[Civilization Classic: Wumeng Miner] Civilized Miner

A series of photographs about the living conditions of miners in small coal mines, Wumeng Miner, shot by Yunnan photographer Geng, is one of the outstanding documentary photographs in China today, and it is a song to shout for the disadvantaged workers living at the bottom! Geng visited many small coal mines in northeast Yunnan for more than 20 times in six years, and he was very sympathetic to the working environment and living conditions of these coal miners hidden deep in the mountains. He made friends with this group of coal miners living at the bottom, and vividly witnessed their extremely difficult and little-known bad living conditions with his camera. He expects the society to pay attention to the plight of this vulnerable group of workers and change their poor living conditions as soon as possible. Geng is holding a camera and shouting for this layer of vulnerable workers, "Make a monument and make a biography"! He is undoubtedly a humanitarian photographer with a conscience.

Geng was one of many amateur photographers in Yunnan in the early 1990s. At that time, most photographers were keen on taking photos of sunrise and sunset, sparkling clouds, beautiful dance of red-billed gulls, and exquisite works of photo photography such as colors and lines of red land. Geng began to pay attention to people and photographers since he set foot in photography. Many of his award-winning photographs in China (including Taiwan Province Province) are people-centered documentary photographs. The changes in Kunming are too fast. The disappearance of the old city of Kunming began at 1995, only four or five years later. What's gone is more precious. 200 1, The Past of Kunming, a collection of photographs by Geng, was published. These photos not only show the warm humanistic environment in Kunming before the disappearance of the old city, but also pay attention to the complex emotional state of Kunming people during the disappearance of the old city in Kunming. The photography language and image quality left a deep impression on the insiders. So many professional photographers in Kunming did nothing, but let an amateur photographer do it silently. Once he did it for 67 years, which is really rare in the impetuous photography world.

Most people only know "record" and "documentary" of China's documentary photography, and even become synonymous with "major historical theme", "major theme" and "focus hot topic", often ignoring the image composition and the wonderful grasp of typical moments, making documentary photography a mediocre record with the same wide-angle lens, lacking the profound expression of image personality characteristics. Geng's documentary photography works attach great importance to the artistic composition of the picture and the wonderful grasp of typical moments. His works are profound, touching and unforgettable! In 2004, his documentary photography series "Wumeng Miner" won the first prize of "Human Contribution Award" and the gold medal of 2 1 National Photography Art Exhibition, which is the best proof.

Geng resume

1954, a native of Kunming, Yunnan (originally from Anhui);

1990, began to learn photography;

1995, won the silver prize in the 7th International Photography Exhibition;

From 65438 to 0997, he participated in the large-scale creative activity of "Photographers from both sides of the Taiwan Strait see the Three Gorges" organized by the Ministry of Culture and the China Photography Association of Taiwan Province Province, and joined the China Photographers Association.

200 1 published the personal photo collection "Kunming Past", and was invited to participate in the first Pingyao International Photography Festival, exhibiting the personal theme photography "Kunming Past";

In 2003, at the invitation of the Taiwan Museum of History, he participated in the "Joint Exhibition of Famous Photographers from the Two Sides of the Millennium" and exhibited his personal thematic photography "Wumeng Coal Kiln";

In 2004, he won the Golden Wing Award of "Millennium Love World Chinese Photography Competition"; Won the first prize of the fourth "Human Contribution Award"; Won the 2 1 national photographic art exhibition record gold medal;

In 2005, he participated in Pingyao International Photography Exhibition and exhibited Wumeng Miner. "Wumeng Miner" was exhibited at UNESCO headquarters in Paris;

In 2006, he won the Yunnan Literature and Art Contribution Award; Participated in the second Lianzhou International Photography Festival and exhibited "Wumeng Miner".

Geng Yunsheng's Photographic Notes

1995 I first came to a small coal mine called Mocaowan in Wumeng Mountain range at the junction of Yunnan, Guizhou and Sichuan provinces with a few photographers. When I saw the working state of the workers, I was shocked by what I saw: in a hole less than one meter high, a coal worker climbed out like a gecko with a kerosene lamp in his mouth and followed. There are nearly 200 kilograms of coal in the basket, sweating step by step. We must make every step forward with all our strength. After the coal was poured out of the bamboo basket by the scale, they could stand up. Look at the workers' bodies dyed black by coal ash and sweat. The only thing they can see is a pair of eyeballs and a row of teeth. You can't believe what you see unless you see it with your own eyes. I couldn't stay here long at that time, because my companions who went with me had to rush back to the provincial capital. I took a few photos and left in a hurry.

For a long time after coming back, the scene of miners pulling coal always appeared in my mind. Why did this primitive way of working appear today in the 20th century? What is the life of those miners? This kind of problem always bothers me, so I came up with the idea of shooting them. In the next few years, I traveled to and from the large and small coal mines in Wumeng Mountain again and again, and truly photographed every moment of the miners' work, life and rest. ...