Author: hli3

Chen Qiulin’s photograph, Twilight, is a piece of performance art that displays the photographer’s discomfort with the decayed environment. To support her claim, Chen Qiulin focuses on the eroding surroundings and destroyed landscape. She illustrates both concepts through the composition of the traditional and modern figures and their points of view. (revision and editing have made the paragraph sound clear and beautiful!)

Focusing on urbanization, Qiulin shows the eroding traditional surroundings through both the position of the historical figures regarding the demolished house and their vision. In the background, Qiulin presents a partially demolished traditional family house. She purposefully locates the traditional figures in front of the house and makes them face the dilapidation in order to express disappointment in urbanization. According to their distinct dress, they are deemed descended from heaven and searching for the house they used to call home. However, the views frustrate them as their beloved home is demolished and will soon become ruins and rubble. Positioning the traditional figures in front of the dilapidated house, Qiulin expresses nostalgia for the cultural and architectural disappearance under urban modernization.

Aside from the composition, the point of view of the traditional characters leads the viewers to further consider toward the aftermath of demolition. In the traditional views, the landscapes represent a philosophical notion of harmonious relations between humans and nature, like a woman’s body with aesthetic beauty essential to the built environment. However, this traditional aesthetic collapses as the scale of urbanization behaves like an aggressive man, violently assaulting the land and leaving the woman with a wounded body. The artist’s subjective insertion of a traditional perspective on contemporary destruction questions today’s economic frenzy from a historical perspective. (turn this into topic sentence?)

In order to present the aftermath of the earthquake, Qiulin presents the destroyed landscape through the position and perspectives of the modern figures within the photograph. Qiulin intentionally places the woman wearing a western bridal gown at the foreground and the man in a tuxedo in the background. Though they are dressed for their wedding, they are far apart from each other. The two people seem shocked and bemused by the earthquake and do not know where to go or how to find each other. Deliberately separating the couple, Qiulin illustrates the psychological impact people suffered from the physical change of the environment associated with the earthquake.

Aside from the composition, the modern characters’ point of views leads the viewers to further consider the aftermath of the earthquake. The contemporary characters gaze into space beyond the frame, suggesting a sense of uncertainty and ambiguity. From the glazed look and sullen facial expressions of the two characters, they seem to look at the destruction and damage done. Maybe their wedding place has turned into ruins. Maybe their relatives have become the victims of the disaster and lost their lives. The ambiguity of their perspective reflects the artist’s unease about the unpredictability of nature as the earthquake overthrows the balance between humans and nature.

What are the causes of the decayed environment? Whom should we blame? Interpreting from Qiulin’s portrayal, I believe we, humans, should take full responsibility for destroying the past cultural heritage and blurring the goal for future development. The urban modernization has caused the eroding surroundings. In order to reach urbanization and gain economic benefit for itself, the government neglects the past cultural architectures and chooses to demolish buildings unhesitatingly. The destroyed landscape seems caused by the inevitable natural disaster, but it is related to the jerry-built construction. In order to reach the deadline assigned by their demanding employers, workers have no choice but to rush the construction process without paying attention to the housing quality. As a result, these low-quality houses easily collapse in earthquakes and takes the lives of many people. The damage could have been lessened if the houses are built following standards. As a result, humans have destroyed the past and shattered the identity of the landscape. The future for the homeland will be unclear since the land’s identity has been lost. No one knows what should be constructed anymore.

Overall, Chen Qiulin presents the decayed homeland by focusing on both the demolished surrounding in terms of modernization and destroyed landscape in terms of the earthquake. Qiulin demonstrates these two types of landscapes through the composition of the figures and their points of view. The image reflects modern China’s negligence toward cultural architecture and the contemporary construction process. She invites conversation and contemplation on the role humans play in our environment, whether built or natural. As a viewer, I feel disheartened about the way we choose to blindly move forward and ignore the standards, leading to the loss of identity and punishment from nature. I hope this artwork alarms people into seeing the damage they have done and prevent any future landscape from being destroyed. (a strong conclusion)

 

 

 

 

https://www.amusingplanet.com/2016/02/the-urban-villages-of-china.html

In order to modernize and follow the steps of other Chinese major cities, Guangzhou’s government decided to demolish all the villages in the city and turned them into skyscrapers. The photographic caption is divided into two portions, with the migrant worker located in the foreground and his point of view as the leading perspective. What one witnesses from that seized perspective are the village houses in contrast to the skyscrapers in the background. The focal view point and the central position of the migrant worker invite us to consider issues of lost one’s home, thereby one’s identity. (the revised paragraph sounds much clearer now)

The photographer purposefully positions the man against ruins and invites viewers to look through his perspective. From the man’s cheap outfits, one might be able to identify he is him as a migrant worker. His sluggish gesture echoes with the ruins, filled the image with sadness and desperation. Instead of turning his head toward or smiling at the camera, the man turns his back toward the photographer and stares at the buildings on the other side of the river. Positioning the person against the ruin, the photographer establishes his point of view and invites us to look at the buildings in the middle ground.

