| 摘要: | 美國攝影師Walker Evans（1903-1975）在1935年進入美國農業安定局（簡稱FSA）從事大蕭條時期的攝影工作，並於1938年於紐約現代美術館展出美國史上第一位攝影師的個展《美國相片》，推出同名之展覽圖冊；1941年出版與Agee共同合作的《現在讓我們讚譽名人》攝影文集。Evans長達40多年的攝影經歷，不僅在當時引發討論，更帶給後輩攝影師在紀實形式上的啟發。
本論文主要討論Evans的紀實攝影風格，由於Evans成熟時期的拍攝適逢美國經濟蕭條，大蕭條的環境背景促使了「紀實攝影」的形成，這批攝影拍攝大量南方農村的景像，充斥著南方貧困、哀痛甚至絕望的表現，帶有強烈的人道關懷，以及社會使命感；然而，儘管Evans於1935至1936年間為FSA從事拍攝工作，但其冷靜、客觀的影像表現，清晰與嚴謹的構圖形式，與FSA當時的紀實攝影表現大相逕庭，但Evans卻以「紀實風格」自居，引發筆者探究1930年代的紀實攝影，與Evans之間的關係為何。
這些問題將分為三個層面做探討。首先在第一章中，討論孕育Evans風格養成的背景，從中發現Evans的攝影養成除了深受新即物主義、以及法國Eugène Atget、美國Paul Strand等攝影師的影響外，其兒時生長的工業環境，使他對於廣告招牌符號印象深刻，以及大學時期的文學教育也開啟他對文字的敏銳度，都反映在他的《美國相片》中。他運用編排的方式使影像除了觀看，更具有閱讀性。第二章中，討論紀實攝影之於1930年代的特殊意義，筆者先對紀實一詞的定義做爬梳，其次分析FSA的紀實攝影的人道表現，再探討Evans《現在讓我們讚譽名人》一書中的影像與文字，區分出Evans如何不同於當時的紀實表現。第三章進一步探究Evans的拍攝方式，Evans長時間的觀察與緩慢的拍攝過程，形塑了Evans清晰影像的建立，而新即物主義的影響，以及所使用的8x10cm景觀相機決定了正面形制的構圖。Evans將大量的廣告招牌納入鏡頭內，使畫面儘管看似冷靜客觀，卻依然負載著大量訊息，以及Evans所隱匿的攝影師視野。
綜合以上論點可以發現，儘管Evans身處在以人道關懷為主的攝影年代，卻不因時代框架住他的視野，他藉由冷凝的鏡頭包裹著自身的情感，兼顧思想與藝術的特質，為攝影開拓了新的格局，因此，Evans的攝影實是跨越時代性的突破。; American Photographer Walker Evans entered Farm Security Administration (FSA) in 1935, engaged in the documentary project during The Great Depression. In 1938, Evans had the first one-man photography exhibition American Photographs in Museum of Modern Art, and published the catalogue with the same title. In 1941, Evans cooperated with Agee in the documentary book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men. Evans has worked in photography for more than 40 years, caused much discussion, and also inspired the forms of documentary photography later photographers.
This study mainly focuses on Evans's documentary style, which matured during The Great Depression. The social background of The Great Depression nurtured the formation of documentary photography, and most photographs were taken in the rural south of America, and they were filled with the expressions of sorrow, poverty and hopelessness, with strong humanitarianism and the social mission. Although Evans worked for FSA from 1935 to 1936, his cool and objective image, clear and rigorous composition, are different from FSA's style.
The question of Evans's documentary style is discussed from three levels. In Chapter One I discuss the background of how Evans built his photographic style. We find that Evans was influenced by Eugène Atget and Paul Strand; in addition, he grew up in the industrial city so that he was impressed by the billboards and movie posters. When he went to college, literary education heightened his sensitivity of words. These effects all reflected in his American Photographs, in which he used sequence to allow viewers not only to see the images, but to read.
In the Chapter Two, I discuss the specific meanings of documentary photography in the 1930s, analyze the photographs produced by FSA, and investigated the words and images of Evans's book Let Us Now Praise Famous Men, with a focus on its differences from the photographs of the era. In Chapter Three, I explore Evans's photographic process and find out that he spent very long time observing the subjects and ensured the clarity of the image. Evans was affected by the New Objectivity, and the equipment of 8x10 camera helped determine his frontal format. In Evans's images, there are numerous billboards, which seem cool and objective, but are loaded with abundant messages and Evans's personal view.
Based on the above arguments, we can find that although Evans lived in the era when the humanitarian photographic style dominated, his work was not constrained by the contemporary trend. He used the cool lens to express his sentiments, mindful of artistry and thoughts, and explored the new path of photography. Therefore, Evans's photography made real breakthroughs that lasted beyond his time. |
