Publisher's Synopsis
What consequences does the Cultural Revolution have for the current Chinese art and photography scene? This question takes centre stage in the exhibition Working on History: Contemporary Chinese Photography and the Cultural Revolution, which takes a look at one of the most fascinating chapters in the history of photography.Chinese photographers and artists examined the topic based on historical photos and translated the mass group portraits, private photographs, or press photos of important events into contemporary pictorial languages. This publication presents these opposite historical poles and helps provide a better understanding of contemporary Chinese photography.During the Cultural Revolution of 1966-1976, photography was used for a variety of purposes. The historical photographs of those years often serve as the basis for works by contemporary photographers and artists, who use group portraits, private photographs, and press pictures of significant events to then transform them in a wide variety of ways and translate them into contemporary visual idioms.Working on History comprises the work of photographers and artists who use photography as a medium for propaganda; a way to document the surviving legacies of the Cultural Revolution; and an aesthetic strategy to research individual biographies.Published on the occasion of the exhibition, Working on History: Contemporary Chinese Photography and the Cultural Revolution at Museum für Fotografie, Berlin (18 August 2017 - 7 January 2018).English and German text.
