© Todd Anderson for The New York Times
© Christina Lee
© Max Rossi/Reuters
© Tony Cenicola/The New York Times
Painting in Europe during the latter half of the nineteenth century was centred on Paris. A lot happened in other countries too – such as the Pre-Raphaelites – but the major movements of the time came together in the capital city of France. Yet in the middle of this, from 1870-71, there was a major war in northern France between two of the great empires of the day, France and Prussia. Paris was put under siege, fell to Prussian occupation, and was then torn apart by the Commune.
These events had great impact on art and artists at the time. Some fled for safe places: several went to London, where they were exposed to important influences such as the paintings of Turner and Constable, who were formative to the Impressionists. Some died during that war, and promising and influential careers were terminated abruptly. Many stayed, and witnessed the horrors of war at first hand.
This weekend I look at the Franco-Prussian War and its immediate aftermath, stopping short of the ensuing turmoil of the Paris Commune.
Like so many wars, the Franco-Prussian War arose because of the conflicting ambitions of countries. The French Second Empire under Napoleon III had been in decline for several years, and had already demanded Belgium, Luxembourg, and the left bank of the Rhine in ‘compensation’ for Prussia’s annexation of territories to form the North German Confederation. Prussia was clearly seeking to become the dominant power in Europe, by forming a single nation from those previously separate states, plus the Southern German States and the French territory of Alsace-Lorraine.
France and Prussia were on a collision course, and on 19 July 1870 France declared war on the North German Confederation, a war for which the French were almost completely unprepared.
Fleury Chenu’s father in Briançon, France, was a master tailor working for the French Sixth Regiment at the time. Chenu’s Trainees, Snow Effect from 1870 gives a good idea of the limited preparation which the French had made as tensions mounted during the previous winter. Although a detailed realist painting, Chenu’s sky is powerful, and sets the scene for the straggling trainees as they make their way along the icy road.
Pierre-Georges Jeanniot had become an officer in the French infantry in 1866, and at the time of the war was a Lieutenant in the 23rd Infantry. He must have known how numerically inferior and weak the French forces were when he painted these Reservists (1870) queueing in the heavy showers to enlist and serve their country. This mobilisation occurred before reforms had been implemented to the system, and proved chaotic and inadequate.
Jeanniot was wounded at Rezonville, was awarded the Légion d’Honneur for his service during the war, and eventually left the army in the rank of Major.
Emperor Napoleon III left Paris for the new headquarters in Metz, as commander of the Army of the Rhine, on 28 July 1870. Although the Prussian army had its own professional General Staff under the command of Field Marshal von Moltke, Adolph von Menzel here shows the ceremonial Departure to the Army of King William I, 31 July 1870 (1871). That same day, Napoleon’s forces moved towards the Saar River to pre-emptively seize the Prussian town of Saarbrücken.
Anton von Werner had been sent with the staff of the Prussian Third Corps under the command of Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm of Prussia. When French and Prussian forces fought their first substantial action in the Battle of Wissembourg on 4 August, the French were soundly defeated and forced to retreat. The commander of the French I Corps was killed, and von Werner committed that to canvas in 1888 as Crown Prince Friedrich Wilhelm with the Body of General Abel Douay, Weißenburg, 4 August 1870.
That was the first of a series of major defeats for the French during August.
Alphonse-Marie-Adolphe de Neuville made his reputation with a succession of popular paintings showing the war. The Last Cartridges (1873) shows French snipers from the Blue division of the Marines ambushing Bavarian troops in l’Auberge Bourgerie in Bazeilles just prior to the Battle of Sedan, in which the French suffered their most disastrous defeat to date: on 2 September 1870, Napoleon III himself was forced to surrender with 104,000 of his soldiers.
De Neuville’s The Spy from 1880 shows a scene exploiting the humiliation of the French defeat. As Prussian forces advanced through northern France, they captured and shot good French citizens who they considered had got in their way. The Frenchman in blue to the right of centre is being searched and stripped in front of a group of Prussian officers, clearly accused of trying to defend his own country. Paintings like this fuelled Revanchism, the lasting sense of bitterness and demand for revenge against Prussia, and were disturbingly popular.
