Decolonizing Shanghai: Design and Material Culture in the Photographs of Hu Yang
- Gire Calderon
- Oct 21, 2018
- 2 min read
Updated: Oct 30, 2018
Earl Tai is academic specialized in social ethics and cultural diversity. He studies the relation
between Shanghai, China and the Western Hemisphere. He did an Bachelors and Masters in
Architecture from Tulane University, another Masters from Harvard University, a graduate
Certificate from Cambridge University, and a PhD from Columbia University.
In an ever-changing world like today where capitalism is invading homes regardless how
intransigent the society may be. The Chinese society a society that is consider conservative in
today’s standards.The author manages to explore a layer of flexibility that exists within
shanghai society. A layer that is influenced by the western culture. The author Earl Tai chose to
expose this topic using Hu Yang ‘Shanghai Living’ photo collection.
Hu Yang is a photographer that throughout his pictures shows the evolution of the interior in
Shanghai societies. Yang explores with his photos the transition that happened in domestic
houses that follow after of Open Door policy and China’s modernization. How some elements
of history are merged with contemporary furniture. He wanted to portray people in his photos
in their natural state and place. Tai attempts to explain the cultural complexities of the lives of
the citizens of Shanghai though their private space. By exploring and analyzing the interior
with a sociological and historical perspective. He examines the space in details, the way is
decorated and later explores the user cultural and socioeconomic background. Yang strips the
elements of the space and analyzes the western influence in them.
In his pictures, we could see a range between the lives of the poor and rich, family lives and
family traditions. The way the photographer took photographs, objects, and the background
become a focal point. As Tai explains the people are overshadowed by the context on the
Photographs. Most pictures are in their natural state some of the people are blurry while they
are cooking, eating, or the activity they are performing.
For example, In this photo (Fig.1) we can clearly see the Chinese influence in the space from
the Buddha sculpture, ceramics vases, to the Chinese new year. This picture sends a message
of being a conservative and traditional Chinese house. You can actually see some glimpse of
Western cultures such as the globe in the background.
As in contrast to the other photo (Fig.2) that this house could belong to another diplomat or
citizen of the world. It has no cultural reference. This house could easily be in New York or
London.
In conclusion, I believe that Shanghai shares all the quality of a major metropolitan city losing
most of its traditional values and adopting a lot of Western qualities. I believe the main
different between the photographs is due to the difference in economical status. If people
with lower income had access to money, we would have been able to study the western
influence in their homes too. Thus agreeing with the Tai, to understand Shanghai design, it
has to be acknowledge as a complex of different nationalities and influences.
Questions
• Does a world traveller looses its identity by relating to other country travels?
• In a city like Shanghai so multicultural is it possible to for the citizen to keep their
authenticity?
• How can we classify or study space in a larger sociological spectrum being the interior space
very individualistic?
REFERENCES:
Tai, E. (2009) ‘Decolonizing Shanghai: Design and material culture in the photographs of Hu Yang’, Design Issues, 25(3), pp. 30–43. doi: 10.1162/desi.2009.25.3.30.
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