Darkness Upon Darkness 众妙之门

April 29, 2019 2019年4月29日

From far away, the imposing darkness of Hu Liu’s works is mesmerizing. You feel you’re standing before a jet-black wall: everywhere your eyes reach is somber and grave.


 

远远看胡柳的作品,你很容易为那样铺天盖地的黑色而吸引,就好像迎面一座黑墙,目力所及,皆是肃穆。

Wave (2016) 43 ³/₁₀ x 102 ³/₁₀ inch, Pencil on paper《浪》(2016) 110 x 260 厘米 / 纸本铅笔

But this Beijing artist says her works aren’t black, they’re xuán. The word can mean “dark” or “mysterious,” and it evokes the philosophy of Laozi and Zhuangzi. “Xuán is remote, and it also means ‘hidden,'” she explains. She then quotes from the Dao De Jing: “‘Darkness upon darkness: the gateway to wonders.'”


但胡柳说,这不是黑,而是“玄”。玄,有老庄哲学的意味,“老子说,玄而又玄,众妙之门。‘玄’,幽远也。又有‘隐’的意思。”

Close up of Sea (2013)《海》(2013) 局部
Close up of Sea (2013)《海》(2013) 局部
Sea (2013) 43 ³/₁₀ x 102 ³/₁₀ inch, Pencil on paper《海》(2013) 110 x 260 厘米 / 纸本铅笔

In this world drawn in xuán, Hu hides her works in the folds of time, but they reveal themselves with the changing light. “This isn’t a world that any color can depict,” she says.


而在“玄”所描绘的世界里,胡柳仿佛就让作品藏身于时光之中,随着时间和光线的变化在隐中自显,“这不是任何一种颜色可以囊括的世界。”她说。

Close up of Wave (2015)《浪》(2015) 局部
Close up of Wave (2015)《浪》(2015) 局部
Wave (2015) 43 ³/₁₀ x 102 ³/₁₀ inch, Pencil on paper《浪》(2015) 110 x 260 厘米 / 纸本铅笔

Xuán is not black—or rather, it’s not only black.

By design, elements on Hu’s canvases seem to appear and disappear. The entire surface is drawn stroke by stroke in pencil—every plant, every petal, every seascape—line by line, overlapping endlessly. The dense streaks of graphite call you closer, beckoning your eyes to trace the light and shadows, to move point by point and envision its compositional structure. Only when you’re close enough can you perceive the visual intricacy you expect to find in a painting.

Millions upon millions of pencil strokes: to outside observers, this creative process looks almost like a work of religious devotion. For Hu, a drawing isn’t finished just because it looks finished—it often stretches out even more boundlessly. “It’s like crossing the river to the farther shore: it’s hard to judge how long it will take. You have to discover whether the water is shallow or deep, warm or cold.”


 

玄不是黑,或者说,绝不仅仅是黑。

这似乎是胡柳故意设计的一场“显与隐”的游戏,它邀请你一步步向前,邀请你的眼睛跟随光影,一点一点移,再试图在脑海中构建它的模样——原来这一面颜色,全都是用铅笔一笔一笔绘成,一株植物,一枚花瓣,一片海,所有的笔触层层交叠,未知止尽。你必须足够接近才能构建出一幅画想象中应有的视觉图像。

千万次铅笔的涂抹,这种创作的过程在旁人看来,几近修道。对胡柳而言,作品亦非在看似结束的时候就结束了,而开始更为绵延不绝,“更像是渡河至彼岸,所需时间很难度量,水深水浅冷暖自知”。

Close up of Bamboo, a work in progress《竹林》,未完成
Close up of Bamboo, a work in progress《竹林》,未完成
Close up of Bamboo, a work in progress《竹林》,未完成
Close up of Bamboo, a work in progress《竹林》,未完成

Staring at Hu’s works, you feel you’re plunging into the black depths of the canvas, subject to the swell and ripple of every stroke. When you’re overwhelmed and look up again, wholeness and clarity appear. Only then do you see why Hu calls this color xuán: the picture is still jet black, but all of the details flash through your mind, and what you see becomes what you think.

“If I’m trying to convey something, the only way to see it is to observe the work up close, face to face. The viewer has eyes, the viewer doesn’t need answers, the viewer can discover them on her own,” she says. “Beckett wrote, ‘The artistic tendency is not expansive, but a contraction, and art is the apotheosis of solitude.’ To me, that rings true.”


 

极尽细致地观看,就像一个猛子扎进胡柳笔下的黑色浪潮里去,体验每一笔的波澜。等某一刻疲惫了,再一抬头,那种全面和了然就出现了。这时候,方才大抵明白为什么胡柳把它叫做“玄”——画面还是玄黑一片,然而所有的细节都映入内心,所见即所思。

“如果说我试图在传达什么,那么和作品面对面靠近作品本身,观看是唯一的途径。观众有自己的眼睛,观众不需要答案,观众自己会去发现。”胡柳说:“‘艺术的倾向不是外露,而是一种收缩。艺术是孤独的入圣加冕。’这是贝克特的话,我非常有同感。

Perhaps the real language of an artist is their work. Only when standing before a work of art can a viewer find resonance or contact with its creator. “Through observation, a work of art allows us to feel the intangible,” Hu says. “The most powerful way to be heard isn’t to babble incessantly but to be silent. It’s much more effective than any words.”

To keep up to date with upcoming exhibitions or works from Hu Liu, visit her ShanghART Gallery page.


或许对创作者而言,真正的语言永远是作品,人们只有直面作品,才能与艺术家产生交流和共鸣。“绘画,通过观看这一途径使我们触及不可见,它的方式比一切话语都更加有效得多。”毕竟,胡柳说,“最有效的发声不是滔滔不绝而是沉默,”

想持续关注胡柳的展览和作品信息,可点击浏览香格纳画廊官网

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Contributor: Chen Yuan
English Translation: Allen Young
Photographer: David Yen
Additional Images Courtesy of Hu Liu


喜欢我们的故事?欢迎关注我们的微博微信

 

供稿人: Chen Yuan
中译英: Allen Young
摄影师: David Yen
附加图片由胡柳提供

Grand Choir 听,远方的声音在歌唱

April 26, 2019 2019年4月26日

With the encroachment of modernization and globalization, many beautiful cultural traditions are fading away, and some are even on the verge of vanishing completely. The crisis hasn‘t gone unnoticed, and there are people looking for solutions—not out of some misguided sentimentality, but out of a genuine concern that’s given rise to action. They’re looking at how cultural traditions can evolve, be passed down, and be presented in a modern context. By rethinking longstanding customs with a pulse on the times, they hope to get more people to recognize their merits.

DONG is a project that grew out of these aspirations. Backed by fashion label Zuczug and music media platform Soundate, the project aims to show how folk traditions can be relevant in the modern era finding new ways to present the music of Chinese diverse peoples to a global audience.

With support from indie labels D Force Records and Merrie Records, the project officially kicked off in 2016, when electronic musicians Goooooose and 33EMBYW (who collaborate in the band Duck Fight Goose) visited the isolated mountain village of Xiao Huang, in Guizhou province. Xiao Huang is home to the Dong (or Kam) ethnicity, who are famed for their folk songs. Over the course of two weeks, they immersed themselves in the local ways of life and took field recordings. They documented their auditory experiences to bring lesser-known musical traditions to people who can’t experience it firsthand.


在现代化及全球化的压迫之下,许多美丽的传统文化面临着边缘化和消逝的危机。而这也催生出一群怀抱危机意识的人,他们没有一味地高举守旧的旗帜,而是将关心化为有力的行动,致力于研究传统文化在当代社会里如何呈现、发展和传承。让这些积年累月的文明结晶与时具进,在今日也能拥有崭新的价值。

《DONG》即是一个诞生于这种想法的项目。由“戳客戳客”和“行耳文化”联合发起,以研究民族文化的可能性,旨在发现、保护、及传递给世人更多中国民族音乐。2016年,他们协同美丽唱片,此一承袭于知名的大福唱片,由相同主创团队打造的独立音乐厂牌旗下的电子音乐人  Gooooose33EMYBW(两人同时也是音乐组合鸭打鹅的成员),前往中国贵州黔东的小黄村,进行了为期两周的田野考察和声音记录。尝试为无法亲临现场的人们,纪录下这些“远方的声音”。

Two years later, in 2018, Gooooose released his part of the project: DONG 1. This album goes far beyond sampling traditional songs; it’s a masterful blend of soothing sounds from the Chinese countryside, Dong instrumentation, and a kaleidoscope of synth riffs.


在考察结束的两年过后,Gooooose 首先完成了《DONG》项目的第一部曲《DONG 1》。这不仅仅是一张单纯采样于传统音乐的创作专辑,而是民俗音乐与电子音乐一次精彩相融的呈现。

Listen to DONG 1 below:


点击即可试听《DONG1》:

Now 33EMBYBW has finally released her much-anticipated follow-up, DONG 2. Her album revolves around the Kam people’s “Grand Choir” music, a 2,500-year-old polyphonic singing that doesn’t involve a conductor or orchestra. It also doesn’t follow any obvious rhythmic patterns—it’s a musical tradition that’s completely unique to the Dong people. Pairing these traditional vocal elements with her signature electronic sounds, she’s created an ethereal soundscape set to catchy, danceable beats.


