The human body, sex, natural and harmonious planet

人体、性、自然和星球的和谐The human body, sex, natural and harmonious planet

——方宁摄影艺术解读之三The interpretation of Fine art photography of Fang Ning ( Part III ) 

 

人体原来就是一张画布,从出生的那一刻起,母亲就为这张画布提供了完美的基础。以后的每一笔每一划,都将由你来添加,一点一点丰富人生的斑斓和绚丽。当然,这样的描述只是一种虚幻的想象,人体上的那些图案也只是从青春靓丽到苍白衰老,成为客观规律下不由人的意志所转移的必然结局。

The original body is a canvas, from the moment of birth, the mother provides the perfect foundation for the canvas. Over the years you add various strokes to the painting to reflect your life’s color and viobrance.Of course this kind of description is only a fantasy, the images on the body fade from young and beautiful to old and plain, and thus is the result of natural progression not bound by people’s desire.  

因此,一些优秀的摄影家,尤其是女性的摄影家,在她们的青春年华刚刚来临或即将逝去的那一个当口,总会突发奇想,在自己的身体上通过画笔涂抹些什么,留下一些不一样的痕迹,然后交给照相机镜头,向人们展现心灵秘密花园的奇迹。这些五彩斑斓的痕迹,有的是唯美的,有的是伤感的,也有可能通过一些社会和政治的指向,将自己的身体变成一个战场,泄露出忿忿不平的怨恨。但是,如果当你面对方宁身体上那些独特的画面时,你会选择什么样的词汇来描述那些过目不忘的感受呢?让我们从不同的层面上,慢慢展开我的理解,好吗?

Therefore, some excellent photographer, especially women photographers, often want to use their body to paint something before they fade, to showcase the magic of the secret garden with the camera lens. some of those colorful paintings are pretty, while others are sad, or even use it as a way to show resentment over social or political reasons. When you look at those special paintings on Fang Ning’s body, what kind of words do you use to describe those unforgettable feelings? Can we try to understand me slowly through different layers?

首先是人体这张画布——

First of course the human body as a blank canvas———- 

方宁首先选择了自己的身体,或者是自己身体的局部,很自然。然而在19世纪,摄影家们无法想象我们在今天所认同的人体局部片段。首先,所有维多利亚式的人体摄影都是和高艺术的以及纯净的科学相关,人体的片段明确地被认为是下流的,属于一种偷窥,这是一个在批评界被频繁使用的词。此外,很难想象摄影家会选择人体局部的视觉作为任何审美的可能,他们完全为整个人体的审美作品所吸引。作为一种时尚,当然这是无可厚非的。直到上个世纪20年代以后,许多摄影家才开始聚焦于人体的局部片段。然而这还是一种形式主义的局部片段,所强调的是线条、形状、体积、抽象,使身体成为一种几何学的构成材料。或者就是我们可以称之为变形或者是模糊的局部片段,试图跳出人体固有的局限。这样一种传统延续至今,却在方宁的镜头中得到了延伸,那样一种难度极高的人体局部的自我展现,都被方宁轻松化解了。因此,面对人体画布的局部空间,反而成为方宁腾挪自如的现实舞台。

Naturally Fang Ning chose to use her body or part of the body.  But in the 19th century it was unthinkable for photographers. First all Victorian style photographs of human body has to do with fine art or pure scientific purpose, the specific part of human body were clearly labeled as « porn », it was a kind of voyeurism, a word being used fairly frequently by critics. Besides it was extremely impossible to imagine photographers will chose parts of human body as a visual aesthetic, they were only attracted by the whole human form. It was an undoutedly a popular view  at the time. Only after the 1920s, many photographers started to focus on the partial body form, but it was the partial human form as formalism, the focus is on line, shape, volume, abstract, which makes the body as building blocks for geometry. Or we can called it the blurred deformation part, and try to escape the boundaries of human body. This kind of tradition last until today, but it was extended by Fang Ning with her lens, the highly difficulty self expression of human body part is easily resolved by Fang Ning. Therefore the limitation of human body as canvas has become the reality stages for Fang Ning’s creativity. 

接下来是关于性的话题——

Now it’s about the topics of sex—- 

一旦接触到人体局部,无可避免地就会触摸到和人体隐秘之处的关联,尤其是女性的生理器官。当几乎所有的人在这一领域中都试图回避具有敏感性的话题时,或者冠之以华丽的外观仅仅表现人体所谓的美丽局部时,方宁偏偏选择了身体中最为敏感的部分,巧妙地展现在观众的面前——有点令人措手不及是吗?

