Amid History2 photopainting (in Works from the collection)

BACKGROUND The great cities of the world are vibrant creative centres in which the built environment is often as inspirational as the activities of its citizens. This exhibition, drawn from the collection of the National Gallery of Victoria (NGV) by curator Susan van Wyk, considers various ways in which photographers have viewed cities. Images describe the physical attributes of cities, offer insights into the creative imaginations of architects and photographers and embody the zeitgeist of their times. CONTRIBUTION The work combines painting reflection and photography to address issues of history, time, value and perception. 'At the end of the 20th century a much cooler, more abstracted strain of photography emerged.' Placing this work with other examples of contemporary abstraction and photography reveals new understandings of time and its perception. The reflective surface activates the actual space and time the viewer is in front of or engages with the work. The photograph documents a past time and an historical site, raising questions of ethics and responsibility. At the same time the paint records the physical act and time of painting and thereby creates a new way of seeing the context of modern masters such as Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Steichen, Paul Strand and Berenice Abbott and one's personal relationship to cityscapes. SIGNIFICANCE Amid History 2, acquired through the Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists was shown alongside major international and national artists including Matteaus Gursky, Sean Scully and Jon Cattapan. The NGV has one of Australia's premier museum collections.

背景
世界各大城市是充满活力的创意中心，其建成环境往往与市民活动一样具有启发性。本次展览由策展人苏珊·范·维克（Susan van Wyk）从维多利亚国家美术馆（National Gallery of Victoria，NGV）藏品中甄选而来，探讨了摄影师观察城市的多种视角。图像既描绘了城市的物理特征，也为理解建筑师与摄影师的创意想象提供了洞见，并体现了其所处时代的精神（zeitgeist）。

贡献
本作品融合绘画反思与摄影，探讨历史、时间、价值及感知等议题。“20世纪末，一种更为冷静、抽象的摄影流派应运而生。”将本作品与当代抽象艺术及摄影的其他案例并置，可揭示对时间及其感知的全新理解。反射表面激活了观者面前或与之互动的真实空间与时间。照片记录了过往时光与历史场所，引发伦理与责任的思考。同时，绘画记录了创作的物理行为与时间，从而为理解阿尔弗雷德·斯蒂格利茨（Alfred Stieglitz）、爱德华·斯泰肯（Edward Steichen）、保罗·斯特兰德（Paul Strand）及贝伦尼斯·阿博特（Berenice Abbott）等现代大师的创作语境，以及个人与城市景观的关系，提供了新的视角。

意义
《历史之中2》（Amid History 2）由维多利亚在世澳大利亚艺术家基金会（Victorian Foundation for Living Australian Artists）购藏，曾与马泰乌斯·古尔斯基（Matteaus Gursky）、肖恩·斯卡利（Sean Scully）及乔恩·卡特潘（Jon Cattapan）等国内外重要艺术家的作品一同展出。NGV拥有澳大利亚最顶尖的博物馆藏品之一。