Soviet Bus Stops

　　攝影師Christopher Herwig在2002年一趟橫跨倫敦與聖彼得堡的長途單車之旅中，第一次發現了沿途蘇聯時期公車站的特異之美，以時而華麗時而超現實的姿態，佇立於荒涼的地景。起先是自我挑戰要每一個小時拍出一張好照片，沒想到就這樣開啟了他蒐集公車站建築的旅程。十二年過去，他居然已走過了14個國家，18,000英哩，透過汽車、腳踏車、公車，甚至是包了台計程車，就為了尋找下一個令人屏息驚嘆的車站。



　　對於蘇聯時期的印象通常是集權式的統治，受著共產思想的宰制，建築也應是以功能性為設計優先準則。然而，在幅員遼闊的蘇聯國度裡，由於中央政府的鞭長莫及，讓建築擁有不受侷限的創意。在私人汽車是奢侈品的狀態下，造就了完整的公車運輸系統，即便公車的路途往往遙遠、班次也算不多，卻能涵蓋廣大偏僻的地區。許多地區因荒涼人稀而缺乏酒吧、餐廳等聚會空間，於是公車站往往成了如同里民中心般的場所。也造就藉由車站呈現區域性的風土特色。此外，車站的設計經常是建築系學生的第一份獨立設計案，受鼓勵開創自我設計風格的年輕心靈，更是蘊生這些獨特設計的重要關鍵。雕塑家與建築師Zurab Tsereteli，就曾操刀設計了阿布哈茲(目前認為隸屬於喬治亞共和國)的公車站。



　　被英國紀實攝影大師- Martin Parr評價為2014年最佳的攝影集之一，本書收錄超過上百幅的照片，記錄了14個前蘇聯國家的車站身影，有些已隨著時間而漸趨斑駁，卻是歷史上值得被留存的創造力印記。(文/博客來編譯)

Photographer Christopher Herwig first noticed the unusual architecture of Soviet-era bus stops during a 2002 long-distance bike ride from London to St. Petersburg. Challenging himself to take one good photograph every hour, Herwig began to notice surprisingly designed bus stops on otherwise deserted stretches of road. Twelve years later, Herwig had covered more than 18,000 miles in 14 countries of the former Soviet Union, traveling by car, bike, bus and taxi to hunt down and document these bus stops.
The local bus stop proved to be fertile ground for local artistic experimentation in the Soviet period, and was built seemingly without design restrictions or budgetary concerns. The result is an astonishing variety of styles and types across the region, from the strictest Brutalism to exuberant whimsy.
Soviet Bus Stops is the most comprehensive and diverse collection of Soviet bus stop design ever assembled, including examples from Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Ukraine, Moldova, Armenia, Abkhazia, Georgia, Lithuania, Latvia, Belarus and Estonia. Originally published in a quickly sold-out limited edition, Soviet Bus Stops, named one of the best photobooks of 2014 by Martin Parr, is now available in a highly anticipated, expanded smaller-format trade edition.