Monthly Archives: March 2022

Art in the Age of Doomscrolling 环球局势卷轴

March 31, 2022 2022年3月31日

In the age of doomscrolling, we’ve become addicted to endless feeds of incendiary headlines and thumbnails that illustrate the depressing state of the world. The overstimulation of the online realm leaves us utterly dazed, no longer knowing what’s trivial or troubling, real or fake—and no one’s immune.

Born in 1995, as part of  Gen Z—the first truly digitally native generation—South Korean artist Jang Seungkeun renders the nonsensical amalgam of the internet into paintings that dish out stinging commentary on how we consume and spread information online. To him, we’re living in a post-truth era of questionable and frenzied content designed to lure undiscriminating audiences. “In the present era, narratives collapse, and the truth is lost, dominated by thumbnail images,” he says. “My work contemplates the uncontrollable anxiety in this idling world.”

Jang’s art revolves around montages of clashing images reclaimed from the internet. It features global personalities from pop culture, history, and present-day politics, as well as other figures that take center stage in various episodes of media frenzy. His portraits, however, are never flattering; they always come with an edgy, playful twist.

这是一个被负面刷屏的时代，我们沉溺于揭示世间煽动性标题和简报。网络空间的过度刺激令我们茫然无措，大事小情、真真假假变得难以分辨 —— 没人能够幸免。

韩国画家 Jang Seungkeun 生于 1995 年。作为 Z 世代，他属于第一批互联网时代的亲历者。他把网络上光怪陆离的元素挥洒在画布上，对消费和网络信息传播进行了针砭时弊的批判。在他看来，我们所生活的后真相时代普遍存在真相质疑的现象，导致那些缺乏辨别能力的人因此沦陷，从而达到背后操纵者的目的。“当下，文字崩坏，真相缺失，取而代之的是残缺信息碎片。我的作品对乱世引发的焦虑情绪进行了深刻反思。”

Jang 的作品由互联网新闻图片构成，涉及一众名人：流行文化大咖、传奇历史人物、政客以及曾红极一时的风云人物等等。然而，他笔下的人像并没有谄媚之颜，反而在旁人眼里充满了戏谑、直击要害的暗讽意味。

From the Kitsch Man series 来自《俗咖》（Kitsch Man）系列
From the Kitsch Man series 来自《俗咖》（Kitsch Man）系列

In the series Source, Jang paints some famous—and some infamous—politicians from around the world, but with an added layer of silliness. Joe Biden, Kim Jong-un, Donald Trump, John Kennedy, and Joseph Goebbels appear with exaggerated features we’re all too familiar with: the big eyes and wide mouths typical of popular Instagram and Snapchat filters. “The faces of influential people whose actions affect everyone’s lives appear just like the faces of netizens when they use these filters, and the result is both hilarious and scary,” Jang says.

For this series, Jang googled the subjects he was interested in and captured the image results with the filter app on his phone. Then, he transposed the results onto canvases using oil painting. “I wanted them to look like sports cards or monster images from Yu-Gi-Oh!,“ he laughs, referring to Kazuki Takahashi’s manga series about a trading card game. Not coincidentally, like a trading game on a global scale, the people he portrays are the ones consistently involved in global conflicts and power disputes.

Interestingly, Jang reveals the source of his references in the title of each work, and he includes other elements like page titles and headings in the paintings, offering further clues to finding these images online. The viewer can easily trace his steps, apply the filter to a web search result, and get the same effect on the same faces.

 在《追踪》（Source）中，他描绘了一系列政治人物，当中不乏一些闻名遐迩的角色，另一些人则臭名在外，视觉呈现令人忍俊不禁。乔·拜登、金正恩、唐纳德·特朗普、约翰·肯尼迪和约瑟夫·戈培尔的形象跃然纸上，拥有大众喜闻乐见的漫画式幽默：人物眼镜和嘴巴被放大，与 Instagram 和 Snapchat 的流行滤镜效果如出一辙。“加上滤镜后，人物显得更加亲近，狰狞且好笑”，Jang 说道。

创作过程中，Jang 经常在谷歌上搜索新闻热点，并对其进行截图，随后用手机滤镜加以修饰，以此激发创作灵感。在谈及引用高桥和希的集换式卡牌游戏漫画风格时，他笑道：“我希望我笔下的人物看起来和《游戏王》卡牌上的怪兽一样，不同人物有各自的技能。”而现实与游戏类似，我们正身处由少数人掌握的游戏之中，Jang 笔下的人物在全球冲突和力量博弈之中颠簸沉浮。

每幅作品的网页信息来源巧妙地出现在作品下方，予人们线索，观众可轻而易举地追踪到新闻来源，从而更好地理解作品。

From the Source series 来自《追踪》（Source）系列
From the Source series 来自《追踪》（Source）系列
From the Source series 来自《追踪》（Source）系列

In a separate series, Jang paints his larger-than-life personalities with pixelated, blurred, or glitchy faces, as if seen on low-resolution. Then, he replaces their eyes with the eyes of TV cartoons and anime characters which, in turn, appear clear, in high-resolution style. 

People in the likes of Hitchcock, Marilyn Monroe, Beethoven, Shinzo Abe, Moon Jae-in, Stalin, Queen Elizabeth II, Obama, and even Bin Laden, to name a few, are matched with the eyes of other equally renowned characters, like Garfield, SpongeBob SquarePants, Squidward Tentacles, The Powerpuff Girls, and Pink Panther. Aside from Western cartoons, Jang also incorporates eyes from Japanese anime characters, such as Yusuke Urameshi from YuYu Hakusho, Ken Washio from Science Ninja Team Gatchaman, and Shinji Ikari from Neon Genesis Evangelion.

在另一组系列中，人物轮廓在马赛克效果的加持下变得模糊不清。而在这朦胧之中，人物却拥有像电视卡通或动漫人物一样被夸张放大的双眼。

希区柯克、玛丽莲·梦露、贝多芬、安倍晋三、文在寅、斯大林、伊丽莎白二世、奥巴马和本·拉登等人的双眼，纷纷被加菲猫、海绵宝宝、章鱼沃德、飞天小女警和粉红豹等一众卡通人物的双眸取代。除了西方动画，《幽游白书》（YuYu Hakusho）中的浦饭幽助、《科学小飞侠》（Science Ninja Team Gatchaman）中的肯·鹫尾以及《新世纪福音战士》（Neon Genesis Evangelion）中的碇真嗣等日本动漫人物的眼睛都出现在作品当中。

From the Source series 来自《追踪》（Source）系列
From the Source series 来自《追踪》（Source）系列

In planning his odd compositions, he downloads images from the internet and experiments in Photoshop. He ultimately chooses the most eccentric results to paint it on canvas. “There are no criteria for choosing them,” he shrugs. “Sometimes there’s a relationship between the character’s personality and the real person, but that’s only a secondary element, for fun.” Jang cherishes the ambiguous nature of his paintings, which invites viewers to create unique narratives and imagine connections. This implicit subjectivity is the essence of his work.

Anything viral is grist to his mill. Jang likes to turn the hype of social media challenges into art. In the Assemble series, he draws inspiration from the Ice Bucket Challenge. Once more, his original references are a simple Google search away, including the first image that appears on Wikipedia when we look up the challenge (the online encyclopedia is a major source of inspiration to him), and a picture from when George W. Bush took the challenge.

Another trend that didn’t escape his brushes was the Sailor Moon Challenge, which encouraged artists to redraw the world-famous anime character in their own distinctive style. Jang’s version, Demo, features the show protagonist’s blue glaring eyes superimposed on Joe Biden’s face. This piece was also inspired by how the outcomes of American elections affect social feelings of optimism and anxiety across the world in South Korea.

在对这样令人意想不到的组合进行构思时，Jang 先会采用 Photoshop 对不同图片进行组合试验，最终选出最为怪诞不经的组合进行创作。“我的选择没什么标准”，Jang 耸耸肩说道，“有时，动画人物和真实人物的性格会有一定联系，但这只是次要因素。我主要还是为了好玩。” 除此之外，作品中的朦胧感被 Jang 视作重点。若虚若实的效果在某种程度上唤起观众的联想，而这种含蓄性、隐晦性正是作品的精髓所在。

任何风靡一时的元素都能为 Jang 带来创作上的灵感。他热衷于将社交媒体中的噱头用艺术的手段表现出来。在冰桶挑战的启发下，Jang 创作了《拼装》（Assemble）系列 。该系列的灵感来源于谷歌搜索结果，其中包括维基百科冰桶挑战词条下的第一张图片（维基百科是他灵感的主要来源）以及小布什接受挑战时留下的一张照片。

此外，Jang 还用美少女战士挑战赛暗示总统局选举。在这张名为《小试牛刀》（Demo）的作品中。水冰月的蓝色大眼被挂在乔·拜登脸上，反映出美国总统选举结果对韩国民众心理产生的种种影响，有些人心生希望，另一些人则对此心神不宁。

Demo (2021) 作品《小试牛刀》（Demo）

Donald Trump—who has long been a source of memes, clickbait headlines, and internet virality like no one else—is a recurring character in Jang’s work. In the paintings that feature him, his mannerisms and expressions are obvious even if his face appears pixelated. The whole phenomenon concerning Trump’s magnetism on the internet and his association with internet memes fascinates Jang. “Memes help you to unite with others and express your points of view in a comic way. By saying it’s just a joke you sort of neutralize the critical view. I don’t think the relationship between the meme Pepe the frog and Donald Trump’s presidential success is a mere coincidence,” he says, alluding to the theory that the controversial frog meme might have had a favorable impact on Trump’s election.

唐纳德·特朗普（Donald Trump）是网络热梗的重要素材，他为互联网创作者提供了极佳的机会，往往火爆全网。Jang 也常常邀请他到作品中做客。他笑着说道：“网络热梗增近名人和大众的距离，这种幽默搞笑的表达方式能使批判变得不再那么尖锐。”

From the Who is He series 来自《他是谁》（Who is He）系列
From the New Face series 来自《他是谁》（Who is He）系列
From the Kitsch Man series 来自《他是谁》（Who is He）系列

Jang’s creative process differs slightly in Moe Soldier, a set of two paintings based on images of North Korean soldiers. To shine a light on the question of what’s real and what’s not, he experimented with a new technique: mixing digital print and oil painting. Once more, he juxtaposes anime eyes with pixelated faces. However, this time he printed the anime cuts, already pixelated, glued them to the canvases, and painted over them, leaving small sections exposed. The lines between the parts are positively blurred; only an attentive eye can distinguish between his brushstrokes and the print, even from up close.

As Jang explains, South Koreans are used to seeing caricatures of the North Korean military appearing on local media channels. “Those who threaten us flow around the web as memes and comical figures,” he says, adding that these portrayals often blur the difference between the trivial and the consequential, making it difficult to see the truth about a particular issue. Similarly, the title of the series explores the disparity between the hostile figure of a soldier and the vulnerable, candy-coated notions of moe, a subgenre of anime that explores the idea of inocent and fragile femininity.

Jang 还根据朝鲜士兵形象创作的双联画《萌战士》（Moe Soldier）系列。相比以往，该系列的创作过程稍有不同。为了突出虚实与真假的对比，Jang 尝试了不同以往的创作方式：将数字打印与油画相结合。这次，他将打印好的像素化动漫剪贴画贴到画布上，再用画笔创作，实现了一次油画和数码打印的融合。两部分之间的线条被有意识地模糊，需细致观察才能辨出手绘与打印的差别。

Jang 解释，对于韩国人来说，社交媒体上出现的朝鲜军人形象早已习以为常。他表示，每次看到这些军人的照片，都令人感到迫在眉梢。现实网络中，他们的形象通常以表情包或搞笑图片等形式流传。他还认为，作品中刻意营造的模糊感，隐喻了扑朔迷离的国际形势。此外，这一系列作品通过软妹的双眸与士兵肖像进行对比，探索了二者间的巨大差别，引人深思。

Moe Soldier (2021) 来自《萌战士》（Moe Soldier）系列
Moe Soldier (2021) 来自《萌战士》（Moe Soldier）系列

Above all, Jang is drawn to cynical and catchy humor, which he defines as kitschy. “I think kitschy jokes symbolize a sense of defeat. They are twisted expressions of disgust for a society where it’s difficult to have healthy dreams and hopes,” he says. In Kitsch Man, he combines the faces of the supreme leaders of North Korea with female anime characters. For instance, in one piece, he juxtaposes Kim Jong-un with Bulma from Dragon Ball Z, who’s pretty, spoiled, and vain, often using her looks as an excuse for her selfish attitude. These pieces bear a sense of heightened visual confusion through evenly distributed overlaid dots, a result Jang achieved from experimenting with clipping masks in Photoshop. 

The idea stems from Roy Lichtenstein’s Ben-day dots and his use of comics to convey his message. “I like the message behind his sarcastic work and his choice of using subcultures as something with aesthetic value,” Jang says. Pop art has influenced him since his early days as an artist. He began painting the faces of pop icons still in university as an homage to Andy Warhol.

总的来说，Jang 的绘画主要围绕政治幽默展开，以此来表达普罗大众对现实的不满情绪，他个人将这种创作方式称之为 “低俗创作“。他说道：“我的作品像是一个个庸俗的笑话，体现出一种挫败感，反映了人们对现实的厌恶。这是一种扭曲的表达方式”，Jang 如是说。在系列作品《俗咖》（Kitsch Man）中，他将金日成肖像和日漫女性角色进行叠加；还将金正日和《七龙珠》中面容姣好的自负女孩布尔玛（Bulma）进行联动，漫画中，布尔玛时常凭借靓丽外表做着自私的事。画面上均匀分布的波点迷乱了观众的视线，Jang 采用了 Photoshop 中的剪贴蒙版功能来实现这一效果。

画中引用的波点，其灵感来源于波普艺术大师罗伊·利希滕斯坦（Roy Lichtenstein）标志性的大圆点（Benday dots）。Jang 表示，“罗伊对时代的批判使我着迷，他对非主流文化也情有独钟，并将其拔到了一个新的高度。”在绘画生涯初期，Jang 受波普艺术的影响很大，为了致敬安迪·沃霍尔（Andy Warho），他曾在大学期间就开始试着描绘名人肖像画，这为他之后的创作埋下了一颗种子。

From the Who is He series 来自《他是谁》（Who is He）系列
From the Who is He series 来自《他是谁》（Who is He）系列
From the Who is He series 来自《他是谁》（Who is He）系列

Even if Jang uses the cultural scope above as a reference, his inspiration comes primarily from his own experiences—particularly those he considers unpleasant. For instance, he forced himself to get familiarized with certain anime and Netflix shows only to have something in common to talk about with other people in his social circle. “I needed to know about these shows not to look like an out-of-date artist, but I didn’t have the time or will to watch them,” he admits. 

His solution was to get the gist of what he needed from reading Wikipedia articles and watching YouTube summary videos. He even began acting as a fake otaku, something he thought was comical, to say the least, but that also illustrated more significant issues in modern society, such as the widespread inversion of values and the lack of depth.

现如今，Jang 的创作灵感主要源自他于网络的所见所闻，尤其是那些令人百感交集和迷惑的瞬间。为了在作品中寻求与他人的共鸣，他强迫自己去看某些日漫和网飞节目。他承认：“为了跟上时代的步伐，我必须熟悉现在媒体的流行趋势，但我依然觉得兴趣寡淡，也没有很多时间。”

对此，他想到了一个解决方法：阅读维基百科首页内容、观看 YouTube 上国际新闻汇总。为了熟悉漫画角色，他甚至一度成为御宅。在这个过程中，他渐渐发现现代社会的特征 —— 价值观的颠覆以及深度的匮乏。

CCH (2021) 作品《公共传输信道》（CCH）(2021)

Likewise, Jang believes that growing up between very emotional parents influenced his development as an artist. “My parents would always start fights for silly and trivial reasons. I saw many situations where the fight began from seemingly unimportant factors—like trying to figure out what to eat in a restaurant—and then escalated to discussions about getting divorced,” he remembers.

It’s almost as if the dynamics in his family were a microcosm of the larger scenario he expresses with his work and his helplessness as a child represented our everyday confusion and torpor while facing the status quo. His blurred, pixelated characters convey an unhinged world where “the power that can change the lives of regular people no longer takes a logical form, but rather penetrates their lives in a denser and consumable format,” as he puts it.

Amazingly enough, Jang doesn’t consider his work to be political—at least not intentionally. “I tend to believe that my work is irrelevant. But, since I am often asked this question, it’s likely that I subconsciously pay attention to political tensions. Still, that’s not what I’m talking about directly,” he says, and he adds his paintings are not necessarily critical of the individuals they show. To him, their faces represent something bigger. Just like Warhol’s portraits, Jang’s characters reflect the world we live in—online and offline—and, especially when fused with the lunacy of the internet, they ooze the zeitgeist of our time.

Jang 成长在一个情绪化严重的家庭，他认为成长经历潜移默化地影响了自己的创作。“父母曾总会因为一些愚蠢和微不足道的小事吵得不可开交。”Jang 说道，“我曾多次目睹他们在餐馆等公共场合因小事发生口角，甚至以离婚相逼。”

家庭矛盾几乎可以看作是他作品中更具个人内涵的缩影，童年的无助则反映了人们面对现状时的冷漠与麻木。而他笔下面目模糊的像素化人物展现了一个混乱的世界：在那里，能改变人们生活的权力挣脱了理性的约束。因而，这些权力更进一步渗入并人们的生活，消耗他们的人生。

出人意料的是，Jang 并不认为自己的作品具有政治性，至少他的初衷并非如此。他认为，“我倾向于认为我的作品与政治无关。但人们总是提及这一问题，因此政治矛盾可能存在于我的潜意识里，而这并非重点。”此外，他还认为作品无关指责和批判。对他而言，他们的面孔具有更深刻的内涵。同沃霍尔的作品一样，Jang 笔下的的人物也反映了我们生活的这个世界，无论是网络空间抑或现实生活都得到了体现。毕竟，现实生活掺杂了网络上的痴笑疯癫——这才是这个时代的真实写照。

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Contributors: Tomas Pinheiro, Lucas Tinoco
Chinese Translation: Alice Zhang
Images Courtesy of UARTSPACE and Jang Seungkeun

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供稿人: Tomas Pinheiro, Lucas Tinoco
英译中: Alice Zhang
图片由 UARTSPACE 与 Jang Seungkeun 提供

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Papermoon Puppet Theater 月亮剧场

March 29, 2022 2022年3月29日

With moonlike faces and beady eyes, papery skin, and dangling limbs, the characters in Indonesia’s Papermoon Puppet Theatre float, stomp, and clack, communicating with the audience without words. Movement, sound effects, and lighting speak for them instead. 

Papermoon is a troupe based in Yogyakarta with six core members from across Indonesia. Founded by Maria Tri Sulistyani, it was originally established as an art studio for kids but evolved into a puppet theater company in 2010. Although each member is involved in various creative duties, there are two main puppet designers, three main puppeteers, and Sulistyani is the primary scriptwriter. None of them have received formal training in puppetry and learned everything hands-on. The initial storyboards, puppet sketches, and set designs are drawn by visual artist Iwan Effendi and graphic designer Anton Fajri, the latter of whom also builds the sets. At shows, Effendi and Anton also perform as puppeteers.

空洞深邃的圆眼睛、纸糊状的材质、粗粝的面庞，悬在空中微微摆动的躯体，这些都是印度尼西亚纸月亮（Papermoon）木偶剧院里的角色，神似一个个行走的月亮。或飘然移动，或重步前行，木质结构产生碰撞声噼啪作响，它们正与与观众进行无声的对白。动作、声音和光效替它们诉说衷肠。

驻扎在日惹市的木偶剧团 Papermoon 由印尼各地的六名成员组成。这家由艺术家 Maria Tri Sulistyani 创立的剧团最初是一间儿童艺术工作室，后来逐步转型，于 2010 年成为一家木偶剧公司。公司内木偶设计师两人、操纵师三人，主创 Maria 则担任总编剧。六人从未接受过正规培训，均从实践中习得技艺。从最初的剧情梗概图、木偶设计草稿和场景设计，这些都由视觉艺术家 Iwan Effendi 和平面设计师  Anton Fajri 绘就，后者还负责亲自布景。与此同时，二人还是木偶操纵师。

The team mainly uses paper, wood, and rattan to construct their puppets and sets. But recently, they began exploring ceramics and other sustainable materials sourced locally. “We’re trying our best to use recyclable, organic materials that are not imported,” Sulistyani says. “Each time a puppet meets its end, we break it down and reuse the parts.”

Each performance lasts from 45 minutes to an hour. They’ve taken shows to multiple countries, and they create at least two new plays each year. Since it’s easier to find foreign grants and the performing arts infrastructure is limited in Indonesia, the majority of Papermoon’s traveling performances have taken place abroad. When performing at home, they largely stay within Yogyakarta. “But our biggest dream is to bring our performances to different islands in Indonesia,” says Sulistyani.

