The Fan Ho I Didn't Know

Fan Ho during his movie star days and at the opening last month of his latest exhibit

A few years ago I was surprised to discover that Fan Ho (surname Ho), whom I'd known only as the venerable monk in Shaw Brothers' four-film adaptation of Journey to the West, was also a highly acclaimed photographer. Even before he joined the Shaw studio in the early sixties, he had made a name for himself in international competitions, exhibitions, and salons. From 1958 — when he was just 17 years old — to 1965, Ho was named one of the Top Ten Photographers of the World by the Photographic Society of America.

An exhibit of his photographs is currently up at Modernbook Gallery in Palo Alto until August 2nd. I took a look a couple of weeks ago, and his work is simply stunning. Ho specializes in Hong Kong street scenes, and because the city has changed so much in the fifty-odd years since he shot them, the photos capture a world long vanished. But besides the obvious historical value of his work, Ho impresses with his mastery of light and shadow, his sensitivity to the drama of the street, his cutting social commentary, his love of the magic in everyday life, and his surprising flights into abstraction.

The nearly 150 photos on display are original prints made by Fan Ho himself during the fifties and sixties. This coming Friday, July 10th, the gallery is hosting a talk with Ho at 7pm. If you live in the San Francisco Bay Area, don't miss this chance to see him and his amazing body of work. If you don't live nearby — and even if you do — then consider buying one of Fan Ho's books, Hong Kong Yesterday and The Living Theatre. Both are handsomely designed and printed (the superb duotone printing really makes the photos come alive).

Here are a few of my favorites from Fan Ho's newly published The Living Theatre.


"Little Women"


"Multifunction Staircase"


"Renting to Read"


"The Other Side of the Theater"


"A Sad Sad Song"


"Day End Report"


"Back to Mother"


"Another Dimension"

If you want to see more of Fan Ho's work, here is a selection of images from Hong Kong Yesterday and The Living Theatre. Both books can be ordered from Modernbook Gallery.

* A big thanks to Enjoy Yourself Tonight for letting me use his personally autographed photo of Fan Ho and to Bryan and Danny at Modernbook Gallery for letting me use the recent picture of Fan Ho and the images of his work.