The works of amateur realistic photo-graphers from rural areas are sketches of individual and community life. Peipu's Teng Nan-kuang, Panchiao's Liao Hsin-ming, Pingtung's Liu An-ming, Keelung's Cheng Sang-hsi, and Lukang's Hsu Ts'ang-tze . . . all their works are steeped in rich local color, memorializing the places they grew up in and know best. And Wu Yung-shun, born and raised in Taoyuan, made use of his "native eye" to assemble a hometown portrait of his own.
"Child and Dog," which Wu shot as a keepsake for his elder brother, appeals to us by its ingenious composition and the pictorial interest of the child's smile, his open-bottom pants, and the dog watching the floating balloon. The compositional elements are multifarious but clearly arranged, making the picture an exceptionally successful sketch from life.
Wu was getting ready to photograph the little girl in "An Uninvited Guest" when a pigeon suddenly flew up to her, enabling him to catch this spontaneous and affecting moment. The girl's frightened expression, the flapping bird, and the warm, slanting sunlight combine to a vivid and interesting effect that earned the picture a special award in the Sakura photo competition of Japan.
Wu Yung-shun was born in Taoyuan in 1937. At the age of fifteen he went to work as an office boy at the Taoyuan police station to earn extra money for his family. He came across cameras for the first time in the station's criminal division and became fascinated with them, running off to the division whenever he had a chance. At eighteen he became an apprentice to Lin Shou-yi, an older Taoyuan photographer who taught him the basics of photography and darkroom skills.
At this time he began to follow others in taking photographs, but they were highly imitative and too often thoughtlessly composed. After finishing his military service he returned to Taoyuan in 1960, where he set up the Li Jen Photo Studio and began to pursue realistic photography in earnest, frequently motorcycling off to the countryside in search of subjects with a strong rural flavor.
"Onstage and Off" humorously plays off the attentive audience at an outdoor theatrical performance against a flock of inquisitive geese, an interesting scene captured by the equally inquisitive photographer. The close-up of the old man in "A Bountiful Harvest" and the pair of children in "Tears and Laughter" are forceful studies in facial expressions. Even though the old man knows he is posing, his smile is natural and unaffected, something which a subject in the 1980s would be hard put to duplicate.
The appearance, conditions, feelings, and strengths of the countryside are the contents that Wu hopes to communicate in his work. In "Heading Home," "On the Street," and "Pitching In" the various figures bearing and pushing loads display endurance, diligence, and fortitude--qualities which, together with the quiet resignation of the old men in "Leisure," are characteristic of the people of Taiwan and which move us with admiration today just as they moved the photographer to capture them on film.
In "Offering a Prayer" an old woman has laid out offerings on a table in front of her home. Each of the three figures exhibits a different expression, while the musician's intensity and the curling wisps of incense add to the religious atmosphere.
"Performer" and "Highwire Artist" focus on traveling entertainers. The worn-out costume and abstracted gaze of the player dressed as "Granddad Carries Grandma" reveal the hardships and vicissitudes of life on the road. And the intent expression of the acrobat in "Highwire Artist" forms an interesting contrast with the faces of the crowd below.
Wu's photos occasionally contain unexpected angles of observation. In "Really Tasty," for example, the view of the girl eating ice as refracted through the glass tank is fresh and original, giving us a new look at a summertime theme. And in "Parting" the waving hands are accented by cold lateral lighting, while the forlorn expression of the young soldier in the window adds to the melancholy mood.
In "Getting About in the Rain" we see a crowd of vehicles and pedestrians making their way through a street flooded by a typhoon.
This scene from years past, which displays the ceaseless activity of the people in the face of adversity, makes up a journalistic photograph with a message.
Wu's current work as photo studio owner and as a photojournalist for China Television make it difficult for him to find the time and energy to engage in photography for pleasure. Taking out these sketches of life from the 1960s and showing them to the public embar-rasses him, he says modestly, but the enthusiasm and concentration he devoted to them at the time still gives him a feeling of satisfaction.
The handful of works shown here enables us to appreciate something of the photographer's artistry and dedication and to supplement our pictorial record of the multifaceted but vanished world of the past.
[Picture Caption]
An Uninvited Guest, 1966.
Child and Dog, 1961.
Wu Yung-shun at age 25, 1962.
A Bountiful Harvest, 1967.
Tears and Laughter, 1961.
Onstage and Off, 1968.
On the Street, 1969.
Leisure, 1968.
Pitching In, 1967.
Heading Home, 1967.
Performer, 1968.
Prayers, 1968.
Highwire Artist, 1961.
Parting, 1954.
Getting About in the Rain, 1961.
Really Tasty, 1954.
An Uninvited Guest, 1966.
A Bountiful Harvest, 1967.
Tears and Laughter, 1961.
Getting About in the Rain, 1961.