纸、木头和藤条是木偶制作和布景的主要原材料。近日，团队还开始尝试陶瓷和可持续材料。Maria表示：“每当一个木偶完成了使命，它就会被拆除，身体各部分的材料会被循环利用，因此可回收材料对我们来说非常必要。我们仍使用一些聚氯乙烯管，不过总会多次使用。”

每场演出的时长为四十五分钟至一个小时。如今，Papermoon 木偶剧团已在多个国家开展演出，甚至已将多部作品带至海外。此外，剧团每年还会开发至少两部新剧。由于印尼当地的演出基本设施还尚待完善，而海外演出项目往往更易接受当地的经济扶持，Papermoon 的大多数巡演都在海外进行。而在印尼国内演出时，行程范围基本不出日惹。Maria 表示，“若不考虑现实因素，我们还是希望能在印尼本土进行表演。”

Papermoon’s puppets range in size from as small as 20cm tall to as large as 3.5m tall. “We use giant puppets to ‘shout,’ human-size puppets to ‘talk,’ and small puppets to ‘whisper,’” Sulistyani explains. “Shadow puppets are the soul and memories.” Sometimes, the “puppets” are actors wearing masks, who perform alongside the actual puppets.

Many Papermoon plays are site-specific and performed in public places, with one having even taken place in a traditional market. But they build a new set for each play that requires one. “We prefer intimate spaces rather than a big opera house,” Sulistyani explains. “We love for audiences to experience something that is unusual in theater.”

Papermoon 所制作的木偶大小各异，小到 20 厘米高，大至 3.5 米。对此，Maria 解释道，“这些木偶各司其职，大型木偶嗓门最大，小型木偶低声细语……皮影木偶则在表演中代表灵魂和记忆。有时，人物还会带上面具，亲自参与表演。

Papermoon 许多场人偶的制作都是因地制宜，演出场地也多选择在古玩店和传统市集等公共场所。“与大型歌剧院相比，我们更倾向于接地气的场地”，Maria 如是说。此外，台上的木偶们还经常与观众进行互动，有一次，它们甚至飞过观众的头顶。

Since Papermoon’s plays don’t use verbal speech, sound design is a crucial element of their work. This was especially true in 1200°, which told the story of a ceramic puppet looking to piece itself together. With the way sound was used and the binaural headphones that viewers were invited to listen with, it could be considered an ASMR performance. 

Papermoon regularly works with a composer named Yennu Ariendra (who works under the moniker Y-DRA), a well-respected electronic musician known for incorporating local styles and instrumentation into his music. “Usually they present a very rough draft of the script at the beginning of the process and we brainstorm the universe, characters, and plot,” he says, explaining how he ideates the score. “Then I work alone when writing the music.”

With an approach similar to that of a Foley artist, he uses the same materials that Papermoon uses to create the puppets to produce certain sounds in the music. (You can listen to one composition here.)

由于 Papermoon 的演出不涉及实质上的言语对白，因此音效设计显得至关重要。一场名为《1200°》的演出讲述了陶瓷木偶试图将自己拼接完整的故事，另辟蹊径的声效呈现方式让观众佩戴双声道耳机体验了一把听觉盛宴。

与此同时，Papermoon 剧组还和作曲家 Yennu Ariendra 保持合作关系。Yennu 在当地是一名饶有名气的电子音乐家，擅长将本地传统音乐与当代乐器相融合。对于剧作配乐的创作，Yennu 说道：“创作初期，编剧会向我呈现剧本初稿。随后我们会进行头脑风暴，构思整体框架、人物和情节……接下来我会独立进行创作并完成谱曲。”Yennu 以木偶制作材料相互碰撞的声音作为音乐采样，其效果往往让人身临其境。

 

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Traditional puppet theater is still very popular in the provinces of Java and Bali, with epics such as Mahabharata and Ramayana being some of the most popular plays. The country has 17,000 islands and over 700 ethnic groups and languages and Java and Bali are only two of them. Unfortunately, puppet theater is a lot less common in the other 91 cities of Indonesia. “Between 1965 and 1999, the only traditional arts that survived were used for rituals or as propaganda for the government and they were very ‘Javacentric,'” Sulistyani explains. “Traditional puppetry spread to national TV and radio stations but otherwise dwindled.” 

Wayang is the most well-known form of Indonesian puppetry but has strict rules and rituals. Papermoon doesn’t work only within the bounds of local traditions though, instead also pulling more inspiration from traditional Japanese puppetry like bunraku and kuruma ningyo, which don’t use a rod or string to animate the puppets. “We love the direct relation between puppeteers and puppets,” Sulistyani says. “We prefer that because it transfers the energy completely from the puppeteer to the puppet. We also use lots of shadow elements in our productions though.”

传统木偶表演在爪哇和巴厘地带依然十分流行。其中，《摩诃婆罗多》和《罗摩衍那》的木偶表演最受大众欢迎。印度尼西亚拥有一万七千座岛屿，其上星罗棋布地分布着七百多个族群和语言，而爪哇和巴厘只占其中之二。更令人遗憾的是，木偶表演在印尼其他九十一座城市却相对罕见，普及率较低。对此，Maria 解释道：“从1965年到1999年间，仅存下来的传统艺术都被用于宗教仪式或政府宣传，爪哇特征鲜明。虽然你会在电视和广播节目中发现木偶的元素，但在其他媒介里，木偶表演的存在感很低。”

哇扬戏（Wayang）是印尼木偶戏最为人熟知的形式，然而其模式、规则和仪式都有很多讲究。而 Papermoon 木偶戏的灵感其实更多来自于文楽（bunraku）八王子黑马宁代（kuruma ningyo）等日本传统木偶，无需用提棍和吊绳对木偶进行牵引，由真人在背后双手直接控制。“木偶戏中，演员和木偶之间需要具备紧密的联系”，Maria认为，“这是因为这一过程能将演员的能量全部传输给木偶，木偶的动作更加真实。”

Papermoon’s plays are all original scripts that revolve around everyday people’s stories, which they believe reflect societal and political realities. The group is also drawn to stories about children’s imagination and human connection to nature. Heavier topics, such as the country’s past tragedies, are also approached with an unflinching gaze. “History is written by the winner as their propaganda, but there’s always another side to it,” Sulistyani says. “But telling our stories is not about who was right or wrong. Rather, it’s about understanding more where we are standing right now, what kind of air we breathe, what values we hold.”

木偶戏情节全部取材于普罗大众的民间生活，反映出种种社会和政治现实。此外，剧团还格外关注儿童天马行空的想象力以及人与自然之间的联系。有时，剧目内容也会涉及过往悲剧等更为沉重的话题，在反映此类话题时往往针砭时弊，毫不畏惧。“历史由赢家书写的，目的是宣扬他们的功绩，这是一把双刃剑”，Maria 评论道，“然而我们的故事并非要评判孰是孰非。相反，它帮助人们更好地了解现在的处境，了解我们所处的位置以及价值观念。”

The company is drawn to what Sulistyani calls the “gray histories of the nation,” or tumultuous issues that have not met a fair closure. A prime example Sulistyani refers to is the government’s massacre of a million communists and leftists in 1965. “This left a big, unresolved wound in our society to this day,” she says. “Many have never heard any other perspective than what our leaders told them. Many others never heard of it at all, even if it’s actually their family history.”

剧团成员对“国家的灰色地带”兴趣颇深，常常阅读国内发生的各种不公平事件。Maria 提到当地政府曾于 1965 年对一百万共产主义者和左派人士进行大屠杀。“时至今日，这一事件依然是社会仍未愈合的一个巨大伤口”，她表示，“许多人只听到过领导方面的一面之词，还有许多人根本没听说过这一事件，就算与其家族关联也是如此。”

“We are citizens of the world,” Sulistyani says. “Other countries might have the same problems as we do. Maybe what we feel might never have existed elsewhere in the world. Sometimes what happened here is because of what happened in other countries.”

The stories that Papermoon hones in on may be specific to Indonesia, but they’re relevant to a collective understanding of humanity—regardless of age, place, or time.

“我们是世界公民”，Maria 如是说，“可能其他国家也有类似的问题。但人民的苦果终究由身在那里的人尝试。有时，表面事件可能是国家之间的连锁反应，后果实则需要大家一起来承担。”

Papermoon 木偶剧讲述的故事也许全部发生在印度尼西亚，但它们与人类对于人性的集体理解密切相关，无论年龄和时间地点，人们总是能感同身受，产生共情。

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Website: www.papermoonpuppet.com
Instagram: @papermoonpuppet

 

Contributor: Mike Steyels
Chinese Translation: Alice Zhang

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网站: www.papermoonpuppet.com
Instagram: @papermoonpuppet

 

供稿人: Mike Steyels
英译中: Alice Zhang

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Life in Porcelain 陶瓷异想国

March 24, 2022 2022年3月24日

The work of sculptor Wookjae Maeng is populated with inexplicable oddities. Despite bearing realistic resemblance to real-life critters, exaggerations push her porcelain animals into the realm of the surreal. Winged frogs take flight, a stack of small birds perched atop a pineapple, and other strange sights abound his art.

Through porcelain, the South Korean artist speaks to the delicate balance between mankind and the natural world. “My works examine the bond between us and the natural world,” he says. “I make stories about animals in the hope that others will share the positive emotional changes and joys that I have learned from my relationships with them.”

Wookjae Maeng 的作品宛如一个真实存在的变异世界：长着翅膀的青蛙、双头老鼠、小鸟们叠起罗汉站在菠萝上。这是他创造的陶瓷世界，自然和人类是他的作品永恒的主题。“我在叙述关于动物的故事，也希望其他人能够分享我从与各种动物的关系中，能感受到那种积极的情绪变化。”

Mutations are the norm in Maeng’s ceramic world. Through these surreal figures, he looks to inspire reflection on the environmental woes that’ve resulted from human negligence. These themes and messages are essential to Maeng’s art. “With my work, I want people to think about how small acts of kindness can affect the world and animals around us,” he says. “If we work together, we can build a harmonious relationship with the environment.”

For each sculpture, he mixes and matches different animal parts at the whim of his imagination. Once he has a rough idea, it first gets sketched out. He’ll then begin working with clay to bring the vision to life. Over the years, he’s gained a deep understanding of ceramics as a medium。 Its malleability and how different clay reacts to varying temperatures are all aspects he considers when he works. “As I create, I’m always thinking about compositional balance,” he adds.

可塑性极强的陶瓷装置，形成了以变异生命形式为特征的“白森​​林”，突出了人类主导的世界中形成的各种生态和环境危机。Wookjae 坦言，他所寻求的是一种符合自然的生活，即人与非人的共存。“我想通过我的工作传达一个想法，即我们可以为我们周围的大大小小的生命形式，做一些小的考虑行为，可以聚集，营造和谐的生态关系和环境。”

在设计雕塑作品的时候，Wookjae 就设定好了在每件作品中呈现的与内容相关的方面以及详细主题的方向。随后他会根据想象，一件一件地置入合适的动物，在决定好细节元素后，再完成建模、注浆和烧制。为了提高作品的完整性，Wookjae 还必须了解所使用媒介的各种特性，不同的材料其成型的温度不同，金色的瞳孔在最后一次烧铸时才会被点上。

Maeng believes that if his messages about environmentalism are to be seen by larger audiences, his work must be compelling. The golden eyes that he adds as finishing touches to his critters are part of this goal, a way of capturing the audience’s attention. He’s even started incorporating sound design, factoring in lighting, and experimenting with video art alongside his porcelain work. He believes these multidisciplinary approaches add depth to his work. “I constantly think about how to effectively express myself so that audiences will be drawn to the work,” he says.

“在整个过程中，我会不断考虑整体构图平衡与和谐。”Wookjae 说道，得益于从事社会改善工作，他深知引起观众的兴趣来传达内容的重要性，而要做到这一点，则可以用视觉强调，或使用声音、光和视频等媒体来突出主体。“为此，我必须对一种有效的中心表达方式进行大量思考，以吸引人们对每件作品或展览的关注。”每一次观众与白瓷上那一点金色眼睛交流的时候，也就代表着 Wookjae 的成功。

The satisfaction of finishing a new piece of art doesn’t last long for Maeng. After completing a sculpture, he often thinks about what could be made better, and this obsession for perfection motivates him to start on a new sculpture. “Since my work tells stories about the symbiosis of life, they’re based on real personal experiences,” he says. “I strive to pay close attention to the various life conditions and lives around me and to imagine life from their positions. I seek to express the thoughts of other life forms. If we listen with even a slight interest, the life forms around us will gift us with valuable experiences, emotions, and inspiration.”

完成一件作品的喜悦并不会持续多久，Wookjae 表示，他很快就会意识到有其他可以强化的地方，这个过程的重复强化了他的创作欲望。“我的作品大多关于生活，是根据个人经历创作的各种主题的故事。我正在寻求表达我在这些日常经历中想到的其他生命形式的想法。如果我们带着一丝兴趣去倾听，我们周围存在的各种生命形式，都会赋予我们宝贵的经验、情感和灵感。”

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Website: www.wookjae.com

 

Contributor: Chen Yuan

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网站: www.wookjae.com

 

供稿人: Chen Yuan

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Non-Precious Things 我们只配活在面具下吗？

March 22, 2022 2022年3月22日
From the series Pigeon (People Like Us) 来自《鸽子：我们这种人》系列

What type of effect does someone else’s gaze have on a person? How does someone control that and what toll does that effort take on a person? These questions are a significant part of Khairullah Rahim‘s work. Masks, cameras, camouflage—tools wielded in the cat-and-mouse pursuit between those seeking agency and privacy and others trying to strip them of it. He presents everyday, familiar objects as holding complex, hidden lives.

所谓凝视会对人带来哪些影响？被凝视者承担了怎样的压力、心理上应当如何应对？—— 这些都是 Khairullah Rahim 作品的关注重点，面具、监控和伪装都穿插在这场猫鼠游戏之中。这些花俏的面具作品，揭示了平凡表象背后纠葛的心灵。

From the series Pigeon (People Like Us) 来自《鸽子：我们这种人》系列
From the series Pigeon (People Like Us) 来自《鸽子：我们这种人》系列

Born and raised in Singapore, Khairullah is a gay ethnic minority from a working-class family. This background has made him the object of unwanted attention and placed him at the sore end of a significant power imbalance. His art is a distillation of all of these experiences.

Many of his family members are creative in some way, but he was the only one to pursue art as more than just a hobby. “Our priorities were slightly different,” he says of his family’s drive for stability over creative satisfaction. Although they were never against his artistic inclinations, the issue of his sexuality was a little more tricky. He was outed by another family member at 18, and they simply chose never to speak of it again. “I bear no grudges and it’s something I’ve learned to live with and accept,” he says. “In their own ways, I believe they’ve learned to accept me.”

Life outside the home is even more complex. Singapore is a country that still formally outlaws consensual sex between male adults, making it difficult to even talk about the issue. “Any kind of attempts to discuss, educate, or bring about awareness of issues pertaining to our lived experiences are often muffled, misrepresented, and heavily policed,” Khairullah says.

同志画家 Khairullah 生长于新加坡的工人阶级少数民族家庭。在传统家庭中长大，让他因身份而承受家人的有色眼镜、甚至不公平对待的苦果。这些无可奈何的经历都在他日后的艺术作品中得到集中体现。

许多他的家庭成员都在各自的领域饶有建树，但唯独 Khairullah 将艺术创作视为自己的职业追求。相比于艺术，家人往往更倾向于稳定收入的岗位，在谈及此事时，他表示：“我们每个人的生活重心略有不同。”虽然家人们从未反对过 Khairullah 的艺术事业，但就性取向这一问题上的态度却莫衷一是。十八岁时，他甚至因此被某位家庭成员逐出家门。自那之后，家人们对此事闭口不谈。“我并不怨恨他们，我已经能够坦然接受这一事实”， 他说：“我更愿意相信他们已经接纳了我的身份。”

然而，社会相比家庭要复杂得多。在新加坡，男性之间的同性性行为依然违法，即便自愿也是如此，这类话题在旁人看来是禁忌。他认为：“任何形式的讨论、教育以及发声统统会被打压和歪曲，政府甚至会兴师动众地派用大批警力来镇压。”

From the series The Incredible Frolic 来自《纵情贪欢》系列
From the series The Incredible Frolic 来自《纵情贪欢》系列
From the series The Incredible Frolic 来自《纵情贪欢》系列

The dance between lovers is a space of freedom in Khairullah’s world, one he explores with affection and adoration. He often talks about “cruising”—a term describing the act of gay men seeking out partners in public spaces—drawing analogies between peacocking and the way real birds flaunt their plumage. In his exhibition, The Incredible Frolic, he gathered found objects from past “cruising grounds,” presenting them as quirky sculptures and assemblages, including a pair of wings made with rope scraps and public bathroom fixtures, some of it gathered from the beach and nearby pool facilities.

对于自己的艺术事业，Khairullah 满腔热血。在这里，恋人们可以自由共舞，无关乎性别。他常常提及“狩猎”一词，用来比喻同性在公共场所寻觅伴侣时的情形，他将其比作鸟儿在求偶时张开美丽翅膀的样子。在系列作品《纵情贪欢》（The Incredible Frolic）中，他将“狩猎场”中的出现的事物融入创作，例如其中一件作品便结合了泳池绳索和公共卫生间设施。

From the series Pigeon (People Like Us) 来自《鸽子：我们这种人》系列

His love of birds began in childhood and they’ve appeared in his art for years. During an artist residency in Austria, he created his first pigeon mask as part of an exploration of avian beauty, featuring rhinestone feathers, a golden beak, and an ornate star halo. He later loosely built on the shared behavior between birds and humans with Gathering Of Flocks, an exhibition centered on his local neighborhoods. Each flock, or housing block, is captured through assemblages crafted from everyday domestic objects that range from bells, candles, fence posts, and clothes hangers. These creations, Khairullah believes, can represent “fragments of their private lives and social demographics.”

Khairullah 自孩提时期起便对鸟情有独钟。多年来，鸟在他的作品中屡见不鲜。曾在奥地利居住期间，他沉迷于飞行动物的美丽，并在那里首次制作了鸽子面具。这部面具由闪闪发亮的莱茵石、金色鸟喙点缀，不同材质彼此熠熠生辉。后来，他基于鸟和人类在生活场景中出现的共同道具，创作了系列作品《鸟群》（Gathering Of Flocks）。铃铛、蜡烛、篱笆和衣架等日常生活用品被恰到好处地进行组合，不同面具对应不同的道具。Khairullah 相信这些作品能够在一定程度上反映不同人群私下里迥异的生活习惯。

From the series Gathering of Flocks 来自《鸟群》系列
From the series Gathering of Flocks 来自《鸟群》系列
From the series Gathering of Flocks 来自《鸟群》系列

In the series Non-Precious Things, Khairullah again dwells on commonplace objects, but instead of reconfiguring them into abstract assemblages, he keeps their original form and decorates them with costume jewelry, stickers, and paint. When taken at face value, the items—blades, hammers, and cages—are mundane. And with his decorations, they’re imbued with a sense of levity and charm. “Upon closer inspection, each carries a certain sense of hostility and risk,” he notes of his object choices. “The beautification is a strategy to not only appeal but also to mask and obscure.” Dress it up however you want, danger is still danger. A bedazzled security camera is still a tool of surveillance and a golden mallet can still make for a deadly weapon.

在《日常配件》（Non-Precious Things）系列作品中，我们还可以看到生活中司空见惯的物品。这些物品饰以珠宝、贴画和颜料，并重新进行拆分组合，例如刀片、锤子和笼子都属于平价生活用品。在谈及物品的选择时，Khairullah 表示“细看便会体味出事物本身的敌意和风险……这种美化策略不仅是为了吸引眼球，同时也为了遮蔽和隐藏。”无论外表如何光鲜，危险依然存在。被装饰得花里胡哨的摄像头依然能监控人们的生活；能带来好运的金锤也可能是致命武器。”

From the series Non-Precious Things 来自《日常配件》系列
From the series Non-Precious Things 来自《日常配件》系列
From the series Non-Precious Things 来自《日常配件》系列
From the series Non-Precious Things 来自《日常配件》系列
From the series Non-Precious Things 来自《日常配件》系列

Classism is an issue dealt with most directly in Tender Musk. In the project, a human-like figure built from “dirty” cleaning supplies was set up on street corners, evoking imagery of a homeless person in plain sight yet still unseen by pedestrians. The piece is a statement on invisible professions like janitors, which are often shunned and overlooked, preferably forgotten. By placing the sculpture in public spaces, he draws that contrast out, highlighting a humanity that’s been erased.

Khairullah 曾举办过一场名为《柔情麝香》（Tender Musk）的个展，其直截了当地反映了阶级歧视问题。展区内，“肮脏”的清洁用品被堆成人形静静伫立，如无家可归者一般冷落不堪。这件作品为常常被人忽视的工作人群发声，人来人往与形单影只形成对比，强调了“被隐身”者的悲哀。

From the series Tender Musk 来自《柔情麝香》展览
From the series Tender Musk 来自《柔情麝香》展览

With his most recent mixed-media project, Pigeon (People Like Us), Khairullah has crystallized his ideas and aesthetics, tying together his various subjects of contemplation with striking masks. Each piece is an expansion on his original pigeon mask and is built out of welding face fields decorated with mirrors, road reflectors, handrails, and more. Everything is sourced from the working-class neighborhood of Boon Lay, which is populated by elderly people, migrant workers, and foreign students. All of these objects are ostensibly used for safety purposes, but installed on his masks, they become unwieldy and cumbersome. Their reflectivity is especially important: “Many associate light closely with notions of safety, but there are also lights which illuminate more intensely on some than others,” he says, explaining the symbolization of visibility. Some people may want to avoid that “light,” particularly those from disadvantaged communities. But the pieces also invert these ideas, with the reflective qualities also representing the shielding and repelling of unwanted attention.

