多度空間的心靈擺盪

Abstract

多年來，在個人學習藝術的過程中，一直縈繞於心的是「藝術在表現什麼」、「藝術的意義何在」等問題，這些議題在各種學術論說裡，可以找到不同的答案，而且隨著時代的演變，不斷有新的思維與創見。個人的體會則在於：藝術是藝術家透過藝術去了解世界和他自己的方法，並且藉由藝術的表現解讀人生的意義。因此，「生命議題」就成為作者個人藝術創作的主要內容與精神。 所謂人生的範圍，分為個人的與社會的，個人的人生由個體生命出發，社會的人生則由多數個體的生命組合而成，也可分為外在與內在兩方面，前者專指一社會的表面型態，後者包括了整個社會的地域精神與時代精神。為了揭揚台灣社會人文關懷的基本精神，故以目前的社會現狀之探討出發，正視民眾內心的價值觀與人生觀，發現問題之所在，並促使其有所觀照與反省。 所謂「多度空間」，是意謂著人生各個向度的問題。一度空間只是線的行進，只有前進和後退，不能轉彎與跨越；二度空間則擴大到平面，但不能飛騰或跳躍；三度空間如同人所居住的世界，能追趕跑跳、能感知、能表達；四度空間是加上時間的概念，包括昨日與明日的世界、童年和未來等等；五度空間是一般人較陌生的世界，針對這個領域，專家學者們研究發展出心理學、精神分析、命理輪迴等窺探靈界的智慧，來更新民眾對待人生的態度、與思考人生問題的角度。 現今台灣社會正瀰漫著一股「不安定」與「不確定」的心理氛圍，民眾的心靈在「多度空間」裡擺盪著，人生問題的思考與決斷究竟何在，是民眾汲汲營營所欲尋找的答案。本創作即藉由藝術的呈顯，來開啟觀者內在之潛意識，讓觀者在「行動」與「觀察」過程中，體悟自身的生命議題與方向。 本論文分為四個部分： 第一部份是創作背景，包括創作緣起、創作動機與創作流程。說明創作者選定題材的背景因素，以及創作者以藝術的形式企圖表達的一份關懷。第二部份是背景理論之探討，包括台灣民間禮俗、台灣民俗禮儀的改變、民俗藝術的價值、台灣民間信仰的宇宙詮釋、台灣民間信仰的功利主義趨勢、中國哲學裡的命運觀以及中國哲學裡的生死觀。第三部份是創作內容解析，包括作品一：命運奇應箱---理念陳述、觀者與藝術品之聯繫、現成物之意涵；以擬似儀式的呈顯來引發觀者的行為，促使其在行動過程中有所選擇與體悟。作品二：生生之化、天命流行---理念陳述、藝術形構之生命場域；探討「命運」在民眾心中的思維與影響。作品三：天視民視•天聽民聽---理念陳述、民俗符號象徵之運用；肯定民俗符徵的人文價值，批判造神文化與物質崇拜的社會現象。第四部份是創作形式與技法，包括「裝置」的運用、色彩與造型的組合、媒材的使用與目的。

“What does art represent?” “What is the meaning of art?” These questions have been dangling in my mind during the process of my studying art for many years. It is without question that we can find different answers for these issues in various academic theories. Besides, with the time changes, there will be more and more new thoughts and innovation along the way. In my opinion, art is a medium for artist to understand the world and him/herself, and through the expression of art, he/she can readout the meaning of life. Therefore, “What is Life” becomes the main subject and spirit when artist is creating their artistic works. The so-called “life” can be discussed in two categories, one is personal life, and the other is social life. Personal life focuses on each individual, while social life consists of many individuals. Life is also presented to us in two ways, internal part and outward part. The former refers to the outward appearance of the society, and the later covers geographic and time spirit in it. In order to present the essence of the humanistic concern in Taiwan, I would like to begin with the discussion on the present situation on this island. Heading toward this direction, I hope to find the real problems through envisaging the inner value and philosophy of Taiwan people, and furthermore, to help prompt their introspection. The so-called “multiple dimensions” means what questions people will encounter in different dimensions. In one-dimension, movement is just allowed on a line, which means you can move forward and backward but not swerving and striding. As to two-dimension, it is a surface, but still you cannot fly or jump on it. For three-dimension, it is just like the world people live now, where you can chase, run, jump, have feelings and express your thoughts. The concept of time is involved in four-dimension, where there is yesterday, tomorrow, the past and the future. At last, it comes to the five-dimension that people is not very familiar with. To gain more knowledge of this field, pundits and scholars make researches and develop many theories like psychology, psychiatric analysis, numerology and reincarnation in order to get a glimpse of the wisdom of the twilight zone. All these efforts are to regenerate people’s attitude about life and their ways of thinking when they encounter the problems of life. Nowadays, Taiwan society is filled with the atmosphere of “unrest” and “uncertainty” . People are dangling in the “multiple dimensions” trying to find the answers of life and how to make the right decision. Hence, my thesis is to, through the presentation of art, try to unseal readers’ subconscious, and let them comprehend the direction and meaning of life in the process of “action” and “observation”. This thesis consists of four sections: The first section is to introduce the background, which includes the cause, motivation and process of my creation. It explains why I choose the theme, the main factors and my concern and care towards people on this island through the forming of art. The second section is to discuss the theoretical background. It covers Taiwanese folk manner, the change of custom, the art value of folk culture, the universal interpretation of Taiwanese folk religion, the orientation of utilitarianism of Taiwanese folk religion, the predestination and life-and-death concept in Chinese philosophy. The third section is about analysis of three productions. Production І: The Magical Box of Fortuneteller – the statement of ideas, the relation between the watchers and the creation of art, and the meaning of the artistic subject. I use a ritualistic circumstance to arouse audiences’ action in order to motivate them to choose and to get apprehensions. Production Ⅱ: The Predestination --- the statement of the ideas, the life scope in the forming of art. I would like to discuss how the concept of “predestination” influences people’ s thoughts in Taiwan. Production Ⅲ: God Is All Around --- the statement of the ideas, the application of folk symbols. This part is to acknowledge the humanistic value of folk symbols and criticize those social phenomenons of the “god-creating” culture and materialism. The forth section is about the style and technique of this creation which includes the application of “contrivance”, the combination of colors and molding, and the use and purpose of mediums.