连州摄影年展学术委员会主席杨小彦谈年展主题

原点：观察与被观察

Origin: Between the Observer and the Observed

杨小彦

　　第二届中国连州(国际)摄影年展的学术主题是：

　　原点--观察与被观察。

　　从主题上来说，本届展览是第一届展览在学术上的一个合理延伸。第一届展览的目的是广泛考察存在于图像中的双重性，幷通过多种形式的展览来揭示这种双重性的历史脉络与现实表达。本届展览则希望通过同样丰富多彩的展览，着重讨论观察者的位置、影像工作者的立场、观察的作用以及被观察者的价值。因为，正是他们之间错综复杂的关系，构成了人类影像世界的全部意义。

　　以下是对该主题的解释：

　　1，观察：

　　自从摄影诞生以来，摄影就代表了一种观察。这种观察的意义在于：

　　a，物质性：摄影具有一种客观意义上的物质性，使它有别于摄影之前的各种视觉艺术模式。我们把摄影诞生以前的视觉艺术称之为视觉的“手工艺制品”，因为所有这些制品都必须依赖某种习得而来的传统技艺才能产生。摄影不需要这些传统技艺，它是光学原理与化学原理结合的产物。摄影只是一种、也只能是一种观察，其结果是，摄影把观察从各种传统技艺中解放了出来，从而使观察而不是技艺本身成为独立的存在。我把这种存在称为摄影的物质性。

　　b，现场性：依赖传统技艺的“手工艺制品”无法和对象直接产生联系，而这正是摄影之所以成为摄影的特征之一。也就是说，摄影离不开它的拍摄对象。摄影正是拍摄者和被摄者共同结合的产物。这样一来，摄影就把观察和现场结合了起来，使对象成为实现观察的条件。同时，这种现场性也使观察成为被观察者。

　　c，连续性：观察是一个连续的过程还是偶然的瞬间，一直折磨着众多的影像工作者，幷且深刻地影响到他们对观察的理解。表面看来，这是一个技术问题，实质上却涉及到观察者的位置和立场。在摄影领域，连续图像和图片故事以及类似的形式，一方面表明摄影家们对拍摄对象的持续探究的兴趣，另一方面则又常常困扰着他们对其中的真实性的解释。现在我们应当清楚的是，连续性也是一种观察，它不仅表现在静止的图像当中，也同样表现在活动影像的范畴。这样一来，观察就从静止的图像走向变化中的影像。

　　d，对细节的关注：本来，摄影机作为光学的机器，在纪录中自然包括对细节的存留。这些细节作为重要的视觉内容，受到了后来者持续的关注。从这个意义来说，细节是不可或缺的，哪怕它有时不一定是观察的必然结果。也正因为如此，细节才让图像在历史的记忆中大放光彩。这样一来，对细节的关注就构成了图像之所以具有意义的原因之一。反过来，对细节的关注也就成为组织观察的关键所在。

　　e，观察与记忆：观察既是观察，同时也是记忆。图像的历史既是一部观察的历史，也是一部记忆的历史。我们试图通过图像去述说历史，实际上述说历史的是图像中的细节。毫无疑问，细节是观察的结果。当细节嵌入到历史中时，观察就变成了记忆。于是，观察就这样构成了观察的语境。这种现象提醒我们，对观察起作用的不仅是对象，还包括了存留在历史中的观察。从这个意义来说，通过观察而留下来的记忆，就构成了未来观察的视觉情境。

　　f，对观察的观察：观察和记忆的关系向我们揭示了观察的真相。我们通过一部光学的机器在观察，然后又通过另外一种技术手段，先是化学的手段，现在是数字化的手段，把观察变成了可供观察的对象。也就是说，经过技术的转换，观察构成了观察的对象，从而形成了对观察的观察。对观察的观察非常重要，它告诫所有的观察者，在观察当中，存在着一种方式，像语言那样作用于我们的想象；观察就像基因，遗传给那些观察者，让他们通过对观察的观察来落实个人的观察。

　　g，作为观察的影像史：从纵向来看，一部图像与影像的历史就是一部如何观察的历史；从横向来看，所有同时代的观察者，当他们把个人的观察转换为观察对象时，也就等于向公众展示自己的观察。影像史就是这样形成的，它形成于观察的过程中，同时又构成观察得以进行的动力。

　　2，被观察：

　　被观察构成了观察的另一面。但是，现实告诉我们，以下现像是经常发生的：

　　a，我们不能任意观察，是因为有些东西不能被观察，这就叫“观察禁忌”。严格来讲，这是一种传统，禁止观察的传统，它存在于绝大多数的文化传统中。反过来说，正因为不是什么都可以被观察的，所以，凡是被观察到的，就是被解放的。从这个意义来说，观察是一种解放的方式。

　　b，为什么？这是因为观察是受到控制的。首先我们要理解存在于所有民族文化中的“偶像崇拜”的传统，以及与这种传统相对应的“偶像破坏”现象。正是“偶像崇拜”和“偶像破坏”的双重交替，构成了观察与被观察的历史内容，构成所有那些从事观察工作的人们的历史语境。结果是，在这样一种独特的历史语境中，“视而不见”就成为观察的常态。

　　c，这说明，让那些曾经或一直都被“视而不见”的盲点所遮盖的被观察者通过观察释放出来，就成为让被观察者获得意义的途径。

　　d，由此看来，被观察的意义是：一方面它是一种现实的存在，另一方面它又是被遮蔽的对象；一方面它是活生生的，充满了让人难以想象的细节，另一方面它又是被忽视的，远离历史的眼光。

　　e，更重要的是，被观察获得意义的同时，也赋予观察以意义。

　　3，在观察与被观察之间：

　　基于上述理由，摄影，包括活动影像本身，是由两者共同定义的。我们既不能从观察的一方，更不能从被观察的一方来定义摄影。我们只能通过两者的关系，才能获得对摄影，对活动影像的真正的认识，也才是了摄影的价值之所在。

　　也就是说，摄影所考虑的问题是如何处理对象。摄影只是处理对象后的结果，摄影的历史是镜头处理对象的历史，因而是观察者处理被观察者的历史。

　　4，原点：

　　这样一来，摄影人就无法逃脱观察立场的问题了。

　　如何处理对象，如何观察，如何让被观察者呈现出来，本身构成摄影之所以有价值的根本原因。这是摄影，同时也是活动影像的价值原点。

　　原点的意思是，舍此摄影不成其为摄影。也就是说，摄影就是一种观察，一种处理被观察者的视觉方式。摄影机镜头是一种书写工具，图像与影像则是书写留存下来的物质化存在。

　　从这一意义来说，摄影与影像的历史就是指向原点的历史。

　　5，原点—观察与被观察

　　我们在第一届“中国连州(国际)摄影年展”中，通过80多个展览，全面揭示了存在于图像当中的“双重性”，这“双重性”既是摄影的，同时又是经过摄影所留存于历史的。我们试图证明的是，图像的历史就是双重性的历史，它既指向历史的细节本身，又指向观察者。至于“从连州出发”，作为主题展，我们是希望通过不同媒介，而不仅仅是摄影，把一个粤北古老城市的方方面面平铺在观众面前，让人们对她有深入的认识，幷通过这认识来把握一种地域文化的面貌与风情。

　　作为一种联结，在第二届年展中，我们将集中力量探讨摄影本身，幷就摄影与社会的关系做一次深层次的研究，从而了解图像和影像的社会力量之所在。我们知道，正是观察与被观察本身，共同组成了图像与影像的真实世界，幷让人们在这世界中获得对历史细节与价值的体认。

　　首先，我们要认识到，影像立场是构成所有影像工作者的出发点。其次，立场本身取决于对被观察者的态度。这种态度是摄影(包括活动影像)区别于人类历史上所有手工视觉产品的关键所在。我们正是通过这三者，观察者，被观察者，以及观察的原点，来认识图像与影像的。我们也希望通过这三者的结合来检验图像与影像工作的可能深度。我们相信，正是对这种深度的期许与把握，最终构成了本届，也就是第二届“中国连州(国际)摄影年展”的意义。

　　2006-1-25广州/温哥华

　　Theme

　　Origin: Between the Observer and the Observed.

　　By Yang Xiaoyan

　　The academic theme for the Second Lianzhou International Film Festival is “Origin: Between the Observer and the Observed.”

　　This is the first edition of the festival that revolves around an academic theme that stretches into the rational. The First Lianzhou International Photography Festival’s mission was to explore dualism in images by evoking the veins of history of dualism and that of its representation through various forms of exhibitions. By presenting equally — if not even more — eye-opening exhibitions, this year’s festival aims to discuss the position of the observer, the standpoint (as in mental attitudes towards an object) of the image maker, the function of observation and the significance of the observed, for it is precisely in this web of relationships that one can find the key to interpreting the images that surround us.

　　1. Observation

　　Photography is a form of observation that presents the following attributes:

　　a) Materiality. Photography possesses a form of objective materiality that distinguishes it from previous forms of visual art. Up until the invention of photography, the visual arts were categorized as “crafts” because they required the mastery of a traditional craft to be produced. Photography has no such need for craftsmanship as it is the product of the combination of optics and chemistry. It is and can only be a form of observation that exists independently from craftsmanship. I call this independent existence “materiality”.

　　b) “Being there”. Unlike artwork that relies heavily on craftsmanship, photography allows for the establishment of a direct relationship with the object. This implies that photographic art cannot be removed from its object: It is the product of the combination of photographer and what or who is being photographed. Hence, photography combines observation and scenic attributes, while making the object a necessary condition for observation to take place. At the same time, by“being there” the observer can in turn be observed.