Khairullah 将其观点和美学理念在最新的混合媒体项目《鸽子：我们这种人》中付诸实践。项目设计以他最初的鸽子面具为基础，在电焊面罩上饰以镜子、反光路标和栏杆碎片等物品，这些材料全部取自新加坡 Boon Lay 区域，那里常住着老人、外来务工人员和国际学生。作品大多选用可反光材料进行制作，在谈及其背后的意义时，Khairullah 认为：“许多人把光亮与安全紧密联系在一起，然而一些人群却被大众拒绝曝光。”对弱势群体来说，他们对于那“光”避之不及。也许从另一个角度看，这些装饰物的反射作用也象征着对于多余关注的抵挡，使特定人群不受到伤害。

From the series Pigeon (People Like Us) 来自《鸽子：我们这种人》系列
From the series Pigeon (People Like Us) 来自《鸽子：我们这种人》系列
From the series Pigeon (People Like Us) 来自《鸽子：我们这种人》系列
From the series Pigeon (People Like Us) 来自《鸽子：我们这种人》系列

As he started exploring the idea of hypervisibility more deeply, the idea of the pigeon from his earlier work took on deeper meaning: “The density and iridescence of the pigeon’s neck plumage, that reflection and deflection of light become a metaphor for visibility and defense mechanism in our lives,” he explains. “From one perspective, the mask does provide protection and safety by offering a sort of cover and anonymity. At the same time, this is often at the cost of rendering the wearer an imprecise, toned down, or even weakened voice.”

This piling on of defensive mechanisms, while necessary, creates unwelcome burdens. “Marginalized folk,” Khairullah hammers home, “are constantly navigating and code switching in between guilt, shame, and desire under surveillance in a hostile environment.”

随着对“光线”这一概念探究的逐渐深入，先前作品中的鸽子意象被赋予了更为深刻的含义：“鸽子颈部羽毛的密度和绚丽色彩对光线在不同程度上产生着反射和折射作用，象征着我们生活中的可见性和防御机制。一方面，面罩的遮挡确实能给人带来安全和保护；但与此同时，佩戴者的声音也会变得模糊不清，甚至被削弱”。

层层加码的防御机制虽然必要，但也给人带来了负担。Khairullah 无奈地表示：“在新加坡，像我们这种被边缘化人群一直生活在恶意中，面对外界的监视，始终在内疚、羞愧和欲望间左右摇摆、反反复复。”

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Website: www.khairullahrahim.com
Instagram: @khairullahrahim

 

Contributor: Mike Steyels
Chinese Translation: Alice Zhang

喜欢我们的故事？欢迎关注我们 Neocha 的微博与微信。

 

网站: www.khairullahrahim.com
Instagram: @khairullahrahim

 

供稿人: Mike Steyels
英译中: Alice Zhang

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Algorithmic Bliss 数位魔法师

March 17, 2022 2022年3月17日

What might art created by an algorithm look like? When a human is no longer creating their own art but simply overseeing a machine’s take on their idea, can a creative vision still be achieved with fidelity? 

Wu Che-Yu is a Taiwanese new media artist seeking the answers to these questions. Working within the digital ether of 0s and 1s, he approaches art with a playful zeal. Endlessly experimenting and pushing the limits of technology and art, he seeks to uncover the beauty within the chaotic flow of today’s information overload.

如果把艺术创作交给算法，交给看起来冰冷的机器，结果会变成怎样？当人不再是艺术作品的“施工者”，而是变成“监工”，控制机器去描绘出自己脑海中的灵感蓝图，这些机器们又能否交上一份满意的答卷？

来自台湾的新媒体艺术家吴哲宇（Che-Yu Wu），就在这片 0 与 1 的海洋中遨游了数年，希望通过不断的实践，找到埋藏的答案。他形容自己是“带着小时候玩游戏的干劲去玩艺术”，并在这片艺术分野不断前进、探索，挥洒自己的艺术价值，在混沌的信息流中不断探索着遁匿于其中的新美感秩序。

With the right arrangement of code, Wu conjures fantastic scenes blanketed by colors and patterns. Shapes flow and pulsate to their own rhythm, flickering and gyrating with choreographed precision like living organisms. Certain works even respond to a user’s mouse movement, whether it be the speed that the cursor glides across the frame or its position within the frame. Some elements move leisurely, expanding and sliding. Others move with unpredictable impulses, colliding with each other and bouncing off the boundaries of the frame. In some scenes, visuals from real life have even been reimagined in a digital format: birds drawn in geometric colors bounce atop power lines, underwater creatures battle for food and territory within the briny deep, and cloud-like sheep float through the scene. These virtual beings, constructed through code, form a digital ecosystem that seems to thrive.

在创作软件中敲好代码，按下运行键，他就能带你进入一个全新世界：色彩鲜艳的几何图形，依照着各自的节奏，与线条交织起舞，噪声赋予了它们动态与实感；在屏幕上随机分布的粒子，像被赋予生命一样，循着不定的轨迹野蛮生长；用户的鼠标成了可移动的聚光灯，文字在三角函数的指挥下扭曲、跃动；由色块组成的鸟只，闲挂在晴空下的电线杆上；海潮涌动，鱼儿争食，蜗牛赛跑，梦里数的绵羊在电子流中漂浮，惬意又自如——这些被二进制机器码构筑的虚拟实体，有序又融洽地构成了赛博大自然。

Wu works in the realm of “generative art,” a genre defined as art that’s been created with the use of an autonomous system. By manipulating the perimeters of the code, an artwork can be born from the digital ether. It’s a process that allows for infinite possibilities. The technique can be applied to motion graphics, 3-D art, or even music. The unpredictable results of the medium have been embraced by artists, designers, and even architects—it has also found footing in the NFT space in recent months.

Generative art is hardly a new concept. The term was first coined in the 1960s, and it found a resurgence with the embrace of the Y2K aesthetic. Now, with the proliferation of NFTs and chatter around the Metaverse, the niche art form is making a comeback.

With this renewed interest in the field of generative art, digital artists are again starting to meditate on its potential and how it can contribute to the art world. Computing researcher and artist Jon McCormack proposed a series of questions on the matter. Can human aesthetics be formalized? What can computational generative art tell us about creativity? What future developments would force us to rethink our answers? As more people start considering the boundary between real life and the virtual,  the merits of computer-made art are starting to become more obvious to people, including Wu.

We recently caught up with Wu to discuss the implications of artificial intelligence and the development of code-based art.

 

他介绍，这种技术叫“生成艺术”，通常指使用机器或计算机自动化技术（或通过使用数学逻辑）来定义一系列的规则，再通过执行这些规则，来生成一件艺术品。这种技术能构建出无限变化的动态复杂系统，产生独特且不可重复的事件，范畴涵盖图形动画、音乐交互、 3D 对象等。也正因为其不确定性，被艺术家/设计师建筑师所青睐，如今更成为 NFT（非同质化代币）的主要实现技术。

生成艺术早已不是新词，从上世纪六十年代计算机图形自动化的热潮开始追溯，到千禧年代新媒体技术的崛起，再到最近元宇宙、NFT 的概念盛行，这个并不起眼的艺术分支，已经默默风靡了五十多年，并无微不至地渗透入我们的日常生活中。

这股浪潮的袭来，催生了无数数字艺术家们的思考，如学者 Jon McCormack 就提出过几个经典问题：人类美学可以形式化吗？我们如何才能对生成艺术形成更批判性的理解？未来快速的科技换代，会迫使我们重新思考我们的答案吗？越来越多人开始思考“虚拟”与“现实”的交织关系，也悟出了自己的心德，吴哲宇也不例外。

借此机会，我们还与哲宇围绕控制论与人工智能、生成艺术与 NFT 等话题进行了一次深度对谈，在对谈中我们发现，哲宇不仅对技术颇有心得，对业界生态的发展、年轻艺术家的培养方面也很上心。下面，让我们一起走进这位“数位魔法师”的世界。

 

Neocha: When did you first start working with digital art?

Wu: In elementary school, I was already playing around with Adobe Flash. In middle school, I took part in a digital art competition held by Acer, and I won first prize with an animation I made in PowerPoint—the award was 30,000 NTD. It was incredibly encouraging. In college though, I focused on computer science. I coded web pages after school and ended up collaborating with the Taiwan Metro-Rail System and the Palace Museum on a few projects. After graduating, I started my own design studio. I actually got into generative art because there was so much demand for it, so I wanted to learn. I’ve worked in Processing, TouchDesigner, and more. Even though it was all kind of goal-oriented at first, the exposure to these different mediums  helped me gain new skills that I could then apply to my art.

Neocha: 你是从什么时候开始接触这个领域的？

吴哲宇: 我小学在电脑课上就有玩 Flash，后来国中的时候去参加了宏基的数位创作比赛，那个时候我用 PowerPoint 做了一个动画拿了冠军，奖金是30万台币，给我鼓舞很大。不过大学的时候我读了电机系，只在课余时间会自己写写网页，到后来帮过像捷运、故宫博物院这样的大机构做过专案，然后我就创立了自己的设计工作室，算是正式踏入业内了。具体接触生成艺术，还是因为之后有这方面的设计需求，所以我就去学了。像 Processing、TouchDesigner 这种我都有接触，算是目标导向去学东西，然后意外拓展了新技能吧。

Neocha: What would you consider as the biggest catalysts in your creative and professional life?

Wu: When I make generative art, I work with trigonometric functions, which is very much related to my original field of study—especially now that I’m experimenting with music. It’s curious to see how these two different worlds intersect.

After graduating, I enrolled in the Integrated Design & Media Program at NYU. It was there where I discovered that creative coding was already thriving in the States. My interactions with artists in New York also taught me that there’s a certain intuition that Western artists approach art with, whereas I’ve always been more “rigid” in my art making. It wasn’t easy getting used to it at first. Some friends at the time also told me that my works felt too logical and stiff, and that it lacked a certain artistic spirit. I didn’t really heed their opinions. I thought that great art can still be made with a cerebral and structured approach, so I stayed the course.

I wanted to get a job at the university so I could get my social security number. I applied as a UX designer at the school’s IT department, but I didn’t hear back. Fortunately, I saw that they were hiring for a teacher’s aid position at the time. I thought it could be interesting and sent my resume in. I was hired. I learned a lot working as a TA. At the time, I felt like education was truly a magical thing, and that being able to nourish minds was such a tremendous achievement. I started designing some curriculums of my own at the time and had great feedback. That’s when I started to become interested in helping cultivate a new generation of artists.

Neocha: 有没有哪些因素对你的创作，或是说整个职业生涯影响很大呢？

吴哲宇: 创作的话，我做生成艺术的时候，经常要用到三角函数以及相关的技术去处理数据，这和我本科学习的信号处理课莫名就联系上了（尤其我现在也有结合音声来创作），就感觉两个不同的世界突然联通了，很奇妙。

还有一个是，大学毕业后，我去纽约大学读了 IDM（综合数字媒体）的研究生，那时候我发现原来Creative Coding（创意编程）在那边已经不是什么新鲜事情了。我注意纽约的艺术家创作时都喜欢用很感性的思维，而我对于艺术一直是比较“正经”的理工气质，有时就会不太适应。早期的朋友也经常和我说，我的东西好理工，没那么有艺术感。但是我不太信邪，我觉得用有条理、有规则的思维，用规定的算法也可以创造出与传统艺术家相媲美的作品，所以我不停实践。

另外就是因为我很想在学校里面找到工作，早点拿到我的SSN（社会安全号码），就投了学校IT部门的UX设计师，结果杳无音讯。我刚好看到我们系也在找TA（助教），就想着边做边学应该是不错的事情，投了简历试试看，结果通过了。当助教的时候收获了很多，那个时候我就觉得教学是很神圣的东西，培养新人真的很不简单，后来就尝试着自己做一些课程，也收到不错的反馈，让我更关注下一代艺术家的培养了。

Neocha: Considering how closely you work with algorithms and computers, how has your view of the relationship between humans and machines changed over the years?

Wu: In general, the rise of machines and AI will “devalue” humans to a certain extent, as can already be seen with mechanized labor and the automation of data processing. As far as art is concerned, I don’t think machines can replace the human touch. Even though there’s AI that can generate art on its own, the value of a piece of art—in my opinion—is that it encapsulates a human’s subjective view of the world. The art I make, for example, is directly influenced by my personal stories and state of mind. I think such ideas cannot be reproduced by machines and neural networks. In other words, I don’t believe human aesthetics can be formalized.

If I had to guess, society will also adapt to this age of AIs. Similar to how it plays out in science fiction, there will be certain people who will control the AI, perhaps somewhere close to 20% of the total population. These will be the most intelligent people who will continue to work alongside AI and inject their output with human warmth and an artistic touch. We’re already using AI as a tool today. With my art, AI is a tool that helps me achieve my vision.

I’ll write the program and compile the code, which might churn out somewhere between 10 to 50 different images. I curate from those, discarding the rest—this part alone is something that only humans can do. Real experiences drive my art. For example, sometimes I might create based on a feeling of dejection in my art. Or a memory of a fantastic date might inspire me to make something. Confusion and uncertainty can also spark an idea for an artwork. The movement of the elements within my art, the colors, the particles that appear and how they split apart, and the speed that everything move at are all based on my personal emotions. Machines don’t experience that—they’re too perfect. Humans, however, are flawed creatures and good art can come from these flaws.

 

 

Neocha: Where do you find inspiration from?

Wu: In the beginning, I didn’t have a system for my art. It was just random ideas. I then started to approach it with a more traditional perspective, drawing from observations or experiences from my daily life, such as is the case with Pigeons on a Power Pole. That was just a scene I came across while walking and decided to reinterpret in my art. Some of my other works are inspired by science and physics, such as my works based on wave-particle duality or superstring theory. I’m really interested in turning mathematical or scientific theories into something visual—there’s a certain romance to it.

Neocha: 你的作品创作十分依托计算机。广泛来说，你如何看待机器与人之间的关系？尤其在创作层面。

吴哲宇: 我觉得普遍来讲，机器的诞生，尤其是近几年人工智能的火热，必然会使人类失去一部分活动的价值，比如机械化劳动、数据自动化处理等等。但是就艺术而言，我觉得机器还不足以冲击人类存在的价值。哪怕现在已经有可以自动生成作品的AI，但一件艺术作品，贵在融入了人对世界主观的看法。就像我创作的作品一样，背后蕴藏着我当下的心境与故事，这种“富有生命气息的想法”，我想不是靠数值演算和神经网络就能复现的。也就是说，人类美学不能被完全形式化。

而且我猜想，人类社会也会因此产生适应性。我想，就像科幻小说一样，在未来人类会被“极端化”，只有20%的组织型人才能能够驾驭AI，这少数的人会从事高脑力活动，输出人特有的价值观，附有艺术家一般的特质。实际上我们现在也是在利用AI帮助人类完成任务而已，它的工具属性是比较强的，在我这里机器就是工具。每一份作品都是基于我的思维，借由机器的手去实现的

比如，我会写好算法，丢到软件里，每幅作品生成10-50张截图，把好的选择下来，这个选择过程是主观的，是人才能做到的；比如我曾经被诈骗，我把这份难过的心情融入到我的作品中；我去约会很开心，又会弄一副作品；当下感到迷茫也会弄一副作品……作品的动态、颜色、粒子分布，乃至于每个粒子的动量、速度，都是根据我当下心情去改变的。人总是有两面性存在的，不完美才是人，机器太完美了。

 

 

Neocha: 能做到几乎每日一码是很难的事情，你的灵感都来源于哪些方面？

吴哲宇: 一开始我都是没头绪乱做的，但是后来找到了比较系统化的创作方法。我比较倾向于把生活中遇到的各种事情“截图”，像《电线上的鸽子》，就是我走在路上捕捉到的景象，我把场景记在脑海里，又重新具现化出来。像其他作品，大多是我的理科素养驱动的，比如波粒二象性、超弦理论，都是源于我学到的物理概念。我觉得将各种数学、物理的理论可视化真的非常酷，这是一种“理科生的浪漫”。

Neocha: Do you ever feel creatively exhausted? Are there moments where you suddenly feel like it’s tough to keep going?

Wu: It’s not always easy, but good art requires a lot of effort. After years of toiling, I believe I can now engage in honest dialogue with my art. Once I come up with an idea and have a preliminary sketch in place, I can start working on the creative nitty-gritty right away. The technique is important, and it’s something I’ve honed by coding day in and day out. The rules I apply to my coding is something that follows me into my artistic endeavors, and it’s an aspect that defines my personal style.

 

 

Neocha: What would you say some of the most important technical parts of your work are?

Wu: There are a few, and they’re apparent in my work. Some of the philosophies I work around are that uncertainty and bedlam can be valuable in the creation of multidimensional works. For example, having offset coordinates in my code can give the works that much more motion. Color is also important. Using color contrasts for visual impact is a big part of my creative process. For example, a lot of blues might suddenly give way to a lot of reds in one of my scenes. Layering is also something I take into consideration, both with colors and textures. Unexpected color or texture pairings can lend to some eye-popping results. These are all criteria I think about when I design or analyze my art.

Neocha: 在这个过程中会感到吃力吗？有没有一个时刻就突然觉得没必要继续坚持下去了？

吴哲宇: 说不吃力是不可能的。但是我觉得好作品都是要磨炼出来的。经过多年的创作，我现在已经可以做到与作品对话的水平了，基本上我想到什么idea，打一遍草稿，就可以进入到实作阶段了，我觉得打好坚实的技术基础是挺重要的。每天写代码也让我总结出一些创作的技术要点，现在我基本上会将这些规则贯彻到我的作品中，我的不信邪还是有效的，因为这确立了我的个人风格。

 

 

Neocha: 那么你目前总结出的数位创作技术要点都有哪些？

吴哲宇: 有几个，基本都在我的作品里体现了，我把它总结成几个规则：第一，噪声与不确定性，这些可以帮助你创造多彩的作品，比如在图形里加入不确定的坐标偏移（offset），就可以让它们动起来。第二，色系操作，简单来说就是经常改变颜色，而且用对比色的话视觉冲击力会强很多。比如某图形最初是是蓝色系，过了一段时间又有几率变成红色系了。第三，多使用叠色和材质叠加。有时一些意想不到的叠色或者纹理复合，可以令你眼前一亮，在千万帧动画中惊呼“就是它了！”的水平。往远了说，这也是我设计作品、分析作品时会依照的标准。

Neocha: There’s a large amount of abstract elements in your works. Are abstract painters a source of influence?

Wu: Definitely. Picasso or Piet Mondrian are artists that first come to mind. The ways they use lines and colors on flat surfaces are incredibly inspiring. Generative art is, in some ways, mimicking Picasso’s way of working in my opinion. I also think that generative art is sometimes more impressionistic in nature—through seeing something, interpreting certain tones, and using an algorithm to hash out the details to convey a certain concept feels a bit poetic to me. With that being said, I feel like generative art is contemporary at its core. It’s an art style defined by freedom.

 

 

Neocha: Your art has found traction in the art sphere with the rise of NFTs. What do you think the merits of NFTs are?

Wu: It’s liberating, and it’s lowered the entry barrier to art by a lot. Though that may be the case, to truly stand out as an artist, I think people need to have clarity on what concepts matter. Who are the people you’re making the art for? What is the story you’re looking to tell? Without a story, there’s no substance.

Personal style and nourishing a creative environment are also important in the creative sphere. NFT is helping on both fronts. I also really admire the immutable nature of the blockchain, which legitimizes ownership and can allow for digital property to have limited availability.

Neocha: 你的作品多以几何抽象为主，你是否有受到抽象派风格的启发？

吴哲宇: 当然有。你可以想象一下毕卡索，或者是蒙德里安：线条、色块，全部投影在平面上，其实生成艺术就像是模仿毕卡索在创作。与此同时我认为生成艺术还有点印象派——看到一个东西，截取一种色调，用算法把细节慢慢点出来，点出个大概，其实挺浪漫的。但总体来说，我觉得生成艺术就是现代艺术，他是自由的风格。

 

 

Neocha: 真正让你名声大噪的还是你的NFT，你觉得NFT带来的好处是什么？

吴哲宇: 最大的好处应该是自由，创作门槛现在已经变得很低了。不过我觉得，要想真正脱颖而出，你要能搞清楚作品的核心思想是什么，背后的社群、背后的故事才是最重要的。故事赋予了内涵，要么你是第一个吃螃蟹的人，否则逃不过这个定律。

当然了，个人特色、创作生态也是很重要的，NFT 让创作生态变好了，涌现了许多富有个人特色的新锐艺术家。还有一个我觉得是知识产权的保护吧。因为 NFT 有数位证本的概念，所有权是可以被确立的，不可复制而且限量，这点非常不错。

Neocha: For those who aren’t familiar with your work, can you introduce a few of your projects?

