformed, and many joints and fissures were formed inside. The cutting of rainwater, the forces of nature have been changing them, and the mountains in Zhangjiajie are constantly diverging, but I have photographed all aspects, edges and corners of these mountains, and even the internal structure and quartz sandstone in them. From the perspective of photography, it is the most important part of my life, and my work is the other side of my life. When people see these images, they are all things that I have experienced in my life, my understanding of Zhangjiajie, and my perception of one of its lives. ”
The large-format camera talks to the original, retro and mysterious
The photographers and the audience who came to the scene discussed and communicated, and everyone learned from each other and learned from each other, and the atmosphere was very warm.
In the corner of the gallery, a simple and elegant classical photographic equipment is quietly placed, which is eye-catching. It turned out that it was a Montauk camera produced at the end of the 19th century in the collection of collector Lu Wanjiang. Just looking at the wooden body of its fixed base and the leather cavity of black leather, a retro atmosphere blows to the face.
Chen Peng said that in order to improve the participation and experience of the audience, so that everyone can have a deeper understanding and knowledge of the art of handmade silver salt large-format photography, during the exhibition of handmade silver salt large-format classic original works, Mr. Lu Wanjiang, a collector of classical cameras, was specially invited to hold a salon lecture to tell the history of the development of classical cameras in the world, lead everyone into the world of classical cameras, and feel the vitality of photography in the history of photography development.
"The large-format camera first originated from the painting camera scas used by early painters, and today, the large-format camera still inherits the early design style, and the basic structure is still the lens + lens box + film clip, and there is no major change. It's just that the large-format cameras that my friends usually use now, if you look at the body structure, are just closer to the flatbed cameras of the mid-to-late 19th century. Due to the advantages of large negatives and high definition of large-format cameras (now also called technical cameras), they have always been unique in the professional field of photography. Even in today's digital age, large-format cameras are the first to be equipped with high-end digital backs and continue to occupy the field of high-end photography. It can be said that large-format cameras will continue to play an irreplaceable role for a long time to come. "When it comes to the early history of large-format cameras, Lu Wanjiang is always gushing and full of treasures.
As the sun sets, the spring breeze blows a bay of river, and the past and present are intertwined in front of you. Nowadays, the international Liangmahe area has become a new cultural landmark in Beijing, many young people are keen to come here for leisure and check-in, some fashionable, retro and unique cultural activities are getting more people's attention and love, they not only enrich the cultural life of citizens, but also add new vitality to Liangma Harbor. Text/Photo courtesy of reporter Li Zhe/Tuzuo Society (Beijing Youth Daily)