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On the road again
By Nancy Zhang |
January 13, 2009, Tuesday
|
Print Edition
Print Edition
ARCHITECT James Warfield has traveled the world in an effort to learn and understand more about its people. His latest photography exhibit in Shanghai celebrates what he refers to as "critical travel." Nancy Zhang reports.
After a lifetime of research, famed 20th Century anthropologist Clyde Kluckhohn concluded, "Every man is like all other men, like some other men, like no other man."
Coined originally to describe individuals, it is equally apt for cultures ?? a shared identity one step up from individuals. While the march of globalization has breached all cultures, showing that people have similar dreams and goals °??? cultural differences still exist and they matter.
This is the central tenet of "Roads Less Traveled," James Warfield's latest photography exhibition and book. Distilled from more than 300,000 photographs taken over 45 years, the book depicts the lives, habitats, and faces of people from far flung corners of the Earth.
From Guatemala to Greece, from Panama to Papua New Guinea, from China to North America, cultures are presented "like poetry, without hierarchy, without priority, without even beginning or end," says Warfield.
Through tomorrow, visitors can view a selection of images from the book at a free exhibition at Z58.
Warfield is an architect rather than a photographer ?? he is currently professor emeritus at the University of Illinois. He bought his first camera in 1963 at just 20 years old and early photographs started as research into his specialization, "vernacular architecture" ?? the homes and buildings of indigenous peoples.
As an architect, Warfield's intellect was attracted by how these buildings solved problems. Striking examples include underground cave houses in the deserts of Xi'an, capital city of China's Shaanxi Province, and the sun-facing housing of the indigenous peoples of America. Both are naturally energy efficient.
But as he traveled ?? camera, journal, and sketchbook in hand ?? the way of life and the faces of the people left even deeper impressions. Each chapter of the book features more pictures of faces than buildings with long excerpts from Warfield's travel journals. Thus the book weaves threads of anthropological narrative.
Some of the book's best photographs have come from interacting with the local people.
"In the remote areas, a Western guy like me with a big beard is an oddity ?? sometimes I'm the most fun they've had in years," he chuckles. "I also try to give people a copy of their photo, like this old couple on a small island in the South China Sea. They were 90 plus years old, but had never had a picture of themselves. When people see the photo coming out of the Polaroid camera they're amazed, there's yelling and laughter."
Pictures are chosen to depict the quiet beauty and character of everyday life, in contrast to the landmark structures built throughout history to impress or as a sign of power. Warfield likes to talk about what he calls "critical travel." It means not just traveling for pleasure as tourists do, but traveling to study and understand local cultures. It's a value he tries to instill in his students.
Having headed the Illinois program at Shanghai's Tongji University for the past 20 years, Warfield says it's crucial for students to understand multiculturalism, preferably by visiting places themselves.
Over his long career, Warfield has seen young Chinese architects being exposed to more international ideas and come of age in this exciting time. But he has also seen the destruction of the vernacular architecture he has photographed in China and around the world.
He says the important thing is to learn from them while they exist.
"Everything has it's time. Not everything is meant to last forever. If there's no great commercial value then buildings get torn down. But we can learn to apply the principles in modern life. For example I won an award recently for a new church built for a Quaker community in Illinois. It was a completely new building, but it incorporated and respected the traditional values. That's part of the reason for this exhibition ?? to teach people appreciation, and to celebrate the architecture while it exists."
Date: through January 14
Venue: Z58, 58 Fanyu Rd
Free but register for entrance first at www.dpdp.net/exhibition
Book: 108 yuan available at the Xinhua Bookstore inside the Shanghai Book City
After a lifetime of research, famed 20th Century anthropologist Clyde Kluckhohn concluded, "Every man is like all other men, like some other men, like no other man."
Coined originally to describe individuals, it is equally apt for cultures ?? a shared identity one step up from individuals. While the march of globalization has breached all cultures, showing that people have similar dreams and goals °??? cultural differences still exist and they matter.
This is the central tenet of "Roads Less Traveled," James Warfield's latest photography exhibition and book. Distilled from more than 300,000 photographs taken over 45 years, the book depicts the lives, habitats, and faces of people from far flung corners of the Earth.
From Guatemala to Greece, from Panama to Papua New Guinea, from China to North America, cultures are presented "like poetry, without hierarchy, without priority, without even beginning or end," says Warfield.
Through tomorrow, visitors can view a selection of images from the book at a free exhibition at Z58.
Warfield is an architect rather than a photographer ?? he is currently professor emeritus at the University of Illinois. He bought his first camera in 1963 at just 20 years old and early photographs started as research into his specialization, "vernacular architecture" ?? the homes and buildings of indigenous peoples.
As an architect, Warfield's intellect was attracted by how these buildings solved problems. Striking examples include underground cave houses in the deserts of Xi'an, capital city of China's Shaanxi Province, and the sun-facing housing of the indigenous peoples of America. Both are naturally energy efficient.
But as he traveled ?? camera, journal, and sketchbook in hand ?? the way of life and the faces of the people left even deeper impressions. Each chapter of the book features more pictures of faces than buildings with long excerpts from Warfield's travel journals. Thus the book weaves threads of anthropological narrative.
Some of the book's best photographs have come from interacting with the local people.
"In the remote areas, a Western guy like me with a big beard is an oddity ?? sometimes I'm the most fun they've had in years," he chuckles. "I also try to give people a copy of their photo, like this old couple on a small island in the South China Sea. They were 90 plus years old, but had never had a picture of themselves. When people see the photo coming out of the Polaroid camera they're amazed, there's yelling and laughter."
Pictures are chosen to depict the quiet beauty and character of everyday life, in contrast to the landmark structures built throughout history to impress or as a sign of power. Warfield likes to talk about what he calls "critical travel." It means not just traveling for pleasure as tourists do, but traveling to study and understand local cultures. It's a value he tries to instill in his students.
Having headed the Illinois program at Shanghai's Tongji University for the past 20 years, Warfield says it's crucial for students to understand multiculturalism, preferably by visiting places themselves.
Over his long career, Warfield has seen young Chinese architects being exposed to more international ideas and come of age in this exciting time. But he has also seen the destruction of the vernacular architecture he has photographed in China and around the world.
He says the important thing is to learn from them while they exist.
"Everything has it's time. Not everything is meant to last forever. If there's no great commercial value then buildings get torn down. But we can learn to apply the principles in modern life. For example I won an award recently for a new church built for a Quaker community in Illinois. It was a completely new building, but it incorporated and respected the traditional values. That's part of the reason for this exhibition ?? to teach people appreciation, and to celebrate the architecture while it exists."
Date: through January 14
Venue: Z58, 58 Fanyu Rd
Free but register for entrance first at www.dpdp.net/exhibition
Book: 108 yuan available at the Xinhua Bookstore inside the Shanghai Book City
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