遮蔽與敞開－報導攝影與展示設計的一場對話

傳統的報導攝影 (documentary photography) 是一種特殊的攝影類別，影像結合了報導文字，傳達訊息給觀者；透過深具臨場感的影像，真實世界似乎就在觀者面前展開。當報導攝影進入博物館展出，策展人會面臨什麼樣的課題？透過展示設計的中介斡旋，企圖讓觀眾理解什麼樣的意義？國立自然科學博物館於2014 年12 月至翌年6 月，推出了一個以鐘聖雄及許震唐報導攝影為主的展覽「南風攝影展：台西村的故事」。台西村位於彰化縣濁水溪出海口，每年夏天當「南風」來臨之際，濁水溪對岸的臺塑六輕廠排放的廢氣吹向台西村，村民被迫生活在各種有害物質帶來的健康風險中。本文旨在討論與說明，這個報導攝影展在博物館展出時，策展人所思考的課題，並且分析與詮釋「南風展」的展示設計，如何協助影像意義的建構與傳遞。本文首先檢討一般攝影在博物館展出時面臨的問題，藉由藝術評論者漢寶德及Susan Sontag 的概念，討論攝影在展出時，可能面臨的美學化控制及「遮蔽性」問題：有關表象與理解之間的差異。報導攝影作為一種「在場」的影像紀錄，當真實的世界以一種「表象」的方式被呈現，異地的成為一種「再現」(representation)，無法避免面臨某種程度的「去脈絡化」危機，博物館展示的課題，因此是如何「再脈絡化」影像的意義。其次本文分析說明，「南風展」如何透過展示設計，回應遮蔽性問題。包括從「展場主要意象」、「敘述的空間結構」以及「敘述的視覺性支撐與強化」等3方面，分析討論展場設計企圖帶來的效果，如何協助觀眾建構影像背後的問題意識，讓觀眾更加理解影像的深層意義。文末本文認為，透過展示設計，包括空間與平面設計、文字敘述與其他各種媒體的介入，博物館展示可以綜合性的突顯與強化報導攝影的內容。報導攝影的「實踐」，應該包括展示設計這一環，以讓更多民眾藉由參觀博物館，獲得對社會與環境的更多理解，進而思索及反省，激發良知，甚至產生行動。

關鍵字

博物館展示；報導攝影；展示設計；環境污染；社會議題

並列摘要

Documentary photography is a particular genre of visual arts, combining images and news reporting to state that the real world is to be unfolded before viewers' eyes. What are the challenges for exhibition planners when incorporating documentary photography into museum exhibitions? Through exhibition design what meaning is passed on to visitors? At the end of 2014, the National Museum of Natural Science presented the ＂When the South Wind Blows: The Documentary Photography of Taixi Village＂ special exhibition which focused on the work of Chung Sheng-hsiung and Hsu Cheng-tang. The aim of this paper is to explore the challenges faced by the museum's curators in the planning of this exhibition and the role of exhibition design. Taixi Village is a small farming community in southwestern Changhua County of Taiwan. There are 398 smokestacks of the Sixth Naphtha Cracking Plant, just four miles away that began operating in 1998. Every summer, when the ＂south wind＂ blows, fumes from these smokestacks are sent northward to Taixi Village. The residents of this village not only have to put up with the foul odor, but also face health risks from harmful air pollutants. This paper begins with a discussion of the general issues faced when exhibiting photographic images in museums. The ideas of art critics Han Pao-teh and Susan Sontag are studied to investigate the potential aesthetic control and the ＂concealment＂ issue, such as the discrepancy between ＂semblance＂ and ＂understanding＂. Documentary photography is an ＂on-site＂ visual record, yet the ＂representation＂ of a real world is at risk of ＂de-contextualization＂ when the record is presented in other sites and spaces like museums. The challenge for museum exhibitions thus becomes one of how to ＂re-contextualize＂ the photographic images. Next, how the ＂concealment＂ issue was responded to in the design of this special exhibition was analyzed, including the aspects of imagery, narrative spatial structure and narrative visual support. The role of exhibition design in raising awareness of the issues portrayed in the photographic images was also addressed. To conclude, exhibition design, including spatial and graphic design, narrative text and other media, allows integrative museum exhibitions to highlight and strengthen the content of documentary photography. The ＂practice＂ of documentary photography should include exhibition design to allow for viewing by wider audiences and museum visitors to better understand, think about and take action on social and environmental issues.