2019年,第二部曲《DONG 2》在 33EMYBW 三年的筹备下诞生了。这张专辑以贵州当地传统音乐“侗族大歌”的人声为基底——侗族大歌使用多声调的侗语演唱,至今已有2500多年的历史。它没有明显的节奏,多声部、无指挥、无伴奏,是一个极其特殊的合唱音乐形式。采样于此,再结合更多音乐人本身标志性的舞曲动感,打造出一张极具节奏感和空灵气息的电子乐专辑。

33EMYBW

Listen to DONG 2 below:


点击即可试听《DONG2》:

33EMBYW recalls that she only realized the magnitude of this musical undertaking when she returned to Shanghai and began sorting through the recordings. “After I left Guizhou, their gulou architecture, their mountains and rivers, and their rice-wine infused niu bie (a dish made with beef cud) all stuck with me for a long time,” she says. “What I experienced was so far removed from how it’s depicted on television and in the media—I got to hear Kam Grand Choir music in its most authentic form.”


33EMYBW 回忆起这张专辑的制作过程,说道自己在回到上海整理素材准备着手写歌时,才意识到这是一个多么巨大的挑战。“在离开贵州很长一段时间内,我都难以将这些音频和鼓楼的共鸣、小黄村的山水、和当地的米酒牛憋剥离开。我体验到的是与剧场、电视里完全不同,最真实的侗族大歌。”

DONG 2 is the culmination of these memories. With it, 33EMBYBW has taken Dong music out of the mountains of Guizhou and injected it with an urban flair, folding their traditional sounds into a series of tracks that wouldn’t be out of place in a club. “Of course this is an experimental electronic album, but I don’t want it to be seen as just that, or just as folk music, or a sampling of folk music,” she says. “It’s an exploration of musical forms. It’s the result of ceaseless imagination and action.


而在 33EMYBW 的编写下,侗族大歌离开了山林,在当代青年的音乐场景里留下一次又一次嘹亮的回声,“当然这还是一张有实验性的电子音乐专辑,但我并不希望它单单被当作民族音乐、或是民族音乐的采样,而是对音乐形式的探索,这样的想象和行动永远不会停止。”

Like our stories? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Bandcamp: merrierecord.bandcamp.com

 

Contributor: Yang Yixuan
English Translation: David Yen
Images Courtesy of Zhuang Yan


喜欢我们的故事?欢迎关注我们的微博微信

 

Bandcamp: merrierecord.bandcamp.com

 

供稿人: Yang Yixuan
中译英: David Yen
图片由庄严提供

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A Global Artist Network 如何留住人才的心

April 24, 2019 2019年4月24日
Ello | Korean painter 08amEllo | 韩国绘画家 08am

Maintaining a strong digital presence is an important part of being a modern creative. This is especially true if you’re an artist hoping to attract brands for commercial collaborations. Attaching an e-mail address to your Instagram bio and waiting for DMs might do the trick if you’re already a top-tier influencer, but for emerging artists who haven’t gotten their lucky break, opportunities are few and far between. But what if artists could take a more proactive approach? What if, instead of relying on luck, there was a way for you to place your work directly in front of brands looking for creative talent?


如今想要成为一个当代创意人士,在线上经营个人品牌是非常重要的一部分,尤其当你想要吸引那些商业合作的时候。如果你已经有了大量的粉丝,那么在你的微博简历上附上一个电子邮箱,等待私信的到来,这可能会奏效,但是对于那些还没有得到幸运突破的新兴艺术家来说,这样的机会是非常少的。如果不是靠运气,有没有一种方法,能让你把你的作品直接展示在那些需要创意人才的品牌面前呢?

Talenthouse | Thai cartoonist Puck SawrealTalenthouse | 泰国漫画家 Puck Sawreal
Talenthouse | Filipino illustrator Joseph LunaTalenthouse | 菲利宾插画家 Joseph Luna

That’s the line of thought behind Talenthouse, an online platform that’s been facilitating creative collaborations between independent artists and global brands since 2009. The vision for Talenthouse, as co-founder Maya Bogle puts it, was to set up a “creative ecosystem and economy,” a welcoming space where users can not only showcase their work and connect to other like-minded individuals but also discover opportunities to get paid for their work. In the decade since its launch, it has introduced an expansive offering of creative briefs from big-name brands and top-tier ad agencies to its ever-growing community of artists, photographers, designers, and more.

“Without community, we are nothing more than a tech platform,” says Bogle. “If you focus on nurturing a creative community, on creating opportunities for them to be inspired by other creatives’ work, and collaborate on projects and to practice their craft with real-world briefs then you give them a reason to stay.”


这就是 Talenthouse 背后的思路。自 2009 年以来,这个在线平台就一直在促进独立艺术家和全球品牌之间的创意合作。正如联合创始人 Maya Bogle 说,Talenthouse 的愿景是要建立一个“创意人才的生态和经济系统”,在这里,人们不仅可以展示他们的工作成果、与其他志同道合的人联系,还能发现为他们的工作获得报酬的机会。在网站成立后的十年里,Talenthouse 向不断壮大的艺术家、摄影师、设计师社区,推出了由知名品牌和顶级广告公司提供的大量创作需求。

“没有创意社区,我们就只是一个技术平台。”Maya 说,“如果你专注于培育一个富有创造力的社区,为他们创造机会,让他们从其他创造性的工作中得到启发,在项目上进行合作,用真正的广告 brief 来练习他们的手艺,那么你就给了他们留下来的理由。”

Ello | Singaporean 3D artist LarrylkwEllo | 新加坡 3D 艺术家 Larrylkw
Ello | Hong Kong painter Sonya FuEllo | 香港绘画家 Sonya Fu
Ello | Indonesian digital collagist Evan LawrenceEllo | 印尼拼贴艺术家 Evan Lawrence
Ello | Indonesian designer Z.A SetiawanEllo | 印尼设计师 Z.A Setiawan

Talenthouse’s 2018 partnership with Ello, an art-focused social network, is a testament to their commitment to community building. “Ello represented a stunning, curated community of creators who wanted to showcase their work and engage a wider audience,” Bogle says. By opening its creative invites to Ello users, Talenthouse hopes for more artists to understand that they can make a living from their creative passions.


2018 年,Talenthouse 和专注于艺术的社交网络 Ello 合作,证明了他们对创意社区建设的承诺。“Ello 代表了一个令人惊叹的、有策划的社区的创作者社区,他们想要展示他们的工作,并吸引更广泛的观众。”Maya 说。通过向 Ello 用户开放其创意邀请,Talenthouse 希望更多的艺术家明白,他们可以通过自己的创作激情来谋生。

Ello | Malaysian graphic designer ZilinyeeEllo | 马来西亚平面设计师 Zilinyee
Ello | Indonesian illustrator & sculptor TobingdewiEllo | 印尼插画家与雕塑家 Tobingdewi

Since its genesis, Talenthouse has grown from housing portfolios and commission requests to actively setting up creative collaborations, engaging with artists and brands alike on a frequent basis. When working with brands, they’ll help shape briefs so that they can be easily understood by younger, amateur creatives. With artists, when their work is selected, team members from Talenthouse will sometimes take a hands-on approach and help them hone their vision into something that matches brand expectations. This is an invaluable mentoring process for many young creatives without experience working on commercial projects.


自成立以来,Talenthouse 已从一个上传作品集与委托要求的平台,发展到积极建立创意合作关系,经常与艺术家和品牌进行接触。在与品牌打交道的时候,他们会帮助设计创意方案,让较年轻的业余创意人才更容易理解创作需求。对于艺术家来说,当他们的作品被挑选出来时,Talenthouse 的团队成员有时也会插手帮助他们拓宽自己的视野,使其符合品牌预期。对于许多没有商业项目工作经验的年轻创意人员来说,这是一个非常宝贵的指导过程。

Talenthouse | Chinese photographer Bai DongyunTalenthouse | 中国摄影师 Bai Dongyun

In recent years, Talenthouse has begun to strengthen its presence in Asia. “We firmly believe that this region offers a wealth of incredible creative talent that we would love to uncover and showcase to the world,” Bogle says. “We have already identified over thousands of artists across Asia – particularly in the Philippines, India, and Indonesia. We’re also seeing a spike of interest from artists in China, Korea, and Japan and that’s just for starters.”


近年来,Talenthouse 开始加强其在亚洲的影响力。“我们坚信,这个网络社区供给了丰富且惊人的创意人才,我们愿意发现和展示给世界。”Maya 说,“我们已经找到了亚洲各地数以千计的艺术家,特别是菲律宾、印度和印度尼西亚的艺术家。我们也看到了来自中国、韩国和日本的艺术家们,而这仅仅是开始。”

Ello | Taiwanese illustrator artist RubaneeEllo | 台湾插画家 Rubanee
Ello | Singaporean painter BarbarianflowerEllo | 新加坡绘画家 Barbarianflower
Ello | Indonesian illustrator Ade MilhadEllo | 印尼插画家 Ade Milhad
Ello | Indonesian photographer Steven HardyEllo | 印尼摄影师 Steven Hardy

The idea of being a “starving artist” is often glamorized, as if hardship was a prerequisite to producing good creative work, but Talenthouse doesn’t believe in this in the least. It wants more people to understand that making a reasonable living through art isn’t so farfetched. With its mission to democratize creative work by allowing newcomers to compete with experienced artists, Talenthouse isn’t just helping young creatives get their foot in the door—it’s breaking down the door completely.

