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Post by bjd on Jul 9, 2018 8:22:27 GMT
Yesterday in Bayonne we went to see a photo exhibit by Liu Bolin. He is a Chinese photographer whose photos depict man as invisible, using paint and photography to show people invisible against the background. This is the poster from the exhibit:
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Post by bjd on Jul 9, 2018 8:27:28 GMT
Not surprisingly, the Chinese authorities don't approve and his studio was destroyed in 2006, supposedly because the area was being developed for the future Olympic games in Beijing. It was very interesting and impressive.
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Post by bixaorellana on Jul 9, 2018 17:16:32 GMT
Very striking work!
I wouldn't have thought the authorities were subtle enough to be threatened by his work, but probably the can sense on a primitive level what might be subversive.
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Post by kerouac2 on Jul 10, 2018 4:33:53 GMT
Whenever I see any of his photographs, I spend more time figuring out how it was done rather than actually looking at the picture. I would imagine that modern technology helps quite a bit. As to whether it is actually art, I imagine that is open to debate.
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Post by bjd on Jul 10, 2018 5:29:58 GMT
There was an explanation about how it's done. His assistants spend time making him up with acrylic paints (which damage his skin, so he puts Vaseline under the makeup). The place he has to stand is marked with tape, so he knows exactly where to stand to melt into the background. He then goes back and forth dealing with all the settings until it's the perfect shot. Whether it is "art" or not is not necessarily the question for the Chinese authorities. There were photos of workers who had lost their jobs, looking extremely unhappy against the background of a factory wall, Bolin himself against the Chinese flag, etc. It is a mixture of photography, political commentary and art. I prefer it to much "installation art". He also made a photo of survivors and families of the Charlie Hebdo killings, against a background of many Charlie Hebdo covers.
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