劉香成：中國人正用攝影和世界連接

Q. and A.: Liu Heung Shing on the New Shanghai Center of Photography

劉香成：中國人正用攝影和世界連接

The Hong Kong-born photographer Liu Heung Shing has long been known for documenting China and pursuing media ventures from a perch in Beijing. For many years, he lived in a restored courtyard home near the Forbidden City and the leadership enclave of Zhongnanhai.

一直以來，香港出生的攝影師劉香成(Liu Heung Shing)最為人所知的是他對中國的紀錄，以及身居北京多家媒體企業(yè)高層的身份。他在一座經(jīng)過修繕的庭院里生活了多年，附近就是紫禁城以及中國領(lǐng)導人的駐地中南海。

Then last summer, he and his partner, Karen Smith, an art historian and curator, uprooted themselves and moved to Shanghai, where Mr. Liu has since worked on building a photography gallery. He said he wanted to establish China’s equivalent of the International Center of Photography, or I.C.P., a well-known New York institution.

去年夏天，劉香成和他的伴侶、藝術(shù)史學家兼策展人凱倫·史密斯(Karen Smith)一起搬到了上海，隨后開始籌建一座攝影畫廊。他說他想將之打造成中國版的“國際攝影中心”(International Center of Photography)——一個位于紐約的著名機構(gòu)。

On Friday, Mr. Liu is unveiling the first exhibition at his Shanghai Center of Photography. In an interview, he discussed the new gallery and what he calls a growing appreciation for documentary photography among the Chinese. Following are edited excerpts:

周五，劉香成的上海攝影藝術(shù)中心將舉辦第一場展覽。在采訪中他談了這個新畫廊，以及中國人對紀錄攝影的關(guān)注。在他看來，這種關(guān)注正日漸增多。以下是采訪節(jié)選：

Q. How did you come up with the idea for starting this photography center?

問：建立這個攝影中心的想法是如何產(chǎn)生的?

A. A rare occurrence happened in 2014, when the mayor of Shanghai’s Xuhui District and I had a discussion. He asked me if I would move my studio space to Shanghai. I was speechless when presented with this opportunity. As a photojournalist, I don’t really work from a studio, but I thought of my previous visits to a small museum space in southern France called St. Paul de Vence.

答：2014年的一個機緣巧合，上海徐匯區(qū)區(qū)長和我有過一次交談，他問我是否愿意把自己的工作室搬到上海。面對這個提議，我不知該說什么好。作為一名攝影記者，我并不是總在工作室里工作，但我想起了之前去法國南部的圣保羅參觀過的一個小型博物館空間。

The space available in Shanghai was designed by the American architecture firm of Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee for the 2013 West Bund Architecture and Contemporary Art Biennale. Since the building is located in the newly designated Museum Mile along the Huangpu River, I thought it would be an ideal home for an I.C.P.-like space. So I told the mayor that I would do something.

在上海可供我使用的場地，是莎朗·約翰斯頓 (Sharon Johnston)和馬克·李(Mark Lee)的美國建筑事務(wù)所為“西岸2013建筑與當代藝術(shù)雙年展”設(shè)計的。由于這棟建筑位于在黃浦江邊新規(guī)劃的“文化走廊”里，我覺得是個辦國際攝影中心 這類機構(gòu)的理想場所。所以我告訴區(qū)長我會做點什么。

My friend Christopher Phillips of I.C.P. in New York encouraged me. We are now discussing how to curate an exhibition of Cornell Capa, who has photographed China. [Mr. Capa founded I.C.P. in 1974.] In some ways, Shanghai reminds me a lot of New York, where I studied in the 1970s and where I was inspired by I.C.P., which was first located on Fifth Avenue at East 94th Street.

我在紐約國際攝影中心的朋友克里斯托弗·菲利普斯(Christopher Phillips)鼓勵我。我們目前正在討論如何策劃康奈爾·卡帕(Cornell Capa)的展覽，他曾用影像記錄中國(卡帕在1974年創(chuàng)辦了國際攝影中心)。上海的某些地方讓我想起紐約，1970年代在那里求學，坐落在那里的國際 攝影中心是我靈感的來源，它最初是在東94街和第五大道上。

Q. What kinds of exhibitions and activities will the center host?

問：中心會承辦什么樣的展覽和活動?

A. We are planning to have works by people like Ukrainian photographer Boris Mikhailov, who had a solo exhibition at MoMA [Museum of Modern Art in New York] in 2011 and one at the V.&A. [Victoria and Albert Museum] in London. His early works remind me of the Soviet days, since I worked in Moscow for four years and witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union. We are also planning to show William Eggleston’s work, which will be curated by the National Portrait Gallery in London. That exhibition will travel to Shanghai next year. We are curating an exhibition of Chinese photography called “From Grain to Pixel,” a survey of Chinese photography from the early days of the People’s Republic to today’s vibrant works by contemporary Chinese artists.

