Contemporary Chinese Photography

Book excerpt: The most comprehensive, impactful collection of photography in China to date, Contemporary Chinese Photographic Arts is a vibrantly printed, oversized coffee table book featuring fifty of the most renowned Chinese photographers currently working in a variety of genres. From documentary photography to conceptual tableaus, from medium format portraits to digitally manipulated dream scenes, from black and white to enhanced color, the works in this volume are designed to provoke and impress. An introductory segment analyzes political, economic, historic, and artistic influences in China, which segues into intensely creative work organized by theme: Urbanization and Globalization, Power, Space and Memory, Gender, Body, and Identity, Dialogues with Tradition, Borderlands and the Marginal, and Practices of Looking. The third section of the book summarizes key happenings in the development of Chinese photography, including influential exhibitions, auctions, and events. The pieces presented are unified by the masterful technique of the photographers and, collected together, serve as a multifaceted view into the culture, identity, ideas, and spatial and political concepts of one of the worlds most influential nations.