Comments on: CPU:798 – Zu Jing

By: CT

CT — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 09:32:17 +0000

Imitative of whom? “Cheap?”

I love these photos.

By: Ian

Ian — Wed, 28 Jan 2009 07:21:27 +0000

Came upon this page by chance…rather uninspiring pictures. Not provocative either visually or intellectually. Cheap, imitative are all I can say about this photographer’s work.

By: XiaoXuesheng

XiaoXuesheng — Thu, 05 Jun 2008 08:37:52 +0000

I absolutely love these pictures, what a talented photographer…

By: yaohong

yaohong — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 16:24:45 +0000

Yep, that’s my definition of “socialist capitalism” too. A lot of younger photographers in China were born of an era where capitalism took over communism as the main ideology. I hazard a guess that many of them are trying very hard to reconcile their roots with the increasingly “Western” lives they lead now. Then again, this is coming from somebody whose only ties to China is in his genes. The so-called Chinese culture that I live in is vastly different and I often find myself struggling with words when speaking with a native. I’m much more capable of conversing my ideas in english, more than anything else!

By: Nicholas Calcott

Nicholas Calcott — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 15:00:14 +0000

Yeah, I feel like I’ve been coming across alot of work like that too… It’s just a kind of vague concept in my mind – I was hoping I could weasel a definition out of you.
“Socialist capitalism,” in my mind, refers to the idea of reconciling Chinese culture (coming out of, among other things, 60 years of communism and especially the cultural revolution) with increasingly materialistic and consumerist quality of contemporary Chinese life. But this definition is coming from someone with no direct connection to China or Chinese culture. Would you agree? Or were you referring to something else by that term?

By: yaohong

yaohong — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 14:02:16 +0000

@Nicholas well, I think I’ve been unearthing quite a number of works so far that deals with this particular issue. The execution may be varied (some brilliant) but the theme seems to be over hashed and tired to me.

I do agree that this particular work stands out as it’s coming from a different pov; moreover, that of a woman’s. It’s also a sign of how China is shifting away from its chauvinistic roots.

By: Nicholas Calcott

Nicholas Calcott — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 16:32:46 +0000

What do you mean by ‘slightly bored with the “socialist capitalism” concepts’? I think I agree with you, but I’m not sure we’re thinking of the same thing…

It’s interesting, though, that this work, with a lot of contemporary Chinese photography, has the same sense of an attempt to deal with problems of identity in a newly capitalist society, but the view is both that and of an individual.

By: alex

alex — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 15:05:27 +0000

great ideea.