Departing from the man’s lens, through migrant worker or local resident’s point of view, one may see a couple of buildings under demolition. Some of the building’s remnants are lined up to each other showing signs of the vanished villages in the city. The assembled layout of the remnants reflects the history of the villages. After the government announced the privatized land-use, all landowners started taking advantage of their land by building as many buildings as they could. These constructions the landowners undertook in order to respond to the policy becomes the iconic architectural element for the villages. Besides its historical value, this assembled layout of villages in the city also indicates its cultural function. The proximity between buildings and shared street function as a means to enhance the villages’ community spirit. However, one can barely feel reassured of the closeness nor the history of the village. The disappearance of the assembled layout indicates the imminent threat of demolition that will destroy and erase villages’ historical and cultural values. (if the point of view has been the focal argument, please explain why establishment of that perspective?)

Following the man’s point of view and looking upward, the high-rise apartments at the background make a clear contrast to the villages in the middle ground.  These newly built skyscrapers appear to be monotonous and uniform. The windows and architectural structure for each apartment’s floor look all the same. One can barely distinguish these apartments from one another. Full of stillness and lifelessness, the distant skeleton branches prevent people from having close interactions with their neighbors. Compared to the assembled villages in the middle ground, these apartments lack of historical and cultural values.

To the man, a migrant worker, the modern apartments represent the end of affordable housing to him. Villages in the city used to be the only cheap option for migrant workers to live in Guangzhou. Now, all the villages will be torn down under the government’s policy and be replaced with high-rises. While the citizens and the government are cheering for the urban development, the migrant workers are the ones who are left behind. Staring at the modern apartment at the far end, the man realizes his economic shelters are start vanishing and will soon be replaced by these skeleton branches. At that time, the only place he can find traces of past villages are from the ruins like the ones he is sitting on now.  

Overall, the photographer presents the vanished villages in the city through a migrant worker’s point of view. By dividing the image into two portions, the audience are able to visualize a transition for village in the city. The villages under demolishing will soon turn into ruins and will eventually be replaced by high-rises. The shameful decision of Guangzhou government marks the disappearance of the village identity and has brought up multiple societal concerns. Inviting the landowners to live in high-rise apartments with better living condition seems to be beneficial for landowners. However, these landowners have been collecting rent for most of their life. They have no prior working experience and are not capable of finding a new job or adapting into the society. Similarly, the migrant workers are gradually being excluded from the city. The fast urban development of Guangzhou brings up the housing prices, and the migrants will not be able to find any affordable housing as cheap as the ones in villages. I hope the government can be more aware of the aftermath they caused by demolishing villages in the city and support the victims accordingly. (the conclusion could be tightened up more)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Bangkok Bank is a branch of Bangkok Bank Public Company Limited, was formerly the Great Northern Telegraph Company and has had a presence in Shanghai since 1931. Although the owners of the building have changed over decades, the architecture itself has remained one of the classic buildings on the Bund. It reflects the potential negotiation between the local Chinese and the foreign Thai from the age of treaty port culture through its design plan, material structures, and facade.

The initial engagement between the foreign Bangkok bankers and local landowners found visual evidence from the design plan of the towers and flags. From the design plan’s architecture, viewers see that the bank is designed as bilaterally symmetrical with an extended tower and a national flag on each side of the building. The towers, designed with a European Renaissance style, indicate potential interaction. (I’d like to learn how and why the towers in renaissance style would promote interactions) The towers are located on each side of the building as though they are two negotiators. The connecting structure between the towers simulates two negotiators placing their arms on each other’s shoulder, displaying a reached agreement. In addition to the towers, the flags, Chinese on the left, Thai on the right,  indicates the identity of the two negotiators. With the interactions simulated by the towers and national identities defined in terms of the flags,  the symmetrical layout of the two reflects the amicable relationship between the native and the foreign.

