Macro Control
The term “macro control” originally refers to a governmental policy implemented to regulate and control the operation of the market and economy. In 2009, the term was extensively brought up in discussions about and critiques on a series of changes in cultural policy.
Several incidents were related to the subject matter. The non-profit Taipei Cultural Foundation established and funded by the Taipei City Government was transformed and re-organized in 2007, and was subsequently included into the operation of the city government. Since 2008, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Taipei, which had been operated by the Contemporary Art Foundation in the form of ROT (rehabilitate-operate-transfer), was took over the Taipei Cultural Foundation for subsequent operation due the expiration of the previous contract. Upon the establishment of the Digital Art Center (DAC), Taipei, the village chief of the village where the DAC was located had fought for setting up the village community center within the institution. After the Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs helped negotiate the matter, a public hearing allowing the community residents to express their opinions was held at the DAC. Nevertheless, artist Tao Ya-Lun, who was a member of the advisory committee was excluded from the list of attendees of the public hearing. In 2008, the then director of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM), Hsieh Hsiao-Yun, announced the establishment of the Biennial and International Projects Office (referred as the Biennial Office below). After half a year, the Biennial Office organized the Taiwan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, for which five curators who had previously curated the Taiwan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, including Wang Jun-Jieh, Jason Wang Chia-Chi, Lin Hong-John, Manray Hsu, and Amy Cheng Hui-Hwa, formed an advisory committee, whereas the director of the Biennial Office, Chang Fang-Wei, was appointed the curator. Among the four artists featured at the Taiwan Pavilion at that time, two had already exhibited at the Taiwan Pavilion in previous editions of the Venice Biennale, and one had participated in the Taiwan Pavilion exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale before. Other incidents included the operation of the Huashan Arts and Culture District (now Huashan 1914 Creative Park) being transferred to the Taiwan Cultural and Creative Industry Association led by Yuan-Liou Publishing in the form of ROT in 2007; and the incident involving a foreign artist invited by the TFAM, whose venue of exhibition was affected by the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the World Floral Expo.
The second director of MoCA Taipei, Hsieh Su-Chen, stated that an urgent topic awaiting discussion in the ROT system was how to sustain the museum’s ideals in commercial marketing. When responding to the incident concerning the DAC in her article, curator Cheng Mei-Ya argued that a debate between “civic aesthetics” and “minority elitism” should be avoided. She further questioned about the exclusion of anti-official discourses and the censorship behind such exclusion. Regarding the incident concerning the Biennial Office, Lin Hong-John said that the quality and number of TFAM exhibitions had already decreased before the establishment of the Biennial Office. Responding to such “macro control,” Dogpig Art Café argued that “after the series of incidents, there has been much pent-up anger. Those in the art field have sighed and expressed that, apart from news reports and writing on blogs, people should proactively unite and launch some more infectious incidents that are worth addressing and documenting in the real world of material and physical interaction, which would allow us to do more.” In 2011, the TFAM and private organizations co-organized large exhibitions at the museum, which raised doubts about profiteering specific tenderers. Since May, art workers launched a series of protests and actions collectively titled, “TFAM: Flat Arts Museum.”
References
Several incidents were related to the subject matter. The non-profit Taipei Cultural Foundation established and funded by the Taipei City Government was transformed and re-organized in 2007, and was subsequently included into the operation of the city government. Since 2008, the Museum of Contemporary Art (MoCA), Taipei, which had been operated by the Contemporary Art Foundation in the form of ROT (rehabilitate-operate-transfer), was took over the Taipei Cultural Foundation for subsequent operation due the expiration of the previous contract. Upon the establishment of the Digital Art Center (DAC), Taipei, the village chief of the village where the DAC was located had fought for setting up the village community center within the institution. After the Taipei City Government’s Department of Cultural Affairs helped negotiate the matter, a public hearing allowing the community residents to express their opinions was held at the DAC. Nevertheless, artist Tao Ya-Lun, who was a member of the advisory committee was excluded from the list of attendees of the public hearing. In 2008, the then director of the Taipei Fine Arts Museum (TFAM), Hsieh Hsiao-Yun, announced the establishment of the Biennial and International Projects Office (referred as the Biennial Office below). After half a year, the Biennial Office organized the Taiwan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, for which five curators who had previously curated the Taiwan Pavilion at the Venice Biennale, including Wang Jun-Jieh, Jason Wang Chia-Chi, Lin Hong-John, Manray Hsu, and Amy Cheng Hui-Hwa, formed an advisory committee, whereas the director of the Biennial Office, Chang Fang-Wei, was appointed the curator. Among the four artists featured at the Taiwan Pavilion at that time, two had already exhibited at the Taiwan Pavilion in previous editions of the Venice Biennale, and one had participated in the Taiwan Pavilion exhibition at the Venice Architecture Biennale before. Other incidents included the operation of the Huashan Arts and Culture District (now Huashan 1914 Creative Park) being transferred to the Taiwan Cultural and Creative Industry Association led by Yuan-Liou Publishing in the form of ROT in 2007; and the incident involving a foreign artist invited by the TFAM, whose venue of exhibition was affected by the ribbon-cutting ceremony for the World Floral Expo.