　　c) Continuity. Observation can be the result of a fortuitous wink or a continuous process, teasing image workers and influencing their understanding of the object. Although this may appear to be a technical issue, it essentially refers to the position and standpoint of the observer in relation to the object. Photo sequences, photo narratives and other related forms indicate a photographer’s sustained interest in an object. However, such sustained interest can affect the authenticity of his or her interpretation. Whatever the case may be, it is important to remember that continuity constitutes a form of observation that can be expressed in a still frame or in moving images.

　　d) Attention to detail. Originally used as an optical device used to record visual information, the camera naturally preserves detailed yet important visual content. In this sense, detail is still present even when it isn’t the result of intentional observation and it is to this attribute that photos owe their special place in historical memory. The significance of an image lies mainly in the attention brought to its details, and it is from these that one starts to form his or her observation.

　　e) Observation and memory. Observation is a form of memory and the history of images, as seen as the history of observation, is therefore the history of memory. As history is recounted through images, it’s the details that tell the story of things, people and events past, and when the details provided by observation become embedded in historical memory, observation itself becomes memory. Hence observation begets its own context for interpretation. This phenomenon reminds us that not only the object, but also the history of previous observations serves a purpose in the act of observation, and that the lingering memory of observations past visually conditions future ones.

　　f) Observing observation. The relationship between observation and memory hints to the very nature of observation. By using an optical device and applying either a chemical or digital process, the photographer turns his observation into an object for observation. In other words, by undergoing technical processes, observation itself is put up for scrutiny, and thus we obtain the “observation of observation”. The awareness of this fact is very important in warning all observers that in observation there is a kind of systematism which, much like language, influences thought. Observation is like a gene: It is passed on to other observers by the “observation of observation”.

　　g) The history of images through observation. From a historical perspective, the history of pictures and images is actually the history of how to observe. When contemporaneous observers put their individual observation up for scrutiny, they actually reveal to the public what they observed. The history of images unfolds under the process of observation and at the same time constitutes the motivation for carrying out further observation.

　　2. Being Observed

　　Observation implies its counterpart — being observed.

　　One cannot observe indiscriminately because some things are not meant to be seen and are taboo to the eye. Restrictions on what can and cannot be seen can be found in many cultures. However, it is precisely these restrictions that liberate the observed and lend observation its freedom.

　　The apparent contradiction of such a statement can be resolved if we take into consideration the fact that observation is conditioned. Idolatry and iconoclasm, as practices present in all cultures, have alternated throughout history, shaping the history of observing and being observed and setting the context within which observation workers operate. The result is a historical context in which “seeing but not noticing” is standard behavior.

　　This implies that all the previous or present blind spots that have been or are seen but not noticed become liberated through observation, and therefore obtain a means for becoming significant.

　　Because of this, the observed can be defined as something that exists in real life or as something that is concealed. On one hand it is a vivid, incredible detail, on the other it is an ignored vision removed from history.

　　Finally and more importantly, as the observed gains significance, it endows observation with meaning.

　　3. Between the Observer and the Observed

　　Photography, including moving images, is defined by both the observer and the observed. We cannot understand photography or moving images uniquely from one perspective or the other; they can only be grasped by understanding the relationship between the two, and in this lies the significance of photography.

　　This implies that the main issue of photography is the treatment of the object. Photography is a result of this treatment and therefore the history of photography can be summed up as the history of the treatment of the object through a lens. It is the history of the observer treating the observed.

　　4. Origin

　　Photography cannot escape the issues that arise when taking into consideration the standpoint of the observer.

　　Treatment of the object, under what conditions observation took place and how the observed is presented are all starting points, or origins in the mathematical sense, from which the viewer can begin to form an interpretation of photography and moving pictures.

　　“Origin” refers to the uniqueness of photography. In other words, photography is a kind of observation, a visual way of treating the observed. The lens is a writing utensil; pictures and images are the material remnants of the act of writing.

　　The history of photography and images points to the history of origin.

　　5. Origin: The Observer and the Observed

　　The first edition of the Lianzhou International Photo Festival showcased over 80 exhibitions focusing on dualism in images and history. The aim of the festival was to show that the history of images reveals that of dualism, while pointing at the same time to elements of history and the observer. The thematic exhibition “Lianzhou Beginnings” laid out the ancient Cantonese city of Lianzhou and its unique regional culture for the viewer through photography and multi media exhibitions.

　　In continuity with the previous edition, this year’s exhibition will concentrate on further exploring photography and its relationship with society, and demonstrating the social power of pictures and images. As we all know, it is observation and being observed that make pictures and images realistic and allow us to understand history and its significance.

　　In summary, we must remember that the standpoint of an image constitutes the starting point for image workers. Secondly, that the standpoint depends on the attitude of the observer towards the observed, and that in this resides one of the main differences that distinguishes photography and moving images from other visual products. Finally, it is through the three — observation, being observed and origin — that we interpret photos and images. It is from these three angles that the Second Lianzhou International Photo Festival proposes to probe the deeper meaning of images.

　　Guangzhou and Vancouver, January 2006