Studio Story

超傳波Photo by DAC in B!as 2015: Taiwan-Belgium Sound Art Exchange Project:Hyper Transmission – Fujui Wang Live Performance,2015

3. City-Sonic-2015-ZoeTabourdiot94++Photo by DAC in B!as 2015: Taiwan-Belgium Sound Art Exchange Project:Hyper Transmission – Fujui Wang Live Performance,2015 『台異響2015─台比聲音藝術交流計畫』,分別由台北數位藝術中心,以及比利時「跨文化數位與聲音文化中心」(Transcultures, Center of digital and audio cultures)主辦,推介當地最具代表性之聲音藝術家至蒙斯、台北展演。

How does Lu Yi start to collaborate with Fujui Wang?
為何會有「Soundwatch Studio 響相工作室」?兩人如何開始合作?

Lu Yi:
At the time, I wanted to take a path of life beyond one could imagine. Simply speaking, I didn’t want to be a stray teacher anymore and wanted to prove to my family that I could change profession. Meanwhile, I met artist Fujui Wang by chance; he was looking for an administrative assistant to help him to arrange his trips. I wasn’t sure whether if I was really capable of entering the field of art or that of sound art. In my college years, I was trained as a primary school teacher in fine arts which were more about the craft. My idea about​ ​art was quite limited. Moreover, I wasn’t sure whether if I could change my position as a​ ​stray teacher. At the time, the only solution I’ve got was to work as a freelancer while​ ​working for Fujui. So I always had a part-time job in a private art class for children, a small​ ​design company, in MOCA Taipei or worked as a freelance arts journalist. I sought any job I​ ​could found. It was also through journalism that I had chances to interview artists like Shen​ ​Sheng-Po, Chang Geng-Hau, Niu Chun-Chiang, among others. As for MOCA Taipei, it was​ ​when Fujui prepared a solo show, “Hyper Transmission” in MOCA Studio that I saw the​ ​museum’s job ad to hire part-time employees for public service. Considering this a chance​ ​to learn art closely, I didn’t hesitate to apply for the job. So I worked four days a week for​ ​Fujui; on the other three days, I worked for MOCA with a team of rather young people.

盧藝:
這要倒回到自己當時2011年從舊金山回台後,想走一條想像之外的人生路,簡單來說就是不想再當流浪教師,想跟家人證明有能力轉行,也剛好遇到聲音藝術家王福瑞正在找一名行政助手,幫忙處理他出差的個人事務,當時也不是很清楚是否自己真有能力,可以走入藝術或聲藝這領域裡,自身擁有的能力也就只有自學的視覺設計,與大學教育的背景,對藝術的想法很有限,對所謂新媒體藝術也只停留在欣賞或空想的階段,更不確定自己是否真的能夠脫離流浪教師的行列,那時想到唯一的方法就是,以接案的方式一邊跟著福瑞,所以一直都還有另一份兼職工作同時進行中,在兒童繪畫教室、小設計公司、藝文特約記者和台北當代館打工….有看到什麼機會就去,那時候就藉著記者的機會採訪過沈聖博、張耿豪、牛俊強…等藝術家;台北當代藝術館的工作是因為福瑞要在MOCA Studio《超傳波Hyper Transmission》個展,看到官網徵公眾服務工讀生,想說這也是份近距離學習藝術的機會,又只是一週去三天,也沒多想就去應徵了,就這樣一週四天替福瑞工作,另外三天是在當代館,跟著一群年紀超青春的小朋友工作。(笑)

威林頓城,The Russian Frost Farmers GalleryPhoto by Soundwatch in the Russian Frost Farmers Gallery,Wellington,NZ

基督城,The Physics Room GalleryPhoto by White Fungus in the Physics Room Gallery,Christchurch,NZ

Lu Yi:
Between 2012 and 2013, an international magazine on avant-garde art, White Fungus​ ​​invited our studio to tour abroad and hold several exhibitions and performances. Besides,​ ​we joined “Depopulate 01”, “Depopulate 02”, “Depopulate 03” and “Depopulate 05”, a series​ ​of events held in Taipei for the magazine’s launch. Afterwards, I gradually felt that the​ ​situation allowed me to get closer to art and that I could begin to assist in controlling the​ ​real-time images in the performance of “Hyper Transmission”. I wanted to let Fujui​ ​concentrate more on his sound performance. Moreover, I thought the best way to learn was​ ​doing it yourself(i.e. being on the stage together). The psyche of a co-performer on the​ ​stage differs from that of an audience or someone assisting in filming. When you’re on the​ ​stage, you feel a real tension. You prepare more in advance and get more feedback​ ​afterwards.

