Legends: Soo Bin’s Portraits of Chinese Ink Masters (translation)

Tahun 2005-2008 saya banyak menerjemahkan artikel untuk majalah Visual Arts yang terbit di Indonesia. Salah satu penulis favorit saya adalah Zhuang Wubin. Menerjemahkan tulisan beliau sekaligus menambah pengetahuan saya tentang dunia fotografi seni. Berikut adalah salah satu hasil terjemahan dari artikel yang ditulis Zhuang Wubin untuk majalah Visual Art di tahun 2006. Seri Legends dipamerkan di Singapore Art Museum pada bulan April 2006. 

Dari 1985 hingga 1988, Chua Soo Bin melaksanakan proyek pibadinya memotret 14 master tinta cina paling berpengaruh dalam membentuk seni di Cina abad 20. Bolak-balik ke kediaman dan studio mereka di Singapura, Cina, Hong Kong, Taiwan, dan Amerika Serikat, Chua menghabiskan lebih dari 200 rol film menggunakan kamera Nikonnya. Jenis film yang sering dia pakai adalah ISO 1600, yang memberikan tekstur tegas dan berbintik pada foto-fotonya sehingga mirip lukisan tinta Cina. Seri tersebut pertama kali dipertunjukkan di Singapore Art Museum (SAM) pada 1989, dan diterbitkan sebuah buku fotografi berjudul Liuzhen: Portraits of Excellence. Bertahun-tahun kemudian, pameran tersebut mengunjungi kota-kota antara lain Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, Hangzhou, dan Chongqing. Awal tahun ini, fotografer Singapura tersebut menyumbangkan 18 foto dari seri tersebut kepada SAM. Untuk merayakan peristiwa ini, SAM memamerkan sumbangan tersebut dalam sebuah pameran berjudul “Legends: Soo Bin’s Portraits of Chinese Ink Masters” sejak 13 Maret hingga 4 April 2006. Pameran ini juga bersamaan dengan peluncuran ulang bukunya dalam edisi berbahasa Cina dan bahasa Inggris.

Dikarenakan popularitasnya yang hebat dan tanggapan positif, pameran itu lantas diperpanjang dan diperbanyak menjadi 28 potret dipamerkan dalam Soobin Art Iternational di 140 Hill Street di Singapura dari 30 April hingga 17 Mei.

Bila diperhatikan, proyek Chua untuk mendokumentasi para master tinta ini waktunya sangat tepat. Beberapa tahun setelahnya, Cina muncul kembali sebagai kekuatan ekonomi yang besar. Efeknya terasa di berbagai sektor, termasuk lingkungan seni Cina. Sekarang, konsumsi seni domestik dan ketertarikan kurator internasional yang mengikuti tren terus membangun ledakan dalam pasar seni Cina. Dalam konteks ini, karya Chua telah menjadi artefak sejarah bernilai tinggi, terutama bagi para kolektor yang mengikuti perkembangan karya master tinta yang dipotret dan bagi mereka yang tertarik secara serius pada seni Cina. Terlebih lagi, semenjak pameran tahun 1989, semua master tinta yang ditampilkan dalam proyek Chua telah meninggal dunia. Akan tetapi, tidak langsung jelas apalah kualitas artistik foto-foto itu sendiri mendapat penghargaan yang sama. Selama forum Mandarin yang diadakan sehubungan dengan pameran baru-baru ini, kebanyakan dialog antara fotografer dan pemirsa didominasi oleh ideosinkrasi dan kepribadian para master tinta tersebut, dan hanya sedikit membahas foto-foto Chua sebagai seni. Ini pasti agak mengecewakan, mengingat bahwa Chua sudah menerima banyak pengakuan selama karirnya sebagai seorang fotografer—menjadi Rekanan Royal Fotoic Society of the United Kingdom setidaknya semenjak 1955, dan menerima Singapore Cultural Medallion pada tahun 1985.

Pada saat yang bersamaan, sangat penting untuk dicatat bahwa foto-foto tersebut menunjukkan, lebih dari apa pun, cara Chua Soo Bin melihat subjeknya dan cara dia ingin mereka dikenang—jelas, dengan rasa kasih sayang dan hormat—oleh generasi masa depan. Meskipun material publikasi pameran memberi kesan pemirsa demikian, tetapi Chua tak selalu mengambil pendekatan jurnalisme foto. Bahkan, metodologi kerjanya cenderung seperti Russel Wong, seorang fotografer selebritas. Selama forum, fotografer ini mengisahkan bagaimana dia membawa Zhu Qizhan (1892–1996)—yang adalah master tinta tertua yang ditampilkan dalam proyek Chua—ke sebuah taman kanak-kanak sehingga dia bisa mendapat kontras muda dan tua dalam fotonya. Dalam kasus Guan Shanyue (1912-2000), Chua bahkan sampai mengundang seorang pematung untuk membuat patung dada sang master tinta dan memotretnya. Chua adalah seorang partisipan aktif, walaupun tersembunyi, dalam foto-fotonya.

“Fotografi tidak seperti film,” kata Chua Soo Bin yang berusia 74 dalam forum. “Sebagai seorang fotografer, saya harus membuat sebuah klimaks untuk tiap gambar.”

Karenanya, pendekatan Chua tidak sungguh-sungguh membuat foto-fotonya jadi kurang atau lebih “nyata”. Manipulasi selalu tersedia sebagai teknik, bahkan pada masa fotografi analog. Namun, seorang seniman yang menggunakan Photoshop bisa saja menciptakan gambar dunia “nyata” untuk pemirsanya dengan semangat yang sama seperti fotografer biasa. Sehingga, kewajiban jatuh kepada pemirsa untuk mempertanyakan integritas para perupa daripada mempercayai dengan buta keabsahan sebuah gambar.