Wu: One of my projects is a series called CryptoPochi. It was a remake of an earlier project, but I turned it into something more interactive. They’re strip-shaped characters that bounce and flop around. A lot of the patterns I ended up using were actually randomized by a computer. I used the project to crowdfund money for one of my friends who was diagnosed with terminal cancer.

My best-known series is a project titled Sea Hams, but an NFT collective actually stole my code for Strange Robots and launched a NFT series that went viral on Art Blocks, a site that’s known for its high-quality NFT curation. After I found out about the theft, I spoke to the people at Art Blocks and they helped me deal with the matter. The community was livid. Art Blocks immediately credited me as the original artist, and banned the plagiarizers. Artists bought Sea Ham NFTs from me to show support, and that somehow turned my Sea Hams into the Art Blocks mascot. I became known as the “Hamfather,” and we started a community called “The Hamily.” The incident somehow ended up landing me a spot in the Art Blocks of Hall of Fame.

 

 

Neocha: Looking back, how much do you think your success has been factored by luck?

Wu: I’m definitely fortunate. Luck and ability are closely related though haha. I think putting in the effort is a big part of it. Strange Robots, for example, was a series that I worked on every day. Even though there was no interest when I first minted it on Art Blocks.

Art Blocks is a platform that made me who I am, so I’m motivated to give back. Plagiarism is unfortunate but the incident actually helped me find a bigger audience, so I consider myself lucky! I realize I need to leverage my luck by putting in even more effort so that I can keep the momentum going. I want to get my work in front of even more eyes and become a better artist and coder. With enough hard work, I won’t have to worry about falling out of favor. Technology is everchanging after all.

Neocha: 能介绍一下你的几个项目吗？

吴哲宇: 当然。有一个叫 CryptoPochi，这是基于我之前的一个作品再创作的，基本上就是一群像软糖一样蹦蹦跳跳的小东西。我把构成作品的几个要素抽出来，设置多个原生的Pattern（样式），然后把生成的参数随机化，就可以做出很多不同的作品了，这个项目也有帮我一个患癌症的亲友筹款的作用。

不过最出名的当属海火腿（Seahams）了，有一个 NFT 团队盗用了我“Stange Robots”的代码，做出了很火的 NFT，一度成为了Art Blocks 社区里的热门——这个社区以高质量 NFT 策展出名，不是每个设计师的作品都可以登上 Art Blocks。我知道这件事之后，直接就去维权了，社区的人们先是很生气：这么高门槛的社群，怎么会发生抄袭事件呢！随后就是积极帮助我处理这件事，先是帮我确定了原创者的身份，还帮我一起抵制了抄袭方，一些艺术家也会买时不时一个海火腿支持我……海火腿后来慢慢成了 Art Blocks 的吉祥物，我也终于变成了社区里的“海火腿之父”，现在我们还有一个去中心化组织叫The Hamily（火腿家族），用来纪念这件事吸取教训，也给喜欢海火腿的人提供了二次创作的社群。总之，这次剽窃事件处理得很成功，我也突然进了 Art Blocks 的“名人堂”。

 

 

Neocha: 现在再看回去，会不会觉得自己能成功，很大一部分是因为运气？

吴哲宇: 这是当然的。运气也是实力的一部分嘛（笑），不过我觉得也和我的努力有关，毕竟 Strange Robots 的程式码也是我每日创作的结果，虽然我一开始把它放上 Art Blocks 时无人问津。我是被 Art Blocks 平台造就的，所以我也会尽我所能去回报它。虽然被抄袭盈利是很倒霉的事情，但因为被抄袭之后我反而得到更多人的赏识，我觉得自己很幸运！这也许是我耕耘了三四年才得到的回报吧。不过，我必须拿出超过这份运气很多的努力，去继续把这个机遇撑起来，一定要用超越两三倍的声量去捕捉粉丝，还要不断更新自己的技术栈（比如我会经常去学习新框架、大量阅读数学、物理研究前沿的论文），避免自己被淘汰，因为科技总是不知道什么时候就变了样。

Neocha: The NFT market and crypto are still very much volatile. What are your views on the future of crypto?

Wu: I consider them as viable financial instruments. As long as people support crypto, my art will have value. Normal currency is propped up by governments, so what’s the difference?

In fact, with how blockchain technology works, I’m even more assured about my work. I’m also not super concerned about profitability at this stage. I just want to keep doing what I love.

 

 

Neocha: As an established name in Taiwan’s digital art sphere, do you have any advice for young artists who may be interested in getting into the field?

Wang: My advice is for them to experience as much as they can, chase after what they’re truly passionate about. The experiences and stories that come as a result can turn into the most meaningful art. Once you have these roots, you can develop your own system. Having a bit of luck also helps.

I once met this impressive girl who believed in getting everything done herself. She wasn’t afraid of putting in the work and seized every opportunity. Artists need the courage to just put themselves out there.

 

Neocha: Do you think Taiwan is behind the curve when it comes to the digital art space? What’s your current assessment of the digital art scene on the island?

Wu: There are a lot of burgeoning platforms here, for example, akaSwap and Oursong. There are also a lot of fantastic artists on the island, such as Aluan Wang. I only wanted to get started in the field after reading his blog—he was the first Taiwanese artist who was featured on Art Blocks.

I have to admit though, the Taiwanese NFT platform is lagging behind. For example, most collectors here aren’t quite willing to pay the amount being paid out by international buyers. Perhaps the Taiwanese market isn’t quite ready for something so new yet. Regardless, I still see a bright future for NFTs.

 

 

In December of 2021, Wu started a DAO (Decentralized Autonomous Organization), which are member-owned communities dedicated to specific goals He named it FAB DAO (The Formosa Art Bank DAO) and envision it as a way of helping up-and-coming Taiwanese artists. Its goal is to leverage web 3.0 to help lesser-known artists get in front of bigger audiences. The charitable potential of art is something that Wu has learned from Art Blocks, which requests a percentage of art sales to go to charity. Wu wasn’t able to find a suitable art-based charity in Taiwan, so he had the idea to start his own. Like Art Blocks, he hopes to empower the creative community with the blockchain.

With NFTs and the promises of a coming metaverse, an art renaissance is underway. As more artists find footing in the digital world, they’ll unlock creative potentials once not imaginable. And through these newfound mediums, art can perhaps become even more accessible than it is now, allowing for more people to enjoy the fruits of more artists’ labor.

Neocha: NFT的市场仍不稳定，你觉得虚拟货币是你确切的财富吗？

吴哲宇: 我觉得这就是确切的财富。只要人们对虚拟货币的共识一天存在，我的艺术作品就一天有价值。货币本身不也是靠政府的威望去支撑起来的不是吗？而且像虚拟货币，现在一般都是使用分布式系统去存储资信，我想就算哪天全世界大停电我也不害怕，况且也还没到快要饿死的地步嘛！就当是用积蓄去支撑自己的爱好就好了，现阶段我想不去过多计较盈利会是好选择。

 

 

Neocha: 你觉得目前台湾的数位艺术创作是否已经起步？行业状况又如何呢？

吴哲宇: 台湾有很多好平台已经崭露苗头了，比如akaSwap 啊，Oursong 之类的。本土也有很多好的艺术家，比如王新仁，我是因为看了他的 Blog 才想要进入这个业界，他也是第一位踏入 Art Blocks 艺术家殿堂的台湾人。不过就目前来说，台湾的 NFT 市场整体上还是慢一拍，比如：台湾目前的收藏者目前出价不高，有可能是台湾市场还没准备好这些新兴的东西，不过我对它未来的期望还是很高的。

 

 

Neocha: 你已经算是业界的中坚，对未来的新数位艺术家们，你有没有什么建议？

吴哲宇: 我会建议他们尽情去体验各种不同的生活，去做喜欢的事情，累计属于自己的体验、故事，再转换成作品，价值就会出来。一定要耕耘，形成自己的体系，当然了也需要一点运气（笑）。我曾经遇到一个挺厉害的女生，她想要什么资源就自己去争取，不放过任何的行销机会，总之就是，任何你可以出现、可以展出的机会你都要去，对艺术家来说尤其需要这个勇气了。

另外，随着传统行业慢慢饱和，跨领域现在很重要，它刺激你往外突破，学到什么就用什么。其实这种“乘法效应”非常大，两个简单的想法结合在一起，你就会诞生很多新的想法——认知的排列组合就是艺术，而艺术就是组合的本身。你的每一份作品都可以是问题的答案。

 

 

2021年12月20日，吴哲宇在台湾投资成立的福尔摩沙艺术银行（FAB DAO）正式成立，这个去中心化组织，旨在帮助新生代台湾数位艺术家、非营利机构发行 NFT，让它们的作品更多地被看见。

同时，这也是吴哲宇第一次自己创立公益项目：因为 Art Blocks 规定艺术家的盈利有 25% 要捐给公益机构，但吴哲宇始终没有在台湾找到合适的选择，于是他决定自己成为那个领路人——效仿 Art Blocks，为社会公益尽绵薄之力。吴哲宇希望通过此举回馈社群，同时向造就了自己的 Art Blocks 致敬。

元宇宙之前，已经有许多数位艺术家在这片领域大展身手，为世界贡献更多可贵的精神财富与社会力量。我们有理由相信，未来一定会有更多传统与科技的形式出现，覆盖我们生活的方方面面，更多代码被插上奇思妙想的翅膀，在数字帝国里绘制人类艺术的新篇章。

Like our stories? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Website: www.cheyuwu.com
Instagram: @bosscodingplease
Foundation: @cheyuwu

 

Contributor: Senki Yu

喜欢我们的故事？欢迎关注我们 Neocha 的微博与微信。

 

网站: www.cheyuwu.com
Instagram: @bosscodingplease
Foundation: @cheyuwu

 

供稿人: Senki Yu

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Oddly Aesthetic 我还想穿得再怪一点！

March 15, 2022 2022年3月15日
From motoguo's F/W20 It collection 来自 motoguo 2020 秋冬系列 “It"

motoguo is first and foremost a clothing brand, but it’s their eye for creative direction that makes them truly stand out. With a strong value placed on design and photography, they breathe a more holistic life in their broader concepts of nostalgia and humor.

The Malaysian brand started as a menswear label but evolved into producing genderless lines with unique fittings, clashing patterns, and powerful colors. Their debut drop in 2015 was designer Moto Guo’s graduation project, which was photographed by Zhong Lin and submitted to Fucking Young!, a Spanish men’s magazine devoted to global youth culture. Within hours of the article release, Moto was receiving wholesale and retail orders from around the world, and the brand was born.

的确，motoguo 是一家时装品牌，但他们最为人津津乐道的却是品牌背后的创意团队。对 motoguo 而言，服装设计和艺术摄影是品牌两大重要环节，与此同时，怀旧与幽默的宗旨更为他们注入了多元的色彩。

这家来自马来西亚本土的时装品牌，最初以男装为主，后来逐渐将目光投向无性别概念。古灵精怪的造型加上极具视觉冲击力的图案和色彩，时刻调动观众的口味。2015年，设计师 Moto Guo 在毕设上首次亮相该品牌。时尚摄影师 Zhong Lin 用镜头记录下了当时发生的一切，并随后将照片发送至西班牙男性时装杂志《Fucking Young!》。在文章发表的几个小时之后，来自世界各地的批发和零售订单接踵而至，品牌第一炮就这样打响了。

From motoguo's F/W18 The Rite of Spring collection 来自 motoguo 2018 年秋冬系列 “The Rite of Spring”
From motoguo's F/W18 The Rite of Spring collection 来自 motoguo 2018 年秋冬系列 “The Rite of Spring”

Although the label is named after its founder, it’s decidedly a team effort. Since its inception, Moto’s life partner Kinder Eng has been a part of the brand. The pair—both from Kuala Lumpur—met while in college. Kinder started as a personal assistant but quickly became co-creative director alongside Moto in 2016. They also stick with close friends when shooting editorials, usually pairing with photographers Zhong Lin or Lee Wei Swee for motoguo’s inventive visuals. “We’ve established a good understanding of each other’s preferences,” they say.

品牌的运作离不开团队协作。在 motoguo 创立之初，Moto 的挚友 Kinder Eng 便早早开始为品牌忙前跑后。他们在大学相识，都是吉隆坡本地人。从个人助理到创意总监，Kinder 始终与 Moto 并肩。服装型录拍摄时，二人又会拉来身边密友合作，比如前面提到的摄影师 Zhong Lin 和摄影师 Lee Wei Swee。他们表示：“我们彼此建立熟悉的来往，大家都很了解对方想要哪种感觉的东西。”

Top left: Moto Guo. Bottom right: Kinder Eng 左上方：Moto Guo / 右下方：Kinder Eng

The motoguo website riffs off an early 90s Geocities-type design, with animated text, bouncing clip art, and old-school hourglass loading icons. The thumbnail for each collection is even framed within silhouetted shapes that include a cocktail glass, a suburban house, a cloud, and more.

motoguo 官网页面沿袭了90年代初期 Windows 网页设计，动画文字、弹跳的剪贴画以及经典的沙漏加载图标分分钟带你重回那个年代。每一个系列的头图还被套用在各种低保真样式的剪贴画中，类似鸡尾酒杯、乡村别墅、蝴蝶、云朵等等。

The front page of the motoguo website motoguo 官方网页

Each drop comes complete with a background story, an involved editorial campaign, and often a short video. There’s even a section for fan art, which the duo began soliciting with the launch of the site. “We hold all of them close to our hearts,” they say. 

此外，通过网页背景故事、专题和短视频内容的填充，使得每套服装的呈现更加饱满、丰富。网站刚一上线，Moto 和 Kinder 便开始向广大粉丝征集作品。为了展示粉丝群体的艺术理念，motoguo 官网甚至还开辟了专区。二人表示，他们非常重视不同人的奇思妙想。

From motoguo's F/W20 It collection 来自 motoguo 2020 秋冬系列 “It"
From motoguo's F/W20 It collection 来自 motoguo 2020 年秋冬系列 “It"
From motoguo's F/W20 It collection 来自 motoguo 2020 年秋冬系列 “It"

The brand tone is solidified with their lookbooks. Take for example, It, which features models lounging in an earthy, orange-themed living room, surrounded by virtual imagery of distant scenery. As the scene progresses, the models seem increasingly distraught by their faux-luxury surroundings, opting to exit the simulation in the final shot. Come To Us, We Celebrate You is a sardonic celebration of the little things, a forced smile in the face of bleak pandemic days. Designed as motivational posters, blank-faced models wander aimlessly along a deserted, cement-encased beachfront; the lone smile that appears is on one model  in the final group shot. The Rite Of Spring is designed and edited to resemble colorized historic portraits, a contemplation of death and the message we each leave behind.

网站上的型录页面专门整合了 motoguo 每套服装的上身和造型图。系列 “它（It）” 的宣传照拍摄于一间格局简单的橘黄色客厅内。两名模特懒洋洋地倚靠在沙发上，背景张贴了低保真自然风光壁纸。照片中的人物随着壁纸的变换而抓狂，想要拼命逃离这虚幻的世界。

系列 “来，我们为你把歌唱（Come To Us, We Celebrate You）” 歌颂生活中那些不起眼的平凡小事。一群面无表情的古怪角色在海边废墟百无聊赖，偶尔在他们脸上出现的笑容令观众倍感欣慰。“春天仪式（The Rite Of Spring）” 系列则带我们重返过去，体现了作品对消逝和遗忘的思考。

From motoguo's F/W18The Rite of Spring collection 来自 motoguo 2018 年秋冬系列 “The Rite of Spring”
From motoguo's F/W18The Rite of Spring collection 来自 motoguo 2018 年秋冬系列 “The Rite of Spring”
From motoguo's F/W18The Rite of Spring collection 来自 motoguo 2018 年秋冬系列 “The Rite of Spring”
From motoguo's F/W18The Rite of Spring collection 来自 motoguo 2018 年秋冬系列 “The Rite of Spring”

For motoguo, the appeal of nostalgia lies in its comforting quality. Kinder fondly recalls following his mother and step sister around to noisy salons, where they’d sit him down with colorful, old-school fashion magazines while they drank out of pretty china. These memories remain a vintage romance to him. While the majority of their customer base is from China, much of the brand’s references are American. “Thanks to the rise in American media back in the 80’s, elements from American culture inevitably made their way to Malaysia as well,” they say, referencing the kitschy mall portraits of their Even Odder collection.

对于 motoguo 来说，怀旧感的无穷魅力来自于抚慰人心的力量。如今，每当 Kinder 回忆起往事都还心存温暖：他青少年时期跟随母亲和继姐一起去美容店，母亲和继姐端着精致瓷杯饮茶，他则一旁的茶几边翻阅厚厚的时尚杂志。对于 Kinder 而言，这些旧时的记忆依然能唤醒他内心的柔肠。虽然 motoguo 的客户大多来自中国，但品牌不少设计或多或少受到 “美国怀旧风” 的影响。在谈及 “再怪一点（Even Odder）” 系列中美风格的人物摄影时，他们表示，“美国在上世纪八十年代媒体行业蓬勃发展。同时期，马来西亚就受到了当时美国风格的影响。”

From motoguo's S/S20 Even Odder collection 来自 motoguo 2020 年春夏系列 “Even Odder”
From motoguo's S/S20 Even Odder collection 来自 motoguo 2020 年春夏系列 “Even Odder”
From motoguo's S/S20 Even Odder collection 来自 motoguo 2020 年春夏系列 “Even Odder”
From motoguo's S/S20 Even Odder collection 来自 motoguo 2020 年春夏系列 “Even Odder”

The number of pieces in each motoguo release differs, but they say that with each subsequent line, they produce more and more. The majority of their materials are sourced from Japan, Hong Kong, and mainland China, and although they’re trying to opt for sustainable materials to reduce their carbon footprint, they say it’s difficult at their current size: “At the moment, some of our designs are made of deadstock fabrics and we are also known for our use of assorted vintage deadstock buttons.”

motoguo 每一季发布的新品产量各不相同。据他们所说，随着需求量的增加，目前品牌的总体产量正在逐年上升。motoguo 时装的生产原料大多来自日本、香港和中国大陆。眼下，他们正在尝试使用可持续服装原材料来减少碳排放，不过目前，想做到这一点并非易事：“我们会尝试一些不同的面料，然后通过一些细节，比如钮扣，来延续复古风格。”

From motoguo's F/W17 Strawberry Fields Forever and Ever collection 来自 motoguo 2017 年秋冬系列“Strawberry Fields Forever and Ever”
From motoguo's F/W16 The Pencil Pusher collection 来自 motoguo 2016 年秋冬系列 “The Pencil Pusher”
From motoguo's F/W21 WTF collection 来自 motoguo 2021 年秋冬系列 “WTF”
From motoguo's F/W19 Feast or Famine collection 来自 motoguo 2019 年秋冬系列 “Feast or Famine”

At its heart, motoguo is about the weirdos and the outcasts. They aim to spread positivity by representing the person at the back of the room who’s deemed too “odd” to fit in. At one runway show, they even painted acne marks on their models. “We believe everyone is different in their own unique ways,” they say. “At motoguo, we celebrate peculiarity.”

老实说，motoguo 的受众大多是一些怪咖和边缘人士。日常生活中，他们常常被冠以 “不伦不类” 的称号，但 motoguo 却坚持为他们发声，以正向的方式把他们推向“舞台”。在某场走秀上，模特们的面庞被刻意画上粉刺，两位合伙人为此解释道：“我们相信每个人都有自己与众不同的特点，而这些特点恰恰是品牌 motoguo 最在意的地方。”

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Website: www.motoguo.com
Instagram: @motoguo

 

Contributor: Mike Steyels
Chinese Translation: Alice Zhang

喜欢我们的故事？欢迎关注我们 Neocha 的微博与微信。

 

网站: www.motoguo.com
Instagram: @motoguo

 

供稿人: Mike Steyels
英译中: Alice Zhang

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Personable Figurines 重拾童年般的笑容

March 10, 2022 2022年3月10日

A minimalist elegance defines the work of Indonesian artist Tobing Dewi. Her oeuvre, released under the moniker Obie, consists of illustrations and wooden sculptures with similar pared-down features. In both mediums, the same cast of characters with elongated necks and squinted eyes take center stage. “Their faces kind of look like mine,” she chuckles. “When I was a kid, people always said my eyes closed when I laughed, so I wanted to recreate that.”

印度尼西亚艺术家 Tobing Dewi 的插画和木雕作品以极简著称。在她以 Obie 为艺名发表的一些列作品当中，一批长脖子、小眼睛的人物前来“做客”。“他们就是我”，Tobing 笑道，“小时候，人们常说我笑起来的时候眼睛眯会成一条缝。现在长大了，我想用艺术重拾那般笑容。”

Most of Dewi’s wood designs are based on characters who originally appeared in her illustrations. But in illustrative form, these characters have elongated limbs and necks that seem to bend every which way. When turned into vases or jars, their limbs are often painted on or gone entirely. However, their necks remain just as giraffe-like, sticking out of disproportional torsos in all shapes and sizes.

