攝影是某些事物曾在但不再的證明，像褪色污漬。那寂靜異乎尋常。你可以轉身離去，只是回過身時，他們仍在那注視著你。—黛安‧阿巴斯



　　直視不安的靈魂、怪誕的真實

　　將攝影帶進藝術的殿堂–

　　黛安‧阿巴斯最後的攝影集



　　1971年五月，Artforum雜誌第一次以攝影師作品為主題。在它的封面與內頁，介紹了黛安‧阿巴斯即將出版的攝影集A Box of Ten Photographs。畸形兒、變裝癖、巨人、侏儒…她的鏡頭將人們不忍直視卻又不自覺一再觀看的面容於時間中刻印下來。雜誌編輯Philip Leider認為「這作品改變了一切…再也無法否定攝影在藝術中的地位。」兩個月後阿巴斯的逝世，宣告她生前只親自售出四組。其中，Richard Avedon買了兩組，給自己與送給朋友Mike Nichols。另一套由Jasper Johns買下，最後一組由Harper's Bazaar的總監Bea Feitler購入。阿巴斯在四組作品上都簽了名，每張照片皆附有記載說明文字的羊皮紙。阿巴斯在Feitler的那套中加進了第11張照片「女士與她的猴子嬰兒」。



　　史密森尼美國藝術博物館於1986年收購了Feitler的收藏，這是四組阿巴斯親自完成並售出的攝影集中唯一被公開持有的作品，將在2018年4月到2019年1月於博物館展出。本書重現了阿巴斯之所以成為現代傳奇的原始本質。史密森尼博物館館長John P. Jacob在籌備展覽及編寫此書時，發掘了許多新的訊息，將與阿巴斯的攝影作品一同於書中呈現。無論從藝術還是社會的角度，A Box of Ten Photographs都隨著它對觀者視覺與認知的衝擊永存人心。(文/博客來編譯)

In 1971, with an advertisement in the June issue of Artforum, Diane Arbus announced the offering of her limited-edition portfolio, A box of ten photographs. At the time of her death, one month later, only four were sold. Two were purchased from Arbus by Richard Avedon; another by Jasper Johns. The last of the four was purchased by Bea Feitler, art director at Harper’s Bazaar. Arbus signed the prints in all four sets, and each was accompanied by an overlying vellum sheet inscribed with an extended caption. For Feitler, Arbus added an eleventh photograph. This is the first publication to focus exclusively on A box of ten photographs, using the eleven-print set that Arbus assembled for Feitler. It was acquired by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, D.C., in 1986, and is the only one of the four portfolios completed and sold by Arbus that is publicly held.

This publication examines this unique object as the sole body of images selected by Arbus herself, and considers its legacy as a key document of her enduring impact on contemporary photographic practice. An in-depth essay features new and compelling scholarship by John P. Jacob, the McEvoy Family Curator for Photography at the Smithsonian American Art Museum. The book is published in conjunction with the exhibition Diane Arbus: A box of ten photographs, on view at the museum from April through September of 2018.