策展論述
為了難以命名的下一秒
姚立群
下一秒,極近將來的那一秒。對於演出中的表演者,這一秒鐘很真實但又幾乎不存在──若非被「演活」而過,就是不知不覺地,過了。劇場裡的真實,從來就是需要這樣講求下一秒的表演來辨識。現場、流動、即興等關鍵字的真義也在於此,而所謂的練功、涵養、思考等是為它的到來打下基礎。
二十年的台新藝術獎,恰似一面大纛,飄揚於台灣文化治理積極建制的時代之風裡。因為它不斷檢討「觀察─評論─評選」機制的適性,藉由入圍與得獎的作品,促成無數的「藝術對話」,具體呈示「跨領域」思維。它真正的助力,更像是大風吹過的旗幡,形成光影之間,引人注意到「草叢中的驚喜」。「NEXT——台新藝術獎20週年大展」(下稱「台新20」)延續著台新藝術獎對於表演藝術的熱切關注,將呈現許多「講求下一秒的」表演藝術作品。這些表演的場地,並非重視上座率的劇場,而是關切流量的美術館,以及與上座率或流量不甚關聯、乃至於無關的遠距場所。但是,我們因此可以看到各家各團安置作品的態度與方式。
忙碌於演出行程的知名團隊,如世紀當代舞團、布拉瑞揚舞團、優人神鼓,不乏到美術館演出的經驗,但無論是興奮地要搭配館外的捷運通行風景,或是決定在美術館中進行巡禮,總是著眼於展現集體的精神力量。而如周書毅、李銘宸,他們樂於詮釋空間現場,傳達了一種基進閱讀美術館本體的態度,同時也不偏廢表達「作者論」式的創作思維。黃思農決定舉辦一場音樂會,將劇場音樂人、獨立音樂人與社運工作者齊聚一台,以詩歌回顧台灣21世紀抗爭史,一舉跨越台新藝術獎與再拒劇團的二十週年。另如舞者─編舞劉冠詳、演員─編劇楊奇殷,在「台新二十」提出以印度史詩或太宰治的文本,介紹出他們選擇來鍛鑄自己的取徑。
這次在美術館,有兩件作品掌握團隊得獎時的核心創作概念,做出了今昔韻致相異的版本:一是動見体林桂如的《凱吉一歲》,預置鋼琴配以蹺蹺板當傳動裝置,構成一個簡明的遊樂氛圍,說明了藝術家投注於兒童的視線,迎接更多觀眾參與的姿態;另一件是王世偉、田孝慈、Helmi Fita及李慈湄的藝術家組合,拆解《群眾》的組件,由聲響、裝置體驗、行為藝術導引觀眾獨自「探索身處人群之中的孤寂與困惑」。
另有潛心於影像的創作或對話的表演藝術家,帶來別出心裁或另有文化深意的「觀看方式」:「倒立先生」黃明正的影片是他為已然過半的二十年拍片進程計畫所製作的特別版本,紀念著藝術獎二十週年與家庭新成員的到來;葉名樺在王俊傑《大衛天堂》找到靈感,她立意跨越媒介現身,這與藝術觀念的對話,堪比她凝視20世紀中外舞伶、探索自己的精彩作業。還有陳彥斌非常奇想的遠距雙向直播計畫。這個利用科技裝置,長時間連接網路,為美術館與部落會所兩端,建立等量設點的影音通訊基礎,進行日常、隨機的觀看與交流。
這次,亦有多件由得獎藝術家或藝術團隊之間橫向合作的成果,頗能表演藝術家對於未來的挑戰意態:表演者陳武康加入鄭先喻的計畫,現場即興詮釋AI所產出的劇本;編舞家蘇威嘉領其舞者,參與藝術家陳以軒的「工作現場」,主要持續進行舞者與攝影師、舞蹈身體與攝影鏡頭相互配合的動態,或許雙方能多懂了些微彼此的專業。這兩個作品,並不特意以排練去提高它們的表演性,事實上也難以設定其成果是一部什麼樣的劇本或影片。這是否也讓我們難以預期,如現實中,那種工作場景多少都存在的權力、倫理、公共性與情感等議論與糾葛?
