特朗普大頭照問世：拳打約翰·亞當(dāng)斯，腳踢奧巴馬，比肩華盛頓

千呼萬喚始出來，富爾頓縣警局發(fā)布的唐納德·特朗普大頭照一經(jīng)問世就迅速被做成meme，即使這張照片有些出奇的尋常：不利的光線打在他的頭和肩上，左上角還配有一個(gè)執(zhí)法logo。

當(dāng)然，無論從何種角度看，這張照片都是獨(dú)一無二的，是會(huì)流芳百世的，是會(huì)在美國總統(tǒng)史狠狠地記上一筆的。但這并不是它對后繼者的唯一貢獻(xiàn)。

即便知者甚少，但這張照片也為美國總統(tǒng)肖像史打開了一扇新的大門?？偨y(tǒng)肖像的價(jià)值不僅在于其會(huì)引發(fā)我們對總統(tǒng)的思考，還會(huì)引發(fā)我們對國家的思考。

每一任總統(tǒng)都代表了這個(gè)國家，既在政治意味上，也在象征意味上。因此，很大程度上來說，總統(tǒng)的形象就是國家的形象。從創(chuàng)作氛圍和環(huán)境上講，特朗普的大頭照乍一看與以往莊嚴(yán)肅穆的總統(tǒng)畫像十分脫節(jié)，而且后者的形象往往是精心營造出來的。但從其效果和受眾使用情況來看，這張照片絕對是空前絕后的。

自美國成立之初，領(lǐng)袖畫像就成為了重要的萬能政治工具。很少有總統(tǒng)沒有注意到其畫像的力量。喬治·華盛頓驕傲地向弗農(nóng)山莊的游客展示他的肖像；巴拉克·奧巴馬出人意料地選擇了畫家凱欣德·威利為自己作畫，后者將其描繪得面目一新，無論是從視覺上還是政治方面。

成功的總統(tǒng)畫像的標(biāo)準(zhǔn)是能夠使人物看起來孔武有力，充滿活力，最重要的是富有領(lǐng)袖氣質(zhì)。然而當(dāng)我們深究這段歷史，就會(huì)發(fā)現(xiàn)它是錯(cuò)綜復(fù)雜和意義重大的。一次又一次，總統(tǒng)們在某些事件中與畫中的自己背道而馳。他們渴望掌控。如此看來，特朗普的大頭照也不例外。并不是所有總統(tǒng)肖像都像博物館里掛的那樣。

比如說約翰·昆西·亞當(dāng)斯，他是當(dāng)時(shí)被描繪得最多的人物之一。在作為總統(tǒng)之子的童年里和漫長的工作生涯中，他是幾十個(gè)肖像，雕塑和照片的主角。因此，對于后輩如何描繪他這種身份的人，亞當(dāng)斯心知肚明。他甚至在日記里列了個(gè)清單，記錄了他認(rèn)為把自己畫得最好的幾幅肖像，并說到只有這幾幅才“配被珍藏?！?/span>

在1839年攝影被引入到美國之后，亞當(dāng)斯試了好幾次銀版照相。事實(shí)上現(xiàn)存最早的總統(tǒng)照片是亞當(dāng)斯在1843年拍攝的一張銀版照片，現(xiàn)在收藏于史密森學(xué)會(huì)的國家肖像畫廊。但亞當(dāng)斯并不熱衷于攝影。他難以久坐等待漫長的曝光時(shí)間，并且他在日記中吐露，他自己的銀版照片“極其丑陋”，“令人惡心”，而且“過于真實(shí)”。最后，他認(rèn)為這種新技術(shù)很難穩(wěn)定地創(chuàng)作出一副能夠“萬古流芳”的肖像。

如果說亞當(dāng)斯厭惡拍攝的照片，那么后繼的總統(tǒng)則厭惡偷拍的照片。19世紀(jì)末期，便攜式照相機(jī)的問世使得偷拍照片成為可能。西奧多羅斯福斥責(zé)了當(dāng)時(shí)一家報(bào)紙所稱的一位年輕的“攝影魔”，后者試圖在羅斯福離開教堂時(shí)“抓拍”他。大約十年后，伍德羅·威爾遜威脅要胖揍一名記者，因?yàn)楫?dāng)他與女兒從一次大汗淋漓的騎行回來時(shí)，這名記者拒絕停止拍照。眾所周知，白宮試圖隱瞞富蘭克林·羅斯福身體殘疾的證據(jù)，但顧問們也擔(dān)心即使最常規(guī)的抓拍也會(huì)使他看起來情況不妙。

