作品介绍
作者：王峥
《电线杆子的一百种表现方式》是一个集合多媒介视觉文献档案性, 及在此基础上二次创作项目的第一部分。通过收集不同地区与时代的电线杆的影像，在此基础上创作电线杆模型，后续仍计划有实际拍摄，与档案形成某种现实的对照。作品重新审视了电线杆作为第二次工业革命产品的功能性和装饰性，并在二十一世纪重新反思和品味电气时代的独特美学，反思同电气化一同平行发展的技术产物，这其中—便有摄影这一媒介。
电线杆和摄影是同时期现代工业和技术产物，同洛杉矶市的起源与发展时间相近。摄影术发源于1839年，电线杆子诞生于1844，洛杉矶于1850年建市。横跨大陆的铁路系统和电报线路于 1860年代的联通，使旧西部标志性的符号——快马邮递(Pony Express)逐渐走出历史舞台，新的工业秩序开始掌控世界的节奏，所以电线杆可以视为工业化的象征。通过电线杆来传递电报信号，铺设电网，传送能源，一切向西扩张，也将美国逐渐连成一个整体。摄影也将美国人的想象连成了一片民族主义的现代热土—美利坚从此通过摄影和电报成为一个想象的共同体；而在二十一世纪回望这一过程，也是艺术家在外来者和居住者的双重身份下，所作出的思考：二十一世纪的美利坚又是通过什么被联系和想象？19世纪末，美国经济开始高速发展。城市化使人类远离自然，精神世界匮乏，于是艺术家们从人造物中寻找寄托，现代主义思潮诞生。一方面，电线杆作为连接自然能源和工业生产的关键，许多来自于自然的元素便也影响着电线杆的设计与审美，比如「Art Nouveau（新艺术）」思潮便将许多来自植物的有机元素添入法国街头的电线杆 ；另一方面，电线杆也被作为工业审美的一部分，成为了许多达达主义以及超现实主义艺术家的重要素材，用以反思现代化为人类文明带来的伤痛与异化—「一个电线杆也不只是一个电线杆」，如同雷內·弗朗索瓦的雪茄。
在现代主义的脉络之外，这组作品也受到源自德国，并在美国流行多年的新客观主义(New Objectivity)影响，以相对客观的视角于实地进行拍摄，并非以绝对的人类主体性介入，而是从第三角度观察这一电气文明的重要遗产。这部作品体现了艺术家对现代主义摄影精神的传承与发展，也体现了新客观主义 对于现实社会的关怀，用尽量写实的手段描绘客观现实，但既不歌颂也不逃避，只是冷眼观察，并对于电线杆所隐喻的现代文明，提出冷静的思考和批判：现代文明百年来，我们到底变得更加孤立还是更加紧密？人类和工业制品的关系为何，又有怎样的流变？
电线杆与摄影术犹如一体双生，电气化走向电子化的同时，摄影术也从光学摄影走向更加多元的电子摄影，即时摄影，以及网络摄影等。这便意味着摄影成为了电线杆这一现代性隐喻的最好记录。这一作品以类型学为方法论 ，档案图像为基础，将美国不同时代的艺术作品中出现的电线杆子进行分类整理，辅以雕塑与档案呼应。纪实摄影呈现了区域建筑的新旧对比，雕塑表现不同时代电线杆子的形态，并呈现当代艺术家对于这一历史物件的反思和创新。可以说，在不同媒介中反复出现，却只作为隐性背景元素的电线杆，在这一作品中获得了某种凝视与被凝视的主体性；而其所代表的丰富历史，也随着归档和模型的创作，获得全新的生命。
法国哲学家德里达说：人们对于归档的追求，实际上是一种形式上的「暴力」，因为这意味着新的秩序被建立。于此同时，档案虽然作为公共财产，承载着社会集体的记忆，其实也承载了许多私人的记忆，并不断协调着这两者间的关系。通过展示美国不同时期的电线杆图像档案，并以此创作雕塑模型，艺术家在哀悼历史遗产的同时，也在创造新的秩序。而这一切，随着特斯拉最早的无线电创想，以及更多尖端科技的普及，电线杆也许会像希腊的石柱，罗马的拱门，以及伦敦的钟楼一般，成为人类进入下一个阶段前的独特掠影。
最后，《电线杆子的一百种表现方式》也呼应着艺术家的其他作品，如「一百个我」。这意味着艺术家在解构自我的同时，也在尝试解构他们所处的时代。电线杆不仅在洛杉矶的天际线跳跃，也在后工业化的中国东北叹息着。这两者就如黑夜中电线不时闪动的火花一般，点亮了一代人的共鸣，让人想起了诗人艾略特在《风夜狂想曲》中的名句：“记忆啊，你已有钥匙……如同小刀的最后一道弯曲。”
制作助理 / Credit of Assistants
调研｜Research: 王子言 Ziyan Wang
雕塑｜Sculpture: 富饶 Fu Rao
装置｜Installation: 陆睿 Lorry Lu
Statement
Author: Moham (Zheng) Wang
How to Present Utility Poles is the first part of the multimedia visual archive and creative project that critically engages with the historical and aesthetic significance of telegraph poles as products of the Second Industrial Revolution. Through the collection of images of telegraph poles from different regions and eras and the subsequent creation of pole models, followed by actual photography of real telegraph poles of our times, this work revisits the dual functional and ornamental roles of telegraph poles. It reflects on the aesthetics of the electrical age in the 20th century, contemplating how technology and its associated artifacts, such as photography, have evolved in tandem with electrification.
