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Phil Douglis | all galleries >> Galleries >> Gallery Four: Finding meaning in details > Jade Deity, Beijing, China, 2004
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20-JUN-2004

Jade Deity, Beijing, China, 2004

A lavish and no doubt very expensive jade sculpture stands in the doorway of Beijing restaurant. it represents, appropriately, an ancient god of wealth and good fortune. It is also a treasure of detail. Particularly note the strings of coins in the upper left hand corner, and the variety of foods, flowers, and dragons that make up the sculpture. This photograph, which represents wealth, acquires its own value through the sum total of its detail.

Leica Digilux 2
1/20s f/2.1 at 12.1mm iso100 hide exif
Full EXIF Info
Date/Time20-Jun-2004 02:58:23
MakeLeica
ModelDIGILUX 2
Flash UsedNo
Focal Length12.1 mm
Exposure Time1/20 sec
Aperturef/2.1
ISO Equivalent100
Exposure Bias
White Balance (4)
Metering Modemulti spot (3)
JPEG Quality (6)
Exposure Programprogram (2)
Focus Distance

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Phil Douglis25-Dec-2004 22:30
I'm glad that you not only look at this sculpture, Nut, but also at its surroundings. The context for this jade God is very important, because the dark surroundings suggest his domain. He rises from the plants, which link him to nature, the Chinese characters on either side no doubt add a cultural context, and the darkness sets off the brilliant colors and details without distraction. As for happiness, he takes his duties seriously -- perhaps he may grant happiness to others, but not to himself.
nut 25-Dec-2004 06:41
I see two layer here. "Much" is in the core and "Less" is the surroundings. What is in the core of this photo? "Much" is the sculpture. Light and and hiding some thing in the shadow made the gap in term of meaning and physical. This sculpture is the ancient god of wealth and good fortune, but not happiness for sure. His eyes look down to somewhere I don't know and his face aren't the face of happiness. Even if he wear the golden dragon clothers, he still unhappy. But why?
Phil Douglis10-Dec-2004 20:47
Good point, Clara. I should learn not to take you literally! Phil
Guest 10-Dec-2004 03:25
Dear Phil, I said king on purpose, knowing the title says deity. There are realms below and realms above. Love. Clara.
Phil Douglis09-Dec-2004 21:24
Thank you, Clara, for being the first to comment on this image. One of my images has again stimulated you to think beyond the picture itself, and instead talk about what it implies. China's cultural history is not only refined, it is vast and deep. It is true that thousands of years of classical Chinese culture was obliterated under Mao -- but in recent years there has been a resurgence of traditional arts and cultural beliefs. My camera was witness to that -- as in this image. This is not a king, incidentally, although he certainly looks noble. It is a jade God of Good Fortune.
Guest 09-Dec-2004 17:52
For many centuries Chinese was the most refined culture in the world.
They have now to rely on the past in order to show some beauty.
Mao destroyed what took so long to build. Still, they are powerful.
Like the king here represented.
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