What is the Chinese name of Allen?

On September 28th, 2003 Qingdao International Photography Art Invitational Exhibition opened with his wife Wei. Bearded Alain Jullien is dressed in an authentic China Tang suit, with the artist's pride and sensitivity in his expression; Mrs. Wei Yishu and Mrs. Alan, speaking fluent Chinese, walked in the crowd, stopped to talk, and were easy-going and natural, which made people forget her French ancestry for the time being.

"China and France are a little similar in culture. We are probably the only two countries in the world that eat pig's ears and trotters at the same time. "

Dressed in Tang costumes, they wandered around China three or four times a year in the past six months, and even taught at Luoyang Foreign Studies University for one year from 1999 to 2000. It was during this period that they went to Pingyao for the first time under the recommendation of their friends, and finally decided to hold a photography festival in this small town suitable for walking and viewing. Later, it was proved that in the contrast between modernity and tradition, art did have an unexpected impact. For Julian and his wife Wei, who works in a French publishing house, China has always been a land of attachment.

Asked why Mr. Alan loves China culture so much, his answer is very quick and surprising: "China and France are somewhat similar in culture, and we may be the only country in the world that eats pig's ears and trotters." He said humorously and made a gesture. There is also a deeper reason: the ancient and powerful China culture.

Mr. Allen summed up the cultural characteristics of China people seriously: "In China, you do everything for a reason, and people in China do things with a purpose. I like this way of doing things. This is not the case in France or other western countries. "

Mrs Allen told reporters that nine times out of ten, Mr Allen likes China culture because of her, because she loves China so much. After studying Chinese in France for two years, her teacher came from China, and her Chinese name Wei was given by her first Chinese teacher. "Wei" is similar to the French name in pronunciation, which roughly describes her character. Ms Wei, who works in a publishing house, has translated a large number of popular novels from Hong Kong and Taiwan, which has brought her closer to China.

"Photography is a way of cultural communication without language, that's all."

Qingdao International Photography Art Exhibition in 2003 is destined to be a high-level international event in Qingdao's history, because not only many photographers from China joined in, but also Alan and his wife, the founders of Pingyao International Photography Festival, brought some works of overseas professionals to be exhibited at the festival.

Mr. Allen told reporters: "The photographers in China are all great, but there is a lack of communication between them because they have no chance to meet;" On the other hand, photographers in China are unfamiliar with foreign photographers, and there are many cultural barriers. "Photography is a way of cultural communication without language, which prompted him to hold an international photography festival in China.

When the reporter asked him if he intended to carry forward the photography art that has become quite popular in Europe in China, Mr. Beard shook his head frequently with a serious face: "I never thought of it like this, because it has nothing to do with the duties of photographers." What Mr. Allen also calls irrelevant is the commercial value of the work. "Photography is a very serious and important contemporary art. In fact, the only thing a photographer has to do is to create his own personalized works. That's all. "

"There is no classification between pure photography and new photography. Take pictures of yourself. The work should come from the heart. "

As an artist, Mr. Allen is puzzled about how photographers in China should stick to their local style instead of being blindly influenced by international trends and interests. At first, he tried to suggest that photographers in China should study local history and painting more. He immediately turned to solemnly say that photography, as one of the categories of contemporary art, has no distinction between local and international. Photographers only need to remember that their works should come from their own hearts and should not be driven by any external factors, including interests.

He frankly disagreed with the classification of pure photography and contemporary new photography. This artificial classification is meaningless. Photographers should take pictures of themselves. Although everyone has his own career, such as taking pictures of books and magazines, career and creation are two different things. Everyone should reserve their own creative space, and their works should come from the heart. "