Newsletter No. 445

4 445 • 19.10.2014 在電車站看藝術 CUHK Artists Turn Tram Shelters into Art Gallery 在 一幅攝影作品前面，觀眾看着照片中扭曲成球形的 街道景觀，努力要辨認那究竟是甚麼地方。照片屬 於中大藝術碩士課程畢業生 蕭偉恒 的攝影系列 Inverted Expansion，忽然「叮叮」聲響起，本來在細心端詳的觀眾 緩緩轉身，跨上靠站的電車。這裏不是藝術館或者畫廊，而 是灣仔柯布連道電車站。 中大藝術系、香港電車有限公司及POAD推出「站 ‧ 藝廊」 第三階段活動（ www.poad.com/artramshelters/phase3/ zh ），把電車站變成街頭藝廊。除了蕭偉恒，另一位藝術 碩士畢業生 陳軒蒨 也參與其中，她名為The Fragmented Journey的作品放在銅鑼灣邊寧頓街電車站。擔任兩人的 藝術啟導是 陳育強 教授，他說：「電車站有很多人經過和 停留，作品會有很多人看見，這是它作為公共藝術場地的 優點。」 陳教授解釋，公共藝術可分為「從上而下」和「從下而上」 兩類，前者指政府或發展商在公共場所或商場放置的藝術 品，目的是達到藝術教育或美化效果，商業機構也可藉此 提升企業形象。從下而上模式則由民間主導，有較多社區 藝術的內容，目的是透過藝術作品聯繫社區，加強鄰里關 係，使居民認識自己社區的特色，並產生賦權作用。 近年這兩種模式有融合的趨勢。陳教授以這次「站 ‧ 藝廊」 活動為例：「開始是由上而下的，但是藝術家關心的事情卻 是從本土社區出發，不是只弄個漂亮裝飾，所以就內容而 言，是有由下而上的意味。」 兩位藝術家的作品各有特色。蕭偉恒用攝影機拍下電車行 走沿線的景物，再以電腦軟件把影像壓縮成球形，把街坊 或電車乘客日常見到的事物以特殊的方法再呈現。他說： 「Inverted Expansion是城市空間經過全景球面攝影的展 開（Expand）及反置（Invert）過程，將立體的城市空間壓 縮成平面的視覺經驗。」 陳軒蒨則採取了雕塑方式，在電車行走的海岸線選取了一 些有趣的店鋪和地標，用小孩子做黏土模型的方式砌出 來，令觀賞者用童稚的眼光來看一些有人情味和文化的地 標。她說：「我的作品勾畫出電車沿線填海土地的輪廓，邀 請觀眾一同加入這趟想像旅程，回顧香港 海岸線的變遷。」 兩人的內容都是從社區出發。陳育強教授 解釋，公共藝術家要謙卑，創作前先 要像學生那樣到社區去，尊重這個 社區，找尋當地的特質，以藝術 手法加以彰顯。所以公共藝術 家可說是為人服務的僕人，而 非像神那樣創造一些傑作來供 人膜拜。該兩項作品將展出至 2015年1月。 I n front of Siu Wai-hang ’s photo series ‘Inverted Expansion’, a viewer watches a spherical streetscape in a photo. As he struggles to identify the place, he hears a ‘ding-ding’ sound behind him. He turns around and boards a tram. The place is neither a museum nor a gallery. It is the tram stop in O’Brien Road, Wanchai. This is the Phase 3 of ARTram Shelters ( www.poad.com/artramshelters/phase3 ), a collaboration between the CUHK Department of Fine Arts, Hong Kong Tramways, and POAD, an advertising company. The event features the works of two graduates of the CUHK Master of Fine Arts Programme. One is Siu Wai-hang and the other is Chan Hin-sin Cindy , whose work ‘The Fragmented Journey’ is on display at the tram stop in Pennington Street, Causeway Bay. Prof. Chan Yuk-keung Kurt of the department serves as their mentor in the event. He says, ‘As venues for public art, tram shelters have their advantages. There are a lot of people passing by and staying there. This makes the art accessible to a large number of viewers.’ According to Professor Chan, public art can be produced by means of two models: ‘top-down’ and ‘bottom-up’. The former are government- or developer-initiated public art projects in public spaces or shopping malls for art education or purely decorative purposes. Businesses can also improve their corporate images by promoting public art. The ‘bottom-up’ model refers to art activities organized by grass-roots groups. This model contains more elements of community art and is aimed at improving community cohesion, strengthening interpersonal relationships, enabling members to know more about the characteristics of their communities, and thus achieving the effect of empowerment. Recent years have seen a convergence of these two models. Using Phase 3 of ARTram Shelters as an example, Professor Chan says: ‘It began as a “top-down” project, but the artists have devoted their attention to local communities. Their goal is not merely to produce aesthetically pleasing visuals. So, in terms of the content, this event does have a “bottom-up” spirit.’ The two CUHK artists are distinctive in their techniques. Siu Wai-hang took photos of streetscapes along the tram line and used a computer program to turn them into spherical images, offering mind-bending pictures of the street scenes with which people in the neighbourhood and tram riders are familiar. He says, ‘By expanding and inverting images of our cityscape through spherical panoramic photography, “Inverted Expansion” turns the 3D cityscapes into 2D images, offering viewers a unique visual experience.’ Cindy’s claymation-esque representations of shops and landmarks with social and cultural significance along the coastal tram route encourage viewers to revisit those locations with child-like enthusiasm. She says, ‘My work serves as an imaginative journey to the swathe of reclaimed land along the tram route, inviting viewers to reflect on the transformation of Hong Kong’s coastline.’ The works of both artists, on display until January 2015, are community-oriented. Professor Chan explains, artists working in the public art field have to be humble. They have to visit a community as students, looking for local features and highlighting them with their artistic ingenuity. In a way, artists creating public art can be described as servants, as opposed to god-like creators who create masterpieces meant to awe. 陳育強教授 Prof. Chan Yuk-keung Kurt 陳軒蒨 Chan Hin-sin Cindy 蕭偉恒 Siu Wai-hang