我們用一句大白話“我的照相機(jī)”，作為本屆連州國際攝影年展的主題，在數(shù)碼新技術(shù)日益發(fā)達(dá)和當(dāng)代藝術(shù)中的攝影媒體日益熱鬧的情況下，顯得有些不合時宜。或者說，恰恰因為這樣形勢，我們主張回到“我”和“照相機(jī)”以及現(xiàn)實的基本關(guān)系上。
“我的照相機(jī)” 強(qiáng)調(diào)的首要因素是“我”——作為一個有良知的個人，他的立場，他的獨立思想，他的獨立視角，以及獨特的語言方式，是我們首先關(guān)注的作品準(zhǔn)則。而視角和語言方式的獨特性，牽涉到攝影的基本媒介——“照相機(jī)”的獨特性。當(dāng)我們通過照相機(jī)直面被拍攝的對象時，一定會受到照相機(jī)的諸如鏡頭、焦距、曝光等一系列機(jī)器的制約，它的長處也是它的短處，因此，現(xiàn)代數(shù)碼新技術(shù)及其電腦技術(shù)，使修改、挪用、拼接的技術(shù)日臻完善，這也是攝影媒體迅速成為當(dāng)代藝術(shù)新的媒體和熱潮的原因之一，以至于不少紀(jì)實攝影家也受到這種新技術(shù)的影響，正是在這種意義上，我們重新強(qiáng)調(diào)“我的照相機(jī)”，并不是一味地反對傳統(tǒng)攝影和新技術(shù)的聯(lián)系，而是反對那種無界限地挪用諸如網(wǎng)絡(luò)、廣告等其他媒體上的圖片，而忽略了“我的照相機(jī)”在直面現(xiàn)實時那種不可替代的特性。在當(dāng)代藝術(shù)日益模糊各藝術(shù)門類界限的時候，尤其在當(dāng)代藝術(shù)中攝影媒體成為熱潮的時候，我們企圖強(qiáng)調(diào)“我”在按動“照相機(jī)”快門的霎那間，與“轉(zhuǎn)瞬即逝的現(xiàn)實”的獨特關(guān)系。對人生對日常和非日常生活的見證，也許永遠(yuǎn)是攝影藝術(shù)不可替代的語言魅力。正是從這種意義上，我們強(qiáng)調(diào)“我的照相機(jī)”，是想與當(dāng)代藝術(shù)中大量的挪用、擺拍、拼接、篡改的取巧風(fēng)氣保持距離。我們不反對攝影使用電腦等新的技術(shù)，但強(qiáng)調(diào)攝影的基本素材來源于照相機(jī)與原本生活現(xiàn)實場景的關(guān)系，而把大量挪用、擺拍、拼接、篡改因素的作品讓當(dāng)代藝術(shù)的語言系統(tǒng)去評價。
“我的照相機(jī)”的主題也許帶著復(fù)古的傾向，但藝術(shù)史上很多新思潮恰恰是通過對某種古藝術(shù)的復(fù)興來實現(xiàn)的，諸如歐洲的文藝復(fù)興運動。而連州國際攝影年展舉辦地的連州，其人文地理也恰恰為我們提供了一種參考。廣東的連州在中國屬于古楚地，歷來是朝廷的貶謫之地，唐代著名古文運動的主要人物，先后都被貶謫到這塊土地上，韓愈曾被貶為連州陽山縣令，柳宗元曾被貶為相鄰的永州司馬，而劉禹錫曾先后被貶官至連州任刺史多年。所謂古文運動，是唐代中葉在文體上恢復(fù)先秦兩漢的文章傳統(tǒng)，唐代中葉，社會危機(jī)日趨嚴(yán)重，藩鎮(zhèn)割據(jù)，宦官擅權(quán)，朋黨之爭，以及吐蕃、回紇的侵?jǐn)_，這種內(nèi)憂外患的現(xiàn)實情景，讓當(dāng)時有良知的官僚士大夫，倍感六朝以來的浮艷文風(fēng)成為了表達(dá)見解的束縛，韓愈、柳宗元等人首倡復(fù)興先秦兩漢自由質(zhì)樸的文風(fēng)。他們在繼承傳統(tǒng)的基礎(chǔ)上，主張語言獨創(chuàng)，文從字順。事實上，古文運動在融化古人詞匯語法基礎(chǔ)上，產(chǎn)生出對后世有深刻影響的自由流暢、直言散行并切中時弊的表達(dá)方式。從這種意義上“我的照相機(jī)”，并不主張單純回到“我”和“照相機(jī)”及其現(xiàn)實的傳統(tǒng)關(guān)系上，而是主張攝影家回到“我”的獨立立場，回到通過“照相機(jī)”直面和見證今天的現(xiàn)實與人生境況的感覺中。
My Camera and I
Curatorial Theme/ By Li Xianting
The seemingly innocuous statement “my camera and I” might sound passé in the digital age, but it is precisely because of this that we feel the need to revisit our first person relationship with the camera in this year’s edition of the Lianzhou International Photography Festival (LIPF). The theme “My Camera and I” is meant to reemphasize the conscious being operating the camera, the individual possessing a set of opinions and beliefs and capable of independent thought that articulates a unique statement in a personal photographic language.
Specificity of language and uniqueness of vision of a photographer’s work are partially attributable to the camera, and its devices—lens, focus, exposure, etc.—circumscribe the rendering of the subject as much as they make it possible. Digital technology has revolutionized photography by succeeding in retouching, sampling and blending the photographic image, leaving no field of photography, including documentary photography, untouched, and reviving photography as a popular medium of contemporary art. By reaffirming the significance of “my camera and I”, we wish not to object to the use of new technology in the practice of photography, rather we hope to make a statement against the appropriation of photography by the Internet, advertising and other image media, which misrepresent the reality photography seeks to confront us with. As contemporary art blurs the line between various art forms and photography becomes a popular medium of contemporary art, we want to put the “I” that presses the shutter back in focus for a moment, and examine its unique relationship to the “fleeting reality”, for no other medium makes as beautiful a statement as photography—that of bearing witness to the wondrous thing that is life. By focusing on “My Camera and I”, we set aside the digital sampling, staging, blending and doctoring of the photographic image and leave it to be judged within the realm of contemporary art, and remind ourselves that the main source of photographic material comes from the relationship between the camera and real life.
“My Camera and I” takes us back to the basics of photography keeping in mind that something new can be born out of the old—a concept that isn’t foreign to LIPF’s host city Lianzhou. During the Tang Dynasty (618-907) the remote southern region was a home-in-exile for banished officials and literati, including mandarin, poet and essayist Han Yu, poet Liu Zongyuan and poet, philosopher and essayist Liu Yuxi. The domestic instability and foreign aggression of the turbulent Late Tang inspired Han Yu, Liu Zongyuan and other the literati to dispose of the florid and parallel writing style favored since the Six Dynasties (220-589) and propose a revival of pre-Han prose. While building on tradition, the “Classical Prose Movement” they spearheaded was to advocate creativity and champion a style that lay out current issues and provided cutting analysis of social ills in a plain language that flowed freely from the characters it used. In this sense, the theme “My Camera and I” is not only intended to assert a return our relationship to the device, but also to reaffirm the importance of the independent viewpoint and revisit the camera’s ability to bear witness to and confront us with reality, current events and emotions.
【編輯:葉曉燕】