De Neuville’s In the Trenches (1874) is perhaps a more faithful depiction of the conditions that French soldiers had to endure as the Prussians took more French territory during the early winter. Members of the Garde Mobile take what shelter they can in the bitter cold.
Paul-Émile Boutigny’s undated Scene from the Franco-Prussian War shows that life was no easier for the better-trained and properly equipped Prussian forces as the fighting moved into the winter. I’m very grateful to Boris for decoding the uniforms and equipment shown here (see his comment below). The soldier on the left is French, and holds a French Chassepot musketon with a long yataghan bayonet, while his colleague on the right appears to be Prussian, with his pickelhaube spiked helmet and a heavy cavalry cuirass that’s essentially modernised armour. Behind them is a group of mixed French and German soldiers who appear to be walking wound proceeding in front of an ambulance wagon.
Émile Betsellère’s moving L’Oublié! (Forgotten) from 1872 shows the appalling conditions facing the wounded after a winter battle.
Albert Anker was a Swiss artist who you wouldn’t have expected to have painted scenes from the Franco-Prussian War. However, in January 1871, he was witness to a strange event that must have affected him deeply.
The French General Charles Bourbaki (1816-1897) had been put in command of the Army of the East, soldiers who had been hastily trained and were ill-equipped. He and his troops were defeated in their attempt to raise the siege of Belfort, and were pursued by the Prussians until they crossed the border into Switzerland in late January and early February. Just over half of his 150,000 men had survived, and were in desperate straits by this time, as the winter conditions worsened. The Swiss disarmed them, gave them as much shelter and aid as they could, as shown in Anker’s painting of Bourbakis from 1871, and returned them to France in March.
Most important of all, though, was the fact that on 19 September 1870, Prussian forces had taken control of the country around Paris, and put the capital under siege.
