富邦藝術基金會

2008粉樂町展覽理念
彈跳前，屈膝蹬地的爆發力超乎所想

記憶中2001年粉樂町到2007年粉樂町間相隔了將近6年，所有人都在殷殷期盼下一次的到來會是什麼時候？粉樂町之所以充滿迷人的魔力乃在於它以裝置藝術為號召，搭起了藝術在因地制宜空間下的爆發力，一種讓觀者產生更貼近生活感受的理解。而富邦藝術基金會在跨越十年有成的腳步之後，再邁出的第一步顯然格外重要，即便在二十一世紀的當下，全球化使然的發展讓生活中已處處藏匿美學的養分，藝術更隨著五感神經大方地出走美術館奔放玩耍，然而我們得以如此自由灑脫，不能諱言地這是從過去到現在的一種蛻變歷程。若將時間倒退一些來看，1990年代是「裝置藝術」觀念剛引進台灣藝壇的最初時期，從當時創作的表現形態、觀念意識、複合媒材的豐富使用等，無疑地為這塊土地的藝術生態帶來許多新興面向，而這一路的發展，到新媒體的出現、政府大力標榜著「old is new」的標語推動文化創產，種種後浪推前浪的源源不絕，讓當今的藝術面貌如此多元，當然跨領域合作也不再陌生，比起過往，人們對美感經驗的學習與認知已然提升。那麼，在這個美力時代之外，我們還有什麼寶貴的經驗傳承能夠從中再度被焠煉出來？

台北東區是粉樂町當代藝術展一貫發聲的基地，相信對多數的7、8年級生而言，吸引他們來此的是沿街絢爛流行的消費文化，但我們對這塊土地所承載的記憶又知道多少？當我們步行在看得見的街道巷弄，穿梭在若隱若現的文化中，若要了解我們所居住的城市，則應該要回首追溯它走過的腳印，找尋出它應有發展的變奏基調。由此，我們決定用行動在這塊大家熟悉且陌生的社區裡，每年固定在夏日季節以粉樂町當代藝術展的面貌來深耕藝術的種子，藉由藝術地圖，不斷挖掘這塊土地的在地風貌，更在逐年累積的能量中孕育出屬於台北東區特有的城市風格。2008粉樂町，將是一個宣示性的開始，我們都知道起跑前，最重要的力量來自於那股踏緊腳跟，用力回蹬後的反彈作用力，蹬地爆發力越大，地面產生的反作用力也越大，身體跳離地面就越高。因此，這一回蹬，2008粉樂町以歷史回溯的角度，讓我們跟隨藝術家的敏銳觀察，閱讀他們所表述台北東區在時代變遷下的故事和容貌，有些從地理年代說起、有些結合展點空間的記憶、抑或是創作者們思忖自身的轉變歷程到對台北東區的眷戀情感等等，在此引用波根（Louise Bogan）在《環屋之旅》（Journey Around My Room）中所提到的一段話：

「任何旅行最初的秘密在於：旅行者一開始怎麼來到起點的？我怎麼到這窗口、這牆邊？這火爐？這房間？我怎麼會正好站在這天花板下和這地板之上？啊！那是讓人臆測，值得正反兩面辯論，讓人研究、猜測、推論的問題！…………如果我曾擁有指南針，則它已失蹤良久。然而，我之所以在此，必有某種合理的解釋。我為何舉步朝此，而非地球上其他任何地點？我必須思考，我必須找出原因。」1

對生長在東區、年過五十長輩們的記憶中，六O年代的台北東區有著整片的農地菜圃，走的是田埂路，是安靜的巷道，聽過公圳故事，或曾眺望「復旦落日」美景等，這一路上有許多令人津津樂道的回憶大事紀，像台北市第一批建造為四層公寓集合住宅的光武新村、叱吒七O年代全盛期的阿波羅大廈、到八O年代各式百貨業如雨後春筍般快速發展，就此大大顛覆了東區的生活型態。有多年發展沿革的建築或商行也成為今日我們提及東區地理所在的地標：擁有四十年歷史的順成蛋糕、三十年歷史的復興小學、二十年歷史的東區粉圓、更有頂好商圈、龍門廣場、香檳大廈、216巷等如數家珍的「古蹟」隱匿於此。當然新穎文藝味兒的，就屬誠品書局。當我們行走在台北東區裡，若有幸福滋味，想必該是這新舊交替之間，有些人從過往走來，有些人在未來參與，雖不同世代，卻仍隱隱滲透於空氣中的相同情懷吧！

