Brussels Art Walk

If you are interested in art, 

yet feel intimidated or confused in front of contemporary art,
or not courageous enough to push the gallery doors…
Then, we are here for you!

Every Thursday and Saturday, Brussels Art Walk proposes different themes of tours guided by an art expert, art historian or art critic. These tours aim at introducing you to the making of contemporary art and to provide you with tools and information to contextualize art today from the perspective of art history. You would also have the chance to meet the artists and gallery owners.

You will find out that Brussels is fun and has a lot of artistic activities to offer!

Come join us! -- Brussels Art WalkA typical Brussels Art Walk starts at 11am and lasts 5 hours with 1 hour of lunch break.
You can also join in for the morning of afternoon session. 

Our focus is exhibitions presented in contemporary art galleries and art centres. Sometimes we would end with a coffee or a group visit to a museum show if the participants wish to, and they would stay as long as they wish in the museums. (Museum tickets are NOT included but sometimes we can profit from group tickets discount)

Participation
The participation fee for a tour is 30€ per person or 50€ for two. (*Lunch is not included)
For a half-day tour is 18€ per person or 35€ for two.

Contact us for trailored private group tour!

Book Online for our next Art Walks :

23 March 2013 (Saturday - Ixelles) --- RSVP Now

6 April 2013 (Saturday - Downtown) ---RSVP Now

Enquiries:

artwalk@initiartmagazine.com

http://www.initiartmagazine.com/BrusselsArtWalk.php

Mind The Gap -- A love story

港人每天乘搭港鐵上班下班，對於鐵路站的一句「請小心月台空隙」未必特別為意。但在英國倫敦地下鐵，一句有40年歷史的「Mind the Gap」，卻成了寡婦Margaret McCollum與亡夫每日的唯一連繫。



Margaret的丈夫Oswald Laurence生前是個演員，畢業於皇家戲劇學院，他為倫敦地鐵Northern Line所錄製的「Mind the Gap」（小心空隙），自1950年代至今，已沿用40年，相信不少到過倫敦的人都聽過。不過，這段聲帶近日漸漸被新的錄音取代。

Oswald在5年前去世，他去世後，Margaret經常都會到地下鐵的Embankment 站聽她亡夫遺下的聲音。Margaret說：「自從他去世，我甚至會坐在月台上等下一班列車來，直至我聽到他的聲音。」

不過，在今年11月，Margaret發現她再也聽不到Oswald的聲音了。

「11月1日，他不在了。我感到極度震驚，Oswald已經不在了。我去查詢，他們告訴我那裡已經換了新的數碼系統，已用不回他的聲音了。」

當知道Oswald的錄音對Margaret的重大意義後，倫敦交通局把錄有Oswald聲音的光碟交給她。最後，在她的懇求下，倫敦交通局更決定在Embankment站用回Oswald所錄製的「Mind the Gap」聲帶。

65歲的Margaret是名醫生，她在1992年於摩洛哥邂逅當時已離開舞台的Oswald，兩口子一直生活在倫敦北部，直至Oswald在2007年去世，享年70歲。Oswald的離世對Margaret造成毀滅性的傷害，「他極度熱愛生命。」她說。

倫敦地鐵運營總監Nigel Holness表示：「我們被她的故事深深感動，所以我們的員工翻查紀錄，不僅能找到那隻光碟供她保存，更決定在Embankment站用回那段聲帶。」

詳看報道影片：http://bit.ly/WFsgt7

InitiArt Magazine Interview with Hema Upadhyay

Hema Upadhyay 1972年出生於印度巴羅達。她從個人角度，用作品持續不斷地關註普遍存在的移民和遷徙經歷。在她的綜合材料作品中，她將自己的攝影作品整合於紙上，以傳達她自1998年搬至孟買以來對移民的看法。這些作品總是在描述人們到達一個新環境時所同時感受到的疏離和缺失，以及敬畏和興奮。在同一年，赫瑪在澳大利亞悉尼首次參加了國際聯展。她展出了一件由兩千只仿真蟑螂做成的裝置，名為“少女與成人”；這些蟑螂四散分布於展覽空間內。這件作品生成於一個全球化的高度緊張的政治氣氛之下，促使觀眾去思考軍事行動的後果。它使人們不禁躊躇，在如是的戰爭和核試驗之後的世界，還有什麽可以生還。


