19.5.06

蕃茄先生


蕃茄先生?!

話說我和老公兩人,七月份找了個慶祝結婚週年的理由,來了趟浪漫的巴黎之旅。老公中學是藝術學校畢業,對西方美術知之甚詳,我也樂得有個會慢慢跟我解釋典故的導遊,硬是趁著身在這個世界知名藝術之都的機會,增加一下自己的氣質!

我們的旅館就在王室宮殿(Palais Royal)旁離羅浮宮不遠處,走路大概五分鐘就到了博物館大門,在經過王室宮殿要到地鐵站之前,掛著一幅偌大的海報,上面這個對我來說很稀奇古怪的名字,配上海報上造型特別的雕塑品,對我有種莫名的吸引力。對西方美術極為熟悉的另一半看著:「啊!Pomodoro!我們去看看好嗎?」我趁機問道:「這位Mr. Tomato是何方神聖啊?」聽到我以蕃茄先生稱呼著這位義大利著名的近代雕塑大師(因為pomodoro就是義大利文中的蕃茄),對他來說,我好像冒犯到人家似的,馬上急著糾正我,「是Pomodoro啦!什麼蕃茄先生…」越看他這樣,我便故意頑皮起來,越是要以蕃茄先生稱呼之…在爭戰一番以後,我們還是回到了正題,他對我的疑問做出簡短的說明,並決定當天傍晚回旅館休息前去參觀這個在宮殿花園中舉辦的特展。

著名的蕃茄先生全名為Arnaldo Pomodoro,現居義大利米蘭市,是義大利最著名的當代雕塑大師之一,早年專門從事建築物修護的工作,其雕塑作品於1955年於米蘭市航Naviglio美術館第一次呈現在世人眼前。1963年,大師的作品於巴西聖保羅市雙年展中獲得激賞,榮獲國際雕塑獎,次年於威尼斯雙年展中舉辦第一次個展,之後開始在世界各大城市舉辦大小個展。大師很多作品都是為特定場地而創作,其作品已被各國各大知名美術館所收藏。

我們所參觀的是大師回顧特展,十幾件大型銅雕作品零星分佈在王室宮殿花園之間,簡單來說,「光滑完美表面的幾何形體與其中高度複雜之含混晦澀」為其作品之共通特色,看起來像是硬把完美的幾何形體剝開,意圖尋求其內部機制一樣。看完這些別具特色的作品以後,我個人談不上有受到什麼啟發,不過我想最重要的一點,是我覺得他的作品「很有趣」!對自稱為美術白癡、藝術新鮮人的我來說,沒有被所謂的「藝術」氣勢來個下馬威,沒有因為看到這些藝術品而裹足不前,就已經是很大的進步了。殊不知搬到歐洲來之前的我,對於任何有關藝術的空間與物品,總是覺得有很大的距離感,因為喜歡為眼前所有事物找到合理的想法與解釋,加上又深怕他人發現我不懂藝術,各種過程中不免喪失了欣賞的樂趣。來到歐洲以後的第一件事,就是告訴自己要放下身段,不要試圖讓自己成為什麼美學大師,也不要怕丟臉而不敢發問,一切都從最基本的欣賞做起,覺得「好玩、有趣」最重要,也就是從這樣的態度開始,我開始踏進美術館,而藝術,也逐漸融入我的生活之中。

PS.這篇文章是2002年十月寫的。方才在查Pomodoro的資料,也想起了這篇文章,所以順手貼了過來。

PPS.剛查出來米蘭有間由藝術家所創設的博物館Fondazione Arnaldo Pomodoro,如果沒意外,下次去米蘭會順便轉過去玩耍,希望不久的將來能把參觀記錄生出來!

3.5.06

Vitra Design Museum (Weil am Rhein, Germany)


簡介Introduction

Vitra設計博物館的概念,可以追溯到1980年代早期。當時,這間知名家具公司的總裁Rolf Fehlbaum,開始蒐集對該公司發展影響深遠的設計師家具作品,藉此紀錄該公司的發展史。Fehlbaum的收藏隨著時間愈形增長,也就開始有了展示收藏的想法。
The idea of Vitra Design Museum dates back to the early 1980s. It’s the period when Vitra CEO Rolf Fehlbaum started to collect designer furnitures which have had great influences on the company, as an attempt to document the history of the company. As the collection of Fehlbaum grew, so did the desire to exhibit the artworks that he’s collected.


