Clark's basic introduction

On February 9th, 2009, at 65438, the long-awaited "Centennial Moment"-a photo exhibition commemorating the centenary of Clark's expedition to Shaanxi and Gansu officially kicked off in China Folk Museum.

This exhibition is to commemorate the centenary of Clark's crossing from Shaanxi to Gansu. Mr Clark is the founder of Stirling and francine Clark Art Center in Williamstown, Massachusetts, and a famous modern art collector in the West. This exhibition is sponsored by Clark Art Center, with strong support from People's Republic of China (PRC) Ministry of Culture, China-foreign Cultural Exchange Center, Vernray Foundation and Robert Sterling Clark Foundation.

This photo exhibition is a comparison exhibition of old and new photos, including the precious photos taken by Mr. Clark 1908 to 1909 during his inspection tour in northern China, and the comparison photos taken by Li Ju after taking this road again. From the photos, we can see the vicissitudes of China 100 years, which is a dialogue between photographers of two eras and a rare dialogue between historical photos and modern photos. At the same time, the exhibition also shows the book Crossing Shaanxi and Gansu-Clark's Investigation Tour in Northern China (19 1908-09) written by Mr. Clark in early 2002. As part of the exhibition plan, Clark Art Center translated the book and presented the translated version together with the original rare book to all the cities that have held exhibitions. Following the opening of the exhibition 12 in Beijing, it will also be exhibited in Yinchuan and Shanghai.

Mr Michael Conforti, the current curator of Clark Art Center, also attended the opening ceremony of the exhibition. Introducing the exhibition, he said: "Sterling Clark's investigation has made extraordinary contributions to the little-known surveying and mapping, zoology and botany in northern China. Clark lived in China for 65,438+00 years, and he deeply loved this country in the turbulent years of the early and late last century. These photos are rare historical documents and provide precious images, including magnificent landforms and archaeological remains. These photos are also very beautiful. We believe that after they are widely known, they will be regarded as treasures by critics and the public more and more. We hope to provide China with valuable educational and research historical materials by donating the book Crossing Shaanxi and Gansu. "

The photos on display in this exhibition are replicas of the original photos, carefully selected from about 150 photos recording Clark's investigation trip. These photos show the natural scenery, local residents, landscapes, street scenes, temples and other scenes that Clark visited in rural and remote areas. At present, these original photos are kept in the archives of Smithsonian College. It also includes the contrast photos taken by Li Ju's former residence today after 100 years, which records the great changes since 100 years and can vaguely distinguish the scenery at that time. The research shows for the first time that these photos are of high historical value, considering that it is difficult to obtain photo documents recording China at that time. These survey photos were selected by the archivists of Clark Art Center from thousands of photo files in the Smithsonian College Archives.

Clark Art Center has been committed to cultural exchanges, exhibitions and educational projects in China and other parts of the world, and this tour has strengthened the purpose of Clark Art Center. In 20 13, Clark Art Center will hold French oil painting exhibitions with important museums in Beijing and Shanghai, so as to further develop the relationship between the center's artistic heritage and China, which Sterling Clark has carefully studied in his early years.