她所關心的主要問題是，人類在現代性和多維發展的時代背景下的混沌狀態，以及被附加在這一時代上的各種新的維度。她的作品極富情感，她將自己作為繪畫的主角，用自己的照片以求準確，因為她覺得無論將自畫像畫得多麽寫實都會帶來一定的主觀性。她也通過裝置藝術擴展自己的語言；乍一看，她的裝置似乎是孟買風景，但這實際上是一個對構成孟買這座城市的移民宣言；這是一座繁榮的都市；一片夢想的土地。某種程度上，貧民窟和低成本住房等，這些都是無法控制的移民潮的產物——人們拋下原先的安居樂業來到一個陌生的環境中停留。這是世界上大多數大城市的現況。

Baroda born and Mumbai based, Hema Upadhyay (*1972) uses photography and sculptural installations to explore notions of personal identity, dislocation, nostalgia and gender. Upadhyay draws on her own personal and family history of migration to express her concerns and this is expressed through the way she portrays herself in her works and the urban slums in her installations.

Hema had her first solo exhibition Sweet Sweat Memories in 2001. The exhibition speaks of a sense of alienation and loss and at the same time a feeling of awe and excitement one usually feels when in a new place. In 2003 she was part of the Vasl residency in Karachi where she made a work titled Loco foco motto that spoke about the India-Pakistan divide keeping in mind her own family history related to the partition of India. Constructed of thousands of un-ignited matchsticks assembled into elaborate chandeliers, these pieces embody an important element of Hindu ritual, symbolizing creation and destruction, a trend in her work, which explores violence co-existing with beauty. In her recent works, Hema explores the sculptural element in her large scale installations. She repeatedly utilizes the landscape of Bombay and patterned surfaces (from Indian spiritual iconography and traditional textile design) to reference the repercussions and socio-economic inequalities that emerge as a hidden consequence of the relentless tide of urban development in the city.


HU - Hema Upadhyay
ST – Selina Ting for InititArt Magazine



Residence in the Calder Atelier

Selina Ting: We are here in the Atelier Calder in Saché (France) where the late American sculptor Alexander Calder spent his last 15 years to work on the stabiles. He chose to build his house close to the wild nature in the Loire Valley region. Now this space is entirely dedicated for artist-in-residence projects. You do you feel after spending some months here?

Hema Upadhyay: When I came here, I realized that my proportions as a human being fit perfectly inside, in an interior. Once I am outside in the nature, it was too vast for me to understand my proportions. Nature has its own speed, site, growth and process. Comparing that with the manufacturing process of an artist, it’s a very different thing. I am confronting this right now. I am given a studio to work in, and I have this big house and the big forest, I can work anywhere. But I feel my proportions are right inside here. The moment when I go outside, it’s a complete upheaval for me.

Selina Ting: When we look at your previous works, we see a strong influence from the city environment of Mumbai where you live and work. While here, you are in a very different environment, vast, empty and peaceful.

Hema Upadhyay: Yes, so much chaos in my work actually came from the city. When I work in my studio in Mumbai, there are lots of elements, of decay, of life, of chaos. It’s a double-edged condition when you see development in the making – you see growth but decay, you see modern skyscrapers but the mushrooming of slums, etc. It is the dichotomy which existed within us and outside us as well. Here, it seems to be no chaos but an internal chaos is there in the forest. A construction and deconstruction cycle is taking place. As an artist, I am constantly confronted with the idea of creativity, of how the natural elements or conditions affect the manufactured work.

Selina Ting: It’s only when you cross the border that you can see the difference. Do you feel that it’s influencing your concept of art or art practices as well?


Hema Upadhyay: Yes. I think Nature often puts the question back to us, for example, how I look at my own process of art making with the one which is happening outside. Because, as an artist, you are always working alone with your ego and your alter ego, your good side and your bad side. All these come together with disrespect for a lot of things in the process of art-making, because you are really involved in it. Once when a work is done, when you look at it, you can analyze it.

Selina Ting: Because by then you can be put a distance in between… Do you think that the work is independent from you once it’s done?

Hema Upadhyay: When you are working on a work, you are obsessed with it. That’s the core of the practice. After that, I sometimes related to it as an object and when I have to install it in different spaces, I can alter it accordingly to the site. But this is not the core for me. The core is still the time spent in the studio. That’s why I enjoyed reading the previous interviews you have done, because they deal with the pure concept of art making, the process.


Continue reading: http://www.initiartmagazine.com/interview.php?IVarchive=40

InitiArt Magazine interview with Mircea Cantor

Mircea Cantor, Tracking Happiness, 2009, 11' Super 16mm transfered to HDCA. © Mircea Cantor. Courtesy of the artist

This interview was conducted last summer in Monchengladbach (Germany) where Mircea Cantor presented his solo show in the Städtisches Museum Abteiberg, Wise as a Serpent and Innocent as a Dove, a survey of his last 7 years’ works.

