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The Hong Kong-born photographer Liu Heung Shing has long been known for documenting China and pursuing media ventures from a perch in Beijing. For many years, he lived in a restored courtyard home near the Forbidden City and the leadership enclave of Zhongnanhai.
一直以来，香港出生的摄影师刘香成(Liu Heung Shing)最为人所知的是他对中国的纪录，以及身居北京多家媒体企业高层的身份。他在一座经过修缮的庭院里生活了多年，附近就是紫禁城以及中国领导人的驻地中南海。
Then last summer, he and his partner, Karen Smith, an art historian and curator, uprooted themselves and moved to Shanghai, where Mr. Liu has since worked on building a photography gallery. He said he wanted to establish China’s equivalent of the International Center of Photography, or I.C.P., a well-known New York institution.
去年夏天，刘香成和他的伴侣、艺术史学家兼策展人凯伦·史密斯(Karen Smith)一起搬到了上海，随后开始筹建一座摄影画廊。他说他想将之打造成中国版的“国际摄影中心”(International Center of Photography)——一个位于纽约的著名机构。
On Friday, Mr. Liu is unveiling the first exhibition at his Shanghai Center of Photography. In an interview, he discussed the new gallery and what he calls a growing appreciation for documentary photography among the Chinese. Following are edited excerpts:
周五，刘香成的上海摄影艺术中心将举办第一场展览。在采访中他谈了这个新画廊，以及中国人对纪录摄影的关注。在他看来，这种关注正日渐增多。以下是采访节选：
Q. How did you come up with the idea for starting this photography center?
问：建立这个摄影中心的想法是如何产生的？
A. A rare occurrence happened in 2014, when the mayor of Shanghai’s Xuhui District and I had a discussion. He asked me if I would move my studio space to Shanghai. I was speechless when presented with this opportunity. As a photojournalist, I don’t really work from a studio, but I thought of my previous visits to a small museum space in southern France called St. Paul de Vence.
答：2014年的一个机缘巧合，上海徐汇区区长和我有过一次交谈，他问我是否愿意把自己的工作室搬到上海。面对这个提议，我不知该说什么好。作为一名摄影记者，我并不是总在工作室里工作，但我想起了之前去法国南部的圣保罗参观过的一个小型博物馆空间。
The space available in Shanghai was designed by the American architecture firm of Sharon Johnston and Mark Lee for the 2013 West Bund Architecture and Contemporary Art Biennale. Since the building is located in the newly designated Museum Mile along the Huangpu River, I thought it would be an ideal home for an I.C.P.-like space. So I told the mayor that I would do something.
在上海可供我使用的场地，是莎朗·约翰斯顿 (Sharon Johnston)和马克·李(Mark Lee)的美国建筑事务所为“西岸2013建筑与当代艺术双年展”设计的。由于这栋建筑位于在黄浦江边新规划的“文化走廊”里，我觉得是个办国际摄影中心这类机构的理想场所。所以我告诉区长我会做点什么。
My friend Christopher Phillips of I.C.P. in New York encouraged me. We are now discussing how to curate an exhibition of Cornell Capa, who has photographed China. [Mr. Capa founded I.C.P. in 1974.] In some ways, Shanghai reminds me a lot of New York, where I studied in the 1970s and where I was inspired by I.C.P., which was first located on Fifth Avenue at East 94th Street.
我在纽约国际摄影中心的朋友克里斯托弗·菲利普斯(Christopher Phillips)鼓励我。我们目前正在讨论如何策划康奈尔·卡帕(Cornell Capa)的展览，他曾用影像记录中国（卡帕在1974年创办了国际摄影中心）。上海的某些地方让我想起纽约，1970年代在那里求学，坐落在那里的国际摄影中心是我灵感的来源，它最初是在东94街和第五大道上。
Q. What kinds of exhibitions and activities will the center host?
问：中心会承办什么样的展览和活动？
A. We are planning to have works by people like Ukrainian photographer Boris Mikhailov, who had a solo exhibition at MoMA [Museum of Modern Art in New York] in 2011 and one at the V.&A. [Victoria and Albert Museum] in London. His early works remind me of the Soviet days, since I worked in Moscow for four years and witnessed the collapse of the Soviet Union. We are also planning to show William Eggleston’s work, which will be curated by the National Portrait Gallery in London. That exhibition will travel to Shanghai next year. We are curating an exhibition of Chinese photography called “From Grain to Pixel,” a survey of Chinese photography from the early days of the People’s Republic to today’s vibrant works by contemporary Chinese artists.
答：我们正计划展出的有乌克兰摄影师鲍里斯·米哈伊洛夫(Boris Mikhailov)的作品。2011年他曾在纽约现代艺术博物馆(Museum of Modern Art)办过个展，在伦敦V&A（维多利亚和阿尔伯特博物馆[Victoria and Albert Museum]）也办过一次。他的早期作品让我想起在苏联的日子，因为我曾经在莫斯科工作了四年，见证了苏联的解体。目前我们还在计划展出威廉·埃格尔斯顿(William Eggleston)的作品，将会由伦敦国家肖像艺术馆(National Portrait Gallery)策展。那个展览将在明年来到上海。我们正在策划名叫“从颗粒到像素”(From Grain to Pixel)的中国摄影展，展览将纵览从中华民国时期的摄影到当代中国艺术家们的生动创作。
Q. Many people associate the arts in China with Beijing. Yet after many years in Beijing, you moved to Shanghai and chose to open your center there. Why Shanghai, and why this particular location in Shanghai?