Tobing 木雕作品中的人物大多基于她的插画作品，但插画中的人物形象要更为具像，他们像是荡漾在风中的芦苇，四肢和脖子弯曲而修长。变身花瓶后，人物被画在瓶身，表现方式也更为抽象。

For a pear-shaped jar, the exterior was painted black while adorable cats in varying poses covered the exterior; the lid features an elongated neck with a bald, oval-shaped head on top. In a separate project, a collection of wooden dolls shaped like electric toothbrushes loaf about—their faces bear no discernible emotion, but they feel no less personable.

Tobing 创作过一只由黑色颜料涂满全身的梨形罐子，表面饰以形态各异的可爱小猫迎人。整个瓶身仿如一个人形，修长的脖子成为可取卸的瓶盖，椭圆形的脑袋成为瓶盖把手。在另一些作品以酷似电动牙刷的造型立足——他们面无表情，但看上去和蔼可亲。这样的瓶身设计也被沿用到了她的很多作品中

Dewi’s creative impulses first centered around illustrations back in 2015, and it’s a medium she still enjoys working with. But the idea of turning her drawings into a more tangible format was always in the back of her mind, and that first manifested in the form of simple, wooden dolls. In a particularly serendipitous illustration, when she observed the plump physique of the characters she drew, she realized their resemblance to jars and the potential of building upon this concept. This idea has stuck around ever since, and many of her characters have been turned into various lidded containers. “Hopefully, I’ll have the chance to try out other homeware designs,” she says. “It’s just so much fun.”

Tobing 第一次插画创作实在 2015 年，而她对插画的热情一直持续至现在。在创作途中，一个想法始终在她的脑海里挥之不去：将绘画以更为现实的艺术形式呈现出来。于是，她才以自己的插画作品为灵感，着手于各式各样的木质玩偶。在端详自己的每一幅插画时，她偶然发现人物胖乎乎的外形与罐子极为相似，恍然意识到可以利用这一点进行再创作。于是这一理念开始被践行，画中的角色摇身一变成为带盖容器。Tobing 坦言道：“这次尝试为我打开了一道大门，我开始对家居用品设计和工艺产生兴趣，往往让我沉迷其中。”

With her restrained use of colors, shapes, and patterns, Dewi’s designs carry an undeniable air of chic, though it’s one grounded in a sense of whimsy. Perhaps then, it’s not surprising that she’s found inspiration from fashion icons from around the world, such as Karl Lagerfield and Coco Chanel, who are given homage in her sculptures. Even fictional trendsetters such as Cruella de Vil have been reimagined as wood dolls in her signature style.

没有千变万化的色彩、形状和纹饰，让 Tobing 的作品看起来美得很接地气，又不失极简意味的时尚气质。她曾从 Kari Lagerfield 和 Coco Channel 等全球时尚界领军人物身上学到灵感，就连影视作品中的潮人 Cruella de Vil 也都摇身一变成为了独具特色的木偶。

The style she’s now known for is one that Dewi is perfectly fine with building upon. The concept of a “comfort zone,” as Dewi sees it, shouldn’t necessarily always be seen in a negative light. She believes not straying far from what you know breeds consistency, and by being consistent, an artist will be able to further refine their visual language. “I’m happy to try new things, but I’m also happy to continue making works people know me by,” she says. “The characteristics that people know my work for are extremely important.”

可以说，Tobing 如今为人熟知的创作风格是她乐于探索和耕耘的成果。在她看来，眼下人们所抛弃的“舒适圈”也许对创作具有积极的方面。她认为，人们做事不应过于脱离其认知范围，这样才能产生事物的连贯性，这也是艺术家进一步优化作品视觉表达的前提之一。“我很乐意尝试其他风格，不过我更愿意一以贯之，继续创作为大众所熟知的艺术作品，往往独一无二、与自我契合的作品，更容易被人记住。”

Nearly all of Dewi’s works are for sale, but it’s not immediately obvious how one might be purchased—she has no online storefront. She prefers that customers talk to her directly, either via Instagram DMs or WhatsApp. “I don’t have time to manage a website, and besides, all of my products are limited edition; sometimes they might be one-of-one designs, so there’s no point in uploading them onto a website and deleting it when it’s sold out,” she says. “I don’t have a team that can help reply to messages.”

Though not the most convenient, the human-to-human interaction that she facilitates makes her work feel less transactional and more personal. This further sets her work apart from mass-manufactured products that litter store shelves—essentially soul-less items made in the sole interest of profit. In a time of mindless consumption and next-day shipping, Dewi believes that offering shoppers a touch of human warmth is all the more important. “It’s just better if people can talk to me directly,” she says. “That way, we can have a real discussion on the work that they might be interested in.”

几乎 Tobing 的全部作品都可供售卖。由于没有网店，大部分作品的销售环节都在 Instagram 和 WhatsApp 上进行。“我的每一件作品都是限量版，数量有限，绝不量产。有时候，甚至仅此一件”，而从运营到销售，都是 Tobing 一个人完成，她表示，“我也没有专门的运营团队来帮我回复大家的私信”。

人与人之间的直接互动虽不是最便捷的人际交往方式，但 Tobing 向来推崇，这也是为什么她的作品看起来人情味儿十足，完全看不出艺术家的功利心。而与大规模生产的产品相较而言，她的作品又进一步脱颖而出。产品在货架上比比皆是，但其生产的唯一目的就是获得收益，因此它们往往缺乏温度。在这盲目消费和犹豫消费盛行的时代，Tobing 相信使消费者感受到人情温暖至关重要。“我希望人们能直接和我联系”，她认为，“也欢迎志同道合的朋友，我们一起来聊聊。”

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Instagram: @by.obie

 

Contributor: David Yen
Chinese Translation: Olivia Li

喜欢我们的故事？欢迎关注我们 Neocha 的微博与微信。

 

Instagram: @by.obie

 

供稿人: David Yen
英译中: Olivia Li

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The Future Starts at the Floor 陪伴高山之巅，穿行通勤街道

March 8, 2022 2022年3月8日

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

For a significant amount of the year, Vancouver is blanketed with dreary fog and rain. The Pacific Northwest may not batter you with the same frigid cold of its neighboring provinces and states, but it forces you to constantly consider your relationship with the elements and the place of your comfort in the overall equation.

Arc’teryx and its fashion-inclined diffusion label VEILANCE are nestled firmly between the sea and the mountains. A short drive in any direction offers picturesque landscapes that become ever slightly less hospitable should you venture into them. Here, years of trial and error and dreaming on the design floor have made Arc’teryx and VEILANCE leaders in the world of performance. Crafting the ultimate garment means carving a path towards freedom. Regardless of your next destination, whether it’s the summit or the office, you’re doing so knowing the gear will enable you to get there comfortably, in one piece. This is the definition of freedom for VEILANCE’s Taka Kasuga.

In the emerging stages of any new brand, the philosophy may not always be apparent nor will it have had time to crystallize. In the last few years, VEILANCE has come under Taka-san’s watchful eye and capable design direction. Pushing against the expectations of his family and community, the Japanese-born designer chose a far different path that was expected. He traded the opportunity of a lifeline—the chance to become a 50th-generation Shinto priest to be precise—for the allure of sneakers, t-shirts, and denim, symbols of a different kind of freedom to him.

VEILANCE represents one of the purest examples of minimalism within fashion. Any individual piece embodies a sense of thoughtfulness and consideration. It’s a personal belief that for minimalism to work, it must lead with cohesion. If any particular detail is off, there’s nowhere to hide it, and no superfluous elements that could otherwise divert one’s attention.

Over the course of our conversation with Taka-san, we explored his past and his early career, the value of being in such close proximity to innovation and production, and ultimately how a role at VEILANCE requires you to be a futurist.

 

本篇文章来自新茶媒体合作伙伴 MAEKAN 的内容交换。在 Neocha 上阅读更多 MAEKAN 的文章，请 点击此处。

温哥华天气单调，常年被茫茫雾气和纷繁雨幕笼罩。太平洋西北地区的气候也许不算寒冷刺骨，但也迫使那里的人们不断思考，自身与环境的关系以及舒适的生活几何。

始祖鸟及其复线 VEILANCE（商务鸟）雄踞于群山与大海之间。向任意方向驾车行使，不出一会儿，瑰丽风光尽收眼底，但如若进一步深入那崇山峻岭，又会隐隐察觉到潜藏的危险。在这里，经年累月的试错以及对服装设计赤诚的追求使始祖鸟和 VEILANCE 在高性能服装领域拔得头筹。打造顶级服饰，铺就自由之路。高山之巅亦或是办公室格挡，无论你前路何方，仅需一件外套，就能悠然自得：它能助你一臂之力，让你轻松到达目的地——这就是商务鸟 VEILANCE 创意总监 Taka Kasuya 对自由的定义。

任何品牌的初创阶段，品牌理念有时也许并不明晰。不过，在过去的几年里，Taka 先生毫不懈怠地为商务鸟把关，他出类拔萃的设计风格也为其指引了方向。这位出生于日本的设计师原可能成为第五十代神道教牧师，但他选择了一条与家族期望背道而驰的道路，被运动鞋、T恤和牛仔布的魅力所倾倒。对他而言，这些都是另一种自由的象征。

商务鸟是时尚界极简主义的典型代表之一，每件服饰都凝聚着设计师的深思熟虑。我个人认为一致性是极简主义发挥作用的前提。倘若任何一个细节出了问题，它都会十分醒目，没有过多其他元素能用来分散人们的注意力。

在与 Taka 先生的对话中，我们探索了他的过去以及职业初期的经历。此外，他还与我们分享了创新和生产的意义，以及商务鸟如何迫使他成为一名未来主义者的。

MAEKAN: Was there ever a moment in your youth that really influenced you from a fashion perspective?

Taka: That’s a good question and a big one. I knew that I wanted to become a designer at an early age in my teens. I knew where I wanted to go, which is strange in a sense. In Japan, you go to school, you study hard, you go to college and you end up at some job. It’s all mapped out. But I came from a very traditional family. Have you ever watched this Netflix show called Unorthodox?

 

MAEKAN: No. What’s it about?

Taka: It’s about the community and the life of Hasidic Jews in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. But it’s a totally different world, and their culture and personas aren’t always accepted but they’re able to fit into the community.

In a sense, I felt the same way: it wasn’t to that extreme, but I just started to question why everyone was expecting me to follow the path that was already established in a sense.

It’s not something that I wanted to do, so I had to come up with something else. I had that pressure at an early age and I wasn’t good at communicating verbally. But I was able to express ideas through drawing and designing.

The other occupation I considered becoming an architect. Because I like combining the two sides of things. One side is expression and form, and the other side is a more mathematical part.

MAEKAN: 在你年少时，有没有哪个瞬间使你对时尚有了更加深刻的认识，带给你深远的影响？

Taka: 这是个很好的问题，格局也很大。自孩提时期起，我就知道我想成为一名设计师。我有明确的目标，从某种意义上说，这一点并不寻常。在日本，人们的人生规划似乎一成不变：去学校、勤奋学习、上大学、找工作……而我来自一个十分传统的家庭。你看过一部叫做《离经叛道》（Unorthodox）的网飞剧吗？

MAEKAN: 没有哎，讲的什么内容？

Taka: 这部剧讲述了一群哈希德派犹太人的故事。生活在布鲁克林威廉斯堡的他们有着与众不同的世界，与旁人有着天壤之别。因此，他们的文化与身份有时无法被人接受。尽管如此，他们依然能与周遭的人打成一片。

从某种意义上讲，我对此感同身受。虽然我并不那么特立独行，但我依然在质疑：为什么所有人都期望我按照一条既定的道路开展我的人生？既然我对那条路并不感兴趣，因此我选择另辟蹊径。年少的不善言辞带来很多压力，不过，我还能够通过绘画和设计来表达自己的想法。

对我来说，建筑师是也是一个理想职业。因为我喜欢将事物的两个方面合二为一，将外部形态与内部结构融为一体。

Taka Kasuga working on a new design. Taka Kasuga 正忙活全新的设计
A portrait of Taka Kasuga. Taka Kasuga

MAEKAN: What would’ve been that traditional occupation put forth by your family and your traditions?

Taka: My dad is a Shinto priest, I’m not sure if many people are aware of what that is. It’s a beautiful tradition. He’s the 49th generation. I have two sisters and one little brother.

That means I’m the oldest male heir, so they were all expecting—they, means not just my family, but the community in this little town in rural Japan—me to become the 50th generation. So while I respected the culture and tradition, I thought, “Why does it have to be me? If there’s someone who wants to do it, that person should be doing it. I’m not the one.” I guess the difference between Hasidic Orthodox Jews and myself is I had access to the Internet and TV, so in a sense, I at the same time grew up with a Japanese version of American culture that was heavily influenced by digital globalization. So with that, I grew up wearing t-shirts, jeans, and sneakers.

 

MAEKAN: Do you think that because you were the one person in your family to go against tradition, that provided you a different point of view in design? Because you didn’t grow up in a family of creative people and you were able to choose your own path.

Taka: It’s kind of funny. I wanted to become a designer and then actually became a designer, and it’s a constant soul searching in a sense and finding out what I’m very passionate about. I worked in Tokyo and then in New York for ten years. And now I’m in Vancouver.

When I was in New York, I was called a fashion designer and thought, “Hmm, that doesn’t sound right to me. Is that really who I am?” In New York, the design was more of a status symbol. I was missing more purposeful design. That was the whole reason I originally went to the US. The whole reason I wanted to come over was I wanted to be a part of what was next because I grew up with American icons such as T-shirts, jeans, and sneakers. I wanted to design things that provide that sense of freedom regardless of whatever circumstance you’re in.

I’m very very interested in the outdoors because if you think about T-shirts, jeans, sneakers, all of them were invented for ultimately utilitarian purposes. Jeans were made for coal miners and T-shirts came from naval underwear. But then at some point in time, people adapted this functional approach into the every day, because it works. And at some point, it also became the symbol of freedom. I was very interested in that phenomenon, When I saw that Arc’teryx was looking for someone, I said, “Yeah, why not?” It was a big change, but it’s been great.

MAEKAN: 你的家人期望你从事哪一传统工作？

Taka: 我父亲是一名神道教牧师，是个可敬的职业。父亲是第四十九代牧师，而我有两个姐妹和一个弟弟。

这意味着我是家族中年龄最长的男性继承人。因此，他们自然而然地希望我能够子承父业，成为第五十代神道教牧师。当时，不仅我的家人们抱有这种想法，就连我们镇上的街坊邻居也是如此。虽然我尊重这一文化传统，不过我还是扪心自问：“为什么非得是我？如果有其他人愿意担此重任，他们完全也可以胜任，并不是非我不可”。我从小在日式美国文化环境下长大，T恤衫、牛仔裤和运动鞋成为青少年时期必不可少的装扮。

MAEKAN: 你选择的道路和家族传统背道而驰。这是否也使你在设计方面拥有独到的见解？你的原生家庭，但你却能够遵从本心，选择适合自己的前进道路。

Taka: 这说来有些好笑。我想要成为一名设计师，最终真的如愿以偿了。在此过程中，我不断深入自己的灵魂以探寻其热情所在。我最初在东京工作，后来又在纽约工作了十载。现在，我又来到了温哥华。

在纽约时，人们唤我为时装设计师。那时，我的设计更多地反映了我的文化认同，并没有太强的目的性，这也是我最初前往美国的原因。后来，我决定来到温哥华。

我对户外休闲服饰情有独钟，它们实用目的极强。比方说，牛仔裤是为了方便矿工干活而设计，T恤衫则是从海军内衣演变而来。不知从何时起，这些实用的设计进入了寻常百姓家，开始与日常生活息息相关起来。的确，这些服装确实能给人们的生活带来便利，它们也逐渐成为了自由的标志。我对这一现象十分感兴趣。当我看到商务鸟的招聘启示后，我立马想去尝试。从此，我的人生发生了巨变，向梦想不断进发。

MAEKAN: How would you describe the VEILANCE versus Arc’teryx relationship and how do you think it’s potentially changed over the years? I look at things such as F1 racing because it’s a trickle-down effect. Technology that’s developed at the highest level of automotive racing might eventually end up in your economy car, for example.

Taka: I think it actually goes both ways. We work on the same design floor and we share ideas, resources, and the technologies we’re developing. Some ideas that were developed by the Arc’teryx outdoor team and vice versa influence each other. The big difference is that the application is different and we target different end use cases.

 

MAEKAN: The VEILANCE aesthetic is quite pared down and minimal. When that becomes your design language, in what areas are you thinking so you can make something minimal but not boring?

Taka: So far we only do menswear but we’re launching womenswear in the future. When we design, we start with modern-day icons. Let’s use the Mackintosh trench as an example. It could be a starting point, but it’s just an icon reference. We then combine that with the most advanced materials and construction and create an ultra-modern garment solution. I think that aside from not really having an external logo, VEILANCE’s job is to combine these modern icons and extreme outdoor technologies.

MAEKAN: 你认为商务鸟和始祖鸟的关系是怎样的？这种关系在近年来产生了怎样的变化？我平时会关注 F1 赛车比赛，这是因为它本身就是涓滴效应的一种体现：比如，为最高级别的赛车比赛量身打造的技术最终可能会被应用在寻常人家的商务车上。

Taka: 我认为两者之间会相互促进。商务鸟和始祖鸟的设计师在同一设计台上并肩奋斗，我们会相互交流并实现资源与技术共享。始祖鸟户外团队和商务鸟户外团队提出的点子有时会相互影响，而其显著的区别在于两个品牌的应用场景和最终用例不同。

 

MAEKAN: 商务鸟追求朴实简约的艺术风格。当这一理念成为了你工作的指导思想，为了使作品简约却不单调，你会考虑哪些方面？

Taka: 我们目前只经营男装，不过未来也会开辟女装市场。在设计时，对现有当代经典元素进行革新是迈出的第一步。就拿麦金托什风衣（Mackintosh trench）来举例吧。在设计时，我们会以其作为参考，在其基础上进行改造创新，设计出别具一格的新品。再然后，我们会利用最先进的材料和制作技术为人们打造超现代的穿衣方案，将现代时尚元素与顶尖户外运动科技相结合。

MAEKAN: When you guys sit down to design a new season or a new collection, how do you guys set limitations? I think, for the most part, a lot of people think that if you have no limitations, your outcome becomes more creative. Obviously, as a designer or a writer or photographer, limitations actually help define the outcome of it.

Taka: First, we identify why we’re making something. There’s a purpose to each garment and design so that they’re making a difference in the world.

There’s actually a high-level of limitation in terms of how many garments or designs we can turn around, which I think is the biggest difference with other companies.

At COMME des GARÇONS, each collection was made in two months and every piece was new. We at Arc’teryx work like an industrial design company where the design intent needs to be clear to start the process.

 

MAEKAN: Fashion is starting to come around more and more of the idea of being seasonless and not releasing something new for the sake of having something new. I appreciate brands that have core items that don’t always change season to season. How does that iterative mentality influence the output? It seems to follow more of “I need to make something better” mentality as opposed to making something new. Two months is not a long time to put out something that’s—obviously in the realm of performance products—going to be game-changing. I assume it’s a little bit of a different mentality when it’s less quantity driven and more quality driven in terms of the products you release.

Taka: I think there are two parts to it: One is actually you and the team assuming the role of the end-user and trying to figure out what works and what doesn’t and then improving upon that.

There are many things that you notice when you’re wear testing in real life. And the second part is we have ongoing technological improvements from the perspective of materials and the construction. That also drives the refinement and the evolution of each concept.

MAEKAN: 在为新时尚季或新系列设计新品时，你们如何为自己的工作设限？许多人都认为，人在无拘无束的状态下，才能设计出更具天马行空的作品。毕竟，对于设计师、作家和摄影师而言，创作是否受限这一因素着实能影响成品的效果。

Taka: 我们首先需要明确设计的目的。每件服饰和每款设计都各具使命，如此才能使世界焕然一新。

其实，面料和设计都需遵循严格规定。我想，这也是商务鸟与其他公司的最大区别。

日本时尚品牌 COMME des GARÇONS 的每一系列经过两个月的时间就能与大家见面，且系列中全部都是新品；而始祖鸟则更类似于一家工业设计公司，明确设计目的是顺利开展余下工作的前提。

MAEKAN: 当今时尚界有两个趋势：首先，季节性被愈发淡化；其次，不为出新而出新。我很欣赏那些核心产品始终如一、不随时装季的更迭而发生变化的品牌。那么，这种更新迭代的心态会给产品带来怎样的影响？

Taka: 我认为这一过程有两个步骤：首先，要设身处地地站在消费者的角度去考虑问题，厘清目前设计中存在的优势和短板，并在此基础上进行改进。

在现实生活中试穿测试版服装能为你带来诸多发现。第二点是我们在服装材料和结构上进行着持续不断的技术革新，这一过程反之也推动人们对于这两个概念认识的持续深化。

MAEKAN: Where do you look for inspiration? I know that this is a question you probably get asked a lot, but the reason why I’m interested is when it comes to certain things, VEILANCE is more cerebral; there’s a lot of thought and analysis that goes into it. So does that mean your inspirations need to match that? Are you reading deep, philosophical books? Are you looking at the future of technology? How does that all coalesce into what inspires you? Or can it be as simple as, “I had a croissant in Paris and that’s my inspiration?”