At the occasions of Mircea Cantor's nomination for the Marcel Duchamp Prize and his upcoming solo exhibition in Le Credac (France), More Cheeks Than Slaps, 16 Sept - 18 December 2011, we decided to republish this interview to kick off la rentrée, the energetic re-entering of the world deserted during the long vacation.

By Selina Ting


One of the most important young artists emerged in the international art scene since the last decade, Mircea Cantor (*1977, Romania) is best known for his use of video and mixed media installations to address the notions of displacement, uncertainty, fragility of convictions and uneasy confrontation of ideologies. The artist said at an interview that today “as we live in a simultaneous world where various items meet in the same place and time, there is a space of a beautiful tension that can lead toward a new vision”.

Adapting a highly economic language, the artist is far more optimistic than cynical with his art. A flying carpet with symbols of angels and airplanes is enough to bring different religions and values together. Despite being labeled as “provocative” from time to time, Mircea is in fact an idealist. A co-existed world in perfect harmony is perhaps not so unattainable in his eyes. “Le Monde” should be “Les Mondes” (2008). At least he has faith in Man. But he is not innocent; his innocence has purity at heart but wisdom in the mind.

Mircea Cantor, Double Heads Matches, 2002. (Still from video). © Mircea Cantor. Courtesy of the artist

Talking about his video Double Heads Matches (2002)which gained him attention, he said he was lucky to have met the Romanian manufacturer who found a crazy solution to produce 20,000 boxes of double-heads matches, legally against the EU law and technically impossible to do such a task. Mircea stressed the contrast in his cinematographic language, “you can see from the videos, they had to cut the wood into matchsticks, and dipped both tips into phosphorusat and dried them in a special oven. I recorded the whole process step by step. The first part of the production was by machine, very systematic and mechanical, noisy. Then the second part is made by human hand which gives different motion, speed.” When the aggression of the machine is replaced by the warmth of the human hand, the images then speak of attention, passion and quietness.

Mircea Cantor, Deeparture, 2005. (Still from video). © Mircea Cantor. Courtesy of the artist

Mircea is a vegetarian and he wants his food to be prepared with care and passion, which were obviously absent in the salad before him. Critical towards the mass-consumption and fast-food culture, he does not want to comply with the market’s expectation for the ever new and newer works. Instead, he integrates and juxtaposes his old works with newer pieces in his solo shows. In his installation piece, The Need for Uncertainty (2008), for example, where two peacocks (born and brought up in cages) were placed inside a gallery space in a series of golden cages, it becomes a symbol of our daily illusion of freewill as well as an artist’s self-reflexive questioning of his social role to perform, to produce and to please the public.

Mircea Cantor, The Need for Uncertainty (2008) © Mircea Cantor. Courtesy of the artist. Courtesy Yvon Lambert, Paris, New York.

check out InitiArt Magazine to read more...

54th Venice Biennale Artist's Interview : Angel Vergara

54th Venice Biennale Artist's Interview : Angel Vergara


For many years, the work of the Belgian artist Angel Vergara (*1959, Mieres, Spain) has used different media such as drawing, video, installation and performance, allowing him to explore and broaden the limitations of painting both from an esthetic and socio-political perspective. His more recent works make use of film and video and it is through this flux or stream of images that he creates or renders possible “live paintings”, a painting that is created in sync with the flow of images on the screen. The same gesture takes place within a mediatized reality when Vergara appropriates existing images. His assertion of his position as a painter is nothing more than an abstract concept: when he interacts with reality, he often occupies an economic and social function though which he seeks to explore the limits of the role of the artist.

For the 54th Venice Biennale, Angel Vergara presents in the Belgian Pavilion the exhibition project “Feuilleton”, curated by Luc Tuymans, from 4th June to 27th November 2011.

The interview with Angel Vergara took place on 28 April 2011 during the Art Brussels 2011.



Selina Ting: How did you feel when you know that you were chosen for the national pavilion?

Angel Vergara: Fantastic! It’s a big challenge… Four artists were selected and we had two months to come up with a project, then my project is taken. I am really happy to be present in such an important event. Because in Belgium, we are the capital of Europe and we don’t even have a contemporary art museum. Art venues are very limited for living artists. We have a lot of good artists and we are bored with the situation. For me, it’s a big challenge to be in Venice.

