Chen Man, who is described on her Weibo page as an international fashion photographer and visual artist, has been "called out" for images she has taken that have sparked public debate.
The controversy was also caused by Chen Man's "Twelve Colors of China" series of works for a foreign independent fashion magazine "i-D" in 2012. As the controversy caused by Chen Man continued to ferment on the Internet, more and more netizens rehashed Chen Man's previous works, such as "Young Pioneers", and discussed them again.
Chen Man shoots most of the object modeling thin eyebrows, squinting eyes, single eyelid, or skin color white cheeks painted with bright blush, cherry mouth smeared with red rouge, and refers to its "ugly image of the Asian image", did not respond to the appearance of today's Chinese women, was said to be "improper shooting techniques
The film was described as "inappropriate" for the way it was shot.
Whether or not a piece of work can be enjoyed by everyone is a matter of opinion. Considering that Chen Man shoots for a Chinese audience, has the style and elements she creates taken into account the consumer's reaction to a particular scene? If her fashionable visual elements cater to the mainstream in the West, then, for the "netherworld style" scorned by netizens, has Chen Man considered the cultural taboos that her work touches when exhibited in China?
It's hard to judge the right or wrong of a work labeled as art, but what we should be thinking about in this case is the thinking behind why a photo can be "hotly debated" on today's social media networks: what kind of aesthetic value does it convey?"
Phoenix Fashion interviewed a number of people involved in fashion and the arts.
Who defines "beauty" and "fashion"?Sociologist Zimmer once said Fashion is a product of class divisions, and like some other forms of honor in particular, has the dual role of both harmonizing and separating established social sectors.
Like a picture frame which both intrinsically gives a coherent, independent essence to the work of art, and extrinsically isolates the work of art from all direct relations with the space around it; the same power of some such forms cannot be expressed unless we analyze the double effect of the extrinsic and the intrinsic.
In the previous context, fashion was akin to a vehicle for the expression of power, and those who tried to "control" fashion became the ones who held the power.
This group of people, to a large extent, "lead" fashion, trends, and aesthetics. Understood in this way, fashionable images and trends become a pathway for distributing their power from top to bottom. This is why there exists a group of "master" designers; photographers are part of the show, and brands are even more so.
Through their association and collaboration, these people express to the public what they see as "beauty" and "fashion", and this influence is not only about superficial beauty. This influence is not only on the surface of beauty, but on a deeper level, it is on the psycho-social level.
The fact that many celebrities are still proud to be on the cover of American Vogue magazine is a sign of submission to power. As we all know, the power of Vogue in the fashion industry is not to be underestimated, and almost every supermodel or celebrity would be proud to be on the cover of Vogue.
Leading, in fact, is also the process of exploring the boundaries of beauty. However, there are some "boundaries" that do not allow the audience to feel "comfortable". In the early 90's, British supermodel Kate Moss and others shot a group of jeans for Calvin Klein Jeans, and the models were all "skinny", and the models were all "skinny", and the models were all "skinny". "Skinny Bones". Thus, for a long time, "skinny" and able to stuff down "size 32" clothing models become the fashion circle favored, only to meet this attribute, have the opportunity to go on a bigger stage, be seen by more people.
Despite the fact that this aesthetic was protested by many, there are still some aesthetics that challenge the public's acceptance, such as Winnie Harlow's vitiligo model, Lara Stone's wide gap model, and Lindsay's model. The model with vitiligo Winnie Harlow, the model with wide gap between her teeth Lara Stone and Lindsey Wixson, the freckled model Adwoa Aboah, etc...
The so-called beauty does not necessarily mean pure "aesthetics", but there is also another school of thought in the field of art and design called "aesthetics" or "aesthetics", which is a term used to refer to the way people look at themselves. "ugly culture", which is a reaction to the trend of pursuing the purest, most aesthetically pleasing effects.
Perhaps for some people, the "flawed beauty" of these models does not represent the "beauty" of mainstream aesthetics, but their faces represent another way of thinking about "mainstream aesthetics". But their faces represent another way of thinking about "mainstream aesthetics" - they may feel uncomfortable, but they don't touch the bottom line, and the creators have their own psychological boundaries to convey.
Chen Man's current work is out of touch with Chinese trends, and his sense of fashion superiority, derived from Western discourse, is being challenged by China's growing cultural and national self-confidence.
Chen Man's works are "out of touch" with the reality of aesthetics
Valerie Steele once pointed out in her book Fashion Theory that "fashion" is a cultural construction of identity. and fashion is not about a few pretty dresses. Fashion is not about the "trends" of a few beautiful clothes, but rather a reflection of what is happening in the world of fashion. Rather, it is a mirror reflecting the process of social change.
In the West, the rapid development of fashion around 1960 was accompanied by the awakening of women's power. Women began to love mini-skirts that showed off their legs, and designers began to experiment with new styles, such as loose-fitting sleeveless dresses, flared skirts and flared sleeves, and eventually mini-skirts became the fashion trend of the time. 60 styles are still remembered today as having a positive vibrancy and vitality to them.
