Photo exhibition revives memories of old Taiwan

2014-11-19

A photo exhibition spotlighting the early days of Taiwan society is underway at National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in Taichung City.

“The Era Unseen—The Pursuit of Images during the Days of the Photo Club” features nearly 500 works of 135 local photographers taken between the 1940s and 1970s, including Chang Chao-tang, Deng Nan-guang, Long Chin-san and Ko Si-chi.

Running until Jan. 25, 2015, the show is a follow-up of the exhibition “In Sight—Tracing the Photography Studio Images of the Japanese Period in Taiwan” also held at the NTMFA in 2010.

Event curator Jian Yong-bin said over half the photographs were taken during field research and have never been publicly displayed. “These pictures offer a glimpse of what life was like when Taiwan was undergoing major socioeconomic transition. They also trace the history of photography in the country.”

According to Jian, the number of photo studios in Taiwan increased dramatically during the 1940s, with private photographic societies following suit in the 1950s.

“The so-called photo club period refers to a time when realism photography began to gain popularity in Taiwan, as opposed to the pictorialism originating from mainland China,” he said, adding that Taiwan was the leader among ethnic Chinese societies when it came to photography at that time.

A highlight of the exhibition is a section dedicated to Chang Shih-hsien, an influential figure who helped bring Taiwan’s photography more in line with global trends during the 1960s.

“Chang’s subjective observation’ approach challenged the established school of Chinese pictorialism, a bold move that put him well ahead of his counterparts of the time,” Jian said. “The section is a tribute to his lifelong achievement that inspired an entire generation of photographers in Taiwan.”

Source: Taiwan Today (http://taiwantoday.tw/ct.asp?xItem=224088&CtNode=413)