Monthly Archives: June 2016

A Road Trip in Tibet

June 30, 2016 2016年6月30日

Having lived in mainland China for over six years, I had always wanted to travel to Tibet. For many casual travellers, it is a remote region of the world, both vast and harsh – and in many ways, also not without its own share of obstacles to access. Its allure, while partly from the pure natural beauty of its wild terrain, lies also in the mysterious culture of the nomadic Tibetan people and its folklore; the romance and spirituality of Tibet inspire an irrepressible kind of wanderlust.

身居中国已有六年光景，在这六年里，我从不曾断过前往西藏的念头。对于很多一般的游客而言，西藏都是世界上遥远的一方天地，在很多方面，包括进入藏区本身，都让它都显得既广袤又粗粝。它的无穷魅力，不仅来自它原生纯净大自然的美，也来自游牧藏民的乡土人情，和西藏那让无数旅人神往不已的传奇和灵性。

Landing in Lhasa Gonggar Airport, it can easily feel like you have arrived at the top of the world. The approach to the remote airport takes you over miles and miles of spectacular mountains which dramatically reveal themselves through atmospheric layers of clouds. The name Lhasa means “place of the gods” and the city itself is one of the highest in the world. Situated in the center of the Tibetan Plateau, the city has an elevation of approximately 3,600 meters. Even upon landing, the air can feel noticeably thin; it has about 35-40% less oxygen than at sea level, which for many travellers, can contribute to altitude sickness and shortness of breath.

当飞机降落在拉萨贡嘎机场时，常让人有种到达世界之巅的感觉。 要来到这个万里之外的机场，你需要飞过绵亘不断的崇⼭峻岭，这些山在层峦叠嶂的云层中隐现，美不胜收。“拉萨”在藏语里就是指神居住的地方。这个全球海拔最高的城市位于青藏高原中⼼，平均海拔约3600米。飞机落地的那一霎那，就能明显感觉到空气的稀薄。这里的含氧量低于海平面含氧量35%-40%，这也是造成大多数登山者出现高原反应、呼吸急促的原因。

Driving into the city proper, we passed through the Chinese-built quarter; a curious mix of half-finished high-end shopping malls, modern hotels and restaurants, it at first resembles almost any second-tier city in mainland China. But once inside the old Tibetan quarter, a far more interesting and authentic part of the city with its byzantine alleyways and side streets, visitors can still get a sense of some of the medieval markets and street life that used to exist in Lhasa’s old town.

驱车进入市区时，我们经过了一个汉族化城区，那里奇妙地汇聚了许正在建造的高端商场 、现代酒店和餐厅，乍眼看去，和中国大陆很多二线城市并无二致。但当渐渐深入西藏传统老区时，这个城市的另一面便展现了出来：带着拜占庭式的蜿蜒巷道和小街让人们仿佛穿越到了中世纪的市场，感受拉萨古镇曾经的市井百态。

The holiest city in Tibet, Lhasa is known for its ancient monasteries and Buddhist temples. Its most iconic structure is the Potala Palace, the former chief residence of the Dalai Lama in Lhasa, which is famously depicted on the back of the Chinese 50 yuan banknote. Perched impressively like a fortress on a hill, the Potala is the highest ancient palace in the world and is an important symbol of Tibetan culture and history. Buddhist pilgrims, who come from all over Tibet to travel to Lhasa, will come to pay homage to the royal palace by walking clockwise around the entire estate. Pilgrims can often be seen circling the Jokhang Temple in Barkhor Square just nearby, performing a curious repetitive ritual of prostrating themselves on the ground and advancing forward a step. It is not uncommon for some to prostrate all the way from their hometown to Lhasa, a feat which can reportedly take up to two years to achieve. For these devout Tibetans, this tantric ritual of performing these tens of thousands of prostrations serves as a means to overcome one’s pride and achieve nirvana.

作为西藏圣城，拉萨的古代寺院和佛教寺庙举世闻名。其中最具标志性的建筑当属布达拉宫，那曾是拉萨达赖的主要居所，也是中国50元币值人民币背后的图案。布达拉宫依山而建，从外观上看，宛若巨大的堡垒，它是世界上海拔最高的古代宫殿，也是藏族历史和文化的重要标志。整个西藏的佛教教徒都会来拉萨朝圣，为了致敬圣殿，朝圣者会环绕着布达拉宫的四周顺时针行走。在八廓街附近的大昭寺还能常常看到有的朝圣者进行磕拜仪式，磕拜时五体投地，而后向前一步，继续认真地重复着这一仪式。还有一些朝圣者以这样的磕拜仪式一路从家乡来到拉萨，这样盛大的朝圣之行据说会花上两年时间。但对于虔诚的藏民们来说，这个需要无数三步一磕，艰难匍匐而行的密宗仪式，能够攻克人的骄傲之心，最后达到涅槃境界。

Lhasa is often referred to by the locals as the “sunlit city”. On the day we visited Sera Monastery, on the northern outskirts of the city, the complex was bathed in abundant, warm sunlight. A place of learning for Tibetan monks, the monastery is known as one of the best locations in Tibet to observe outdoor debating sessions of Buddhist doctrines among the monks. Set in the “debating courtyard” outside the main assembly hall, the sessions are based on lively philosophical exchanges between questioners and defenders. The defenders, usually junior monks, are seated, while the questioners test their knowledge of Buddhist scripture. The questions posed are often punctuated by dramatic hand slapping gestures, a prompt for the seated monk to respond. Sera Monastery, along with Drepung Monastery, which we also visited on the same day, are among the important “great three” university monasteries for Tibetan Buddhism.

拉萨常被当地人作为“日光城”。在我们参观位于拉萨北部郊区色拉寺的那天，整个环境沐浴在充沛温暖的阳光之中。寺院是西藏僧侣学习修行的地方，也是聆听僧侣们在户外辩论佛教教义的最佳场所之一。僧侣们在主寺外的“辩经场”上进行辩经，也可视为是一场主要由诘问者和应对者之间的哲学交流。应对者多为得道高僧，席地而坐，面对诘问者关于佛教教义的挑战。问题通常伴随着夸张的拍手动作而提出，等待着静坐的高僧回答。色拉寺，以及我们在同一天参观的哲蚌寺，都属于藏传佛教最重要的三大寺院之列。

The following morning, we prepare to head out to Shigatse, a five hour drive from Lhasa. Shigatse is the second largest city in Tibet – but with a population of only 12,000, it is actually quite small by Chinese standards. It is home to the beautiful Tashilhunpo Monastery, the traditional seat of the Danchen Lamas. Behind the monastery is a hill lined with rows of Tibetan prayer wheels and small shrines, leading upwards to a stunning view of the Shigatse Dzong. Resembling a smaller prototype of the Potala in Lhasa, the original structure of Shigatse Dzong was completely destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, and later reconstructed in 2005. After a short stay in Shigatse, we continued on to Everest the next day.

第二天一早，我们准备前往离拉萨五小时车程的日喀则。日喀则是西藏的第二大城市，但只有1.2万的人口，想想中国庞大的人口基数，这个城市的人口数量实在是太少。历世班禅大师驻锡之所——美如画的扎什布伦寺就在日喀则。寺院背靠高山，山上一排排西藏转经筒和小佛龛，将视线拉延伸至日喀则宗堡的迷人风光。日喀则宗堡又称为“小布达拉宫”，但其原建筑在文化大革命中毁于一旦，2005年才得以重建。在日喀则短暂停留后，我们第二天就前往珠穆朗玛峰。

The journey to Everest Base Camp was a time-consuming and tiring one. From the city of Shigatse, it is an additional eight hours by car, often happening on long and winding roads at increasingly higher altitudes, and with frequent checkpoints. The journey for us passed by quickly as there was no shortage of distractions along the way: yaks and sheep grazing in a largely uninhabited Tibetan plateau, dramatic vistas of mountains and slopes, serene lakes and reservoirs – even a few glaciers, and finally as we neared our final destination, snow-capped peaks. When Everest first reveals itself to us, it is truly a breathtaking sight: a lone snow-capped peak far off in the distance, shrouded in mist.

前往珠峰大本营的行程真是耗时又耗体。从日喀则出发，需要开八小时的车，并且路途大多既长又曲折，海拔还相当高，并频繁遇到检查站。不过沿途别致的风情到让我们觉得时间过得挺快的：牦牛和绵羊在大片大片的西藏高原无人区悠闲啃草，巍峨高山、陡峭峻岭、宁静湖泊和广阔水库拼接而成的壮丽景观，还有几处的冰川之美……而当我们最终接近目的地的时候，白雪皑皑的山峰印入眼帘，珠穆朗玛峰就这样出现在我们身前，雪峰独立自傲，直入云霄，雾霭环绕，美得动人心弦。

5,150 meters above sea level, Everest Base Camp is a rudimentary campsite used by mountain climbers ascending and descending Mount Everest. Just a short hike away is the lesser known Rongbuk Monastery, which is claimed to be the highest monastery in the world. Though much of its original structure was destroyed during the Cultural Revolution, a lot of it was later restored. Rongbuk’s small, underground and cave-like shrine is a marvel, and the monastery’s view of the north side of Mount Everest is worth a visit in itself.

珠峰大本营位于海拔5150米上，装备简陋，供珠峰登山者和下山者临时使用。离这里不远就是鲜为人知的绒布寺，号称世界上海拔最高的寺庙。虽然寺庙诸多原始建筑在文革中遭到毁坏，但多数在后来的年间又得以修复。 绒布寺里位于下层，宛若洞穴的小神殿就像高山里的奇迹，光是从这里眺望珠峰北侧的壮 美之景，就足以吸引人来此一探。

After a night at Everest Base Camp and a short return to Shigatse, we set out for Namtso, also called Lake Nam, which is considered a holy lake in Tibet. There are five islands in the lake which pilgrims used to make spiritual pilgrimages to by walking over the frozen lake in the winter. They would then spend the year there until the following winter when the lake would freeze again. The weather famously changes rather quickly at Namtso; there was even a small threat of a snowstorm from the other side of the lake on the day we were there. After a day of exploring, we stayed overnight at the Namtso Holy Lake Guest House, a modest but fairly comfortable place with charming wall-to-wall Tibetan decorations, before setting out again for Lhasa.

