作为连州国际摄影年展的艺术总监，面对公众时，有一个问题或多或少总是会被问到：你的标准是什么？
我对付这个问题的办法是告诉对方，他的问题是出于对艺术总监的误解，艺术总监不是法官，手里没有法典，更不是一个质检人员，所以没有可以清晰列明的“标准”。
这样的回答通常能够让我在现场脱离困境，但是，我知道，我实际上绕过了问题的实质。记者和观众当然不是迫使我列出一二三四条精确的、通行的标准，他们要问的、他们认为他们必须知道的是，作为一个艺术总监，你对摄影的根本看法是什么，你的信念何在？
正是这个问题困住了我。摄影对我来说究竟意味着什么？它是我们的家常日用和柴米油盐，是我们的话语权力的来源，是宏大精密的知识谱系，是必须不断生产的思想、理论和概念，是我们的分工我们的学问，但是现在，一个观众穿过这一切来到我面前，他问：是什么使你选择了这一切，告诉我一个根本理由，这个理由证明这一切都有意义。
现在，我愿意试着回答这个问题。
在我们生活的大部分时间里，经历了图像观念急剧、频繁的变化，对于摄影是什么以及摄影在人类生活中的价值，我们曾经信服和发明了许多种说法，而在当下，我们有些人甚至对此产生了怀疑。但是，现在面对这个问题，我宁愿回到生命的早期，在那个急剧变化初现端倪的时代，通过各种途径，我们发现了摄影。
尽管在那时，人的自我认识、人对世界的想象还是受到严厉规约的影响，尽管有强大的真理的声音告诉你，人必须是这样、生活必须是这样，你无可选择无可争辩，但是，摄影的微光使我们看到，人可能是另外的样子，我们自身远比我们意识到的更为丰富和复杂，我们看到了经验的真实质地，看到了事物的模棱两可，看到人如何击破覆盖他的幻觉、成规、归类和论述，去发现和践行他自己的真理。
在这个意义上，摄影就是要承受傲慢与偏见，承受对它的价值的怀疑。承受着这种压力，摄影守护着语言的活力，守护着人的生动形象，守护着人的诚恳和自由。
从这样的信念出发，我认为，连州摄影年展这样的活动可以是肯定也可以是怀疑，是分析、判断和学理，但肯定、怀疑、分析、论断和学理不是为了规约和驯服摄影，不是为了榨干它的汁液，恰恰相反，它是为了警觉地坚持摄影的根本精神。
同样是从这样的信念出发，我也认为连州摄影年展并非寻求公正，它是非常值得的冒险，是人的想象力的有力证明，它将图像中潜藏的各种各样可能性充分开启，澄清为明晰的意识和言说。
连州摄影年展愿意发出这样一种明确的迅息：只要你的照相机没有对着现实背转身去，只要你的拍摄工作是出于自己的真情实感，只要你坚持摄影的根本精神，那么，我们会看见，我们会赞赏，我们会鼓励，我们会推广，我们会给予帮助。
这就是我对连州摄影年展的根本看法和信念。
Forword of Artistic Director
On Standards and Beliefs
By Duan Yuting
As art director of Lianzhou International Photography Festival (LIPF), people often ask me what my standards are.
I explain that their question stems from a misunderstanding of the function of an art director. The art director isn’t a judge with a book of laws—even less a quality control inspector—and so he or she has no list of clear standards to go by.
That answer gets me out of a prickly situation, but I know that I’ve avoided the essence of the question. The reporters and general public don’t expect me to list out a series of rigorous standards. What they want to know, what they think they need to know, is as an art director, what are my fundamental ideas and beliefs about photography.
The question haunts me. How would I personally define photography? It is a daily necessity, something we use everyday. It is a powerful source of discourse and a magnificent wealth of knowledge that is constantly producing new thoughts, ideas and theories. It is a duty and a quest. But now, one after the other, members of the public ask me: “What brought you to choose these photos? What is the main reason that justifies your choices?
Now I am ready to attempt to answer that question.
In the span of our lifetimes, we have witnessed frequent and sudden changes in the concept of the image, the definition of photography and significance of photography in our lives. Now the many convictions we elaborated and upheld in the past are coming under fire. However, faced with the question, I would rather return to the earlier days of photography, to times when the changes where only beginning to appear on the horizon, and approach and rediscover photography in many different ways.
Human consciousness and world view might have been conscribed within a strict set of rules at the time and the voice of complacency of truth might remind us that things are so and that we have no power to choose or argue, but the light of photography made us see everything in a different light. Humanity is far richer and more complex what we are aware of. Photography reveals the texture of experience, exposes paradoxes, and witnesses how humanity sweeps away illusions, rules, categories and theories to discover and make real one’s own truth.
In this sense, photography must endure pride and prejudice. Faced with doubt of its significance, photography has preserved its eloquence, vivid lifelikeness, honesty and freedom.
Because of this, I believe that an event like LIPF can be approved of or called into question; it can be analyzed, judged or theorized upon. But validation, discredit, analysis and judgment do not regulate and tame photography and suck the juice out of it; it is quite the opposite: they vigilantly uphold the spirit of photography.
In the same way, LIPF sees it a risk worth taking not to seek impartiality. LIPF is powerful proof of human imagination. It unleashes the hidden potential of photography, making consciousness and what lies beyond words clear for the eye to see.
Lianzhou Iinternational Photography Festival wants to send out a clear message: as long as your camera hasn’t turned its back on reality, your works have stemmed from your personal experience and emotions, and you uphold the spirit of photography, we will be there to look at and admire your work, promote it and lend a helping hand.
These are LIPF’s vision and beliefs.
【编辑:叶晓燕】
