[What] makes this human race of ours a family[?] We may differ in race, color, language, wealth, and politics. But look at what we all have in common - dreams, laughter, tears, pride, the comfort of home, the hunger for love. If I could photograph these universal truths, I thought that might help us better understand the strangers on the other side of the world - and on the other side of town. -Wayne Miller
Empty Orchestra by Chien-Chi Chang
One night and one roll of film. Chien-Chi Chang's photographs of "a night in a karaoke bar" explore a different scene from that which we are used to in western-world karaoke establishments. He evocatively captures the other side of karaoke culture in which divorced or married Vietnamese women entertain Taiwanese men, portraying what some suggest is a new "concubine phenomenon" emerging from Karaoke culture in certain parts of Asia.
As part of its international exhibition program, the Fondation Cartier pour l’art contemporain initiated Villes/Cities/Städte, in conjunction with the Museum für Fotografie. For Depardon, this exhibition was a ticket to experiment with cinema in an exhibition setting, of developing a new exchange between the moving image and photography—two worlds in which Depardon has excelled. This solo exhibition, featured during the 2007 Berlinale, included 12 films and more than 300 photographs shot in 12 cities—from Addis Ababa to Tokyo—and has yielded this colorful book.
Negative space occupies the area surrounding the subject of a photograph—the positive space. One is not definable without the other. This week, Magnum again highlights the power of negative space in photographic composition. For an earlier gallery on negative space, click here.
Quote of the Week
What is at the core of my work is, in essence, a meditation on being a human being.
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