It has been too long since we posted any substantial content. Only excuse I can provide is that it takes team effort for us to gather the materials and translate it as clearly as possible before we can post it, especially with anything related to ideas. In fact, we still have the reply that I have written regarding the “Black White & Pink” that needs to be translated. But as we have started the180 class at MOCA, I’m learning more about our audience and what needs to be shared. So I have decided that we should post the topics we are discussing in our 180 class on our blog for others to read and participate in a discussion. I think this will be more effective than translating the article about my self. So with that in mind, I would like to start off with an issue at hand that I strongly believe needs to be talked about. (BTW- I wish to find anyone who can help me to translate my ideas iinto Chinese in exchange for whatever I can provide).
The following is a note from Lenny, one of our participants from recent MOCA cyanotype workshop.
MOCA的日光顯影課，就這樣結束了。這次上課我其實很緊張，因為其他學員不是美術老師，就是設計科系學生或是對攝影有研究的人。而我呢? 只不過是想要have fun，擁有一台自以為酷炫的魚眼，討厭優美的風景照，喜歡拍朋友的路人甲罷了。一開始自我介紹的時候，我便坦白的說我什麼都不懂，SYKO雖然說了沒關係這完全不影響，但我還是無法消除緊張與自卑感，在兩天的課程裡，我講了大概不到十句話吧? 他們一定都以為我是個安靜內向的人 哈，殊不知我只是無法快速適應新環境:P
簡短介紹完開始洗照片的時候我是抱持著戒慎恐懼的心情在做的。偷看了別人帶來的照片後更對自己照片的幼稚感到不好意思，如果先天不足，那就要在技術上加強，所以明明是簡單的幾個步驟，我卻慢吞吞的總是落後別人一步，想做到最好。
最後出來的結果，我很喜歡。SYKO把大家的照片都貼在白板上讓大家欣賞和討論，他問有沒有人特別喜歡哪張的可以來討論，有人就選了我那張。那時真的好開心，喜歡被喜歡的感覺:) (當然我也要感謝我的朋友伊恩拍了那麼有感覺的照片)。雀屏中選那張是尤嘉和史旺練歌的照片，我把它左右顛倒，單純只是因為我覺得右手琴很酷，但SYKO卻指出看似右手琴卻又被顛倒的學號洩密這點，讓我覺得，哇，原來我的照片有我沒發現的意涵。
第二張我洗了一張自拍照，原本是想要頭上的玫瑰花照應眼鏡上的玫瑰，可能因為曝光時間過短，對比完全沒出來變成糊糊的一片，右上角還因為藥劑塗不均勻有明顯的深淺不一情形 (我私心認為它很漂亮像是陽光斜照的樣子)。我想，不論照片洗出來怎麼樣，自己的照片自己還是會喜歡吧?
第一堂課差不多就在洗完兩張照片和SYKO跟EVAN詳細解說討論之後結束了，不過下課前他們還給了回家作業，分別是拍一張家人的照片和拍一張覺得有趣的照片，還要把它們做成網片以供上課使用。SYKO還說，當然大家可以完全不把他的話當一回事，帶一些無關的照片來，但他是希望大家能做作業。
我本人呢，什麼事不會，就是最會遵守規則了 (嗎?) 。有趣的照片雖然沒新拍但很好找，找了以前在公車站牌拍的照片。家人的照片就著實讓我煩惱了一陣子。我愛拍朋友，但是對家人就有些彆扭。當然我可以強迫我弟拍一張他恐怖的臉的特寫並命名為 “青春期的面孔”XD 但這麼珍貴的機會我不想浪費在他身上，我比較想拍我爸。翻遍檔案庫，沒有一張適合的照片，我只好拿著相機去客廳找他。我手裡握著相機，站在旁邊緊張了好久。我不知道怎麼開口說，我知道他不會拒絕也不會生氣，我害怕的是他會覺得我很奇怪，這種恐懼常常在我內心上演，怕他覺得我奇怪，怕他覺得我笨(true)……。過了一會我發現一直站著也不是辦法，只好硬著頭皮說了 “ㄟ 我要拍一張你的照片”他臉上浮現微微的，奇妙的笑容 “要幹嘛?” “攝影課要用” “喔 那我要看鏡頭嗎?” “不用，你就繼續看電視”。被巨大尷尬壓著的我根本沒空想構圖啥鬼的，只能趕快拍了躲回房間。看著寫實無比一點都不漂亮的照片我嘆了口氣，然後就去找做網片的地方了。
為了網片，我先去了實踐附近的輸出中心。我想說，網片是專業的東西實踐有設計系所以附近應該有吧? 事實證實推理錯誤……所以只好晚上跑去西門町的甘露資訊做網片，老闆說很多做氫板攝影都是去他那做網片的呦!
