儘管策展人將展出者分為五十男五十女，仍可看出兩邊使用的相同以及不同的觀念與手法；前者例如身體、象徵、超現實、情境劇場、暗房/數位後製、無器官的軀體等相同概念的表達。後者則如對日常生活的隱喻、食物、女性身體內部、及對時間和空間感的掌握不盡相同，這些是有趣的發現。但不論如何，絕大都數的展出作品以身體來作為主體的表徵，說明了「身體/臉孔」成為性別論述與少數族群的持守的戰場，誠如蘇珊宋塔論道：「把鏡頭對著其自身，不只尋找照相機程式所收納的潛能，更狩獵自我的內在世界，甚至是底層潛意識的內在的真實」(論攝影)。
「我的身體就是知覺的主體，我的身體是我理解世界的工具」( Merleau-Ponty)。作品中隱喻、花草、房間的物品、身體的局部，召喚著一種敏感的知覺，女性在意的是繁殖與愛，甚至是透視身體的X光；男性在意的是父權的象徵、世界的起源、媚美但處以廢墟或死亡的權力。在敢曝感性(Camp sensibility)的面具(或折子)的背後，扮裝的忽男忽女展現不定的自我，照盡了攝影家以劇場式與遊戲式解構了既有的性/別範疇。部分作品對語言的思考及戲謔，運用現成物的作品形成一種特別的指涉關係都屬一種新意。超現實的空間的「詭態」來自佛洛伊德字彙中一種對遭到壓抑的回歸，主體的焦慮。照片中的影像變形、真實與數位世界下的身體，已互補而成為一個完整的自我主體。少數幾件紀實性作品讓我們從他者關照到自身。
展出的主軸是檢視「自我」與「他者」，各種認同相互依存的內在矛盾關係與交錯形塑的問題，但對於「某種程度的自覺意識」賦予它某種生存美學仍保有著東方思維，對於攻擊主流價值的真理與真實，雖不如外國藝術家常顯現出對自我身體的驚悚演出，但仍給觀眾另一種觀看的解讀。儘管德希達(Derrida)早在八○年代即呼籲將「女性研究」提昇為一個組織，並認為女性研究如果不從主體、自我、意識、靈魂和身體等觀念開始解構哲學的框架，是無法達成長遠成就的。但是看完展覽我們仍要給予大力掌聲且不禁思索，由女性藝術協會所主導的建構性別平權化的策略與理想，下一步要如何超越兩性各自的侷限與困境。
文/王雅倫 (成功大學藝術研究所兼任副 教授)
文/王雅倫 (成功大學藝術研究所兼
The Images‧Bodies‧Multi-gender of “100 Gender Photographs”
By
Ya-Lun Wang, Associate Professor
Institute
of Art, National Chen Kung University
Photos
by Wei-How Lin
A breakthrough in Taiwan Women’s Art Association’s(WAA)
appeal last year is to gather one hundred cross generation male and female
artists and hold a contemporary art exhibition about gender issue, which is
presented with photographic medium. In retrospect the last few years (2004,
2009 e.g.) WAA have hosted many quality conferences, art shows, and
publications. This time WAA use specific medium in attempt to breakthrough
female single agenda, redefine art medium, and uplift the gender statement
battleground to the level of challenging gender differentiation and
identification. The 100 Gender Photographs special exhibition highlights “100
Anniversary of International Women’s Day” and indeed reinforce the recognition
and understanding of mainstream values and marginalized ethnic people, also
work in concert to construct gender equality and dissemination. The curator
Yiyi Wan has her expectations, “To portrait arguments, strategies and concepts
about gender differences, including identification, body, lust, social group,
and race.
Notwithstanding
that the curator separated exhibitors into 50 male and 50 female artists,
similar and different concepts and techniques are presented; for example, they
share idea expression about body, symbols, surrealism, situational theater,
dark room/digital photo retouching, and body without organs. Interestingly,
they also show disparity of everyday life metaphor, food, inside female body,
and the control over the sense of time and space. However, most artworks
symbolize the theme of body, which illustrates one thing: body and face has become
the staunch battlefield about gender statement and ethnic group. Susan Sontag
also said, “Aiming your lens to yourself, you look not only for potential of
camera formula contain, but also hunting inner world of yourself, or even
interior reality from the bottom layer of sub-consciousness.” (“On Photography”).
“My body is the subject of perception(consciousness),
my body is the tool of understanding(knowing) the world.”—Maurice Merleau-Ponty
The metaphor in the artwork, plants, objects in the room, part of
the body are calling a sensitive consciousness. What women care about are
reproduction and love, or even the X-ray that sees through the body; what men
care about are the paternal symbol, the origin of the world, the power to rival
but rendered to obsolete or death. Behind the mask or the booklet of “Camp
Sensibility,” continuous transvesting reveals uncertain self, photographers go
to every length to deconstruct the existent field of gender differences in the
means of theater and play. Some of the artworks are creative to apply finished
goods and form a special reference relationship towards the reflection and
banter of the language. The surrealistic
grotesque comes from Sigmund Freud, an oppressed regression of surreal space
and subject anxiety. The image in the photo transforms with the body in reality
and digital world, which complement each other and become an integral self
entity. A few documentary artworks help
us see ourselves from others.
The main scheme
of the exhibition is to examine self and others, the interdependent contradictory
relationship and cross shaping problems among all kinds of identity, nevertheless,
self-consciousness to some extend gives it a sort of still-hold oriental thinking
of survival aesthetics. When it comes to the attack on truth and reality of
mainstream values, (though unlike foreign artists’ constant thrilling
performances) they still leave an alternative interpretation to the viewers. Early
in 1980s, given Jacques Derrida urged to promote “feminine study” to an
organization and believed that it would not be sustainable if feminine study
did not deconstruct from the philosophical frame of concepts such as subject,
self, consciousness, soul and body. However, after the show, we still can give
them a big round applause but cannot help thinking about the strategies and
ideals to construct gender and rights equality conducted by WAA. What comes
next is how to transcend the individual dilemma and limitations of both sexes.
Translated by Sylvia Chang