在珠峰大本营过了一夜之后，我们便折回日喀则，准备前往纳木错。纳木错也叫“天湖”，是西藏圣湖之一。湖中有五个岛屿，朝圣者过去曾在这里冬天冰冻的湖面上前行，进行着他们的朝圣仪式。随后，他们会在这里呆上一整年时间，待到第二年冬天湖面再次冻结。纳木错的天气是出了名的变幻莫测，在我们停留期间，湖侧一座雪山下了一场暴雪，所幸有惊无险。一日的风尘仆仆之后，我们在纳木错神湖宾馆过夜歇脚，这个地方的墙上尽是藏族装饰，虽简陋却也相当舒适。翌日，我们便启程重返拉萨。

Our last couple days in Lhasa marked the beginning of the rainy season, when there is typically heavy rainfall almost every night in Tibet. Leaving Lhasa in the middle of a downpour, at that precise moment, felt like a very fitting ending to an unforgettable adventure. After a long day of transfers and on arriving back in Shanghai, it took another week just to decompress and digest all the experiences from the trip. I was home, but still completely mystified by the mysterious ways of the Tibetans.

我们在拉萨的最后几日即是西藏雨季的开始，这个时节的西藏几乎夜夜滂沱。离开拉萨时的倾盆大雨，在那一刻，却也让人觉得，是这场奇遇的一个完美句号。在几经辗转了一天后回到了上海，而接下来的一周都让人反复回味着这整个旅程。人已在家中，却仍沉浸于在藏族的神秘中不能自拔。

Contributor & Photographer: Leon Yan

供稿人与摄影师: Leon Yan

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Finding Family

June 29, 2016 2016年6月29日
 At 23, photographer/videographer Thuan Tran already has an impressive portfolio. Having shot music videos for performers such as Beyonce, Lil Wayne, A$AP Rocky, and Major Lazer, there’s no doubting Thuan’s talent. However, despite the caliber of artists he’s worked with, his portfolio reflects a grounded perspective, and his personal imagery reveals the people and places that surround and impact him.

Ở tuổi 23, nhiếp ảnh gia/chuyên gia quay phim Thuan Tran đã có một danh mục tác phẩm rất ấn tượng. Không có lý do gì để nghi ngờ tài năng của Thuan, khi anh đã chụp các video âm nhạc cho những nghệ sĩ lừng danh như Beyonce, Lil Wayne, A$AP Rocky, và Major Lazer. Tuy nhiên, trái ngược với đẳng cấp của những nghệ sĩ mà anh đã làm việc cùng, danh mục tác phẩm của anh vẫn phản ánh một thế giới quan thực tiễn, với hình ảnh cá nhân thể hiện những con người và cảnh vật xung quanh đã tác động đến anh.

Though Thuan was raised in Lawrence, Massachusetts, a number of his relatives live in Vietnam. Recently, he paid a visit to his family’s neighborhood in Long Tành. This tight-knit community supports an orphanage, and those with means often donate food and their time to help out. “They most likely are linked to someone who either works there or knows someone who was helped by the orphanage,” Thuan explains. “My cousin has a strong link to it and has donated much of her time to helping the institution.” This cousin connected Thuan to the orphanage and helped him produce a series of photos documenting the women and children that live there.

Mặc dù Thuan lớn lên tại Lawrence, Massachusetts, một số họ hàng của anh vẫn sinh sống tại Việt Nam. Gần đây, anh đã đến thăm gia đình mình ở quận Long Thành. Cộng đồng gắn kết này có hỗ trợ một cô nhi viện, và những người có điều kiện vẫn thường quyên góp thực phẩm và thời gian để giúp đỡ cô nhi viện này. “Nhiều khả năng họ có quan hệ với một ai đó đã từng làm ở đó, hoặc biết một ai đó được giúp đỡ bởi cô nhi viện này,” Thuan giải thích. “Chị/em họ của tôi rất thân với cô nhi viện và đã dành rất nhiều thời gian của cô ấy để giúp họ.” Người chị/em họ này đã giới thiệu Thuan với cô nhi viện và giúp anh sản xuất một loạt ảnh ghi lại những người phụ nữ và trẻ em sinh sống ở đó.

He sees the project “as a visual comparison of how children of lesser fortune at this orphanage value education and the simpler joys of life, as opposed to our current generation’s children in the Western culture,” Thuan shares. “I wanted my little sister and younger cousins to look at these photos and appreciate how fortunate they are to grow up in a society where education is a mandatory thing, not to mention being a part of real loving, conventional families.” The result of his time in Vietnam is a collection of portraits that reveal stories — histories that contain pain but also love, hope, and joy.

Anh coi dự án này “như là một hình ảnh so sánh về cách những trẻ thiếu may mắn ở cô nhi viện này coi trọng giáo dục và những niềm vui đơn giản trong cuộc sống, trái ngược với thế hệ trẻ em hiện tại ở các nền văn hóa Tây phương,” Thuan chia sẻ. “Tôi muốn em gái mình và những người em họ khác nhìn vào những bức ảnh này và cảm nhận được sự may mắn của các em vì đã lớn lên trong một xã hội ở đó giáo dục là quyền lợi bắt buộc, chưa nói đến việc là một thành viên trong gia đình truyền thống, yêu thương.” Kết quả của chuyến đi Việt Nam này là một bộ sưu tập chân dung kể những câu chuyện — lịch sử có chứa nỗi đau, nhưng đồng thời vẫn nói lên tình yêu thương, hi vọng và niềm vui.

During his time at the orphanage, Thuan observed children being well cared for and loved by the staff and one another. The kids were perfectly content doing chores and attending daily classes. “Every staff member knew every child’s name,” Thuan says. “It seemed like a giant family, each member as vital and loved as the next.”

Trong thời gian ở tại cô nhi viện, Thuan đã quan sát các em được chăm sóc tốt và được yêu thương bởi các nhân viên, cũng như lẫn nhau. Các em rất sẵn lòng làm việc nhà và tham gia các lớp học hàng ngày. “Mỗi nhân viên đều biết rõ tên của tất cả các trẻ,” Thuan cho biết. “Đó thật sự là một gia đình khổng lồ, mỗi thành viên đều là thiết yếu và được yêu thương như nhau.”

While the orphanage in Vietnam is full of children, it’s also home to elderly women. “These older women are generally grandmothers who have lost their families or have been alone for a majority of their lives,” says Thuan. “They are taken into the orphanage and cared for just as carefully as the infants are.” Others are women who grew up in the orphanage themselves and have remained there, helping the staff and working in exchange for housing. “Some of the healthier women will help with cooking food, gardening, and cleaning.”

Tuy cô nhi viện ở Việt Nam có rất nhiều trẻ em, nhưng đây cũng là nhà của các phụ nữ cao tuổi. “Những người phụ nữ cao tuổi này thường là người đã mất gia đình hoặc chịu cô đơn trong phần lớn cuộc đời của họ,” anh giải thích. “Họ được đưa vào cô nhi viện và được chăm sóc cẩn thận như các em nhỏ ở đây.” Những người khác là các phụ nữ đã lớn lên ở cô nhi viện và ở lại đó để làm việc và giúp đỡ các nhân viên để đổi lấy chỗ ăn ở. “Một số phụ nữ khỏe mạnh hơn sẽ giúp đỡ việc bếp núc, làm vườn và dọn dẹp.”

While the women who have spent their lives in this orphanage didn’t share much with Thuan about their childhoods, “they did mention that they feel blessed for having the orphanage as a place where they can eat home-cooked food and have a warm place to sleep at night,” Thuan shares. “In my opinion, had I not already known these women grew up here, I would not have been able to tell the difference between them and the workers who all had families and homes outside of the orphanage. I feel they were as content and loved as any other family member may feel.”

Tuy các phụ nữ đã sống cả đời ở cô nhi viện này không chia sẻ quá nhiều với Thuan về thời thơ ấu của họ, “các chị có nói rằng họ cảm thấy thật may mắn vì đã có cô nhi viện, một nơi mà ở đó họ có thể thưởng thức các bữa cơm gia đình và một chiếc giường ấm cúng để ngủ vào ban đêm,” anh chia sẻ. “Nói thật, nếu tôi không biết rằng những người phụ nữ này đã lớn lên ở đây, tôi sẽ không thể nhận ra sự khác nhau giữa họ và những nhân viên có gia đình và cuộc sống ngoài cô nhi viện. Tôi cảm nhận được rằng họ cũng mãn nguyện và được yêu thương như bất kỳ thành viên gia đình nào khác.”

Thuan was surprised and delighted to realize that the women and children in the orphanage were welcoming of him and his camera. “One would think going into an orphanage with a camera would result in some reluctant reactions,” he says, “but everyone seemed to gravitate to the camera.” In particular, the older women were grateful to Thuan, because in their eyes, he was bringing their stories to America, informing others about their situation. Many of the women were extremely open with Thuan, inviting him to photograph them. “I believe they feel like it’s a compliment for someone to take a photo of them. A lot of the women insisted we give them some more time to get ready for the photo.”

Thuan rất ngạc nhiên và vui mừng khi biết rằng những phụ nữ và trẻ em ở cô nhi viện đã rất chào đón anh và chiếc máy ảnh của anh. “Tôi cứ nghĩ rằng việc đi vào một cô nhi viện với một chiếc máy ảnh sẽ dẫn đến một số phản ứng miễn cưỡng,” anh cho biết, “nhưng cứ như thể tất cả mọi người đều bị máy ảnh thu hút vậy.” Cụ thể, các phụ nữ lớn tuổi rất trân trọng Thuan, bởi trong mắt họ, anh đang mang câu chuyện của họ đến Hoa Kỳ để thông báo với những người khác về cuộc sống của họ. Rất nhiều người phụ nữ này đã rất cởi mở với Thuan và mời anh chụp ảnh họ. “Tôi tin rằng họ cảm thấy được chụp ảnh cũng như là một lời khen ngợi vậy. Rất nhiều người đã khăng khăng yêu cầu chúng tôi cho họ thêm thời gian để chuẩn bị cho chụp ảnh.”

Someday, Thuan hopes to return to the orphanage to see how the women and children are doing. “It would be a dream to show these children their photos on a website, and show them that their stories have been heard, and they have been seen by the world,” he says. “I feel like this would be something that would inspire the children to strive and excel in their studies, having the knowledge that their voices are able to reach the masses.”

Một ngày nào đó, Thuan hi vọng sẽ được quay lại cô nhi viện để xem những người phụ nữ và các em nhỏ đang sinh sống như thế nào. “Ước mơ của tôi là cho các em thấy tấm ảnh của chúng trên một website, và cho các em thấy rằng cả thế giới đã lắng nghe và biết đến các em,” anh chia sẻ. “Tôi cảm thấy điều này sẽ tạo động lực để các em cố gắng và hoàn thành tốt việc học, bởi các em sẽ biết rằng tiếng nói của mình có thể vươn đến tất cả mọi người.”

