Conceptual photography: the earliest conceptual photography in China.

At that time, there was no conceptual art, no photo exhibition and no modernism, but they were still struggling in obscurity on the other side of the Atlantic. At that time, people in China just started to know photography, and some old ladies who bound their feet were afraid that this technology different from the West would take away their souls. At that time, Empress Dowager Cixi arrogantly fiddled with foreigners' things in the back garden, treating herself as a bodhisattva, and letting Li, who was in his dotage, play the role of a boy with scattered wealth.

At that time, some people stood in front of the camera seriously, as if they had reached a conclusion, because they knew that this kind of salt and silver photo could not be fake, and they would set their truest appearance and state as eternity, and they would always leave it to themselves and people around them to watch and comment, which would last longer than their lives.

Therefore, these people find the props closest to their own reality, whether it is daily reality or ideal reality, and stand or sit in front of the camera with their truest eyes and expressions, waiting for the spotlight to shine. They really use cameras to record themselves and reflect on themselves. In my opinion, this is the earliest concept photography in China. For a long time, experts who study the history of photography believe that the photos taken by performance art artists who record their performance art with cameras can be called conceptual photography. From this point of view, it is only a vassal of performance art, and the main body is performance art. As an independent category of photography, conceptual photography has conceptual significance, whether it is the main body or the carrier, first of all, photography itself. Although these old photos taken at the beginning of the last century can't be said to have strong ideas, in that watershed era, the times themselves gave them the meaning of ideas.

First of all, truth is a kind of potential. Thought is different from record, but it must be inseparable from record. The turmoil in the late Qing Dynasty and the Republic of China put people's values in a state of chaos. The drama Teahouse is the most typical portrayal of that era, and the values of the characters in each scene are changing. So, in those days, people were at a loss. When facing the society, they are at a loss because they have no unified values, but when facing themselves, they inspire courage and expose their true selves. Moreover, they are all supercilious and have the temperament of being alone in the chaos of the world. Although their performance is not as domineering as that of contemporary conceptual photography, the essence is the same: when they are at a loss, they record or convey their reactions to society as individuals, reflect on themselves alienated by appearances in photos, but feel the truth and familiarity inside.

Look at some old photos: a photo of a woman in the Republic of China, five people standing side by side, wearing the same style of bloated robes, all of which are student heads. Naturally, two of them even wore round black-rimmed glasses. At first glance, they thought they were serious high school teachers. As a result, all four of them held cigarettes in their hands, just like men, and the only one held a pair of glasses in his hand, just like holding a cigarette. Everyone stood firm, with their feet tilted outward, without any anxiety or shame. They just stood in public. This old photo now seems to be a standard conceptual photography. If the avant-garde artist plays a prank and finds five female models standing in front of the same set with exactly the same props and postures, it must be contemporary conceptual photography. But if this is done, the insiders will definitely laugh at the artist's behavior. However, a closer look at the original of this old photo shows that their calm and open attitude is intriguing enough. They will be surprised to see themselves in the photos and grin at the same time.

There is another photo that is much more restrained. It is a photo of a veteran. The venue seems to be a complex, and I don't know what kind of aesthetics it is in. All props and characters are symmetrically arranged. As props, the patterns on lotus flowers, teapots, clocks and thermos bottles are also finely colored, and black and white and light colors blend into the feeling of time passing. The characters are all dressed in military uniforms, like old policemen. The man sitting on the steps spread his notebook on his knee, as if taking minutes of the meeting. They are very serious. One of them is holding a little black rabbit in his arms, and the other is holding a flower in his hand. In the middle is a bully table, and next to it is a person who looks like a village cadre smoking a cigarette, as if discussing something important. The man behind seems to have just come out of the room, but he is not wearing a uniform and holding an open book. They all looked serious and even frowned, wearing wrinkled clothes of old Beijing and black flat shoes. This photo reminds me of the old policeman in Beiping in my life.

No policeman is allowed to take pictures with a rabbit and a flower in his hand. He will be allowed to have the smoking posture and two easy chairs on both sides, and the props will be placed in complete symmetry. This old photo looks weird and warm, but it is so serious and rigorous. Everyone's posture and the choice of props, as well as the choice and arrangement of the overall props, are carefully set, even symbolic, representing their soul state and lifestyle at that time.

If conceptual photography is a kind of conceptual art, it is different from traditional artistic aesthetics, but what is more prominent is the expression of ideas. These old photos are the earliest conceptual photography in China. It is deviant, but it shows an inner truth. Its concept is not a subjective invasion of photography, but is endowed by the times, naturally generated, and inadvertently revealed in people's expressions, postures and backgrounds in photos. It is absurd but logical, and the most commendable thing is that every photo has impeccable seriousness.