Back to the Chen Man incident, many industry insiders said it was "a localized battle for cultural discourse".
Chen Man is known as a Chinese photographer with a high status in the international fashion industry, and a "leader", so why does her work seem "out of place" in today's context? In this regard, Phoenix Fashion interviewed an anonymous university professor engaged in teaching art.
The reinforcement of "oriental stereotypes"As a typical element of oriental stereotypes, such as the "squinty eyes" that netizens have responded so powerfully to, Phoenix Fashion asked a number of people involved in the fields of fashion and art to confirm how to define "squinty eyes". The "squinty eyes" is a term used by many people in the field of fashion and art to define the "squinty eyes".
Scholars studying the history of Chinese art told us that the reason why the element of "squinting eyes" generated such a big reaction from us was because some European and American players had previously used the element of squinting eyes to "provoke" the Asian community in international sporting events. "
The reason for this reaction is that the squinting element has been used by European and American players in international sporting events to "provoke" the Asian community, as well as in European comics that have used the element to deliberately mock Asians over the last century, and based on this background, it does create a sense of discomfort when the squinting element is overemphasized in works of art.
In fact, in ancient China, phoenix eyes were a symbol of beauty. For example, Wang Xifeng was depicted in Dream of the Red Chamber as having a pair of triangular phoenix eyes and two willow-leaf eyebrows; and the painting "The Hairpin Ladies" by Zhou Fang in the Tang Dynasty depicts six colorfully dressed aristocratic women and their attendants enjoying the flowers in the garden at the beginning of spring and summer, and one of the women's features is also a pair of phoenix eyes.
On the other hand, we asked a teacher who studies the history of clothing for confirmation, and after reviewing a lot of information, the teacher said that the actual Asians and Europeans are not the same ethnicity, and that Asian characteristics in many traditional paintings, especially after the Song Dynasty, paintings inside the maids of honor, the eyes are long and thin Danfeng eyes.
"There is no right or wrong in a photographer's work and her personal expression, and thus there is so much elasticity in it that there is no way to quantify it, no way to set the so-called standard, whether from the perspective of aesthetics or from the perspective of history." The teacher told us.
Today's opinion-driven "hype" suggests that these elements "vilify Asians". However, if the public opinion is in favor of the squinting element, then some people will use this part of the element as their 'personality', and may use all the models in their next creation with 'squinting', and use it to promote themselves. bad cycle.
A design teacher told us, "It's very easy to be hyped up in society nowadays, both sides have their own reasons, and the part they're disputing is the part in the middle that's more abstract and unclear."
The standard of beauty, though not unique, is something that changes as society develops and progresses.With China's international status and economic discourse after the rise, more and more emphasis on cultural self-confidence, in this cultural self-confidence of the tide, "we began to think about their own tradition is what. Whether it's in terms of clothing or cultural practices," the teacher continued. The teacher went on to tell us.
In design teaching, there is really no uniform standard for "beauty", and the basic skill of creators is to have their own methods and concepts of expression, and to establish their own aesthetics, which must not be grandiose, but rather a fuller expression of their own understanding of tradition.
The understanding and application of tradition is based on a true understanding and study of tradition, not just a mere appropriation of superficial forms, but must be based on in-depth professional research.
Secondly, when making a design expression, we need to fully understand the context in which it occurs, what meaning it may cover, and how to avoid elements that are likely to cause controversy.
On the other hand, this teacher told us that "with a deeper understanding of traditional culture, our starting point is the desire to promote our own traditions, regardless of whether the public understands or does not understand, their hearts must be the hope that we can find our own way of passing on the traditions, and from this matter reflects that our era is now moving forward."
Fashion is trend-setting from a popular point of view. In the past, fashion was a Western discourse, just as the material abundance of the 1960s, with its youthful population and trendy fashions, laid the groundwork for the rapid development of modern styles and the music, architecture and fashion that followed. Today, then, as China's economy grows stronger and China's national self-confidence increases, the global discourse is changing, and simply catering to Western aesthetic standards is bound to run counter to the reality of China's rapid development, and is bound to fail to win over the trend-chasing hearts and minds of today's young Chinese.
There is a widespread trend in the fields of clothing and architecture called "bonobos instead of Tang". So it's important to be clear about the cultural differences, and to synthesize what's happening into design thinking.
In the fashion world, which is dominated by Western discourse, artists can only express their "true selves" if they can truly tap into the true selves of young Chinese people, and make art out of them.
Not only do we need to pursue the only form of "beauty", but we also need to support and encourage the discovery and creation of these fashion forms that truly represent the traditional national culture and its corresponding core. It is the responsibility of contemporary artists and fashion opinion leaders to export Chinese beauty to China and overseas.
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