文/ 汪正翔 TEXT / Sean Wong
翻譯/ 陳仲麟
I remember one time we taked about ‘Portfolio Review’during a dinner with lots of artists. Some people think this kind of event totoally like plenty of professionals exchanging their opinions about artworks. I don’t think it something bad. However, if now we’re talking about “trying make our artworks to be honored”, especially wish to be honored by professionals abroad, make me feel something weird inside, even thought it intends to do good things.
朋友聚會時討論到「專家評圖」（Portfolio Review）這類活動，有時候像是抱著多一個人討論的心態，我覺得這件事沒什麼不好。但如果把眼光放大到整個「作品被看見」的模式，特別是被國外專家看見，雖然立意良好，但順著事件發展就總會覺得什麼地方怪怪的。
早期的單向式的，造就如今的經典作品
以攝影來講，過去早期「被看見」這件事是取決於一些知識/創作精英，這裡沒有任何貶義。在學院沒有發展成熟之際，這些人成為了攝影的眼光與話語。如果說藝術界是一個荒原，那「知識精英的看見」就像是一個探照燈，在一片漆黑之中掃視。而少數被照亮的作品，就成為了我們今天所談論的經典。隨著知識與創作的分化與藝術學院的興起，以及全球化藝術資訊流通的影響，如今我們更常看見是由學院內的研究者或創作者，發動一些具有延續性的主題。
Take photography for example, in the past few decades in this field, the honor of most kinds of awards or competitions, were decided by some few people who own knowledge, secrecy, and elite education. Those people would be responsible for picking something good enough and then present those work for the world, before the rise of art school. If we say the whole field like a wildland, those people are just like the searchlight, searching something good enough which make the classic works we see now.
面對全球化資訊的流動，藝術創作者如何參與、並「被看見」？
這套模式的另一面，會不會也是同時反映著，台灣創作者長期以來缺少由自己發動議題（光源）的機制。這話當然說的有點武斷，的確有很多藝術家自身的活動，他們也邀請國內外的策展人藝評家等等，讓藝術家「被看見」。但有時候，我們經常會感覺這些受邀而來的藝廊人士或策展人，多半屬於國外比較外圍的系統。記得從紐約回來之後，有一次與朋友親身參與，關於那次活動受邀來台的專業人士，我們甚至意外發現他們來到台灣有一種受寵若驚的感覺。而另一個讓藝術「被看見」的方法，就是去參加國外次級的比賽或群展之類的活動，這並沒有什麼不好，但了解內情之後也就會知道實際上就是那樣。
Facing the globalization and international flow of information, how can artists make their artworks to be saw by the professionals?
In the other side of this issue, is there any possibility for us to think that we lack of making ourselves become the one who own the ‘light’? As we know, there is a lot of activity not onlt in Taiwan but also in Japan, Shanghai, Hong Kong. Most of them do invite some curator, art critic, or even art historian.
Because of the globalization and international flow of information as well as the the diversity of education and creation, now we can see more and more researcher or artists in the Institute of Contemporary Art launching some activity about art by themselves. However, the question we would like to ask about is that, most of the time, we couldn’t find the clear main reason why the host invite them.
For example, I remember one time I went to an art event with my artists friends, and we accidentally find out even the invitee also feel confuse about why he got invitation to this kind of lecture to be the speaker. Thanks to the globalization and international flow of information, it’s easy for people to find some information by internet. In the way, it won’t be so hard for us to find out where any people from or even judge is he or she belong to the main system or not.
作為藝術家，我們希望被什麼給「看見」？
我們會說，本來學院就是最有能力發動議題與詮釋「看見」的勢力，台灣與國外皆然。但是國外不只有學院這個系統，他們還有許多介於學院與藝術之間的策展人、評論家，能夠形成一種「看見」的觀點。其次，這整個看見的系統也並非單向的。 他們不只根據既有議題來徵集作品，同時他們也不停地從藝術家身上得到新的「可見」。因為這些原因，當他們聽到「作品被專家看見」，並不會覺得這有什麼刺耳的地方。因為系統裡存在各種角度專家很多，被看見的機會也是。
As an artists, what kind of honor we would like to involve?
We all know that any institute of Contemporary Art from every country including Taiwan do have the power to luach different kind of way to present the idea they figure out. Yet, in other foreign countries, they got more system to form and even organize some comment, for example, independent reviewer, independent curator. Most of all, thse comment won’t be one-way opinon only, it might be multi-direction or even no-limit instead of just “It’s good.”only.
反觀在台灣，創作者未必能夠對於「專家看見」這套模式平心以對，我們要不試圖走進這個光照範圍，要不就是反抗它，覺得那是像索倫一樣的邪眼。然後忘記藝術家身處在當代藝術裡，應當是定義什麼是光源，而非靜待被照亮的人。
Now in Taiwan, this is not the first time for us to learn that there are so many dissatisfied artists. To some artists, the choice for them to walk in the illumination or not, just like facing the Eye of Soren. As a artists, we should nerver forget to think about how to be the people who DEFINE what is ‘light’ instead of how to be AT the range of the illumination.
好文，但是Taiwan被拼錯兩次….
“As we know, there is a lot of activity not onlt in Taiwna but also in Japan, Shanghai, Hong Kong.”以及
“Now in Taiwna, this is not the first time for us to learn that there are so many dissatisfied artists.”