真实而荒诞的世界 | A Truthful And Absurd World

by 栗宪庭

我不熟悉摄影界，但却不能忘记 70年代末四月影会的作品。已在摄影界犹如星星美展在美术界的地位，是对文革粉饰生活以及摆姿势、摆场景的反叛,强调对社会阴暗面的揭亓和镜头真实感、自然感的追求。它表现了一代人的心灵历程，作为中国文化变迁的敏感点而成为一个里程碑。此后，摄影果會有过一些受形式主义和构成主义影响的作品，为名人造像也會一度风行。但较四月影会，摄影界在整个文化变迁中的地位,几乎再没有出现过那么有分量的摄影家群了。直到80年代末，我看到张海儿、韩磊、吕楠、袁冬平等人的作品时才为之一震。他们不伯寻找到一个更新的视角，而且在真实中又超越了真实，即镜头的主观感使照片画面在真实中有某些阳生的东西，类似超现实主义画面的那种陌生感，正是这种陌生感，成为作者内心感觉和精神的一种导向。我很喜欢袁冬平的作品，也是由于以上原因。

这本影集集中了袁冬平近年来抽摄的精神病院的作品，这正是他选材上的不同凡响之处。这正如70年代末选材趋向贫苦的农民.80年代中期超向现代主义一样，选材本身标志了作者对这个社会与时代的感应水平。其次是如何处理选材。在这批作品中至少有三种镜头语言引起我极大兴趣。其一，靠近对象的镜头。无论是漠然、呆板的表情。还是走神的眼神儿，都表明作者善于使用不同的角度去捕提不同对象的神态。最世色的要数那幅俯视的近景人像了 (No.2),由于广角镜头的使用，对要变形为头大身小的畸形模样，使那双惊忍的大眼情显得尢具突出,实在命人难以忘怀。其二，动态的群像镜头。如象开会的人部,跳绳绳的人群，玩球的人群，做游戏的人群等。此类画面充满了一种怪异感,即正常的游戏场景和怪异的动作之间形成了一种对比，仿佛成为怪诞世界的象征。其三，对静态人群的拍摄是这些作品中最具超现实意味的。如在雄满床的室内，横七竖八躺着的人群中,突兀站立着的弯腰驼背姿态的人，在灰白色的墙面上形成一个怪异的剪影(No.3);在逆光的门洞和台阶构成的横的长方形中，木然呆立着的雕塑般的重色人形与硬边横线形成切割和对比,使两者均表现出硬冷而死寂的情调(No.11）。又如，大片深灰色调的荒草地,远处是悠然坐着的白色调人群，近景是一个死一股直挺挺躺着的人（No.17),悠然与直挺挺，荒草地与白色调的人,形成强烈的对比。又一幅直挺挺躺着的人在画面的正前方一突现着这直挺挺躺着的形体带给画面一种绝里的情调(No. 24) .

最后说到一种技巧处理。首先是袁冬平极善于使用对此，无论构图大的造型对比，如硬的建筑线条以及家貝、铁笼、门窗这些硬边的线条与复杂曲线的人形的对比，还是逆光、剪影这些影调的黑白对比，以及构图上的聚、散、动、静、横、竖的处理能力，都说明袁冬平有着极敏說的形式感觉。其次是大多数画面清晰度处理得处处清楚，不去作虚实处理。也许这正是作者的一个重要技巧。會看到过一篇论及德国传统摄影观念的文章，其中一个观点使我至今记忆犹新，即最好的摄影技术是处处清楚。我想，袁冬平大概是多使用广 角镜头以保持景深的长度,而处处清楚对于黑白照片尤其显得特别地道。这种地道我想可能来自传统摄影培养的那种欣赏习惯。事实上，恰恰是这种传统黑白照片处处清楚的趣味与画面的非正常现实形成了一种差异和对比,才使袁冬平的作品表现出怪异的情调来。但活又说回来,这些怪异情调都不是刻意经营出来的。当然,刻意经营也是一种语言，西方摄影中这种刻意经营比比皆是,这大概与超现实主义绘画的影响有关。袁冬平的作品处处显得自然而质朴，自然质朴拍出的怪异镜头,其中原因又使我们会回到他感觉的起点一一选材上了。他白然而然会在一群人中发现了怪异，并且发挥了它。是怪诞的世界引1导他去选择了这个特殊的题材,还是这个特殊题材使他发现 了怪诞的世界，也许都有可能。