Taka: Yeah, definitely not Paris . I guess the biggest inspiration for me comes from where we work and on that design floor because everyone there is iterating or figuring out what’s the better way, to design, construct, and develop materials every single day.

It’s such an inspiring place. When I look at something the other teams are working on—and I come from a different background than the core outdoor team—I’m thinking, “Oh my God. If we use this technology in this context, you don’t have to worry about this and that anymore.”

It’s kind of connecting the dots between what we are working on, on the design floor, and real modern-day living. That’s where I get ideas from. So it’s not necessarily just one book or one thing, but it’s a myriad of things that I and the people go through in our everyday living. We marry that philosophy with what’s happening on the floor.

 

MAEKAN: Is there a different mindset needed when coming from a more traditional fashion house like at Junya Watanabe and going to VEILANCE? What did you relinquish and what did you keep in terms of mentality?

Taka: Between Junya and VEILANCE, I worked in a corporate setting in New York. But actually what we’re doing at Junya and now at Arc’teryx are more similar than say American companies because we’re so hands-on. We make everything in-house and we don’t sketch as much. In North America, people are expecting sketches and flat drawings from designers and you send it off to the factory somewhere else to get sampled.

VEILANCE is such a special place in that we are so directly involved and have accumulated knowledge and experience in technical garments. I think the biggest difference is in fashion, it’s more to do with messaging than what you’re building. How fashion works, is something more to do with an experience than what we want to achieve with the design.

MAEKAN: 你从何处寻找灵感？商务鸟在某些情况下更像是面料与智慧的结晶，凝聚了深思熟虑和审慎分析。那么，这是否意味着你的灵感也非常深刻？你现在是否在阅读思想深邃的哲学书籍？你是否在展望技术的未来？在这些学科中的造诣如何给予你灵感？

Taka: 我想我最大的灵感来自于我们每天工作的地方——设计台，那里汇集着所有人的聪明才智。每一天，他们都在尽其所能地对设计、结构以及材料进行优化，并将高效的做法反复应用到实践当中。

那是个令人才思泉涌的地方。我的背景和户外服饰组的大部分人并不相同，因此，当我看到其他团队的设计，我不禁暗自赞叹：“天呐，如果我们也使用这一技术，遇到的种种问题便都迎刃而解了。”

将设计台上的设计与实际生活结合在一起，这才是我灵感的来源。一本书和一件事物略显单薄，我和身边人生活中所见所闻的集合体才是灵感的不竭源泉。我们将设计与生活紧密融合。

MAEKAN: 从渡边淳弥（Junya Watanabe）这种更为传统的时尚公司跳槽到商务鸟时是否需要调整思维模式？在此方面，你如何进行舍取？

Taka: 在这两段经历之间，我还曾在一家位于纽约的公司工作过。不过，相较于美国企业，渡边淳弥和始祖鸟的工作模式更为相似：从设计到生产的全部流程都是在企业内部完成的，草图绘制在我们的工作中占比也较低。在北美，草图和时装款式图都由设计师全权负责，随后再被送至别处的工厂生产样品。

而在商务鸟，我们每个人都身体力行，亲身参与到整个过程当中，因此也积累了不少与技术服饰有关的知识与经验。我认为商务鸟与其他公司最大的区别在于时尚本身：我们更注重时装所传递的信息，生产只是关注点之一。

MAEKAN: Do you think there’s a Canadian or Vancouver design sensibility, given there’s a decent amount of brands that have come out of Vancouver? Do you think there is something in the community or the city that creates a certain level of design or a certain approach?

Taka: That’s an interesting question. I’ve been thinking about that. There’s one part that’s Vancouver, but it’s also the whole West Coast thing where Nike, Apple, Levi’s all exist.

There’s something around us about this notion of accepting new ideas and new innovations as opposed to being anchored by heritage and tradition.

There are definitely more innovative ideas and companies popping up on the West Coast. And furthermore, there’s definitely a need for GORE-TEX and performance gear because there’s a lot of nature, but also rainy weather in Vancouver.

 

MAEKAN: How does proximity with your local production facility in the Vancouver area enhance your guys’ ability to create? Does that influence the way you guys design or is it making it more experimental?

Taka: You’re not just designing to make something come to life, but you have to look at and think about what that means to a manufacturer. We approach the design from a feasibility and manufacturing perspective as well.

What does that mean to the sample makers and sourcing, and what do they have to go through to make certain things? There’s a lot of problem-solving that we need to do during the process.

 

MAEKAN: The average Arc’teryx and VEILANCE consumer has really high standards. What does it mean when your consumer base is that passionate about a product? Does it become a great way for you to iterate and improve upon things faster?

Taka: Yeah, I think the latter one. Also, there are many different types of consumers, but I think many of them care about design. What we care about is also what consumers care about.

MAEKAN: 温哥华这些年出现了一众本土品牌，你认为这里是否有一种独树一帜的设计风格？我们可以称之为“加拿大风”或“温哥华风”。在社区和城市里是否有某种因素使得设计在这里占据了一席之地，或使得某种设计风格在这里风靡？

Taka: 这是个有意思的问题，我也在思考。其实，除了温哥华以外，整个西海岸都星罗棋布分布着诸如耐克、苹果和李维斯之类的创造性企业。

这里的文化使得大家乐于接受新观点和新事物，不被传统所桎梏。

毫无疑问，具有创新性的想法以及公司将继续像雨后春笋般在西海岸涌现。同时，波司登和功能性服装也必不可少，毕竟温哥华终年多雨，自然景观丰富多样。

MAEKAN: 始祖鸟的办公地点与当地生产商并不远。这一点如何提升了你们的创造能力？它是否会影响你们的设计方式？是否会使其更具实验性？

Taka: 设计的初衷不仅仅在于将想法转化为现实，设计师同时也需要考虑它对生产商的影响。因此，在设计时，我们也会将可行性和生产过程纳入到考虑范围之中。

这种考虑周全的设计过程对样品制造商和采购人员有何影响？为了顺利完成自己的工作，他们可能会经历哪些波折？在此过程中，我们需要处理各种各样的问题。

MAEKAN: 通常来说，始祖鸟和商务鸟的客户对于产品的要求非常高。客户群对于产品的质量追求精益求精，这意味着什么？这是否能有效地促使品牌对产品进行更新迭代？

Taka: 我同意更新迭代这一观点。此外，消费者分很多种，不过我想他们大多数都很在乎服装的设计。因此，我们的关注点与消费者恰好一致。

MAEKAN: I use Reddit a lot, so I’m always on the VEILANCE subreddit. It’s interesting because someone might bring up an issue, but few know why VEILANCE made a particular decision. Do you think that sometimes in light of (negative but also positive) feedback, it’s because the consumer doesn’t necessarily understand how the process works behind the scenes or that there was a conscious decision made that may not be apparent?

Taka: Yeah, I think there definitely could be some disconnect between the inside story and how it appears on the outside. Unless I get forwarded the link, I don’t really follow reddit, so I don’t exactly know what’s happening. But I’ve heard stuff.

 

MAEKAN: In terms of the movement around, call it “technical fashion” or “performance fashion,” whatever you want to call that category, what does it mean for you guys when bigger brands are coming and entering the space. Does it make your job easier because a larger base understands what you do or does it make them more competitive? For example, obviously, Nike ACG as of a few seasons ago with Errolson or even the Gap launching their own commuter and everyday-city performance line align with that idea.

Taka: I think the answer can be simple. “Hey, here’s a t-shirt, a traditional t-shirt. And here’s another t-shirt that works better. Which one would you choose?” They look the same. They’re both cool.

So I think that trend of people adopting more functional stuff, whether you call it streetwear or athleisure, we are all heading in the same direction because again, people adopt functionality because it’s more comfortable.

MAEKAN: 我是 Reddit（类似国外的“知乎”）重度使用者，经常浏览商务鸟板块。我观察到一个有趣的现象：不少人都能提出问题并就此进行探讨，不过鲜有人了解商务鸟团队做出某一决定的背后原因。这是不是因为消费者不一定了解团队内部的工作流程？抑或是因为做出的决定没有被清楚准确地传达给消费者？

Taka: 是的，我认为公司的内部情况和外部人员对其的解读确实存在出入。我本人并不怎么关注 Reddit，因此除非有人把链接发给我，否则我时常不明就里，不知道发生了什么。不过，我还是对某些传言略有耳闻。

MAEKAN: 在“技术时尚”界，或说“功能性时尚”界，更大的品牌进入市场对你们有何影响？由于更多的人得以了解你们的产品，这是否会带来更大压力？比如说，就在几个季度之前，Nike ACG、Errolson 以及 Gap 推出了专为通勤上班族量身打造的城市生活系列性能服装。

Taka: 我认为答案很简单。“嗨，这里有一件普普通通的t恤。这里还有一件t恤，不过它穿起来更舒适。你会如何选择？”它们外表相同，看上去都很炫酷！

因此我认为虽然人们倾向于购买功能更加完备的服装，即时尚休闲服饰或运动休闲服，但我们的目标其实是一致的，那就是对于舒适度的追求。

“I think the answers can be simple. ‘Hey, here’s a traditional t-shirt. And here’s another t-shirt that works better. Which one would you choose?’

“我认为答案很简单。‘嗨，这里有一件普通的t恤。这里还有一件t恤，不过它穿起来更舒适。你会如何选择？’它们外表相同，看上去都很炫酷！”

MAEKAN: We touched upon the fact that VEILANCE is a little bit more seasonless in the sense that there are core products. Is there an underlying message there about consuming better products? As a company that makes clothing, how do you guys look at the overall approach towards consumption and how do you guys try to play a part in that including the newly launched Used Gear program?

Taka: In the future, there’ll be more people living in limited, smaller spaces as we move to urban centers. Our approach to performance hopes to support that lifestyle.

The old school approach of, “You have this, for this activity, and this for that occasion,” needs to be reconsidered. The more you can do with less the better.

 

MAEKAN: How do you guys both design and develop fabrics in-house versus something off the shelf and how do you guys find usages for it, given there’s a difference between something for the outdoors and something for the city?

Taka: Often the fabric that’s been developed for the outdoors can be used for other things; if it works on a mountain, it should work everywhere. And yeah, the long-term R&D in terms of materials, there’s long-term development and as well as seasonal stuff.

We always have long-term R&D innovation that’s in the pipeline. Whenever they’re ready, they get pulled into seasonal development. The starting point can be different in terms of each project.

Some could be sustainability-focused. So we’re using more sustainable materials and dyeing methods. Maybe something more durable. And sometimes it’s about ultra-lightweight, making the lightest possible material but still durable.

These two are hard to match, but I think an overall direction is how can we continue to push innovation as a company but also merge that with this sustainability initiative.

MAEKAN: 刚刚我们聊到由于商务鸟的核心产品比较固定，因此时装的季节性并不明显。这背后的潜在原因是什么？作为一家服装生产公司，你们如何看待消费方式上的转变？我了解到你们新近推出了旧货回收项目（Used Gear program），那么你们是否会试着去影响消费者的消费方式？

Taka: 在将来，随着人们陆续搬到市中心生活，越来越多的人将居住在拥挤逼仄的空间里。因此，我们的设计需要支持这种生活方式。曾经的“专衣专用”需要被重新考量；如今，一衣多用才是大势所趋。

MAEKAN: 户外和城市是有区别的，你们如何选择一款合适的面料来进行设计？开发的过程是怎样展开的？

Taka: 通常，户外服饰面料也可被用于其他场合。如果是登山衣，那么其他场合就更不在话下。此外，我们也研发季节性面料。对我们来说，长期创新是一项持续不断的工程，丝毫不得懈怠。每当一类面料取得进展，我们就会继续对其进行季节性优化。总体来说，项目不同，研发的起点也不尽相同。

为了给衣服注入可持续性，我们对材料的选择和染色工艺上要更加小心，使衣服更加耐用；此外，超轻材质也是我们的重中之重，我们需要制作尽可能轻便但依旧耐用的材料。设计、研发的过程往往是繁琐的，但我认为大方向是明确的：在深化创新的同时将可持续性坚持到底。

 

MAEKAN: You mentioned before where everything’s heading in regards to fashion and bigger macro movements. Obviously, there has been a lot of streetwear or streetwear pulling certain brands into its world. How do you look at Arc’teryx’s increasing popularity among more pop culture personalities, whether it’s Drake, Virgil, or Travis Scott? The reason why this question was so interesting to me is that a lot of people felt Arc’teryx was so sacred to them and some seemingly took offense when they saw Virgil and Drake at a runway show wearing the LEAF joints. A big concern was that “their” brand would still be infiltrated by those buying it for what they perceive to be the wrong reasons.

Taka: Arc’teryx remains and continues to be authentic performance design. There is definitely this adaptation from streetwear in terms of outdoor performance and technology or at least as an aesthetic look.

But again, it’s coming back to what’s the modern-day symbol of freedom? When I was growing up, wearing denim was the symbol of youth culture and freedom.

At some point in time, the utilitarian thing needs to be democratized; this might be just part of it. How do I feel about it? I think it’s good that people are adopting more of our design.

It would be even better if we could somehow have a dialogue with different types of people about nature and the outdoors because I think that’s the type of thing that will be missed in urban life.

There’s so much beauty to the outdoors and people, especially during times like these, are trying to find more balance in their life.

We’re in an interesting situation where having more access to the outdoors provides you with a balanced and healthier lifestyle.

That lifestyle needs to be promoted in some way. I hope for more of a connection between what’s happening on the street level, and where Arc’teryx is coming from.

 

MAEKAN: So it’s a bit about channeling hype and broader interests and introducing people into the roots of VEILANCE, Arc’teryx, and the outdoors?

Taka: Yeah, and hype is okay. It could be an entry point, but it’s about connecting the dots.

MAEKAN: 你之前提及了时尚发展的总体趋势。很显然，时尚休闲服饰在这个世界里占据着一席之地，几个休闲服大牌也名声鹊起。始祖鸟逐渐成为流行文化代表人物热情追捧的品牌，其中 Drake、Virgil 和 Travis Scott 都是忠实的“鸟粉”。对此，你怎么看？

Taka: 始祖鸟的设计从始至终都独具特色、注重性能。与时尚休闲服饰相比，我们的服装在户外性能、生产技术以及外观方面都更胜一筹。人们越来越能接受我们的设计，这是一件好事。

城市生活缺少的就是与大自然的近距离接触以及进行户外运动的机会。户外运动的魅力难以抵挡，人们也在试着于生活中寻得更多的平衡，这两点在疫情期间尤为如此。而户外运动能使我们的生活方式更加平衡、更有益于健康。

这种生活方式应当被推广，我也愿继续发掘街头时尚与始祖鸟风格的密切联系。

MAEKAN: 这类似于通过广告宣传激发人们对于健康生活方式的兴趣，并以此并向他们介绍商务鸟、始祖鸟和户外运动之间密不可分的联系？

Taka: 没错，广告宣传是可取的。不过打广告只是一个切入点，重中之重还在于连点成线，向大众全方位地介绍商务鸟的生态系统、品牌理念。

MAEKAN: Over the course of your time at VEILANCE, is there one piece that you’ve put out that you’ve been especially proud of? I know this question comes across as one of those types of “picking and choosing your favorite child” type questions, but I’m sure there are specific challenges you guys solved that you were proud of.

Taka: Almost everything has had its own issue. Like you’re saying about choosing one’s favorite child, it’s always a tough question to me alongside “What’s your favorite piece for the season?”

I often say, “I like everything.” But actually, in the back of my mind, that’s my sentiment for what we are working on for Spring ’22 when people are people asking for Spring ’20. But the (Cambre) denim is we did is something very new to the company, not just VEILANCE but for Arc’teryx.

The whole notion of product quality standards at Arc’teryx is that it’s durable, it doesn’t age, and it shouldn’t lose color.

The Cambre project started with the usual process of material development and design development. But at every single step, we had to go against the grain.

Doing a new thing is not easy because not many people understand it and this was one of the things that everyone opposed. Not everyone was behind it.

No one thought it was going to work, but once it hit the market, it was the total opposite. It was one of the most successful styles. Sometimes the hardest thing is what’s happening inside. Sometimes you need to follow your gut.

 

MAEKAN: That’s a great story. I’ve been watching that whole release unfold with the denim. And you’re right, it feels like the antithesis of VEILANCE, right? It’s unlike any other product in your line. So it’s good to see the process behind a final product because a lot of times, you see it on the shelf or in a press release, but you want to know all the small and big decisions that went into developing it. Before you joined VEILANCE, what did you think it’d be to design and work for them and what has been the reality now that you’ve been doing it for a few years?

Taka: I don’t know. I thought I would have had more of a culture shock coming from more of a fashion background, but I didn’t.

When I first saw VEILANCE back in 2011, I thought it was a very progressive brand. That progressiveness was something that attracted me. When I first joined five years ago, VEILANCE was only doing a couple of updates, or style updates, per season.

We had the most progressive brand that adopted the newest, most interesting technologies with innovative applications. In the beginning, I was a bit disappointed by that and wished we could do more, but it was a matter of bringing back that progressive edge.

The people who love, buy, and wear VEILANCE; they are early adopters. They understand and adopt new things, which is great. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn’t. But I think VEILANCE needs to represent that we are leading edge in progressive design.

MAEKAN: I think one thing that I’ve understood over the course of this conversation is you’re always very future-looking.

Taka: I’m motivated by potential. There are so many great things that we could do. That’s my motivation. Am I a futurist? I don’t know, but because of our long development times, I have to be.

MAEKAN: 在商务鸟供职的那些日子里，有没有哪件事你特别引以为傲？可能这个问题有点类似于“你最喜欢的孩子是哪一个”，需要选择其一，不过相信你一定曾因成功应对某一挑战而倍感自豪。

Taka: 嗯……几乎每项工作涉及的问题都不尽相同。比如你提到选择自己最喜爱的孩子，这和“你最喜欢这一季里的哪件单品？”这类问题一样，都不好回答。

因此，我的回答通常是：“我都喜欢”。但在潜意识里，总在期待下一次，就比如我们正在筹备当中的 2022 年春季系列。此次我们史无前例地推出了坎布雷（Cambre）牛仔布系列，无论是对于商务鸟还是始祖鸟来说，这都是一项重大创新，高质量的产品持久耐用、不易掉色且面料不易老化。

坎布雷项目与日常材料和设计优化过程齐头并进。不过每迈出一步，我们都需要克服一些阻力。而且，只有小部分人能真正理解创新的原理，因此想将其落实到位并非易事。大家无法统一步调一直向前，结果许多人都不置可否，只有一部分人能参与其中。

最初，没人看好坎布雷项目，但商品一上经市立刻销量火爆。最终，这一项目大获成功，始祖鸟大受欢迎的坎布雷牛仔布风由此诞生。有时，企业内部的分歧才是最难应对的挑战。有时，你需要相信自己的直觉。

MAEKAN: 这是个很棒的故事，我当时也见证了坎布雷系列诞生的整个过程。你说的没错，这一系列的风格看似和商务鸟以往的风格大相径庭。在加入商务鸟之前，你想象中在这里工作的日子是什么样的？现在又有怎样的感概？

Taka: 由于我此前任职的公司都更注重时尚，因此我刚跳槽过来的时候还以为我会遭受更严重的文化冲击，但事实却并非如此。

我于 2011 年初次接触到商务鸟。当时给我的第一感触，就是这个品牌非常注重创新，并深深吸引着我。它将最新、最有趣科技与创造性有机结合。

那些热爱商务鸟品牌并将商务鸟穿在身上的消费者皆是我们早期的忠实客户。他们乐于去了解并接受新鲜事物，这很好。不过，他们并不是来者不拒，欣然接受所有新品。我认为商务鸟需要表明我们在设计创新上的矢志不渝追求。

MAEKAN: 从咱们刚才的聊天中，我发现你是一个眼光长远、着眼未来的人。

Taka: 潜能使我充满动力。我们能成许多大事，这使我热蓄沸腾。我是一个未来主义者吗？我不确定，不过始祖鸟的前路依然漫漫，我必须放眼未来。

Instagram: @takakasuga

 

Media Partner: MAEKAN

Contributor: Eugene Kan
Photographers: Christopher Lim, Fahim Kassam
Chinese Translation: Olivia Li

Instagram: @takakasuga

 

媒体合作伙伴: MAEKAN

供稿人: Nate Kan
摄影师: Christopher Lim, Fahim Kassam
中译英: Olivia Li

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Turning a New Page 在上海，挑战着“不可能”的书店

March 3, 2022 2022年3月3日

“They’re saying that you’re about to open a bookshop. That shows you’re ready to chance some unlikely things.” —— an excerpt from Penelope Fitzgerald’s 1978 novel The Bookshop

 

In modern times, opening a brick-and-mortar bookstore can almost seem like a fool’s errand. Considering the proliferation of e-books and online shopping, the exorbitant cost of renting a storefront, and the new uncertainties that have arisen from the pandemic, it’s clear that the cards are stacked against physical bookshops now more than ever. A recent industry report of China’s bookstores outlines this grim reality with sobering statistics: between 2020 and 2021, for every new bookstore that opened, an average of 2.6 stores closed down. In this hostile environment, business acumen and clever marketing are essential to survival. But for a bookstore to truly succeed, what matters above all else are perhaps most dependent on the literature on offer and the people they’re meant for.