ST: It’s your idea to invite Luc Tuymans to be the curator of the show?

AV: Yes, I invited him and it was fantastic that he accepted. It’s important to work with another artist, especially an artist from the other community [Flemish]. And immediately we are in the same language, same vocabulary. We discovered each other and knew better each other’s work since the collaboration. Though our practices are very different, it’s amazing to find a lot of similarities between us in regards to history, memory, identity, etc. It was a big experiment! Besides, Luc is a very experienced curator as well. I am very happy working with him.

Continue reading...

比利時Mark Vanmoerkerke 收藏

文字︰丁燕燕 攝影︰丁暘

引子
位於比利時西北部Osstende這個荷語小城裡，藏有二千多件當代藝術中最耀眼的珍品，說的是收藏家Mark Vanmoerkerke的私人珍藏「The Art Collection」。Mark於2008年為他的藏品建新居，創立這個私人空間，同時定期開放給公眾參觀。訪問中，Mark分享了他管理私人收藏的經驗及藝術空間對一座城市的影響。


私人收藏管理學

五十八歲的Mark Vanmoerkerke笑稱自己在藝術收藏方面是一個遲熟的人，要到四十五歲才開始收藏。但做任何事都百分百投入的他，短短十多年來便建立起世界上最重要的後概念藝術藏品之一。他最為人津津樂道的是，當金融危機暴發，藏家們都勒緊口袋時，他郤一擲千金，在邁阿密藝術博覽會上一次購入八十八件作品。「你要知道，在你口袋空空時購進的作品，往往是最好的。因為你願意為它承擔風險，為它放棄其他的投資。所以，最珍貴的就是它。」

「一個優秀的收藏家得有勇氣承認自己犯錯，還得有魄力及能力整頓收藏。確立清晰、專一的定位方向後，就得有耐力拒絕某些作品。」Mark指自己從錯誤中學會了收藏的原則。購買第一件當代藝術品為的是裝飾辦公室，愛上了便隨心所欲地購進心頭好。不知不覺間，二千多件作品堆滿了家及倉庫。重新定位後，Mark在Oostende覓得一舊工廠，並在旁邊加建一座展覽廳，作為展示、保護收藏的地方。

當藏品越來越多時，最叫收藏家頭痛的，便是保存及維護的問題。Mark特別注重這方面的工作，「這是任何一位收藏家應盡的基本職責。」Mark有整整兩層空間用作保存作品，溫度、濕度、燈光等均遵照美術館規定。不展出的作品，便妥善安置，如圖書館般分區分碼。大型繪畫、油畫及攝影作品一律架在拉櫃內，小件的平面作品，則放入壁櫥，三維作品則獨立裝在等製的木箱內，當眼處貼好作品標籤，根據藝術家姓氏排列。Mark的藝術圖書館同樣管理妥善，「我們清楚地知道這些資源的學術及歷史價值，所以我們設立了兩個獎學金，幫助有志於私人收藏管理學的碩士或博士生進行研究。」


何謂私人藝術空間？

「這是一個半私人、半公共的藝術空間，只要有人按鐘，相識不相識的，我都會為他們開門。」好，讓我們先來理解一下私人藝術空間的定義及性質。

收藏向來是私人主導的，無論收藏對象是藝術品或罕世珍品，它往往帶有強烈的個人印記。過往收藏是權貴的專利，後來亦成為文人學者建立專業知識體系的方法。我們今天所認知的博物館及圖書館都是由私人收藏演變而來，可以說，公諸同好的私人藝術收藏便是美術館的前身。經驗三個世紀的演進，公共美術館(無論是歐洲的國立或是美國的私立美術館)漸漸成為了藝術珍品的合法歸宿，收藏家亦樂於支持這些美術館，出錢出力、捐贈作品等。

但近三十年來，由收藏家自發地買地、建展覽館、策展、聘請博物館管理專才，甚至策劃社區教育項目等的例子越來越多。現時全世界大約有七十五個私人空間，主要集中在歐美國家。這個轉變，與藝術市場的活躍有直接關係，但更深遠的原因是美術館的僵化。作品價格高漲，令很多美術館難以與財力龐大的藏家競爭。加上美術館的購藏制度繁複、保守，對於前衛、具挑戰性的作品往往反應慢三拍，是以絕大部份當代藝術品落入私人收藏中。收藏家亦因而再次成為承擔經濟風險、支持藝術家生活及創作的人。「美術館有它的歷史責任，一個好的館藏必須具有歷史性、渊博性及完整的文獻記錄。私人收藏沒有這些包袱，自由度、冒險性及開放性才是最重要。」Mark說。