1986年,Fehlbaum有了創辦設計博物館的想法,並於隔年與Frank O’Gehry進行接觸,邀請這位知名建築師來設計博物館。之後,Fehlbaum更與Alexander von Vegesack一起,將原本私人收藏展示的概念,發展成為一間對外開放的博物館。
In 1986, Fehlbaum had the idea to extablish a design museum. He contacted Frank O’Gehry the next year and invited O’Gehry to plan the museum building. Later, along with Alexander von Vegesack, Fehlbaum further developed the idea of closed private collection into a museum that is open to the public.

博物館於1989年11月3日正式對外開放,成為全球設計研究與推廣的主要文化機構之一。館內的展示以家具和室內設計為重心,延伸到廣義設計與文化的層面,其活動重點包含展示、研習營、出版、收藏、檔案與專題圖書館,此外,該館超過十組以上的巡迴展示,足跡更遍及世界。
The museum was open to the public in November 3, 1989, and has become one of the major cultural institutions in the research and advocation of design. The exhibitions are arranged with the focus on furniture and interior design, but also extended to cover a broader perspective of design and culture. The museum’s activities include exhibitions, workshops, publication, collection, archive maintainence and a research library. Besides, there’re more than ten traveling exhibitions covering various themes circling to partner institutions around the world.

Joe Colombo

此番博物館行的重點在於參觀園區與博物館展示。該館展示皆為特展,每半年至一年就有新作。園區參觀包括幾位大師建築的作品與該館的百件椅子收藏,這些都必須額外付費參加專人導覽,才能夠一飽眼福。
The focuses of my visit were the site tour and museum exhibition. All exhibitions in this museum are temporary exhibitions and change every half year or one year. The site tour includes visiting buildings of famous architects and the 100 chairs collection of the museum, and can only be seen with paid guided tour.

目前的展覽以「Joe Colombo – Inventing the Future」為題,自今年一月開展,為期九個月,是該館與米蘭三年展會館及喬可隆波工作室合作的特展。
The current exhibition is “Joe Colombo – Inventing the Future”. It started from January 2006 and lasts until September 2006. It’s a joint project with Triennale di Milano and Studio Joe Colombo.

可隆波是位非常有趣的藝術家,有著許多聞名於世的設計作品,這個特展讓我驚奇地了解到他的貢獻,更讓我有天妒英才之憾(可隆波於1971年歿世,享年四十一歲)。展覽共分四個區域:在位於一樓的三個展區中,第一區用來呈現可隆波的生平、設計稿與重要作品,第二區展出他所設計的燈飾,第三區則擴展至家具與用品,而位於二樓的第四展區,則呈現出好似007電影一般的迷你公寓組。展覽除了呈現出六零年代的精神以外,更因為作品的功能性與形態而令人感到驚艷。
Colombo is a very interesting artist. He has designed many famous and long-lasting piece and the exhibition itself provided me with an idea as to his contribution. When I learned that he died at a very young age in 1971 (41 years old), I was feeling extremely sorry. The exhibition is divided into four areas, with three areas at the ground floor and the forth at the first floor. The first area presents Colombo’s life, his drawings and representative works. The second area is dedicated to his lamp designs. In the third area the objects range from furnitures to kitchen wear. And the forth area is used to display the mini-apartments which remind me the 007 movies. The exhibition not only shows the spirit of the 60s but also impress with the functionality and forms of the artworks.

此特展展出許多可隆波的珍貴草稿、素描、模型、影片等,因為我參加了十二點開始的導覽,不得不把看展的時間拆成兩半,因此大致上花了兩個多小時才把這個展看完。
There’re many precious original drawings, design rough, models and films on display. For the reason that I signed up to the site tour of 12PM, I had to break my visit into two parts and eventually spent more than two hours to complete the exhibition.

建築精華Architecture Highlights

園區參觀的重點有二,一是建築,另一則是椅子收藏。
There’re two focuses of the site tour. One is the architecture and the other is the chair collection.