Once you dealt with the body form, you can not avoid the relationship between the hidden part and female sex organ. Almost everybody try to avoid the sensitive topic or use sumptous appearence to show the beautiful part, but Fang Ning chose the most sensitive part of the human body and illustrate in front of audiences—– Isn’t that a surprise?

真的让我感到很棘手,然而也让我感到了莫名的亢奋!

It really feels difficult, but also an inexplicable excitement.

这让我想到在100多年前,人体绘画和人体摄影就是一对孪生姐妹,相互影响着、补充着、促进着。但是,同样是表现人体,作为摄影艺术,毕竟与现实太近了。英国自然主义摄影家爱默生早在100年前就说:摄影具有一种可怕的真实性。人体摄影的纪实性使人更难以摆脱真人真情的束缚,而产生性感方面过分强烈的倾斜,容易使欣赏者失去常态,这是不言而喻的。与人体绘画相比较,人体摄影一方面更多地为女性的羞耻感所不容,也更容易受到传统的道德观的非难。但是,人们已经看到,人体审美在当代的走红,必然使的问题受到世人的瞩目。在当代再一次成为关注的焦点,这确实是当代社会的一个令人争议的奇观。但因此把性排除在美之外,也是不妥的。从根本上说,性与美应该是一致的,美的内涵就是性的内涵。就人体审美而言,美在很大程度上只是性的一次有预谋的演出,只是性的浪漫化,或者说,是性的羞耻化、神秘化的幻化。因此,承认性在审美活动中的正当地位,正是当代审美文化的一大功绩。然而,当代世界的审美空间在不断拓展的过程中,我似乎还没有看到有哪一位摄影家能像方宁那样,将镜头如此专注地面对自己的身体局部,通过对具有性吸引力的强大冲击力的描绘,将的生命力量演化得如此出神入化,美轮美奂!的确,即便是在当代摄影家中,那些对性的观念毫无顾忌、不再对人类的性意识遮遮掩掩的反叛者,毕竟还是不多的。方宁的实践也就有了不同反响的价值取向。

This makes me think about over 100 years ago,  body painting and human body photography are like a twin sisters, they mutually influence, add and promote. But since both use human body to present, the art of photography is so close to reality. One British nature photographer Emerson said over 100 years ago:  »  Photography with a terrible truth. » The factual nature of human body photography makes it really difficult to rid of the real person, real life’s restrictions, and also create a strong sexy bias, it is obvious easy for audience to lose normality. Compare with body painting, human body photographer on one hand is not easily accepted by females, and on the other hand it will be subject to censure by traditional values.

But people have seen the body in contemporary popular aesthetic is bound to make « sex » issue by the world’s attention. « Sex » in the contemporary focus of attention once again to become, this is indeed a matter of controversy in contemporary society of spectacle. But therefore the nature of exclusion of sex in beauty, it is proper. Basically, sex should be consistent with the beauty,  the beauty’s content is the same as in sex. The body aesthetic, the beauty to a great extent of a premeditated performance, but of the romantic, or that the shame of sex, mystery of illusion. Hence, the recognition of aestheticactivity in its rightful place, it is a major contemporary aesthetic and cultural achievements. However, the aesthetic space in the contemporary world continue to expand the process, I do not seem to see what a photographer can be like Fang Ning, as the lens so intently to face their own body parts, through a sexual attraction powerful impact that depict « sexual » in the evolution of life force was so superb, magnificent! Indeed, even in the contemporary photographer, those of the concept of impunity, human consciousness can no longer conceal the rebels, after all, small. Fang Ning of the practice and will have a different response values .

轮到自然力量登场了——

性的力量固然强大,但是如何得以升华,而非赤裸裸地呈现?于是,幻想,以及困扰人的情绪和梦想在自然的构造中找到了位置。身体可以被赋予不可思议的和奇妙的属性,或者以虚构的样式进入神秘的存在。身体的片断可能会在一个自然的舞台上舞蹈,或者是成为穿越花海丛林的航行。方宁在这里拒绝向人类和自然的法则低头——比如重心,透视感,时间,规矩,以及习惯的感觉,然后通过色彩斑斓的寥寥数笔,将性的力量烘托得如痴如醉,曼妙无比。

 The forces of nature’s turn debut –

Of course, sex is a powerful force, but how to sublimate, rather than showing naked? Thus, fantasy, and the emotional and troubled dreams to find in the construction of a natural position. Body can be given an incredible and wonderful properties, or in fictionalstyle into the mystery of existence. Fragments of the body may be a natural on stage dancing, or a voyage through the flowers of the jungle. Fang Ning here refused to bow to the laws of man and nature – such as focus, sense of perspective, time, rules, andhabits of feeling, and then a few strokes through the colorful, the contrast was great joy of power, graceful incomparable.

