In 1996, I was commissioned by the Guggenheim Museum to execute a large body of work called "Uses of Evidence." It was a cube -- a very well large cube, at that. Each side had a window in order for the spectators to view the interior of the structure. The exterior of the structure was a collage of Africa and Africans as portrayed in the Western media and literature. A look through the windows revealed a sharp contrast: within the cubes are tranquil, civilized, domestic images of African family members, friends and Nigerian professionals, ranging from writers, poets, fashion designers, etc. The thing is, both the exterior and the interior images are quite true. But the images captured by Western media overwhelmingly depict Africans as basically primitive at best, or barely distinguishable from the African animals. Not much has changed, I'm afraid, since 1996, when I executed this work.
1996 年,古根漢美術館委託我 進行一項大型的作品, 叫做《證據的使用》。 它是一個立方體, 非常大的立方體。 每一面都有一扇窗, 讓觀眾可以看到結構的內部。 結構的外部,是非洲 和非洲人的拼貼, 且呈現的是西方媒體 和文獻中描述的形象。 透過窗戶,則會看到強烈的對比: 在立方體內的影像,是寧靜的、 文明的、家庭的影像, 人物是非洲家庭成員、朋友, 還有奈及利亞專業人士, 作家、詩人、時尚設計師等等都有。 重點是, 外在和內在的影像都是十分真實的。 但西方媒體報導中的影像 全都把非洲人描繪成 頂多像原始人那樣, 或是和非洲動物沒什麼差別。 恐怕自從我於 1996 年 做了這作品之後, 仍然沒有多少改變。
I began my professional photography practice in 1994, but my passion and enthusiasm for photography goes back to childhood, when my parents arranged for us to be photographed by a professional photographer on almost a monthly basis. It was also an opportunity for my siblings to dress up in our latest gear, made by our tailor. Later, when I was in boarding school, my friends and I bought Polaroid cameras, and then I began to experiment with self-portraiture, or what I would call "proto-selfie auto-portraits."
我從 1994 年開始做職業攝影, 但我對攝影的熱情和熱愛, 從小時候就有了, 當時我父母安排我們合照, 由一位職業攝影師拍攝, 且幾乎每個月都拍。 那也是個機會,讓我的 兄弟姐妹們可以穿上 裁縫師為我們做的最新裝扮。 後來,當我進入寄宿學校, 我朋友和我買了拍立得相機, 接著我就開始實驗自我人像攝影, 我則將之稱為 「頭號自拍肖像」。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
"Cover Girl 1994" was my first major work that was critically well received in the US and Europe and quite instantly became a part of the school anthologies at universities and colleges. With the "Cover Girl" series, I wanted to reimagine the magazine cover with imagery totally unexpected, yet profoundly reasonable. The "Cover Girl" series proposed a different way the African can be represented in a more complex manner.
《封面女郎 1994》 是我的第一件大作, 在美國和歐洲都得到好評, 很快,它就變成了 學校選集的一部分, 大專院校都看得到。 有了《封面女郎》系列, 我想要重新思考雜誌的封面, 用完全沒被預期到 卻又非常合理的圖像。 《封面女郎》系列提出了 一種不同的方式, 用比較複雜的手法 將非洲人描繪出來。
Like "Cover Girl," the "Sartorial Anarchy" series is made up of self-portraits. It is an ongoing body of work, started in 2010. In each image, I married disparate costumes from widely diverse traditions, countries and time frames. And in mixing eras, cultures, I was able to bring harmony, as it were, to their similarly irreconcilable differences. These differences became a source of inspired artistic celebration.
如同《封面女郎》, 《男裝無秩序》系列 也是用自拍肖像做成。 這作品從 2010 年就開始, 目前還在進行當中。 在每張影像中,我都 結合了迥然不同的服裝, 來自廣泛多樣的 傳統、國家,以及時期。 透過混合不同的時代及文化, 可以說,我得以將和諧感帶到 它們看似水火不容的差異上。 這些差異變成了一個源頭, 富有靈感之藝術讚頌的源頭。
For example, in "Sartorial Anarchy #4," I mixed a boater hat, inspired by the traditional Eton-Oxford College Boat Race, with a green Afghan traditional coat and an American Boy Scout shirt -- a culture clash that works. In "Sartorial Anarchy #5," I wore a macaroni wig, inspired by eighteenth-century macaroni headgear from England. This was paired with a British Norfolk jacket, Yoruba Nigerian trousers, and, improbably, a South African Zulu fighting stick. All harmoniously coexist on one body. And with "Sartorial Anarchy," I began to invest more into the organization of my pictures. I also began to investigate the vast possibilities of color: its emotional values, psychological impulse, poetic allure and a boundless capacity beyond the realm of meaning and logic.