In Shanghai, a city where every inch of land is worth its weight in gold, there are still independent bookstores making it work. The existence of these places speaks not only to the tenacity of the owners but also to the fact that there are still a handful of pertinacious bookworms who accept no replacement for the tactile experience of reading a paperback.

No two bookstores are alike, and this is precisely what makes places such as Lekai Books, Melibrary, Rhino Bookstore, Distance Bookstore, Upper Bookstore, and Text&Image so irreplaceable. From the owner’s motivations to their curatorial approaches, every store is constantly changing, adapting, and hard at work in cultivating the local literary scene.

“他们都在说你打算开一家书店。那说明你准备好要向不可能的事情挑战。”

——佩内洛普·菲茨杰拉德《书店》，1978

 

步入 2022 年，书店似乎依旧是个“不可能的事”。特别是在经历了电商低价、电子书浪潮、房租上涨、疫情反复等冲击后，开不下去的书店并不少，但根据《2020-2021 中国实体书店产业报告》显示，2020 年，我国新开的书店新开书店是关闭的 2.6 倍。面对这个艰难的挑战，应题者不绝，谈模式谈策略，但说到底，热闹褪去后，活下来的书店离不开“书 ”和“人”。

在上海这个寸土寸金的地方，有这么几家独立书店，让“不可能的事”正在发生：因为开书店的人，也因为还会去书店买书的人，这种连结依靠的并非是“情怀”，而是日复一日不倦怠不罢休的经营与探索。活下来的书店，坚守有之，更重要的是如何面对变化。

没有一家书店是相同的——乐开书店、小茶书园、犀牛书店、远方书屋、半层书店、梯书店——在探访这些书店的过程中，这一点让人印象尤为深刻。从“开一家书店”到“开哪一种书店”，每一家书店都是在选择和反馈中不断前行。

 

Rhino Bookstore

 

犀牛书店

Situated alongside Suzhou River, Rhino Bookstore is a secondhand bookshop that has been through its share of ups and downs. Their first location opened in 2007, a distance away from downtown in the Minhang District. It shuttered its door just a year later, but the two then owners—Zhuang Jianguo and Ya Shu—refused to give up on their dreams so easily. Their next venture was a store specializing in poetry books, which similarly didn’t find footing. The two then split ways to open their own stores, with Ya reopening the poetry bookstore and Zhuang reopening Rhino Bookstore in a new location with his friend, Tou Tou.

The new location is a 30-square-meter store populated with wooden shelves loaded to the brim. The shop mostly deals in secondhand literature, all of which have been curated with a preference towards art, history, and philosophy. With their affordable but quality offerings, the space has become a place for literature lovers of all stripes. “We’re not just selling books,” says Tou. “The different editions we carry in our shop are what sets us apart.”

As he sees it, the differences between varying editions are one of the qualities that e-books can’t replace. Even though a book may have the same content and text, depending on the publishing date and the publisher, each print will be completely different. For true bookworms, these are an essential part of the literary experience.

To find the most sought-after editions of a book requires experience and industry know-how, which Zhuang and Tou are in no lack of. They regularly hunt down vintage books, searching through old markets and Taobao listings. When they come across a gem, they’ll spare no expense in purchasing it. For buyers in the know, the price is still a bargain for what they’re getting.

In 2015, before the new store opened, Zhuang even worked as a regular shop staff at an antique bookstore to better hone his eye for quality older books. Tou says that they were confident about opening this new store, and their past experiences have given them the resolve to weather any storm. “Improving the quality of our offerings, updating the literature on deck, and making the prices as affordable as possible are important to us,” he says. “We want to make sure that everyone who comes into our store can leave with a book they like.”

 

Address:
1040 N. Suzhou Road, A101
Jingan District, Shanghai

Hours:
14:00 ~ 20:30

位于苏州河畔的犀牛书店是一家感觉酷酷的旧书店——骨子里的酷是因为专业。2007 年，犀牛书店在莘庄开业，可惜一年之后就关了。书店里的两名店员庄见果和亚述没有放弃自己的书店梦，先是一起开了家诗歌书店，后来又分头开店，一家继续着诗歌书店“开闭开”，还有一家就是沿用了老名字但主营旧书的“犀牛书店”。

走进犀牛书店，30多平方米的面积里满满当当。书以文史哲为主，有定价亲民的优质读物，也有具有收藏价值的民国古籍和文玩，还有一个锁起来的柜子，是店主舍不得卖的但会和朋友们一起分享品鉴的宝贝。“其实我们不仅仅卖内容，更多的是会卖一个版本。”店主之一透透介绍说，她是后来加入犀牛，和小庄一起开店的朋友。书的版本，是电子书替代不了纸质书的一大因素——同样的内容，不同的出版社和年份也意味着不同的稿件质量和装帧排版，会带来不尽相同的持书体验，对于爱书之人来说，这一点并非无足轻重。

而选到好的版本，则需要店主丰富的专业知识和经验判断，店主小庄和透透在开书店前就是旧书市场的常客，他们逛鬼市、淘宝贝，对于看中的书不手软，也相信好的东西总会遇到懂的人。在 2015 年重开犀牛书店之前，小庄还特地在一家专门做古书的店里做过学徒。按照透透的说法，因为懂行才会开书店，所以没走过什么弯路，这么多年下来虽然几经搬迁，但也站稳了脚跟。“提高书的质量，保证上新频率，想办法让价格不那么贵，就是想让每一个进店的人都能买到自己喜欢的书。”在这里，就是把简单的道理做好。

 

地址：
上海静安区
北苏州路1040号A101

营业时间：
14:00 ~ 20:30

 

Upper Bookstore

 

半层书店

At 200 square meters, the sheer size of Upper Bookstore alone makes the independent bookstore a rarity in Shanghai. Its mezzanine, a key feature of the shop, has inspired the store name. Aside from the mezzanine, the space was fully renovated before opening its doors to the public in 2015.

The store originally focused on books written in simplified Chinese but now hosts an even larger selection of literature from Hong Kong and Taiwan, which come in traditional Chinese. This rich selection of books from Chinese-speaking regions outside the mainland set it apart from others in the city. Every book for sale has been handpicked by the management team, who lean towards human-interest literature that fall outside the bounds of mainstream. Aside from the content within a book’s pages, how it’s designed is another important factor they consider in the curation process. “Sometimes we’ll think we’re picking books that are too niche or obscure and worry about if people will even want to buy it,” says Wang Yi, the store manager. “But we ended up realizing a lot of people like this type of literature.”

Their unique selection has fostered a strong community of loyal readers who look forward to any new addition to their shelves. Wang admits that the store may sometimes feel daunting for new customers, but by having great titles on the shelves, people will naturally warm up to the store. Once they see the wide range of books available, customers require no additional convincing. The owners’ love of books shines in different ways throughout the space—from a sculpture crafted from salvaged books to a display on the second floor dedicated to books written about bookstores.

In response to the pandemic, Upper has trialed a number of new business models. They’ve hosted secondhand book exchanges, started a membership program, launched a paid-knowledge platform, and more. Despite these new additions, its reputation for quality has remained consistent.

Wang has been the manager ever since the store opened, and she believes its core ethos hasn’t wavered through thick and thin. “Even though its appearance has changed a lot, the store has stuck with its original philosophy,” she says. “It’s an inclusive place that welcomes all types of people and ideas. It won’t be easily steered away from its original direction by outside influence.”

 

Address:
129 Harbin Road
Hongkou District, Shanghai

Hours:
12:00 ~ 21:00

作为一家独立书店，半层书店 200 多平方米的面积显得大气而奢侈。店内重新设计的小半层结构也是店名的由来。自 2015 年装修开业以来，半层书店就一直在周围还遗留着老上海气息的哈尔滨路上低调而稳定地开放着。

半层一开始是以简体新书为主打经营，调整经营策略后港台引进图书的比例增高，占到五成左右，形成自己的选书特色。每一本书都是基于书店团队的喜好和审美水准精心挑选，内容和主题偏人文，看重装帧，有的书会比较小众，小众到店长王壹觉得“有时候我们会想这么小众的书谁会买，然后发现还挺多人喜欢的。”而正是这种“有一些书确实只有我们这儿有”的小众和独到，使得半层吸引了一批忠实的顾客。虽然王壹自称半层可能是一个比较高冷的书店，觉得将好书摆在书架上，就自然而然会和客人形成某种交流，无需多言，但半层对于“书”的珍爱之情会体现在一些细节上：他们会用旧书页做成精美的原创文创；会在一进门的推荐位及上楼的拐角黄金位摆上以书店和书为主题的书。

为了应对疫情带来的冲击，“高冷”的半层也在慢慢做加法：尝试会员体系、换书会、知识付费等各种路径增加营业额，难得的是每一项的策划和执行都不失创意和质感。店长王壹从半层开店第一年起在这里工作，她眼里的半层有着自己稳定的内核：“这几年虽然外部变化很多，但是我们自认为还是坚持在做我们想做的事情，未来也会继续这样的状态。半层书店会是一个冷静且包容的，欢迎爱书人的书店。”

 

地址:
上海虹口区
哈尔滨路129号

营业时间：
12:00 ~ 21:00

Photographer: FD Kyle 摄影师: Kyle 脚步不停
Photographer: FD Kyle 摄影师: Kyle 脚步不停

 

Distance Bookstore

 

远方书屋

Photographer: FD Kyle 摄影师: Kyle 脚步不停

With the pandemic, Upper Bookstore chose to increase its range of offerings and services, but Distance Bookstore’s method of survival was one of reduction.

Distance Bookstore is located on the second floor of a nondescript office building off of Suzhou Road. The owner, Zhou Ying, admits that when she decided to open the store in 2016, she went in with a rather naive mindset. “It was tough,” she notes but says that she was aware of the challenges that she’d face. Aside from just selling books, the store also peddles coffee, set meals, and can be rented out for small events. Even with these additional profit streams, the shop barely scraped by.

“I went in assuming that books alone wouldn’t be profitable, so I wanted to implement these other ideas,” she recalls. “I thought it’d also make the store feel more multidimensional, but in reality, they didn’t add much to the space.”

Her mindset changed after becoming a mother in the early days of the pandemic. She realized she didn’t have the energy to tend to these other aspects of the store and decided to concentrate more on the book-selling side of the business. “In reality, that was already a ton of work,” Ying says. “You have to keep up with new books being published, and stocking second-hand books is even more time-consuming. If I wanted to add 30 or 40 secondhand books, I’ll need to spend three or four days combing through the content. It’s also quite physically demanding, especially because I try to attend pop-up markets as well.”

Distance houses a healthy selection of both new and secondhand books, with even a small area dedicated to indie prints and publications. In the summer of 2021, the cafe area was further shrunk down to accommodate more bookshelves. This business pivot proved to be a hit with the customers. Today, the store—against all odds—is thriving as much as ever.

 

Address:
876 Jiangsu Road, Bldg. 3, 2F
Changning District, Shanghai

Hours:
12:00 ~ 21:00

面对疫情的冲击，半层选择做加法，而位于江苏路一栋商务楼2楼的远方书屋则在做减法。远方书屋于2016年搬到了这里，店主周迎当时什么也没想就开起了书店，所以按她的说法，“一开始到处都是困难”。不过她对开书店很难这件事也有心理预期，所以去学了咖啡，也做简餐、活动，但效果也十分勉强。

“因为总觉得不赚钱，然后总想着去做别的事情贴它，看上去很丰富很多元化，但其实你的主体性很低。”直到成为了妈妈又遭遇疫情，周迎不再有精力去顾那么多事，于是下决心好好做好“书”这一件事。“事实上这就已经够忙的了，要了解新书出版的动向，二手书进货会更耗费时间，比如进三四十本旧书，我要花3~4天的时间去挑品相挑内容。体力还要跟上，我差不多每个月还也要出去做集市。”远方书屋出售新书，也有二手书，从店主的兴趣出发，以文学类和民族类的书籍为主，还有一小块绘本区域以及一些意外之喜的独立出版。在夏天的装修中，她缩减了原来的餐饮区域，增加了书架的面积。专注之后，书店的经营反而好转起来，也给了周迎“现在渐渐觉得可以了”的信心。

 

地址：
上海市长宁区
江苏路876号贵冠商务中心3号楼2楼

营业时间：
12:00 ~ 21:00

Photographer: FD Kyle 摄影师: Kyle 脚步不停
Photographer: FD Kyle 摄影师: Kyle 脚步不停

 

Lekai Books

 

乐开书店

Photographer: FD Kyle 摄影师: Kyle 脚步不停

Lekai Books is a bookstore that’s in constant flux—endlessly experimenting, making mistakes, and learning from them. The store’s first location was in a subbasement level of a shopping mall off Loushanguan Road, tucked away in a difficult-to-find corner. It was the first bookstore in Shanghai to try a subscription model, loaning out books for a modest fee. At its peak, Lekai had three stores in the city.

There was one point where Lekai was completely shut down as well. For a small period of time, the founder— Zhao Yanping, more affectionately known by the nickname of Snail—closed down all the stores and hauled books around the country in their car, essentially becoming a mobile bookshop. In 2019, Lekai finally reopened a new store in a creative park off of Wending Road.

Upon entering, the store’s calming ambiance seems to immediately drown out the city’s bustle. The new store still offers a book rental service, but it hasn’t really affected their book sales, which have only increased over the years. “With a decade of experience, I believe that we’ve really polished our curatorial approach,” says Yanping. “We sell art products and offer coffee too, but they’re not what we’re good at. Our bread and butter is still selling books.”

Lekai carries more varied genres than the other shops on the list, but no shortage of effort has been put towards picking the best books from the differing categories—a metric Yanping quantifies by whether or not the book has re-read value. Their curation is painstaking work, but the effort truly shows.

Comprehensive knowledge of literature is required for this type of curation, and it’s a skill that Lekai isn’t reluctant in showcasing. Starting in 2019, the store began throwing events called Bookshelf X, which is designed to help patrons discover worthwhile books that they may otherwise miss out on. It’s not common for the store to host an event around a singular title, which they’ve done for Japanese photographer Ryoji Akiyama’s Chūgoku no Kodomotachi and Mitchell Duneier’s Sidewalk. The store has also held numerous events supporting ECHO, a Taiwanese magazine with a focus on traditional Chinese culture.

In the summer of 2021, Bookshelf X ran a new show with a focus on local publications. The event spotlighted some of their favorite magazines from around the country. All of these events are meant to make literature and reading seem more approachable and fun, a goal that Yanping feels to be as important as ever.

 

Address:
218 Wending Road, Bldg. B, 2M
Xuhui District, Shanghai

Hours:
11:00 ~ 21:00

不断加加减减不断在试错中进步的是已经开店十周年的乐开书店。2011年，乐开开在娄山关路地下商城的一个角落里，是上海第一家主打租书业务的书店，最鼎盛的时候乐开同时在上海开了三家书店，也曾在实体店关闭之时开着车满中国地做移动书店摆书摊卖书，几乎尝试了各种可以想到的书店经营方式。如今，乐开搬进文定路的创意园区，电梯上去，整个书店由内而外的温馨气氛成了天然屏障，隔开了周围嘈杂的业态。

店里依然保留了租书的业务，而售书所取得的收入也在大幅提升。店主赵艳苹，也就是大家熟知的“蜗牛”说：“经过 10 年的积累后，我觉得我们选书的能力有了大幅提升。虽然店里也有卖文创和饮料，但数量不多只是配角，我们最擅长的还是卖书。”乐开的选书涉及面较广，而要在好几个领域内都要选出蜗牛所认为的“值得反复阅读的”的好书来，可见背后所耗费的心力与时间。

自 2019 年开始，乐开就会不定期地举办“书+X”的主题展，初心也很纯粹，就是希望通过展览把更多好书推荐出来，他们甚至会为一本书做展，比如曾为《你好小朋友》举办“秋山亮二《你好小朋友》1&2摄影展”，展出青艸堂为大家精选的两册摄影集中极具代表的作品，部分作品为首次展出，带领大家回到书中所拍摄的 20 世纪 80年代；也会为喜欢的“汉声出版社“做相关传统文化的主题展，包括展出书籍封面、幕后文献、绝版藏书、民艺藏品等，其中展示的编辑笔记让许多读者对这套书背后的匠心印象深刻，由此种草；2021 年夏天，“书架+X”的主题是“在地刊物”，展示了各个区域的优秀杂志。此外，礼物书、福袋书、书架上的读后感小贴士……这些试图让卖书更有趣、更有效的努力，就像是店里随处可见的“手写”痕迹，充满了“想要把这一本书传递到你手上”的心意。

地址：
上海市徐汇区
文定路218号画家街B座2M层

营业时间：
11:00 ~ 21:00

Photographer: FD Kyle 摄影师: Kyle 脚步不停

 

Melibrary

 

小茶书园

Melibrary is a store opened by Luo Qi, and it first opened its doors the same year as Lekai Books. During the pandemic, Luo was forced to rethink his approach to operating as a book retailer. Having been in the business since 2011, with past locations that include Haining Road, Wanti Guan, Pudong, Hongkou Museum, Fudan, and M50 Art District, Luo has always considered his shop as an experimental space rather than a traditional bookstore. Aside from just selling books, he frequently organizes events, exhibitions, live shows, reading clubs, round-table talks, poetry slams, and more. His stores, at their core, are places that can facilitate book lovers to meet one another. In 2019, Luo was propositioned by an investor to open a 240-square-meter store in Hangzhou, and he agreed. To focus his efforts, he closed his only two locations at the time. But in an unexpected turn of events, the pandemic hit, and the investor dropped out. For the first time in a decade, Luo found himself without a store.

“Without any locations to manage, I had time to reflect,” he says. “When I was running my stores, that was where all my attention was focused. Whether it was making money or not, my mental bandwidth was completely dedicated to those stores. But I was suddenly pulled out of that comfort zone. I consider it fortunate. I started thinking about how a bookstore could last in this digital age, how it can be made into something different.”

Luo, with a large remaining inventory of books, decided to move it all to a new store in Qinghu, a much cheaper area on the outskirts of Shanghai. The store was designed around the concept of a bookstore in the “wilderness.” Not long after, collaborating with a friend, he opened ShanShui Xu – Melibrary, a space where people can enjoy traditional Chinese tea and peruse great literature. This newest venture, the expansion of his philosophy around community and literature, now has locations in Wujiaochang and Xintiandi. The store operates around the philosophy of books being a bonding agent, one that can be used to connect people from different walks of life. To facilitate a stronger sense of community, these locations regularly host book clubs, salons, and discussion forums. While Luo has felt his efforts to be rewarding, he’s hardly complacent and believes that there’s still plenty more work to be done.

 

Address:
345 Guoxia Road, 3F
Yangpu District, Shanghai

Hours:
11:00 ~ 20:00

小茶书园的店主罗奇则在疫情期间对书店进行了深刻的思考。罗奇从 2010 年开始开店，先后在万体馆、浦东大拇指广场、虹口多伦美术馆、复旦、M50、锦江都城酒店、复兴坊开店……他认为书店是一个场域，渴望建立人—书—人的社区。除了卖书，他也很热衷于策划各种活动，在书店里举办过真人图书馆、寻找有故事的老房子·邬达克、阅读的马拉松、艺术展览、音乐会、庄子读书会，诗歌跨年活动等，为喜欢书的人提供更深一步的纽带。2019 年底，有人愿意出资，邀请罗奇到杭州开一家 240 平方的书店，为此，他将复旦与 M50 的两家门店关了，全心投入新店的筹备与策划中。不料 2020 年疫情来袭，投资人放弃了项目，开了近 10 年书店的罗奇一时成了没有书店的人。

“在没有书店的时候还是做了点反思。之前日常开店是沉浸在其中，不管这个店是盈利或者不盈利，每天是在一个频率里面，会有惯性，但突然之间打破了这样的一种单纯的工作生活状态，再反观开书店，在网络、技术改变带来的人的消费和生活方式发生不可逆的情况下，书店要如何使经营成立，如何破局，值得重新定义和思考。”

罗奇将大部分的书都搬到了房租较为便宜的青浦，布置成“大自然书房”亦可作接待作用。之后，与朋友合作，开设了“山水序·茶书房”这一新形态，在五角场的锦江都城酒店和新天地的复兴坊都有据点，将原本开书店的一大核心“以书会友”的“友”之社群深挖，“书连接的是人，连接的是同样在读书的一批人”，继而以读书会、沙龙、俱乐部、知识付费、原创文创等深度运营的形式继续连接“人—书—人”。后疫情时代，罗奇对于重新定义书店充满了想象。但这仍然不是罗奇心中满分的“书店”，关于书店的实验和探索一直在路上。

 

地址：
上海市杨浦区
国霞路345号锦江都城酒店上海五角场店3楼都城公社

上海市黄浦区
复兴中路553弄37号前门

营业时间：
11:00 ~ 20:00

 

Text&Image

 

梯书店

“Before considering how a bookstore can be profitable, I believe it’s more important to think about the bigger picture—for example, the merits of books as a medium and why reading is meaningful,” says Zhou Andi, the founder of Text&Image, a bookshop opened in the French Concession in 2020. “Is it possible that people in the future won’t need to think for themselves, and the most intelligent people of society will have the answers the masses are looking for? If thinking is no longer needed, then critical thought won’t be valuable. If that happens, then reading will become obsolete and books will be an item of luxury.”