Thuan regularly uses VSCO Film® 05, falling back on the Kodak Ultramax 800 +++, Agfa Vista 100+++, Kodak Gold +++, and Kodak Ultramax 800 Cool presets. “I feel like some of the filters bring out the emotion of the photo so much more than any other form of color correction,” he says. Within VSCO Cam®, Thuan’s favorite presets are M3,M5, M4, S1, S3, K1, K2, N2, and A5.

Hiện tại, Thuan thường sử dụng phim VSCO Film® 05, và dự phòng các phim thiết lập sẵn Kodak Ultramax 800 +++, Agfa Vista 100+++, Kodak Gold +++, Kodak Ultramax 800 Cool. “Tôi cảm thấy một số bộ lọc này làm nổi bật cảm xúc của bức ảnh hơn tất cả những kỹ thuật chỉnh màu sắc khác,” anh cho biết. Trong VSCO Cam®, các thiết lập sẵn ưa thích của Thuan là M3,M5, M4, S1, S3, K1, K2, N2, và A5..

This story is part of a content partnership and media exchange between Neocha and VSCO®. To see more of VSCO’s Asia content on Neocha, click here.

Câu chuyện này là một phần trong hợp tác nội dung và trao đổi truyền thông giữa Neocha và VSCO®. Để xem thêm các nội dung của VSCO Châu Á trên Neocha, hãy nhấn vào đây.

Vimeo: ~/thuantran

 

Media Partner: VSCO®
Photographer: Thuan Tran
Images & Text Courtesy of VSCO Grid®

Vimeo: ~/thuantran

 

Đối tác Truyền thôngr: VSCO®
Nhiếp ảnh gia: Thuan Tran
Ảnh & Nội dung được cung cấp bởi VSCO Grid®

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Lab of Primitive Senses

June 28, 2016 2016年6月28日

siu siu – Lab of Primitive Senses is an experimental project, which in the architect’s words, “explores the environmental transition between urban space and natural forest”. The space was created by Divooe Zein Architects, a Taiwan-based design firm that believes in the importance of nature. Their director and founder, Divooe Zein, views architecture as a medium that can be used to connect nature and humans. Divooe’s ability to retain the essential functionalities necessary for future occupants while making use of the surrounding environmental influences reveals his designs for what they are – not just mere architectural projects, but thoughtful explorations into the complex relationship between man and nature. The majority of their cases involve unique geographical challenges, such as the project site being located on a small outlying island or deep in the mountains. But these difficulties are easily overcome by the team, as the core of their designs is said to be sourced from the “energy of the land”. While in Taipei recently, I was invited to stop by and spend an afternoon at the Lab of Primitive Senses.

少少——原始感觉研究室，是一个“探索都市文明与自然森林之间转变”的实验场所。这个空间由自然洋行建筑事务所建立，这是一间信仰大自然重要意义的设计公司。其主管兼创始人，曾志伟，将建筑视为连接人类与自然的媒介。在这个项目中，他做到了不仅对周围环境因素施以利用，更为未来接手者保留必要的基本功能，这个设计正显示了事务所的本质：不只是单纯的建筑项目，更是对人与自然复杂关系的思想性探索。大多数他们所接手的项目都具有地理因素方面的挑战，例如，施工场所不是在小海岛上，就是在深山之中。但如其所言，他们设计的核心来自“土地力量”，所以团队轻而易举便克服了这些困难。最近我在台北的时候，受邀在原始感觉研究室停留一个下午。

Despite the address being listed as in Taipei’s Shilin District, an area most known for the raucous Shilin night market, siu siu is actually quite out of the way and well hidden. On the commute there, Taipei’s familiar cityscape and disarray of colors started to fade away until only trees and lush shades of green filled the view outside the car window. Cars and scooters began to appear less and less on the road. Google Maps indicated I had arrived as the driver turned off the main road and began to drive up a path adorned with Taiwanese Aboriginal totems. A short distance later, a formidable boulder forced the car to an abrupt stop – it appeared that the rest of the way can only be traveled by foot. I stepped out the car into the sticky humidity and began the walk; even though it wasn’t officially summer yet, the unrelenting Taipei heat was already in full effect. The sound of countless cicadas filled the hot air, only getting louder as I made my way up the mountain.

尽管工作室地址写的是，喧闹的士林夜市所在的台北士林区，事实上，少少却地处偏僻，隐匿于城市之中。在过去的路上，台北那熟悉的城市景观与纷乱色彩逐渐褪却，直至车窗外只剩树影摇曳，满目皆绿。路上的各种车辆也愈来越少。司机驶下主路后，正要开始攀上一条布满台湾原住民图腾的小径，这时，谷歌地图显示目的地已到达。车再往前行驶一小段距离后，迎面出现了一块惊天巨石——看来剩下的路程只能步行了。我下了车，开始徒步，车外尽是黏糊糊的湿气；尽管未至盛夏，台北的高温已火力全开。在流火的空气中，蟋蟀声此起彼伏不绝于耳，愈往山里去，这声音就愈发震耳。

Luckily, a sign that reads siu siu sitting at the base of a stone stairwell came into view not long later. As I made my way up the steps, the Lab of Primitive Senses began to come into view as well. It’s a large and impressive structure built with wood, iron, glass, and paint; but the most obvious and most prominent material is the black agricultural netting that wraps around the framework. Staying true to their core design concept, it’s actually quite difficult to ascertain whether you’re indoors or outdoors even after entering siu siu. The permeability of the netting allows natural light, mountain air, and the sounds of nature to pass through uninhibited. The most striking feature upon entering are the four large trees that twist and extend skywards through the black mesh. The caretaker for the day tells me, “The four trees already existed long before we came along – this is their home. When comparing the lifespan of these trees with own lifespan, it’s easy to see that we’re the guests.”

所幸，不出片刻，少少的标志就映入眼帘，赫然于一段石阶的底部。就这样沿着石阶一路向上，“原始感觉研究室”就渐渐浮现在视野内了。这是一个庞大的建筑物，由木头、钢铁、玻璃建成，刷有油漆，令人印象深刻；然而，最明显突出的材料还是包裹在框架外面的黑色农用网罩。他们实现了自己的核心设计理念，让人即使进入了少少，仍然很难确定自己究竟是置身于室内还是室外。网的镂空透气，让自然的光线、山中的空气以及大自然的声音得以畅通无阻地进入。一进来，最抓人眼球的是四棵大树，扭曲着穿透黑色网罩，向着天空生长。少少负责人之一告诉我，“四棵⼤树原本就存在于基地，那就是他们的家，并且相较于树的⽣命历程来看，我们才是过客。”

The interior is separated into four distinct areas: a main communal space and small kitchen; a second floor loft directly above the entrance; farther in is a secondary communal space surrounded by glass; and connected to that is a spacious patio. Originally, the team members found this space in the wilderness because many of them shared an interest in helping stray cats and wanted to construct a shelter for them. But after thoroughly researching the issue of stray animals, they discovered many problems that a design team wasn’t fit to handle. So instead, working with what they know, they created siu siu: a space that actually acts as a sociopolitical statement about how civilization and nature could harmoniously occupy the same space. “This became an opportunity to challenge people’s preconceived ideas. By experimenting with this Lab of Primitive of Senses project, we wanted to open up people’s minds. We want to show them that urban civilization could peacefully co-exist with nature and animals,” one of the caretakers commented. As if on cue, a dog casually wandered in, plopped down comfortably in the shaded confines, and began taking a nap.

内部分为四个区域：一个带有小厨房的主公共区域，一个于入口正上方的二楼阁楼，再往里走，是一个由玻璃环绕的次公共区域，与此相连的便是一个大露台。最初，团队中许多成员热心于帮助流浪猫，想为它们建一个收容所，于是便在荒野中找到了这个地方。但当他们详尽地研究了流浪动物的问题后，继而发现许多问题并非一个设计团队所能解决的。于是，他们还是回归自己的​​本行，建立了少少，作为一个关于文明与自然如何和谐共存的社会政治说明。 “所以我们也希望，透过一个有机会挑战既有观点的空间，像原始感觉研究室这样的实验计划，让大家打开另一种观点，城市文明和大自然/动物共存或许是可能的。”少少的一个看守人员说道。正在我四处探索的时候，一只小狗溜达进来，在一片背阴处舒服地坐下，开始打盹。

Even though Taipei is a city surrounded on all sides by mountains and seas, it’s far too easy to become overwhelmed by the frenetic energy of the city and take the great outdoors for granted. siu siu provides a great opportunity for city dwellers to get out of Taipei and enjoy all that nature has to offer. In the past, siu siu has been known to host diverse events like potpourri workshops, meditation retreats, art exhibitions, weddings, and even shamanic ceremonies. Unfortunately, the space isn’t open to the general public on most days; but to find out more about future events or to make reservations for an event rental, you can visit the siu siu Facebook page.

尽管台北四面山海环绕，也还是太容易便淹没在城市的狂热能量之中，将美妙的户外视作理所当然。少少提供了一个绝佳的机会，让人们远离城市的喧嚣，投身于大自然馈赠。过去，少少已经举办过像花草⼯作坊、冥想训练、艺术展览、结婚典礼，甚至萨满仪式这样的活动。这个地方平日多数时候并不对公众开放，但是你仍可通过少少的脸书主页关注接下来的活动，或者了解空间租借事宜。

Website: siusiu.tw
Facebook: ~/siusiucreate
Instagram: @siusiu.lab

 

Contributor & Photographer: David Yen

网站: siusiu.tw
脸书: ~/siusiucreate
Instagram: @siusiu.lab

 

供稿人与摄影师: David Yen

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Papa’s Time Machine

June 22, 2016 2016年6月22日

Papa’s Time Machine is a theatrical performance that just recently ended last month at Shanghai’s Daning Theatre. The play is a poetically orchestrated and uniquely fantastical project created by Chinese visual artist Maleonn. Both real people and puppets share the same stage throughout the performance. For this project, Maleonn employed techniques that are commonly seen in contemporary video art and installation art; by combining these techniques with his alternative storytelling approaches and live music, Maleonn has created an innovative and playful project that expands the notion of puppetry. He has pushed the boundaries of puppet theatre, and in the process, transformed the dying art form into a compelling and contemporary performance piece.

