姜健继《场景》、《主人》之后，又推出了《孤儿档案》。

　　姜健的目光从较为宽泛的场景进一步收缩，进入了个人命运的具体关注。

　　姜健从“场景”开始就一直坚持着一种肃穆的端庄的拍摄方式。我一直在想，他的这种方式是不是与他的摄影性格有关?姜健一直是个作品不多，但却精良的摄影家。感觉得到，每一个选题都经过了许久的思考，必然是深思熟虑之后才开始动手。而每一个选题都历时几年。由此，足以得见一个摄影家的成熟与品格。

　　“孤儿档案”应该超越了以上两个选题，需要关注的时间更长久。“孤儿档案”超越了“主人”似的以家庭为单位的关注，1000个有名有姓的孩子，1000个具体的个人成长历程。姜健，选择了一种更为艰难也更为扎实的行为。

　　一个人，面对一个地域一群人也许是容易的。一个人，面对一个人则是困难的。困难之处就在于它的具体琐碎平凡或者平淡。心怀全世界不如心怀一个人或者几个人，因为，全世界与一个人相比，显然抽象得多。一个摄影家如果选择一些具体的人作为他长久的拍摄对象，无疑是对于这个摄影家耐力与心智的考验。

　　具体是一种可贵的品格。

　　姜健把对这1000个孤儿的拍摄时间定为五年一次，尽力而为。这是姜健的聪明之处，也是姜健对于一个选题可行性的把握。一个真正有智慧的人一定是在意义与可行之中找到平衡点的。

　　在“孤儿档案”中，姜健仍然采用了“主人”似的拍摄方式，仍然展现的是拍摄对象的全身形象。在这些影像中，让读者看到的不仅只是每一个孩子的面部表情，他们身着的衣服，身体的每一种姿态，都将成为个人的性格写照，透过性格，我们甚至能猜测或者感受他们将来的命运。与“主人”不同的是背景处理，在这些孩子的身后没有具体环境，他们的命运犹如黑色的背景一样茫然而不可预知……

　　不知道以后姜健在追踪这些孩子的时候，他们的身后背景是不是会有改变?

　　姜健的摄影让这些孩子的命运成为一种公众事件。从此，他们将在公众的注目下成长。因此，姜健的摄影方式也许是对社会的一个检验：公众的注视与关心到底能持续多久?

　　从《孤儿档案》开始，摄影在姜健的行为中已经不再是纯粹的摄影，它与艺术相关，与社会道义相关，与个人命运相关，与社会问题相关，也与自己的生活密切关联。这是摄影优越于其它视觉表达的特殊之处。摄影是能够把一个点开掘成为一个广阔疆域的视觉方式，摄影内涵的多样与丰富性，摄影所能涉及的范围与能量，值得摄影家努力地开掘。摄影是什么能是什么?值得我们永久追问。

　　《孤儿档案》使姜健从此有了具体的注视，1000个孩子的成长与命运将成为他生命之中不可推卸的责任与牵挂。我们祝福这1000个孩子，也祝福姜健!

　　2006年元月

　　^_^

　　Foreword

　　After “Scenes” and “Masters”, Jiang Jian has now presented “Archives on Orphans”.

　　His eyes zoom in on fates of individuals from a wider scene in the past. Ever since “Scene”, Jiang Jian has been taking a serious attitude in his photographic approach. This has aroused my curiosity: does this style have something to do with his photographic character? Jiang Jian is a fine photographer, even though he is not very prolific. I can feel that each of his themes must have undergone long time consideration and deep thought over several years. Therefore, it shows his maturity and style as a photographer.

　　“Archives on Orphans” should overpass the previous two themes and it will cover a much longer time span. Unlike his focus on the family in “Master”, “Archives on Orphans” focuses on 1 000 individual children with names and the process of their growing up. Jiang Jian has taken a more difficult and specific action.

　　Maybe it would be easier for a person to face a region or a group of people. But it would be more difficult to face an individual person. The difficulty lies in the triviality or ordinariness. It is better to have one person or several people in your mind than the whole world, since the latter is more abstract. If a photographer chooses some specific persons as his long time objects, it undoubtedly means a great challenge to the photographer’s endurance and intelligence.

　　Be specific is a valuable quality.

　　Jiang Jian has decided to take photos of these 1,000 children every five years till the end of his life. This is Jiang Jian’s smart strategy and also his confidence of the feasibility of the theme. A wise person can always find a fine balance between significance and feasibility.

　　In “Archives on Orphans”, Jiang Jian still uses the same approach of “Masters” to take a full-length photo of a person. In these photos, not only facial expression of each child, but also his or her clothing and postures are important elements to reveal this child’s characters. Different from “Masters” is the background: there are no specific settings behind the children, and their fates are as unpredictable as the dark background….

　　It is not clear whether the background will be changed in the future when Jiang Jian traces these children.

　　Jiang Jian’s photos make the fates of these children become a public affair. From now on, these children will grow up under a close observation of the public. Therefore, Jiang Jian’s photographic approach may be a test for the society: how long will this observation and care last?

　　Starting from “Archives on Orphans”, photography for Jiang Jian is no longer purely picture-taking. It links closely with fine arts, with social morality and justice, with an individual’s fate, with social problems and also with his own life. It is why photography is more superior to other forms of visual expression. With the advantage of having diverse and rich connotations as well as of reaching a wide scope and potentialities, photography is a visual form that can show a grand view from a small vantage point. It is worthy of photographers’ endeavor to exploit the photography’s scope and power. It is an everlasting question to all the photographers: What is photography? What could photography be?

　　From now on, “Archives on Orphans” enables Jiang Jian to have a specific focus. The fates of 1,000 children will be his care and responsibility that he cannot disregard in his life. We bless these 1,000 children. We bless Jiang Jian。