点击封面播放视频，可以优惠价购买这本书是什么，在炎炎夏日的晚上，让人获得一丝丝清凉与放松的呢？或许，是一段与友人的闲谈，或许是一罐啤酒？可是，你是否想过，为什么，装酒的易拉罐会设计成这样子呢？
点击播放视频你可能没有意识到，易拉罐的历史，距今只有短短 61 年。
六十年前，由于消费者需要随身携带开罐器才能打开铝罐，这极大阻碍了初代罐装饮品的推广。自开罐的必要性是显而易见的，但在当时，该领域到处都是失败的原型先例。在一次野餐中，印第安纳州的工具生产商 厄尼 · 弗雷兹 不得不靠着汽车金属杠才打开罐头。经此困扰，他开始着手开发带耳片、可拉开的罐子。他创造了一个跷跷板机制，利用小杠杆，沿着预先半切划线的开口，撬开罐盖。他将小杠杆通过冷焊法固定在罐子的铆钉上，铆钉也使用罐子本身的材料。
他把这个创意，卖给了美国铝业公司。1962年，匹兹堡啤酒公司下了第一笔订单，订购了10万只拉耳罐。许多爱钻研的个人以及公司，继续改进他的发明。1965年，拉耳式开口被拉环取代。1975年，丹尼尔 · 丘德齐克 开发了不必拆卸的拉环装置。打开拉环即可畅饮的易拉罐，撕开了罐装饮料行业的巨大市场，也成为了美国饮品行业的圣杯。
点击播放视频方便的工具，总是更受人们的欢迎。尤其是，成瘾性饮料。比起可乐和啤酒，人类更早开始了，对现制咖啡器具的工业化探索。
1933年，意大利人 阿方索·比乐蒂 设计出了摩卡快速咖啡壶。这款炉顶咖啡壶，自1933年首次亮相至今，仍然保持着它的经典设计。
这款壶由3个金属部分组成：用于煮水的底部胆舱，放置咖啡粉的过滤器，以及带有一体式壶嘴的咖啡液收集隔间。煮沸的水穿过咖啡粉，从中间管道顶部如涌泉般流出，一杯富含油脂的咖啡就做好了。
据说，比乐蒂在设计这款咖啡壶的时候，参考了当时的洗衣机。那会儿的洗衣机，由一个锅炉式的底座和顶部的洗涤盆组成。因为铝的导热性能，和多空隙的表面特性，既能快速把水煮开，又能维持住水温，还可以吸收咖啡风味，于是成为了摩卡壶的首选材料。
点击播放视频如果说饮料的工业化平权，给人们带去了身体上的享受，那么，随身听播放器则是伴随着流行音乐的黄金年代，给人类带来了空前的精神滋养！
索尼的董事长盛田昭夫认为，人们在任何情况下都需要音乐。这款 1979 年诞生的 TPS-L2，它的外形尺寸仅仅比磁带略大一些，这种便携性，使它超越了不同的市场界限和地域文化影响，大获成功。
德国博朗的设计工作室与日本的极简主义，在索尼身上充分融合。小巧的体型与干净利落的造型，至今仍被津津乐道。
它最初的产品定位是青少年市场，因此在设计上，采用了类似蓝色牛仔布拼接金属色的涂装，并设置了双耳机插孔，以供两人同时靠近彼此。这使得它成为了当时乃至今天许多人心目中，一代经典的流行文化符号。
点击播放视频考点众多的设计史，是我读书时期的噩梦。那么多陌生又拗口的人名，我从来都记不住。但是，工作多年以后，我渐渐意识到：
那些经典的设计，都是那个时代下的一次又一次范式革新。
设计史不是设计师史，也不是经典产品史。
当我关注一个设计时，我所关注的是人们如何使用它。人名和产品不是设计史，它们所对应的社会形态、人文环境以及生产技术水平，才是。
设计史是最简便、最低成本的索引目录。
对某个著名设计师的关注，其实远远达不到了解设计。站在宏观的角度去观察，一条已经梳理好的时间轴，就很有帮助。这条时间轴未必符合每个人对历史的认知，但由此发散出来，而关注到的无数分叉，会在日后形成自己的视野有着不可避免的重要性。
任何历史最终都是汇集在一处的。
人类史谈论人类如何进化、如何实用工具、如何创造了古往今来的生活。然而这些生活当中，却也并行着器物进化的历史。这些历史其实是同一部历史，关心设计的历史，就是在关心自己生活在什么样的世界里。
历史是人类的镜子，也是器物的根。
上万年来，人类无数次地重复着同样的错误，然而器物，却一直按照自己的节奏在进化着，从最粗糙的原型里诞生，伴随着人类不断地尝试，衍生出了丰富的世界。
这样的过程，怎么能不迷人呢？
设计史不是人名、地名，不是产品和公司的名字，它是人类和器物之间，相互扶持，纠缠不清的故事，是古往今来的人们，用对生活的热爱，所写下的诗。
在我看来，每一位设计爱好者、在职设计师，我们的案头上都应该至少有一本这样子的书。
做为一本观察世界的魔法目录，它是我们随手可得的一条又一条线索，每一次翻开，都能对我们所处的世界多一份联系和了解。
这次是为 中信出版社 推荐一本新书。这本书由 英国费顿出版社 编著，内容非常丰富。书籍主题专注于探索人类的创造力和想象力，其中包含了许多激发灵感的故事和实用的技巧。无论你是学生、艺术家、工程师还是企业家，这本书都会为你提供独特的思维方式和创造力的启示。通过精心编排的章节，书中详细介绍了各种创造力的来源，从观察自然到探索文化，再到引发思维火花的不同方法。而且，书中还包含了一系列的练习和案例分析，帮助你在实际生活中应用这些创造性思维的技巧。这本书不仅能帮助你在个人生活中拥有更多灵感和创造力，还可以帮助你在工作中更具创新性和竞争力。如果你对提高自己的创造力和想象力感兴趣的话，不妨考虑阅读这本令人兴奋的新书。无论你是专注于艺术、科学、写作还是其他领域，这本书都将成为你的灵感宝库。购买这本书不仅能丰富你的知识，还可以激发你的创造力，并为你的个人和职业发展提供指导和启发。（此段落由 AI 拓展）