Di sisi lain, terdapat banyak gambar dalam seri Chua yang menunjukkan derajat keintiman antara sang fotografer dan para seniman tersebut, yang jelas tak bisa dibuat-buat. Salah satu contohnya adalah foto Chua atas seniman perintis Singapura Chen Wen Hsi sedang membakar karyanya yang tidak memuaskan sehingga hanya tersisa yang terbaik untuk diwariskan. Melihat foto-foto Chua, sangat mudah bagi orang awam untuk memahami kesedihan yang mungkin dirasakan Chen saat menatap kobaran api.

Legends: Soo Bin’s Portraits of Chinese Ink Masters

During 2005-2008 I frequently translated articles for the Indonesian based Visual Arts magazine. One of my favorite correspondents was Zhuang Wubin. Translating his articles always gave me a glimpse of knowledge over the world of art photography. This is one of several Zhuang Wubin's article I translated for Visual Arts in 2006. The Legends series were exhibited in Singapore Art Museum in April 2006.

From 1985 to 1988, Chua Soo Bin embarked on his personal project of photographing 14 of the most influential ink masters who had shaped 20^th-century Chinese art. Making numerous trips to their homes and studios in Singapore, China, Hong Kong, Taiwan and the United States, Chua shot more than 200 rolls of film using his Nikon camera. His preference was to use ISO 1600 film, which gives his images a stark and grainy texture that is rather similar to Chinese ink paintings. The series was first shown at Singapore Art Museum (SAM) in 1989 and a Chinese photographic book titled Liuzhen: Portraits of Excellence was published. Over the years, the exhibition travelled to cities like Hong Kong, Taipei, Beijing, Hangzhou and Chongqing, amongst others. Earlier this year, the Singaporean photographer donated 18 photographs from the series to SAM. To commemorate the occasion, SAM presented the donation in an exhibition titled “Legends: Soo Bin’s Portraits of Chinese Ink Masters” from 31 March to 4 April 2006. The exhibition also coincided with the re-launch of his book in both Chinese and English editions.

Due to overwhelming popularity and positive feedback, the exhibition has been extended and a larger selection of 28 portraits has been featured at Soobin Art International at 140 Hill Street in Singapore from 30 April to 17 May.

On hindsight, the timing of Chua’s project to document the ink masters was impeccable. A few years later, China would re-emerge as an economic powerhouse. The spillover effects would be felt in all sectors, including China’s art scene. Today, domestic “consumption” of art and the eagerness of international curators to jump on the bandwagon continue to fuel the boom in her art market. In this context, Chua’s images have become very valuable as historical artifacts, particularly to collectors who follow the works of the featured ink masters and those who have a serious interest in Chinese art. Moreover, since his exhibition in 1989, all the ink masters featured in Chua’s project have passed away. However, it is not immediately clear if the aesthetic or artistic qualities of the photos themselves are equally appreciated. During the Mandarin forum held in conjunction with the recent exhibition, much of the dialogue between the photographer and the audience was dominated by the idiosyncrasies and personalities of the ink masters, with very little discussion on Chua’s photographs as art. This must somewhat be a letdown, given the fact that Chua received many accolades throughout his career as a photographer – becoming an Associate of the Royal Photographic Society of the United Kingdom as early as 1955, and receiving the Singapore Cultural Medallion in 1985.

At the same time, it is crucial to note that the images show, more than anything, the manner in which Chua Boo Bin looked at his subjects and the way he would have liked them to be remembered – clearly, with affection and respect – by future generations. Much as the publicity materials of the exhibition would have liked the audience to believe, Chua does not always take the approach of a photojournalist. In fact, his working methodology is closer to that of Russel Wong, who is a celebrity photographer. During the forum, the photographer talked about how he brought Zhu Qizhan (1892–1996) – who was the oldest ink master featured in Chua’s project – to a kindergarten so that he could achieve a contrast of young and old through the portrait. In the case of Guan Shanyue (1912-2000), Chua even went to the extent of inviting a sculptor to make a bust of the ink master as he took pictures. Chua is very much an active, though hidden, participant of his images.

“Photography is unlike cinema,” said 74-year-old Chua Soo Bin during the forum. “As a photographer, I need to create a climax for each image.”

Having said that, Chua’s approach does not really make his images more or less “real”. Manipulation has always been available as a technique, even in the analog age of photography. However, an artist working on Photoshop may create images of the “real” world to his or her audience in the same spirit as an honest photojournalist. Therefore, the onus is on the audience to question the integrity of creators rather than to believe blindly in the sanctity of images. 

On the other hand, there are also many images in Chua’s series that reveal a level of intimacy between the photographer and the artists, which could not have been easily set up. One example is Chua’s photograph of Singapore pioneer artist Chen Wen Hsi burning his unsatisfactory works so that he would leave the best for posterity. Looking at Chua’s photograph, it is easy for a casual viewer to understand the anguish Chen must have felt as he looked on at the devouring flames.

Update / Pemutakhiran

I haven't updated this blog for two whole years, it's been sitting in the back of my conscience like a perpetually tiresome prick of awareness.

Although I have been neglecting this blog, it doesn't mean that I have stopped working on text; editing and translating. I wanted to blame my neglect on the jobs, but that would make me an ungrateful bird. So  I didn't. I think I won't blame anybody or anything.

As I promised (especially to myself), I am going to continue the blog by posting some of the translation works I've done in the past.

Mind you, these are raw texts, meaning: sometimes the original are the unedited version, or the translations are, or in most cases, both.

All of the original and translation works uploaded in this blog are already published. I would try to give credits on the text and/or images used accordingly.