第二次上課發現……只有我做了網片!其他人都是投影片，看到我的網片一直 “嗚~啊~”的，害我很得意XD。這次洗了三張，成果比上次深很多，我很喜歡:) (個人愛好強烈對比)。出乎意料的，SYKO跟EVAN很喜歡我爸那張，說那張雖然乍看之下很無聊，但若稍作延伸思考，便能發現他探討了現代家庭疏遠的問題。SYKO還說，既然我發現了我就應該想辦法改變。雖然想表達的被聽見了很開心，同時卻又因為內心的想法被看穿有點慌張。
後來快下課在收拾的時候，SYKO過來跟我說話，他問我現在在上班還是上課，我說上課，他就問我主修甚麼，我說法律的時候他有點驚訝XD 他是想聽到設計相關科系嗎? 接下來他又說，雖然攝影跟法律沒關係，但是他還是希望我能繼續拍照，因為我那張照片探討的議題是許多大師級攝影師在著墨的，他認為我有潛力，所以要繼續創作，不論是拍照、寫作、畫畫等等。聽到這席話，當時我的臉整個僵掉，因為我開心得好想咧嘴大笑可是又怕顯得自我感覺過度良好。現在想想，SYKO也許只是因為我看起來太沒自信，所以說些話來鼓勵我，而就算他是真心的我也承受不起，因為我只是運氣好拍了一張他們有共鳴的照片罷了。對於這種超越我高度的讚美，習慣放在心裡，在缺乏自信時再拿出來補充 ;) 也期許真的能做到SYKO 所說的，在說無謂的話之餘能繼續創作:)
The reason why I believe it is so critical to share her experience is for three main reasons. First, there is an issue about having a preconceived notion of who has the potential to be an “artist” and the second issue is about “what makes it a great photograph?” and the most important issue of them all – family estrangement.
I believe there are many people like Lenny who may have not studied much about the arts and feel inferior and lack self esteem towards creating “art”, and yet there are hundreds of so called “photographers” who rely on the cameras, few techniques and the subject to be a “good” photographer.
It is my opinion that one can spend many years studying art and never produce anything more than a reproduction of what they have been told as great art. And from my experience of working with students from all walks of life – from high school students, to house wives, doctors, engineers and aspiring “artists”, some of the most amazing works came from those without the “art” in mind. I consider works to be great if it has an impact on me and leaves a strong impression, especially if the impression is from the photographer and not from the subject itself. Having an impact may mean anything from teaching me something to challenging my thinking or questioning my beliefs.
So now, let us think about the reasons why we take pictures and how we value them.
1. To record - as reference
2. For visual pleasure
3. To capture feelings
4. To create mood
5. To investigate – To learn more and share a specific interest
6. As Catharsis – To express or release emotions and for purification purposes
7. To confront - to face your fears and weaknesses
8. To provoke - create anger or commotion to make people take action
9. To expose new ideas & change people’s thinking
Most of the images we see too often (no matter what tools they may have used to capture the image) fit in the reasons of 1 - 4, which is the typical aim of hobbyists or people trying to create “artistic” images. I have seen many images from this category that gets my attention, but it always seems to be for the technical reasons or the subject itself and never about the photographer. So the image creates an initial reaction of “wow” or just a feel-good image that fades away as soon as I turn my back.
Most of the images that I would label as “great” come from reasons of 5-9. That is to say it’s more about what photographer is saying, THEIR view on the subject matter or the idea. If there is no point of view from the photographer, then the photographer is merely documenting or capturing what someone else has stated. Not much different than a person scribbling or typing the words of another writer or the person painting according to the instructions given by the artist with a vision.
In the case of Lenny’s experience with her assignment “portrait of a family member”, she was not thinking about creating an “artistic” image. Instead, she went directly to facing her fears and dealt with the tension between her and her father. By so doing, she created an image that appears to the general audience as a boring snapshot of someone just sitting on a sofa staring at something, yet to Lenny, the image is about the family estrangement issue that most of us are too familiar with. Too familiar, yet ignored or even denied due to emotional difficulties of facing the problem or due to lack of understanding of the family values.
Lenny’s work is what I call “personal work” that epitomizes the other five reasons why we take pictures. It also justifies the attitude “it’s not about the final image, but the process of doing the work”. I consider this as great work for its affect. The affect, in a sense that even though Lenny did not approached the assignment with this great outcome in mind, Lenny has discovered the power of photography as a tool to communicate, confront and provoke. I believe it will also affect anyone who understands her image. Not only about the power of photography but the issue of family estrangement. The image has the power to inspire others to face the issue and take action to do something positive. Even if one does not expect to instantly create “happy, loving family”, by surfacing the issue we hope the viewer will become more conscious and consider promoting closer bonding of the family.
Again, the image may have no aesthetic value what so ever, but it has a powerful message and can have great impact on the photographer as well as the audience, and that to me, is more substantial than any image filled only with mood or visual aesthetics. If Lenny has the desire to continue with this project and make it even greater, it would only be matter of applying the visual aesthetics. Of course it may take some time to learn all the techniques such as lighting, composition, color etc., but it is far easier to acquire those talents than face your emotional fears.
