How could someone praise it?, The highly blurred and pale image of "The Phantom of the Canal" has been nominated for the photography exhibition, attracting netizens to imitate their peers and withdraw the prize. | Photo | Netizens

A photography exhibition called "Canal China" unexpectedly went viral: On July 9th, the official account of the Photographers Association in Huaibei City, Anhui Province, announced that the consultant Zhang Bingzheng's work "The Phantom of the Canal" was shortlisted for the exhibition. Six photos were blurry and had light colors due to focusing and overexposure, which attracted the attention of many netizens. Many netizens imitated the "Phantom Show" and even some photographers who participated in the exhibition announced that they had "withdrawn the prize".

Amidst widespread questioning on the internet, some have also defended this group of works, arguing that in an era where everyone has a mobile phone, "beautiful photos" should not be the only creative perspective. Industry insiders suggest that when art enters the public, it is necessary for professionals to "translate" works to the public.

The controversial photography work "The Phantom of the Canal"

"Ugly photos" trigger "imitation shows"

On May 4th this year, China Photography Publishing House, one of the organizers of the "Canal China" Image Exhibition, released a public notice on its official account, listing the proposed works for the exhibition. Six works of Zhang Bingzheng's "The Phantom of the Canal" were among them.

This announcement states that as of March 31, the exhibition has received 11896 valid submissions, including 11955 static images and 51 dynamic videos. The jury has selected 100 outstanding works to be selected for the Grand Canal Image Yearbook Exhibition.

On July 9th, the official account of the Huaibei Photographers Association in Anhui Province released this news, introducing Zhang Bingzheng as a professor at Huaibei Normal University, a member of the China Higher Education Photography Professional Committee, and a member of the China Photographers Association. Photography works and theoretical articles have won the Shanghai International Langjingshan Photography Gold Award in 2006 and 2008, the 17th Anhui Photography Gold Award, and the highest prize in Chinese photography education, the Red Candle Award, in 2012.

However, the shortlisted photos displayed in the article are incomprehensible to many photography enthusiasts and netizens. This set of photos has no focus, the image appears shaky and blurry, and the high exposure causes the image to appear "pale". The article has been widely forwarded and currently has a reading volume of over 100000, far exceeding the daily reading volume of about 1000 on the official account.

Netizens' "Phantom Time Flow" Imitation Show

In response to this group of shortlisted photos that are far from traditional "good works", the internet quickly activated the "group mockery" mode. Some netizens wrote satirical articles about "how ordinary people can talk about art", and many netizens directly launched the "Phantom Imitation Show". Some posted a set of dormitory images with the same blurred focus and overexposure, called "Phantom of the Dormitory"; Some people casually take photos of their desks and name them "The Phantom of the Company", claiming that "everyone today is a photographer.". Some even refer to this shooting style as the "Phantom Time Flow".

The incident was once again brought to the forefront of public opinion by a photographer who was also nominated for the exhibition announcing his withdrawal of the award. On July 11th, photographer "City Shuttle" posted chat screenshots and other information with the organizers on social media, stating that due to the highly skilled photography works of "The Phantom of the Canal", "I am aware that my artistic achievements are insufficient and I do not deserve to win together with them." Therefore, I cancelled my eligibility for the award, refunded my prize money, and destroyed my certificate. Some netizens say that the words and lines are filled with "elegant anger". At present, the photographer's "withdrawal statement" information on some social media platforms has been displayed as "cannot be displayed".

Should photography have standards?

Faced with controversy, Zhang Bingzheng told the media on the 11th that he can master traditional techniques and take clear photos, but this set of photos is a "bold artistic attempt" to reflect the flowing beauty of the Grand Canal. And art is diverse, without the most accurate standards.

"No matter what kind of creation, the first thing should be beautiful." Mr. Yue, who works part-time as a contracted photographer, said he couldn't understand this kind of "creation". "As a half hearted photographer, I really don't know where beauty lies. Even if friends shoot each other like this, wouldn't they be scolded?"

In the eyes of some photography enthusiasts, using any creative technique is not a problem, but good photography works should be enjoyable in image composition, color matching, light and shadow imaging, and be understood by everyone in terms of photo content. Mr. Li, who has been engaged in photography for many years, said, "Other photographers in this exhibition also used dynamic and blurry images, but the beauty and theme presented are acceptable and understandable to everyone - the controversy surrounding this set of photos is not a matter of creative techniques."

The work of another shortlisted photographer who also adopts shaking mirror photography

The work "Night Light Song" by photographer Tang Yi, who was nominated for this exhibition, focuses on the lighting and reflection of the canal after nightfall. Six sets of 12 photos also have a motion blurred visual effect, but in Mr. Li's opinion, this set of works is beautiful in terms of composition, light and shadow colors. "It can make people feel the theme of the flow and changes of the river that the photographer wants to convey."

However, there are also industry insiders who support Zhang Bingzheng's creations. "Is there an absolute boundary between beauty and ugliness? Even if the visual effect is' ugly ', is it a good work that can provide the audience with imaginative space and insights?" Mr. Zhai, who works as a curator, is open to such works. "This set of images gives me a feeling of watching the movie' Universe Exploration Editorial Department ', which is rough and unreasonable, but has a sense of alienation in daily life in the flow." In his view, contemporary art focuses on conveying' ideas' rather than just beauty. "Otherwise, how could Du Shang's' Spring 'made with a urinal be recorded in history?"

"As long as photography still expresses the world, photographers are insignificant; but as long as photography is a persistent tool for exploring subjectivity, photographers are everything." Guan Lei, who has been working in professional photography for more than ten years, cites Susan Santag's words in "On Photography" to defend the selection of this group of works: just like the emergence of cameras changed the function of painting and brought different styles, now everyone can take photos with their phones, and when filters and photo editing software are widely used, the boundaries of photography should also be expanded: "Everyone has different opinions on the quality of this group of photos, but choosing this group of photos is a bold innovation."

Contemporary exhibitions require further "translation"

After announcing the "withdrawal" of the award, some media reported on the idea of "City Shuttle": "Blurring is also a photography creation technique, which has been well used by photographers both domestically and internationally. If the organizers can provide an explanation for this, it would be the best, and the public is also looking forward to the organizers' interpretation."

As exhibitions have become increasingly a necessity for contemporary people, many visitors have also expressed their inability to understand many artworks, especially contemporary art. Recently, reporters have seen at multiple exhibition venues that, apart from introducing the overall curatorial ideas and exhibition background, almost all exhibition product introductions are consistent, with only basic information such as the name, author, materials, and creative era. Apart from cultural relics exhibitions, art exhibitions are rarely equipped with professional explanations. Shen Cheng, a human resources staff member from a foreign company who is enthusiastic about visiting exhibitions, laments that even if some contemporary art exhibitions have explanations, they often use various big concepts and lack interpretation of the works themselves.

Some contemporary artworks are very difficult for ordinary audiences to understand

Mr. Zhai admitted that this is a dilemma: "On the one hand, we are unwilling to interpret works to limit the audience's imagination; on the other hand, many people say they cannot understand without providing explanations and guidance." He also admitted that there are practical difficulties. "Many creators express their ideas through works and cannot smoothly translate them into plain language."

When visiting art exhibitions, Shen Cheng will try his best to choose venues with guides or symposiums from creators and curators. "For many exhibition enthusiasts, aesthetics and concepts are still traditional, and these new creative languages need to be 'translated' for us to listen to." In her opinion, artists do not need to worry about losing their sense of mystery as a result, "after all, the more people understand, the better the dissemination effect of the exhibition."