私人藝術空間與城市

Mark選擇在Oostende建立這個私人空間，除了這裡是他生活的地方外，另一重要原因是，這個皇室最愛的海邊渡假小鎮，甚麼都有，就是當代藝術欠奉。「莫說美術館，就連畫廊亦要開車到其他城市才能見到。」

Mark決定興建藝術空間時，只和算間學校談過，看看社區需要甚麼，其他行政部門只需「通知一聲」。這是全私人投資，不設門票，亦不需政府資助。很自由的，沒有半點美術館的規矩，部份作品更可讓參觀人士觸摸。「觸摸藝術品是一種很刺激的感覺，往往年輕人愛上藝術，就是親手接觸過作品，很有人味的。」Mark說。

這個私人空間的探訪率非常高，因為這裡每六個月就會舉行新展覽。Mark從不自己策展，而是邀請知名的策展人來為他策展。收藏家一般都不喜歡以學術的角度來看待自己的收藏，但空間一旦開放，便應要有某程度的「教育」意義，故此，Mark選擇外援。「第一個受教育的人就是我自己」，他笑說。本著「分享是樂趣」的信念，Mark以驚人的魄力及財力，獨力管理著這座藝術聖殿。

1. 金融投資專家Mark Vanmoerkerke在他的私人藝術空間接受筆者訪問，背後為藝術家On Kawara的「Date Painting」(1973 – 1978)。

2. 藝術空間外觀，左邊為舊工廠改建而成的展覽廳，右邊為加建的展覽廳及辦公室，最右邊為著名藝術家Dan Graham的「Pavilion」裝置作品。每有藝術家到訪，Mark都會邀請他們為建築物拍照，此為攝影師Philippe de Gobert的作品。(由Mark Vanmoerkerke提供)

3. 舊工廠展覽廳，現正展出著名策展人Jan Hoet為Mark策劃的Noli Me Tangere (別碰我)展覽。圖中包括Carsten Holler、Kris Martin、Dominique Gonzalez-Forester、Steven Parrino、Philippe Parreno、Maurizio Cattelan 及Lara Favaretto的作品。

4. 藝術空間內的辦公室，背後為Bernd and Hilla Becher的攝影作品。

5. 不展出的大型繪畫、油畫及攝影作品一律架在拉櫃內。

6. 分門別類的儲存倉。

Interview with the Belgian Collector Alain Servais

我的網上藝術雜誌 -- InitiArt Magazine -- Online Art Magazine

訪問及整理︰丁燕燕 / Selina Ting

The young Belgian collector, Alain Servais, started collecting art in the late 1990s. In 2000, he moved into a 900-square meter old factory which he transformed into a three-storey loft, located in a working-class neighborhood of northern Brussels. This is where he lives and works, as well as showing his contemporary art collection. “There are two lighting systems, the artwork lighting system and the living lighting system. This is my way of living”, he said. The freedom he enjoys as an independent financial consultant allows him to travel at his own rhythm. Art is taking up most of his personal and leisure time. He visits more than 10 art fairs, festivals and biennales around the world every year. Other than collector and Financial Consultant, Alain is a happy father of two lovely daughters, Alexia (14) and Marie (12).

In the interview, we talked about how a collection betrays its master, the collector. Alain is very open and sincere in sharing his experiences and philosophy. I am very grateful for his generosity, and I really admire his courage to confront himself. “This is really the most revealing and personal interview I ever did and probably will ever do”, he wrote me a week after the interview.

AS - Alain Servais

ST – Selina Ting for InititArt Magazine

What is Collecting Art?

ST: You are young, and a very active and “hard-working” collector. What are your basic ideas about collecting art?

AS: There are different things about collecting. The very first aspect concerns what you think of art. It’s almost the first question I am asking to everyone I meet to know in which artworld category to find them. It’s a tough question to answer, “What is art for you?”, and I ask myself this question regularly.

ST: Throughout the years you must have very different answers to your own question.

AS: Yes, of course.

ST: Perhaps it’s interesting for us to start with the question.

AS: I don’t know but let me finish your question first. So, you have the art then you have the collecting. Why is it? You said earlier that I am fascinated by collectors, and it’s very true. I am very interested in them across history, not just today, but in general about the phenomenon of collecting. There are many different ways of collecting, but I like the following definition that I read somewhere: The difference between a museum and a private collection is that, a museum is trying to illustrate an evolution of time, while a collector is encapsulating a point in time. A collector is very often active in a certain time span, usually they are good for 10 to 12 years, then they often become bad or they stop. Why? It’s because things are changing so much that you can’t adapt many times in succession. That’s why it’s so amazing to see some collectors changing and re-focusing their collection. It’s an amazing personal effort to do that. That’s also why you would see so often the same artists in different collections active in the same period.