1995年10月17日凌晨

by Li Xianting

Photography is not in my domain, but I well remember anexhibition I saw in April at the end of the 70s. It was a veryimportant exhibition to photographers, just like the Star Exhibition to painters. Contrary to works rationalizing life, posing, and falsifying environments for good effects, whichwerecurrent in the "Cultural Revolution," the photos displayed there underlined the dark side of social life and natural and truthfulscenes, and the exhibition, therefore, became a milestone in thatit reflected the mental and emotional injuries experienced by ageneration of people and the delicate questionof the Chinesecultural restyling in that particular historical period. In thefewyears that followed, formalism and constructivism found theirway into photo.graphic works, and image building for famous peoplebecame a vogue amongsome photographers. Not many outstandingworks appeared until by the endof the 80s. I was deeplyimpressed when I saw the photos taken by ZhangHailer, Han Lei, Lu Nan and Yuan Dongping. They had not only found novelanglesbut caught something strange, something completely new, like the strangeness one sees in surrealism. It was this very strangeness, this verynewness, that these photographers endeavored to enveloptheir innermost emotion and dream in. And it was preciselybecause Yuan Dongping's photospossess this feature that I likethem so much.

This album is a selection of photos of the mental patients Yuan Dongpingtook in recent years. The choice of such a subjectproves him to be a man outof the ordinary, for, just as the trend in the 70s to portray poverty-strickenpeasants and thetendency in the 80s to use the modernist way of representaton, preference for particular subjects itself features authors' perceptivenessabout and response to the society and times. YuanDongping's treatment ofthis subject has characteristics of hisown as well. 1. In close-ups, he excels in catching thecountenance of the photographed - - indifferent, stiff orabsent - minded expressions - -from different angles. Best of all is the photo of a man looking down at viewers (No. 2). Taken with wide-range lens,it became a virtual caricature. The large head andsmall body of the personaccentuate the terror - stricken eyes ,leaving on people an unforgettable impression. 2. In shots of agroup of people in dynamic state - - attending ameeting and playingrope skipping, ball or games, a striking contrast between thenormal scenes of playing and the peculiar movements of theplayersgives rise to a sensation of absurdity. These photos seemto symbolize thepreposterousness of the world. 3. Pictures withseveral people in a quiescentcondition are the most surrealisticones among the photos in the album. Oneof them (No. 3) presentsa grotesque silhouette - like hunchbacked figure against a greywall among people lying this way and that in a room with pilesofbeds. Another one (No. 11) shows a statue - like person standingstiffly inthe back light of a rectangle made up of the doorwayand steps, the heavytone of the person and the hard lines of thesteps forming a dissection and acontrast that fill people with arigid, cold and deathly still feeling. A third one(No. 17) has avast dark grey wasteland stretching before you. In the distancesit idly some whitish folks, and in the forefront someone lies out-stretched on the ground, a corpse to all appearances. Sittingidly and lyingoutstretched, and the wasteland and the whitish people -- these sharo contrasts make the man on the ground evenmore conspicuous. There is yet another one (No. 24) with a manlying outstretched too in the forefront of thephoto, imparting feeling of despair. 

At last, I will say something about thetechniques YuanDongping uses. First of all, he outshines in using contrast,contrast in the design of bigger pictures, such as the hard linesof furniture,the iron cage, doors and windows and thecomplicated curves of people'soutline, in light - - back light andsilhouettes and in concentration and dis-persion, dynamic and inert states, and horizontal and vertical lines. Thisshows he has a keen sense of form. Secondly, he has achieved clearness in-details in most of his photos without resorting to the void-solid treatment. I remember an article I have read on Germany'straditional views on photography, one of them embedded in my mindto this day is: The best skill in photographing lies in achievingclearness in every detail. Probably, the depths inthe scenes ofYuan Dongping's pictures are the result of his frequent useof wide-range lens. Clearness in every detail is especiallyimportant to black- and - white pictures, for people have got usedto the traditional photographing and formed the correspondinghabit of appreciation. In fact, thisvery clearness in detail inhis black - and -white photos and the abnormalityof life havecombined to constitute a difference and contrast, which make his works smell of preposterousness. However, this absurdity has notbeenpainstakingly sought. Traces of painstakingly seeking afteran effect are often seen in Western photos ; that must havesomething to do with surrealism.Yuan Dongping's photos arenatural and simple, but tinged with absurdity.The reason lies inthe subject he has chosen. He has discovered quite naturallyirrationality in a group of abnormal people and magnified it. Butwas itthe absurd world that has led him to choose this specialtheme, or was it thespecial theme that has led him to discoverthis absurd world? "Both" will bethe answer, perhaps.

On the early morning of October 17, 1995