But even beyond providing artists a way to get paid for their work, the opportunities offered on Talenthouse are valuable in themselves. For young artists, these work experiences can be indispensable for growth, instilling the confidence that can set them up for long-term creative success. And it’s exactly this that makes Talenthouse so unique. Its vision is much more ambitious than just rewarding artists financially—it’s a platform that looks to empower the next generation of creatives.


俗话说“多吃苦才会吃香”,成为一个“饥饿的艺术家”可能听起来很有魅力,但是 Talenthouse 认为它并非如此。Talenthouse 想让更多的人明白,通过艺术谋生并非那么牵强。Talenthouse 允许新人与有经验的艺术家竞争,实现创意竞标,并不仅仅是帮助年轻的创意者进入这个领域——这完全打破陈规旧则。

除了为艺术家提供一种为他们的作品获得报酬的方式,在 Talenthouse 杂志上提供的机会本身也是有价值的。对于年轻的艺术家来说,这些工作经历对于成长是必不可少的,这可以给他们注入信心,长期以来可以使他们收获创意方面的成功。也正是这个原因,才使得 Talenthouse 如此独特。这是一个寻求授权给下一代创造性者的平台,而它的目标比仅仅满足艺术家的经济利益要远大得多。

Ello | Indonesian animator & illustrator RanggasmeEllo | 印尼动画师与插画师 Ranggasme
Ello | Malaysian type designer Marco SkuehEllo | 马来西亚字体设计师 Marco Skueh

Like our stories? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Websites: www.ello.co | www.talenthouse.com
Instagram: @ellohype | @talenthouse

 

Contributor: David Yen
Chinese Translation: Chen Yuan
Images Courtesy of Talenthouse & Ello


喜欢我们的故事?欢迎关注我们的微博微信

 

网站: www.ello.co | www.talenthouse.com
Instagram: @ellohype | @talenthouse

 

供稿人: David Yen
英译中: Chen Yuan
图片由 Talenthouse 与 Ello 提供

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Golden Hour at Home 夕阳西下的鎏金时光

April 24, 2019 2019年4月24日

This story is part of a content partnership and media exchange between Neocha and VSCO. VSCO’s membership program is designed to help you reach your creative potential. Take the next step in your creative journey by starting your free 7-day trial today and gain access to the complete VSCO preset library, the newest editing tools, and inspiring educational content.

To learn more about making the most of light in the comfort of home, we spoke with Stella Simona, a jewelry designer and creative director from Los Angeles, California. She has two brands Haati Chai and Amarilo Jewelry, as well as a blog, Chai Time, where she places her aesthetic touch on beauty, design and style.

Read her take on utilizing the golden hour.


本篇文章来自新茶媒体合作伙伴 VSCO 的内容交换。VSCO 是一个专门帮助摄影爱好者发挥创造潜力的会员项目。现在就开启你的 7 天免费试用,获取完整的预设滤镜,以及新的编辑工具、视频编辑和教程内容。

为了进一步了解如何在舒适的家居中充分利用光线,我们和来自加州洛杉矶的珠宝设计师兼创意总监 Stella Simona 聊了聊。她有两个品牌 Haati Chai 和 Amarilo Jewelry,同时也运营着自己的博客 Chai Time,她把她的美学应用到美容、设计和生活方式之上。

往下可阅读她对“鎏金时光”的利用和理解。

VSCO: How did you come to consistently make images this way?

Stella Simona: Honestly, it took a lot of trial and error. I found myself spending all day trying to get a specific shot and I found there was only certain times of the day where I felt my vision was able to be executed. ​I eventually realized that mood I wanted to capture was highly dependent on a certain kind of light. This light has become one of my signature settings.


VSCO: 你是如何持续以这种风格来处理照片的?

Stella Simona: 老实说,这需要很多的尝试和错误。我发现自己花了一整天的时间试图拍一张特定的照片,却发现一天中只有特定的时间我觉得我能拍出我想要的视觉感的照片。​最终我意识到,我想捕捉的情绪高度依赖于某种特定的光线。这光已经成为我的标志性设置之一。

“My photos highlight my mood alongside a look that reflects me.”


“我的照片突出了我的心情,亦能折射出我的神情。”

VSCO: How does this evening light make you feel when experiencing it at home?

Stella Simona: The sun is always therapy for me. Golden light is warm, soft, dimensional. It produces a dreamy, nostalgic, romantic effect. On days when I don’t get to take in this time of day, I feel I’ve missed a big portion of the rituals that keep me balanced. It’s such a relaxing time of day.


VSCO: 当你在家体验傍晚的阳光时,你会有什么样的感觉?

Stella Simona: 阳光一直是我的治愈师。金色的光是温暖、柔软、立体的。它产生了一种梦幻、怀旧和浪漫的效果。当有些日子的黄昏时刻,我没有享受到的时候,我觉得我错过了让自己平衡下来的仪式。这是我一天中的放松时光。

VSCO: What is the importance of good lighting in your work?

Stella Simona: For my aesthetic, it is the core of the image. I have to always be very intentional with my choice of lighting because the right lighting makes or breaks the shot. When I photograph an image in golden light, I can leave the image almost as is and make the most subtle post-processing edits. To me, there’s more beauty to an image when it feels this raw.


VSCO: 良好的光照对你的作品有多重要?

Stella Simona: 就我而言,它是图片的核心。我必须总是非常有意识地选择光照,因为正确的光决定了拍摄的成败。当我在金光下拍摄一个图像时,我几乎可以让图像保持原样,并进行最微妙的后处理编辑。对我来说,这种让我感到原始感的照片更美。

To me, there’s more beauty to an image when it feels this raw.”


对我来说,这种让我感到原始感的照片会更美。”

VSCO: How are you controlling the light in your photos?

Stella Simona: In truth, the light I am most inspired by isn’t artificial. There is a need to be flexible, because golden hour comes at a very specific time of the day. It’s really important to learn the space you’re shooting in and calculate what time the light will be just right, since golden hour disappears very quickly. I have found that if it’s a new location, spending the full day before shooting helps to map out when the light I’m looking for will be present.

I love to create unexpected shadows by positioning certain objects or utilizing the natural shadows of the environment I’m in.


VSCO: 你是如何控制照片中的光线的?

Stella Simona: 事实上,我最受启发的光并不是人造的。我们需要灵活应变,因为黄金时间是在一天中非常特定的时间到来的。了解你正在拍摄的空间,计算光线什么时候合适是非常重要的,因为黄金时段很快就会消失。我发现,如果在一个新的地方,我会花一整天的时间去探索地形,以等我寻找的光线到来。

我喜欢通过放置某些物体,或者利用我所处环境的自然阴影,来创造意想不到的阴影。

VSCO: For you, what pairs best when styling a shoot at golden hour?

Stella Simona: I love to carefully utilize different elements that complement one another – textures, shapes, silhouettes, shadows. Shadow play is such a powerful and underutilized photo trick and with golden hour comes the opportunity to create shadows with beaming golden light that create the best moody images. I also often incorporate glassware with water to create rich reflections and add dimension to my images.


VSCO: 对你来说,在黄金时段拍照的时候,什么样的拍法最好?

Stella Simona: 我喜欢仔细地利用不同的元素——纹理、形状、轮廓和阴影——相互补充。阴影的利用是一个非常强大和未被充分利用的摄影技巧,黄金时段带来了创造阴影与灿烂的金色光,创造最佳的带有情绪感的图像的机会。我还经常把玻璃器皿和水结合起来,创造丰富的反射,并给我的图像添加多个维度。

Room for Debate 我有话要说

April 22, 2019 2019年4月22日

Click here to read the uncut international version of this article.

Not just a bookstore, not quite a library, more than a restaurant or bar: what exactly is the Beijing Bookworm? Its motto, “Eat, Drink, Read,” offers a straightforward set of principles, but even a quick stop by this legendary institution makes clear that it’s more than just a place to—in either sense—get lit. The Bookworm buzzes with intellectual energy, attracting novelists, academics, foreign correspondents, and book lovers of all stripes who come by to meet friends or hear a talk by a scholar passing through. It’s the center, or one of the centers, of English-language cultural life in China’s capital, and throughout the year, its lectures, concerts, and children’s story hours draw expats and locals alike.

Without a doubt, the highlight of all this activity is the annual Bookworm Literary Festival, which this March wrapped up its twelfth year. Every spring, speakers come from around the world to talk about literature, politics, current affairs, technology, business, art, and anything else people write books about. Highlights from this edition included Kai-Fu Lee on AI, Leta Hong-Fincher on gender equality, and Helen Zia on Shanghai on the eve of the Communist revolution. Spittoon, a literary collective, organized a series of sessions on Chinese literature, featuring poets and fiction writers reading excerpts of their work while their translators discussed the challenges of bringing the texts into English.