ST: How can you try not to become a victim of this?

AS: That’s the second level about collecting, which means you have to try to give a message through your collection. I tend to explain it in this way: an artist is creating a sign, and the collector at a certain point is taking these signs and putting them together to give another message. He’s making a sentence, if you will. He’s creating something new. He’s expressing himself also. I think it’s important. I am trying to express something. Sometimes I have the impression that I am not being listened to… [Smiles] I ask the work of art to speak for me, on my behalf. I am hiding behind what they are saying, or in fact, I am saying what they are saying.

ST: Because you are the one who’s organizing the sentence.

AS: Yes, or sometimes, I can go to another level than what the artist really intended to say. I like the idea an artist told me, that once you sent the work of art to the world, you are losing control of its meaning. Some artists want to fight against this; some are just fine with it. Also, with the passing of time, you can never really see the work with the same eye as at its time of creation. That’s why I like to visit museums. I try to put myself in the mindset of times during which the work was created to understand how people in that time looked at those pieces. I don’t want to see the works only with my eyes of today because when one makes the effort to imagining oneself back in the artist’s own time you realize how those works could be really revolutionary and radical, and it feels even better to understand that. [Smiles]

Read More.... 繼續看……

http://www.initiartmagazine.com/interview.php?IVarchive=44

InitiArt Magazine slide show

艾未未與一億葵花籽

文字 / 丁燕燕
圖片提供 / 倫敦泰德現代美術館
原文刊登於香港經濟日報文化版(2010年12月28日)


引子
一億顆手工燒製的葵花籽陶瓷舖滿了倫敦泰德現代美術館內一千平方米的渦輪大廳 (Turbine Hall)，曾有幸運的觀眾能赤足踏上這片十厘米深的葵花籽海，感覺彷如沙灘漫步。然而，浪漫詩意只是藝術手段，藝術家艾未未的政治訴求才是作品存在的真正意義。

葵花籽 – 從貢品到藝術品
一百五十噸的葵花籽雕塑從中國傳統貢品瓷器出產地景德鎮裝運至泰德現代展出。這批葵花籽經歷了三十個傳統製作程序，以一千三百度高溫燒製，並全人手彩繪，一顆顆幾可亂真、獨一無二的葵花籽充份展現了景德鎮匠工的千年絕活﹗

或者這些數字背後最值得探究的是藝術家本身的位置。一千年多來，景德鎮的唯一生產作業便是陶藝，儘管經歷多次改朝換姓，這門手藝依然代代相傳，為宮廷提供最精湛的陶瓷器皿。但現在，這裡出產的不是貢品而是商品，加上陶瓷市場息微，很多匠人面臨失業。葵花籽計劃以全職月薪方式僱用了一千六百名專業匠工整整兩年，艾未未指，整個鎮裡每個人都會有朋友或家人在參與製作。漸漸地，縱然不知道他是藝術家的，也會知道他就是那個要葵花籽的人，「就連計程車司機也在談論」，艾說。目前葵花籽計劃已告一段落，但匠人們正在期待艾的下一個計劃。就這樣，艾改變了整個鎮的經濟工業，而從前孝忠帝皇的景德鎮現亦樂於為這位與政權對立的藝術家服務。正如艾未未所說，由於匠工們習慣製作實用的瓷器，尤其是那些習慣繪畫高技巧的古典圖案的陶繪專家，他們很難理解整個看似簡單而又深奧的計劃。

葵花籽的意義
儘管匠工們不能理解計劃的全部意義，他們亦會知道葵花籽是朋友間分享的零食，無論當年生活多貧乏，口袋裡總有幾顆葵花籽；而無論今日生活多優越，啃瓜子依然是大伙兒的樂趣。艾未未選擇葵花籽作為象徵，還有另一層政治意義。「文革時的宣傳海報都把毛澤東比喻為太陽，而人民側是仰向太陽的向日葵」，艾未未解釋。無論政治有多壓迫、生活有多困頓，分享葵花籽為人們提供了一個分享、互助、親切的空間。

