Deep Sea Diver: Danny Lyon in China, 2005-2009
Gambling is Illegal in Shanxi, Loufan
Beginning with an invitation as an “honored guest” at the 2005 Ping Yao Photo Festival, Lyon left the walls of the ancient city to photograph an opera, presented on a raised wooden platform to the mostly older residents. That led to six trips to China, all to Shanxi, a highly polluted coal producing province in the Northwest Corner, bordering outer Mongolia. His team of helpers included Aquago the fixer, Ji the driver, and Lolly, then a college student and translator from Taiyuan, the capitol of Shanxi. The facsimile book produced by Phaidon (link), reproduces Lyon’s entire text and hand-made album of silver prints. The pictures were made on Tri-X negative, the 8 by 10 prints in Lyon’s darkroom on the now defunct Bergman paper.
This is a selection of the photographs.
Opera, Ping Yao
My Invaluable Fixer Aquago and Driver Ji
Lolly, Fireworks Stall Datong
Map of Ping Yao District, Shanxi Province
Terraced Farmland with Powerplant
Coal Workers, North of Datong
The Coal Truck Drivers, Jiexiu
The Cafe, outskirts of Datong
Card Game, in Xinrong
Used Book and Magazine Stand, Taiyuan
Kite, Taiyuan, at branch of Yellow River
Bathhouse in Miners Village, Datong
Datong Train
Music School
Antique Shop, Ping Yao
Cafe Workers in Dingxiang
Gambling is Illegal in Shanxi, Loufan
Woman with Wheat
Wheat Harvest, Ping Yao District
Migrant Miner from Cichuan with Son
Migrants from Sichuan
Make-up, The Opera at Dingxiang
Mechanics, Huairen
Coal Miner Bath, The Wuguantuan Mine
The Opera, Diangxiang
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