近期在大宁剧院上演的这部风格奇幻、充满诗意的非传统戏剧《爸爸的时光机》，是视觉艺术家马良的首次戏剧游戏。它结合了独创的“演员与木偶平行表演”的舞台表现，运用当代艺术中的装置及影像手段，配以现场音乐演奏等多元化的表现形式，彻底颠覆了观众对于木偶剧的一贯认知。

The concept for Papa’s Time Machine originated in an unlikely location – a swimming pool. One day, Maleonn’s father repeatedly asked him, “Do you know how to swim?” over and over again. Maleonn humored his father and swam every time the question was asked. His father’s declining memory was becoming more and more apparent around this time. The gradually worsening condition of his father became the very foundation of Papa’s Time Machine. In the play, the main character Makugee’s father also suffers from Alzheimer’s disease. Being a brilliant scientist, Makugee constructs a time machine so that his father could relive some of their happiest memories together. Every instance of time travel in the play was presented as a beautiful and nostalgic journey. The entire play seems to be an affirmation of life and memories. It imparts a sincere message about the inevitably of passing time and how people must bid farewell to one another at some point. But at the same time, saying goodbye doesn’t break the continuous nature of people’s love and affection for one another.

其实，最初创作《爸爸的时光机》的念头始于某次的泳池边，马良的父亲反复问“你会游泳吗”，而马良一次次地游给父亲看，这一来一去触发了马良对于父亲记忆退化的审视，从而诞生了现在这个故事：讲述了科学家马古几发现自己年迈父亲逐渐失去记忆，因而创造了一台时光机试图帮助父亲重拾美好回忆。剧中的每一次穿梭都是一次奇幻历程，也是对生命和记忆的再次确认，虽时光流逝不可避免，人与人之间终要告别，但这一看似哀伤的告别实则是爱与亲情的延续。

This entire play is meant to be a gift from Maleonn to his father. Maleonn’s family worked in theatre, and his parents had hopes of him becoming a theatre worker. But instead, he paved his own path and went on to pursue his personal interest in creativity and art. Over the years, Maleonn had mentioned working together with his father to create a collaborative theatrical performance several times. But as his father aged, that idea became less and less likely. In 2014, with the support of producer Wang Kaili, Maleonn began to piece together this ambitious project.

这是一部艺术家送给父亲的礼物。出生戏剧世家的马良自幼被父母期许成为一名戏剧工作者，但个人执意走了美术的创作道路。曾与家人笑谈“未来和父亲合作戏剧作品”，但这个愿望也随着父亲的衰老逐渐远去。于是马良在2014年初，在出品人王凯丽的支持下，开始了这个木偶戏剧的创作。

Having never dealt with puppets or created plays before, he worked closely with the production team to fulfill his creative vision. With his keen artistic sense and unrestrained imagination, the entire play came together in a little over two years. Maleonn and the production team created a dozen life-sized puppets; each of these elaborately designed puppets consisted of over 1,200 components to put together. The play’s four main characters are mechanical puppets: Makugee as a child and his middle-aged father, and Makugee as an adult and his elderly father. These mechanical puppets were able to perform a variety of basic movements, and to some extent, perform more complex choreographed movements. Through the team’s meticulous design and engineering, the puppets are dextrous enough to grab ahold of objects and even precisely point. The uniquely designed system they use to control each puppet is state-of-the-art when it comes to puppetry.

从未涉足舞台和木偶的马良在创作过程中，与团队共同揣摩，以敏锐的艺术感受与天马行空的想象力，耗时两年多，带领团队制作出了数十件真人等比大型木偶，每个木偶由1200多个零件组成。全剧中共设有4个主角机甲木偶，分别是小马古几与爸爸、中年马古几与老年爸爸。每个机甲木偶除了正常行走、舞蹈等肢体动作外，设计上更是细致到如手指可抓取物件、灵活指点方向等。其独创的木偶操控体系已是世界一流的操控水平。

“I’ve actually always enjoyed doing tedious and time-consuming tasks. I don’t like shortcuts, and I don’t like complacency. I admit that I’m not deep or an especially intelligent person, and I’m willing to devote my time and passion to do stupid things,” says Maleonn. “I respect those who are able to repeatedly draw tens of thousands of lines on a canvas – I think they’re better people than those who only have a concept and are unable to execute it. Some people try to give cleverly vague answers, but aren’t able to provide any concrete solutions. In my opinion, the only reason that any romance still exists in this heartless world is because of passionate fools.”

“我天生就喜欢做繁琐费力的事情，不喜欢捷径，也不喜欢安定。愿意承认自己是不深刻也不够智慧的人，也愿意付出时间和热情去做蠢事。我尊敬那些在画布上重复画一万道线的人，胜过那些只提出一个玄乎的概念。一个聪明的谜团，却舍不得给出答案的人。在我看来，这无情世界，因为有热情的蠢货，才有些浪漫。”这正是马良与整个创作团队的一份赤诚之心。

WeChat: PapasTimeMachine
Weibo: ~/maleonn

 

Contributor: Chan Qu
Images Courtesy of Papa Puppet Cultural Development Co.

微信: PapasTimeMachine
微博: ~/maleonn

 

供稿人: Chan Qu
图片由爸爸的时光机剧团提供

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ShanghaiPRIDE Film Festival

June 21, 2016 2016年6月21日

ShanghaiPRIDE was China’s first LGBTQ pride season, and is now currently in its eighth consecutive year of supporting and celebrating the local Chinese LGBTQ community. An entirely volunteer-led organisation, ShanghaiPRIDE constantly strives to make sure that they are representing the queer community in China properly, while also aiming to organize events and present film programming which is fresh, challenging, and meaningful for its audience.

上海骄傲节是中国第一个为女同性恋者、男同性恋者、双性恋者、跨性别者、和酷儿组成的LGBTQ群体所举办的庆典，至今已连续第八年为中国本土的性少数群体支持呐喊。上海骄傲节完全由志愿者领导组织，一直致力于确保以合适的方式为中国的酷儿群体发声。除此之外，上海骄傲节也组织活动，为观众呈献新鲜、有冲击力且意义非凡的电影。

According to ShanghaiPRIDE Film Festival coordinator and programmer Matthew Baren, “film is an important part of the queer movement in China” as many LGBTQ activists in China are filmmakers, who function by documenting lives and revealing voices. Matthew says, “we see cinema as something which can engage with and challenge people, not just entertain. Narratives have power.”

上海骄傲电影节的协调人与设计者Matthew Baren说：“电影是中国酷儿运动十分重要的部分”，许多性少数群体活动家是电影制片人，他们通过纪录生活和展示诉求来形成影响，他还表示，“我们认为，电影不仅能娱乐大众，还能渗透人心，挑战观众的固有想法。叙事是拥有力量的。”

The eighth annual ShanghaiPRIDE is already currently underway, with ten days of cultural, social and educational events starting on June 17th, with a closing event on the 26th. For this year, ShanghaiPRIDE’s theme is “I Am Me”, which is an “affirmation that everyone should hold, regardless of gender, sexuality or other forms of identity,” says ShanghaiPRIDE Director Raymond Phang. The film festival is further celebrating GENDER in this year’s program, with films on transgender, non-binary and agender people, as well as a special focus on queer women.

眼下，第八届上海骄傲节正在如火如荼地进行中，6月17日开幕，26日闭幕，在这10天中，各种文化、社会及教育活动相继登场。今年，上海骄傲节的主题是“生为平常”， 其总策划Raymond Phang认为，“生为平常是一个每个人都该认可的认知，无论性别、性向或社会身份”。今年，电影节进一步展现不同的性别，拍摄了跨性别者、非传统男女性别者、无性别者与女性酷儿的故事。

In 2016, ShanghaiPRIDE will be screening around 40 films in total: 20 films in the short films competition; alongside nine feature films, including a 20th anniversary screening of Zhang Yuan’s East Palace, West Palace ; 11 curated short films from Pakistan, Myanmar and the rest of the Asia-Pacific region; and also some of the biggest international hits of the past year.

2016年上海骄傲节总计将有40部影片参展：短篇竞赛单元有20部，同时还有9部故事片，包括张元执导的《东宫西宫》也在此次活动上进行20周年重映；有11部参展影片来自巴基斯坦、缅甸以及其他亚太地区国家；另外，去年造成国际轰动的部分影片也会在此重返银屏。

The festival seeks to support Chinese queer filmmakers, and have spent the past two years developing a network of festivals all around the world to help promote films from the short film competition to an international audience. In addition to a few exciting Chinese film premieres in this year’s program, ShanghaiPRIDE Film Festival will also host their first Queer Film Conference Day on June 25th, which will include a series of talks by filmmakers and distributors aimed at aspiring queer filmmakers, content creators or just film enthusiasts.

电影节旨在为中国的酷儿电影制片人提供支持，过去两年间，它在全世界建立了电影节网络，希望将短篇竞赛单元的电影推向世界观众的面前。今年，不仅几部令人激动的中国电影在此首映，上海骄傲电影节还将6月25日定为“酷儿电影会议日”，届时，将举办一系列讲座，由制片人与发行方主讲，酷儿电影制片人、内容创作者或仅仅是纯粹的电影爱好者都可以参加。

For more information about this year’s films, head over to the ShanghaiPRIDE website and download the full program for free. All screenings and events hosted by ShanghaiPRIDE Film Festival are free and open to the general public. Be sure not to miss it!

想要了解更多今年的电影信息，请前往上海骄傲节的网站，免费下载完整版宣传册。上海骄傲电影节举办的所有活动与所有上映电影皆为免费，并对公众开放。请勿错过！

Website: shpride.com/films
WeChat: Shanghai-PRIDE

 

Contributor: Leon Yan
Images Courtesy of ShanghaiPRIDE Film Festival

网站: shpride.com/films
微信: Shanghai-PRIDE

 

供稿人: Leon Yan
图片由上海骄傲电影节提供

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Surgery & Beauty

June 18, 2016 2016年6月18日

Ji Yeo is a photographer from South Korea whose work explores beauty and outward appearances, which stem from her own personal experiences growing up as a teenager in Seoul. Influenced by the culture of plastic surgery in South Korea, Ji Yeo initially intended to have plastic surgery done on herself and sat through multiple consultations with various surgeons. Soon after realizing that the truths surrounding plastic surgery were rarely made clear, Yeo began using photography as a means of investigating the process. By capturing unsightly “after” photos and the sterile surgery centers, Yeo’s photos of South Korea’s booming plastic surgery industry show the great lengths that some women go to in the pursuit of beauty and the repercussions experienced by women who choose to go down this route. Neocha spoke to Yeo recently about her series of powerful images.