 点击这里阅读文章未经删节的国际版。

不是纯粹的书店,也称不上是图书馆,更不只是餐厅或酒吧:究竟要怎样定义北京老书虫这个略带传奇色彩的地方?它的座右铭“吃、喝 、读”直截了当地表明了这个空间的原则。但只要一踏入老书虫你就能发现,这里不只是一个让你寻乐酣饮、或单纯埋首书堆的地方。北京老书虫充满着蓬勃的知识氛围,吸引着小说家、学者、外国记者、各种书籍爱好者前来与好友相聚、或是听某位学者举办的一场演讲。这里曾是北京英语文化生活的中心之一,常年举办的各种讲座、音乐会和儿童故事活动都深受外国人和当地人的欢迎。

而在这些所有活动中,最大的亮点是一年一度的老书虫文学节(Bookworm Literary Festival)。在今年三月,北京老书虫刚刚结束第十二届的文学节。每逢春季,来自世界各地的学者来到这里,一起谈论文学、政治、时事、科技、商业、艺术等话题。今年的亮点包括李开复讲述人工智能的讲座,Leta Hong Fincher(洪理达)谈论性别平等、作家谢汉兰讲述解放前夕的上海。北京的文学杂志《Spittoon》还在此组织了一系列中国本地文学的活动,邀请诗人和小说家阅读他们作品的节选,而这些作品的译者也前来分享翻译途中所遇到的挑战。

The Bookworm first opened its doors in 2005, but its origins go back a few years further, to a sort of informal lending library that Alexandra Pearson, a British woman living in Beijing, slowly amassed as departing friends from abroad gave her the books they couldn’t ship home. Pearson also organized talks by experts on various topics at Le Petit Gourmand, the French restaurant she helped run in Sanlitun, Beijing’s embassy and nightlife district. But when her library outgrew her apartment, and the restaurant had to close to make way for the Taikoo Li mall, some of her friends suggested she give her titles a permanent home—a place for eating, drinking, reading, and above all for talking about anything and everything related to China.


北京老书虫从 2005 年开始营业,它的真正起源可以再往前几年追溯到一个私人借阅图书馆。当时,来自英国的 Alexandra Pearson 来到北京生活,有许多外国朋友在离开北京时常常将一些无法寄回家的书留给她,慢慢地她积累了越来越多的藏书。与此同时,Alexandra 还在一家她参与运营的法国餐厅 Le Petit Gourmand 组织各类主题的专家讲座。这家餐厅位于北京三里屯,是外国大使馆和夜生活中心所在。但是,随着藏书逐渐超出了她的公寓所能容纳的数量,加上新建的太古里商场令餐厅被迫关闭营业,她的一些朋友建议她给自己的藏书一个永久的家,一个可以“吃、喝、读”,更重要的是,一个可以供人们谈天论地、讨论一切有关中国话题的地方。

That home, in a second-story space amid a clutch of international bars and restaurants in Sanlitun, consists of a café area with a full menu and eight beers on tap, an event space off to the side, and a small bookstore in the back, with a rooftop terrace up above overlooking the neighboring buildings. The walls are lined in books, but most of them aren’t for sale: the Bookworm still runs a library, with over 20,000 titles for a few hundred members. “A lot of storytellers, a lot of intellectuals, a lot of people who have a relationship to books, and to Beijing, come here looking for a place to call home,” says Karen Tong, who manages the Bookworm’s events. “It’s fun, it’s chill, and it’s a bit retro.” Pearson moved away several years ago, and now two of the other original investors, Peter Goff and David Cantalupo, run the space and the festival.


而这个“家”,最终落脚在一幢二层建筑楼里,藏匿于三里屯林立的国际酒吧和餐馆中。店内包含了一个拥有完整菜单和 8 种桶装啤酒的餐饮空间,一个活动展演空间,还有在后方的一个小书店,以及一个可以俯瞰邻近建筑的屋顶露台。店内的墙壁一字排开摆满书籍,但其中大部分都是非卖品:北京老书虫仍然管理着一家图书馆,拥有超过两万多本藏书,数百名会员。北京老书虫的经理 Karen Tong 说:“很多小说家、知识分子、爱好读书和喜欢北京的人都喜欢到这里来,在这里他们能获得归属感。这是一间很有趣、很酷的店,还有点复古气息。”几年前在 Alexandra 搬走后,就由另外两位原始投资者 Peter Goff 和 David Cantalupo 管理着这个空间和组织文学节。

Karen Tong
David Cantalupo
Peter Goff

Since 2007, the Bookworm has put on a festival every year except one: in 2017 the sponsorship fell through, and the organizers decided to take a much-needed break. It fluctuates in size, and they chose to keep the 2019 edition manageable—and even so, it spanned two weeks. “The festival remains extremely influential and popular,” says Cantalupo. “We’ve never had a big corporate sponsor, so we’ve always run it on a shoestring.”

How does a handful of people manage to put on such an exceptional event? “We’ve been an important part of the international cultural scene here,” says Cantalupo. That helps them get sponsorship from embassies and other international institutions: Ireland, Australia, and France supported this year’s event, while the main financial backing came from international schools. Another factor is the tenacity of the owners, Goff in particular, who, in the face of financial and other pressures, continues to invite high-profile speakers.


从 2007 年以来,北京老书虫每年都会举办文学节。除了 2017 年之外,因为当时赞助告吹,加上主办方急需休息调整。文学节的规模时大时小,浮动很大, 2019 年他们决定将规模控制在可以应付的范围内。即便如此,这次的文学节也整整跨越了两周时间。“这个文学节一直非常有影响力,也很受欢迎。” David 说:“我们从来没有过大型的商业赞助商,所以在运营上一直都比较节制。”

如何依靠这么少的工作人员,就成功组织出如此精彩的活动?David 说:“我们可以说是本地国际文化氛围的重要组成分子。”因此,他们获得了大使馆和其他国际机构的赞助,今年有来自爱尔兰、澳大利亚和法国的赞助商,但主要的经济支持来自于国际学校。另一个成功的重要因素是老板们,尤其是 Peter。尽管面临着财务和其他方面的压力,他仍然坚持邀请各种著名的演讲家来参加文学节。

In the decade and a half since the Bookworm opened its doors, the surrounding Sanlitun area has been torn down and rebuilt. Shops and apartment blocks have given way to sprawling retail complexes, and now the area feels less like a neighborhood than a collection of international malls. Just a few yards away from the Bookworm, the Intercontinental Hotel towers above, a purple light show dancing across its honeycomb façade like a screensaver.

China has changed, too: in 15 years the economy has quintupled in size, and the country has become more tightly linked to the rest of the world. As a space for discussion and exchange, the Bookworm plays an ever more vital role. It’s one of the places where China meets the world—to eat, drink, read, and talk.  That’s something to raise a glass to.


从北京老书虫 15 年前开业至今,三里屯周边地区已被拆迁重建。商店和公寓楼已让位给庞大的购物中心。现在,这里已经不再是充满生活气息的街区,而更像是各种国际商场的集中地。距离北京老书虫不远处是高耸的洲际酒店,紫色的灯光秀像一个屏幕保护程序,在它的蜂窝状外墙上跳动着。

中国自此也不一样了。15年来,中国的经济规模已经成长了五倍,与世界其他国家的联系也更紧密。作为一个讨论和交流的空间,北京老书虫扮演着越来越重要的角色。这里是中国与世界交流的地方之一——吃、喝、读,畅所欲言。单就这一点,已值得举杯庆祝。

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Website: beijingbookworm.com

 

Contributor: Allen Young
Photographer: David Yen


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供稿人: Allen Young
摄影师: David Yen

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Shy Spirits 请将他的“害羞”小心轻放

April 19, 2019 2019年4月19日

Nadhir Nor’s characters in his watercolor series Segan (‘Shy’) and Masih Segan (‘Still Shy’) look like magical sprites that could have appeared in a Studio Ghibli film or a vintage Walt Disney feature. The Malaysian illustrator brings his anthropomorphic plants gently to life with magic and wonder.

Nor’s interest in art has humble roots. He dabbled in drawing as a child, but it wasn’t until secondary school, when he discovered the online art community Deviantart, that art became a passion. Seeing all the various beautiful and wonderful works made by everyday people like him sparked Nor’s creativity, prompting him to pick up a tablet and experiment.

The mythical stories and the fantastical worlds ubiquitous in video games and animated films had always fascinated him, and that eventually brought on an epiphany. “We don’t have to only consume these interesting stories and worlds,” he says. “We could also create them ourselves.”


马来西亚插画家 Nadhir Nor 在其水彩画系列《Segan》(《害羞》)和《Masih Segan》(《依然害羞》)中,将各种植物拟人化,描绘成各式各样的精灵角色,看上去就像是吉卜力动画片或老式迪斯尼动画片里的角色,充满魔法和奇妙的魅力。

Nadhir 从小就开始绘画,但并非涉猎深入。一直到中学在他发现了在线艺术网站 Deviantart 后,艺术才真正演变成一种热情。当他看到那么多美丽而精彩的作品都出自像他这样的平凡人之手,这大大激发了他的创造力,促使他开始尝试创作。

视频游戏和动画片中的神话故事和幻想世界也一直使他着迷,而他最终也意识到:“我们不只能成为这些有趣故事和世界的消费者,我们也可以成为它们的创造者。”

Segan grew out of Nor’s time in the residency program at Rimbun Dahan, a Malaysian center for the development of traditional and contemporary art forms. Before he began the program, he worked full-time as an animation concept artist and could only explore his personal projects on nights and weekends. He decided to take up the residency to rediscover himself as both an artist and storyteller, and to have the chance to immerse himself fully in his watercolors without having to worry about catching up on work and sleep the next day.


