【50攝影大師介紹】之十九, 羅伯特·弗蘭克 Robert Frank

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2011-1-13

【50攝影大師介紹】之十九, 羅伯特·弗蘭克 Robert Frank

 

50 Masters of Photography (19) --- Robert Frank 華翰齋 (born November 9, 1924, Zürich, Switzerland) one of the most influential photographers of the mid-20th century, noted for ironic renderings of American life. Frank became a professional industrial photographer at the age of 22 and in the 1940s became a successful fashion photographer for Harper's Bazaar magazine in Paris. He felt, however, that the scope of the work was too limited. He abandoned fashion photography about 1948 and went to the United States and then to Peru to explore the expressive possibilities of the 35-mm camera. After photographing in Europe in 1950 and 1953, Frank returned to the United States. There in 1955 and 1956 he made a series of photographs ultimately published as The Americans (1959), a photographic book with a text by the American novelist Jack Kerouac. Photographs such as Chicago, 1956 in The Americans reveal Frank's mature style, which is characterized by bold composition and ironic, sometimes bitter, social commentary. Their publication established Frank as a major creative photographer. After 1959 he turned primarily to cinematography. His first motion picture, Pull My Daisy (1959), was based on a play by Kerouac and featured the poets Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, and Peter Orlovsky, as well as the painter Larry Rivers. Pull My Daisy was a critical success, but Frank's later films were not so well received.   More 中文

本期評論: 蟲慶通勤

Robert Frank的代表作是那本從2萬多張底片中選出83張的《美國人》。當時他很鬱悶：他既對時裝影樓裏肌膚般深淺的粉黛人生感到厭倦，也不為馬格南圖片、生活周刊所容。在他看來，生活雖不是雪鬆岩石、但也不是錦衣香水。從Harper雜誌社辭職後，他作了幾個私人項目，包括法國鮮花、桌椅專集，以及逐顯"反決定性瞬間" 風格的英國霧都紳士、煤礦工人專集。在秘魯，他不拍那大好的馬球皮球，卻專和些山民打堆，拍了本帽子專集。 其實他構圖、空間很講究, 不列鬆那套玩得也爛熟。

Frank敏銳、逆向思維。這是有來頭的。他生長於二戰中瑞士一個德國移來的無國籍猶太家庭，天天活在德軍馬上要打進來了的恐懼中，養成了敏銳的感覺和同情心。後來和凱魯亞克、金斯堡等混在一起，思想上更加無拘無束。Harper之後，在幾位已/將介紹過的大師們的強力推薦下，他得到資助，得以自由地晃蕩了兩年, 包括出入牢房，造就了一本撼世的《美國人》。

Frank 的反"決定性瞬間"老間巨滑。他不拘小節（如被PopPhoto猛批的粗顆粒、對焦不準等），目的是專拍些直指人心的東西。 Frank拍的不是記實。他的圖前後串連，上下呼應，好似在作詩賦詞。最要命的是，他不是捕捉有趣的瞬間，而是胸中早有命題，然後技術熟練地隨手去拍出一大堆證據。所謂命題，是別人視而不見，他卻以外鄉人的敏銳觀察和情懷，先哲似地看穿了當時50年代蒸蒸日上、 進軍全球的的美國社會中的巨大問題。政客弄權，物欲橫流，種族衝突、弱者受壓、人民被愚，都被他一一列舉，拍得觸目驚心 (如象聖母聖嬰般的黑護白嬰、社會排排坐的公車照）。同時，他也很擅長從凡人瑣事、社會邊緣中捕捉出美麗的火花（如電梯服務員、黑色飆車黨)。

有人說他是視歡樂不見，別有用心地傳播對新祖國的仇恨。他卻認為，和諧社會必須建立在對實事了如指掌的基礎上 (Destiny through awareness)。 83張照片，象匕首一樣刺穿了50年代的美國神話。

依我看，Frank講的那事還沒完。現世亂象橫生，在美國、中國正以不同形式轟轟烈烈、驚心動魄地上演的一切，是否與己有關，就看我們的眼神和定奪了。

有關URLs:
展覽： http://www.nga.gov/exhibitions/2009/frank/index.shtm

秘魯： http://www.photoeye.com/bookteaselight/bookteaselight.cfm?catalog=DQ018

其他畫冊： http://www.photoeye.com/magazine/reviews/2008/05_21_frank_reviews.cfm, 點擊BookTease

喜歡youtube的請看：

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mHtRZBDOgag&feature=related 或
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nraJaGI7Dl8&feature=related