Author:
Category：Photograph
Year：1953~1953
Size:Length:50.8 x Width:66.9 x Height:0.3 (cm)
Size description：為裱板尺寸
Introduction：In this work, a boat with an awning is moored by a ford, with all the subjects including the plants, riverbank, and the boat focused on the lower left-hand corner while the rest two thirds of the scene left blank. This composition creates a complementary effect between reality and illusion, expressing the calm and tranquility of the sole boat by the riverbank. When the sole boat is considered the main character of this photograph, the plants by the water would then be the supporting character, for which Jou Jr-gang came up with yet another ingenious arrangement by showing the leaf branches only partially to the right of the scene for them to echo with the lavish bushes to the left. This contrast creates a balance between density and looseness in the scene, as well as a graceful and quiet ambience. According to the poem penned for the photograph ‘Moored on Tamkang in the Early Hours,’ it can be inferred that the work was captured when fishermen were resting in the early morning, and that the surrounding was in complete silence.
Jou Jr-gang had dedicated his career to promoting ‘poetic photography,’ and this present photographic work well aligns with the principle in composition and the pursuit of artistic conception highlighted by traditional Chinese ink wash painting in terms of its theme, composition, and color tones. According to the work description on the photography exhibition The Era Seen: The Pursuit of Images during the Days of the Photo Club, 1940s–1970s curated by National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts in 2014, this work was photographed in Shezidao, Taipei, in the 1960s, whereas Tamkang in the title referred to Tamsui River.
Accession number:NCP2022-012-0003