"Everyone who sees this work is tortured: How will you face the difficulties? How will you meet the challenge? How will you get along with your partner? ”
- Caption
After Ferguson took over the Manchester United coaching whip, he hung a painting in the Manchester United office.
Ferguson's office at Manchester United is the centre of the club's power. The office at the Carrington base isn't big, but every piece of furniture, every furnishing, every object there seems to be magical, quiet, and involuntarily serious.
This is the office of every manager, and entering 2021 now belongs to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer. But long after November 1986, its owners were all Ferguson. This was the office where Ferguson spent the longest time in his life, the place where he performed magic and miracles, and where he overcame difficulties and kept moving forward.
As a special venue, countless Manchester United players have experienced a wide variety of hospitality. Spring flowers and autumn moon, talking and laughing; the wind and clouds change color, thunder and thunder; earnestly teach, patiently listen; angry, loud scolding... Players or family members come to talk to Ferguson, and it's basically arranged here. Whether it is talking when frustrated or sharing joy when successful, self-recommendation or negotiation transfer, looking for Ferguson's help or trouble, talking about life and family, talking about horse racing and politics... Aside from Ferguson's hair dryer roar, there's always a lot of interesting topics to talk about.
Ferguson's office has had a magical charm for a long time, and success has made everything he has become a focus, and the furnishings in his office have many stories. Of particular interest is the photographic work hanging on the wall behind the desk, "All Beings on the Beam.".
The photograph, titled "Beings on the Beam," became the focal point of Ferguson's office, continuing to surprise visiting guests and club members.
What kind of photograph is that? How could it have such an effect?
Let's get out of the way and talk about something else.
If you are placed on a single steel beam at an altitude of more than 100 meters without any safety measures, will you panic, despair and helplessness? Explorers may be happy about it, but what about an ordinary citizen, an ordinary worker? If you are at a height of 100 feet, on the same steel beam, you still have many partners around you, and your life and safety are closely linked to them. Any mistake you make will lead to the danger or even death of all of them, and any mistakes in them will put you in danger and put the whole group in a desperate situation. It's definitely stressful, it's absolutely crazy, and you're going to stay calm? Trust your partner enough? Finally solve the near-insoluble dilemma in front of you?
From the perspective of the safety of life, it is absolutely dangerous to sit alone on a steel beam at an altitude of 100 meters without taking any safety measures. Many people will simply refuse and dare not try, but there are some people in history who have lived in such situations every day.
It's not a joke, it's not a movie, it's magic, it's real life. Just over seventy years ago, in a corner of our world, on the giant construction site of skyscrapers in Manhattan, the United States, there was a group of workers who faced such a task — in fact, it was not a task at all, that is, their daily life, full of dangers and hardships.
The sight was shocking enough that it was filmed.
This is "All Beings on the Beam".
This visually striking work by photographer Charles Ebbets was shot directly on site during the construction of the Rockefeller Building in New York in 1932. It is also the best in his series of photographs, Men on a Girder (or "Lunch atop a Skyscraper"). The title of the work Chinese translated as "All Beings on the Beam", and also translated as "LunchTime in Manhattan" and "The Workers Who Built Manhattan". This work records and depicts 11 construction workers in the air more than 100 meters high, on iron beams that extend less than one meter wide in the air, completely without fear of danger, enjoy lunch calmly and spend rare leisure time. They're either sitting and smoking, or reading the newspaper, or gossiping, or gazing into the distance... they're relaxed, and they're in control of everything.
Such photographs are full of the fearless spirit and optimism of the working class?
Absolutely.
Charles-Albertus's original intention was not here. As a well-known journalist, especially a journalist with a critical realist style, his intention at that time was not to show the fearlessness of the workers, but to expose and criticize the construction industry at that time. At that time, the extremely dangerous working conditions and extremely difficult working conditions in the construction industry were the topics of criticism by the whole society. Between 1920 and 1935, the golden years of great economic development in the United States, a large number of new skyscrapers were built in New York. During the construction process, the owners and contractors are mercenary, do not care about the lives of the workers, and have no protection for the workers working on the tall buildings. Charles-Albertus took these photos precisely to expose the lack of construction safety measures, expose the blindness of society to construction safety, and comprehensively show the extremely dangerous working environment and hard life of construction workers. On October 2, 1932, the International Herald Tribune took the lead in publishing this group of photos, which caused great social repercussions. Many celebrities have spoken out and attacked, "It is immoral to put countless construction workers in dangerous situations" and "How many unjust spirits must wander in every high-rise building?" "Resist the high-rise buildings that construction workers built with their lives!" "Under the pressure of the whole society, the U.S. government and building owners have quickly formed a unified opinion, stipulating the safe work of workers, and reforming the safety standards of the working environment, and raising them to a higher standard." After a long period of development, especially the intervention of construction unions and insurance companies, the Safety and Security of Construction Workers in the United States has been better improved.
