陆元敏的<上海人>

　　老塞说在今年来上海去了趟美术馆,说很喜欢,然后说在那里买了本极好的黑白影集,上海人,风格正是他推崇的.我很好奇,因为他所说的风格恰是我也感兴趣的.问是谁的?他记不得中文名字,于是上网搜,看到了这个封面.于是一口气买了陆元敏三本册子,两本上海人,一本苏州河.
　　拿到手,遗憾的是这本书出得便宜了些,我是说,可见摄影书是多么狼狈的事,出本图册居然不得不把图片质量降下来,我的理解,是怕贵了卖不掉.可是,咳,我真希望这本书不是出成30元价位的,而是到100那个位置,那么,这些细致的黑白照片不至于委屈如此.这是我为什么评价此书为4分的原因,它本来完全是本力荐级别的书.
　　<上海人>比<苏州河>好,原因很简单,陆如此深的理解市民生活,那些动人的瞬间,而对于苏州河边的下层生活,他只是个旁观者,只有构图精巧的老生常谈,没有灵魂,当然,普适的人文同情总是很好的,但是,谁又不是这样呢?这不禁令我思考,是什么成就好的作品?以前我一直想是两点,一个是技巧,那种技术上的精巧感;再一个是构图,想法之类,包括细节的隐喻,或者恰当的时刻,抓住瞬间.但是,当我看到在<苏州河 >里面有些照片在这两点上都是完善的,但是，为什么还是觉得它们不好呢,没意思呢,比<上海人>差很多呢?我想只能是第三点了,摄影者本身离主题有多'近',他情感上,灵魂上感受到了什么,因而表现出了什么.从这一点上,<上海人>许多照片令人怦然心动,所以忍不住埋怨,为什么书本身印刷得如此粗糙--印刷质量都比不上读库里面的照片(人家那本书也就30多,不过图少很多,纸质也不是硬页)
　　首先封面这张照片就是很了不起的作品:
　　
　　第一眼我猜想他是拍上海人穿着睡衣到处溜达,这的确是一大景观,但是如果看这个男子两侧的妻女,她们衣着如此郑重,是普通但毕竟仔细修饰的外出服饰,这样的情况下这男子穿的就万万不可能是睡衣了.到此我明白过来,他是个病人,隔着滔滔黄浦江,倚着家人的肩膀,看对岸潮湿雾气里的粲然灯火,霓虹灯里世界级的浮华,水雾里格外夸张,这脆弱惆怅的一家人啊。这不由让我想起了Great Gatesby,大学里读的这本书,满目生词,完全没读懂,但那本书译名叫作'灯绿梦渺',开篇就是对岸的繁华灯火,但是却是遥远的,冷的.我想这张照片里的灯火,竟是一模一样的味道啊.
　　I've finished reading this book. Thanks Sebastian. I would recommend you buy the other two by the same author, too. They have English explanations. But I think this Shanghai Ren is best, also the other Shanghai Ren 199-2000. They are better than Suzhou River as per my opinion.
　　I would like to write something about the story of these photos, but my words won't be as good as the pictures themselves. For this cover page, I think it is very great. At first, I thought it is about Shanghainese wearing indoors garment hanging out on streets (Shanghai Ren quite often takes the public streets as their private backyard), but then I noticed the wife and daughter are in formal clothes. In such case it is not possible for a man to wear sleeping cloths outdoors. Then I realized he's a patient, a very sick person. It is a very sad photo. The gorgeous splendid high buildings over river, near but far away, the lights twinkles in damp airs, world's top high towers seems unreal, and their hope is dim, the family clench together, for site seeing.
This reminds me of The Greate Gatesby by Fitzgerald, I remember the green haughty lights over the sea at the beginning, the same empty luxury life.
　　Yes, this book is about the twists in life of Shanghai Ren, in the very crowded limited living space.
　　他对弄堂生活把握得如此好,比如这张,(只是其中一个):
　　
　　看到它,就立刻下单买齐了三本书
　　想起自己曾经端着相机在人潮汹涌的上海街头很茫然,知道这里面充满了故事,但问题是,我什么也看不到.陆元敏都看到了,人生的起伏跌宕,那些温暖的瞬间.
　　In this book, the recommender said, he thinks of a Chinese opera when read these photos, in that opera two men fighting each other in darkness, very close, fighting, but just can't see each other, they missed the touching each time. He said, sometimes we are like in this opera, living in the same narrow space, but just can't see. But Lu sees. So he shows us what happening in alleys of Shanghai. Those precious moments.
　　I remember when I tried to take some photo in the busy streets, I can't see anything. Such a empty feeling. But Lu sees. That's the essential difference. :)

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dropin 2008-2-19 18:05

　　:-)
　 　indeed, a quite touching and inspiring book (even though i am a stranger/westerner, and can only read the photos with my western eyes).
　　
　 　it teaches me what a famous photographer once said - it is not necessary to see a new world, but to see the old one with new eyes. (sorry, this forgetful one forgot who said it...)
　　
　　s.