影像的博物館人類學視角與理論意涵

Theoretical Implications on Practice of Visual Anthropology-Also on Museum Perspectives

影像在博物館展示上，一直扮演著文化詮釋與意義溝通的媒介。然而，影像本質的複雜性及主導影像詮釋背後的權力關係，已遠超越過去「人類學博物館」對影像的理解。當代博物館作為世界文化視窗，總挾帶著西方現代與後現代主義的觀念，筆者以為藉由博物館內跨時空觀看模式的複雜性探討，將有助於理解博物館如何回應社會變遷、文化調適與數位科技等衝擊。而且，透過視覺人類學理論與博物館展示的對話，或可嘗試釐清影像本質與再現的意涵；同時，將博物館當作一種變遷場域或視角來思考，亦可化解傳統文字為主的民族誌書寫與再現危機。在本文中，擬將視覺影像再置於博物館的脈絡中，探討人類學博物館在不同時期、面對不同群體時所隱藏的再現和詮釋議題，從幾個向度作論述，包括：（1）影像的符號學，（2）寫實、真實與想像，（3）複製、再現與意識形態，（4）影像、文字與敘事；以上四個面向，旨在突顯當代影像觀看之於人類學博物館實踐脈絡中的反思價值。Image has played a role as crucial media of cultural interpretation and meaning in the contemporary museum exhibitions. However, the complexities of image nature and dominant power relations behind the image interpretation have gone far beyond perception of image in the so-called 'Anthropological Museum' of the past. Modern museum is considered as window to the world with the concept of Modernism and Post-Modernism. Via research on the complexity of cross-time and space viewing patterns inside the museum, it would help to think how Taiwan's museums could respond to the impacts caused by digital technology, social transformation and trans-cultural adaptation. We believe that dialogues between the visual anthropology theory and practical museum exhibition could clarify the meanings of image nature and representations. In addition, while viewing museums as studying perspectives or fields of transformation, the dialogues are effective on relief of crisis of ethnographic writing and representation dominated by traditional text. Accordingly, this paper urges to replace visual images into the museum context for deliberation of the hidden representation and interpretation issues as Anthropological museum is situated in different stages and facing different groups. The elaboration of this paper is organized as four dimensions: (1) image semiology; (2) realism, truth and imagination; (3) replication, representation and ideology; (4) images, words and description. These four dimensions aim at stressing the introspection value of contemporary image viewing within the implementation context of Anthropological museum.