The first time I went on stage with Fujui was in our performance in “Onsite” in​ ​Taipei in 2014; I was in charge of the visual part. And it was in April 2015 in England that I​ ​made my first personal sound performance. Both performances were important to me and​ ​the studio in the sense that people began to identify my role differently. Although the two​ ​of us have started to make projects under the name “Soundwatch Studio” in 2011, it was​ ​after these two performances that we really began to gain attention. More and more, Fujui​ ​would introduce me as his working partner, not merely an assistant. As for job division,​ ​roughly speaking, Fujui is more oriented towards technology/development/production​ ​whereas I’m more oriented towards​ ​writing/administration/workshops/documentation/media promotion. Our relation is not​ ​so much about a master and a disciple or a senior and a subordinate. Rather, we’ve​ ​developed ways of mutual coordination from many years of collaboration.

盧藝:
在2012到2013年間,國際前衛雜誌《白木耳White Fungus》邀請工作室巡迴海外多場展演,以及陸續在台北的雜誌發行活動《Depopulate 01》、《Depopulate 02》、《Depopulate 03》和《Depopulate 05》演出後,漸漸地整個狀態讓我有更接近藝術的機會,開始可以幫忙控制《超傳波 Hyper Transmission》表演中的即時影像,除了可以讓福瑞更專心在聲音表演上,做更多分擔外,我的想法是:學習最好的方式就是去動手做(一起上舞台),這和當個聽眾或幫忙攝影的內心狀態是不同的,站在台上會感覺到一份真實的緊張感,事前準備會更認真,也會更有回饋。

我和福瑞的第一次一起站上舞台,是2014年台北《混種Onsite》表演,以及我自己個人2015年在英國《射殺鋼琴師-台北90-95噪音現場》表演。這兩場表演對我自己和工作室很重要,因為外界開始對自己的角色有所轉變,雖然2011年兩人就以「響相工作室Soundwatch Studio」執行一些案子,真的開始得到一些外界關注是在這兩場表演之後,漸漸地福瑞介紹我時也不只是助手,更會說是事業上夥伴(partner),而工作室內部分工,大致上福瑞偏向技術/研發/製作,我偏向文字/行政/工作坊/記錄/媒體宣傳,不只是師徒和上下屬關係,兩人更有長達多年工作上磨合來的默契。

Demolition Eve01Photo by Watan in《拆除前夕-論壇與聲音表演》陳界仁策劃,2012

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Photo by Jil and Vivy

What Fujui thinks about Lu Yi?
福瑞對盧藝的看法?

Fujui:
The name of my website, “Soundwatch” includes “watch”; I attempt to imply some contrast.​ ​I hope they experience sound through another sense rather than the conventional​ ​understanding of sound through listening/hearing. It’s the same for noise; it requires a​ ​different angle of listening and definition. After Yi Lu joined the studio, I was allowed to​ ​concentrate more on my sound art since she shared some of my work. It’s also thanks to​ ​her consistent help and accumulated experience, we finally came to hold a show of us​ ​under the name of Soundwatch studio. The show in the DigiLog sound lab differs from the context of my own sound art context in that we came to apply a​ ​kind of sense of object, of design and ideas that were more accessible to the public.

Lu Yi has a kind of naivety. Her personality implies eagerness and obstinacy. Maybe it’s​ ​because she wanted to change her family’s expectation on her of becoming a primary​ ​school teacher, she was always impatient to see the result. In recent years, she has tried​ ​many things. In addition to administration affairs I assigned her at the start, she also​ ​ventured into fanpage management, visual documentation of performances, text​ ​documentation of interviews and filing curators’ emails. Besides, she also assisted in​ ​producing works and took n several educational workshops. The more well-known​ ​projects she took part in are the education project in rural areas by the Shiner Education​ ​Foundation and visual and sound performances in collaboration with French designer​ ​Sébastien Labrunie.