2008粉樂町所規劃的遊走地圖在2007年原B區（敦化南路一段、忠孝東路四段、忠孝東路223巷、市民大道四段）的街廓內展開，約略有30間複合式商家及開放空間參與，其中非常特別的是擁有四十年歷史的行道會台北教會，以及土地銀行北區退休同仁聯誼會提供了展點的空間，讓我們得以從中窺知這區塊的變革。當然也包括了與交通工具相關的場所：忠孝敦化捷運站內的燈箱、忠孝敦化與市民敦化兩處的公車候車亭，還有大台北地區不定點移動的計程車，添加觀看展點的機動性。而參展藝術家們橫跨了四到八年級生，調味出創作生態中提攜後進的繁茂盛況，作品形式更是有展現當道的新媒體之外，也不乏從陶藝、剪紙、繪畫等傳統技藝中來詮釋當代的新鮮滋味。

今日榮景，乃是開墾、革命、及不斷學習而來，我們期待2008粉樂町所帶來的是跨向前瞻之前的一股回蹬力量，當我們隨著世界前行的同時，反思前人所留下的智慧將引領我們走得更遠。而這一回蹬，為的是凝聚迸發一股更為強大而飽滿的前行能量，讓未來每年度的粉樂町都能有追尋前往的步履，也熟知我們腳下的每一吋土地。

策展團隊富邦藝術基金會

1 《Journey Around My Room》，Louise Bogan，1980

Before the leap, the powerful impact garnered from the bended knees surpasses the imaginable

Upon recollection, the time between Very Fun Parks 2001 and 2007 is nearly six years, and many waits eagerly for the arrival of the next one. The reason that Very Fun Park is so full of magical charm is because of the installation arts it contains. An impact is produced from the art created in the limited spaces and also from the intimate understanding that draws the onlookers closer by becoming more personal with life. Upon crossing the anniversary of its 10th year of establishment, Fubon Art Foundation believes that this milestone step is extremely important. Even in this globalized 21st century, where aesthetic essentials are ever so prevalent, and art has followed the five senses and roamed outside the confinements of the museum walls, we still remain liberated and at ease, and we can proudly say that this is because of the metamorphosing journey that we have been on from the past to the present. If we were to rewind time, the beginning of the 90's was when installation art was first introduced to Taiwan. The presentational styles, conceptual ideas, usages of abundant mixed media all have undoubtedly helped to shape the new directions for the art scene in this land. Through out the developments including the emergence of the new media and with the government's efforts for culture promotion with slogans such as "old is new", the art scene is continuously hit with rising waves that have resulted in today's multidimensional art varieties. Certainly, cross-over collaboration is no longer alien, and in comparison with the past, the public's aesthetic knowledge and understanding have elevated greatly. Consequently, what other valuable experiences can we extract from this aesthetics filled era?

The Taipei East District has always been the base for Very Fun Park Contemporary Art Exhibition, and certainly the reason that the generations that were borne in the 80's and 90's are attracted to this location is because of its glamorous and trendy consumer appeals; however,what memories do we hold towards this place? When we stroll down the alleyways and linger in and out of its hidden cultures, if we were to strive to understand further about the city we live in, we must retrace its footsteps to discover the variation keynotes of its projected developments; therefore, we have decided to take action in this community that most are so familiar yet so estranged with. We intend to plant deeply the seed of art by organizing Very Fun Park Contemporary Art Exhibition annually each summer and through the map of art to continue to cultivate the domestic specialties of this land and to preserve an energy that belongs to the cosmopolitan Taipei East District. The 2008 Very Fun Park is a declaration, and we are aware that before running the most important power comes from rebounding the feet against the ground. The more impact garnered from the rebound, the greater the reversal energy will be able to transmit from the ground, and the higher the body will be able to leap. It is this leap that has inspired the 2008 Very Fun Park to take on a retrospective perspective that allows us to follow the specific observations of the artists by analyzing their interpretations of the stories and faces of the evolving Taipei East District. Some observations take on historic and geographical angles, and some have combined the memories of the exhibition spaces in their works, while other presentations are the artists' personal nostalgias towards the changing Taipei East District. To tie in with the premise of this year's exhibition, an excerpt from Louise Bogan's Journey Around My Room seems to illustrate the ideas quite fittingly:

