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Red Color News Soldier
"Red Color News Soldier", by Li Zhensheng and published by Phaidon, is an interesting book on many levels, historically, photographically and for current events.
A photographer in China for eighteen years (and during the Cultural Revolution), Li secretly stashed 30,000 negatives under the floorboards of his apartment. Sometime after 1999 or 2000, he approached Contact Press Images in New York. The resulting book is a fascinating inside-look of the cultural revolution, its development and effects, in one province of China.
While he often used a 6x6 Rolleiflex, many of the images he captured during "struggle sessions" were shot on a Russian Kiev 35mm rangefinder. These plain and sometimes wrenching photos contain images of daily communist life up to and including the execution of a corrupt offical (guards dislocated her jaw during sentencing to keep her from shouting out).
While some images appear staged, its important to remember that Li was on assignment for a Party newspaper; thus, he was able, despite limitations and censorship, to capture the day to day life of China under Mao. Seeing images of "struggle sessions", where an ENTIRE TOWN would gather to castigate ONE person, were powerful and intense (Li would create panoramic views of such scenes on his 6x6). One has to wonder if, in our country, such "struggle sessions" occur also, but on a more subtle level. Regardless, the book is a deeply penetrating view of a country that completely bowed to a revolution that took on a life of its own, and in which the participants were glady willing and sometimes sadly unwilling.
Li's composition, exposure and processing (with some credit necessary for the labs that made the prints for the book) were interesting to study. It should be noted that Li himself was sent to a re-education camp for two years. He smuggled in two cameras, a rangefinder and a 6x6 and still took photos.
I also found the book an interesting peek into the psychological and social makeup of China. "Red Color News Soldier" is worth owning, or, at least, borrowing for study from any library that dares to have a copy.
If you also want to view images online or buy the book, here's a link:
http://red-colornewssoldier.com/
and here with his rangefinder & 6x6 camera:
http://red-colornewssoldier.com/chapter_fs.html
Chris
canonetc
"Red Color News Soldier", by Li Zhensheng and published by Phaidon, is an interesting book on many levels, historically, photographically and for current events.
A photographer in China for eighteen years (and during the Cultural Revolution), Li secretly stashed 30,000 negatives under the floorboards of his apartment. Sometime after 1999 or 2000, he approached Contact Press Images in New York. The resulting book is a fascinating inside-look of the cultural revolution, its development and effects, in one province of China.
While he often used a 6x6 Rolleiflex, many of the images he captured during "struggle sessions" were shot on a Russian Kiev 35mm rangefinder. These plain and sometimes wrenching photos contain images of daily communist life up to and including the execution of a corrupt offical (guards dislocated her jaw during sentencing to keep her from shouting out).
While some images appear staged, its important to remember that Li was on assignment for a Party newspaper; thus, he was able, despite limitations and censorship, to capture the day to day life of China under Mao. Seeing images of "struggle sessions", where an ENTIRE TOWN would gather to castigate ONE person, were powerful and intense (Li would create panoramic views of such scenes on his 6x6). One has to wonder if, in our country, such "struggle sessions" occur also, but on a more subtle level. Regardless, the book is a deeply penetrating view of a country that completely bowed to a revolution that took on a life of its own, and in which the participants were glady willing and sometimes sadly unwilling.
Li's composition, exposure and processing (with some credit necessary for the labs that made the prints for the book) were interesting to study. It should be noted that Li himself was sent to a re-education camp for two years. He smuggled in two cameras, a rangefinder and a 6x6 and still took photos.
I also found the book an interesting peek into the psychological and social makeup of China. "Red Color News Soldier" is worth owning, or, at least, borrowing for study from any library that dares to have a copy.
If you also want to view images online or buy the book, here's a link:
http://red-colornewssoldier.com/
and here with his rangefinder & 6x6 camera:
http://red-colornewssoldier.com/chapter_fs.html
Chris
canonetc