特別收錄 / 編輯的話:
ampost-editorial-201601
講每個城市藝術的事
我總是喜歡逛逛,到了一個城市不是先去看海洋公園,不是去看紀念館或是文化古蹟,而是總鑽進美術館、藝術區裡參觀展覽或是工作坊,在藝術小店裡買一些不同的紀念品,甚至坐在可能相當浪漫的藝術咖啡座裡遙望那不屬於這個世俗、僅有藝術搭砌的風景。
當然,一個城市的藝術風景不僅是美術館或是博物館這麼簡單,文化工業自英國開始倡導,已經是每個城市奉為圭臬僅次於旅遊,可創造國家極高外匯的「無煙囪」工業。這風景裡包含了藝術市場的熱錢,畫廊、文創園區、文化古蹟、藝術市集等。若是你要知道這一個城市的文化發展,訪問其文化部長是最可悲的,從在亞洲文化協會舉辦的《2015亞洲文化合作論壇》便可知。如果你要走進一個城市,只是作為品牌的消費者那是多餘的,這個城市的設計師與藝術家會告訴你不同的城市故事。
城市的藝術景觀包含可外觀的繁榮或蕭條景況,亦有不可觀的內幕窺視。我們很容易從牟利與非牟利的藝術機構分布看到不同城市的生態發展。一個生態平衡的城市自有其完整的藝術發展生態鏈,而政治、經濟與民生已經傾斜的城市,自然看到絕大資助或是絕大營利的文化現象。例如這20年來最為世人關注的中國大陸,其經濟發展與政治的強勢已幾乎成為與美國並列的是世界強國。然我們不難看到許多當代藝術的怪象,例如公立美術館幾乎成為承租場地,鮮少有自己的常態展,私人美術館則看似蓬勃發展卻暗藏玄機。地產商與收藏家成了藝術重要貢獻者,最常看見的是在地產項目裡注入藝術元素,除了有私人美術館外,附近的藝術特區引進藝術與設計品牌、加有藝術元素的餐飲店藉此吸引更多消費人潮、休閒人口,並培養更高階的城市質素。這與在一個新樓盤區開設一間「國際學校」如蒙特梭利教學等,先引進注重啓蒙教育的高薪家長,再賣樓花的情況如出一撤。
2015年三月a.m. post開始的「City Review」(城市專輯),每次都以不同的視角觀察城市的藝術現象。當進行到北京這個城市時,實有些困難,原因在於太多關於北京的報導。全中國的藝術家幾乎都聚集在北京,798的藝術胡同過度發展連政府都要來分一杯羹,而附近環區的藝術家、藝術村雖零落卻也廣受關注。到北京發展的各樣人口,歐洲人、美洲人與不同的亞洲專家都不難到北京居住。每個外國人到了香港從不學中文,到了北京就一口溜溜的中文,間接幫助了中國當代藝術的外延發展,很快與國際銜接。 以往只能在境外交易的地底錢,現在透過藝術市場的消費,一次幾億的梵谷繪畫到雞血碗,只要你有錢便很快可以一次消費完畢。我們常笑,經營年輕藝術家,一件作品不過數千一萬,大鱷們還不屑一顧呢。
「城市專輯」的發展在2015年與高雄藝博合作專刊更顯其專業性。為高雄藝博特別企劃的「東南亞城市專輯」介紹了馬來西亞、印尼、菲律賓與新加坡的藝術狀況,一本藝博會的專刊可以如此的讓人另眼相看。是的,a.m. post總是令人期待,我們也期待新的一年,在亞洲市場的步步前進,a.m. post成為藝術界最令人期待的雜誌。
樊婉貞
總編輯
寫信給總編輯信箱:chiefeditor@artmap.com.hk
On the Art Affair of a City
I always like travelling. The first place to go is neither Ocean Park nor any memorial or any heritage site. It would be an art museum, an exhibition or a workshop in an art district. A different sort of souvenir can be found in art shops. Sitting in a romantic art café and looking at the otherworldly landscape of art is just nice.
Of course, the landscape of a city is more than galleries or museums. Cultural industry was initiated in the Britain. It is now regarded as a highly profitable ‘chimney-less’ industry second only to tourism. This landscape encompasses hot money, art galleries, cultural and creative parks, cultural monuments, art market and more. If you were to understand the cultural development of a city, interviewing the head of the city’s ministry of culture would be the worst choice, as one could tell from the Asia Cultural Co-operation Forum 2015 held in the Asian Cultural Council. If you go to a city and want to be merely a consumer of brands, that will be pointless going there. Designers and artists would tell you different stories of the city.
The art landscape of a city includes visible prosperity and depression and invisible behind-the-scene operations. We can draw out easily the ecological development of different cities by looking at the distribution of profitmaking and non-profitmaking art institutions. An ecologically balanced city has her own complete ecological chain of art development. In a politically and economically unbalanced city, art is either predominantly subsidised or commercial. Mainland China is where the world cares about the most in the past 20 years. Her economic development and political strength make her one of the world’s strongest countries alongside the United States. However, we see a lot of weird phenomena in her contemporary art scene. For example, public museums become almost no more than venues for hire. There are hardly any regular exhibitions. On the other hand, something is going on being the seeming flourishing private museum scene. Real estate developers and collectors become important contributors to art. The most common practice is injecting elements of art to real estate projects. Apart from private museums, art districts import art and design brands, restaurants with art elements attract consuming and leisure population because of art to cultivate a better urban quality. This is the same as setting up an ‘international school’ of Montessori education and importing high-income parents who value elementary education then launching an advance sale of flats.
Since March 2015, a.m. post: started ‘City Review’. Every time, there is a different perspective on the art phenomena of a city. Do so becomes slightly difficult when it comes to Beijing because there have already been so many reports on the city. Almost all artists in China stay in Beijing. The over-developed art hutong of 798 attracts the government to share the profit. The art districts around have caught attention as well. It is not difficult for experts from Europe, America or Asia to live in Beijing. Foreigners never learn Chinese in Hong Kong. But they speak the language fluently when they go to Beijing. This has helped the overseas expansion and international cohesion of Chinese contemporary art. The underground money that could only have been exchanged outside of the country is now available in a single transaction of a multi-million Vincent van Gogh painting. People always joke that the big guns never care about representing young artists whose works cannot be sold for more than a few thousand dollars.
‘City Review’ has become ever so observably professional in its edition in collaboration with Art Kaohsiung 2015. The Southeast Asia feature introduced the art scene of Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines and Singapore. This is how exciting an art fair magazine can be. Yes, a.m. post: is always anticipated. We are looking forward to strive forward in the Asian market in the new year. a.m. post: will become the most anticipated magazine in art.
Editor-in-Chief
Anthea Fan
Please write to Editor-in-Chief: chiefeditor@artmap.com.hk