Zheng Gu. Documenting China: Contemporary Photography and Social Change

Bates College Museum of Art, 2004. — 52 p.The Bates College Museum of Art's exhibition, Documenting China: Contemporary Photography and Social Change, reveals the depth of resources that can come together in an academic and creative collaboration. The exhibition, curated by Gu Zheng, an academic, leading photographer, and social critic in China, features the work of seven photographers currently documenting the remarkable challenges facing Chinese men and women as their society shifts from a rural to an urban orientation. The project is the result of a unique partnership among Professor Gu, John Yu Zou, assistant professor of Chinese at Bates; Margaret Maurer-Fazio, associate professor of economics and the chair of the Bates Program in Asian Studies; and the staff of the Bates College Museum of Art. The exhibition introduces a new and critical generation of Chinese photographers to American audiences while it raises vexing questions about the impact of urbanization on
societies and individuals.