The 2008 World Chinese Photography Competition attracted over 10,000 entries from 28 countries. The top 100 or so photos were exhibited in December at the Ukrainian Institute of America on the Upper East Side of Manhattan.
Mr. Dai Bing, Vice Chairman of the 2008 Competition Judging Committee, talked about four principles used in judging the entries.
He said, “The most important is the theme. A great piece of art must have a good theme. Great photos should have a clear theme. Our competition wants artwork that shows a theme of morality and virtues.”
“The second most important aspect is technique. This includes composition, the use of light, and clarity of the photo. These are important in supporting the theme.”
Returning to Traditional Photographic Art
The 2009 World Chinese Photography Competition’s mission is to promote the artistic cultural exchange among Chinese people around the world. The goal is to return to the rich and profound cultural inner meanings and artistic expressions of Chinese traditions. At the same time, the artworks must demonstrate beauty, kindness, nature, and upright values.
Mr. Dai said, “I went to an exhibit of another photo competition last year. After seeing it, I thought, ‘Is this photography?’ Our competition is based on the traditional sense of beauty, using light and composition to depict beauty. This is completely different from contemporary photography.”
Mr. Chen Bengen, director of Evergreen Photography Association of Yuen Long Town Hall in Hong Kong, thinks that truthfulness, compassion, and beauty compose of the highest realm of photography. “When you take a photo, you want others to say that it was very beautiful, taken from a good angle, and can represent light and the environment at that time. Those who see the photo should feel the beauty in it. This is the highest realm of a photograph.”
Mr. Dai said, “We wanted to have the show in New York, the center of the art world, because we wanted to promote the cultural exchange between Chinese artists and the Western mainstream artistic circle—to showcase Chinese photographers in mainstream society.”
Record of Truth and Eternity
Mr. Dai said, “Photography is simple. It’s an art of moments. If you captured the essence of a moment, it will be eternal. Unlike painting, photography’s most fundamental feature is that it can record history, leaving it for the future. That is its most important feature.”
The competition will have one main award, with US$5,000 or equivalent value in equipment or travel service. Each category will have one gold award (US$2,000), two silver awards (US$1,000 each), three bronze awards (US$500 each), and 10 outstanding performance awards (US$100).
For more information on the 2009 World Chinese Photography Competition, please visit: http://photo.ntdtv.com.
