For Immediate Release
Date: March 8, 2008
Contact: Carlos DeSantos
Phone: 713 520 1200

FotoFest 2008
Chen Changfen:The Historical Wall
Fernando Castro: Reasons of State

HOUSTON, TX  –FOTOFEST 2008 will feature two themes – China and Transformations, for the upcoming season March 7 - April 20, 2008.  In recognition of the themes, the De Santos Gallery will exhibit the works of two renowned artists whose accomplishments directly speak to the purposes of this year’s event.  The life work of Chen Changfen examines Chinese transformation from a culturally universalistic perspective, while the work of Fernando Castro examines the transformation of the individual’s relationship to the state, plus a possible new existential crisis on the horizon which results from the threat of extinction of the individual at the hands of the state.

Changfen began his photographic chronicling of the Great Wall forty years ago with the intention fixed firmly in mind to create a cultural legacy that would expand beyond the borders of the original culture which the wall was built to define.  He seeks to reach across boundaries to all of humanity, showing the wall from multiple points of view, while deliberately omitting human beings from the scenes.  This forces the viewer to see the Wall for what it is and to accept it on its own terms, independently of historical judgment, faultfinding, political commentary, or the dialectical struggle between the free individual and the authority of the state.

Fernando Castro began establishing himself as a critic, curator, and artist in 1988.  Castro’s career has been marked by a number of significant milestones.  Over the years, he has been a regular contributor to Zonezero.com, Spot, Aperture, and other publications.  In 1996, he accepted a position as curator at the Sicardi Gallery in Houston, where he continues to work at present time.  Castro’s work took on a significantly new dimension in 1997, when the political dynamics of Tieneman Square formed the subject matter for his series, Reasons of State and The Ideology of Color (currently displayed online at the Lehigh University website.)   

To Changfen, the Great Wall of China speaks of much more than the greatness of Chinese vision, empire, and labor.  It speaks of a monument by man to man that represents a unification of leadership and individual service that together achieved a sublime outcome.  Changfen is careful not to take a revisionist stance in relation to history or to pass judgment on who was right and who was wrong in the conception and building of the wall. 

This creates more questions than answers, however.  If the wall is a monument to collective endeavor, why do many shots depict it in a state of decay and collapse?  If it is the greatest of all monuments, why does it shift so frequently between dominating the landscape and being dwarfed by the landscape?  If the wall represents a universal and absolute cultural legacy, what roles do position and perspective play in interpreting that legacy?  If both individuals and groups of individuals are deliberately omitted, what does this say about the role human beings play in their own creations regardless of their respective group-mindedness or individual-mindedness?

Changfen’s genius lies in his ability to ask these questions without distracting us from the profound sense of wonder he wishes us to feel about the Wall itself.  The Wall is both timeless and subject to time, and reflects the nature of the Universe itself.  The absence of visible human presence appears to suggest on one level that man’s greatest challenge is not to resolve the apparent conflict between the individual and the state, but rather to understand Man as being both subject to time and capable of transcending time.
 
Castro, on the other hand, focuses on the bleak and finite doom of the individual who appears to have only two choices remaining: conformity to the state or resistance to the state. The state is monumental, all-powerful, and militaristic in its pursuit of total control.  The individual is juxtaposed as a dwarfed singularity whose end is clearly in sight, and for whom escape is impossible.  Free will no longer exists, but endures only as a shadow of a choice between two methods of execution.  Conformity annihilates the mind.  Revolt, the body.

In selecting these two particular artists for FOTOFEST2008, it is the intention of the De Santos gallery to move beyond political statement and philosophical absolutes.  Changfen’s appreciation for the Wall as a transcendent and seemingly sourceless monument allows us no room for political debate.  Castro’s fatalistic view of individual existence reminds us to look beyond duality if we are to find any hope at all for the individual in relation to the state.  This amounts to a call for transcendence in our thinking and takes us beyond socio-political struggle back into Changfen’s realm of timeless sublimity, change without warning, and shifting points of view that leave no room for fixed ideas or absolute, definitive certainties for either self or state.

About the De Santos Gallery
The De Santos Gallery, designed by architect Fernando Brave, is owned and directed by Luis and Gemma de Santos, who are natives of Spain and long-time residents of Houston. The De Santos Gallery specializes in photography (including traditional and new media) from contemporary European and Asian photographers including Anna Halm-Schudel, Roman Loranc, Sang-Nam Park, and Kimiko Yoshida. The gallery also has work available by North American and Latin American artists: Clyde Butcher, Linda Butler, and Edgar Moreno among others.

The De Santos Gallery is located at 1724-A Richmond Avenue at Dunlavy Street in the museum district of Houston. Gallery hours are: Tuesday through Saturday from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.; we are closed on Mondays. For information, please call Carlos DeSantos at  713-520-1200 or visit  us online at www.desantosgallery.com