《Segan》系列诞生于 Nadhir 参加 Rimbun Dahan 驻地项目的期间。那里是马来西亚发展传统和当代艺术文化的中心。在加入这个计划之前,他是一名全职的动画概念设计师,只能在晚上下班和周末时创作自己的个人项目。后来,他决定参加这个驻地计划,重新找回自己作为艺术家和故事讲述者的身份,并乘此机会全心沉浸于水彩画创作中,不必再担心为了赶工作,第二天上班还昏昏欲睡。

Like many happy accidents, the series didn’t start off with a concrete plan. It began with Nor’s “segan-ness” both in his exploration of watercolors and in his presence at the well-known art center. The idea stemmed from an emotional source rather than tangible inspirations, coupled with the influence of being surrounded by the pristine nature that surrounds Rimbun Dahan. Segan also stems from his culture—namely his interest in the belief of bunians and jins, spirits that quietly live among humans going about their everyday life.

“I want to remind people of the beauty in being sensitive, in being vulnerable, and how we can use it to help us,” he says. Of course, he’s aware of the irony of his title: had he truly been “segan” and not done anything with his works, he would have missed out on many opportunities. By recognizing his own insecurity, he managed to turn it on its head and use it to his advantage, instead of allowing it to overshadow him.


如同许多惊喜的意外,《Segan》系列并不是诞生于一个具体的创作计划。而是源自于 Nadhir 身处在这个著名的艺术中心,以及自己才刚刚开始对水彩画展开探索的“羞怯之情”。这个想法更多是受到情感方面的形塑,而不是单纯地被灵感光顾。Rimbun Dahan 四周的原始自然风光,以及他自身的文化背景都对他的创作产生了一定的影响。他深信着关于 bunians 和 jins(马来西亚民间传说中的超自然生物)的传说。据说,这些精灵一直安静地生活在人类四周。

他说:“我想提醒人们敏感和脆弱之美,以及我们如何利用这些特质来帮助自己,而不是让自己被打败。”当然,他也知道系列的名字取得有些讽刺:如果他真的“害羞”,他大概不会开始创作作品,自然也会错失展示它的许多机会。但是,他从一开始时就意识到自己缺乏安全感,并设法将其转变为优势,而不是让他的“害羞”成为他的累赘。

Nor considers himself vulnerable, but he’s in touch with his own vulnerability. “I think the beauty in being vulnerable is that it’s a good reminder that at the end of the day, as worried as we might be about things affecting us, it also means that we are allowing ourselves to grow. It’s about opening our door to possibilities, instead of shutting things down just because we’re afraid.”

He presents his stories through plants for their timelessness and omnipresence. They lack “any tinge of period or context” that would otherwise occur if he had used modern or prehistoric objects. “Vulnerability will probably be with us until the end of time, and I hope plants will too,” he says.


Nadhir 认为自己是脆弱的,但他也接纳自己的脆弱。“我认为脆弱的美妙之处在于它提醒了我们,尽管我们担心很多会影响自己的事情,但这也意味着我们允许自己去成长。只有这样我们才能开怀拥抱各种可能性,而不是因为害怕,就把自己封闭起来。”

Nadhir 选择植物来创作,是因为植物的永恒性和无所不在。如果他使用现代或史前的物品,就会带上“特定时期或背景”的标签。“脆弱大概永远会伴随我们而存在,我希望植物也会如此。”他说。

After the successful release of Segan, Nor followed up with Masih Segan. This second series took three months to complete, and it serves not just as a continuation of the first series, but also as a sort of commentary—on the good that came out of pushing himself to release his work, and the beauty of the uncertainty and possibilities that followed.

Nor is now basking in the sunlight, and there’s still plenty of time for him to bloom. Though he hopes to move on to other mediums, he believes there’s still much more to discover in the softness and unpredictability of watercolors. He’s also keen to go back and explore his lifelong fascination with the art of fantasy role-playing games and possibly collaborate with other Malaysian artists.

“A big part of my shyness—my ‘segan’-ness—with the series came from the fact that I am not from the fine arts scene. I focused heavily during college and worked on entertainment art, which is more commercial. So it’s definitely daunting to be dipping my feet into this scene. But it’s been exciting, and people have been supportive.”


在成功发表《Segan》后,Nadhir 又创作了后续系列《Masih Segan》,后者历时三个月完成,不仅是第一个系列的延续,更是一种注释——表达因为推动自己发表作品所带来的好处,以及随之而来的那些美妙的不确定性和可能性。

现在的 Nadhir 像是沐浴在阳光下,并有足够的时间让他绽放。虽然他希望转向其它媒介创作,但他相信,柔淡而不可预测的水彩画还有更多值得发掘的东西。同时,他也热切地回归探索他对角色扮演游戏(RPG)艺术的迷恋,并可能与其他马来西亚艺术家合作。

“我的害羞,我的‘segan’,很大一部分来自于我并非美术科班出身的事实。大学期间我主要侧重于娱乐艺术,比较商业化。所以进入艺术界对我来说是令人生畏的事情。但也是令人兴奋的,大家都很给予了我很多支持。”

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Website: nadhirnor.com
Instagram: @snadhir

 

Contributor: Joanna Lee
Chinese Translation: Olivia Li


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网站: nadhirnor.com
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供稿人: Joanna Lee
英译中: Olivia Li

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Cultural Strands 缠绕之发

April 17, 2019 2019年4月17日
Hair Landscape III (2013)《Hair Landscape III》(2013)

Hair is often the first thing we notice about a person. Gender, ethnicity, personality—we can make judgments about these characteristics from a mere glance at their hair. This is because however we choose to style it—whether it’s long or short, straight or curly, dyed or natural—we’re displaying a conscious decision. More often than not, this choice is the beginning of a story.

Yuni Kim Lang, a Korean-American artist based in Michigan, is fascinated by hair. Though she was born in Korea, she spent most of her childhood in various cities in China before attending an international school with a Western curriculum. She identifies as a “third-culture kid,” a term for people who have grown up in a culture different from that of their parents, and she often felt caught between three different sets of cultural expectations. “Every summer, when I went back to visit Korea, my heart would start beating faster the moment the airplane landed. I had this idea of what a Korean girl looked like and needed to be like. But what if I couldn’t fit into that box? It was a physical thing for me. I could literally feel how my body started to feel uncomfortable.”


头发往往是我们注意到一个人的第一件事。我们只需看一眼头发,就可以做出对方性别、种族、甚至是性格等特征的判断。这是因为每个人都有设计它的选择——无论是长发或短发,直发或卷发,染色或自然发色——都产自于我们有意识的决定,而这通常开展了一个人往后的生活故事。

住在密歇根州的韩裔美籍艺术家 Yuni Kim Lang,对头发有着很深的着迷。虽然她出生在韩国,但她在中国不同城市度过了大半的童年时光,接着再进入一所西方教育的国际学校。她认为自己是一个“第三文化小孩”,对于在与父母不同的文化中成长的人来说,她经常感到自己陷入三种不同的文化期望中。“每年夏天,当我回到韩国时,我的心脏就会在飞机着陆的那一刻开始快速跳动。我执着于‘一个韩国女孩应该看起来怎么样?’这样的想法。如果我不能融入呢?这对我来说也造成身体上的影响。我真的可以感到自己开始感觉不舒服。”

Woven Identity I (2013)《Woven Identity I》(2013)
Woven Identity II (2013)《Woven Identity II》(2013)

Lang’s best-known project, Comfort Hair, is the manifestation of that discomfort. The sheer mass of tangled knots pays homage to gache, heavy wigs formerly worn by Korean women to signify social status and beauty. The weight is both literal and figurative, and Lang has said she identifies with the story of a 13-year-old bride whose neck snapped under the weight of her gache. While cultural expectations can be beautiful, rooted in deep traditions, they can also be burdens. “Comfort Hair is about wanting to tell the story of this massive thing on top of my head that encompasses so much, and using it as a conversation starter to dig deeper into our stories,” she says. “It’s the perfect material that everyone understands to be personal.”


Yuni Kim Lang 最著名的项目《Comfort Hair》(《慰借之发》),正是这种文化不适的延伸。大量纠缠的发结,向古代韩国女性用以宣示社会地位和美丽的重型假发“加髢”致敬。这种重量既是象征性的,也是真实有形的。她说,曾经有一个13岁的小新娘的脖子,在加髢的重压下折断。虽然文化期望可以是美丽的,根植于深厚的传统,但它们也可能是重担。“《Comfort Hair》就是想要讲述这个巨大的命题,涵括了很多的东西,并借以开启一段对话,深入挖掘属于我们自己的故事。”她说,“头发正是一个恰好的素材,每个人都可以理解它的私密性。”

Generation (2013)《Generation》(2013)
Hair Landscape II (2013)《Hair Landscape II》(2013)
Hair Landscape IV (2013)《Hair Landscape IV》(2013)

The title also alludes to the “comfort women” taken as sex slaves by the Japanese army during World War II. Comfort Hair is intended to be experienced live as a performed work, with Lang wearing the pieces and lying quietly in a meditative state. Her presence highlights her connection to a complex history that contributes to her identity. Lang states that memory is an essential part of her work, and that hair can be thought to represent a “collective memory.” In one image, three women of different generations share the same web of dense, interwoven, black strands, linking hair with the triumphs and hardships of a community.