比如, 在《男裝無秩序 #4》, 我混合了一頂平頂硬草帽, 靈感來自傳統的伊頓-牛津大學船賽, 加上綠色的阿富汗傳統外套, 以及美國童子軍上衣—— 這是有效的文化衝突。 在《男裝無秩序 #5》, 我戴著通心麵假髮, 靈感來自十八世紀 從英格蘭來的通心麵髮飾。 它搭配的是英國諾福克外套、 優魯巴奈及利亞褲子, 還有最不可能的: 南非祖魯的打鬥用木棍。 都很和諧地共存在一個身體上。 有了《男裝無秩序》, 我便開始投資更多 在我照片中的組織上。 我也開始研究顏色的廣大可能性: 它的情緒價值、 心理衝動、 詩意誘惑, 以及在意義與邏輯領域 之外的無限空間。
Now, enter Nollywood. In October of 2014, I returned to Lagos, Nigeria, after over three decades away and took photographs of 64 Nollywood personalities. I captured a cross section of the industry, as well as the next generation of rising stars. Nollywood is the first time that you have a school of African filmmakers truly, truly, profoundly in charge of telling African stories. In their varied movies -- from romantic movies, horror films, gangster movies to action movies -- one sees Nigerians portrayed with many layers of complexities. All the Nigerian, or "Naija," archetypes, if you allow, are there -- from the divvers, the "Shakara," the coquette, the gangsters, the rich, the corrupt politicians, the whore, the pimp -- all in their swagger. And of course, you have the lowlifes and the losers, too, all vividly portrayed. Nollywood is Africa's mirror par excellence.
現在,進到奈萊塢。 2014 年 10 月, 我在 30 年之後重返 奈及利亞的拉哥斯, 為 64 位奈萊塢名人拍照。 我捕捉到了這個產業的典型, 以及下一個世代的新興之星。 奈萊塢是第一間有非洲製片人學校, 真正是在負責訴說非洲的故事。 在他們各式各樣的電影中—— 從愛情片、恐怖片、 黑幫片,到動作片—— 都能夠看到對奈及利亞人的描繪 有著多層次的複雜度。 所有奈及利亞人,或在電影中 稱為「Naija」的原型全都在, 從愚蠢的人、炫耀者、調情女子、 黑幫分子、有錢人、腐敗政客、 妓女、皮條客—— 通通都神氣活現。 當然,也有下層階級的人和魯蛇, 全都鮮明地刻劃出來。 奈萊塢是非洲出類拔萃之鏡。
Typically, I direct all of my portraits, from the way my subject conducts his or her head, the way the neck is tilted, the expression of the fingers, the gestures of the hands, to the gaze and overall bearing and countenance. Let me describe some of the photographs for you.
通常我指導所有的拍照, 如何擺放攝影對象的頭、 脖子傾斜的方式、 手指的表現、 手的姿勢、 眼神的凝視, 以及整體的體態和面容。 讓我為各位描述其中一些照片。
Genevieve Nnaji. She is the reigning queen of Nollywood. Here, I was quoting from the grand, Pharaonic African cultures of the Nile Valley civilizations; namely, Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, so as to imbue her with a stately, ironic, calm grandeur.
格內維芙內吉, 她是奈萊塢現任的皇后。 在這裡,我引用的是偉大、 有代表性的非洲文化, 來自尼羅河流域的文明, 也就是埃及、蘇丹,以及衣索比亞, 讓她充滿一種莊重、 諷刺、平靜的華麗。
Taiwo Ajai-Lycett is the grande dame of Nollywood. Every aspect of her being commands attention. So I posed her with her back to the audience. Her face turned to meet us with a redoubtable gaze. She doesn't need to seek our approval. She's all that.
泰沃阿傑莉錫特是奈萊塢的貴婦人。 她存在的每一個面向都吸引目光。 所以,我幫她設計背向觀眾。 她的臉轉過來,用令人 敬畏的凝視看著我們。 她不用尋求我們的同意。 她就是那樣。
Sadiq Daba. There was an unspoken authoritarian and imperial bearing that Sadiq Daba exudes upon meeting him. In this portrait, he simply sat and allowed his massive, massive Nigerian caftan to signal his status. Quite an accomplishment.