一億顆葵花籽是北京人口的五倍，亦是中國互聯網使用者人口的四份之一。作品的大規模生產，一方面批評中國正盲目地為配合市場需要而大量生產，另一方面滑稽地呈現這種重複地累積小量個人的努力而致成為巨大而無用途的社會現狀。艾未未亦喜歡把作品比喻為他喜愛的Twitter —— 汪洋大海中無數的意念和交流訊息，而這些全部來自個人。這個讓參與者以個人身份跟大量不認識的人聯繫的平台，對艾未未來說，會不停地改變社會，「因為這是一種由個人組成的巨大力量。」


一顆紀念品？
作品由十月中展出以來，最具爭議性的話題是︰到底觀眾可否帶走一顆葵花籽留為紀念？艾未未對此模稜兩可，他說︰「如果我是觀眾，我肯定會拿走一顆。」但對美術館來說，最重要的是作品的完整性，帶走葵花籽會破壞作品的整體結構與意義。因此，美術館不鼓勵大家這樣做。觀眾從美術館帶走作品的一部份，並非新鮮事。著名的古巴藝術家Feliz Gonzalez-Torres (1957 – 1996) 以邀請觀眾參與為樂，他把325磅的糖果堆成作品，或把攝影作品大量複印成海報，希望觀眾能把甜美的回憶帶回家。藝術作品因而成為了民主、平等、共享的象徵。從這點出發，筆者認為觀眾應該被允許帶走一顆葵花籽，這樣比較附合艾未未的創作精神。但注意，這裡說的，是一顆，而非一口袋﹗每一顆葵花籽都是獨立製作而成，再而滙為籽海，觀眾珍而重之地保存一顆時，葵花籽亦重拾它的獨特性。同時，美術館預計展覽將吸引約二百萬名觀眾，如果每人帶走一顆，作品還有九千八百萬顆，葵花籽海依舊是葵花籽海﹗
但現在要「偷」走葵花籽已成難事，因為作品於開幕後第五天就因「陶瓷灰塵影響觀眾健康」而閉展一天，現在觀眾只能遠觀，不能褻玩了。對於這個新措施，相信艾未未與觀眾同樣感到失望。此等健康及安全事故已成為渦輪大廳的常見問題，如2006年Carsten Höller的24米長滑梯裝置引起觀眾驚慌情緒，而2007年Doris Salcedo 的167米長「地震裂隙」則導致魯莽觀眾「損手爛腳」﹗


圖片說明 :
1.艾未未雕塑裝置作品《葵花籽》(2010)。©艾未未
2.艾未未，《葵花籽製作過程》(2010)，攝影︰艾未未工作室。 ©艾未未
3.艾未未於倫敦泰德現代的 Unilever Series開幕禮上。
4.艾未未雕塑裝置作品《葵花籽》(2010) (細節)。攝影︰Marcus Leith & Andrew Dunkley 。 ©艾未未

Erika Hoffmann 私人收藏 - 柏林

文字/丁燕燕
圖片提供/霍夫曼私人收藏
原文刊登於香港經濟日報2010年8月18日 文化版


引子
七月天的柏林總是烈日當空，照射得有點發狠。37度的高溫下，我選擇了一個悠閒的方式來親近藝術──到訪德國著名收藏家Erika及Rolf Hoffmann(霍夫曼夫婦)位於市中心Mitte的15,000平方尺豪宅，一嚐與當代藝術同居的滋味。


與藝術同眠
霍夫曼大宅位於較為僻靜的Sophie-Gips-Höfe庭院內，這一帶於上世紀初為猶太社區，以傳統手工業聞名。霍夫曼夫婦於1994年購入前身為縫衣機工廠的黃磚大樓，將之改建為住宅及辦公室。霍夫曼夫婦選擇保留舊工廠的味道，以簡樸不加修飾的設計來改建，牆身只簡單地刷上白油，而部份工業式天花板更任意暴露，昔日辛勞的痕跡處處可見。大樓外牆更有數不盡的子彈洞，就連藝術家Thomas Locher的裝置作品亦無法遮掩歷史的傷口。

年邁七十的Erika週未時會特別整理她的辦公室，但我們依然可從微細的地方察知主人的喜好，如案頭的報章、沙發上的書籍等。而地上角落處放著一個花布包袱，Erika解釋說，那是韓國藝術家Kim Sooja送給她的作品，包袱內放著的是丈夫Rolf的衣物，紀念他於2001年離世。隔壁的書房裡，Erika放了Chapmen Brothers一組83張的版畫，要仔細看完整組作品，還得花上一點時間呢。至於客廳則疏落地放了數張沙發和一張圓形餐桌，對Erika來說，傢俱擺設須具靈活性，因為她每年都會重新佈展，「這樣，整個生活空間改變了，人的精神亦為之一震」，Erika笑著說。炎熱的七月正是Erika重新佈展的時候，因為它是最乾燥、對藝術品搬運最有利的天氣。


