變化中的家庭形象(1970-1990)：快拍照風格與攝影論述中的家庭題材

Abstract

快拍照(snapshots, instantanés)自十九世紀末以來因其改良的材質與操作簡便的機型，一直用於為家庭生活作即興式的攝影紀錄。1970年代，快拍照格外受到攝影評論家的重視，主要原因是其所容許的光影構圖偶然性，符合現代攝影美學自詡的其中一種形式與技術的自律性，其特色可用快拍照風格概稱，並得以進一步結合相關的理論言述。不過，這套原本以形式自主性先於內容的攝影美學，卻同時被援用以附會一個有關現代家庭新秩序的意識形態，所根據的理由是被拍客體在快拍照中的組合，較易顯得「隨興而自然」，學者以為這樣的圖像構成，正好應合了西方家庭在漸次脫離了父權中心的等級制以後，所期待擁有的自由結構與（家）人之間的平等關係。然而，試圖在形式與意識內容之間去建立這種直覺類比式的關係，卻倍受考驗，極易落入烏托邦式的構想。事實證明了快拍照因諸多變數，並不一定服務於捕捉（或塑造）現代家庭的幸福新形象。1970至1990年間有幾位藝術家不約而同以家庭生活這一題材為專注對象，我們可以觀察到他們的創作實踐通常要在以下兩種要求之間衡量取捨：一是棄留被拍客體從現實原出處轉為影像時的語意清晰性，二是追求攝影形式的新視觀。藝術家面臨的是這兩者之間相互拉鋸的張力。不過，對此二者極限性的試探，亦可成為攝影創作的一項賭注及挑戰。本論文除了檢討這一套快拍照風格與其相關的自由新家庭神話之間所存在的矛盾之外，在推論發展過程中我們也將開闢有關快拍照家庭攝影題材的其他論述。最後，再總結反思攝影的風格、符號性與互文詮釋的機動性關聯。

Since the end of the 19th century, thanks for the material progress and practical simplification, the camera for snapshots has become a favorite instrument to record family life in its most spontaneous aspects. In the 1970's, the snapshots were particularly appreciated by critiques, for the main reason that the composition contingence determined by light and shadow traces responds perfectly to a certain idea of artistic photography autonomy. Such images can be characterized by ”snapshot style”, which very soon attracted critical conceptualization. But to this photographic esthetics with formalist priority was attached at the same time an ideology about new order of modern family. That is because persons in the image seem like casual in a more natural and free inter-relationship. Such compositional tendency might reflect the structural freedom rendered possible only after the corruption of paternal centered system of family organization. Nevertheless, all efforts made to establish such kind of parallel relationship between certain ideology and one imagery style can be rather compromising, and even take risk of falling into a utopian illusion. In fact, with all causes considered, all snapshots cannot catch, or create, happy family image. Between 1970 and 1990, some artists chose their own family life as a favorite subject. We can see that their practice often hesitated between two poles: one is to render semantic clearness of images once separated from their original context; the other is to explore, and somehow exaggerate, extraordinary photographic vision. But it is notable that this tension may turn out to be a good challenge and gage for photographers. So in our text, we will not only point out the contradiction between stylistic/ideological discourses and snapshots/images themselves, but also try to associate other discourses about family life seen through snapshots. Finally, we will also pay attention to dynamic interaction between style, sign and intertextual interpretations in modern photography, interaction which is indeed our first concern.