Hair is paradoxical. It is neither living nor dead—we cannot feel it, but it nonetheless grows out of our bodies. Similarly, our histories cannot be changed, yet they can be modified, shaped, and worn in different ways.


这个项目的命名,同时也暗示了二次世界大战期间被日本军队视为性奴的“慰安妇”(Comfort Women)。《Comfort Hair》旨在让观众现场体验,Yuni Kim Lang 戴上巨大的发结,静静地躺在冥想状态。她的存在强调了自己、与造就了她的复杂历史两者之间的连结。她说,记忆是她创作中不可或缺的一部分,头发可被视为一种“集体记忆”。在其中一张照片中,三位不同世代的女性拥有相同密集、交织缠绕的黑色织线,将头发与这一群体的伟大与艰辛,紧紧联系在一起。

头发本是矛盾的,它既不死也不活,我们无法感受到它,但它仍然从我们的身体中生长出来。同样地,我们的历史不能改变,但它们可以通过不同的方式进行修改、塑造和磨合。

Flow (2017)《Flow》(2017)

Lang’s newest project, Blooming, is a sequel to Comfort Hair. “Blooming was born from Comfort Hair and visualizes hair as much more than just hair,” she says. “It explores those layered meanings that hair encompasses. Hair is, at times, a stand-in for our identity, and this identity is not static. I see it as something growing and transforming that changes with our stories and unravels as we unfold life’s adventures. I find this concept much more appealing.” Audiences have said Blooming reminds them of flowers, mushrooms, or even sea creatures. “What I want to communicate is growth. Identity is an organism that’s alive, growing, spreading, and blooming.”


Yuni Kim Lang 的最新项目《Blooming》(《绽放》)是《Comfort Hair》的续集。“《Blooming》诞生自《Comfort Hair》,视觉表现上让头发发挥更多想像。”她说,“它探索了头发在不同层面上的意义。有时候,头发是我们身份的替身,但身份并非一成不变。我认为它是会随着我们的经历和生命故事成长而变化的东西。我发现这个概念更具吸引力。“有些观众说《Blooming》让他们联想到花朵、蘑菇、甚至是海洋生物。“我想要传达的是增长的概念。身份是一种有生命、不断成长、向外传播和绽放的有机体。”

Self Portrait II (2017)《Self Portrait II》(2017)
Self Portrait I (2017)《Self Portrait I》(2017)
Nest (2013)《Nest》(2013)

In a few pieces, she doesn’t wear the hair but instead lies in it. The metaphor of hair evolves into a surrounding environment, enveloping a wearer who is not overwhelmed by the pressure but peacefully coexisting with it. Lang, who was once anxious about “not being Korean enough,” has grown into an artist who understands the multifaceted nature of identity, as well as a mother tasked with guiding her boys through the challenges of understanding their heritage. She says hair gives her a platform to talk about the internal struggles she had growing up. “I enjoy talking to my boys about the things I hated and loved about being Korean, and who I am because of those understandings,” she says. Today she serves as a guide through the symbolic seascape of Blooming, both for her children and her audiences.


在几件作品中,她不戴头发,而是躺在头发里。头发的比喻演变成一个周围的环境,包裹着一个没有被外在压力打倒,而是与它和平共处的穿戴者。曾经一度担心“自己不够像韩国人”的 Yuni Kim Lang,已经成长为一个深刻了解身份多重性的艺术家,以及一位母亲,教导儿子去了解他们继承传统的挑战。她说,头发给了她一个平台,讨论成长过程中她内心的挣扎。“我喜欢和我的孩子谈论关于做韩国人我喜欢和讨厌的事,以及因为这些理解,从而去了解我到底是谁。”她说。今天,通过象征性的《Blooming》,她为她的孩子和她的观众提供了方向和指南。

Meditation II (2017)《Meditation II》(2017)
Self (2017)《Self》(2017)
Mother and Child (2017)《Mother and Child》(2017)

Lang recalls on one memorable encounter with a Korean adoptee who shared her personal story after an exhibition opening. Lang’s story of growing up as a third-culture kid resonated with her, and she explained how she too, often felt lost between Western and Korean cultures. However, they bonded over the fact that they can’t deny they’re Korean—their intense black hair would never allow them to. “The world will always see a Korean girl,” Lang says. Even if they covered their roots, their hair would eventually grow back, a mysterious force always trying to tell its story.


Yuni Kim Lang 回忆起有一次在展览开幕后,遇见一位被领养的韩国人。她分享了个人经历和故事,并提到这样的作品引起她很大的共鸣。她解释自己也是如此作为一个第三文化孩子成长,经常感到迷失于西方和韩国文化之间。 然而,两人都认同自己无法否认她们韩国人的身份——她们明显的黑发绝不允许她们这样做。“世界看到的我将会永远是一个韩国女孩。”她说。即使覆盖了根,头发也会长出来,仿佛丛生着一股神秘力量,总是试图去诉说它的故事。

Bloomscape (2017)《Bloomscape》(2017)

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Website: yunikimlang.com
Instagram: @artist_yunikimlang

 

Contributor: Eugene Lee
Chinese Translation: Yang Yixuan


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网站: yunikimlang.com
Instagram: @artist_yunikimlang

 

供稿人: Eugene Lee
英译中: Yang Yixuan

Monochromatic Recipes with HSL 一秒波普的方法

April 17, 2019 2019年4月17日

This story is part of a content partnership and media exchange between Neocha and VSCO. VSCO’s membership program is designed to help you reach your creative potential. Take the next step in your creative journey by starting your free 7-day trial today and gain access to the complete VSCO preset library, the newest editing tools, and inspiring educational content.

The HSL tool—which controls hue, saturation, and luminosity—is suited for subtle, yet transformative changes to your images, but it also offers a chance to get a little wild. By experimenting with HSL, you can create completely new looks. Using the D1 preset as the base for both recipes, we created two monochromatic edits in pink and blue. Reminiscent of Pop art, these recipes give ordinary images a more graphic feel. Try these two recipes to get a feel for the control HSL gives you over specific colors, and then start creating your own unique looks!


本篇文章来自新茶媒体合作伙伴 VSCO 的内容交换。VSCO 是一个专门帮助摄影爱好者发挥创造潜力的会员项目。现在就开启你的 7 天免费试用,获取完整的预设滤镜,以及新的编辑工具、视频编辑和教程内容。

HSL 工具——可调节色度、饱和度和亮度——适合于微妙的、且对图片有转变型效果的改变,但它也给人提供了狂野一把的机会。使用 HSL 工具,你可以给图片打造全新的外观。在 D1 滤镜的基础上,我们修出了粉色和蓝色两张单色照片。这些效果让人想到波普艺术,让普通的图片有了拥有更强的图像感。快来尝试给你量身定做的两个滤镜与 HSL 功能,并创建你自己独特的照片。

D1 — Blue Recipe 蓝色调

In the following step-by-step tutorial, see how this photo of a table setting transforms. After creating these edits on your own image, try saving them as a recipe for future use. As a VSCO member, you can save up to 10 recipes.

Step 1 — Select an image in your Studio and tap the Preset icon. Apply the D1 preset at full strength (+12). This will limit the tones to solely pinks and blues.


在下面的分步教程中,你将看到这照片是如何转变成最终效果的。在你的照片上尝试这些编辑,并且把它们保存下来,以便将来使用。如若是 VSCO 会员,你可以保存多达 10 个编辑。

步骤 1 — 在你的工作室界面中选择一张图片并点击滤镜预设的图标。应用全强度(+12)的 D1 预设,就会呈现蓝色与粉色的图片。

Step 2 — Select HSL from your toolkit. Tap the purple circle and slide the Saturation (S) fully to the left at -6.0 and the Luminance (L) to -5.0. Now your image bears similarities to a cyanotype, a photographic printing process that produces blue pictures.


步骤 2 — 从工具箱中选择 HSL。点击紫色圆圈并将饱和度(S)完全滑到 -6.0,亮度(L)到 -5.0。现在,你的图像会类似蓝图晒印法,一种产生青色图片的冲印过程。

Step 3 — To bring back some of the details that have been lost, select the Exposure tool and lower exposure to -4.5.

*The necessary exposure per image can vary, so you may need to play with moving the slider back and forth to find the right exposure for your image.


步骤 3 — 如果要恢复一些已经丢失的细节,可选择曝光工具,降低曝光到 -4.5

*每张图片所需的曝光量会有所不同,所以你可能需要前后移动滑块来找到正确的曝光。

D1 — Pink Recipe 粉色调

Complementary to the blue monochromatic look, try this recipe to achieve a bold, neon pink aesthetic.


粉色调以扩充仅有的蓝色选项,你可以试试以下的设定,来调出鲜艳霓虹粉的效果。

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There Is No God Here 这里没有神

April 15, 2019 2019年4月15日

In the sun-drenched south of Taiwan, Qianzhen District is home to the island’s largest deep-sea fishing port. Taiwan boasts the largest ocean-faring fishing fleet in the world, with nearly three thousand ships, most of which set out from Qianzhen, and voyages last six months, a year, even two.