The second director of MoCA Taipei, Hsieh Su-Chen, stated that an urgent topic awaiting discussion in the ROT system was how to sustain the museum’s ideals in commercial marketing. When responding to the incident concerning the DAC in her article, curator Cheng Mei-Ya argued that a debate between “civic aesthetics” and “minority elitism” should be avoided. She further questioned about the exclusion of anti-official discourses and the censorship behind such exclusion. Regarding the incident concerning the Biennial Office, Lin Hong-John said that the quality and number of TFAM exhibitions had already decreased before the establishment of the Biennial Office. Responding to such “macro control,” Dogpig Art Café argued that “after the series of incidents, there has been much pent-up anger. Those in the art field have sighed and expressed that, apart from news reports and writing on blogs, people should proactively unite and launch some more infectious incidents that are worth addressing and documenting in the real world of material and physical interaction, which would allow us to do more.” In 2011, the TFAM and private organizations co-organized large exhibitions at the museum, which raised doubts about profiteering specific tenderers. Since May, art workers launched a series of protests and actions collectively titled, “TFAM: Flat Arts Museum.”
References
- Editorial Office of ARTouch. “Five Years of Experience of an Museum Operated in the Form of Rehabilitate-Operate-Transfer—Starting from the Contract Expiration Facing the Operator of the Museum of Contemporary Art, Taipei.” Artco Monthly, November 2005.
- Tao, Ya-Lun. “Taiwanese Contemporary Art under Macro Control.” IT Park, February 2009.
- Huang, Chien-Hung. “‘Macro Control’: Meager Illusions in the Pleasure of Control.” IT Park, February 2009.
- Tao, Ya-Lun. “Speaking Up for the ‘Digital Art Center, Taipei.’” April 2009.
- Cheng, Mei-Ya. “This Is a Maddening Incident.” April 2009.
- Blog of Dogpig Art Café. “Hi! How Do We Carry On?” March 2009.
宏觀調控 (Macro Control)