福瑞:
我自己的個人網站名字Soundwatch中用字watch就希望有反差的意思,讓大家不要以原有『聽』(listen/hear) 來解讀去理解聲音這件事,而是運用另一種感官去體驗,噪音也是一樣,需要用另一種角度去聆聽和定義,工作室加上盧藝後,她可以幫忙分擔一些,讓我更可以專心在聲音創作上,也因為有她一直以來的幫忙和經驗累積,我們這次終於有了以響相工作室名義兩人的展,有別我原來聲音藝術的創作脈絡,改用一種物件感、設計、親民的想法概念在《DigiLog聲響實驗室》呈現。

盧藝有股傻勁,個性上很好強也很固執,工作上有時候會想太多而在原地打轉,可能也是她想要改觀家族對她原有從事國小老師的期待,所以她老是很急著想要看到成果,這幾年她做了許多嘗試,除了原有的行政事務外,嘗試了粉絲專頁經營、表演攝影記錄、文字訪談記錄、策展人來信的資料整理、輔助作品製作等等,也接了許多教學工作坊,現在大家比較知道是她《立賢基金會The Shiner Education Foundation》的偏鄉教育計畫以及與法國設計師Sébastien Labrunie的視覺與聲音合作表演。

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What Lu Yi thinks about Fujui?
盧藝對福瑞的看法?

Lu Yi:
Fujui has a lot of confidence in me. He would directly authorize me to do certain jobs. ​Basically our opinions are quite similar and he also often lets me talk about my opinions. I​ ​would approach discussions from the angle of an onlooker or of a museum rather than that​ ​of an artist. After all, during the two years I worked for​ MOCA Taipei, I’ve observed each​ ​exhibition and how visitors looked at artworks. I also learned a lot about how to comment​ ​on art. Sometimes I’d have some whimsical ideas and Fujui always says, “You’ll only know​ ​after you’ve tried” or “Do it right away if you feel it’s right and don’t think too much”. I​ ​remember how I printed the QR code of the studio’s website link on the back of my​ ​cell phone​ and asked people I met in openings or performances to scan that code so we got​ ​more likes on​ our fan page​. Usually,​ people find it hard to refuse when they’re asked vis-a-vis(laugh). I also re-designed the studio’s logo and printed it on stickers to give to people,​ ​or put the logo on T-shirts Fujui wore on the stage, etc. In short, Fujui generously lets​ me try​ ​anything I could, which certainly gradually involved performing on the stage and sound art-making. Since I began to collaborate with Sébastien, Fujui has attended almost all our​ ​performances.

Having worked with Fujui for so many years, I know he clings to perfection and his​ ​persistence in continuing on the path of sound art. This moved me and encouraged me to​ ​run the studio with him. It’s a resolution to go through ups and downs together and to​ ​explore a kind of individuality of life. We should work hard, cherish time, confront the​ ​society’s doubt and consistently challenge our internal and external limits. The unknown​ ​and the feeling of adventure in taking this path were very attractive to​ me.

盧藝:
福瑞對我很信任,把一些工作直接授權。我不需要寫太多細節的email,或是要花很多時間與福瑞溝通,基本上兩人對很多事物上看法滿一致,福瑞也常常問我意見,我會把藝術家以外的觀點(例如以旁觀者或美術館的角度)切入討論,畢竟先前在《當代館Moca Taipei》有兩年時間觀察每一檔展覽,在展間來回看著觀眾怎麼欣賞藝術品,怎麼評論作品,也滿有心得的。另外福瑞也很鼓勵我創作,不只是創作聲音,也很支持我做很多不同的嘗試,有時候我突然會有些怪想法,福瑞都會說那去試才知道,或你覺得對就趕快去做,不要想那麼多,做了遇到問題再來解決。我記得為了要衝工作室FB專頁的按讚人數,就把網址印成QR Code貼在手機背面,每一次在開幕或表演現場認識新朋友,我就把手機轉過來請他們用手機掃描按讚,通常當面要求對方都很難拒絕(笑),後來也重新設計印製工作室LOGO貼紙發送,或幫福瑞表演黑衣印上親手製作的LOGO…之類的,總之我能做的福瑞都很大方讓我去嘗試,當然後來漸漸也開始站上舞台表演和創作聲音,與Sébastien一起合作後幾乎每一次表演,福瑞都會到場支持。