从视频入口下单，会有观众的福利优惠券，电脑端和手机端都有对应的入口。
视频下方入口可以优惠价购买这本书。
昨天发现 AAAny 更新了发图的功能，于是就顺势发起了一个讨论 AIGC 的话题。
轶轩在话题下问我为什么对外发表的图都是一些细节比较丰富的类型，是否有基于 AIGC 的生成方式而做的一些突破方向的尝试。我觉得，针对这个问题，我可以在对他的回复上，再做一期视频来谈一谈我的观点。
但与此同时，我也想做一些「简练」或「抽象」的图来辅助说明我的看法。于是，今天在工作之余，用一些碎片时间，做了一些图出来。
对此，我尝试比较随意地做了一些「东西」。它们都没有什么明确的「表达」，仅仅只是我随手写的一些 prompt，或者就是在 Midjourney 的社区里复制修改的 prompt，最终出来的东西都是一眼看上去有一些「意境」或者没那么精致细节的但表现比较能唬住人的图像。
你会发现，在这些人类认为偏「抽象」的表达上，AI 反而是比较容易做「好」的。
但是，这种好不是真的好，只是这些风格上，并不需要对细节有很认真的考据，在表现层面上是非常容易「糊弄」的。
这也是现当代艺术作品常常被人诟病的原因之一，因为那些作品浓缩了大量的思考和抽象提炼，但表现形式上，其实并没有比传统艺术更复杂，或更需要技艺和体力上的付出。也就是说，作为当代艺术最核心的「观念」，在完全不需要理解的情况下，一个外行的人或者一个数据量管够的 AI 就可以模仿出「看上去像那么回事」的东西。这种模棱两可的状态，恰恰是江湖神棍和 AIGC 擅长处理的对象。
这里说的「糊弄」「神棍」并非贬义，而是借着世俗的话语体系来表达，这样的「生成作品」并不需要 AI 具备「意识」和「创意」也可以轻松地实现。
那么，什么东西是更难的呢？
细节，是令人信服的细节。
这些是我用 AI 生成的男士剃须刀的设计方案。
你会发现，这些方案咋一看是那么回事，但只要你多看两秒，立刻就会意识到它不对。它们的空间关系、形态的处理、物理交互的关系、电子器件的布局，通通都有很大的问题。这些就是不可信的细节。
因为 AI 实际上并不理解它学习的那些图像。
这些令人信服的关键点，是无法糊弄的。因为它们当中包含了大量精确的思考和训练，也包含了海量的脑力和体力劳动，如果一个「智能体」不理解一个图像背后的复杂逻辑，那么它就没有办法真正地创作出这个对象。它只能模仿，只要模仿得足够像，就可以唬住外行。但是对于以此为生的从业者，这样的智能工具，还不足以成为生产力。设计师可以用这样的工具拓展自己的思维，但这些过程并不能替代设计行为。
从创意到落地，中间还有漫长的路需要人类设计师去走完。
现阶段，更适合工业设计使用 AIGC 的方式是这样：
我的意思并不是让 AI 画手绘图，这仅仅是一种表现方式。但是，这是一种不需要追求精确的表达方式，很适合 AI 用「抽卡」的方式来快速堆想法。除了这种，当然也可以让它生成上面剃须刀那样的图，但同样的，目的不在于出方案，而是借助 AI 的海量数据库，快速地堆出一批发散性思维的「胡编乱造」的混杂图像来。
人类的视野有限，但 AI 看得一定比人类个体的平均值多。
工业设计不是天马行空地想象，它是一种「劳作」。
从初期的构思，从草图推延到模型和效果图，再从设计方案导入结构设计和工艺、制程，这意味着工业设计不是一项纯脑力劳动，不是一种只运行在计算机里的行为。它包含的体力劳作同样是设计的一部份，甚至可以说，是更关键的那部份。这种体力劳作，不仅仅是肌肉和工具的配合，更是人脑对环境、事件、社会群体、物质的反应和处理，设计师的动作意味着这个人对世界的认知。这种程度的认知，对于只运行在计算机内，仍然缺少复杂的传感器和理解过程的 AI 而言，暂时还是无法实现的。
我当然相信它未来会具备这样的能力，但是在目前的技术条件下，依然需要大量的人类来完成这些真正代表了「智能」的「体力劳作」。
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Some forthcoming talks are helping me think through a new book, which I want to start writing in 2023 once Sparks: China’s Underground Historians and their Battle for the Future is out in September 2023 (more on that in a post coming soon).