Telegraph poles and photography, both emblematic of modern industrial and technological advancements, share a temporality with the founding and expansion of Los Angeles as a new booming city. The invention of photography dates to 1839, telegraph poles to 1844, and Los Angeles itself was established in 1850. The construction of transcontinental railroad and telegraph lines during the 1860s marked the advent of the Old West symbolized by the Pony Express and heralded the rise of a new industrial order. In this context, telegraph poles emerge as potent symbols of industrialization, transmitting telegraph signals, enabling electrification, and carrying energy across vast distances. Through their presence, the U.S. was transformed into a unified whole, with telegraph poles acting as the physical infrastructure that facilitated westward expansion. Likewise, photography connected the imaginations of Americans, allowing the nation to be constructed as a modern, nationalist community. By revisiting this process in the 21st century, the artist reflects on their dual identity as both outsiders and residents in the U.S., questioning the contemporary ways in which America is re-imagined and re-connected.
The economic boom at the end of the 19th century led to rapid urbanization, alienating humans from nature and creating a spiritual crisis. In response, artists began turning to artificial objects for meaning, thus initiating the rise of modernist thought. As a key element of industrial production, telegraph poles served as connectors between natural energy and industrial processes, their design often influenced by natural elements. For instance, the Art Nouveau movement incorporated organic motifs from plants into the design of telegraph poles in the streets of France. On the other hand, telegraph poles also became integral to industrial aesthetics, providing material for Dadaist and Surrealist artists, who used them to reflect on the alienation and existential pain brought about by modernity. As one might say, "A telegraph pole is never just a telegraph pole," just as René François's cigar is not merely a cigar.
Outside the modernist framework, this project is also influenced by Neue Sachlichkeit (New Objectivity), a movement originating in Germany that also gained popularity in the United States for decades. This influence is reflected in the project's adoption of an objective, documentary approach to photographing telegraph poles in situ, deliberately minimizing subjective human intervention. The artist observes these crucial remnants of the electrical age from a third-person perspective, eschewing celebratory or evasive interpretations in favor of a detached, analytical approach. This project represents a continuation of the spirit of modernist photography, while also incorporating the critical social concerns of New Objectivity. Through the use of realist techniques to depict objective realities, the work refrains from glorification or escapism, instead prompting critical reflections on the implications of modern civilization: Has modernity made us more isolated or more connected? What transformations have occurred in the relationship between humans and industrial objects?
Telegraph poles and photography can be seen as twin-born entities. As electrification transitions into digitization, photography itself has shifted from optical to electronic forms, such as instant and online photography. This shift positions photography as the ideal medium for documenting the metaphorical significance of telegraph poles in modernity. Using typology as a methodological approach and archival imagery as a foundational resource, this work organizes depictions of telegraph poles that have appeared in America throughout different historical periods, supplementing these visual records with sculptures that correspond to the archival images. Documentary photography contrasts new and old regional architecture, while the sculptures represent the forms of telegraph poles from different eras to reflect a temporal and stylistic transition. Together, these works present contemporary artists' reflections on, and innovations concerning, this historical object. Telegraph poles, which have often served merely as background elements in various media, acquire subjectivity and visibility within this project. Through their archiving and reimagining as models, the poles' rich historical significance is revitalized.
The French philosopher Jacques Derrida famously remarked that humans’ fervor for archiving is, in essence, a form of "violence" as it imposes a new order on the material archived. While archives are ostensibly public property and serve as repositories of collective memory, they also embody private memories, mediating between these two realms. By assembling and presenting a visual archive of telegraph poles in America from various periods and creating corresponding sculptural models, the artists simultaneously mourn the loss of historical heritage while creating a new order from the heritage. As wireless communication technologies such as Tesla’s early radio visions, along with other cutting-edge technologies on the horizon, continue to advance, telegraph poles may eventually be viewed in the same way we now look upon Greek columns, Roman arches, or Big Ben in London—as relics of a distinct era before humanity's march into the next technological and existential stage.
Finally, How to Present Utility Poles resonates with other works of the artist, such as “One Hundred Me,” suggesting that as the artist deconstructs her own identity, she is also attempting to deconstruct the epoch in which she lives. Telegraph poles not only punctuate the skyline of Los Angeles but also whisper through the post-industrial landscapes of northeastern China. Like the sparks that occasionally flicker from electrical wires in the night, these two phenomena illuminate the shared resonance of a generation, which reminds one of Elliot’s famous lines from Rhapsody on a Windy Night: “Memory! You have the key…… The last twist of the knife.”