Since then, the whole of the United States has never seen such a situation again. This group of photographs thus has important social and historical value. They truly document the stunning scenes of the construction industry and are an indispensable page in the history of architecture around the world. Charles Abbotts has not taken such a photo since, and this group of photos has almost become a masterpiece.
After the safety standards were greatly improved, people began to pay attention to the different spirit conveyed by the photos themselves. This picture intuitively brings people a shock, is the fearless spirit and a good attitude. This does show a special connotation, and eventually this spirit of connotation, rather than the earliest critical spirit, was widely disseminated with extraordinary results.
What comes to the fore is the courage of the construction workers to take responsibility, the heroic ambition and fearless spirit of the working class, and the unity and trust among the workers. The positive spirit of hard work in the harsh environment shown in the photo has become a valuable spiritual wealth for Americans in that year and beyond, and it has also become the wealth of Manchester United people, and its influence has spread all over the world.
This unique spiritual connotation is what the original author Charles Albertus did not expect, and excellent literary and artistic works will always trigger a variety of interpretations, which is also the different value of "All Beings on the Beam".
It is not only a critique of darkness, but also a celebration of courage, of solidarity, of humanity's initiative in building a better life.
Ferguson discovered the photograph by chance, paid for it, framed it, and hung it in his office. Soon the photograph in the office came into focus. Anyone will be struck by this huge, black-and-white photography, first of all its sheer size, which Ferguson deliberately enlarged to almost half the size of a wall, with people in the photograph about the same size as life.2 In addition, the content of this photo has a strong impact, forcing people to immerse themselves in the content of the picture, and will trigger a variety of experiences and emotions.
This photographic work is straightforward, the tone is gray and white, the composition is complex and simple, the atmosphere is heavy but relaxed, the angle is single and multi-dimensional, the protagonist is a group but like an individual, wonderfully blending different contradictions together. It's clear what the work is trying to convey, and that's exactly what Ferguson wants to tell others. He hopes that his intentions will be quickly understood and understood by the players, and that the players will be inspired and educated.
What was Ferguson's pursuit of Manchester United? He hopes to show it through this photograph. It begins by showing the political stance of Ferguson, who is a supporter of the working class. Then it shows what Ferguson's ideal team should be like, what his players should be. The work doesn't speak, but it tells you "incredibly bluntly" what you mean. After Ferguson came to Manchester United, he also hid what he wanted to say. He wants to tell everyone that the working class team is the most determined and the most collectivist, and manchester United must act that way! Ferguson hopes that the Manchester United players will have enough courage and confidence to challenge fate as bravely as these workers. Even if it is always in danger, it despises all dangers and difficulties. He wants United players to have the will to excel, the spirit to fight and the confidence of the group. Ferguson hopes that the United team will unite as a whole and overcome difficulties. Not only that, but Ferguson also hopes that manchester United players can be as proud as the people in the painting to defy all dangers, and truly do everything in control.
Through this photo, Ferguson reminds United that whether United face difficulties or success, the fundamental strategy of this team to uphold the whole will never change. Ferguson believes that Manchester United will always be a collective. No player is allowed to be above the club, even if he is a brilliant superstar. Manchester United's players must be part of a team, an ordinary part of the whole football machine, and must rely on the whole to play their best ability, and even make their ability and effect bonus.
At Ferguson's insistence, self-confidence and unity, struggle and improvement, courage and responsibility – these thoughts and spiritual requirements have profoundly influenced generations of Manchester United players. Yes, no matter how many people come and go in Old Trafford, the idea of 'industrial football' that Sir Sir believed in throughout his life is passed down from generation to generation: the team structure has a tight organization, the players perform their duties but at the same time work closely together, adding to each other, Manchester United is a fighting collective, but also a united collective, which is what Ferguson wants to tell you through this picture. On the pitch, we can see more through the game screen, even tactically Manchester United is pursuing industrialization of simplicity and efficiency.
After Ferguson led Manchester United to the top of Europe and created a legendary splendor, the simple concept of class still persisted. Ferguson later said in an interview with The Team Newspaper, "Why would I sign Evra, Cristiano Ronaldo, Tevez, Rooney, Giggs... These players? In fact, most of the members of the team have a working class background. This, of course, means that the Manchester United world I want to build has some kind of social class characteristics. I have my own theory of the "working class". I like to remind the players of where they came from, to remember where their parents and grandparents came from. I hope that they can understand the history of their families, that they can protect the genes of the working class, and that they can carry forward the merits of the class. Today as a working class means bearing the frustrations of this modern society, which is full of comforts and possibilities that you cannot match. The players certainly have everything, but I hope they retain their original spirit and continue to work hard. ”
This photographic work of "All Beings on the Beam" has gained wider popularity because of Ferguson's relationship. At various Manchester United fan forums throughout the network, the painting was loved by many Manchester United fans, and it also inspired more Manchester United fans.
Life is always about struggling, never giving in to dangerous or difficult situations, and always trusting your partner. It will not overwhelm your difficulties, it will eventually creep under your feet, which is the meaning of every Manchester United person who steps into Ferguson's office, everyone who sees this work to understand and execute.