1937年，《大眾攝影》雜志報(bào)道稱，對于偷拍羅斯福在一次政治野餐時(shí)大啖熱狗的照片，白宮新聞辦公室非常惱火。同時(shí)它也譴責(zé)在羅斯?？偨y(tǒng)享受棒球比賽開幕日時(shí)拍攝的一張模糊照片。這些照片是在很遠(yuǎn)的地方拍攝的，質(zhì)量較差，但同時(shí)也向白宮方面?zhèn)鬟f了信息，即總統(tǒng)的身體健康狀況遭到質(zhì)疑。在這個(gè)偷拍的時(shí)代，局面很難被掌控。

數(shù)碼攝影的興起并未給總統(tǒng)肖像畫帶來改變，但是給總統(tǒng)的掌控權(quán)帶來了挑戰(zhàn)。作為第一任社交媒體總統(tǒng)，巴拉克·奧巴馬在掌控與互動(dòng)間游走。最終呈現(xiàn)出的結(jié)果是，總統(tǒng)可以不經(jīng)過傳統(tǒng)的主流媒體之口，直接與民眾交流。政府幾乎利用了每一個(gè)新興社交媒體。此外由皮特·蘇薩領(lǐng)導(dǎo)的白宮攝影師為總統(tǒng)照片建立了一個(gè)龐大視覺檔案，并在網(wǎng)絡(luò)相冊中實(shí)時(shí)分享。但這些受控言論與多元并富有交互性的新文化相抵觸。這些權(quán)威照片一經(jīng)發(fā)布，就不可避免地會(huì)被meme化。有些是為了吹捧，有些則不然。

在每個(gè)這樣的時(shí)刻，攝影技術(shù)的變革引發(fā)了人們對總統(tǒng)形象的擔(dān)憂。如果一張丑陋的銀版照片，一張模糊的偷拍或一個(gè)古怪的meme都能象征總統(tǒng)，那這個(gè)國家的形象如何？即便總統(tǒng)們不喜歡，這些照片也的的確確描繪著總統(tǒng)的肖像，也與那些裝裱起來的油畫一樣重要，描繪著一段歷史。

這一切都把我們帶回到特朗普的大頭照。他把照片上傳到了X，也就是之前的Twitter，并配字“永不屈服”，即便他剛剛向富爾頓縣警局自首。這是個(gè)明智之舉，就像他那自信的怒容，旨在重奪話語權(quán)。這張接地氣的照片比那些掛在國家肖像畫廊里正兒八經(jīng)的畫像更有辨識度。特朗普可能會(huì)效仿華盛頓將他的照片自信展出。無論如何，這張大頭照，就像不靠譜的銀版相片，模糊的偷拍照和惡搞的meme一樣，絕對將會(huì)“萬古流芳”。

Original Article:

Trump Joins George Washington, John Quincy Adams and Barack Obama

Eagerly anticipated and immediately meme-ified, the mug shot of Donald Trump -that the Fulton County Sheriff’s Office circulated last week- was in some ways utterly conventional: a head-and-shoulders view with unflattering lighting and a law enforcement logo in the corner.

?In nearly every other way, of course, the image is singular, a photograph for the ages, one that will forever punctuate this moment in the history of the presidency. But that wasn’t its only contribution to posterity.

?In ways that have been less widely noted, it is also an important new entry in the history of presidential portraits, whose significance lies in how they invite us to think not just about our leaders but also about the nation itself.

?Both politically and symbolically, any president represents the nation; by some significant measure, then, his image is its image. In its mood and in the circumstances of its creation, Mr. Trump’s mug shot initially seems like a jarring disconnect from the most august traditions of presidential portraits, with their carefully constructed air of gravitas. But in its effect, and in the way its subject has begun to deploy it, the picture is the natural evolution of all the images that came before it.

