Roberta Wue workshop, 20 April: China through two photographic books

[okri...@gmail.com]

Dear colleagues, 

In addition to the first talk in the Sydney Asian Art Series for 2022, this Thursday at 11am by Roberta Wue (see here), we are also organising a small collegial workshop with Roberta -  See details on the attached PDF and the website, abstract below.  http://www.powerpublications.com.au/7353-2/

Wednesday 20 April, 11:00 - 12:15

China Through Two Photographic Books

This workshop will examine two photographically illustrated books on China: John Thomson’s Illustrations of China and Its People (1873-74), and Lang Jingshan’s (or Long Chin-san) catalogue, Exhibition of Pictorial Photography (1939). Though both books are apart in time and purpose, they are similar in using photography and text to depict China as a culture and concept at different geopolitical moments. Thomson’s book appears at a moment shortly after the Opium Wars and colonisation of Hong Kong, and seeks to examine a newly visible China through its people, culture, sights, and institutions. Over sixty years later, Lang Jingshan’s catalogue depicts China during the Sino-Japanese conflict to an international audience, and uses the subjects of Chinese landscape, women, and culture to frame an aestheticized vision of the nation-state. By comparing the two books, we will consider how each conceptualizes China: in narrative and sequencing, persistent motifs and symbols, and through visual systems and strategies.

Places will be limited to keep it collegial and conversational, and the workshop is designed for academic and curatorial colleagues, as well as graduate students working in a related area. 

regards

Olivier Krischer

Dr Olivier Krischer  

Honorary Associate, Department of Art History

Convenor, Sydney Asian Art Series

The University of Sydney
E olivier....@sydney.edu.au