问：许多人会把中国艺术和北京联系在一起。但是在北京待了很多年之后，你搬去了上海，并且选择在那里开办你的中心。为什么是上海，为什么选上海的这个位置？
A. I began my work in Beijing in 1976, when Mao died, and have lived in Beijing on and off for nearly 20 years. I have traveled to Shanghai a lot in the last 35 years. In the last couple of years, the human software, the strengths in commercial execution and the urban sophistication have distinguished Shanghai. It is suddenly the place that everyone is talking about.
答：我是1976年开始在北京的工作的，就是毛去世那年，此后断断续续在北京住了将近20年。过去35年间我去过上海很多次。最近几年里，人力资源、商业执行力和都市的繁华让上海变得与众不同。它突然变成了每个人都在谈论的地方。
Last year, Photo Shanghai sold 25,000 tickets in three days, and this fall it will hold its second fair. Beijing certainly will retain its importance since lots of fine arts educators and artists are in the capital. But at the same time, it is also a city that is home to literally thousands of bureaucratic ministers. By contrast, along the Museum Mile, the West Bund has its own bonded customs warehouse, which has one-stop service for importing artworks and taking care of shipping and insurance.
去年，上海艺术影像展(Photo Shanghai)在三天内卖出了25000张门票，然后这个秋天会举行第二次展会。北京当然会保有它的重要性，因为很多优秀的艺术教育者和艺术家汇集在京城。但与此同时，它也是成千上万名官僚所在的城市。相较之下，在上海的文化走廊，西岸有自己的海关保税仓库，可以提供艺术品进口、运输和保险一站式服务。
Q. For your first exhibition, you chose to show photography of subjects from around the world rather than photography of China. Why?
问：在你的第一次展出中，你选择展现来自世界各地的主题，而不是关于中国的摄影。为什么？
A. The first exhibition, called “Photography From the 20th Century,” is a good way to introduce to Chinese visitors the breadth and depth of world photography and the rich genres of different styles of photography. I would like to impress on our visitors first the breadth and depth of photography that was invented in the West. Photography had a head start of nearly 200 years there.
答：第一场展览“20世纪摄影展”是向来观展的中国人介绍世界摄影的理想方式，让人们了解摄影的广度和深度，以及诸多风格迥异的流派。我想要先以在西方发明的摄影的广度和深度来给人们留下深刻印象。那里的摄影发展比我们要早将近200年。
Q.Tell us about the private collection from which these photographs are taken.
问：跟我们讲讲这些摄影作品所属的私人收藏吧。
A. It was curated from a total collection of 1,600 works that represent a who’s who of photography. Charles Jin Hongwei, the collector, went to the United States from Shanghai as a student and became a successful businessman. Now he has become a very serious collector of photography. With the rapid development of Chinese collectors of contemporary arts, I believe the time has come where many Chinese are viewing the collecting of photography as relatively more affordable. The power of photography as a world language will enrich the lives of the Chinese middle class, which increasingly looks to foreign travel and museum visits as more viable options than conspicuous consumption.
答：展品是从一个包含1600件作品的摄影收藏中挑选出来的，都是名家的代表作。收藏者靳宏伟是曾到美国留学的上海人，后来成了一名成功的商人。现在他已经是一个很专业的摄影收藏家了。随着中国当代艺术藏家的不断发展，我相信将会有许多中国人开始把摄影当作一种成本相对低廉的收藏。作为一种世界语言，摄影的力量将会充实中国中产阶级的生活，他们渐渐觉得，出国旅游和参观博物馆是比炫耀性消费更可取的选择。
Q. What is the state of documentary photography now in China? How widespread is the appreciation of it?
问：纪实摄影目前在中国是一种什么状态，感兴趣的人多吗？
A. When I participate in juries of international photography awards, I see an increasing number of fascinating works coming from Chinese photographers. Last month, I was a jury member of a Sina.com photography contest, which had the participation of more than 2,000 professional photographers. There were more than 24,000 entries. Chinese photographers are gaining more recognition at the annual World Press Photo contest. The younger generation is moving away from the state-sponsored photographers’ associations that cast a long “former Soviet” shadow. More than 700 million Chinese consumers are turning to the Internet for information, and if we look at what people are looking at, most of it is actually photographs.
答：担任国际摄影奖项评委的时候，我看到越来越多来自中国摄影师的精彩作品。上个月，我是新浪网(Sina.com)一个摄影比赛的评委，有超过2000名专业摄影师参与。入围的作品超过24000件。中国摄影师正在一年一度的世界新闻摄影比赛(World Press Photo)上获得更多的认可。新一代正在从官办摄影家协会投下的“前苏联”阴影中走出来。超过7亿中国消费者正在互联网上寻找信息，看看人们在找什么，大部分其实是照片。
The good news is a growing number of younger Chinese are viewing original works at museums and galleries. The photography scene today in Shanghai is lively. A Chinese beer company hosted a photography contest for amateurs and received 2.5 million images. Chinese have now turned to photography to connect with the world and to draw on ideas. There is a hunger out there after decades of self-imposed isolation under the Mao era. It is a hunger that I have personally photographed.
令人欣喜的是，越来越多的年轻中国人正来到博物馆和画廊欣赏原作。摄影在今天的上海是非常活跃的。一家中国啤酒公司举办了一场业余摄影竞赛，收到了250万张照片。中国人正选择用摄影来和世界连接，吸收各种理念。经过毛时代持续数十年的自我隔离之后，人们有一种渴望。那是一种我亲手去拍摄过的渴望。
