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Friday, February 24, 2012

Gu Fan

























The polaroids of Gu Fan's Small View are like warm memories, melodies of quiet places, and moments of pure calm. The everyday captured in solitude, sunlight, and pastel. To me, these photos feel like the sounds of Morr Music/City Centre Offices and records like Donna Regina's A Quiet Week In The House brought to life. Almost like snapshots of song. One of the sweetest and most sincere books I have ever come across.

Small View consists of 30 titled photos printed in a 4" x 5.5" paperback. In addition to drawing and photography, Gu Fan makes toys, stationery, and TV commercials. He also runs Good Morning Light, a book publishing company based in Beijing, which released Small View in 2008.

You can find out more about Gu Fan and his work here.
Copies of Small View are still available from Good Morning Light.

Below are some questions I recently asked him about his work and Small View.





















THE PHOTOS IN SMALL VIEW ARE ALL RATHER HAZY AND DREAMY. THE SIZE OF THE BOOK IS PERFECT FOR THEM, MAKING IT ALMOST LIKE A SECRET DIARY. WHAT WAS YOUR INTENTION WITH THE BOOK?


I took some Polaroids in 2006~2007. Most of these photos are of my daily life and friends, some are shots of my drawings.


WHAT INSPIRES YOUR WORK AS A PHOTOGRAPHER?

Music is very important to me. It influences my photos and drawings. I love many types of music. Simply, Joy Division gave me a great impact in early years, and now I love many independent musicians: ISAN, The Books, Anne Laplantine, Sora, Guitar...






















WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PLACE?


I prefer the familiar place and shooting these places.

DO YOU HAVE A CERTAIN CAMERA THAT YOU LIKE USING MOST?

I like my Olympus OM-1, Polaroid SX70, and Rolleiflex.

ARE THERE ANY CURRENT PROJECTS YOU ARE WORKING ON?

Yes, some personal projects are going on.














WHAT IS YOUR GOAL WITH YOUR BOOK IMPRINT, GOOD MORNING LIGHT?

Good Morning Light is a project with my girlfriend. It's from 2008. We publish some books of young and low-key artists' works according to our feelings. Good Morning Light is an attempt on our simple idea.

WHEN YOU RELEASE YOUR BOOKS, DO YOU HAVE A THEME IN MIND?

I rarely do my work in accordance with a fixed theme. There are a lot of random factors in life. I always pay more attention to the long-term of accumulation. While i took these Polaroids I never thought I would make a book for them some day. Small View took me very little time selecting and composing. I completed it very quickly.














HOW DO DAILY LIFE AND YOUR SURROUNDINGS PLAY A PART IN YOUR WORK?

They are a big influence to my work. My creations need accumulation of feelings and experience from daily life.


WHAT IS THE OVERALL FEELING OR EMOTION YOU HOPE TO INSTILL IN YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS?

I saw the dreams in the ordinary things. I was touched, and captured them.













All photos copyright Gu Fan, courtesy Good Morning Light.

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