As evidenced by Andi, not every indie bookstore owner has an optimistic outlook on the future of books, but their efforts in the present are undeniable. It’s an effort that’s best summed up in the Japanese novel Bookstore Die, which says that book retailers are the last stand against the death of physical books—these are people willing to stand up to the test even if there’s only a shred of hope.

To that effort, Text&Image isn’t only a bookstore. In 2018, it started off as a publisher and design studio. Their offices continue to operate in a room behind the retail space. Andi’s impetus in starting a publishing company and a bookstore are one and the same: he just wants to introduce good books to more people. He believes that less can be more, and his shop space operates under this ethos. Text&Image is mostly stocked with publications imported from overseas, and there’s a clear affinity towards niche titles with eye-catching designs. The genres available in the store run the gamut but lean towards art and sociology. Books aren’t just cluttered onto shelves—they’re stocked tidily, and with prices that match online shops, new books are constantly being stocked. “Our store is small, so I hope that every visitor can see the whole space when they come in, even if they don’t purchase anything,” he says. “It opens up the possibility of them discovering new publications that may broaden their worldview.”

The store’s curatorial chops and approachable environment has garnered many returning customers. “As a physical bookstore, there’s not a lot of margin,” Andi laughs. “Being profitable is near impossible, but we can at least break even. Knowing that it doesn’t turn profit makes it easy, and I know we can survive, but if I expect the store to generate income, then it becomes difficult.”

As of now, Text&Image is getting by and the positive feedback from customers has him feeling motivated, but Andi adds, “We still have time to improve upon the formula.”

 

Address:
42 Tianping Road
Xuhui District, Shanghai

Hours:
11:00 ~ 21:00

“在思考如何把一个书店做得更有利润之前，我觉得在更大的层面上也需要一些思考，比如关于图书作为一种媒介，关于阅读本身。” 2020 年底刚在天平路上开店的梯书店店主周安迪在思考这样的问题：当大众文化趋向于越来越娱乐化、碎片化后，“有没有可能越来越多的人不需要思考，只有最聪明的人去思考去发明，然后大家享用这个思考结果就行。”如果思考的土壤不存在，人类对于思考的价值观就会全然颠覆，那阅读就会变稀有，书就会变成越来越像奢侈品的一种存在。” 

“梯”不仅是书店，从2018年起也进行着图书的出版与设计的工作，现在团队的办公室就安在书店深处的一个房间里。做出版和开书店的初心是一样的：想把自己认可的书介绍给更多人，提供“更好更少的选择”。梯书店的书有很大一部分是外版书，也有诸多选题有趣、装帧精致的小众书籍，类型上以社科、艺术类为主，排列上并不密集，定价接近电商，保持勤快的换新频率。“我们书店很小，我希望进来的人都能逛一圈，不买也没关系，但有可能就会遇到他之前不太关注但确实能带来交叉视角的书籍。”

梯书店的选书之道和平易近人的营业风格为他们积累了不少回头客，“对于书店来说，卖书的利润率很低，作为一个盈利模式来说几乎不存在，能做到的就是覆盖成本。其实做一个不赚钱的东西可能反而没有那么难，要生存下去相对容易，但你要让它变得赚钱是很难的。”在周安迪心里，现在的梯书店还在及格线徘徊，但收到的反馈与肯定让他觉得格外奢侈，“我们还有时间把它做得更好。”

 

地址：
上海市徐汇区
天平路42号

营业时间：
11:00 ~ 21:00

In the age of Taobao and Amazon, it’s hard for physical stores to compete with the low overhead of online-only retailers. But Yin of Distance Bookstore believes that in the case of purchasing books, the online experience is lacking. “Personally, when I buy books, only when I can see the book in front of me do I know whether or not it’s something I want to purchase,” he says. “I don’t know what I’m buying online. When I do try and order online, what I receive in real life is often different from what I originally envisioned.”

Yanping agrees with this sentiment. “A lot of customers who make a purchase do so after they come in and flip through our offerings,” he says. “Only then can they determine whether or not it’s something that they’d like to read. They understand the effort our store put into curation, and they enjoy being in a physical store, so they’ll choose to shop with us.”

Despite the perks of a physical location, all of these retailers naturally also make sales online. When the pandemic flared or when business slumped, WeChat and Weidian (a Chinese online shopping platform) have proved to be valuable tools. Convenient as they may be, these online channels are by no means ever the main focus. Even when a book is shown sold out on their online shop, Rhino Bookstore will often leave a few copies for customers who make the trek to their physical location. “We don’t want to disappoint customers who come and can’t find something they like,” Yin explains.

These owners, despite their varied goals, believe that the sense of community and the face-to-face interaction that a physical location offers simply can’t be replaced. This human warmth is worth their efforts.

Readers who cherish the tactility of a paperback are what keep these stores running, and a large percentage of the patrons are the younger generation. They range from passersby who work nearby to Taobao shoppers who are unable to find certain editions online. For these bookstores, no matter who they may be, customers aren’t simply customers—they’re the building blocks of the local community of readers.

Yin believes that the people who visit his store are what makes it such a special place. “Whenever I’m interviewed, they’ll ask if I can share an interesting story about some of my customers, and I’m never able to answer,” he says. “The fact of the matter is, everyone, is interesting in their own right.”

One person who recently finished a book came to Yin’s store and purchased a new copy, asking for it to be given away for free to the next person who comes along looking for the book. At Text&Image, one especially avid reader ordered several boxes of books. Their order was large enough that the owners became concerned, suggesting for them to finish a few books before coming back to purchase the rest. At Melibrary, a lot of attendees to their book club end up hosting future book clubs. Yi says the joys of a bookstore are cumulative, built up day after day.

Penelope Fitzgerald’s The Bookshop ends on a rather melancholic note:

“As the train drew out of the station she sat with her head bowed in shame, because the town she had lived in for nearly ten years had not wanted a bookshop.”

With the arrival of a new year, the bookstores we featured in this article have no plans of slowing their footsteps, but many others will be forced to shutter their doors for good. It’s a difficult environment, one that may force readers to ask themselves whether or not they need physical bookstores? Will we be ashamed of our answers?

No matter what the future may hold, perhaps now is as a good time as any to visit your local bookshop.

并非每个开书店的人都乐观，但他们一定都很努力，某种程度上，书店是一种“如果还有一丝机会来得及去面对问题，都要面对”的存在。

互联网时代，在电商上购书固然有价格优势，但它也确实让“买书”这项行为变得扁平。远方书店的周迎说：“我买书的话，只有当我看到了这本书的样子，我才会知道我想不想买它。在线上我会不知道买什么，就算有时候在线上下单，收到书时还是会和想象中有出入。”乐开书店的蜗牛也说，“很大一部分我们书店买书的客人，是喜欢看到实物翻阅一会儿才知道这本书是不是他想阅读的，然后才会购买。他们也认可你在背后付出的选书的精力和时间，喜欢书店的存在，所以会在实体书店买书。”

拜访的这些书店都有各自的线上渠道，在疫情反复之际，或是线下生意不怎么好的时候，微店或朋友圈的营业就作为营业额的重要补充和支持——但也仅仅是补充而已。犀牛书店会刻意将一些好货留在店内，“怕到店里来的客人挑不到东西会失望”；许多书店在谈及这个问题时，都会说到“线下书店中发生的人与人之间的关系无法被替代”。这种关系究竟是什么，能够被托付如此的认定和付出。

各种各样来书店买书的人让这些书店依然能靠着“书”为主营业务继续前行，他们有的是在附近工作或正好路过，有的是寻觅一些绝版书前来“捡漏”的淘书客，有的因这家书店的选书对味而常来，还有很大一部分群体是年轻人……但实际上，在书店店主眼里，来买书的人并非是某一种用户画像，而是真实的一个个人。

犀牛书店在微信公众号持续更新着“值日僧日记”，将来买书的人买了什么书一一记下；远方书屋的店主说：“几乎所有采访都会问有没有比较有意思的客人故事，但其实我答不出来，每一个都很有意思”；有人在乐开书店看完了一本书，然后买下，让店主送给下一个会对这本书感兴趣的人；有人在梯书店买了好几箱的书，买到书店的人劝说：“先别买那么多，看完再看来买”；小茶书园的很多书友会变成下一个分享者；半层的王壹说，书店的喜悦是日常中一点点积累而来。

一本本书，传递到一个个人手上——这种传递无法被标签化，因为每一次的传递都有每一次的意义。在整齐且大音量的时代声音中，书店里的流动总显得小声而自由。在书店的书架上浏览着一本本书的时候，人面对的不只是书，还有自己——松弛的、打开的、独一无二的自己。在书店，人与人之间的关系是怎样发生的？接纳、珍爱、善意、求知的喜悦、量力而为的日常……它呵护着“人”，关系便自然生长。

小说《书店》的结尾是：“火车开出站时，她坐在那里，羞愧地低着头，因为她生活了将近十年之久的小镇，并不需要一家书店。”

新的一年，受访的这些书店会继续向前走，也有不少书店止步或是暂停于2021。现实对于书店往往很苛刻，正如它对理想的世界一样。我们的生活需要书店吗？答案会使我们羞愧吗？

去逛书店吧。

Like our stories? Follow us on Facebook and Instagram.

 

Contributor: Cheng Li, Chen Yuan
Photographer: Chu Jie
Additional Images Courtesy of FD Kyle

喜欢我们的故事？欢迎关注我们 Neocha 的微博与微信。

 

供稿人: Cheng Li, Chen Yuan
摄影师: Chu Jie
附加图片由 Kyle脚步不停 提供

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Righteous Anger 曲象人间

March 1, 2022 2022年3月1日
Pakitang Tao (2018) Oil on canvas / 76.2 x 121.9 cm 《Pakitang Tao（伪善）》(2018) 布面油画 / 76.2 x 121.9 厘米

Lymuel Aguilar Bautista is angry. The Filipino painter surveys the injustice happening across his country and sees red. His blood boils and his vision blurs. But this rage is used for constructive ends. Such righteous indignation pulls viewers into his canvases, and there’s a universality to his fiery passion. Corruption, classism, misinformation, and greed—they’re all aspects of humanity that are difficult to face, but Bautista makes sure we don’t avert our gaze.

Lymuel Aguilar Bautista 总对身边愤愤不平。在翻阅了国内大量不公平事件之后，这位菲律宾画家将手中的拳头化作犀利的笔触，心中的热血化为颜料，奋笔疾书起来。正义的光芒从画卷中四散开来，不断吸引着观众的目光，感受那来自艺术家内心的灼烧。腐败、阶级固化、媒体的错误引导、以及人与人之间的尔虞我诈、贪婪成性，这些人性中令人不齿的方面被大胆刻画，Lymuel 希望以此唤醒人们的认知。

Balat-Kayo (2018) Oil on canvas / 91.4 x 121.9 cm 《Balat-Kayo（人皮衣）》(2018) 布面油画 / 91.4 x 121.9 厘米
Hayok Sa Laman (2020) Oil on canvas / 91.4 x 122 cm 《Hayok Sa Laman（饥饿游戏）》(2020) 布面油画 / 91.4 x 122 厘米

Like trying to view beyond blazing heat, his paintings are warped, forcing viewers to squint in order to discern the distorted imagery’s meaning. The characters writhe in pain and seduction as if they are being reshaped by the swirling curvatures. Rats nibble at a singed pool of cash while prisoners struggle for a place to sleep on overcrowded floors. Dogs eat each other and liars laugh manically. Fire is also persistent across his output, scorching all in its path. In one, a scarecrow in a brittle field is consumed in flames; in another, the head of a mourner erupts in a fireball as he kneels in front of an open coffin.

The world that Bautista portrays is a terrifying sight, but it’s one rendered with care and skill. “I don’t consider myself an activist,” he says. “I consider it my responsibility as an artist to portray the true events of my time. A time of challenge to our freedom is not a time for fear and silence; it’s the time to stand.” Reality is bleak, but it can still be beautiful, both the throes of struggle and the possibility of hope that the future holds.

Lymuel 的画作以一种极度扭曲的状态呈现，强大的视觉冲击力让观众不敢与之对视。画中的人物在痛苦和诱惑中煎熬，一个个袒露出狰狞、崎岖的面孔，仿佛被溶解在蜿蜒的线条之中。恶狗相互残杀、老鼠围在烧焦纸币贪婪啃噬、囚犯们在拥挤的空间内无法入睡、骗子们疯狂大笑。火，是他作品里频繁出现的意象之一，将所到之处烧得焦黑。

画中的世界阴森可怖，也足以体现他的超群的绘画技艺。“我不认为我是一个社会活动家”，他表示，“作为艺术家，将身边发生的真实事件用艺术捕捉下来是我义不容辞的责任。在我所处的环境，自由受到巨大挑战，而我们更不应害怕或是沉默；反之，我们应奋起抗争”。现实令人沮丧，但它仍能变得美好，没有挣扎就没有可能。

Eksenang Tahimik (2020) Oil on canvas / 91.4 x 91.4 cm 《Eksena Ng Tahimik（万籁俱寂）》(2020) 布面油画 / 91.4 x 91.4 厘米
Kapit-Bahay (2019) Oil on canvas / 91.4 x 91.4 cm 《Kapit-Bahay（本地居民）》(2019) 布面油画 / 91.4 x 91.4 厘米
Balat-Kayo II (2019) Oil on canvas / 91.4 x 121.9 cm 《Balat-Kayo II（人皮衣 2）》(2019) 布面油画 / 91.4 x 121.9 厘米

Bautista usually deals with current events in the Philippines. Drug war victims, murdered farmers, prisoners, and corrupt officials are regular characters in his art. They’re as common in his paintings as they are in news headlines. 

Balat-Kayo II depicts a group of policemen with eyes obscured by the low brim of their hats, all of them led by an officer with red eyes, a Pinocchio nose, and clown makeup. “It’s about the authorities who enforce the law but hypocritically disobey it themselves,” Bautista explains. “This is personal for me because I have friends who’ve experienced it firsthand.” 

A jeepney engulfed in flames in Karag-Karag speaks to the struggles of low-income drivers in the face of new laws and regulations that threaten their livelihoods. And Loading… deals with corruption in the form of unnecessary road repair. He says he witnesses it frequently in his hometown, but it’s suspected as often in New York as it is in Luzon.

Lymuel 的创作围绕菲律宾时事展开。毒品战争中的受难者、被谋害的百姓、在押犯人以及贪污腐败的官吏皆是其作品中经常出现的人物。这些角色也通常是新闻报道中的常客。

作品《Balat-Kayo II（人皮衣 2）》中，一帮警察簇拥在带头警官左右。他红色的双眼杀气凶凶、鼻子高高翘起，像极了黑化的匹诺曹造型。“我想讽刺的是某些道貌岸然的执法人员，他们知法犯法，屡屡越界”，Lymuel 解释道，“这些灵感均来自我的生活，还有一些是身边朋友的亲身经历。”

对于收入微薄的当地司机而言，近几年新出台的法律法规严重影响了他们的生计。Lymuel 以此为灵感创作了作品《Karag-Karag（嗒嗒嗒）》：画面中，吉普巴士熊熊燃烧。当地，另一些菲律宾政府官僚为了掩盖腐败现象，进行无必要的道路修缮，这些也同样被 Lymuel 画在作品中。Lymuel 表示，这一现象不光是在他的家乡吕宋（Luzon）出现，全球各地都时有发生。

Peke (2018) Oil on canvas / 30.5 x 30.5 cm 《Peke（巨响）》(2018) 布面油画 / 30.5 x 30.5 厘米
Karag-Karag (2020) Oil on canvas / 30.5 x 30.5 cm 《Karag-Karag（嗒嗒嗒）》(2020) 布面油画 / 30.5 x 30.5 厘米
Pagdiriwang II (2018) Oil on canvas / 76.2 x 121.9 cm 《Pagdiriwang II（仪式2）》(2018) 布面油画 / 76.2 x 121.9 厘米

He traffics in universal issues in other works as well; insights to be considered regardless of particular circumstances. In one painting, a typewriter burns fiercely, a commentary on how media can be inverted to spread propaganda and misinformation. It’s called Peke (“fake” in English), a commentary on fake news, which has been an increasingly common issue. Though it’s an issue that’s been on an uptick, it’s one that’s reared its head throughout the history of the written word and moving image. Pakitang Tao is an invocation against those who care about appearing proper but are quick to judge others in private. In it, a starkly lit protagonist with a seared halo and freshly cut horns is surrounded by a heavily shadowed, fully horned crowd with black eyes. He’s urging us to be good, even when people aren’t watching. And Pagdiriwang II, which depicts gamblers playing on the Philippines flag during its own funeral, is a not-so-subtle critique about greed consuming a nation from the inside.

作品中反所映的社会问题，在全球各地都具有一定的普遍性。一幅名为《Peke（巨响）》的作品中，打字机被火焰吞噬，表达了媒体在宣传鼓吹和传播虚假信息时的丑陋姿态。Peke，为他加禄语，义为“虚假”。虚假新闻问题由来已久，自文字和动画的诞生以来便不断蒙蔽着大众的双眼。另一幅名为《Pakitang Tao（伪善）》的作品则讽刺了那些表面上恭恭敬敬，私下却随意评判他人的人，Lymuel 在作品中劝诫我们要表里如一，不要背地使坏。作品《Pagdiriwang II（仪式2）》则描绘了一场葬礼，赌徒们在菲律宾国旗上放肆玩乐，针砭时弊地批评了贪婪使国家元气受损这一现象。

The Haunting Wail of Chaos (2018) Oil on canvas / 76.2 x 121.9 cm 《The Haunting Wail of Cahos（混乱哀嚎）》(2018) 布面油画 / 76.2 x 121.9 厘米

Over the past few years, Bautista’s outlook has only gotten darker, descending deeper into anguish. Shades of glowing orange have been stoked into bloody reds, and his imagery is becoming increasingly savage. Most recently, he’s taken to portraying dogs in various states of suffering and violence. The Haunting Wail Of Chaos is the mantel place for everything bothering him, supercharged by the pandemic. A mass of rabid dogs attacks each other, eating each other’s flesh as they’re set ablaze. It’s an allegory for the pain we inflict on each other while suffering from larger forces. The flame is the true source of our troubles, but instead of smothering it, we lash out at each other. The pandemic, the subsequent rise in power of the state, and the increased attacks on dissidence—all of this feeds the fire.

在过去的几年间，Lymuel 的作品基调愈发阴暗，像是深陷在现实悲痛的泥沼之中。画面上，数道橘色火焰与血染的红色相互映衬，整体风格变得愈加凶恶。近来，他的作品大多与狗有关，它们苦苦挣扎于暴力，惨状不一。作品《The Haunting Wail Of Chaos（混乱哀嚎）》像是他在疫情期间烦闷情绪的一次爆发。画面中，狂犬在燎燎火炎中拼命撕咬着彼此，讽喻了一种现象：人们在忍受外界带来的巨大痛苦时依然相互残杀。然而，恶狗身上的火焰才是问题的真正所在，但它们并未及时救火，反而相互推卸责任，伤害彼此。随着疫情的蔓延，随之而来的却是国家内部斗争，以及对异见人士的权力游戏 —— 所有这一切无异于火上浇油。

Panimdim (2021) Oil on canvas / 37 x 29 cm 《Panimdim（悲）》(2021) 纸上石墨和油彩 / 37 x 29 厘米
Bisperas Ng Pagdiriwang (2019) Oil on canvas / 30.5 x 30.5 cm 《Bisperas Ng Pagdiriwang（典礼前夕）》(2019) 布面油画 / 30.5 x 30.5 厘米

It takes unflinching honesty to find solutions to our problems, and this is Bautista’s ultimate goal. Hope shines even in his most harsh paintings. This is perhaps best encapsulated in Panimdim, which depicts a man with his head being sawed off but is designed to convey a message of personal redemption. “It’s about healing one’s self and learning to fight whatever fire surrounds us,” he says. “It symbolizes the dream that strives to be released from within, where you learn to heal the wound caused by defeat and rediscover the light within.”

若想解决问题，我们必须真诚、坦然，并且毫不畏惧 —— 这是 Lymuel 想要告诉我们的道理。就算在他最为怪诞阴暗的作品中，希望之光仍绽放。这一点在他的作品《Panimdim（悲）》中得以最好的呈现，男人的断脖之间喷涌出金色的光束，传递出了自我救赎的讯息。“这幅作品表达了自我疗愈以及学会战胜生活中各种挑战的愿望”，他接着说到，“它象征着炽热的梦想，前行的道路总会受伤，但能帮我们重拾内心的光芒。”

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Contributor: Mike Steyels
Chinese Translation: Alice Zhang

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供稿人: Mike Steyels
英译中: Alice Zhang

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