Morning exercise, Beijing, China, 2004 by Phil Douglis

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19-JUN-2004

Morning exercise, Beijing, China, 2004

When I saw these four men exercising alongside a canal in a Beijing park, I immediately noticed the incongruous juxtaposition of the perfectly executed landscaping and the imperfectly executed exercise. The essence of the humor comes through a comparison of forms – the triangular flower beds are perfect in every respect, but the arm positions of the exercisers are out of synch and thus imperfect. Of course the men have no idea their futility is being incongruously compared to the perfection of their surroundings, and therein lies the humor of this image.

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Phil Douglis		16-Jun-2007 05:35
Yes, they are having fun, Sun Han, each in their own somewhat inept way. And that is part of the charm of this image.

Guest		16-Jun-2007 04:22
fun fun fun, a tapestry of texture, shape, colors, and movement

Phil Douglis		14-May-2005 02:52
What you have said here is fascinating, Anna. You saw the geometry and color first, and so did I. That's because the geometry and color of the park is the dominant theme. I then noticed the incongruity of this perfect garden hosting the imperfect exercisers. And so did you. When I look for expressive ideas, I often look first for a setting that conveys a symbol representing the nature of the place, or a setting that conveys a mood and meaning, such as this one did. Sometimes I will have to wait for people to enter my setting to create an incongruous relationship either in terms of scale or behavior. In this case, they were already there, and behaving exactly the opposite of what their setting might expect of them. So how you saw this image pretty much paralleled my own experience in making it. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Anna Pagnacco		14-May-2005 00:31
What hit me first in this image was the geometry and the colors...then I got the rest....Anna

Phil Douglis		22-Dec-2004 06:17
Thanks, Mikel, for reinforcing the point I am making with this image. Yes, this is "Theatre of the Absurd" in a way. Many years ago, a film director I was working with on a project told me that I had a "highly developed sense of the ridiculous." I took it as a compliment, and ever since then I have been very conscious of the absurdities of life that surround us. And I take advantage of that consciousness as an expressive photographer. I immediately saw how utterly inept these gentlemen were at coordinating their exercise movements, yet they chose to exercise within a precise and orderly environment. All I had to do was to find the spot where I could bring the incongruous elements together and make this image.

Guest		22-Dec-2004 00:14
It certainly looks like an image taken from the 'Comedy of the Absourd' (don't know if it's called like this in english) the book of Kafka. As you say, the geometrical gardening leading almost to a perfection still enphatized with the triangular flowers that seem to point at the subjects that are practicing tai-chi(???) and their desastreous coordination almost gives a sence of ridiculosity to those people that is transformed in to humor. Funy incongruous picture indeed.

Phil Douglis		05-Dec-2004 00:25
Thanks, mobiljenny. Your comments are always welcome. Doing the wave -- I like it. It's amazing how context changes the way we see an image.

mobiljenny		04-Dec-2004 16:02
Ok, I post once, and now I won't be able to stop... I'd have to say that the positions of their hands describe, quite nicely, a incomplete section of asine wave. Or for the sport fans out there: "Hey dude, they're doing the wave." Quite harmonious in that respect. But yes, overall I agree with the discussion.

Guest		01-Dec-2004 19:53
yes, they don't harmonize in movements, contrary to the order of the garden. you got it.

Phil Douglis		07-Nov-2004 23:39
You use very few words to sum up the incongruous point of this picture, Nut. Perfect-Imperfect.

nut		07-Nov-2004 16:11
This is the incongruous photograph in term of abstract. "Perfect-Imperfect"

Phil Douglis		02-Nov-2004 05:35
You sum up the incongruous nature of this image very nicely in your first sentence, Nut. The alignment and organization of the humans and their environment are completely out of synch, which makes this picture quite amusing.

nut		02-Nov-2004 04:58
This is an incongruiy between human and environment in term of alignment and organization. I saw an incongruity between well arrange of this place (Triangle form)compared with simply arrange with four old men. I saw one abstract point here but this is about incongruity so I won't say about that here.

Phil Douglis		31-Oct-2004 03:25
You and I share the same warped sense of humor, Maureen. I saw the incongruity of perfection (landscape) vs. imperfection (exercisers). You saw it as rigidity (landscape) vs. free-flowing (exercisers). And then you went on to make an even more cogent point: it is even more incongruous that nature should the form that flows. And the men, a product of an ancient culture that has long revered refinement, discipline, and order, should be more in snych. You make me laugh, Maureen!

Guest		31-Oct-2004 02:54
This makes me laugh. I think it works because the landscaping and scene seem SO very rigid. The hedges on the bottom appear to be arrows which lead my eyes to the free flowing men above. Shouldn't nature be free flowing and the men be more rigid? :-)

Phil Douglis		15-Sep-2004 05:51
Jacq, thanks for clearing up this mystery. I had thought Wendy's "Village People" remark referred to the people in a particular farming village that both she and I visited in China on separate trips. And now you've come to my rescue by clearing up the confusion. I am sure now that she must have been referring to the exercises in that YMCA song you mention. Wendy was joking around with me, and I took her seriously. Thanks for straightening me out. Phil

Jacq, Brisbane Aust		15-Sep-2004 00:30
Hey Wendy O Do you mean THE Village People? As in... Y M C A...? I hope you do!

Phil Douglis		21-Jul-2004 23:41
Positive. The village we stayed in Xian did not have such floral excess. This image was made in a Beijing Park between the Beijing Hotel, where we stayed, and The Forbidden City. Phil

Wendy O		21-Jul-2004 23:35
Are you sure this isn't the Village People?

Phil Douglis		16-Jul-2004 17:44
I love the way you read meaning into the form, as well as the content, of my images. Thanks, as always, Tim, for your fresh and relevant observations.

Tim May		16-Jul-2004 17:07
And the fact of the rhythm of the arms that make a wave-like line amid the angularity of the landscapes. Humanity is delightfully flowing.

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