那麼,不在美術館的工作場景又是如何?
UTUX泛靈樂舞劇會所的碧斯蔚.梓佑於開展前舉行一次藝術行動,帶領了包括學者、策展團隊成員、攝錄小組等近十位成員進入新竹縣山區,透過兩天一夜的時間,以第一天天黑後長達兩小時連續歌手的樂器演奏、吟唱與集體舞動的噤言聚會為主體,加上前後於賽夏族部落與觀霧森林的探訪,完成行動。在美術館,觀者將透過紀錄影像、現場表演與工作坊,一窺這段藝術行動,以及山稜之聖美。
另一個將以環境劇場形式在基隆展演的作品,是緣起於藝術家彭弘智一個有如打開潘朵拉盒子的基隆購屋動作。這動作牽動起他源源不絕的創作計畫,包括在「台新20」與劇團江之翠劇場的合作。這次合作,落在新媒體藝術創作與環境劇場表演兩個介面。藝術家與劇團既相互挑戰,又合力發展,同時還得到地緣社區與宮廟支持的力量:他們的整體交流機制涵蓋了人與人之間,以及人與神明、與靈,像是為那社區翻開了「一千零一夜」的序章。
故事尚多,無論如何,不要消沉。而且世上還有約翰.凱吉關於「不彈/靜默」(Tacet)的概念,那就4分33秒吧,然後,就奔赴現場,為了那些講求下一秒作品的下一秒。跟上表演。
Curatorial Statement
For the Unnamable Next Second
YAO Lee-Chun
The next second, one that is approaching the coming future, is both real and almost nonexistent
to the performers in a performance—if it is not “brought to life by the performance,” it will just
pass imperceptibly. The reality in theater always relies on the performance that emphasizes on the
next second. In this next second lies the true meaning of various keywords, such as “live,” “flow,”
and “improvisation”; and the so-called practice, enculturation, and thinking are all meant to build
the foundation for this next second to come.
The twenty-year-old Taishin Arts Award (referred to below as the Award) is like a large banner
waving in the ever-changing wind of Taiwan’s progressive institutionalization of cultural governance. For the Award has continuously examined whether its observation–review–selection mechanism is adapted to the times, and has facilitated innumerous “artistic dialogues” via the nominated and awarded works to tangibly demonstrate “interdisciplinary” thinking. The true benefit it has reaped— like the wind blowing through the banner and forming a dynamic interplay of light and shadow—is that it has enabled and led people to spot “the surprising gems buried in the grass.” “NEXT: Taishin Arts Award 20th Anniversary Exhibition” (referred to below as “NEXT”) continues the Award’s fervent attention to performing arts, and showcases many performing arts works that “concentrate on the next second.” The venue for showcasing these productions is not a theater, where seat occupancy rate is often a vital point. Instead, these works are staged in an art
museum, where visitor flow rate is an important factor, and even happen at remote sites, where seat occupancy rate or visitor flow rate is of little to no importance. However, it is by doing so, we are able to perceive the attitudes and approaches of different performing arts groups as to how they set up and carry out their works.
Several renowned groups who are currently busy with scheduled performances, including Century Contemporary Dance Company, Bulareyaung Dance Company, and U-Theatre, all have experiences of performing in art museums. Nevertheless, whether they are thrilled about incorporating the view of passing MRT trains outside the museum into their works or decide to conduct a moving performance inside the museum, they all focus on demonstrating the collective spiritual power. On the other hand, Chou Shu-Yi and Lee Ming-Chen are ready to interpret the space with their works, and convey an attitude of reading the art museum itself radically, while embodying a creative thinking reminiscent of the auteur theory. Snow Huang conceives a music concert, which brings together theater musicians, independent musicians, and social activists to review the twenty-first-century history of protest in Taiwan through poetry and music, and celebrate the twentieth anniversary of both the Award and Against Again Troupe. Dancerchoreographer Liu Kuan-Hsiang and actor-playwright Yang Qi-Yin respectively utilize an Indian epic and a Osamu Dazai play to introduce their individual routes of forging their art in “NEXT.”
