Man Chen's photographic works are controversial, and their aesthetics are completely different from the public. How to evaluate Man Chen's photographic works?

Man Chen introduced himself as an international fashion photographer and visual artist on his Weibo homepage. Chen Man, who holds two jobs, was "scolded" for his previous image, which triggered heated public opinion.

There is also controversy about Man Chen's series of "Twelve Colors of China" which was shot for foreign independent fashion magazine i-D in 20 12. As the hot discussion triggered by Man Chen continues to ferment on the Internet, more and more netizens dig out works such as Young Pioneers that Man Chen shot before.

Man Chen's subjects are mostly thin eyebrows, squints, single eyelids, or pale cheeks painted with bright blush and cherry mouth painted with red rouge, which is called "ugly Asian image" and does not reflect the face of women in China today, and is called "improper shooting technique".

Whether the work can be liked by everyone is actually a matter of opinion. Considering that the works shot by Man Chen are for the audience in China, do the styles and elements of their creations take into account the consumers' reactions when they watch them in specific scenes? If her fashion visual elements cater to the mainstream of the West, then, when Man Chen exhibited her works in China, did she consider that her works touched cultural taboos?

It's hard to say whether a work flaunting art is right or wrong. What this incident should consider is why a photo can cause a "hot discussion" on today's social networks: what aesthetic value does it convey? "

In this regard, Phoenix Fashion interviewed a number of people engaged in the fields of fashion and art..

Who is defining "beauty" and "fashion"? Zimmer, a sociologist, once said that fashion is the product of class differentiation, which, like other forms, especially honor, has dual functions of making all social strata live in harmony and separate from each other.

Just like a picture frame, it not only endows art with the essence of coherence and independence internally, but also isolates all direct connections between art and surrounding space externally; Unless we analyze the double influence of external and internal factors, this form of the same force cannot be expressed.

In the previous context, fashion is similar to a carrier to express power. People who try to "control" fashion become people who hold power.

This group of people, to a great extent, "led" fashion, trends and aesthetics. In this way, fashion images and trends have become the path to release power from top to bottom. This is why there are a group of "master" designers; At the show press conference, the photographer is a part of it, and the brand is also a part of it.

These people express what they think is "beauty" and "fashion" to the public through alliance and cooperation. This influence is not only related to the superficial "beauty", but also related to the social and psychological level.

For example, many stars are proud to be on the cover of American Vogue magazine, which is a sign of obedience to power. As we all know, Vogue magazine plays an important role in the fashion world. Almost every supermodel or star will be proud of being on Vogue.

Leading is actually a process of exploring the boundaries of beauty. However, some "boundaries" do not make the audience feel "comfortable". In the early 1990s, British supermodel Kate Moss and others filmed a series of jeans movies for Calvin Klein Jeans. The models appearing in the camera were all "skinny immortals". Therefore, for a long time, "thin" and models that can fit under "size 32" clothing have become the favored objects of fashion circles. Only by meeting this attribute can they have a chance to get on a bigger stage and be seen by more people.

Although this aesthetic has been "protested" by many people at the beginning, it must be said that some aesthetics are still "challenging" the public's acceptance, such as Winnie Harlow, a model with vitiligo on her face, Lara Stone and Lindsey Wixson, etc.

The so-called beauty is not necessarily pure "aesthetic feeling". There is another faction and trend in the field of art design, which is called "ugly culture", which is a rebellion against all the trends that pursue the simplest and most beautiful effects.

Perhaps for some people, the "beauty of flaws" of these models does not represent the "beauty" in mainstream aesthetics, but their faces represent another way of thinking about "mainstream aesthetics" by the public-they may feel uncomfortable, but they do not touch the bottom line, and the creators have their own psychological boundaries.

Man Chen's contemporary works are out of touch with the trend of China, and their sense of fashion superiority under the western discourse system is being challenged by the growing China culture and national self-confidence.

Valerie Steele once pointed out in the book "Fashion Theory" that "fashion" is a cultural construction as an identity. And fashion is not related to the "trend" and "trend" of several beautiful clothes. It is a mirror that reflects the process of social change.

In the west, about 1960 has become an era of rapid fashion development, accompanied by the awakening of women's power. In order to cope with fashion, women gradually liked miniskirts with exposed leg lines. At that time, designers began to try new clothing styles, such as loose sleeveless clothes, flared skirts and flared sleeves, and eventually miniskirts became a popular trend at that time. Today's memories of the 60-style still have positive vitality and vigor.