여 지는 서울에서의 자신의 십대의 경험을 토대로 아름다움과 외모를 탐구하는 작업을 하는 한국의 사진 작가이다. 한국 성형 수술 문화의 영향을 받은, 여씨는 처음에는 자신의 성형 수술을 받기 위해 여러 의사들과 상담 했다. 그러나, 성형 수술을 둘러싼 진실이 대부분 명확하지 않다는 점을 인식하고, 여씨는 그 과정을 조사하기 위한 수단으로 사진 기술을 사용하였다. 수술 “후”의 보기 흉한 사진 및 무균 수술실 사진들과 같이 한국에서 성업 중인 성형 수술 산업에 대한 여씨의 사진은 이 길을 선택한 여성들이 경험하는 고생과 영향을 보여 준다. 최근 우리는 그녀의 작업에 대하여 이야기하기 위하여 그녀를 만났다.

Neocha: Can you tell us a little bit about your background, growing up in Korea, and what initially drew you to photography as a medium?

Ji Yeo: My mom has always been an amazing photographer, and I grew up with a bunch of instant film cameras. She loved taking photos of the family. When I first started learning photography during college, I knew right away that I wanted to become a photographer.

Neocha: 저희에게 당신의 배경에 대해 조금 말 해 주시겠습니까? 한국에서는 어떻게 자랐고 처음에 왜 사진을 매체로 선택하게 되셨나요?

여 지: 제 어머니는 항상 놀라운 사진가였고 따라서 저는 즉석 필름 카메라와 아주 친근하게 자랐습니다. 어머니는 가족 사진 찍는 것을 좋아하셨죠. 제가 대학에 진학해서 처음 사진을 배웠을 때, 저는 제가 사진가가 되기를 원한다는 것을 바로 알 수 있었습니다.

Neocha: Your work explores the subject of outward appearances. How is this a defining trait of Korean, or Asian culture?

Ji Yeo: There are many traits that defines Korean or Asian culture. All of my work revolves around issues with women, which initially started from my own personal relationship with the world and other people. Growing up in Korea, I sometimes felt quite overwhelmed by all the conversations about appearances. Being “well-presented” is one of the most important priorities in life here in this country. One method to look good was to literally change your looks completely, and that was easily available to you in Korea.

Neocha: 지 여씨의 작업은 주로 외모에 관련된 것입니다. 이 것을 어떻게 한국적인 것 또는 동양적인 것이라고 정의할 수 있을까요?

여 지: 한국적 또는 동양적이라고 정의할 수 있는 것들은 많습니다. 저의 모든 작업들은 여성에 관련된 것인데, 이것은 처음에는 세상과 타인과 관련된 저의 개인적 경험에서 비롯된 것입니다. 한국에서 성장하면서, 저는 가끔 외모와 관련된 대화에서 부담을 느끼곤 했습니다. 자신을 잘 표현하는 것은 삶의 우선 순위에서 가장 중요한 요소 중 하나입니다. 외모를 보기 좋게 만드는 방법 중 하나는 자신의 외모를 정말로 바꾸어 버리는 것입니다. 그리고 그것은 한국에서는 쉽게 가능한 일입니다.

Neocha: What do you have coming up or what are you looking forward to in the future? Are there any artists or collaborators you’d like to work with?

Ji Yeo: I will be launching a publishing company that will only release work that I love, and promote how I envision things to be in life. I hope I can find people who have similar tastes as me. I often work with professionals who are producers, designers, painters, videographers, and models. I love working on projects with many different talented people. However, when it comes to my own personal work, I enjoy working alone without any disruptions to my thought process, time, or space.

Neocha: 앞으로 어떤 일을 계획하고 계시고 있고 어떤 일을 하시고 싶으신가요? 같이 작업하고 싶은 예술가나 동료가 있으신지요?

여 지: 저는 삶에서 제가 사랑하는 것과 구상하는 일만을 독점으로 출판하는 퍼블리싱 컴퍼니를 런칭할 예정에 있습니다. 저와 비슷한 취향의 사람들을 만나고 싶고요. 저는 가끔은 프로듀서나, 디자이너, 화가, 영화 관련자나 모델 같은 전문직종의 사람들과 작업 하기도 합니다. 저는 다양한 재능의 사람들을 모야서 한 가지 프로젝트를 만들어 내는 것을 좋아합니다. 하지만 제 개인적인 작업 만큼은 생각이나, 시간 또는 공간의 방해를 받지 않고 혼자 작업하는 것을 즐깁니다.

Neocha: The dialogue surrounding appearances is an important one. What continues to intrigue you about it, or what about it are you obsessed by?

Ji Yeo: As I interacted with people who are in the industry, and with those who have gone through several plastic surgeries, I became more and more obsessed with the phenomena. The plastic surgery industry in Korea has grown dramatically over the years, and the country is encouraging the industry due to how it is bringing in so many tourist and patients. People started to love the extreme plastic surgery look even though it’s the complete opposite of natural beauty.

Neocha: 외모에 관한 대화는 중요하죠 – 어떤 점에 계속해서 호기심을 불러 일으켰나요? 어떤 점이 여씨를 이 문제에 계속 집착하게 만들었나요?

여 지: 수 차례의 성형 수술을 한 이 업게의 사람들과 접촉하면서 저는 이 현상에 더욱 집착하게 되었습니다. 최근 몇 년간 한국의 성형 수술 산업이 괄목할 만한 성장을 함에 따라 관광객과 환자들이 몰리자 국가를 이를 장려하고 있습니다. 사람들은 자연스러움과 정반대의 극단적인 모습을 사랑하게 되었죠.

Neocha: Your images are powerful, direct, and honest. How do you find your subjects and gain their trust – and how would you describe the rapport you have with them?

Ji Yeo: With some subjects, it is true I did become close and I ended up maintaining a good relationship with them afterwards. But I have lost contact with some of the others – they are usually the ones who fall out of touch. When I am shooting my subjects, I try to be as honest as possible by explaining why I am taking these pictures before I point the camera at their face.

Neocha: 지 여씨의 사진은 파워풀하고 직설적이고 또 정직합니다. 어떻게 사진의 소재를 찾고 그들의 신뢰를 얻나요? 사진 소재들과의 교감을 어떻게 설명하실 수 있습니까?

여 지: 어떤 분들과는 사실 계속 가깝게 지내고 관계를 유지합니다. 하지만 대부분의 경우는 연락이 끊어집니다. 보통 그들 쪽에서 연락을 끊죠. 저는 가능한 정직하려고 노력합니다. 카메라 렌즈를 들여 대기 전에 왜 제가 이 사진을 찍는 지 설명드립니다.

Neocha: In having created so many projects on the topic of plastic surgery, what have you learned about it that is surprising? How has your own attitude or thinking of it changed?

Ji Yeo: My attitude changed a lot over the course of the six to seven years I spent working about this topic. When I first started in 2005, I approached with a critical eye, but I captured the images as objectively as possible. My goal was to reveal what is hidden and taboo to try and raise a discussion. However, I am now more keen on plastic surgery – I might even go through some kind of procedure myself.

Neocha: 앞으로 어떤 일을 계획하고 계시고 있고 어떤 일을 하시고 싶으신가요? 같이 작업하고 싶은 예술가나 동료가 있으신지요?

여 지: 저는 삶에서 제가 사랑하는 것과 구상하는 일만을 독점으로 출판하는 퍼블리싱 컴퍼니를 런칭할 예정에 있습니다. 저와 비슷한 취향의 사람들을 만나고 싶고요. 저는 가끔은 프로듀서나, 디자이너, 화가, 영화 관련자나 모델 같은 전문직종의 사람들과 작업 하기도 합니다. 저는 다양한 재능의 사람들을 모야서 한 가지 프로젝트를 만들어 내는 것을 좋아합니다. 하지만 제 개인적인 작업 만큼은 생각이나, 시간 또는 공간의 방해를 받지 않고 혼자 작업하는 것을 즐깁니다.

Website: jiyeo.com
Instagram: @jiyeo

 

Contributor: Jia Li

웹사이트: jiyeo.com
Instagram: @jiyeo

 

글 쓴 사람: Jia Li 

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Son of Shanghai Techno

June 17, 2016 2016年6月17日

 

无法观看？前往优酷

Ma Haiping (aka MHP) is a Chinese electronic musician and producer currently signed to D Force Records. Known as the “son of Shanghai techno,” MHP believes that the possibilities are endless when it comes to electronic music. In 2012, MHP released The Chinese Connection on vinyl through the Detroit label Cratesavers International, making him the first ever Chinese electronic musician to have work released in Detroit, a city that many consider to be the birthplace of techno. Before all this, in the early days of MHP’s 12 year-long musical journey, he first experimented with rock and roll, then dabbled with avant-garde music, and finally honed in on electronic music. In recent years, MHP’s focus has completely shifted to house and techno music. He says that what drew him to producing music in the first place was the sense of joy that he has always felt in music, and the vast amount of creative freedom he’s able to exercise.

在大福唱片上海电子音乐人MHP (马海平) 的眼中，电子音乐具有着无限的可能性。享有“上海techno之子”美誉的他，曾在2012年通过底特律厂牌Cratesavers International发行了自己的黑胶唱片《四方来朝》，使他成为第一个在Techno音乐发源地发行唱片的中国电子音乐人。在十几年的音乐生涯中，从最初的实验摇滚到前卫音乐、实验电子，再到近几年的电子舞曲house、techno等，MHP在创作上涉猎诸多。对他来说，引导他音乐创作的，是音乐自身的趣味性和探索空间。   

In April of 2016, MHP released his first full-length debut album Folding Traces. This was the first time he has ever released music through a domestic record label. Folding Traces is a conceptual album that uses the cityscape of Shanghai as the foundation of the work, and MHP builds on it by channeling cinematic sci-fi vibes throughout the LP. Folding Traces starts off with “Entrance to My Emotions” – a sleek track filled with jazz trumpet sounds. But in the subsequent tracks, MHP quickly whisks listeners away into a meticulously crafted, complex, and futuristic soundscape. The album concludes with “Melbourne Sunlight”; a collaborative track with folk musician Wang Meng that gently eases listeners back into reality. Folding Traces is a compilation and auditory reinterpretation of MHP’s past, present, and vision for the future.