世界上大概很難找到第二個地方,在不甚大的園區,卻有密度如此高的大師級建築作品。Frank O’Gehry、安藤忠雄、Zaha Hadid,、Nicholas Grimshaw與Alvaro Siza等人的名字,在建築界都是大師級的人物。這樣的集結呈現出一種很奇妙的氛圍,走一趟Vitra園區,就好像參觀了當代建築展一般,也正因為如此,在過去十五年來,此地簡直成了建築愛好者的朝聖之地,而館方的專人導覽,也正是為了因應前來朝聖的人群所衍生而出的服務。
It’s probably difficult to find a second place with so many buildings designed by master architects in such a compact area. Works of Frank O’Gehry, Tadao Ando, Zaha Hadid, Nicholas Grimshaw and Alvaro Siza can be seen here. The congregation presents a peculiar atmophere. Going to Vitra site is like visiting an exhibition of comtemporary architecture. For this very reason, it has become a Mecca for architecture lovers in the past 15 years. The guided architecture tour is actually a service provided by the museum in response of the needs of the people who come for the pilgrimage.

導覽的起點,是O’Ghery於1989年完成的博物館建築。這件如雕塑般且富於表現的作品,事實上也是O’Ghery在歐洲完成的第一件作品。隨著導覽人員的腳步,我們走過Buckminster Fuller設計的巨蛋型結構、Jean Prouv?的小型加油站、Alvaro Siza的廠房、最後來到了Zaha Hadid為Vitra公司所設計的消防站。
The starting point of the guided tour is the museum building by Frank O’Ghery, completed in 1989. This sculpture-like building is rich in expressiveness, and is actually the very first work of the architect in Europe. Following the docent, we passed by the dome shape structure designed by Buckminster Fuller, the small-scale petrol station by Jean Prouv?, the production hall by Alvaro Siza, and finally reached the fire station by Zaha Hadid.


除了博物館以外,因為參加導覽的關係,才得以進入Hadid和安藤替Vitra蓋的兩棟建築。這是我第一次體驗這兩位建築師的作品,其實是蠻新奇的經驗。Hadid的建築很有解構的味道,靈活的線條運用,規劃出很不一樣的外觀與空間。她利用線條創造出視覺上的錯亂,身歷其境的空間感,比實際空間大了許多、長了許多。另一方面,她更利用線條製造出流動感,即使站著不動,我還是不斷地覺得自己的身體左右晃動。
Apart from the museum building, I was able to enter the buildings designed by Hadid and Ando due to the guided tour. It’s the very first time that I saw works from these two architects. It’s quite an interesting experience. Hadid’s work brings me a sense of deconstruction. She made use of lines and shapes at ease to create a very different appearance and space. She created certain level of visual confusion that the space one can feel when s/he is personally in the building is much broader and longer than the actual space. On the other hand, she also created a kind of fluidness that even I tried to stay still I still felt myself shaking constantly.

安藤的作品,則是另一種完全不一樣的感覺。在會議中心裡,有一種沉穩和諧的感受。導覽人員解釋著,構成水泥牆的單位與符合黃金比的榻榻米等大,往落地窗外看過去,會在外牆上看到一條代表著水平面的線,環繞著整棟建築物,以及特別光滑的牆面等,這些安藤所要求的細節,都是為了帶給使用者舒適感。看著窗外盛開的櫻花,竟然讓我感覺到一絲絲日本氣息。
Ando’s work brought me another kind of feeling, totally different from that of Hadid’s. The conference pavilion is calm and harmonious. According to the docent, the concrete wall is built of units equal to the size of tatami and the size of the unit is of the golden ratio. Looking outside the window, one can see a line on the outer wall circling the whole building. The line represents the ground level. The concrete wall is extremely smooth. All these details that Ando requested contribute to the comforting feeling of its users. Surprisingly, looking at the cherry blossoms outside the window, I seemed to feel as if I was in Japan.

to be continued...