To further refer to the idea of negotiation, the Bangkok bank architecture  shows credibility to local landowners. The Thailand bankers’ reliability and dedication will find visual evidence from the bank’s material structures, the black rooftop  and white facade. The black enamel rooftop, presented in a rococo-style, simulates a gentlemen’s tophat. The white walls, built in masonry, provide the appearance of a neat dress shirt. The black rooftop and the white wall integrate perfectly creating the image of a well-dressed authoritative gentleman who will treat the banking business seriously. The combination of the black rooftop and white walls (color is addressed and how about the materials itself?) gives the building a sense of solemnity and elegance. The material structure of the Bangkok Bank asserts the intention of continuing engagement of the Thais with the Chinese.

Successful cooperation finds visual evidence in facade’s focal point, the Garuda. This bird-man creature is the national emblem of Thailand and is awarded by the Thai Royal family to outstanding companies. The body of the Garuda is red like the Chinese flag, indicating Thai people keep the needs of the local Chinese in mind. Around the body, the Garuda extends his golden wings, a sign of limitless future opportunities with the Chinese. Overall, the Garuda displays a gesture of flying in the sky, signaling the triumphant collaboration with the local Chinese. In addition to the physical features of the Garuda, its position on the facade also indicates architecture choice. Garuda is being geometrically arranged at the lower central axis of the building. The placement meets with the viewer’s eye level and will become the most eye-catching feature of the building. Being the focal point, the Garuda symbolizes a successful bridge between the Thai and Chinese. The facade of the Bangkok Bank  presents the successful engagement of the Thai in Shanghai.

Overall, the Bangkok Bank on the Bund exemplifies a successful communication and documents the history of Thai interactions within China. Through its design plan, material structures, and facade, this bank building articulates the diligence Thai foreigners maintained in order to win the trust of the Chinese during the age of  the treaty port.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chen Qiulin’s photograph, I am an angel, is a piece of performance art that displays the photographer’s  discomfort toward the demolition of Chinese houses. The two subjects first stand out to the viewers are the angelic female figure and the ruined house. By introducing the human figure and the site, Qiulin highlights the contradiction between the purity of the woman and the dirty environment. The picture creates a dialogue between the people’s ideal living environment and the government-made living condition. Chen utilizes this picture to evoke the idea that people are the victims who pay the price for government’s impudent destruction. (wonderful ideas. Is it possible to centralize a specific one that you’ll analyze?)

The photographer choose to locate the pure woman within the impure destruction. Picturing from a distant angle, Chen makes the woman appear smaller, which seems she is overwhelmed by the rubbles. The angelic identity implies the Chinese culture, which is smothered by the demolition. The decision made by government of demolishing Chinese houses has severely damaged the culture value within the house. Although some culture will still be remembered by people from the history book, it has no place to be shown in the real life. When people come and visit the site, things that are obvious to their eyes are the rubbles and ruins, and the culture value of the architecture has became unnoticeable like the small angel that stays at the corner. Through Chen’s purposeful composition, he picture implies that the impurity environment created by demolition is blinding people’s eyes from seeing the remained purity, Chinese culture. In other words, the Chinese culture is disappearing due to the impact of demolition. (if the female figure surrounded by the rubble is the focal point of the composition, then address their relationship. try not to go too far and too general, such as Chinese culture or cultural values) 

Although inside the house, the woman is not looking at anything around her but string at the sky through the hole on the celling. Qiulin designs the look of the woman in order to draw a contrast between the ideal in woman’s mind and the reality she refuses to look at (good point: social reality through the female gaze). At here, the woman can simply represent a normal Chinese girl (how about named as angel?).  The girl is going to her classroom where is her favorite place because, in the classroom, she learns knowledge and has wonderful conversations with her classmates. Now, because of the demolition, the classroom disappears (if so, then you may focus on the visual term of “site”) and is turned into ruins. There is no more education for the girl, and all her friends go away. Staring desperately at the sky, the girl knows her classroom will never return, and she just wants to leave this place.

(in addition to …. ) The brown and black color on the rubbles creates a gloomy atmosphere, highlighting the despair of reality. The White color light from the windows represent hope, but the windows are all too tall for the girl to reach. Qiulin applies the use of color to clearly portrait the sadness of the people affected by demolition and shows their good old memories will never return just as these unreachable windows (may use this statement as topic sentence).