開放的私人收藏
到訪Erika的家已不是甚麼藝術圈的內幕消息，事實上，霍夫曼夫婦於1994年從科隆移居柏林時，目的就是要將他們的私人收藏公諸同好。現在，逢星期六中午至下午四時，預先報名的公眾可獲接待，由專業導賞員帶領，參觀霍夫曼夫婦四十年來精心建立的龐大收藏。Erika強調，這是私人收藏，不存在所謂的收藏規則，但每一件作品都反映了主人的品味和對藝術的認知及追求。Erika說︰「我們購藏一件作品，原因是它能帶給我們思想上的挑戰和豐盛我們的生活經驗。」他們不以累積著名藝術家名單為樂，亦從不公開收藏的規模，但他們喜歡與藝術家交往，很多蜚聲國際的藝術家，當年都是和他們同步成長的，而今天寂寂無名的年輕藝術家，亦是他們的關注對象。於是，我們在這裡看到了Gerhard Richter的抽象油畫、Bruce Nauman 及Mike Kelley的雕塑、Boltanski及Isa Genzken的裝置作品、Jean-Michel Basquiat的塗鴉、Nan Goldin的相片，還有Frank Stella的牆上雕塑、Frank Gehry的bubble長櫈等。在這星光熠熠中，我們亦踫上年輕藝術家的作品，如Chiharu Shiota、Yael Bartana等。

這裡不是美術館，沒有嚴密的守衛或閉路電視，一切建立於收藏家對公眾的信任和公眾對屋主私隱的尊重。牆上沒有作品介紹或藝術家名字，所有作品平等而相容地共處一室。但如果你願意發問，你會得到所有你感興趣的資料，因為這裡沒有穿制服的保安，只有熱愛藝術、能操多國語言的導賞員，陪伴你走過兩小時的旅程。參觀結束時，你會在Erika的客廳逗留，喝杯水，總結參觀的感受。


如何開始？
霍夫曼夫婦於六十年開始收藏當代藝術品，那時他們住在Dusseldorf附近的小鎮Mochengladbach，在這裡，Rolf經營龐大的家族製衣業生意van Laack，修讀藝術史的Erika則成為時裝設計師。那是百廢待舉的德國，年輕的當代藝術家們蠢蠢欲動，有能力的新一代如霍夫曼夫婦渴求新知識、新體驗。在這裡，他們遇上了。Erika回憶說，那時出席展覽開幕禮是生活重要的一部份，很多新朋友、新意念、新計劃就是這樣誕生的。當年她邀請過Marcel Broodthaers任廣告模特兒，亦Andy Warhol亦為她在紐約時裝週的表演中擔任top model。

這個時期給霍夫曼夫婦印象最深刻的，可能是Joseph Beuys，相識多年，他們被Beuys的個人魅力所吸引，但從未購藏過Beuys的作品，「因為他的藝術意念比作品重要，現在我們開放收藏，實質上是力行他的social sculpture理念，以藝術貢獻社會的倡議。」柏林圍牆倒下，霍夫曼夫婦強烈地希望能為統一後的德國做點事，於是帶同整個收藏移居柏林，「我們相信當代藝術對人的獨立思考有莫大的啟發作用，我們希望把它帶給新一代，與他們分享這些前人獨創的偉大作品。」

Caption:
1. Floor 1997-1998: A.R.Penck, Standart Modell, 1968; Jean-Michel Basquiat, Levétation, 1987; Jean-Michel Basquiat, Untitled, 1987; Frank Stella, Of Whales, in paint, in teeth…, 1990
2. Erika Hoffmann in front of a Frank Stella in her salon
3. 2003-04. left: Fang Lijun, 1999.2.1, 1999.
right: Frank Stella, The Beggarwoman of Locarno, 2000
4. 2009-10. Suzan Pitt, Untitled Sculpture, 1983, acrylic on plywood
Yael Bartana, Mary-Koszmary, 2007, one channel super 16mm film transferred to video
Chiharu Shiota, Inside-Outside, 2009, ca. 280 windows, one chair
Christopher Wool, Untitled (FEAR), 1990, enamel and acrylic on aluminum
Reiner Ruthenbeck, Aschehaufen III, 1968, ashes, iron sticks, wire (ca. 1t clinker)