其实这样一种幻觉的产生,孕育着巨大而复杂的变化。早在19世纪的身体变形,就是由一些摄影的技巧完成的,或者用画笔进行修改。比如杰林在他的商业摄影室中创造的海洋生物,让人们感受到神话般的美丽。还比如人体画家特里奇和雷多夫尽管拒绝超现实主义对无意识的崇拜,但还是以女性的变形成为崇拜的主题。对于他们来说,表面的真实世界被通过对微小景观的探索,从而揭示了一个秘密的世界,一个新的方向。他们通过对身体直接绘画的方式并且再拍摄照片,完成了这样的一种合作。他们通过绘画的方式将身体和自然完全融合在一起,从而使身体产生了双重意义:既是自然的,又是人类的。这时候的身体成为破碎的墙、斑驳的油漆、电线、螺钉、铰链以及生锈的管道的一部分——“一个蜕变的场所,……和我们的文化相关。然而这还不是方宁所要的,她所实践的其实就是如此的简单,又是如此地灵慧。她将早年的绘画技巧,延伸到了自己身体的局部,尤其是自己身体最为敏感的局部,通过寥寥数笔看似不经意的涂抹,或山灵水秀,或花繁叶茂,或抽象如重金属音乐的击打,或纯粹似江南丝竹的轻抚,一瞬间人类灵魂深处性的渴望被强烈激发的同时,又深深地隐没在自然交响的宏大乐章中,出入自由的瞬间,释放出无比强大的生命冲动,又不失彬彬有礼的诉说……

 In fact, the production of such an illusion, and carries a huge and complex changes. Early in the 19th century, the body deformation is done by some photography skills, or be modified with a brush. Such as Jenin, in his commercial photography and create room in the marine life, so that people feel fabulous beauty. Body painters like Petritsch  and Rudolf,  although rejected  the worship of the unconscious by surrealism , but still they use the deformation of the female as a subject of  worship. For them, the surface of the real world is to explore the landscape through the tiny, which reveals « a secret world, a new direction. » Them by way of painting directly on the body and then take a picture, completing such a cooperation. Their way through the painting fully integrated with the body and nature, so that the body had a double meaning: it is natural, but also human. At this time the body as broken walls, mottled paint, wires, screws, hinges and rusty pipe part – « a transformation of the place … and our culturally relevant. » Fang Ning, however ,this is not what she desires, her practice is actually so simple, but is so dexterity and wisdom . The early years of her painting techniques, extended to her body, especially her most sensitive body part, by a few strokes seemingly inadvertently applied, like the Mountain hills,  flowers and bushes, abstract, and such as heavy metal music beats, or simply stroking like the genre, the moment of the human soul is a strong desire to stimulate the same time, deeply hidden in the natural movement in the grand symphony, instant access to free, release of very strong the life impulse, yet polite to tell … …

最后是关于星球(或者世界)的假说——

那一天正当我面对这些出神入化的作品瞠目结舌之时,方宁问我:你看到了什么?我结结巴巴地回答,看到了人体,看到了局部,看到了性,看到了自然的魔力……方宁笑着补充:还有世界,一个完整的星球所承载的世界!我的心头凛然一惊——不是吗?其实一开始方宁通过自己浑圆的臀部所展现的是一个青苹果的意象,在色香味俱全的暗示之外,还令人联想到亚当和夏娃关于苹果诱惑的传说。然而方宁这一系列中最为精彩的一幅,尽管依然是浑圆的臀部的特写,但是这一次上面山林繁茂,郁郁葱葱,中间高山流水,一线坠崖……更重要的是,远看衬之以黑色背景的臀部,恍若浩瀚星空下的一个星球,包容了整个世界,展现出人类母亲的博大与宽容。这正是方宁作品中最具有升华意境之所在,令人难以找到任何一个准确形容的词汇,讲诉心中涌动已久的感动。

Finally, on the planet (or world) of the hypothesis –

That day when I face these superb works of staggering, I was asked by Fang Ning: What do you see? I stammered to answer, saw the human body, the body part,  nature, and natural magic … … Fang Ning smiled and added: There are the world,carrying a full planet of the world! My mind is full of awe-inspiring surprise – is it not?  In fact, in  the beginning Fang Ning’s rounded buttocks depict the image of a green apple, hints of the color, flavor and taste, but also reminiscent of the temptation of Adam and Eve legend about Apple. This series is the most exciting one, although still a close-up of her rounded hips, but this time the mountains above the lush, lush,  mountain stream, vertical falls … … more importantly, the distance, lining them with black background of the hip, reminding us of scenes under the stars of a vast planet, inclusive of the whole world, to show the breadth of the human mother and tolerance. This is the most representation of Fang Ning’s works, it is difficult to find any words to describe accurately, it is the touchy feelings of the heart. 