2016四月，MHP第一次在国内厂牌下发行了名为《折叠痕迹》的电子概念专辑。这张专辑以上海为背景，科幻为意向，从结合了爵士乐的《情感入口》开始，在几首电子舞曲非常自然地过渡中，音乐家带着听众进入一场未来都市之旅，最后再以一首和民乐演奏家王萌合作的《墨尔本日光》将听众慢慢拉回现实之中。在整张专辑中，MHP以自己的过往、现在和追求构成了他个人作品的独特性。

Listen below to a few select tracks off of MHP’s Folding Traces:

MHP – Entrance to My Emotions
MHP – Motor City Remix
MHP – Manifesto of Futurism
MHP – Melbourne Sunlight

以下曲目节选自《折叠痕迹》，欢迎试听:

MHP – 情感入口
MHP – 速度之城
MHP – 未来主义宣言 (节选)
MHP – 墨尔本日光

Born and raised in Shanghai, MHP believes that his music preferences and creativity are closely tied to the city. In the last 200 years, Shanghai has not only developed into an important port city and hotspot of commerce, but it has also evolved into a hub of contemporary Chinese pop music and culture. “Cultures that were considered avant-garde and hip entered the region after the 1980s. In the late ‘80s, the local news program Shanghai Zaocheng even ended their show with Kraftwerk’s ‘Autobahn’,” he says. MHP’s earliest encounters with electronic music can be traced back to around this time, although back then, he didn’t know that it would later become such an important part of his life.

土生土长于上海的MHP认为，他在音乐上的偏好和创作离不开这座城市。自两百多年前开埠以来，上海除了发展成为一个港口大都市，也成为了中国近代流行音乐与文化的发祥地和重镇。“一些前卫时髦的文化，很早就进入我们80后的生活状态里。《上海早晨》(一档新闻节目)在80年代末的结尾曲就是Kraftwerk的《Autobahn》。”他对电子音乐最早的接触可追溯至这个时期，尽管当时他并不知道那是什么。 

Shanghai is known as a melting pot of Eastern and Western cultures and living there exposed MHP to music from both cultures. But the different styles of music weren’t the only things that influenced his sound. “Shanghai used to air a lot of sci-fi shows from other countries. Such as the classic series The Time Tunnel. I was watching these shows when I was seven or eight.” MHP grew up reading Science Fiction World, a monthly science fiction magazine published in China, and novels published during America’s Golden Age of Science Fiction. Sir Arthur Charles Clarke, Isaac Asimov, Robert A. Heinlein are three authors who influenced his work the most. Believing that these sci-fi stories were closer to prophecies of the future rather than fiction, his perception of the world was in turn completely altered. The futuristic and technological vibes of his music can all be attributed to his love of science fiction. In Folding Traces, the track “Manifesto of Futurism” is a tribute to the cult classic sci-fi film Blade Runner, and even the album name is a reference to the origami unicorn at the end of the movie.

生活在这样一个中西文化碰撞的最前沿城市，他接受到的熏陶并不只是音乐上的。“上海以前有很多引进的科幻动画片，包括一些老的经典科幻剧集，像《时间隧道》等。我七、八岁就看过 。”在美国科幻黄金时代三位代表作家作品和《科幻世界》中成长的他，视科幻小说为一种预言小说，并相信科幻影响了他对世界的观察方式。他音乐作品中的未来主义色彩便是来自对科幻的爱。在《折叠痕迹》中，他更是用《未来主义宣言》致敬经典科幻电影《银翼杀手》，就连专辑命名灵感之一也来自该影片结尾处的独角兽折纸。

MHP graduated from the Shanghai Theatre Academy with a degree in fine art; the influence of that can be seen in his album name and album artwork, which allude to the Cubism movement of the 1910s. As someone who frequently visits museums, MHP says that visual art also serves as inspiration for his music. In fact, besides producing music, MHP also gives lectures at various art academies. MHP tells us that studying visual art has not only contributed to him gaining a better understanding of melody and rhythm but has also helped him to understand the importance of presenting his musical works as a well-composed story that could invoke images and memories in the minds of listeners.

《折叠痕迹》的名字和封面设计灵感的另一来源，则是1910年左右在西方现代艺术史上出现的立体主义。这位毕业于上海戏剧学院舞台美术专业的音乐人表示，现在的他仍然经常出入美术馆，并从视觉艺术中获取音乐创作灵感。事实上，在从事音乐创作的同时，他也在美术院校担任讲师。MHP告诉我们，对视觉的研习让他在旋律和节奏之余，更注重对音乐的文学性、故事性、画面性的表现。

Ever since techno emerged from Detroit, it has evolved and shapeshifted as the genre passed through different regions. MHP hopes the genre can change and inherit a unique form that China can call its own. But he tells us, Chinese listeners generally have negative preconceptions about electronic music, seeing as it’s a relatively new form of music that has only recently started developing in the country. Taking into account the preference for melody that Chinese music tends to favor, the new album steered away from the heavier elements of techno music while still following the standard 4/4 techno rhythm. Purposefully, this new album incorporates more melodic elements into the overall composition.

Techno自在底特律诞生后，在不同地区的发展中都形成了独特的面貌。MHP希望它在中国也可以形成独具一格的场景。他告诉我们，中国听众对发展历史并不长久的电子音乐通常存在着误解和偏见。因此他根据中国听众对旋律的关注，在新专辑中并未选录比较重型的techno曲目，而是选择保持techno4/4的节拍上对旋律进行了更强的创作。

Devoted to his mission of promoting techno music, MHP has been digging into his own past with hopes of finding a link between his personal experiences and Western music; he believes this will help him create techno sounds more suitable for a Chinese audience. After winning Douban’s Abbey Road Music Award for two consecutive years, MHP re-enrolled into the Shanghai Theatre Academy for his MFA in contemporary art. MHP plans to produce more music similar to the tracks on Folding Traces in the future, and try to make techno a more widely accepted form of music in China.

带着一种推广音乐的使命感，他现在正在慢慢挖掘曾经在他身边发生的事情，在自己身上找到和西方音乐的连接点，从而在创作上做到更本土化。在连续两年获得阿比鹿音乐奖之后，目前的他回到上海戏剧学院攻读当代艺术MFA。接下来他还将创作更多像《折叠痕迹》这样为中国人所设计的techno音乐，以进一步地将这种音乐在这片土地上推广开来。

Soundcloud: ~/mhp
Douban: ~/mhpmhp
Weibo: @MHP_

 

Contributor: Banny Wang
Videographers: Gerhan, Damien Louise
Photographer: Banny Wang

Soundcloud: ~/mhp
豆瓣: ~/mhpmhp
微博: @MHP_

 

供稿人: Banny Wang
视频摄影师: Gerhan, Damien Louise
图片摄影师: Banny Wang

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Rockability

June 16, 2016 2016年6月16日

 

无法观看？前往优酷

Rockabilly is an intense, rhythm-driven music style that mixes rock and roll with country music. Other influences on this genre of music include rhythm and blues, and western swing. Many have said that the name rockabilly literally comes from the term “rock and roll”, but was renamed to imply that it was played by hillbillies. It’s easy to see how this may have offended many artists at the time. However, the term rockabilly gained traction over the years and was here to stay.

Rockabilly節奏感強，曲風濃烈，這種音樂流派融合了搖滾和鄉村音樂，此外，它也有節奏布魯斯和西部搖擺樂的影子在其中。很多人戲稱，“rockabilly”這個名字就是來自“rock and roll”和“hillbilly”，意指這是鄉下人玩搖滾樂。不難想像這樣的說法有多容易冒犯到當時的藝術家。但這些年來，rockabilly這一叫法漸得人心，並得以保留下來。

In the 1950s, rockabilly music cultivated rebellion, sexuality, and freedom, which dramatically appealed to the youth of that decade. It galvanized a subcultural revolution against authoritative figures and empowered people through freedom of expression. This slamming rock and roll style was the first of its kind, and it set off a cultural reformation that still reverberates to this day.

上個世紀50年代，rockabilly音樂堪稱叛逆、性交和自由的溫床，這對那個時代的年輕人來說恰恰具有極大的誘惑力。它掀起了一場對抗權威的亞文化革命浪潮，通過表達的自由讓人們強大起來。這種猛烈的搖滾風格成為獨樹一幟的先鋒，引發了一場文化變革，其影響​​一直延續至今。

The death of Elvis Presley, largely regarded as the godfather of rockabilly, sparked a rockabilly revival in the late 1970s. New generation bands like Stray Cats formed, and ripples of the rockabilly revival were felt as far as Asia. In Japan, the rockabilly scene was already thriving with the rockabilly boys that would congregate in Yoyogi Park. To some extent, the Harajuku fashion subcultures were also influenced by the rockabilly aesthetics.

貓王，這位被大多數人視為Rockabilly教父的傳奇人物，他的逝世在70年代後期重燃了Rockabilly之火。像Stray Cats這樣的新一代樂隊遂崛起，這場rockabilly的複興波及亞洲。在日本向來有著濃厚的rockabilly氛圍，在那裡，一群喜歡玩此類音樂的年輕人聚集在代代木公園。某種程度上，這也對原宿時尚亞文化產生了一定影響。

Felix, the guitarist and vocalist for Hong Kong-based band The Boogie Playboys, grew up listening to his parents’ records of Johnny Cash, Elvis Presley, Wanda Jackson and Bill Haley. Later, he was influenced by newer bands like Stray Cats, which ignited his passion for the rockabilly subculture. Along with his bandmates, he runs a rockabilly festival in Hong Kong. The intimate event allows for the fashion and music of this subculture to reach those who may otherwise never be exposed to it.

香港樂隊Boogie Playboys的吉他手和主唱Felix，從小就從他父母收藏的唱片中，聽著Johnny Cash、Elvis Presley、Wanda Jackson和Bill Haley的歌長大。之後又受Stray Cats等新樂隊的影響，他對rockabilly亞文化的熱情被點燃。 Felix和他的隊友們一起，在香港開辦了一個rockabilly音樂節。這個私人的活動讓這個亞文化中的音樂和時尚走向了更多不曾聽說過它的人群。

“When we play at venues around Hong Kong, we have found that people are dressing up more and more. The girls wear the iconic pin-up style and we boogie all night,” says Barry Tam, drummer for the Boogie Playboys. The carefree and liberal attitude of Hong Kongers can be seen at their live shows where all the attendees are openly embracing the rockabilly culture.

“在香港的演出中，我們發現人們已經越來越會裝扮了。女生們穿著標誌性的pin-up style，然後我們搖擺上一整夜，”Boogie Playboys的鼓手Barry Tam這麼說道。在他們的現場，觀眾全情投入到rockabilly文化的懷抱，香港人那種無憂輕鬆和自由的態度一展無餘。

Miss Cathy, a local Hong Kong musician, says, “There are not many places to go in Hong Kong where you can experience the rockabilly subculture. There are no diners or clubs that play our style of music. But I am quite a homebody anyways – I enjoy playing records at home and dancing with my husband and daughter.” The rockabilly subculture in Hong Kong remains fairly underground and low key. There aren’t any clubs that exclusively cater to this genre of music. Even though the perseverance of this group of musicians and close friends has already propelled the rockabilly subculture in Hong Kong forward by leaps and bounds, they’re still keen on spreading rockabilly music to even more people.

