renfeng KE

Craft

1) is either applied art  or fine art.

2) design-oriented craft --> functional design --> 1) unique or limited edition pieces --> fine craft

                                                                                    --> 2) mass production --> design product 

3) designer-maker --> 1) artist

                                  --> 2) designer

The journey in quest of the Craft, Design and Art

In the process of organising our new organisation, I begin the journey in quest of the difference between Craft and Design, and the position of these two in the contemporary art marketspace. In all, it seems like an process of deconstruction and re-construction.

究竟，“工藝“是門技術，還是概念；而“設計“是門技術，還是概念；協會要推廣的，是工藝技術，還是設計概念？我一整個糊塗了。當代工藝家（craftspeople），將工藝技術（craftsmanship）結合設計理念，創造限量（limited）、手製(handmade)的藝術作品。其作品可以是強調功能性的applied craft，也可是強調藝術性的fine craft。

有許多設計作品，像是設計傢具，如目前在V&A展示的"telling tales"，裡頭得作品大多帶有強烈的個人風格、包含著創作者的創作理念，像是有什麼宣言想要向世界宣告。作品都是出自於創作者之手，且限量發行。換言之，創作者必須具有強烈的創作理念與設計論述，同時具備高超的工藝技巧。相同於純藝術，這些作品通常流通於藝廊，但又不同於雕塑品，在其象徵意義或是裝飾價值的外殼下，他們同時又帶有些許的功能。因此，他們這次稱為“Design Art“。你說說，這是不是讓人搞得一頭霧水??!!

在尋找答案的過程中，這一期的“craft arts“介紹紐約新開張的“Museum of ARTS and Design“, 這間美術館經過三次轉型，換過三的地點。從1956年名為Museum of contemporary crafts,到2002年名為Museum of Modern Art,到2008年底正式更名為Museum of ARTS and Design(MAD)，是的，這樣的更名過程的確令人mad...拿掉craft字樣後的美術館，要如何推動工藝品？在該組織的宗旨說的挺不得罪人的,it “collects, displays and interprets objects that document contemporary and historic innovation in craft, art and design“.

為何它要拿掉craft?為何保留design?是不是未來得作品會變成somewhere between craft, art and design?
"craftpeople are designing for industry (which haven t happened yet in Taiwan),  industrial designers are making works of art, artists are using craft techniques and materials" 這樣的生物鏈將定義模糊了，生出了一大片灰色地帶。

好吧！正面思考，或許可以說我們正處於一個講求創意（creativity）的新文藝復興時代。我的腦筋還是一團糨糊，但截至目前為止，我確定我們應該朝著所謂設計導向“design-oriented“的目標來推動工藝產業。如文章結尾所言 “there is room for both the new breed of clever artist/designers as well as for the studio-based craft practioners who breathe new vitality into the living traditions of the hand-made object."

Stuck on Personal Calling - the Alchemist is the cheerleader

這篇的開頭真難寫，總之就是我下定決心專注在工藝產業發展，做一個不斷進步還會跳salsa的藝術經理人。

在倫敦，很幸運地欣賞倫敦工藝，不知不覺漸漸喜歡上這些兼具設計與手製的限量品，參觀crafts council 舉辦的 collect 2008，發現當地的工藝品的面貌是豐富、多元的，相當有趣。專訪cockpit arts以及一些desingner-makers後，羨慕這類型的studio institution可以這樣支持這些工藝家，兩者間建立良好的共生關係。

回到台灣，對工藝的感受是我們專注在技藝保存與推廣，結合地方發展文化技藝，最後的成果不是走向觀光產值就是文化保存（開設社區課程推廣技藝），對於工藝產業產值的提升其實並沒有多大的助益。

工藝的面向也相對狹隘，多數關注在藍染、漆器、竹編、陶瓷，那麼其他如珠寶、紡織品、皮製品、金工、玻璃、時尚飾品配件等呢？


最後此時也不知道要寫什麼，我也不知現在這想法是不是自己的personal calling, as Paulo Coelho wrote in the alchemist (牧羊少年的奇幻之旅)， however ,  " whenever we do something that fills us with enthusiasm, we are following our legend." Moreover, I expect myself to have courage to confront my own dream. I hope to live with enthusiasm and pleasure and know why I am here.

就算它是吧，總之就是我的理想正努力開始。

 

Four Important things in Life

Damien Hirst, the rockstar in current auctions by his ongoing theme - the complicated subject of death. Honestly, the things he made that I do not so appreciate at the first glance. The interpretation of his concept which drives his creativity, however, made me think them twice and become a fan of his.