最后还是想回到最为敏感的关于性和色情的话题。因为我早就说过:将中国人体摄影放在国际摄影的大环境中观察,可以明显地发现它的先天性缺陷和严重的缺氧状态。比如迄今为止我们在国内公开的出版物、影展和大赛中所看到的人体摄影,绝大部分仅仅停留在沙龙式的唯美状态。一个身材优秀的模特儿,一些精确的布光技术或者合适的自然光照,加上一位技术熟练的摄影师,就可以批量产生至少能够入选展览的人体摄影作品。这样的人体摄影在中国,每一天不知有多少专业摄影师和摄影发烧友在复制,在生产,在自我感觉极其良好的状态下进行着人体摄影创作,而且更少有摄影家能够面对自身创造出如此惊世骇俗的妙作。从这样的角度论述今天的中国人体摄影,从单调的程度上说简直有点让人感到乏味。千篇一律的婀娜多姿,反而窒息了人体的生命语言。了无生气的细腻层次,使诱人的性感力量荡然无存。这时候我很想大胆地说一句:艺术和性或者色情本来就没有截然的鸿沟,只是看你是否能够达到如同方宁这样的高度!

 Eventually we want to return to the most sensitive topic of sexuality and pornography. I said long ago: To look at the Chinese photography of human body on the international front, it can be clearly found congenital defects and severe « hypoxia. » So far we have such as open source publications, film festivals and competitions have seen the human body photography, most only stay in the salon-style aesthetic state. A good body model, some of the precise lighting technology or the right natural light, with a skilled photographer, we can at least be able to mass produce the body photographs selected for the exhibition of photography. Every day I wonder how many professional photographers and photography enthusiasts are in the business of copy, mass production, in the sense of self very good condition for a « human body photography » writing, and less likely to have to face their own photographer create such a « shock » the wonderful make. From this point of view on today’s China human body photography, from the monotonous extent that people feel just a little boring. Fits the graceful, but stifled the body language of life. Stale delicate level, that sexy seductive power vanished. At this time I would like to boldly say: Art, sex and pronography does not have a big difference,  just to see if you can reach such a height as Fang Ning!

我相信,方宁这样的发现还会继续延伸,不管是对肉体的直接描绘,还是对精神的执著探索,人体摄影总是穿梭于灵与肉之间,构成了永远也不会消亡的吸引力。她的图像所展示的状态,既是私人的,又是非私人的,具有高度的特殊性,又有绝对的普遍性。即便是这样的作品暂时可能还不会被更多的人所接受和理解,但是它的价值却是难以估量的。我隐隐地感到,在方宁的作品中隐藏着一种令人感到绝望的孤独感——孤独若不是由于内向,便往往是由于卓绝,太美丽的人感情容易孤独,太优秀的人心灵容易孤独……关于方宁和自己身体的故事,在这里也许只是一个开头,然而这样一份不同凡响的魅力,总有一天会得到更多人的认同——人体是美的,性是不可或缺的,自然的力量一旦介入,小小的臀部也会是一个包容世界的星球……

 

I believe, Fang Ning will continue to extend this finding, whether it is the direct physical description, or the spirit of dedication to the exploration of the human body photography is always shuttling between body and soul, constitute the attraction will never die . Her image of the display state, both private, and non-private, with a high degree of specificity, there is absolutely universal. Even being this kind of work may not be more accepted and understood by people, but its value is inestimable. I feel , there is a  « desperate » loneliness hidden in Fang Ning’s work – loneliness if it is due within, it is often due to extraordinary, beautiful people feeling vulnerable too lonely, too good people lonely hearts easily … … and her body on the side of the story rather, where perhaps only the beginning, however, such an extraordinary charm, one day people will get more recognition – the human body is beautiful, sex is not or missing, the forces of nature once the intervention, small hips will be an inclusive world of the planet … … 

 

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