One of the talks is at the Asia Society on March 1 and has to do with concepts of hell and the afterlife in China–especially how this played out after the Communist Party tried to destroy most values. Details here.
The second, and more relevant talk to my new book is on the idea of Civil Religion in China. I took a stab at this in early 2023 at a talk at Fordham University and will do so in a more systematic way in March at the Wissenschaftskolleg zu Berlin, aka Germany’s Institute for Advanced Studies.
I’ll be on a podium with Franciscus Verellen, a distinguished historian of religious life in middle-period China (and along with Kristofer Schipper the editor of one of the great recent works of sinological study, The Taoist Canon, which is a magically written and illustrated two-volume companion to the canon, which is essentially an encyclopedia of Taoist thought).
Prof. Verellen will talk about state and religion in classical China and I’ll talk about the concept in the country today, especially as the Communist Party uses it to cement legitimacy.
You can see details of both talks on this site’s “Talks and Media Appearances” page. The German talk will be in German. Both will be posted to YouTube, and I think the German talk will have subtitles.
If you get a chance to hear these and have feedback, please do send me an email at ij@ian-johnson.com I’d appreciate any feedback.
Thanks!
The post Hell, Politics, and Religion appeared first on Ian Johnson.
前两天，我收到 AAAny 的 Wenbo 发来的邮件，问我是否有兴趣注册他们的 APP 体验。我一看就乐了，立马截图发给汉洋和轶轩，开玩笑地问道：「我是不是应该告诉他，我早就注册了？」
这个叫做 AAAny 的新问答社区是汉洋他们团队，从 redit 等社区平台的使用中，萌生的对于「Ask Anyone Anything」的重新思考，所做出的产品。我其实几个月前，就在一次和他俩吃饭之后就注册好了。但是一直因为忙，我担心不能及时回复别人的提问，就一直没好意思发起一场主题活动。中途有看到可达和 JT 发起的问答，很感兴趣，也想试试看，但也因为对时间的担心就止住了念头。正好借着这次 Wenbo 的邮件，跟汉洋他俩聊了一会儿后，我就趁着夜色正浓，冲动还在，就立马编辑了两段自我介绍，发起了分别以「工业设计师」和「设计类视频创作者」为主题的两场活动。
点击进入「工业设计师 SUiTHiNK AmA～」
点击进入「设计类视频博主 苏志斌 AmA！」
当天也是高效，一连开了三个会。中途用各种碎片时间，一一回答了 AAAny 上的提问。晚上赶回家陪筱烨过生日的路上，我一看已经回复过的内容，好家伙，累计的输出量都赶上我平时写两三篇文章了。
碎片化地高密度输出，也是可以产生一些好内容的。
在使用了一天后，当晚，我和汉洋、轶轩聊了聊感受。汉洋问我感觉 AAAny 和知乎之间有什么区别？我打了一个比方：
知乎的问答是一种广场上的广播。一个问题对应一个完整的回答，虽然我可以不断修改回答，但是你修改后的内容很难再被之前看过的人再次看到。评论区就是一些人在外围窃窃私语，它们和主回答之间很难形成交流互动。它是有层级的、单向的信息传播。
但是 AAAny 给我的感觉，是老城区的街头沙龙。任何对话都是水平方向的，没有任何层级关系，就和大家在街头聊天一样。你看到一个感兴趣的话题，就可以直接加入；别人对你们正在谈论的感兴趣，也可以随时参与进来。它不是广播的形式，是集会和交流的空间。
有意思的事情在于，我们往往需要遇到好问题，才能写出一个好的回答。
然而，好的问题通常并不是我们提出来的第一个问题。你会在持续的提问和持续的回复之间渐渐发现，那些更本质和更有趣的问题。这是知乎解决不了的。好的问题如果都由运营和编辑来提出，那么知乎的运营压力会爆炸；如果都由用户提出，那么一定伴随着海量毫无意义的垃圾问题，这对真正的好问题是一种掩盖。
因此，持续的对话和前后文关系的保留，就很重要。同时也得确保，来自对话后段出现的好问题/好回答，能够被之前关心这个话题的人看到，也能被后来的观众发现。
运营这样的社区，需要真正会采访的记者。
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