Any thoughts or opinion to start a discussion would be appreciated.
Syko
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以下為新增之中文釋義與少許增加內容
關於在台北當代藝術館新開的攝影180課程，以及我們現在正在嘗試，對於之前氰版與凡戴克攝影課程所做的一些改變，在這裡我們先感謝Lenny與我們分享她的影像以及上課之後的想法。
我們認為在此分享 Lenny的經驗與想法，有三個很重要的原因。第一個在是成為藝術工作者之前，一些重要的前兆與特質。第二個是大家一直詢問到的”什麼才算是好的影像?”第三個原因，也是最重要的原因，則是”你所在乎所關心的事”，在這裡則是家庭疏離的議題。
我們相信很多人如同Lenny，對於藝術或是攝影在一開始有著極度的不自信。在Syko教過的許多學生中，除了一般的大學生外，有高中生、有錢有閒的家庭主婦、醫生、律師、工程師還有許多夢想成為專業的藝術工作者的人，但是一些很棒的作品，多半在創造當下，”我現在正在創造藝術”的這個想法，幾乎是不存在的。對我們來說，很棒的作品的同義詞是具有影響力的作品，而影像裡表達出來的意象所造成的衝擊，令人讚嘆的多半是”攝影者”所想要傳達的概念而較少是因為被攝影的人或物件本身已經具備的感染力。對我們來說，影響力的定義為:可以教導一些我所不知道的事，或者是挑戰我的思考模式甚至是質疑我的信仰。
我們 分析了”拍攝影像”這個行為，然後把原因分成了八大類 : (在一些大類後面附有連結，則是我們上課時給大家的範例)
1. 因為想作記錄
2. 因為只是好看
3. 因為想把感覺保存下來
4. 因為想要創造某種心境
5. 對於想要學習或是分享某件事或某一興趣，展開研習與調查
http://www.danieltraub.net/page23.html
http://lisakereszi.com/fantasies
6. 藉著擷取影像的想法、過程與結果，讓自己情緒或思路得到淨化與轉化
http://www.thegit.net/thegit.net/mainpage.html
http://www.elinorcarucci.com/crisis.html
7. 藉著影像，來強迫自己面對本身的恐懼與弱點
http://www.wipnyc.org/blog/annabel-clark
8. 藉著影像，來顯示憤怒或者是衝突的不平情緒，使讀者採取行動
9. 藉著影像來表達新的概念或者是改變其他人的想法
我們所看到絕大部分的影像，多半跳不出從第一類到第四類的巢臼。不能否認，這四大類的影像也曾經令我們驚豔，但多半是技術上的完美或是被攝影的事物本身即具聚光效果，但是，對於攝影者的初始意圖還有想法概念，這幾大類的影像幾乎掛零。舉個例子好了，相信大家都對三宅一生摺皺布料的流行時尚不陌生，在許多年前在流行雜誌第一次發表時，那可是令人印象深刻。到現在，我仍舊可以在腦子裡勾勒出幾乎是幾何圖形的摺皺女裝和模特兒過度誇張的頭髮造型和白白的妝，但是，對於是誰拍下這些照片的，不重要，很不重要。
對我們來說，一些很棒的影象多半來自於第五到第九分類。攝影者，會因為自己的觀點，而對於被攝影的事件、議題或是物體做出本身手法的詮釋。如果攝影者本身沒有任何的想法與激發，這就像是在電腦裡把自己曾經深深感動過，卻是別人寫的文章重新打過一遍。或者是在複製畫工廠，你拿著類似的畫筆調著相同的顏色，試著把梵谷的鳶尾花重現。
Lenny上課的回家作業是”家人獨照”。她沒有想要把”家人”或是”影像”的部份美化或是弄得很藝術，她直接去面對心裡的恐懼—父女之間的疏離與緊張。家庭份子之間的冷感疏離，對我們一般人來說或許不是很陌生的議題，或許是太親密卻又太缺乏溝通，我們通常漠視家庭份子之間情感的交流與整個家庭價值的共識。
但是Lenny去做了。她的這一張影像我把它歸於私人創作領域，它落實在後五項我們為何要拍攝影像的範圍內，還有另外一個很重要的態度，那就是”這其實無關於最後影像是否臻至完美，最重要的是創造的過程。”或許這個影像並不是一般人所想像”我的家庭真快樂，幸福美滿又安康”之類的，但是，它點出了些現代家庭多多少少會面對的問題，也讓讀者在解讀影像當中，也發掘到自己內心與身邊需要以行動來實行的地方。
或許，這張影像稱不上視覺上令人愉悅，但是它卻是帶著強而有力的訊息，對攝影者與觀賞者造成衝擊。對我來說，這比一張很有意境或是強烈視覺美感的影像要有意思多了。如果Lenny還要想繼續這一系列的作品，則加強打燈的技巧或是構圖顏色等，將會使影像更為出色。但是，學習這些技巧手法遠比正視的面對自己內心的情緒要簡單得多了。
希望得到大家回應
Syko
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