Absurd Reality: The Extraordinary Life of Diane Arbus

Author: Sun Jingtao
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-02-01
Features: The renowned American female photographer Diane Arbus is known as the "Van Gogh of Photography." This book is both her biography and a collection of her photographic works and personal photographs. It narrates the key events in her life and the peculiar, secretive aspects of her life. She is not only curious about her legendary experiences—love, encounters, and even simple sexuality—but also amazed by her photographic philosophy, creative process, and artistic achievements. By understanding her mysterious and unique mindset, she helps you see a "new" world through her eyes.
That spring evening, after having dinner, I suddenly felt bored and restless, as if I had nowhere to put my hands. I decided to visit a friend of mine, Zhou Qi, who was working at a publishing house under the Foreign Languages Press. Their office was in a village near the southern side of Zizhu Garden, where they had rented some civilian houses to accommodate recently graduated students. Riding my bike over, I found he hadn’t returned yet. I sat in the courtyard with a potted plant, chatting with the landlord while waiting. Under the moonlight, a large crabapple tree in full bloom exuded a quiet yet dazzling and frenzied beauty.
After a while, Zhou Qi returned. We greeted each other, he unlocked the door, entered, turned on the lights, and there were walls of paintings. I sat down and stood up again, a bit excited. Zhou Qi then busied himself making tea. I casually flipped through a Japanese magazine called Modern Prints: after a memorial special on Tatsuo Horiuchi, there were several articles. Not recognizing any Japanese characters, I flipped past them; on the next page, between the text, there was a square photograph that struck me as astonishing at first glance: a sturdy, short-statured dwarf leaning against the bed, with thick, short, and chubby fingers. His expression was somber and repressed, as if he were desperately trying to maintain a sense of dignity, not wanting others to look down on him.
Zhou Qi, a Northeasterner who had a basic understanding of Japanese, quickly called over to help translate. However, he claimed he had already seen it before. The photographer who took this photo was Diane Arbus, an American woman. She was quite famous in the 1960s. Instead of living a comfortable life, she ran away from home, rented a place to live, and traveled the world, specializing in photographing people with unusual appearances. Naturally, she gained fame and became a master figure in the world of photography. But what happened? You know what? She later took her own life by cutting her wrists.
This is a biography of the renowned American female photographer Diane Arbus, as well as a collection of her photographic works and personal photographs. She is known as the "Van Gogh of Photography." Her legendary experiences and photographic achievements have had a huge impact worldwide; her controversial exhibitions in Europe, America, and Japan have drawn tens of millions of viewers. Her expensive photography books were sold out within just two thousand copies after their release in China. Today, her influence far extends beyond the realm of photography: she is one of the internationally celebrated photographers highly regarded in China’s photography circles; she is also an internationally focused artist in China’s art world; and the cultural world has elevated its attention to a philosophical level, saying that she will be remembered forever because her photographic practice is not just a photographic act but almost a philosophical reflection, inviting people to contemplate the mysteries of fate and tragedy through her works.
This book narrates the key events in her life and the peculiar, secretive aspects of her life. She is not only curious about her legendary experiences—love, encounters, and even simple sexuality—but also amazed by her photographic philosophy, creative process, and artistic achievements. By understanding her mysterious and unique mindset, she helps you see a "new" world through her eyes.
Photographers who want to read her works, artists who want to study her photographic concepts, techniques, and business models, as well as thinkers in the fields of art, philosophy, and culture, will all find what they seek. Those who are simply drawn to vibrancy may find Diane Arbus and her contemporaries in America’s sexual liberation era to have an unbelievable and hidden psychology and lifestyle, which may deviate from the author’s intent. It is recommended to approach her from the perspective of sexuality, understand her mindset, and then delve into her thoughts and art, as she reveals a world through her lens.