Image: Temptation

Author: (French) Lem / (American) Testino Photographed by Gan Lei / Zhao Nan
Publisher:
Publishing Date: 2004-12-01
Features: Due to change, the emerging "Vision 21" magazine that gained prominence between 1999-2002 has been re-launched. Many pieces of information revealed that many readers still hold expectations for that somewhat unconventional publication. Therefore, we have decided to discard the original "Vision 21" in the form of this series. Unlike the original magazine, the current "Vision 21" series will be purely image-driven, with each issue focusing on a specific theme—or rather, it will abandon the magazine's relatively diverse content to become a pure "visual reading" book. Of course, the series will no longer follow a fixed monthly publication schedule but will instead be released relatively regularly several times a year. What remains connected to the original magazine is: the series will continue to wield the power of images, delighting in spreading "a different perspective on the world," showcasing individuality, pursuing vitality, carrying the message, and shaping cultural trends, all while providing knowledge, leisure, education, and services to the young HIPPIEs and YUPPIEs of the world. It will continuously and broadly present the highly infectious visual representations of the changes and conflicts in our contemporary living world, such as fashion, idols, brands, consumption, art, the alternative, gaming, and various transformations and clashes related to the environment, culture, wealth, war, and more.
I remember a reader once reviewed the original "Vision 21": "A bit flamboyant, a bit confrontational, and a bit satirical." Indeed, we are often awestruck by the courage and wisdom of the world's outstanding image creators, and we deeply admire the many excellent media worldwide for the splendid visual storytelling they provide for human life. We too want to join the ranks of expressing creativity and opinions, but due to our awkwardness and helplessness, we can only manage a little.
Some have also said that "Vision 21" is avant-garde and unconventional. In fact, the development and changes of the times have far exceeded the original understanding of many people. Who knew that the mainstream things we now recognize and pursue were often the very things we once desperately rejected. Imagine: how can a society that is constantly evolving and coexists in diversity not have the avant-garde and the unconventional?
For example, when "wearing" has become so rampant that it can no longer express desire, people begin to "unwear," seeking to shed the darkness and embrace the light to show openness, and thus, nudity becomes increasingly popular. In this way, things once opposed are transformed from the alternative and avant-garde into widely embraced fashion. Isn't that right? What we aim to do is simply replicate the various changes occurring in the world and the many differences that exist. Under limited conditions, we hope to introduce to the young readers the courage and wisdom that have moved us, along with their brilliance, so that instead of fabricating and popularizing things lacking personality and thought, we do not waste everyone's money and time.