http://www.shanghart.com/projects/yfd.htm
(Part 1)
The decline of interest in meaningful experience is a recurrent theme in the work of Yang Fudong. Here he has young urbanites with Burberry jackets and briefcases withdraw to the mountains to admire the beauty of nature. They stare dreamily at a mountain stream and gaze deeply affected at apple blossoms. The artist suggests that the young urbanites, well educated and economically independent, are still in search of profundity and poignancy.
杨福东 竹林七贤1
Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest, Part 1
编剧Script: 凌云云 Ling Yunyun
摄影Photographed: 杨福东 Yang Fudong，刘顺兵 Liu Shunbing
制片Producer: 陈钟柱 Chen Zhongzhu
副导演/场记Scene: 朱隶 Zhu Li
混响Sounder: 金望 Jin Wang
剪辑Editor: 陆建军 Lu Jianjun
技术指导Technique: 晓陈 Xiao Chen
声效Record: 张磊 Zhang Lei
译文Translation: 韩明 Hang Ming
Seven Intellectuals in Bamboo Forest (2003-2007), a series intended to expand to ？ve sequels in total, is Yang Fudong’s attempt to develop a grand worldview in the form of an epic tale of a group of individuals defying the times in which they live. The title is borrowed from a popular legend of seven intellectuals who sought refuge from the chaos of the Warring States Period in a bamboo forest, where they indulged in serious talk unsullied by worldly matters. It is used as a metaphor for the resistance of the young Chinese who feel unable to keep up with the pace of change in China and, as a result, experience a kind of identity crisis. Showing no regard for normal social behavior, these intellectuals drank to excess, romped around naked, and composed re？ned verses that expressed their feelings of resentment towards the age in which they lived. The ？ve-part series focuses on seven young men and women in different settings, beginning with a mysterious mountain popular among Taoists, then proceeding to an urban setting, a rural setting with ？elds and paddies, and an island, before moving back to the city.
Part one: A postcard-like set of travel notes on the good life.
Detail pictures:
