EXHIBITION : 院 Yard

展覽日期｜Term：2012/09/15 – 2012/10/28

展覽開幕｜Opening：2012/09/15 16:00

展覽地點｜Venue：東海大學藝術中心｜Tunghai University Art Gallery

參展藝術家｜Artists：
莊凱宇 Kai-Yu Chuang、 奧拉夫．郝赫爾次 Olaf Hochherz（德）、洪韵婷 Yun-Ting Hung、梁莉苓 Li-Ling Liang、大衛．羅姆 David Loom（義）、盧依琳 Yi-Lin Lu、林真熙 Jinhee Park（韓）

策展｜Curated by：蔡明君 Ming-Jiun Tsai

展覽概念緣起｜Initiation of exhibition concept

還記得小時候在前庭或後院和同學採花還有樹葉玩家家酒的日子，爸媽和鄰居經常隔著兩家院子間的矮圍籬天南地北聊工作或是討論小朋友們在學校的表現。但隨著年紀增長身高增加，庭院的圍牆也越蓋越高。逐漸的，我們看不到隔壁的庭院，別人也無法看見我們家。搬到城市裡才發現，在水泥森林裡大部分的人都沒有庭院，也很少有機會可以在圍牆外欣賞別人家的庭院。那些很美的庭院，好像都只佈置給自己家的人看。

而就像是越來越高的圍牆一樣，展覽製作的第一個工程似乎總是建構牆面。用一面又一面的牆，可以有效的區隔空間，生產空間，改變空間，卻好像因此在許多時候忽略了展場原本的樣子，以及藝術作品可以如何創造屬於自己的場域，並和其他作品互動、結合的可能。

東海的校園，是我在台中這個城市裡看過最多庭院的地方。遍野的綠地，一幢幢的平房，矮樹叢和灌木交錯的出現，落成充滿圓弧與波浪的天際線。東海藝術中心的展場中央，有堵如公寓大樓的展牆。「院」一展，企圖將展場中的這個展牆視作一社區集合建築，在其周圍延伸出一區區的『庭院』，參展的藝術家將依各自的創作屬性，去回應展覽主題並製作一件特定（Project specific）的作品，期待能經由每位藝術家作品及想法的交互作用產生一個不同於一般展覽的空間經驗。

I still remember the good old days when kids stayed together in the garden playing with leaves and flowers, and their parents could easily have a chat with neighbours over the low fence in-between the yards. Yet with time goes by, we have grown up and found the barrier getting higher and higher. It becomes difficult to see what neighbour’s garden looks like, and they can’t see ours either. After moving to an urban area, I realise that there are few yards in the concrete forest, and you rarely have chances to view people’s home gardens outside the enclosure. The beautiful gardens and yards are for private view.

Just like building the high fences, most of the time, the first construction of making an exhibition is building walls. The built walls can efficiently distribute different areas, create rooms and alter the space. However, this act might lead people to disregard the original character of the exhibition site or underestimate the possibility of how an artwork can create its own space and make interaction with other works.

The campus of Tunghai University is one of the places where I see most green fields and yards in Taichung. There are lawns everywhere. The bungalows with bush barriers create a beautiful landscape. The exhibition Yard intends to present a show that has no built exhibitions walls in order to reflect the idea and imagination of yards. The huge square storage room at the centre of the exhibition space is seen as a communal building and there are yards around it. Artists are invited to create a project specific work as their responses to the space also the idea of yard. Yard looks forwards to creating a space that gathers artists’ diverse practices and presentations to explore a different exhibition experience.

策展論述 Curatorial concept：

『…空間是由流動的元素相互交錯所構成的。』– Michel de Certeau（註1）

法國哲學家賽杜在對於日常生活理論的研究裡，提出了「地方」（place）與「空間」（space）的差異：他認為空間是有所經驗的地方，因此都市計畫所規劃出的街道是個「地方」，但卻是行人的「空間」；一篇文章（作為一個「地方」），在被閱讀時便轉換成了「空間」（註2） 。 從這個概念出發，我們可以說：每個展覽場地，都是一個「地方」，而每一檔在其中發生的展覽，則將這個地方轉換為不同的「空間」。這些「空間」的產生，建立在藝術家、策展人、觀眾以及藝術作品與這個「地方」互動所建構出來的時間與空間經驗上。隨著不同的展覽以及人、事、物，不僅將這個「地方」變換成為「空間」，也為這個展場及所參與的人創造了共同經驗（collective experience）。這些空間建構與其共同經驗，像是膠卷上的影格，以連續的片段（fragments）塑造了這個展場的空間歷史。

『院』一展，在展覽製作（exhibition making）進入一個展覽場所（exhibition site）後、將「地方」轉換為「空間」的可能性開始思考。不建構新的牆面來改變展場的空間配置，也不將展場本身單純視為承載展品的地點，而是著重展場本身的獨特性：展場中央有一長形大立方體，並將之比擬為城市裡一幢被庭院圍繞的建築。進而去思考於「庭院」這個作為建築內部與外部的緩衝區域、一個私人卻也可以分享給陌生人觀賞的地方，去思考現代人對於這個地域的想像與規劃。在展場中，圍繞著「這幢建物」的這個屬於「院」的區域，穿插著藝術作品轉變了這個展場，形成了一個新的「空間」，並展現了藝術家對於「院」這個場域的看法與想像。

由空間的裝置形態來看，林真熙的『圍籬』不僅是獨立的作品，同時也成為了展場動線、空間區隔、與整合全場的元素；洪韵婷的擬望遠鏡高臺裝置『望院鏡』，以一個架高的視點，打破空間分割的限制，讓視線延伸更遠，同時讓觀眾在這個展覽的院子裡，由望遠鏡看見令一番景色；而梁莉苓的『種子』，將落地窗邊的自然光引導至展場中，在空間中織構光的網絡，和其他作品以及圍繞著基督教氛圍的東海校園對話。大衛．羅姆『未知的鄰居–風景系列』，以多層次的相片拼貼企圖改變人的慣常觀看視點。彷若走出室內來到戶外，奧拉夫．郝赫爾次以聲音雕塑的方式，集合了一台台收錄音機，播放各式居民或路人聚集與不經意相遇時的聲音，指涉許多訊息與討論在這樣的場合中的發生或流失。也在院子這樣的場景裡，盧依琳的『前往棲息地或者說哪裡是我家』則藉由以木板和粉筆這樣質樸的媒材描繪出一隻隻有毛動物的背影，去思考城市中動物與人們的相處和觀看經驗。莊凱宇的『外野獨白 I~III』則是在視覺上直接回應了對於『院』這一主題的想像，以錄像作為媒介去放大、強調人們鮮少注意到的事件、場地與角色關係。

在一個展場中，每場展覽都由不同的想法、對話及作品等元素交織構成了這個「地方」的新「空間」。作為一個從展場本身作為發想與規劃的展覽，七位藝術家匯集了各式的作品形式與想法至『院』裡，讓這個展場（地方）本身，成為它所被轉換而成的新「空間」的元素之一。 『院』企圖讓作品與展場這個地方直接對話，並讓觀眾發覺各式與作品以及展場互動的可能。以如此的展覽操作思考，『院』企圖引起人們（藝術家、策展人、觀眾等）在進入一個藝術展覽場所的同時，能夠重新思考展場本身的地域、樣貌、意義以及可能性。

Thus space is composed of intersections of mobile elements.’ – Michel de Certeau (footnote 1)

French philosopher Michel de Certeau proposes the difference between ‘places’ and ‘spaces’ in his study of the Everydayness. He believes that space is a place with experience. On that account, a street distributed by urban planning is ‘place’, yet is transformed into ‘space’ by walkers; a written text is a ‘place’ that can be altered into ‘space’ by readers (footnote 2). In the same way, one can see an exhibition site as a ‘place’ and exhibitions happen in it turning this site into ‘space’. This ‘space’ is generated and established on the time and spatial interrelationship between this place and artists, curators, audiences also artworks. Different shows, people or events not only transform a place into space, but also create collective experience for this exhibition site as well as participants. The collective experience can be seen as a series of fragments like film frames on a strip creating the history of this exhibition place.

Yard pictures how a ‘place’ turning into ‘space’ from thinking how ‘exhibition making’ meets ‘exhibition sites’. Without specifically built exhibition walls to distribute the place, Yard tends not to see the exhibition site only as a venue for exhibitions, yet to highlight the feature of the gallery – with a huge square storage room at the centre. Thus, in this exhibition, this square construction is seen as a building surrounded by yards. Therefore, this image brings to the subject of ‘yard’ – a place in between a building and street; a private site yet can be viewed by passersby –, and how people expect or illustrate this area these days. In this exhibition, artworks are displayed in the area of ‘yards’ that surround ‘this building’. The artworks not only demonstrate artists’ thoughts and imaginations about the idea of ‘yard’, but also alter the original site into ‘space’ that generates a new look and experience for this ‘place’.

In relation to spatial distribution, Jinhee Park’s 'Fence' is not only an independent artwork but also the foundation that draws the outline of the space and also gives the sense of the subject of the exhibition. Yun-Ting Hung’s 'Looking far into the future' is an installation that audience may climb up and look further to break the boundaries from a higher point or see the yard beyond one’s vision from the telescope. 'Seed' from Li-Ling Liang transmits light from outdoor into the gallery, which creates a network of light that brings connections with other artworks as well as the campus. About surrounding, David Loom’s 'Unknown neighbor – scenery series', which is a layered photographic collage, intends to alter people’s costumed viewpoints. As if walking to outdoors, the sound-sculpture 'Untitled' from Olaf Hochherz collects ghetto blasters broadcasting the sound of people gathering, meeting and leaving that gives an idea of how messages and dialogues happen or lost in this locations/occasions. Also inside the area of yards, Yi-Lin Lu’s 'Go to habitat, or where am I?' simply uses boards and chalks to paint the sight of some furry animals’ back and brings a thinking about the viewing experience and relationship between human and animals in a city. 'Outfielder’s monologue I~III' from Kai-Yu Chuang visually responds the resemblance of Yard and highlights the circumstances, area and characters that people rarely notice.

Every exhibition is structured by various elements including people, thoughts, conversations, artworks, events etc., and these different components create new ‘space’ for this ‘place’. As an exhibition that is developed from reflections on the relationship between exhibition making and the exhibition site, seven artists bring a variety of reflections, ideas and presentations to Yard and make the gallery (place) itself become another element of the new ‘space’. This exhibition expects participants (people, objects and activities) to have a direct relationship with the gallery and show audience another aspect of the relationship between an exhibition and a venue. Yard means to result in thinking about the site, feature, significance and potentials of an exhibition site to people (artists, curators, viewers etc.) while visiting an exhibition place.


[註 footnote]
1. ‘Thus space is composed of intersections of mobile elements.’ Certeau, Michel de. Trans. Steven Rendall. 1984. The practice of everyday life. University of California Press, Berkeley, Los Angeles and London. P117.
2. ‘In short, space is a practiced place. Thus the street geometrically defined by urban planning is transformed into a space by walkers. In the same way, an act of reading is the space produced by the practice of a particular place: a written text […]’ibid.




主辦單位 Presented by：東海大學藝術中心｜Tunghai University Art Gallery

補助單位 Supported by：
國家文化藝術基金會 National Culture and Arts Foundation；
the Berlin Senate Cultural Affairs Department；
Goethe-Institute.