1.5.06

Cit'e de la Musique (Paris, France)

參觀時間:2005年7月
Visit time: July 2005


現代音樂中心位於巴黎市東北方的維萊特公園裡,是一座兼具演出、教育與展示功能的大型綜合活動中心。巴黎高等音樂院就在咫尺之距,因此這個區域,也是許多巴黎音樂人的活動範圍。
Situated in the La Villette Park at the northeast of Paris, the Cit'e de la Musique is a center for performance, education and exhibition. The Paris Conservatory is just nearby, so this is actually a popular area for music people.

音樂博物館一直是我很努力蒐集資料的領域,還記得幾年前的巴黎行,在離開以後才因緣際會知道了這座博物館的存在,心裡頭還為了自己一時不察錯過了參觀機會而懊惱不已,當時就發誓,下次到巴黎的時候,一定要去走一遭。
It’s been some years that I started collecting materials about museums with music as its major theme. I still remember that I got to know this museum in 2002, when I just returned home from Paris. I was sorry that I didn’t do my homework before I left for the trip and decided that it’d be one of the must-go for the next trip to Paris.

出發之前曾經到音樂博物館的網站上看過,平時活動頗多的博物館似乎正進入淡季,大概因為學生們都放暑假的關係吧!然而,再怎麼說,這間博物館也屬於世界上樂器收藏最豐富的博物館之一,雖然這次仍舊無法一窺博物館活動全貌,只有參觀展示區的份兒,不過要飛到巴黎也不是件難事,這次姑且先走馬看花,也不至於讓自己有所遺憾囉!
I visited the official web site before I left for Paris. It seemed to enter a “low-season” because students were on their summer vacation. In any case, it is one of the museums rich in collections of musical instruments. Though I could not have a complete idea of the activities of the museum in this visit and could only visit its exhibitions, it’s not difficult for me to arrange a trip to Paris. So I decided to have a general look of the museum first so that I wouldn’t leave any regret this time.

抵達博物館已是下午四點以後的事。嫂子對現代音樂中心其實頗為熟悉,這地方其實是她留學時期常常流連忘返之處,只是多年以來,對裡面的博物館總是過門不入,對我這個博物館迷來說甚是可惜;不過留學生的生活忙碌,連我自己在倫敦住了一年,也沒有走遍倫敦市內的所有博物館,現在回想起來雖然有些後悔,不過當時也真的沒有什麼空閒時間,畢竟在博物館學的課程之中,也排滿了大大小小的校外參觀交流,週末倘若沒有特意安排,其實也都是在讀書寫報告中度過。
My sister-in-law and I arrived the museum at 4PM. She is quite familiar to the center because it’s one of the places that she often visited when she was studying in Paris. However, for all those years she’s never been to the museum, it’s quite a pity from my point of view. I could understand that one could be extremely busy for school. I was in London for a whole year and didn’t visit all museums in London. I regret a bit but in any case I didn’t have that much free time for visits. After all, the program of museum studies also took us to various field trips and weekends were mostly left for writing reports and studies.

算了算,我們大概只有不到兩小時的時間,不過以我自己參觀博物館的經驗,兩個小時其實還算適當,加上國際博物館協會的會員可以免費參觀(註一),我們便還是走了進去。
We had about only two hours. From my past experiences, two hours for visiting a museum is quite enough because more than that my brain starts to feel the “burden”. Also, with the ICOM membership card I can get in for free, so we still entered the museum.

驗票區是個擺滿無限耳機的櫃檯!工作人員問道:「你們要耳機嗎?」我原本心想,語音導覽還要額外付費,這次的時間又不多,正想要拒絕的時候,她加上一句:「免費的喔!」那當然二話不說,欣然接受。我要了英文,嫂子要了法文,調整音量以後,我們就踏著有些沉重的步伐進了展示區(註二)。
The entrance of the museum is a counter full of headphones. We were asked, “ do you want it?” I was thinking that we might have to pay extra for the audio-guide and there wasn’t enough time. When I was about to say no, she added, “it’s for free.” So why not?! We took it with gratitude. I asked for English guide and my sister-in-law asked for the French one. After adjusting the volume, we went into the exhibition area.