For this exhibition, two art groups revisit the core concepts of their award-winning works, and put a different spin on their previous productions to respectively create a new version imbued with a new charm: Dear John created by Lin Kuei-Ju and M.O.V.E. Theatre produces a motorized installation combining a prepared piano and a seesaw, engendering a simple and playful atmosphere. This edition of work visualizes the artist’s attention to children, as well as their aim to engage more audience in participation. Another work is from Wang Shih-Wei, Tien Hsiao-Tzu, Helmi Fita, and Li Tzu-Mei. This group of artists deconstructs their awarded work, Masses, and uses sound, installation experience, and performance to lead the audience to navigate solitarily “the loneliness and confusion when being among the crowd.”
Additionally, there are performing artists who delve into the creation of films or dialogues, and present “ways of viewing” that are rather ingenious or culturally enriched: Huang Ming-Chen, who goes by the name of “Mr. Candle,” exhibits a special version of the film from his twenty-year film project, which has now passed half of its expected duration. The film is both a commemoration of the Award’s twentieth anniversary, and the arrival of a new family member. Yeh Ming-Hwa finds her inspiration in Wang Jun-Jieh’s David’s Paradise. She attempts to cross different media to create her presence, which makes her work a conceptual dialogue with art, one that is comparable with her brilliant project of questing for the self by gazing into the lives of renowned Taiwanese and Western female dancers in the twentieth century. Fangas Nayaw’s long-distance two-way streaming project is rather inspired. Utilizing tech devices and consistent internet connection, the work establishes a basis for audiovisual telecommunication between the art museum and the meeting place in an indigenous village with both sites having an equal number of streaming spots, and carries out viewing and exchange that is both quotidian and random.
This time, there are also multiple horizontal collaborations between the award-winning artists or art groups, which considerably demonstrate these performing artists’ willingness to challenge the future: With live improvisation, performer Chen Wu-Kang joins Cheng Hsien-Yu’s project to interpret scripts produced by AI. Choreographer Su Wei-Chia leads his dancer to participate in artist Chen I-Hsuen’s “work scenarios” to mainly continue the dynamic interactions between dancers and photographers, as well as the dance body and the filming camera, to possibly improve their understanding of each other’s profession. In the two works, the artists do not intentionally arrange rehearsals to increase the performativity. In fact, it is difficult to predetermine what script or film will be produced in the end. Does this not beckon the fact that we are not able to foresee the issues and entanglement of power, ethics, publicness, and emotion, which exist more or less in such a work scene?
How about the work scene outside the art museum, then?
Pisui Ciyo from UTUX, Pan-Spirit's Men for Music and Dance organizes an art action before the opening of the exhibition, and leads a nearly ten-people group consisting of scholars, members of the curatorial team, and a filming crew, to embark on a trip that lasted two days and one night. The main part of the action comprises a two-hour workshop of music performance, singing, group dance, and without talking, combined with a visit to a Saisiyat village before the workshop and another one to the Guanwu Forest afterwards. In the museum, the audience will be able to get a glimpse of the action, along with the sacred beauty of the mountains, via a documentary video, a live performance, and a workshop.
Another work performed in Keelung in the form of environmental theater originates from new media artist Peng Hung-Chih’s house-hunt in Keelung. This very action, which resembles the opening of Pandora’s box, has become the starting point of Peng’s continuous art projects, including the collaboration with Gang-a-Tsui Theater to be presented in “NEXT.” This collaborative production constitutes of two interfaces—the new media artistic creation and that of environmental theater. The artist and the theater company both challenge and collaborate with each other to develop the work. Meanwhile, the production has gained the support of a local community and temple. Consequently, the entire exchange mechanism of the work encompasses the interaction between people, as well as the interaction among humans, gods, and spirits,
conducting an overture to “The Thousand and One Nights” for the community.
There are many stories yet to be told. No matter what, one should not rest and stop. Besides, there is still John Cage’s idea of “tacet” —a full four minutes and thirty-three seconds of it. Afterwards, we shall head to the scene, and for the next second of the works that always in pursuit of the next second, to catch up with the performances.