「宏觀調控」一詞原指政府實施政策措施調節市場經濟的運行,在2009年一連串文化政策上的轉變以及相關批判中被大量使用。
相關事件包含原本由臺北市政府捐助設立的非營利機構「台北市文化基金會」在2007年轉型改組,並且納入臺北市政府的運作中。2008年起,由財團法人當代藝術基金會以公辦民營方式經營的台北當代藝術館,因合約到期,轉由台北市文化基金會營運。臺北數位藝術中心成立之初,由於所在地里長爭取在臺北數位藝術中心成立里民活動中心,經臺北市文化局協調後,決定在臺北數位藝術中心內舉辦供社區民眾發表意見的公聽會,但當時臺北數位藝術中心的諮詢委員陶亞倫卻被排除在公聽會出席名單之外。2008年北美館館長謝小蘊宣布在館內成立「雙年展與國際計畫辦公室」(以下簡稱雙展辦),半年後由雙展辦辦理威尼斯雙年展台灣館的展覽,由過往五位威尼斯雙年展臺灣館的策展人王俊傑、王嘉驥、林宏璋、徐文瑞、鄭慧華擔任諮詢委員,並且由辦公室主任張芳薇實際擔任策展人的角色,而當時展出的四位藝術家當中有兩位曾經在威尼斯雙年展台灣館展出,一位已經參加過建築雙年展台灣館的展覽。另外有華山藝文特區2007年以ROT(Rehabilitate-Operate-Transfer)案改由遠流出版事業股份有限公司領銜的臺灣文創發展股份有限公司入主經營,以及因舉辦花卉博覽會剪綵儀式而影響北美館邀請展出的外籍藝術家場地使用等事件等。
第二任當代藝術館館長謝素貞曾經提過,如何在商業行銷當中維持其理想性格,也是公辦民營的機制中亟待討論的。策展人鄭美雅當時在對於臺北數位藝術中心事件的回應文章中認為應該先避開陷入「公民美學」與「小眾菁英」的辯論,針對反官方立場言論的被排除,以及背後所顯露出的審查制度提出質疑。而對於雙展辦事件,林宏璋認為,在雙展辦成立之前,北美館已經面臨了展覽品質及數量下降的問題。面對「宏觀調控」,豆皮咖啡館回應:「這些一連串下來所累積的憤怒聲音,藝術界眾人各自私下的感慨,因該聯合主動發起一些除了新聞報導與部落格隱身書寫之外,在物質與各處肉身接觸的現實世界中,具感染力也值得被正視與紀錄下來的事件,並因此得以進行更多,……」。2011年,因北美館與民間團體合辦大型展覽引發圖利特定廠商的質疑,藝術工作者自五月起,以「美術館是平的」為題,發起一連串的抗議以及行動。
參考文獻
相關事件包含原本由臺北市政府捐助設立的非營利機構「台北市文化基金會」在2007年轉型改組,並且納入臺北市政府的運作中。2008年起,由財團法人當代藝術基金會以公辦民營方式經營的台北當代藝術館,因合約到期,轉由台北市文化基金會營運。臺北數位藝術中心成立之初,由於所在地里長爭取在臺北數位藝術中心成立里民活動中心,經臺北市文化局協調後,決定在臺北數位藝術中心內舉辦供社區民眾發表意見的公聽會,但當時臺北數位藝術中心的諮詢委員陶亞倫卻被排除在公聽會出席名單之外。2008年北美館館長謝小蘊宣布在館內成立「雙年展與國際計畫辦公室」(以下簡稱雙展辦),半年後由雙展辦辦理威尼斯雙年展台灣館的展覽,由過往五位威尼斯雙年展臺灣館的策展人王俊傑、王嘉驥、林宏璋、徐文瑞、鄭慧華擔任諮詢委員,並且由辦公室主任張芳薇實際擔任策展人的角色,而當時展出的四位藝術家當中有兩位曾經在威尼斯雙年展台灣館展出,一位已經參加過建築雙年展台灣館的展覽。另外有華山藝文特區2007年以ROT(Rehabilitate-Operate-Transfer)案改由遠流出版事業股份有限公司領銜的臺灣文創發展股份有限公司入主經營,以及因舉辦花卉博覽會剪綵儀式而影響北美館邀請展出的外籍藝術家場地使用等事件等。
第二任當代藝術館館長謝素貞曾經提過,如何在商業行銷當中維持其理想性格,也是公辦民營的機制中亟待討論的。策展人鄭美雅當時在對於臺北數位藝術中心事件的回應文章中認為應該先避開陷入「公民美學」與「小眾菁英」的辯論,針對反官方立場言論的被排除,以及背後所顯露出的審查制度提出質疑。而對於雙展辦事件,林宏璋認為,在雙展辦成立之前,北美館已經面臨了展覽品質及數量下降的問題。面對「宏觀調控」,豆皮咖啡館回應:「這些一連串下來所累積的憤怒聲音,藝術界眾人各自私下的感慨,因該聯合主動發起一些除了新聞報導與部落格隱身書寫之外,在物質與各處肉身接觸的現實世界中,具感染力也值得被正視與紀錄下來的事件,並因此得以進行更多,……」。2011年,因北美館與民間團體合辦大型展覽引發圖利特定廠商的質疑,藝術工作者自五月起,以「美術館是平的」為題,發起一連串的抗議以及行動。
參考文獻
- 典藏雜誌編輯部,〈公辦民營美術館的五年經驗—從台北當代藝術館面臨經營團隊約期即將屆滿談起〉,《典藏今藝術》, 2005.11
- 陶亞倫,〈宏觀調控下的台灣當代藝術〉,伊通公園,2009.02
- 黃建宏,〈「宏觀調控」:調控快感中的貧乏幻見〉,伊通公園,2009.02
- 陶亞倫,〈為「台北數位藝術中心」發聲〉,2009.04
- 鄭美雅,〈這是一個令人憤怒的事件〉,2009.04
- 豆皮咖啡館部落格,〈嗨!我們如何繼續?〉, 2009.03