由於博物館創建的時間並不久,整體裝潢設備都非常新穎,環境條件控制得宜,所以在我一踏入展示區的時候,心裡馬上有了「嗯!不錯!」的想法。整個展示是以年代為主軸,呈現出十六世紀至現代的樂器與音樂。在年代之下,再以樂器種類為劃分,以簡短的解說文字輔以語音導覽,道出各種樂器大致的發展。透過語音導覽,參觀者還可以聽到各種樂器的聲音,以及館方特別挑選出的代表性作品演出。即使因為感應器與解說播放的關係,參觀者可能會在解說到一半的時候中途插入,得要耐心等待,才能從頭聽到始末,不過解說與音樂品質俱佳,也因此舒緩了因為無線耳機所造成的不悅。很多時候,我和嫂子常常因為音樂太美,而放慢了參觀的角度…
The museum is quite new. No matter the facilities or environment control meets standard. When I stepped into the exhibition, I was feeling good. The exhibition follows chronological order, presenting music and instruments from 16th century to present time. Under the time period, it’s further divided into categories following types of instruments. There’s short description to accompany the exhibited pieces. Along with the audio-guide, the history and developments of the musical instruments are told. There’re also sounds and selected music pieces of various instruments in the audio-guide. However, for the sensor of the guide and the way of broadcasting, one could possibly pop in an explanation in the middle and has to wait for its beginning. In any case, the quality of the interpretation and music is rather good that the uncomfortable feelings caused by the headphone and broadcasting can be stood, even ignored. Sometimes we even slowed down our pace just to enjoy the music!

當然,期間也讓我們看到不少「新奇珍品」,例如各種尺寸與式樣的魯特琴、笛子、提琴、鋼琴等,實在也不是三言兩語就能夠敘述出當時的驚喜之情。然而可惜的是,雖然館方已經很努力地試著滿足參觀者,讓參觀者聽到各種樂器的聲音,不過館內仍然有些漏網之魚未被納入,加上有關記譜法的部分,並沒有像我以前參觀過的其他博物館一樣,拿出許多原稿讓人加以觀賞比較,這反而成了嫂子的遺憾之一!而我的遺憾,則是因為安排的參觀時間太短,在我看完前三分之一的時候,看一看手錶只剩不到四十分鐘,而博物館賣店向來是我參觀博物館的重點之一,說什麼也得留個二十分鐘去逛逛,因此接下來的三分之二,我幾乎是快步拍照走過,同時也不小心遺漏掉了有關電子樂器的部分,甚是可惜。
We saw quite a lot “curiosities”, for example, various sizes and styles of lutes, flutes, violins and pianos. These surprising feelings and joy couldn’t be expressed through a few words. It’s a pity that not all sounds of the exhibited instruments are included, and there’re not too many original manuscripts as we expected. My regrets lied at the fact that the visiting time was short and I spent more than one hour in the first one-third of the exhibition. When I realized it, there’s only 40 minutes left. The museum shop has been always one of my focuses and I had to leave at least 20 minutes for it. So I walked through the remaining two-third of the exhibition in 20 minutes, taking quick photos and unintentionally skipped the part dedicated to electronic instruments.

事實證明,我們想要兩個小時看完這座博物館,實在是不可能的任務!如果仔細聆聽音樂與解說,大致上至少得要花上三個小時的時間…既然沒法看完,那麼就帶一本博物館導覽手冊回家吧!只是,館方竟然沒有出英文版的手冊,對看法文就像看外星文的我來說,也是個惡耗,不過,憑著我的義大利文程度,我還是不願意放過這本書,終究還是被我牽回家,等有時間再來玩「猜猜看」的遊戲吧!
It proved that it’s mission impossible to finish visiting this museum in two hours. If one listens to the music and explanation carefully, it’ll take at least three hours. Since I didn’t finish the exhibition, I was thinking to bring back home a guidebook with me. However, there’s no English version available and the French language is just too foreign to me. It’s a bad news… but I wouldn’t leave it there so I still bought it and decided to “guess” when I have more time to read.

註一:巴黎市內大大小小的博物館,對國際博物館協會ICOM的會員可說是非常禮遇,幾乎所有博物館都免費參觀,有些博物館賣店還可以打九五折,工作人員的服務態度也是超讚!
註二:連續逛街的結果,其實我們的腿都已經快廢了!只是為了看博物館,這樣的犧牲也是值得的。