A Wider Focus

(Laura Li/tr. by Christopher MacDonald)

In the past hundred years the art of pho-tography has progressed from the portraiture and set-piece landscapes of the early days, through periods of experimentation with photo-montage, holograms and multimedia, to the digital tide of the present day. Once characterized by a simple, approachable style, the art has gradually metamorphosed into the bizarre abstractions of the post-industrial era.

Open Sky by Chen Chun-lu is a breathtakingly beautiful picture, melding heaven and earth into a single hazy realm seared by lightning. In Hsieh Chun-te's Red, a white sheet set off against reddish clouds billows across open wilderness. Who, we may wonder, is going to get wrapped in that sheet? Li Ming-tiao's Shepherd Boys evokes a deep sense of nostalgia-a yearning for childhood and for times gone by.

These are just some of the works on display in the 2000 Taipei International Photofest. The exhibition, mounted by the ROC Photography Culture Association, gathers works by over 100 photographers of all ages, from Taiwan and abroad, and provides a representative summary of the changes that have taken place in the art of photography.

Photographic images are both real and virtual. Between these two the lens of the camera leads the spirit into a new dimension, reflecting with perfect clarity everything it sees.

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Shepherd Boys (beside Hsintien Creek), Li Ming-tiao (1947)

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Chang Mei-yao, Lin Shou-yi (1956)

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Man and Earth, Juan Yi-chung (1987)

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Red, Hsieh Chun-te

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Early Light of the New Millennium, Chung Yung-ho (2000)

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Open Sky, Chen Chun-lu