“The initial mystery that attends any journey is: how did the traveler reach his starting point in the first place? How did I reach the window, the walls, the fireplace, the room itself; how do I happen to be beneath this ceiling and above this floor? Oh, that is a matter for conjecture, for argument pro and con, for research, supposition, dialectic! I can hardly remember how. Unlike Livingstone, on the verge of darkest Africa, I have no maps to hand, no globe of the terrestrial or the celestial spheres, no chart of mountains, lakes, no sextant, no artificial horizon. If ever I possessed a compass, it has long since disappeared. There must be, however, some reasonable explanation for my presence here. Some step started me toward this point, as opposed to all other points on the habitable globe. I must consider; I must discover it.”

--Louise Bogan, Journey Around My Room

For the elder generations that have grown-up in the East District, the area was once an agricultural land in the 60's, and the passageways were once quiet alleys or farming trails. These are generations that are familiar with the Liougong Irrigation Waterway or have witnessed the beautiful sunset from the Fudan Bridge. There are many historical memories and records created along the way, such as the first four-story apartment complex, the Guangwu New Residential Quarter or the Apollo Building that enjoyed its prime in the 70's and all the way to the fast-paced developments of the department stores in the 80's. All of the above have vastly changed the ways of living in the East District. Furthermore, many well established developers or businesses have also become today's East District landmarks, and some of the most distinguished are the 40-year-old Shun Chen Bakery, the 30-year-old Fu-Hsin Elementary School, the 20-year-old Eastern Ice Store, and there are also many other precious historic spots hidden in this district, such as the Ding-Hao Shopping Area, the Long-Men Plaza, the Champagne Building, the 216th Alley, and etc…Amongst these locations, the newest trendy spot with a distinct art and culture flare has to be the Eslite Bookstore. When one walks in the Taipei East District, perhaps the sense of blessedness felt maybe coming from the exchanges between the new and the old, and with the different generations passing by and also with the anticipation for the future new-comers, although coming from different eras, the air still emits a sense of connected familiarity for all.

The map routes for the 2008 Very Fun Park has expanded out from Area B in the 2007 exhibition (Dun-Hua South Road, Sec 1, Zhong-Xiao East Road, Sec 4, Zhong-Xiao East Road, Alley 223, Civic Boulevard, Sec 4), and about thirty various stores and open spaces are included. Amongst these locations, the particularly unique exhibition spaces are the 40-year-old Evangelical Covenant Church of Taipei and the Northern Branch of the retired fellow workers club of the Land Bank, and these locations allow us to further look into the evolutions of this district. The exhibition area also includes spaces within the public transportation zones, such as the light boxes inside Zhong-Xiao Dun-Hua Metro Station, the bus stop at the Dun-Hua and Civic Intersection, and further extends out to the moving taxis in the greater Taipei, which allows for more mobility to the exhibition spaces. The participating artists include a wide selection from different generations crossing from the 50’s to the 90’s, with intends to allow for the generations passing of the elders guiding and assisting the younger generations. The genres of artworks not only include contemporary new media, other traditional art forms, such as ceramics, paper-cutting, and drawings are also used in new contemporary ways.

The prosperity of today comes from developments, revolutions, and constant learning and we look forward to the ground-breaking rebound force that the 2008 Very Fun Park will bring. When we follow the progressing world, introspection of the wisdoms of the people before us will lead us to march on further. The action of the rebound is to help garner a stronger and fuller progressive energy that will allow the up-coming annual Very Fun Park to follow the path paved by its forerunners and will continue to familiarize ourselves with every inch of land that we set our foot on.