方言是一种别具一格带有浓郁文化色彩的地方语言，它区别于“官话”（即普通话），中国由于地域广阔民族众多而具有特别丰富的地方方言。语言是人类之间沟通和交流的重要手段，语言产生了丰富的世界文化，世界因有不同的语言和文化而精彩。《河南方言》只是一个说话的平台，六位不同年龄、不同风格、不同语言方式的河南摄影家在不同时期不约而同的运用同一个“肖像”语素来各说各话，从而表诉各自不同的观念与思想。从某种意义和角度上来看，《河南方言》也是河南摄影群体的一种声音吧。

　　纵观《河南方言》六人联展这几位河南摄影家，从五十年代的闫新法到八十年代的姜一鸣，如果将他们的作品放在这五十年时空的大背景中，呈现给我们的是一个河南摄影发展史的缩略图或影像转型期的标志性过程。

　　闫新法是河南乡土文化摄影流派的代表人物之一。他信奉“万物皆源自土地”。一个从他挚爱的土地中走出来的人平静而温情的关照着他的父老乡亲同时也不断的在映照着自己，闫新法把他的《根脉》深深地浸淫在这块黄天厚土之中。

　　陈志刚工作在监狱。他这些年利用很少的业余时间，满怀兴趣的在河南境内东西南北遍访裹脚的女人，并使用田野调查的方式，详尽的记录她们的裹脚经历和生存状态。他使用三角架透过玛米亚RB67的取景框平静而客观的记录她们的环境肖像。其实在某种意义上，“兴趣”比责任更伟大，因为“兴趣”没有任何功利性！

　　王豫明的文学、书法功底使他的影像具有深厚的文化底蕴。一台索尼717数码相机使他的影像观念有了彻底的改变，《慌神的城市》、《早晚》等作品给我们带来了全新的影像感受，而在《阻挡》这组非典时期全国紧急状态下，河南农民的反应与环境肖像，我们看到的是一种“戏剧性”的超现实表现。

　　范强常年从业于城市规划管理和城市文化研究，他的影像处处充实着思考与哲理。《都市表情》是范强的万人拍摄计划中的一小部分，虽然这些身穿各种标志性服饰的肖像都是以街头快照的手法拍摄，但肖像的统一仰拍视角和那一致的灿烂笑容，却表诉着一种态度并传达着极其强烈的符号化倾向及超现实意味。当这组作品真正完成了他的肖像符号化集合之后，影像特有的价值就会自然显露。

　　罗勇突发奇想，背着他那巨大的行囊要在全国所有省会城市及港澳台三地的火车站或步行街前用神龙转机拍一张留影照。一个河南人不惜重金遍访全国的大都市，让我联想到郑和下西洋的故事。这个影像制作过程的本身就带有行为的意味，而影像背后还有更多的文化意味。罗勇说若干年后他还要重访这些城市。其实这是一个新纪实摄影的尝试，也是一种视觉文化的行走与考证。

　　姜一鸣是八十年代出生的年青人，做为一个专业摄影院校毕业的学生，他的作品显然带有强烈的现代意识。《红色系列》非常自然的运用各种色彩和视觉符号的集合来影射生活中的信仰危机，而数字化技术的使用又扩展和丰富了他的影像语言能力和想象力。今后关于图像的后语言学、后符号学方面使用和研究的重任，恐怕就要落在他们这一代肩上。

　　当今，全球已进入一个视觉文化时代，由于物质消费社会的形成与数字革命的大爆发，传统的摄影艺术被现代的影像或图像新观念所涵盖和包容。而中国的摄影在世界摄影史的大格局中至今还是处在“滞后”和“补课”的状态中。因此，我们传统的纪实摄影、报道摄影、沙龙摄影和现代的观念摄影、新纪实、超现实、后现代等等摄影流派经常在同一时空交织错落。这些现象标志着中国正在走向一个影像转型时代。二十世纪末中国的图像转向和视觉文化建设已逐渐成熟并走向国际，但我们应该清醒的看到，从传统的摄影向现代的影像和图像意识过渡确实是个相当艰难而复杂的过程。可喜的是，在《河南方言》中的六位摄影家的作品中我们已经看到了这种变化和过程，这也正是《河南方言》策展的初衷。

　　2005-8-12

　　6 Henan Folks Presenting Henan Dialect----by Initiator Jiang Jian

　　Different from mandarin, dialect is a regional language full of rich cultural colors. China has abundant dialects because of its vast region and numerous nationalities. Here, Henan Dialect is a platform for language of 6 Henan photographers at different ages in different styles and different ways of expression to speak out their own idea and emotions. In a sense, Henan Dialect is a voice from local photographers of Henan Province.

　　From 6 of these Henan photographers, whose living background covers 50 years from 1950s, we can see a bird’s eye view of photographic history in Henan Province and a symbolic process of visual transformation period.

　　Mr. Yan Xinfa is one of the representatives of folk photography in Henan. He believes in “Earth is the mother of everything”. He put his Roots deeply in this yellow earth. 

　　Mr. Chen Zhigang focuses his energy in searching little-feet women, their sad experience during the foot-wrapping process and their present living conditions. He uses his RB67 Mamija on tripod portraitrating their vivid lives.

　　Mr. Wang Yuming benefits his pictures greatly from his solid literature and calligraphy foundation. His digital Sony 717 recorded a theoretical superrealist scene during the SARS crisis.

　　Mr. Fan Qiang’s photos are full of deep thoughts and philosophy. His Expressions in Cities is one small portion of his ten-thousand portrait plan.

　　Mr. Luo Yong carried his heavy baggage touring around all China’s railway stations and On-foot Commercial Streets and left his tired figure in the pictures using his rotating camera. He spent quite a lot on the tours to all the metropolises, which reminds me of Mr. Zheng He’s historic voyage to Western Oceans. This procedure itself is in fact a kind of actionism and through these pictures we can see tremendous cultural meanings. Mr. Luo plans to revisit all the cities in the future. This is actually a try of new record photography and also a practice of a kind of visual culture.

　　Mr. Jiang Yiming, born in the 1980s, graduated from a photography department of an arts college. We can feel very strong modern breeze from his works in Red Series.

　　At present, the world has entered a visual cultural age. Traditional arts of photography has been covered by modern visions or new visual notions thanks to the formation of a material consumption society and digital revolution. Yet, Chinese photography is still in the state of “backward” and “training classes” stage, thus forming the interlinking of traditional record photography, report photography and salon photography with modern notional photography, new record photography, superrealism, post-modernism at the same time, which means the transformation of this field. We should be clear that this transition needs rather a long, hard and complicated course. We are pleased to see that these artpieces by the 6 Henan photographers in Henan Dialect presented us the change and process. It is exactly our original idea of Henan Dialect.

　　Aug. 12, 2005