On the lowest rung of this high-output, profit-driven industry is a group of workers who live off the seas. Most of them are young men from Southeast Asia: over half come from Indonesia, while others come from the Philippines or Vietnam. Aboard the dreary Taiwanese ships where they eke out a living, they give their bodies and youth over to work. They’re always looking ahead to the day they’ll pull into harbor, but even when they do, the harbor outside won’t be their home.


在阳光普照的台湾南方,高雄前镇渔港是台湾远洋渔业最大的基地港口。台湾拥有全球为数最多、近三千艘远洋作业渔船,大部分都从前镇渔港出航。而每一趟驶向大海的远行,一去就是半年、一年,甚至两年。

在这产值极高、利益为上的产业底层,有一群以海维生的渔工。他们大多是来自东南亚国家的年轻人,一半以上来自印尼,也有一些来自菲律宾、越南在阳光照不进的台湾船上努力生存,用身体和青春作为代价辛苦工作。靠岸之日遥遥无期,但即使靠岸,港边也不是他们的家。

One photographer, Aming Lee, has set out to document the lives of these people on what he calls “a floating prison cut off from the rest of the world” in his book There Is No God Here.

The ocean is a place forsaken by god, but there’s a group of people who move across it freely. To see a world in a grain of sand, and heaven in a wildflower. Who would ply the seas, if they could stay on land?  —There Is No God Here

Lee first picked up a camera at 18, and he’s been a photojournalist for most of his life—he describes himself as a “photography handyman.” When he retired, he didn’t know what to do with all the extra time, so to keep himself occupied, he grabbed his camera and went out to the street to take pictures.

Camera slung over my shoulder, I began roaming the streets . . . until I found my way to the fishing port of Qianzhen, and there, under the influence of tobacco and alcohol, I launched my fantastic shutter voyage . . . At first I didn’t understand how a fishing port worked, and I went around with two cameras and two lenses taking photos everywhere. But even without professional gear, people got upset when I took their picture, and the port locals would give me dirty looks.

“Hey asshole! What are you doing taking pictures of my ship?”

“Get the hell out of here! I’ll hunt you down!”

It takes all kinds, and of course some people were pretty nice. My shots of the port began with them.


每一艘渔船都宛如一座与世隔绝的海牢。但有一位摄影师,却自愿进入这座海牢。他的摄影书《这里没有神》记录下了渔工最真实的生活情景——他是李阿明

“大海是一个不被神眷顾的地方,却有一群人在那里自在地行走。一物一世界,一命一天堂。能待陆上,谁愿意漂泊海上?”——节录自《这里没有神》。

李阿明十八岁拿起相机,当了半辈子的摄影记者,自称“摄影黑手”。退休后深感时间多到不知如何运用,为了打发时间,他决定带着老朋友相机一台,上街拍人。

相机一揹开始流落街头……直到逛来前镇渔港,烟酒交互作用下,开展了我的快门奇幻之旅……起初摸不清楚渔港状况,背着两机两镜,港边四处游走随拍,但这一身非专业行头,却引起被拍者的不快和渔港人的侧目。

“干!拍我的船干什么?”

“唛冲康(不要乱来),我找你找得到!” 

人百百款,当然也有比较和善的。我的渔港近距离摄影就是从这些人开始的。

The media often report on how bad the conditions for fishing boat workers are, so the exposure is all negative.  That’s why fishing companies don’t let reporters, photographers, or outsiders near their ships. “When I decided to take pictures of fishing workers, my biggest problem was my identity. I had to pretend I was there to work. I could only use a pocket camera and take pictures on the sly. If someone from the fishing company found out, I’d just say I was teaching myself photography.”

To get the intimate shots he wanted aboard, he responded to an ad for a temporary position as a ship watchman, or custodian. “The job paid NTD $1000 per day (around US $33), with no insurance, no weekends, 24 hours a day on board, regardless of the weather. It was a little like being a doorman. Most ship watchmen are working-class Taiwanese men in their sixties or seventies, and their status is the same as the foreign workers. Because they also have to act as chaperones, many of whom don’t speak the language, they’re called ‘papa-san'”—a male equivalent to “mama-san,” a term used in Southeast Asia for a woman who oversees a bar or brothel.


由于媒体经常报导渔工工作环境的恶劣,曝光的全是负面消息,因此船公司极度排斥记者、相机和外人。“这项拍摄渔工计划最困难的是我的身份问题。我在这里假借职务之便,只能用口袋相机偷拍,万一被船公司的人发现就说:‘我在学摄影’。”

而他的职务,是“看船的”。

为了能更近距离拍摄渔工,李阿明应征了一份船上临时工的工作。“日薪1000元(约220人民币),没有保险,没有周休,24小时全天候都在船上,类似于大楼保安的工作。看船的大都是六七十岁以上的台湾低端老人,地位和外籍渔工雷同。因为还身兼在船上语言不通的外籍渔工的保母,所以也会被喊作‘爸爸桑’。”

Lee’s been a “papa-san” for over four years now. In September 2018, the photos and text he gathered over the years appeared in print in a collection titled There Is No God Here.

Aboard every ship, there are clear social hierarchies, and these migrant fishermen are often at the bottom. Lee has stood on the front lines and seen the oppressive life of the fishing boat workers, yet in his words and images, he touches only lightly on the violence and exploitation that the outside world hears about. Instead, he mostly depicts his subjects smiling, playing around, and goofing off. “I roamed the ship freely and took photos. We all trusted each other, and there was no pressure to be anything else,” Lee says. “When they’d ship out, I’d burn the photos onto a CD to give to them, and we’d add each other on Facebook and stay in touch. The crew members’ families would even join in on the online conversations.”


至今,李阿明的“爸爸桑”身份已经持续了四年多。这些日子以来累积的许多照片和文字都收录在《这里没有神》,这一本于2018年9月发行的摄影文集中。

船上是一个阶级分明的社会,而渔工们就位居底层。即使站在第一线眼见渔工备受压迫的生活,但外界时有所闻的暴力和剥削,在他的文字和摄影里都被轻描淡写。反之他刻画更多的,是渔工们开心玩乐、轻松的一面。“我在船上拿着相机随走随拍,悠游自在,互相信任完全没有压力。离港时再将照片烧成光碟送给他们,也会彼此互加脸书分享近况,甚至连船员家人也加入。”

Like anyone else, they know what it means to be happy and have fun. They’re my models of happiness . . . These fishing boat workers are about the same age as my kids, and with their optimism, open-mindedness, and kindness, they’ve taught me an invaluable lesson about life. Anyone who works lives honestly and works hard can stand tall and proud.


如常人般懂得玩乐懂得享受,他们都是我心里的欢乐英雄……这些和我小孩年纪相仿的外籍渔工,他们的乐观、豁达和善良,扎扎实实地让我上了人生宝贵的一课。人,永远永远,不会因认真生活、认真工作,就矮人一截!

Lee didn’t stop taking photos once he published his book. A few days after I sent him the interview questions, he sent a reply saying, “I’ve still been looking after ships; most of my time is spent aboard one.” He told me he’s moved from Qianzhen, which has become more restricted and “very difficult to openly photograph,” to Hsinta, a smaller fishing port where he continues his work as a watchman, waiting for the next ship to dock.

“I never thought of myself as making art. I just followed my instincts from decades of working as a photojournalist. I’d blend into the environment and just use my camera to ‘observe.'” Lee once said that life on the boat made him feel truly at home, and that when he’s with fishing boat workers he feels they’re all a family. “This sense of home comes from not having any other aims. Everyone’s different, with different interests,  so you can simply hang out, spend time with people without ulterior motives.”

“Photography,” he says, “is just an extension of that.”

 

Click here to purchase a copy of There Is No God Here.


而拍摄计划并没有因为发行摄影集就告一段落。在将采访资料寄给李阿明的几天后,他在回信中捎来“最近仍在顾船,大都还在船上。”他向我们透露目前他又转移拍摄的阵地,从排他性较强、“很难正大光明拍摄”的前镇渔港换到另一个小渔港“兴达港”驻点,就这样住在无人的渔船上,等待着下一艘渔船的回航。

“我从来不觉得我在创作,只是以数十年来的摄影记者本能,平常心融入环境之中,用相机‘观看’罢了。”李阿明曾说过,渔船生活是真正让他感到自在,和渔工的相处期间宛如一家人。“这种自在感,来自于无欲。在这大异其趣的异温层里,不带心眼地与他人单纯共处、消磨时日。”

正如他所说,“摄影,只是附加的载体。”

 

点击此处可购买《这里没有神》。

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Websiteaminglee.com

 

Contributor: Yang Yixuan
English translation: Allen Young


喜欢我们的故事?欢迎关注我们 Neocha 的微博微信

 

网站: aminglee.com

 

供稿人: Yang Yixuan
英译中: Allen Young

A Layered World 跃然纸上的记忆

April 12, 2019 2019年4月12日
Girl Talk (2019) 18 x 24 in / Pen and ink on tracing paper 《Girl Talk》(2019) 46 x 61 厘米 / 笔墨、硫酸纸

On average, Filipina artist Lui Gonzales uses five layers of paper to create one work. She starts by tracing along the paper with a pen, rendering the likenesses of people and everyday objects in meticulous detail. Then, after layering one over the other, she systematically tears the tracing paper from top to bottom. The torn edges of the paper decorate the pieces with striking lines that twist and turn to form dynamic figures and shapes. The resulting work is a feast for the eyes, each layer beckoning the viewer to come and explore its depths.