有一部日本紀錄片《拉麵之神 The GOD of Ramen》,裡面主角山岸一雄被稱之為神,本身的固執堅持的能量是要很巨大的,不斷地撐著心中想要完成的事,在起起伏伏的創作路上往前進,也從不藏私去計較自身擁有的功夫,不吝嗇分享給學藝的學徒,那狀態就會擁有一種純然氣場散發出來,讓人感受到一股吸引力與爆發力,而我幫福瑞工作這麼多年,知道他這份執善的內心和不斷堅持創作聲藝路,感動了我,也激勵了我一起與他共同經營工作室,一同進退的決心,探索一種生命獨特性,要拼命工作,要珍惜時間,要面對社會對自身的質疑,要不斷挑戰自己內外的極限,走在這條路上的那種未知感與冒險感,很吸引我。

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Photos by Soundwatch

Some interesting projects by the Soundwatch Studio.
相關有趣的案子?

Lu Yi:
In 2015, Fujui was invited to record real sounds from Taipei for a project titled “One​ ​City One Sound”. So Fujui and I went to several locations to collect sounds, including the​ ​area with many bird shops on Heping W. Rd., the basement of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum,​ ​the Da-an Forest Park and the metro station there, etc. Fujui used a Superlux S502 ORTF​ ​microphone and a Sound Devices 722 recorder. The piece involves the following text, “I​ ​was surprised to hear an intense burst of birds’ sing during a ride in the city. It’s rare to​ ​have such an experience in a city. Being caged, birds from ​nature become quite​ ​artificial. They also reflect the urban life with dense population…”.​

​The project requires accompanying visual elements for the sounds. I used to sketch​ ​casually. So I spontaneously asked to do the visual part. When I was about to draw, I​ ​thought birds in the real world are already caged, just like people in the city. If I draw cages,​ ​it would be visually uncomfortable. I also didn’t want to repeat the feeling of being​ ​restrained. I finished the drawing and sent it out. The project manager was quite​ ​surprised by​ the visual representation. I’ve been complacent secretly for some time. I​ ​felt it’s a chance where I could​ ​make a different interpretation to make the studio’s work​ ​better. I also felt my role is just the watch in Soundwatch!

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盧藝:
除了大家比較知道的國際和台灣的展演外,在2015年​因為《​TANC聽得見的城市 |​ ​一聲一城》​計劃,邀請福瑞錄製台北​實地的聲音​。兩人便在和平西路​的​鳥街、北美館的地下室、大安森林公園和捷運站…等處進行​聲音採集​,福瑞使用Superlux S502 ORTF麥克風和Sound Device​s​ 722錄音機錄音,​並搭配一段文章:『一次坐車經過聽到一陣密集的鳥鳴而感到驚奇,很難在都市有此聆聽經驗…鳥兒密集關在鳥籠中,形成非常人工的自然,像似電子音樂般,也好似人口密集的都市生活…』。

計畫中需要為聲音畫出一些輔助的視覺,這也是我以前就會亂塗亂畫的,聽到計畫中有需要視覺的部分,就主動要求這塊,原本要如實地畫出籠中鳥,但動筆時想到現實中鳥就像都市人都已經被關在籠子裡,如果再畫出鳥籠,除了視覺上不舒服外,內心真的不想再一次有束縛感。完成後寄出給對方後,福瑞說對方回信很驚訝視覺呈現的部份,這件事讓我暗暗高興了好一陣子,自己正好可以運用另一種詮釋方式來為工作室加分,也覺得自己的角色就是Soundwatch裡的watch!