Photo from an exhibit at the China institute showing workers at a backyard furnace smelting metal
Last week I went to the China Institute to see a documentary photography exhibit titled Humanism in China: a Contemporary Record of Photography. The photos on display were taken by Chinese photographers during the 20th century and document the radical change the country underwent during this time. Most of the photos are of normal people in rural villages. They show a rare glimpse into what was going on in China during the Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution. One particularly amazing photo (see above) shows men smelting metal in a "backyard furnace" in the countryside. I knew that during this mid-century time in China's history, country folk with no prior steel production experience were required to smelt metal. While other people who had never farmed before had to grow enough crops to feed many. But really seeing this in a photograph-- men climbing up a stone staircase with a basket on their back full of spoons, plates, and whatever else that they had in the village made of metal to drop in a precarious furnace-- really struck me. It's a look beyond a record of history, and into the faces and stories who wrote it.
If you're in town, check out the exhibit at the China Institute. Other amazing photos show, not tell, China's recent history. The exhibit goes until December 13th. Below are a few photos I took from the exhibit.
-Nate
This man and his wife's dream was to visit Tiananmen Square. She died before he could make the trip but he brought along her photo.
Photo of restaurant cook taking a break.
Photo of a silk worm farmer carrying the worms in a basket on his head.