香港本土音樂人Miss Cathy說: “要體驗rockabilly這種亞文化的話，香港並沒有多少可以去的地方。根本沒有餐廳或者夜店會放我們這種風格的音樂。不過，反正我很宅——我享受在家播放唱片，和我先生、女兒一起跳舞。”rockabilly這種亞文化在香港還處於相當地下和低調的狀態。沒有夜店會專門播放這個流派的音樂。儘管，這群音樂人及其好友們的堅持不懈，已經推動了rockabilly這種亞文化在香港的突飛猛進，但是他們並不滿足於此，而是有意將這種音樂傳播給更多的人。

Contributor: Mireille Paul
Videographers: Mireille Paul, Andy Ngan
Photographer: Michael Chiu

供稿人: Mireille Paul
視頻攝影師: Mireille Paul, Andy Ngan
圖片攝影師: Michael Chiu

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After the Masters

June 15, 2016 2016年6月15日

Japanese artist Masaki Yada uses a type of symbolism that is predominantly and usually seen in 17th century Dutch still life paintings to create his original style of art. His own aesthetics can be best described as “dark and cutting edge”. Masaki’s Eastern roots also leave imprints on his work; these influences are evident in the poetic and delicate details of his gorgeous creations. Masaki Yada skillfully uses contemporary techniques to reinterpret masterpieces of the past through his own means, and creates with a thoughtfulness that touches on many modern issues. Neocha recently spoke to Masaki about his dreamlike artwork, his journey as an artist, and his influences along the way.

日本人アーティスト、Masaki Yadaは、独自の美術様式を生み出すため、主に17世紀のオランダの静物画に見られる象徴性を用いています。彼の美学は、「ダークであり最先端」という言葉で最も端的に表現できるでしょう。また、Masakiの東洋のルーツもその作品に痕跡を残しており、その影響は詩的で繊細な細部に明らかな形で伺えます。彼は単に名作を再解釈するのではなく、現代文化に即した技術を駆使して制作しているのです。NeochaはMasakiに、その夢のような作品、アーティストとしての軌跡、そして、これまで彼が受けてきた影響について聞いてみました。

Neocha: Can you tell us about your journey into art?

Masaki: Initially, it was my mother who inspired me to paint. She is a trained painter, but didn’t really pursue a career as an artist. She graduated from an art college 45 years ago in Japan. At the time, it was generally agreed that women were supposed to get a stable job – they weren’t encouraged to become artists. So she had worked as an art teacher for 35 years. However, when I was born she named me Ya Yun in Chinese, which means elegant and artistic, and hoped that I would one day fulfill her dream of becoming a professional artist.

Neocha: アートの世界に足を踏み入れた経緯を教えていただけますか？

Masaki: 最初に絵を描くきっかけとなったのは母でした。母は熟練の画家なのですが、プロの芸術家の道に進んだわけではありませんでした。45年前に日本の美大を卒業した母ですが、当時、女性は安定した職に就くものと考えられていました。芸術家になるよう奨励されることはなかったのです。そのため、母は35年間美術教師を務めました。それでも母は、生まれた私に中国語で優雅で芸術的という意味のYa Yunと名付け、いつか息子がプロのアーティストになることを願ったのです。

Neocha: How was your work influenced by both Eastern and Western culture?

Masaki: I grew up seeing traditional Japanese and Chinese paintings because of my mother. I was exposed to the likes of Itō Jakuchū, Kanō school of painters, and Hasegawa Tōhaku. My mother was trained in a very traditional way in Japan. My first Western idols were Vermeer, Jan Van Eyck, Bruegel and other realist painters from the 16th century. I particularly love the Dutch and Flemish masters from the Dutch Golden age. I like their ethos of trying to break away from the religious constraints, and their eagerness of choosing more democratic themes really interests me. We tend to group old paintings as classical or simply “old”, but back then there were also many different styles, and many new ideas being formed and presented. I also like history paintings that comment on other paintings within the painting. For example, Vermeer’s paintings often does that. A lot of contemporary painters do it as well. I guess we are all fascinated with the idea of engaging in a dialogue with the masters from the past – it’s like how Renaissance painters wanted to engage in a dialogue with ancient Greek artists. My paintings are constantly evolving and are constantly being influenced by my surrounding environment as well as the people around me.

Neocha: 東洋と西洋の文化がどのようにあなたの作品に影響を与えたのでしょう？

Masaki: 母の影響で、日本と中国の伝統絵画を見て育ちました。伊藤若冲や狩野派、また、長谷川等伯といった画家の作品に触れました。母は極めて古典的な日本の手法で絵を学んだのです。私が最初に憧れた西洋の画家は、フェルメール、ヤン・ファン・エイク、ブリューゲル他、16世紀の写実画家でした。中でも、オランダ黄金時代のオランダやフランドルの巨匠らが好きです。宗教的制約から脱却しようとする彼らの気風に共感しますし、より庶民的な主題を選んだ熱意に興味を引かれます。昔の絵画を一様に古典あるいは単に「古い」ものと一括りしてしまうものですが、当時は数多くの画風や新しい画法が編み出され、発表されていました。また、絵画の中で他の絵画について解説する歴史的絵画も好きです。例えば、フェルメールの作品によくあるものです。多くの現代美術の画家も同様です。あたかも、ルネサンスの画家達が古代ギリシャの芸術家達との対話を望んでいたのと同じく、過去の巨匠との対話を通して繋がるという考えに誰もが興味をかき立てられるのではないでしょうか。私の絵は常に進化し、常に自分を取り巻く周囲の環境や人々に影響を受けています。

Neocha: What has been the biggest challenge during your creation process? What do you feel like has been your biggest achievement so far?

Masaki: My biggest challenge has been trying to find the “cross section” of who I am and what the world wants to see from me. If I try to be who I am not, then the discrepancy eventually catches up with me. But if I just make work that is purely self-indulgent, it’s like masturbation. To find the balance between them is an art in itself. The biggest achievement has always been the moment when I see the looks of the collectors who buy my paintings. For me, contributing to the happiness of people through my craft is way more important than any personal accolades. I feel like having the ability to enrich people’s lives through art is the greatest achievement, and I would like to continue doing that.

Neocha: あなたの制作過程において、これまでで最も大きな課題とは何でしたか？また、これまで達成した最大の功績とは何だと思いますか？

Masaki: 私の最大の課題は、自分という存在と人々が見たいと思うものの、いわば「断面図」を探し求めることでした。私が自分ではない者になろうとすると、いずれは食い違いが出てくるはずです。しかし、自己中心的な作品を作るだけなら、それは自慰行為のようなものです。その間でバランスを見い出すもの、それはアートそのものなのです。最大の功績は常に、私の作品を買ってくださるコレクターの様子を伺う瞬間です。私にとって、自分の作品を通して人々の幸せに貢献することは、どんな個人的栄誉より重要なものです。人々の生活を豊かにできると感じることが何よりの功績であり、これからも続けることができればと思っています。

Neocha: Do you think artists have the social responsibility to change the world or even change society?

Masaki: My primary interest lies in the engagement in dialogues with the masters from the past and understanding people at a deep level. But I do believe that art has a power and influence to change the world. For example, in 2003 the U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell made a public announcement when the U.N. decided to intervene in the regional matters of the Middle East. Behind Colin Powell, a tapestry with the image of Picasso’s Guernica was hung on the wall as if sending out an anti-war statement. The following day that painting was covered up as to not to send out a mixed message. So to some extent, art definitely has power. It can be highly effective when raising awareness of certain issues. But at the same time, art is also powerless. I spend a lot of time in Berlin now, so I see the influx of refugees from the Middle East. Art cannot help them directly. Art cannot give them food, accommodation, means of integration and so forth, but these are things they desperately need. As corny as it sounds, I believe in love and the power of creating positive energy that reduces conflicts amongst people through art. I am trying to do that on a small scale and in my immediate environment rather than trying the change the whole world.

Neocha: アーティストは、世界や社会を変える社会的責任があると思いますか？

Masaki: 私の基本的な関心は、過去の巨匠達と対話して繋がること、そして人々を深く理解することです。それでも、アートには世界を変える力や影響力があると信じています。例を挙げると、2003年に国連が中東の地域問題への介入を決定し、米国務長官のコリン・パウエルが正式発表した時のことです。コリン・パウエルの背後の壁面に、まるで反戦メッセージを送るかのようにピカソのゲルニカのタペストリーが掛けられていたのです。矛盾したメッセージと取られないよう、翌日にあその絵が覆い隠されていました。つまり、確かにアートにはある程度の力があります。ある特定の問題への関心を高めるにあたり、高い効果を及ぼすことがあります。ただ、同時にアートは無力なものでもあります。私はベルリンで過ごすことが多いため、中東からの難民の流入を目の当たりにします。アートで難民を直接救うことはできません。アートは、食べ物、宿泊施設、地域への同化手段といった、難民らが切望するものを何も提供することはできません。陳腐に聞こえるでしょうが、アートを通して、人々の争いを軽減する愛と正のエネルギーを生み出す力を信じています。私は、全世界を変えようというより、自分の周囲の環境内で小規模にそんな変化をもたらすよう努めています。

Neocha: What do you think the aim of art should be?

Masaki: The role of art is to determine the “cross section” of an artist’s self expression and how the world can be a better place through art. It may pertain to provoking thoughts, evoking emotions, and giving a sense in which we feel “alive”. When I was still an art student, I went through a phase where I believed in the role of art as a vehicle to change the world, and my work had a strong sense of socio-political elements. I still think of it as important to some degree, but recently I tend to distance myself from the emotions that I had then. It is because a little while ago I realized that perhaps I was driven by anger and frustration towards society as a whole. But now I understand that everyone is working hard, striving for their own survival, and to some extent, trying to do something good as well. With that realization, I now want to make art with positive emotions and an intent of brightening up people’s lives just like Liang Kai’s, Jan Eyck’s and Vermeer’s paintings did to me when I was as a child. I realized that positive energy, light, and smile can bring to us more good than anger, frustration, conflict and violence. I’ve gotten a bit older so that has made me wiser and more mature, but it does not mean that I deny all the processes that I have gone through thus far. Everything I’ve been through was necessary for me to get to where I am right now. Without experiencing them all, then I would not feel what I feel now. So I’m really thankful.

