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Qi, Wu (Artist/Photographer) & Mei, Li (Contributor) : The Day Does Not Know The Dark Of The Night: The Photography Of Wu Qi

798 Photo Gallery, Beijing, China, 2007

First Edition / First Printing. Fine in No Dust Jacket, As Issued. 150 pages. Artist Book. Collection of color photographs of the night and human night-life. One of the most beautiful art photography books of our time. The First Edition. Precedes and should not be confused with all other subsequent editions. Published in a small and limited first print as a softcover original only that sold out shortly after publication. None of the copies was commercially sold in the United States. The First Edition is now rare. An austerely elegant production by Wu Qi: Oversize-volume format. Gray softcovers with black titles embossed on the cover and spine, as issued. Photographs by Wu Qi. Essay by Li Mei, in the Chinese original and felicitous English translation. Printed on pristine-white, thick coated stock paper in China to the highest standards. Without DJ, as issued. Presents Wu Qi's "The Day Does Not Know The Dark of The Night". His breakthrough debut collection. It is unmistakably his homage to Brassai and the latter's influential "Paris de Nuit". It is also a rarity as a photography book about the night because it is in vivid, rich, and abundant color (unlike Ken Schles' "Invisible City", to cite only one example, a black-and-white masterpiece). The text is deliberately hypnotic, particularly its repeated use of the word "night": "Night is the edge of darkness. Night is our desire for mystery and an expectation of unexpected things. Night is good at inspiring desire and inciting evil. Night includes soothing and pain, moaning and struggling. When you look at the night of Wu Qi, you see an attitude towards the night. Wu Qi's night is the night between him and the somniloquist. He is fascinated and dependent upon the night, and does not want to leave this darkness. He becomes one of the participants and producers of the night game. Wu Qi's night seems to tell people's confusion because they can depend on nothing. Most of the people roaming in the night will not find their destination. The night of Brassai is the record of a city's night, but Wu Qi's night is the expression of a personal inner darkness. He uses a kind of language to create a unique effect belonging to the night, enriching our visual narrative about the night" (Li Mei). Well, the images speak for themselves: Their sustained inspiration, in image after image, makes this a visually sumptuous and truly magnificent book that you will pore over again and again, night after sleepless night. An absolute "must-have" title for Wu Qi collectors. This copy is very boldly and beautifully signed twice (in Chinese characters and Roman block letters) and dated (on the day of publication) in black ink-pen on the title page by the artist/photographer: "Wu Qi 07.7". It is signed directly on the page itself, not on a tipped-in page. This title is a great art photography book. As far as we know, this is the only such signed and publication-day dated copy of the First Edition/First Printing available online and is in especially fine condition: Clean, crisp, and bright, a pristine beauty. Please note: None of the copies was commercially sold in the United States. A rare signed copy thus. 36 color plates. One of the most brilliant artist/photographers of our time. A fine collectible copy. .

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