Mr. Hong Please Come In

1998

Not on view

Hong Hao gazes from a scene of exquisitely composed cultural accumulation. On the table in front of him, three architectural models (approximations of Gothic, South Asian, and Egyptian temples) equate this conspicuous display to a kind of religiosity, a sentiment echoed by the otherwise cryptic phrase at the photograph’s upper edge: "A gentle tone readily allows Mr. Hong to enter a peaceful reverie." But the scene is an elaborate ruse: Hong has digitally inserted himself into a self-promotional advertisement (the work of American commercial photographer Christopher Irion) in order to lampoon the perceived excesses of an economically integrated China. The repetition of Hong’s name in the overprinted title accentuates self-centeredness, signaling that capitalist consumption is the new norm.

Artwork Details

Title: Mr. Hong Please Come In
Artist: Hong Hao (Chinese, born 1965)
Artist: After Christopher Irion (American)
Date: 1998
Medium: Chromogenic print
Dimensions: Image: 69.3 x 60 cm (27 5/16 x 23 5/8 in.)
Sheet: 73.2 x 62.4 cm (28 13/16 x 24 9/16 in.)
Classification: Photographs
Credit Line: Gift of Larry Warsh, 2009
Object Number: 2009.539.1
Curatorial Department: Photographs

More Artwork

By Hong Hao

In the same medium

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Spring Festival along the River, Hong Hao Chinese, Accordion album of thirty-four leaves; chromogenic print, China — Spring Festival along the River
Hong Hao
2000

Selected Scriptures, Hong Hao Chinese, Six prints from a set of thirty-seven; silkscreened ink and color on paper, China — Selected Scriptures
Hong Hao
1992–2000

Three Women In A Country Funeral, Long Xian, Shaanxi Province
, Liu Zheng Chinese, Gelatin silver print — Three Women In A Country Funeral, Long Xian, Shaanxi Province
Liu Zheng
2000

Untitled, Kohei Yoshiyuki Japanese, Gelatin silver print — Untitled
Kohei Yoshiyuki
1971

Boden Sea, Uttwil, Hiroshi Sugimoto Japanese, Gelatin silver print — Boden Sea, Uttwil
Hiroshi Sugimoto
1993

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