Neocha: アートの目的はどうあるべきだと思いますか？

Masaki: アートの役割とは、アーティスト自身の表現の断面図とアートによっていかに世界をより良くするかを決めることにあります。それは、思考を刺激すること、感情を喚起すること、また、「生きている」と感じる感覚を与えることと関係するでしょう。私がまだ美術学生だった頃、世界を変える手段としてのアートの役割を信じ、自分の作品が強い社会政治的要素を反映していた時期がありました。今でもある程度までは重要だとは思いますが、最近では当時のそういった感情から自分自身を遠ざける傾向にあります。それは、自分が全体としての社会への怒りや不満に突き動かされていたのかもしれないと少し前に気づいたためです。今では、生き残るために誰もが懸命にもがき、何かしら良いことをしようと努力していることがわかっています。それに気づいた今、かつて子供だった自分を梁楷、ヴァン・エイク、フェルメールの絵が元気にしてくれたように、ポジティブな感情で人々の生活を明るくする目的でアートを作りたいと思っています。正のエネルギーや光、そして笑顔は、怒りや不満、争い、暴力より人々のためになると気づいたのです。少し歳をとった分、賢く成熟したわけですが、だからといって自分がこれまで歩んできた全ての過程を否定するわけではありません。私が経験したことは、今ある自分にとってどれも必要なものでした。過去に経験したことが少しでも欠けていれば、今の感情はなかったわけです。ですから、自分の経緯には感謝しています。

Neocha: How do you handle the balance between creativity and financial incentives?

Masaki: When I think of creativity now, I often think of constraints as well. It is like yin and yang. Particularly now, the more limitations and restrictions I face, the more creative I have to become. In fact, when people face restrictions and complain about the lack of freedom, I see the lack of creativity in them. For me, creativity is the ability to reconfigure unthinkable combinations and ideas that have never been connected before. Creativity is to explore the infinite possibilities of synthesizing different ideas. Splashing paint on canvas is, therefore, not quite creativity for me. True creativity actually involves diligent investigation of the past and deep understanding of the field, and finding a possibility that has never been explored before. True creativity is built on the contradictions. I think creativity and financial incentives can, therefore, be dealt with in proximity. Suffering and struggles should not be too romanticized. But of course, the main motive should be to make great art that moves people in a significant and emotional way.

Neocha: 創造性と金銭的報酬とのバランスをどう処理していますか？

Masaki: 創造性について考える時、制約についてもよく考えます。いわば陰と陽の関係のようなものです。特に今は、制限や制約に直面すればするほど、ますます創造性が問われます。実際、人が制約に直面し、自由のなさを訴える時、そこには創造性の欠如が伺えます。私にとって創造性とは、それまで何の繋がりもなく、思いもよらなかった組み合わせやアイデアを再構成する能力なのです。創造性は、異なるアイデアを合成して限りない可能性を探るものです。ですから、キャンバスに絵の具を飛び散らせることは私にとって創造性ではありません。真の創造性は、過去についての飽くなき探求とその分野の深い理解力、そして、それまで開拓されなかった可能性を見つけ出すことです。真の創造性は、矛盾の上に成り立つものです。そのため、創造性と金銭的報酬は近接して対処することができると思います。生活のため葛藤することはあまり美化されるべきではないでしょう。ただ、もちろん最も重要な動機は、人々の感情に強く訴える優れた芸術を生み出すことです。

Website: masakiyada.org

 

Contributor: Shanshan Chen
Images Courtesy of Masaki Yada

 

 

ウェブサイト: masakiyada.org

 

寄稿者: Shanshan Chen
Images Courtesy of Masaki Yada

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The Designs of Aaron Nieh

June 14, 2016 2016年6月14日

As an international multi-award winning graphic designer, Yung-Chen Nieh (aka Aaron Nieh) is undoubtedly one of the most well known names in Taiwan’s design scene. Having first graduated with a bachelor’s degree in design from the National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, he later went on to study applied media arts at the National Taiwan University of Arts. Aaron won the Best Album Design at Taiwan’s Golden Melody Awards in 2010, has both won and been invited to judge the Red Dot Design Award, received the 2014 Golden Pin Design Award in the Visual Communications Design Category for his work in the Not Just Library project, and is the first ever Taiwanese designer to have been inducted into the prestigious Alliance Graphique Internationale.

作為在國際上屢獲殊榮的平面設計師，聶永真無疑是台灣設計界中最為人所知的名字之一。聶永真於國立台灣科技大學取得設計學士學位，之後考取國立台灣藝術大學之應用媒體藝術研究所。他在2010年台灣金曲獎上榮獲最佳專輯設計包裝獎，也曾獲得德國紅點設計獎並被邀請成為評審，其「不只是圖書館」項目榮獲2014年金點設計獎（視覺傳達設計類），他也是國際平面設計聯盟中的第一位台灣成員。

Aaron is currently based in Taipei and works out of his personal design studio. The space is quite revealing of Aaron’s preference for clean design and for “putting things in just the right place”. Large panes of glass allows the space to be engulfed with beautiful natural light, the bare industrial concrete flooring seems to reaffirm his affinity for cleanliness and simplicity, while minimalistic white counters, tables, and furnishings fill out the rest of the space. “Because of my past experiences, I’m now able to precisely pinpoint the function and purpose of every single detail in my designs – I put the most appropriate thing in the most suitable place.”

聶永真目前定居台北，經營他的個人設計工作室。從工作室就能透露著這位設計師對於簡潔之風的偏愛，各種陳設排放也是精準有序。巨大的玻璃讓房間浸沒在一片悅目的自然光線中；空裸的工業風格水泥地面再次彰顯設計師乾淨簡潔的風格，房間剩下的空間就是些極簡的白色櫃檯、桌子以及裝飾。 「因為過去的經歷與嘗試，現今往往能夠比客戶更精準地判別每一個設計的目的與功能，把剛剛好、最適妥的東西放在適合的位置。」

For World Design Capital 2016, Aaron has been working closely with Taiwan Designer Center to solidify the status of Taipei as an up-and-coming city that should be regarded as an important creative hub of the region. Aaron recently redesigned storefronts for the Small Shop Signboard Manufacturer project. This initiative paired up stall owners in Taipei’s Dazhi marketplace with professional designers to help them create a new visual identity more fitting for modern times. “The owners of these shops don’t know anything about design. So the ways we’re accustomed to using in trying to explain our concepts to clients didn’t translate well here. To have a better understanding of each other, we had to be flexible and communicate our ideas in different ways,” Aaron explained. “This was a pretty special experience for me.”

2016世界設計之都由台北市當選，聶永真一直與台灣設計師中心密切合作，致力於鞏固台北成為地區性創新樞紐的未來之城。他現在正在參與小店面招牌製造商項目，重新設計店面，這一積極舉措需要與台北市場的攤主和專業設計師一道，共同創造一個更加融入現代化的視覺體驗。聶永真表示：「市場的店家對於『設計』這個領域是陌生的，而我們所習慣與客戶之間的溝通方式也是有別於這個案子的，會因為認知的不同而產生一些需要磨合與相互理解的地方，也因此也讓我們在語言的訊息傳遞上更加柔軟親和，這是近期比較特別的經驗。」

Aaron’s graphic design has graced countless album covers, magazines, books, posters, and even beer bottles. But despite his vast portfolio of impressive work, numerous awards, and international recognition, Aaron’s humility is unwavering. This is clearly seen in his personal philosophy, which is summed up in five words: “Signature work yet to come.” Aaron explains that this mantra has always been his expectations for himself, “I always hope that the next piece of work will be more exciting than the previous one. I don’t want to ever feel like I’ve created a so-called ‘masterpiece’. I want my future to be exciting and hold unlimited possibilities.”

聶永真的平面設計作品包括大量的專輯封面、雜誌、書籍、海報、甚至啤酒瓶。擁有大量出色的作品、數不清的獎項和國際認可的設計地位，聶永真卻一直保持著謙遜的態度，這從他一直秉持的個人哲學中就能看出來，他總結為五個字：沒有代表作。聶永真進一步說到，這是對自己的期許。 「希望下一個作品永遠比現在一個更精彩，不希望因為劃定出了所謂的代表作，而牽制了未來更精彩的種種可能。」

“Many Taiwanese people used to describe my aesthetics as ‘Western’ or closer to Japanese-style design,” Aaron says. “But during the 2013 AGI (Alliance Graphique Internationale) conference, I saw the works and styles of so many international designers – I felt like my style was distinctively different, and I felt that it didn’t appear to belong to any specific region. Even when looking at other Chinese-speaking cities, there were still large differences in style between their work and mine. This was an epiphany of sorts to me; it was when I realized how much my education and my environment subtly molded my work into this particularly style. I suppose Taiwan has been subconsciously influencing me and my aesthetics the entire time.”

「以往在台灣有不少人形容我的設計很『洋派』或很『日系』，」他說：「但在2013年的AGI大會上，來自各國的設計師簡報各自的作品時，我發現我的作品明顯的與來自各國的設計師有所不同，即便是一樣使用中文的國家仍可以看出其中差異，這我才頓悟到從小大到大我接受的教育、所處的環境，早已淺移默化形成了台灣的設計『氣味』，而這應該也是不知不覺影響我設計樣貌最大的原因了。」

Aaron cites his personal growth as an artist as coming from an incessant need to challenge himself. Despite being most well known for his graphic design, Aaron often works out of his comfort zone and dabbles with different fields of design from time to time. He’s worked on various collaborative projects that ranges from product design to motion graphics. “In recent years, I feel like there have been more and more diverse types of designs emerging from Taiwan,” says Aaron. “The designs are more different, more interesting, and crazier. There are more ideas, and there’s more competition. The current state of things is great for fostering creative growth.”

聶永真坦言，他之所以成為一個藝術家很大程度是源於他想要不斷挑戰自己的心態。儘管他以平面設計揚名，其實他也時常走出自己的「舒適區」，嘗試不同的設計類型。從產品設計到動態圖形，他一直在進行不同的合作項目。 「我認為台灣這幾年有很多不同樣貌的設計開始出現，更多元且更有趣、更瘋狂，百家爭鳴，以現況來說我覺得是很好的成長。」

Website: aaronnieh.com
Facebook: ~/somekidding

 

Contributor & Photographer: David Yen
Additional Images Courtesy of Aaron Nieh & Taiwan Design Center

網站: aaronnieh.com
臉書: ~/somekidding

 

供稿人與攝影師: David Yen
附加圖片由聶永真與台灣創意設計中心提供

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