The photographer gives special attention to the debris in this abandoned house. Qiulin strategically let the rubbles take over half of the picture. Following her point of view, we witness a catastrophe. The ruins present a devastating condition which can be drawn parallel to the aftermath of an earthquake or a terrorist attack. Unfortunately, this is all the artwork presented by the government. Giving debris the focal point, Chen criticizes the government’s demolition decision is an absolute disaster. From people’s point of view, the Chinese government is just like terrorist who are destroying Chinese architecture along with the beautiful memories in people’s mind. (may organize the figure and the ruins together)

By picturing the girl from a distant angel, using colors, and giving debris the focal point, Qiulin has successfully given life and meanings to this picture. The losing of the Chinese culture (try not to make general statement), the despair of people, and the barbaric action of government altogether illustrate that people are the victims who pay the price for government’s impudent destruction. I hope the government will recognize their mistake one day. Although the buildings they demolished will be replaced by fancier architecture, the memories these buildings carry are priceless and can never be replaced.

Citation:

https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2017/ECO/2017_ECO_15077_7025_000(chen_qiulin_i_am_an_angel_no3).jpg?mode=max

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Jeff Widener’s photograph, Tank Man, is a picture captured during the June Fourth Incident in 1989, which displays  a student’s peaceful protest against the cold-blooded Chinese government. The photograph draws a comparison between the two counterparts (composition): a line of loaded tanks symbolizing the well-armed powerful Chinese government and a helpless student protester holding a black shopping bag. The picture revives the history of 1989 at Tiananmen Square, in which the vulnerable student protesters calling for individual rights and freedom were answered with firearms and armed vehicles deployed by the government.

From the man’s point of view, the image portrays the desperation of the protestor which forces him to sacrifice himself against the government he once had faith in. Facing four gigantic tanks which can easily take his life away, the white-clothed man shows no sign of retreat or asking for help, but, instead, stands still and ready to face the machine with his vulnerable body (human body and material tank). The man’s decision shows his realization of the limited power and right of a protestor and disappointment toward the current political situations as he assumes that no one in his group will be able to help him and that the government will not show empathy to him. Furthermore, the man’s brave action displays a contrast between the ideal and the reality (further clarification), a conflict in the man’s mind between his eagerness of achieving success with his protest and the impossibility of completing this mission, which further highlights the protesters’ despair.

From the government’s point of view, the picture shows the cold-blooded quality of the government who is willing to sacrifice his people in order to gain authority. The communist party responds to the people’s demand with threats, demonstrating its power by pulling out armed vehicles. In reality, tanks often are used in war against foreign countries in order to protect a country’s homeland and people. However, the Chinese government in 1989 did the exact opposite. They turned the people into enemies and killed them without any hesitation. In the governor’s eyes, the man seems to be more like an emery instead of a citizen as the tanks show no sign of ceasing and there is no officer standing by who tries to help the man.

Last but not least, the image loomed with an atmosphere of ironies as the incident took place at Tiananmen Square (site, location, or space). The founding idea of Tiananmen Square is for embodying the notion of people, which is designed thoughtfully for large assemblies and community gatherings. Unfortunately, the picture displays a different story: Tiananmen Square is no longer built for the people but for leaders to demonstrate their power and authority. Under the changing political discourse, the people who are trying to remind the government about their identity are treated with suppression. As shown by the white-clothed man in the picture, many people’s patriotism has already faded away from the government’s upsetting regime and barbaric behaviors and now is replaced by defeatism and betrayal.

Jeff Widener took “Tank man” purely by accident while he intended to capture some pictures of Tiananmen Square. Although taken coincidentally, the photo unravelled the ruthless act of the Chinese government, raised heated discussions worldwide, and became a dark history that the Chinese government strives to erase. Having been born in China and lived in Shanghai for the past 19 years, I have never heard anyone talk about the June Fourth Incident. I feel surprised and, in some way, betrayed by the  government who shapes a figure to the public that does not correspond with its past. According to a Chinese proverb, “paper can not wrap fire,” the past wrongdoings of the Chinese government will eventually be discovered by the new generations, and will the government still be able to unify the country when the truth is being unfolded? Everyone makes mistake, and “failure is the mother of success.” The Chinese government ought to openly educate its people of the past and give people the right to know in order to fully embody the notion of people.

Howard, this is a good start in terms of visual analysis. you have well organized the materials with the structure of the theme and visual (counterparts via composition, confrontation via human body-military tank, and individual and official points of view), for instance.  tighten up the sentence syntax and make the writing sound concise, clear, but persuasive.

Online references and citations:

https://www.dw.com/zh/坦克人摄影师讲述照片背后的故事/a-17678678

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1989_Tiananmen_Square_protests

https://www.scmp.com/magazines/post-magazine/article/1031945/shooting-tank-man