平均下来,菲律宾艺术家 Lui Gonzales 会用五层纸来做一个作品。开始时,她会先用笔在纸上描画,画面细致入微地展现着人物和日常物品;然后再把一张张的画叠起来,有计划地从上到下把画撕下来。而这些撕下的纸,Lui 则会用醒目的线条来装饰它们,扭曲、旋转的线条,形成动态的图样。她的作品可说是一场视觉盛宴,每一层纸张都在召唤着观看者来探索它的深度。

Conversational (2019) 36 x 48 in / Pen and ink on tracing paper 《Conversational》(2019) 91 x 122 厘米 / 笔墨、硫酸纸
Visitors (2019) 36 x 48 in / Pen and ink on tracing paper 《Visitors》(2019) 91 x 122 厘米 / 笔墨、硫酸纸

Gonzales first encountered art as a child. “When I was younger, my father let us read a lot of art books,” she says. What started as a hobby soon developed into a passion. In 2006, she was accepted at the Philippine High School for the Arts and specialized in visual arts. She went on to attend the University of the Philippines-Diliman, graduating with a major in painting in 2015. Since then, she has held multiple exhibitions at galleries and art spaces both in the Philippines and abroad.


Lui 接触艺术是在她儿时,“当我还小的时候,我父亲就让我们读了很多艺术书籍。”她说。这一开始的爱好很快就发展成一种热爱,在 2006 年的时候,她前往菲律宾艺术高中(Philippine High School for the Arts)就读,主攻视觉艺术。2015 年毕业于菲律宾大学蒂利曼校区(University of the Philippines-Diliman)的绘画专业。自那以后,她在菲律宾和国外的画廊和艺术空间举办过多次展览。

Spectators (2019) 36 x 48 in / Pen and ink on tracing paper 《Spectators》(2019) 91 x 122 厘米 / 笔墨、硫酸纸
Big Sky Minds (2019) 24 x 36 in / Pen and ink on tracing paper 《Big Sky Minds》(2019) 61 x 91 厘米 / 笔墨、硫酸纸

Many of Gonzales’ works possess a distinct, personal touch. She describes the process of drawing on paper as “immediate and honest,” and in this regard, her art is a personal diary of sorts. It is a manifestation of the process of recalling and interpreting the objects, events, and scenarios she has witnessed. Memory, and the various ways in which it reveals itself, plays a central role in her art.

In her first solo exhibition titled Colorless Confetti, Gonzales deconstructed the process of remembering, imagining memories as multiple, fragmented layers that appear before the mind in no coherent order. Some remain concealed, while others are in full view. Tearing through the layers of paper is an act of destruction, but even when torn, the pieces of paper still hold value. They are recalled and remembered, and therefore, brought back to life.


Lui 的很多作品都有着她鲜明的个人风格。她把在纸上绘画的过程描述为“直接的、诚实的”,在这方面,她的作品是日记式的,是回忆和诠释她所目睹的对象、事件和情景的过程展现。记忆,以及它揭示自己的各种方式,在 Lui 的作品中有着举足轻重之地。

在她的首个个展“Colorless Confetti”中,Lui 解构了记忆的过程,把记忆想象成多重的、支离破碎的层次,这些层次以不连贯的顺序呈现出来。一些仍隐匿在暗处,而另一些却暴露于众目睽睽之下。撕开一层层的纸的行为是破坏的过程,但即使撕破了,这些纸片仍然具有价值。他们被回想起来,被记住,因此也重新展现了生命力。

For Safe Keeping (2019) Varied Sizes / Mixed media《Conversational》(2019) 尺寸可变 / 综合材料

Gonzales further expands on this concept in her latest solo exhibition Circa. Organized by Kaida Contemporary and currently on display at the ArtistSpace Gallery of the Ayala Museum in Makati, the new show likewise focuses on the fleeting nature of memory. Gonzales examines the accuracy of our recollections, questioning whether our mental manifestations mirror what is true and real. The exhibit brings together an assemblage of scenes and portraits, taken out of their original sequence, and restructured on paper.


Lui 在最近的个展“Circa”上,进一步扩展了这一概念。这次新展同样关注记忆的转瞬即逝的本质,由 Kaida Contemporary 组织,目前正在马卡蒂阿亚拉博物馆的 ArtistSpace 画廊展出。Lui 检查我们记忆的准确性,质疑我们的精神表现是否反映了真实。这次展览汇集了一组场景和肖像,从原来的记忆顺序中取出,并在纸上重新构造。

Hey, Andy (2019) 24 x 18 in / Pen and ink on tracing paper 《Hey, Andy》(2019) 61 x 46 厘米 / 笔墨、硫酸纸
Hey, Reg (2019) 24 x 18 in / Pen and ink on tracing paper 《Hey, Andy》(2019) 61 x 46 厘米 / 笔墨、硫酸纸
Dwelling (2019) 48 x 36 in / Pen and ink on tracing paper 《Dwelling》(2019) 122 x 92 厘米 / 笔墨、硫酸纸

Gonzales’s largest work in this series is titled Crowded. At 72 inches wide by 42 inches long, the artwork uses ten layers of paper. Similar to other works in this exhibit, Crowded is a moment frozen in time. It depicts a large group of people as they weave their way amongst one another. “I like it when people are brought together into one setting,” Gonzales says. “I like observing how they all interact with each other, even if these events never happened in the same timeline. In my mind, they all morph into one another.”


Lui 在这个系列中最大的作品叫做《Crowded》(《拥挤》)。作品宽 72 英寸,长 42 英寸,用了足足十层纸。和本次展览中的其他作品一样,《Crowded》是凝固在时间中的一个瞬间。它描绘了一大群人,他们在彼此编织着自己的路。“我喜欢把人们集中在一个环境里。”Lui 说,“我喜欢观察他们是如何互相影响的,即使这些事件从未发生在同一个时间线上。在我的脑海里,它们都变成了彼此。”

Crowded (2019) 42 x 72 in / Pen and ink on tracing paper《Crowded》(2019) 107 x 183 厘米 / 笔墨、硫酸纸

Memories are fragments: scraps and pieces that our minds bridge together; the results are convincing but often inaccurate versions of events. The portraits in Circa are similarly disjointed, with faces seemingly in motion and no fixed expression. Instead, they shift and take on different forms, revealing a variety of emotions all at once.


记忆就像碎片:纷纷散落的碎片,经由我们的大脑连接;它们的结果往往令人信服,但又往往并不准确。“Circa”展览中的肖像也同样杂乱无章的,人们的脸似乎总在运动,没有固定的表情。反而又以转换和采取不同的形式,揭示了在同一时间各种各样的情感。

Hi Bessy (2019) 36 x 24 in / Pen and ink on tracing paper 《Hi Bessy》(2019) 91 x 46 厘米 / 笔墨、硫酸纸
Hi Bert (2019) 36 x 24 in / Pen and ink on tracing paper 《Hi Bert》(2019) 91 x 46 厘米 / 笔墨、硫酸纸

In Latin, the word circa means “around” or “nearby,” and in English, it is used for approximations. This exhibit is exactly that—a study in approximations. Each of the finished works contains a world of its own. The characters silently play their parts, and each silhouette is a recreation of something that once existed, and now, through its passage in the depths of memory, has been altogether transformed into something new. Circa is Gonzales’s examination of memory’s fickle nature and the many ways we perceive and process our experiences. Truth blends with emotions, sensations, and even imagination, ultimately creating a past that is always changing.


在拉丁语中,“Circa”的意思是“在周围”(around),而在英语中,“around”又用来表示近似。这个展览就是一个关于“近似”的研究。每一副完成的作品都包含了一个属于自己的世界。那些人物无声地扮演他们的角色,每一个剪影都是对曾经存在的事物的再创造。而现在,通过它在记忆深处的通道,已经完全转变为某种新的东西。“Circa”是 Lui 对记忆变幻无常的本性、以及我们感知和处理经验的检查。真相与情感、感觉甚至和想象融合在一起,最终创造了一个不断变化的过去。

Guided (2019) 18 x 24 in / Pen and ink on tracing paper 《Guided》(2019) 46 x 61 厘米 / 笔墨、硫酸纸

EventCirca
Exhibition Dates: April 12, 2019 ~ April 27, 2019

 

Address:
Artist Space, Ground Level
Ayala Museum Annex
Makati Ave. (Corner of De La Rosa Street)
Metro Manila, Makati City
Philippines

 

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Instagram: @lui_gonzales

 

Contributor: Elle Lucena
Chinese Translation: Chen Yuan


活动名称: “Circa”
展览日期: 2019年4月12日——2019年4月27日

 

地址:
菲利宾
马卡蒂马尼拉
Makati Ave. (Corner of De La Rosa Street)
阿亚拉博物馆副楼
Artist Space 1F

 

喜欢我们的故事?欢迎关注我们 Neocha 的微博微信

 

Instagram: @lui_gonzales

 

供稿人: Elle Lucena
英译中: Chen Yuan

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