沙迪克達巴。 見到達巴時,他會散發 一種不言而喻的 權力主義且宏大的氣度。 在這張照片中,他只是坐著, 讓他那件厚重、有腰帶的 長袖奈及利亞服飾 來傳達他的地位。 很不簡單的成就。
Belinda Effah. Belinda Effah's portrait allowed me to indulge my passion for color, dressed in a long, fitted blue dress that emphasizes her curves, seated on an upholstered green velvet bench. I gamely employed the multicolored carpet and a vibrant color, in order to evoke the splendor of the multicolored painted bunting bird. Everything was designed to harmonize the figure of Belinda within the frame.
貝琳達埃芙法。 貝琳達埃芙法的照片 讓我能滿足對顏色的熱情, 她穿著很長、很合身的 藍色禮服,強調她的曲線, 坐在有裝上墊的綠色絲絨長凳上。 我很大膽地採用了多色的地毯, 以及明亮的顏色, 以帶出多色巫屬鳴鳥的光彩。 所有的設計,目的都是要讓 貝琳達和整個畫面能夠很和諧。
Monalisa Chinda is, shall we say, the epitome of the luxe existence and lifestyle. Her picture, or portrait, pretty much speaks for itself.
蒙娜莉莎秦達可以說是 奢侈存在和生活風格的縮影。 她的照片,或肖像, 無需說明就不言自喻。
Alexx Ekubo is a sharp study in simplified elegance and dignity and a harmony in blue and white, as well.
艾力克斯伊庫柏讓我敏銳地探究了 簡化的高雅和尊嚴, 還有藍與白的和諧。
Enyinna Nwigwe is a Nollywood matinee idol. There is whiff of the rake about him, and that gives him an enchanting edge. That's what I felt when I designed and organized the portrait.
艾因納維格威是 奈萊塢的日場表演偶像。 他有一種富家蕩浪子的味道, 那讓他有迷人的優勢。 那是我設計和組織肖像時的感受。
Now, Nollywood is a new phase of Africa. It is modern, post-modern, meta-modern, bold sexy, shrewd and with a contagious attitude worth catching. As the finale of the project, I assembled the Nollywood stars into a group grand portrait of 64 subjects, called "The School of Nollywood," which was inspired by Rafael's "School of Athens," that was done circa 1509. It is at the Vatican. This grand group portrait is the exact same size as Rafael's "School of Athens." It measures roughly 27 feet in width by six and a half feet in height.
奈萊塢是非洲的新階段。 它是現代的、後現代的、 超現代的、大膽的、 性感的、機靈的, 且有一種有感染力的態度, 很值得去捕捉。 做為這計畫的壓軸, 我把奈萊塢的明星組合起來, 成為 64 個人物的大形肖像, 取名為《奈萊塢學院》, 靈感來自於拉斐爾的《雅典學院》, 那是他大約 1509 年的作品。 現在在梵蒂岡。 這幅宏偉的團體肖像, 尺寸和拉斐爾的 《雅典學院》完全一樣。 大約寬 27 英尺, 高 6.5 英尺。
Nollywood also exemplifies a type of modernity never before seen in Africa. Think of it: there has never been anything so ubiquitous with such iconic optics to come out of Africa since the Nile Valley civilizations of Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia. Outside of Nollywood, the image of Africa remains frozen in the old "National Geographic" mode and safari perspective. But as Africans continue to step and see themselves portrayed by Nollywood in their varied and fantastic complexities, they will, in turn, propagate and perpetuate the positive image of themselves. This is what Hollywood did and continues to do for the West.
奈萊塢也算是現代的例子, 是非洲以前不曾有過的。 想想看: 從來沒有任何東西是如此無所不在, 有著如些代表性的光學, 是出自非洲的, 從埃及、蘇丹、衣索比亞這些 尼羅河流域文明出現以來就沒見過。 在奈萊塢之外, 非洲的形象仍然停留在 老式的「國家地理頻道」模式 以及狩獵角度。 但,隨著非洲人持續前進, 並看見奈萊塢用多樣化 且了不起的複雜性來描繪自己, 他們遲早也會傳播出他們的 正面形象並讓它永垂不朽。 好萊塢從過去到現在 一直都在為西方這麼做。
As shocking as this may be, it is almost a taboo in the art world to show Africans in a modern framework -- that is to say, as polished, dry-cleaned, manicured, pedicured and coiffed.
雖然這可能很讓人震驚, 但在藝術世界中 以現代架構呈現非洲人 幾乎是一種禁忌。 也就是說,不把非洲人 以優美、穿乾洗過的衣服、 修過指甲、修過趾甲、 做過頭髮的方式呈現。
(Applause)
(掌聲)
Part of my job is to keep beautifying Africa for the world, one portrait at a time.
我工作的一部分,是要持續 將非洲美化給這個世界看, 一次一張肖像。
Thank you.
謝謝。
(Applause)
(掌聲)