?Since the first days of the Republic, portraits of our commanders in chief have proved to be important and versatile political tools. Few presidents have failed to note their power. George Washington was known to proudly display his portraits to Mount Vernon visitors, while Barack Obama surprised many by selecting the painter Kehinde Wiley in a clear bid to define himself — visually as well as politically — as something new.

?The standard line is that successful presidential images make their subjects look strong, active and, above all else, presidential. When we look deeper, however, we find that the history is more complex and consequential. Time and time again, presidents have wrestled with or in some cases openly fought back to challenge the ways they were being pictured. They sought control. By that standard, Mr. Trump’s mug shot is no outlier. Not all presidential portraits look like the ones hanging in our museums.

?Take the example of John Quincy Adams, who was one of the most prolifically depicted people of his age. From his childhood as the son of a president and throughout his long career in public life, he was the subject of dozens of painted portraits, sculptures and photographs. As a result, Adams had clear ideas about how men of his stature should be depicted for posterity. He even made a short list in his diary of the portraits he felt captured him best. Only those few, he said, were “worthy of being preserved.”

?After photography was introduced in the United States in 1839, Adams sat several times for daguerreotypes. In fact, the oldest existing photograph of a president is a daguerreotype Adams sat for in 1843, now in the collection of the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery. Yet Adams never warmed to photography. He had trouble sitting for long exposures, and he confided to his diary that his own daguerreotype portraits were “hideous,” “repulsive” and “too true to the original.” Ultimately, he found the nascent technology too unstable for creating the kind of image worthy of being “transmitted to the memory of the next age.”

?If Adams worried about the photographs he posed for, later presidents worried about the photographs they didn’t consent to. Beginning in the late 19th century, the advent of portable cameras made it possible for photographers to capture subjects unawares. Theodore Roosevelt called out what a newspaper at the time called a young “camera fiend” for attempting to “snap” him as he was leaving church. A decade or so later, Woodrow Wilson threatened to punch a journalist who refused to stop photographing as he and his daughter returned from a sweaty bicycle ride. It’s well known that the White House sought to keep evidence of Franklin Roosevelt’s physical disability out of sight, but advisers were also anxious that even the most routine candid shot might make him look bad.

?In 1937, Popular Photography magazine reported that the White House press office was up in arms about unauthorized snapshots of Roosevelt chomping on a hot dog at a political picnic. It also objected to blurry photos of the president enjoying opening day at a baseball game. Those photos, taken from far away, were of such poor quality that they apparently prompted messages to the White House questioning the state of the president’s health. In the era of the candid camera, control was hard to come by.

?The rise of digital photography didn’t transform presidential portraiture so much as it upped the ante on the question of control. As the first social media president, Barack Obama walked the line between control and interactivity. Finally, it seemed, a president could communicate directly to citizens without having to go through the traditional filters of mainstream media. The administration took advantage of nearly every new social media outlet as it emerged. In addition, White House photographers, led by Pete Souza, built a huge visual archive of presidential photographs shared in real time on Flickr. But those controlled communications butted up against a new culture of remixing and interactivity. Just as soon as those authorized images were released, the inevitable memes followed. Some of those flattered; others, not so much.

?In each of these moments, transformations in the technology of photography prompted anxieties about presidential representation. If an awkward daguerreotype, blurry snapshot or quirky meme would come to symbolize the president, then what did that say about the nation? Yet as unwelcome as they might have been for their subjects, these images are presidential portraits, too, and they tell a visual history as important as any rendered in oil paints and framed in gold leaf.

?All of which brings us back to Mr. Trump’s mug shot. He posted it on X, the platform formerly known as Twitter, declaring “never surrender,” even though he had just literally surrendered. It was an effective move that, like his assertive scowl, was designed to reclaim the narrative. Already, this vernacular image is far more recognizable than many formal portraits that hang in the National Portrait Gallery. Mr. Trump may yet follow George Washington in proudly displaying it to visitors. Whatever the case, the mug shot, like the unstable daguerreotype and the blurry snapshot and the meme, absolutely deserves to be “transmitted to the memory of the next age.”

原網(wǎng)址：

https://www.nytimes.com/2023/08/30/opinion/trump-mug-shot-washington-presidential-portrait.html