L.A-based photographer Stephen Verona, in an opening-day gallery talk on Sunday, May 15 at 2 p.m., discusses his Fowler Museum exhibition, "MAO to NOW."
In 1980, Verona traveled for the first time to China to direct a co-produced American-Chinese film. The film crew traveled with Chinese escorts, including an army general, from Shanghai to Suzhou to Beijing. Fascinated with all he saw, Verona compulsively photographed people bicycling, architecture, groups practicing Tai Chi, alleyways and street vendors. He was devastated when financing for the film fell through and his exploration of China was cut short. In October 2014, he decided to return to China to retrace his steps and document the many changes that had taken place in the 34-year interim.
“MAO to NOW” contrasts Verona’s two vastly different sets of photographs of China, pointing out both the positive and negative effects of change that have taken place as the country’s economy has moved from the stagnation of the Maoist era to one of the fastest-growing in the world. The exhibition runs through Sept. 11.