"...I remember I was thinking that there were four important things in life: religion, love, art and science. At their best, they're all just tool to help you find a path through the darkness. None of them really work that well, but they help. Of them all, science seems to be the one right now. Like religion, it provides the glimmer of hope that maybe it will be all right in the end."

"...In this instance, I wanted people to think about the combination of science and religion, basically. People tend to think of them as two very separate things, one cold anc clinical, the other emotional and loving and warm. I wanted to leap over those boundaries and give you somthing that looks clinical and cold but has all the religious, metaphysical connotations, too...." (D. Hirst, New Religion, London, 2006, p.5).

Topics he deals with - Love and Hate, Life and Death, Science and Religion - three systems of human belief that he questioned are do attractive . Whether "Happy Head", "For the Love of God", only reflects the artist's personality that:

... there is a lot of energy when it is exploring and a lot of death afterwards, but it is that point when it is exploding that interests me" (D, Hirst, 1997, p.17).

This sentence reminds me again of a person's line "life is excitements followed by depression all the time..." (no wonder I'd become to crush on Hirst, they both come from the same planet...)

傳道者說、虛空的虛空、虛空的虛空．凡事都是虛空。

一代過去、一代又來．地卻永遠長存。

江河都往海裏流、海卻不滿．江河從何處流、仍歸還何處。

最終，還是讓<傳道書>為人生做出最佳的註解。

Dying Machine Play 2. Eastern Orlando

<foto from Orlando, 2009>

So it is, like it said, a love letter that woman wrote to freedom. In the journey of stream-of-consciousness, the actress - Hai-ming Wei, who is well known for Chinese Opera, played "Orlando" written by Virginia Woolf first published in 1928, all by herself alone on the stage in the whole 3 hours without a pause.

Dying Machine Play 1. Between the devil and the Deep Blue Sea

<foto from 1927>

Theres always a time, at one point in your life, that you'd be hooked by one thing, one scene that brought you feelings of solid but hollow at the same time. "1927" is definitely the one good at doing so.

Lost my heart in somewhere on someone

foto from telli

Another chapter of Old is New - Shaolin Kung Fu

foto from Salder's Wells

Old is new, new embedded in old, all these components make London become a place where you cannot miss but miss once you leave.

In today's National Geographic Channel Taiwan, Inside: Kung Fu Inc., they introduce how Shaolin Temple transformed itself from a cultural heritage into an international brand, in order to adapt to the changes in Capitalism society.

法國編舞家 Sidi Larbi Cherkaoui與少林武僧，共同於去年五月，在個人相當喜愛的表演中心—Salder's Wells，祭出一齣結合古少林與後西方的現代舞碼（參此）。 這像結合個個都是上乘之選，不僅是舉世聞名的少林武術，Sidi還邀請Turner獎得主Antony Gormley，設計出21個木箱，這些木箱在像是堆積木般在舞台上幻化出不同的表演效果。除此之外，音樂也是表演成功與否的關鍵因素，來自波蘭的作曲家 Szymon Brzóska輕快流緩的鋼琴聲，讓硬邦邦的武術便成了舞術，武僧成舞僧（他們應該不愛這稱呼）。

這齣表演上檔時，許多人多說獲得了啟發(inspiration，當中就我所知垃圾人的啟發還是垃圾...對此偏見個人是一點也不抱歉...)，或許少林武術背後的哲學、化入禪意的工夫，經過現代西化的包裝下，真的讓人感受到了些許也不一定。而這一連串跨文化結合，造就文化產業創新的背後，簡單地是為了傳承的求生目的，創新為求生。

有沒有想唱“少林工夫好～少林工夫妙～（電影「少林工夫」）“   我有...


related post

Art Events in Spring Taipei

Some events I want to see during Spring Taipei.

Legends of the Silk Road - Treasures from Xinjiang
12.6~3.15 @ National Museum of History

Mind as Passion：A video art exhibition featuring 17 new-generation artists from Taiwan and Japan
1.24~3.29 @ Taipei Fine Art Museum

Madden Reality: Post-Taipei Art Group
1.12~4.5 @ Taipei Fine Art Museum

La Fin des Terres by Compagnie Phillipe Genty
4.9~4.12 @ National Theatre Concert Hall

Il Giardino Giapponese by T.P.O.
3.12~3.15 @ National Theatre Concert Hall

Orlando
2.21~3.1 @ National Theatre Concert Hall

Sleeping Beauty & Swan Lake by The Mariinsky Ballet & Orchestra
3.27~4.1 @ National Theatre Concert Hall

In all, the quality of programmes of 2009 Taiwan International Festival are attractive to me so far.

新馬戲天團Les 7 Doigts de la Main

From the album: "Traces" by Salder's Wells

台北藝術中心 Taipei Performing Arts Centr — 為什麼要討厭這顆蛋