Ep30. 我們都是大時代下的curators
話咁快就第三十集喇！唔知大家今年過得點呢？我就覺得今年過得好漫長。每一日都有好多難受嘅新聞。我記得我係十二月中開始戴口罩嘅，咁快就戴咗一年喇。2020 is really a roller coaster ride。難得就嚟年尾，又就到我生日，喺講今集嘅題目之前做一個小小嘅總結－－其實點解開始呢個podcast係因為我喺上年開始有失眠嘅問題，試過meditation、bedtime music，於是我就想臨訓前聽一啲輕鬆柔和啲嘅故事，但係搵極都無。通常都好informative，所以把心一橫，我就諗不如自己錄俾自己聽啦。所以其實大家而家聽緊嘅每一集都係好personal嘅創作，感動唔到、啟發唔到我嘅，我係唔會整出嚟架！
之後都算係我一個小實驗，因為當時我有自己嘅blog、已經開始咗youtube一段時間，而反應都唔係好好。而我好想知究竟我哋嘅世界係咪只係容得下開箱、襯衫、化妝、旅行？究竟如果我講一啲比較冷門、深入啲嘅話題，我嘅content會唔會得到認同呢？我同一位而家香港非常大嘅fitness youtuber係一場相識，佢同我講：youtuber一定要show personality，觀眾先會鍾意。當時我好自卑，覺得我真係好渣，樣唔靚，連最基本表達自己嘅性格都做唔到。我好慶幸開始咗podcast，喺呢個世界可以講同一個話題10分鐘，唔係一個表演，亦都冇樣、無鮮明嘅人物性格，同大家接觸嘅就係最簡單、無視覺包裝嘅想法。所以當我睇到《娛樂至死》呢本書嘅時候非常有共鳴，亦都好多謝大家唔嫌棄冇視覺嘅娛樂，陪咗我30集！
今次嘅題目同我嘅podcast嘅靈感來源都幾有關係，我諗鍾意分析文化嘅朋友應該都會鍾意。今次唔再扮《好青年荼毒室》哈哈，要講嘅係Highsnobiety嘅一篇文章《Creativity is Dead, Long Live Curation》，作者Ana Andjelic 【1】。Highsnobiety係一個我做trend research經常都會睇到嘅評論來源，相信如果大家對streetwear or street culture有研究，都會聽過。佢喺2005年由喺瑞士日內瓦出生嘅David Fischer成立，當時佢讀緊Business Administration【2】，開始嘅時候只係單純想分享一啲佢認為特別同獨一無二嘅產品【3】，到咗2020年，已經由當年嘅一個blog發展成專門研究youth culture嘅consultation agency (strategy) ，有strategy重要嘅係有埋一條龍去到media house (creative & production)。其實有冇人覺得有少少conflict of interest呢哈哈因為佢哋嘅blog嘅影響力舉足輕重，然後佢哋可以將自己個blog變成strategy（咁一定啱架喎）再execute埋。
講返篇文章，佢大概就係話未來嘅creativity會係由curation（策展）嘅形式展現。文章指出：「Curation as the 21st century creativity: Curation contextualizes product within a specific time and a point of view. Consumers are ready to spend premium on products that belong to a curated collection and that are enriched with cultural and social value. Viewed through the lens of creativity, curation becomes a perfect connective tissue in our niche and micro culture...“The curator is a junction-maker, a catalyst, a sparring partner, somebody who builds bridges,”」大意係話：策展將產品放入一個有特定嘅時間、角度嘅context，經過策展從而賦予產品文化同社會價值，而消費者會願意花費更高嘅價錢落呢啲產品。如果將策展睇成創意嘅展現，策展嘅作用就係連接niche and micro culture（小眾文化？）。策展人就係個度橋樑、catalyst（催化劑），「The role of a curator is to sort through culture and show us what we need to know and why.」佢哋嘅責任就係梳理文化，展現、解釋一啲我哋需要知道嘅嘢。如果《娛樂至死》入面講電視就係文化嘅載體，咁狹義上來講，curators都係藝術世界入面嘅載體。呢度我會建議大家睇2016年喺立場新聞嘅一篇文章，叫做「策展人做乜㗎？ ── 一個關於展覽的展覽」，作者周文慶【4】。文章探討究竟策展人嘅權力與創造力點樣影響整個展覽，「藝術既存在於觀眾凝視的目光裡，也同時存在於展覽場域裡？」放眼國際，又有啲咩出名嘅策展人呢？呢度我會放一條Vogue Taiwan嘅連結【5】。
我覺得啟發到我嘅係，隨著社交媒體同資訊普及化，無論你鍾唔鍾意都好，策展人嘅角色唔再局限喺展覽入面。Curator嘅字根係拉丁文curare，意指to treat, cure，文章話，本來curator只係喺博物館複雜安裝、照顧、打理藝術品，但係隨住藝術、文化嘅定義expand，curator嘅角色亦都expand咗。（“Curare, curatus means to care. Initially, it meant to install objects in the museum. A curator was a caretaker of objects. Curation is also about curiosity. But then it happened that curation has expanded, and that has to do with art having expanded.”）文章提到嘅例子係幾個比較多人follow嘅instagram account。其中一位主理人話：佢覺得自己係一個educator and a dot-connector。「A good curator does the research, writes and edits, and doesn’t just repost images... 一個好嘅curator會做資料搜集、寫作同編審，唔係淨係repost。好多followers鍾意你既我post嘅嘢背後嘅context、故事同歷史。我將而家文化、潮流興起嘅嘢，同過去連結，用新嘅角度去將新舊事物連結係有價值嘅。 （“A lot of my followers enjoy reading the context and history behind images,” he says. “I connect what’s happening in culture right now with the past. There’s value in finding a new angle on old things and connecting them with new things.”）In a way，我嘅podcast都可以算係一種curation？哈哈 其實到咗2020年，大家都可以係一個curator。可能唔可以係狹義上，capital letter C curator，但係廣義上，只要我哋想，我哋都可以係一個small letter C curator，將我哋嘅審美觀、價值觀、想法向世界策展，作者稱之為「democratization of curation」。