Back to the Man Chen incident, many people in the industry said that it was essentially a "local cultural discourse right dispute".

Man Chen, known as a photographer in China, has a high position in the international fashion world. She is also a "leader". Why does her work seem "out of place" in today's context? In this regard, Phoenix Fashion interviewed a university professor engaged in art teaching who did not want to be named.

As a typical element in the oriental stereotype, such as "squinting" with strong response from netizens, Phoenix Fashion once asked people engaged in the fields of fashion and art how to define "squinting".

Scholars who study the art history of China tell us why the element of "squint" causes us such a great reaction. The essence is that some European and American players used this element to "provoke" Asian ethnic groups in international sports competitions. In addition, some European cartoons also used this element to deliberately ridicule Asians in the last century. Based on this background, when the feature of "squinting" is overemphasized in works of art, it does produce "discomfort".

In fact, in ancient China, the phoenix eye was a symbol of beauty. For example, the description of Wang Xifeng in A Dream of Red Mansions is: a pair of phoenix eyes, two curved willow leaves hanging eyebrow; According to legend, Zhou Fang's "The Picture of a Lady Wearing Flowers" in the Tang Dynasty depicts six well-dressed aristocratic women and their maids enjoying flowers in the garden at the turn of spring and summer, among which the characteristics of women are also phoenix eyes.

On the other hand, we ask the teacher who studies the history of clothing for verification. After reading a lot of materials, the teacher said that Asians are actually different from Europeans. The characteristics of Asians are found in many traditional paintings, especially after the Song Dynasty. The maid in the picture has slender eyes.

"There is no right or wrong between the photographer's work and her personal expression, so there are too many elastic things in it. We can't quantify it, and there is no way to set the so-called standards, whether from an aesthetic point of view or from a historical point of view. " The teacher told us.

Nowadays, public opinion-oriented "hype" thinks that these elements are "demonizing Asians." But unfortunately, if public opinion supports the squint element, some people will still take this element as their' personality', and they may use' squint' to express all the models in their next creations, which is also a bad cycle.

A teacher in the design department told us, "Today's society is easy to be hyped. Both sides have their own reasons, and their controversial part is the more abstract and unclear part in the middle. "

Although the standard of beauty is not unique, it will change with the development and progress of society. With the promotion of China's international status and economic discourse power, cultural self-confidence is increasingly emphasized. Under this general trend of cultural self-confidence, "we began to think about what our tradition is. No matter from clothing or cultural customs. " The teacher went on to tell us.

In design teaching, there is no uniform standard for "beauty". The basic skill of a creator is to have his own expression methods and concepts and establish his own aesthetics. This kind of aesthetics is not necessarily grandstanding, but fully expressing one's understanding of tradition.

The understanding and application of tradition is based on the real understanding and research of tradition, rather than simply misappropriating superficial forms, and must be based on in-depth professional research.

Secondly, when designing expression, we should fully understand what context is, what its possible meaning is and how to avoid some controversial elements.

On the other hand, the teacher told us that "with the deepening of our understanding of traditional culture, our starting point is to carry forward our own traditions." Whether the public knows it or not, their hearts must hope to find our own way of traditional inheritance. This incident reflects that our era is now moving forward. "

From the perspective of fashion, fashion leads the trend. In the past, fashion was the western discourse system, just like the rich material, young population and fashionable fashion in the 1960s, which laid the foundation for modern style and the rapid development of music, architecture and fashion. Now, with China's economic strength and China's national self-confidence, the global discourse system is changing. Simply catering to western aesthetic standards will definitely run counter to the reality of China's rapid development, and it will certainly not win the hearts of young people chasing trends in China.

In the field of clothing and architecture, the general trend is called "replacing the Tang Dynasty with Japan". Therefore, it is necessary to distinguish cultural differences clearly, and at the same time integrate what happened into design thinking.

In the fashion field dominated by western discourse, if artists can really explore the true self of young people in China and make it artistic, then they can express their "true self".

We should not only pursue the only "beauty" form, but also support and encourage the exploration and creation of these fashion forms that truly represent the traditional national culture and the corresponding core. It is the responsibility of contemporary artists and fashion opinion leaders to export Chinese beauty to China and even overseas.

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