蔡坤霖 |《來自遠方的聲音 — 臺南》“The Sound from Far Away-Tainan” by Kuen-lin Tsai
蔡坤霖《來自遠方的聲音》系列，過去多以臺灣以外的場景作為收錄對象，如克里夫蘭(Cleveland)、京都(きょうと)、秋吉台(秋芳洞/あきよしどう)…等，作為一個旅客，藝術家將走訪異地時心所共鳴的、別具意義的聲響收錄下來，重新編輯成屬於自己特定的知覺感受，並以彎曲的水管雕塑作為聲響保存的容器，使記憶成為永恆。而本次則是首次以家鄉 — 臺南，作為聲音採集的主要場域，身為一個居民，藝術家或許已對於土地上的人事物有相當程度上的熟識，因而更加嚴謹地選定真正代表此地的聲音，進而能鋪蓋出一條聲音記憶的路徑。《來自遠方的聲音 — 臺南》試圖延續《鷲嶺》、《半⽉沉江府城遊》等系列作品中對於的地方歷史脈絡梳理、地理位置考察以及古蹟建築空間的探索與定位進行重新演繹。當穿梭於臺南巷弄間便能察覺蜿蜒交雜的路徑多來自過去河道演進而來，蔡坤霖透過個人數年來強烈的身體感知經驗，重新審視其所收錄的聲音檔案後，經由剪輯與編排，以五條港分支為主脈，將片段式的聲響匯集成如同紀錄片般地聽覺畫面，使觀者在聆聽時能依循聽覺記憶與想像，漫步於藝術家所欲詮釋的「臺南感」之中。
身為臺南人的蔡坤霖不斷追尋的不外乎是「何謂真正能代表臺南的聲音」，而那樣的聲響在人們心中又是什麼樣子的？是在街頭巷尾裡穿梭的手推豆花攤車叫賣聲、修理紗窗的廣播聲、摩托車呼嘯而過的氣壓聲、慶典中敲鑼打鼓及神轎出巡的儀式聲，又或是在航道區域戰鬥機飛行的環境音？藝術家認為這些熟悉的聲響給人一種屬於臺南特有的「閑適感」。《來自遠方的聲音 — 臺南》，以「五條港、廟宇、祈福、武力」等元素來重塑這座城市的記憶，不僅融入聽覺，讓觀者得以自然的開啟記憶閘門，墜入特定場域的既視氛圍之中，裝置材料及其外觀，也以花磚、透明管拼造出臺南巷弄間的水路意象，藉以刻劃在地人文風景的色調、質地及氛圍，如同醃漬般的，隨記憶時間拉長而釀造出在地的獨特風味。
At the earlier stage, The Sound from Far Away series by Kuen-lin Tsai mainly focused on collecting sounds from foreign places, such as Cleveland, Kyoto, and Akiyoshidai (Akiyoshido). The artist recorded the meaningful sounds that resonated with him while traveling to different places. He then edited the sounds into pieces of work that reflected his perceptions. He also created a curved sculpture made of water pipes as a “container” to forever preserve the sounds and their associated memories. For Tsai, this was the first time that he conducted a sound collection project in his hometown of Tainan. As a local resident, Tsai is quite familiar with local affairs and its people, so he was able to rigorously select the sounds that truly represent Tainan, offering touchstones on a path of remembering. Sound from Far Away-Tainan, as a continuation of Tsiu Nia and Taiwanfou, is how the artist comb through local history, investigate geographical sites and explore the many historic architectural spaces. When meandering in the alleys of Tainan, one can notice that many of the winding paths originated and evolved from historical riverways. The artist has developed keen physical perceptions of the city over the years. So for this work, he re-examined the audio documents that he has collected and created new sequences. Applying the five historical canals as the main backbone, the artist integrated segments of sounds into a documentary-like auditory image. Viewers can follow the auditory memory and imagination when listening to the sound production and be immersed in the “ambiance of Tainan” interpreted by the artist.
As a native of Tainan, Tsai has been constantly pursuing the notion of “what is the sound that truly represents Tainan?” and “what is that sound like in the minds of the locals?” It is the peddling sound of a bean curd vendor from a hand push cart or the broadcast of window screen repairers? Is it the sound of air pressure from motorcycles zipping by, or the noise of fighter jets around airfields? Or maybe the sounds of gongs and drums during local rituals or for the gods’ palanquin possession? The artist believes that these familiar sounds convey “an air of nonchalance” unique to Tainan. The Sound from Far Away-Tainan reshapes the memory of the city with elements such as the five canals, temples, and violent conflicts. The artist incorporated the sense of hearing for viewers to simply walk down the memory lane and into a specific site of déjà vu. He also used iconic objects such as flower tiles, transparent plastic pipes to create the image of waterway that in the alleys of Tainan city. He depicted the tones, textures, and rhythms of the local cultural landscape. The local ambiance, like preserving pickles, develops its profound flavors over time and with the accumulation of memories.
展覽：永聲花 — — 無盡的聲音風景
展期：2021.04.01–2021.10.17
地點：臺南市美術館2館三樓 藝術走廊
參展藝術家 | Nigel Brown / 吳修銘 / 吳燦政 / 郭佩奇 / 莊普 / 蔡坤霖 (依筆畫順序排列)
策展團隊｜蕭楷競 / 林睿洋 / 陳琪涵
Artists | Nigel Brown / WU Siou-Ming / WU Tsan-Cheng / KUO Pei-Chi / TSONG Pu / TSAI Kuen-Lin (names in alphabetical order)
Curatorial Team｜Kai Ching HSIAO / Rui Yang LIN / Chi Han CHEN