咁究竟呢個方向係好定唔好呢？文章嘅一位受訪者話：「Democratization of curation changed the role and value of curators in form, but not in cultural importance. 策展普及化改變咗策展人嘅角色同形式，但係文化上佢地既重要性冇改變到；the role of curation has always been to democratize, to bring art to different sections of society and “build exhibitions into society，策展嘅存在就係為咗democratize，將一啲嘢普及化，將展覽帶到去社會唔同嘅地方，佢提到“civic curation"，一啲具有社會意義嘅exhibition。但係亦都有佢嘅壞處，當每個人都可以係curator，文化嘅改變速度就會加快，我哋會容易覺得悶想睇新嘢。同埋當curation係創意嘅一種，我哋就唔再拘泥於博物館入面，而策展就可以變得更生活化同立體，可能一個人睇嘅書、聽嘅歌、著嘅衫、視覺、氣味等等都可以係一個curation。
另外一篇喺GQ嘅文章，題目《The Rise of Instagram Curator》作者Avidan Grossman【6】。入面提到嘅instagram account嘅主理人一開始只係想說服設計師整一啲佢想要嘅風格，所以就用instagram curate唔同嘅物件。Grossman話：「Eventually, the line between “curator” and “literally anyone with a phone” starts to look mighty thin. We’re all curators of our own little slice of the culture...」特別喺後武漢肺炎嘅年代，喺社交媒體等如我哋嘅生命嘅年代，物件同歷練都可以成為創意、藝術嘅展現，我哋每個人都可以係我哋理想中文化嘅tastemakers，只要你肯output。雖然我個人非常唔鍾意youtube，但最近一個Youtube channel就係一個唔錯嘅實驗，佢個名叫【懷疑人生就去散步】，每一段影片都好似係一個策展【11】。相比起係戲院、展覽入面，youtube嘅模式更mass，影片影住創作者嘅背影，喺中大、土瓜灣、石硤尾散步，將創作者心目中嘅感受用音樂、步伐、街景展現。如果我哋都可以將每一款output當成係一種策展，唔知我哋會唔會少啲網絡垃圾呢？
商業嘅世界入面，呢個唔係乜嘢新鮮事，物件同經歷都有同等價值，咁我哋未來嘅世界，有遠見嘅品牌會由生產產品去到生產文化【1】。通常呢啲以前都係啲luxury brands會做嘅嘢，但其中一個case study我覺得做得好好嘅係Havana Club。佢係一個冧酒牌子，唔算係luxury，本身風格充滿古巴特式，但係近呢幾年佢哋嘅branding abstract away from 古巴文化，由尊重品牌古巴嘅歷史，昇華到對自己嘅cultural roots嘅熱愛，去到擁抱authenticity、street culture，因為咁係尊重熱愛真實嘅一種方式，而佢近年直情同Daily Paper launch咗個streetwear line【7】，最近又同RetroSuperFuture合作【8】。由一個飲品跳出去變成生活，而且風格非常大膽。我都佩服公司有咁嘅勇氣。另外一個商業嘅例子，係一個叫Curated嘅網上平台【9】，上面有唔同嘅類別，入面有唔同嘅專家。例如你想去滑雪，唔知買咩裝備、去邊度好，你可以俾錢平台上一個專家，佢會同你傾計、提供建議。而家就話講運動類，但係之後可以係任何一個類別，例如好似另外一個平台Baalm，就係同樣嘅原理，但係美容產品，佢哋叫平台上面嘅專家做beauty trainers。聽到呢度，我諗大家都會覺得curation已經變得好廣泛，我哋由masterclass（權威由上而下教學）到大家都係咁高咁大互相學習，呢一個訊息嘅distribution model同以前好唔同。最主要嘅分別係，flat distribution model係冇QC嘅，所以我哋未來要更加嚴謹知道自己鍾意、想要啲乜。
策展嘅主導權、種類、模式隨著社交媒體有翻天覆地嘅改變，定義亦都越趨模糊。但我想講嘅係：策展唔一定係虛偽，或者唔真心。佢只係我哋文化嘅散播模式。或者《娛樂至死》嘅作者都冇諗到，未來嘅文化可以咁多元化。可能一個唔係print-based、尊重理性思考嘅文化令到我哋都膚淺咗，但係無可否認嘅係，我哋嘅世界又真係前所未有咁豐富，情感放題。變返做以前咁已經無可能，咁我哋迷失喺情感豐富嘅文化、商業世界嘅時候，可能我哋嘅唯一嘅防線就係我哋要有a sense of control and creatorship，培養自己嘅cultural literacy（文化素養？），知道我地自己先係主宰自己世界、價值、喜好嘅curator，無論有冇觀眾都好。
【1】https://www.highsnobiety.com/p/special-report-q3-creativity-dead-long-live-curation/
【2】https://www.businessoffashion.com/community/people/david-fischer?collections=10&tags=6&offset=15
【3】https://fashionista.com/2017/04/highsnobiety-agency-streetwear
【4】https://www.thestandnews.com/art/策展人做乜㗎-一個關於展覽的展覽/
【5】https://www.vogue.com.tw/culture/content-47084
【6】https://www.gq.com/story/the-rise-of-the-instagram-curator
【7】https://havana-club.com/en/project/havana-club-x-daily-paper/
【8】https://retrosuperfuture.com/collections/havana-club