答：我們正計劃展出的有烏克蘭攝影師鮑里斯·米哈伊洛夫(Boris Mikhailov)的作品。2011年他曾在紐約現(xiàn)代藝術(shù)博物館(Museum of Modern Art)辦過個展，在倫敦V&A(維多利亞和阿爾伯特博物館[Victoria and Albert Museum])也辦過一次。他的早期作品讓我想起在蘇聯(lián)的日子，因為我曾經(jīng)在莫斯科工作了四年，見證了蘇聯(lián)的解體。目前我們還在計劃展出威廉·埃格爾斯 頓(William Eggleston)的作品，將會由倫敦國家肖像藝術(shù)館(National Portrait Gallery)策展。那個展覽將在明年來到上海。我們正在策劃名叫“從顆粒到像素”(From Grain to Pixel)的中國攝影展，展覽將縱覽從中華民國時期的攝影到當代中國藝術(shù)家們的生動創(chuàng)作。

Q. Many people associate the arts in China with Beijing. Yet after many years in Beijing, you moved to Shanghai and chose to open your center there. Why Shanghai, and why this particular location in Shanghai?

問：許多人會把中國藝術(shù)和北京聯(lián)系在一起。但是在北京待了很多年之后，你搬去了上海，并且選擇在那里開辦你的中心。為什么是上海，為什么選上海的這個位置?

A. I began my work in Beijing in 1976, when Mao died, and have lived in Beijing on and off for nearly 20 years. I have traveled to Shanghai a lot in the last 35 years. In the last couple of years, the human software, the strengths in commercial execution and the urban sophistication have distinguished Shanghai. It is suddenly the place that everyone is talking about.

答：我是1976年開始在北京的工作的，就是毛去世那年，此后斷斷續(xù)續(xù)在北京住了將近20年。過去35年間我去過上海很多次。最近幾年里，人力資源、商業(yè)執(zhí)行力和都市的繁華讓上海變得與眾不同。它突然變成了每個人都在談?wù)摰牡胤健?/p>

Last year, Photo Shanghai sold 25,000 tickets in three days, and this fall it will hold its second fair. Beijing certainly will retain its importance since lots of fine arts educators and artists are in the capital. But at the same time, it is also a city that is home to literally thousands of bureaucratic ministers. By contrast, along the Museum Mile, the West Bund has its own bonded customs warehouse, which has one-stop service for importing artworks and taking care of shipping and insurance.

去年，上海藝術(shù)影像展(Photo Shanghai)在三天內(nèi)賣出了25000張門票，然后這個秋天會舉行第二次展會。北京當然會保有它的重要性，因為很多優(yōu)秀的藝術(shù)教育者和藝術(shù)家匯集在 京城。但與此同時，它也是成千上萬名官僚所在的城市。相較之下，在上海的文化走廊，西岸有自己的海關(guān)保稅倉庫，可以提供藝術(shù)品進口、運輸和保險一站式服 務(wù)。

Q. For your first exhibition, you chose to show photography of subjects from around the world rather than photography of China. Why?

問：在你的第一次展出中，你選擇展現(xiàn)來自世界各地的主題，而不是關(guān)于中國的攝影。為什么?

A. The first exhibition, called “Photography From the 20th Century,” is a good way to introduce to Chinese visitors the breadth and depth of world photography and the rich genres of different styles of photography. I would like to impress on our visitors first the breadth and depth of photography that was invented in the West. Photography had a head start of nearly 200 years there.

答：第一場展覽“20世紀攝影展”是向來觀展的中國人介紹世界攝影的理想方式，讓人們了解攝影的廣度和深度，以及諸多風格迥異的流派。我想要先以在西方發(fā)明的攝影的廣度和深度來給人們留下深刻印象。那里的攝影發(fā)展比我們要早將近200年。

Q.Tell us about the private collection from which these photographs are taken.

問：跟我們講講這些攝影作品所屬的私人收藏吧。

A. It was curated from a total collection of 1,600 works that represent a who’s who of photography. Charles Jin Hongwei, the collector, went to the United States from Shanghai as a student and became a successful businessman. Now he has become a very serious collector of photography. With the rapid development of Chinese collectors of contemporary arts, I believe the time has come where many Chinese are viewing the collecting of photography as relatively more affordable. The power of photography as a world language will enrich the lives of the Chinese middle class, which increasingly looks to foreign travel and museum visits as more viable options than conspicuous consumption.

答：展品是從一個包含1600件作品的攝影收藏中挑選出來的，都是名家的代表作。收藏者靳宏偉是曾到美國留學的上海人，后來成了一名成功的商人?，F(xiàn) 在他已經(jīng)是一個很專業(yè)的攝影收藏家了。隨著中國當代藝術(shù)藏家的不斷發(fā)展，我相信將會有許多中國人開始把攝影當作一種成本相對低廉的收藏。作為一種世界語 言，攝影的力量將會充實中國中產(chǎn)階級的生活，他們漸漸覺得，出國旅游和參觀博物館是比炫耀性消費更可取的選擇。