2011-12
14 min
六機投影裝置、3200 x 1250 超高解析度錄像，立體聲音效 6-projection installation, 3200 x 1250 ultra HD video, stereo sound
作品介紹：
旅美影像藝術家劉肇興於2011 年起程前往後藏，兩千三百公里的路程從拉薩出發，行經西藏高原、珠穆朗瑪和岡仁波切峰，並在岡峰海拔五、六千公尺處轉山繞行四天。作者為了紀念往生的幼女，以龐大的拍攝規模記錄了這場朝聖之旅，採用了超高解析度及第一人稱角度。展覽現場無限廣闊的空間感，引領觀者趨近山嶺上的朝聖者、觀光客、殊異的山光景色，體會蘊含其中對生命與自然的敬畏虔誠。
〈廓拉〉在藏文的意涵是指繞著寺院、佛塔，或是任何神聖的地境轉圈行走。它是一種朝聖及修行的方式。轉行的過程中，信眾經常轉動手中的法輪，頌經、數念珠，甚至以一步一跪的方式趨進。岡仁波切峰可謂是亞洲第一神山，除了磅礡的景觀，它金字塔般的四面山形和山腳下四條大河的源流，也對應著佛典形容的世界中心。 信徒們相信，如果克服這52 公里艱難的高海拔山道轉行一圈，人們可以洗滌一世的惡業。對作者而言，這段朝聖的路，是他亟欲尋覓的心靈蔽護空間。
藝術家介紹：
劉肇興生於1968 年臺灣中壢，現居於美國印第安納。
他的錄像裝置結合了攝影及數位製作，描繪心理及超現實的空間。其作品將時間帶入緩行的狀態，呈現沈思默念的情境，鮮有明確的敘述。影像造形之規模則在微型和無限寬廣間擺盪。劉肇興取材於風景、油彩、飲食、人體。作品主題遍及對自然的冥想、無常的宗教觀念、和面對喪痛的心靈療癒。
劉肇興的作品曾於眾多國際美術館展演典藏，包括日本東京都寫真美術館、韓國首爾美術館、臺北市立美術館、北京紅點美術館、美國休士頓美術館、芝加哥當代攝影美術館。得獎經歷包括紐約亞洲文化協會獎助金、依佛生現代藝術獎助金、和美國攝影教育全國年會蓋瑞費茲獎。重要講演包括美國大學藝術學會、SIGGRAPH 國際年會、歐洲科學藝文雙年會、和芝加哥人文科學節。劉肇興現任美國印第安納大學數位藝術教授。
Work Statement:
Video artist Liou embarked on a 2,300 kilometer filming expedition that started from Lhasa, traveled through the Tibetan Plateau, and ultimately made sojourns to Mount Everest and Mount Kailash. The trip included a four-day kora—a walking circumambulation around Mount Kailash at an elevation between five and six thousand meters. The work traces the steps of pilgrims while presenting unique mountain landscapes, reverence for nature and a space of spiritual sanctuary.
Mount Kailash is sacred in four world religions including Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, and Bon. For Liou, the quest was a search for sanctuary following the death of his young daughter Vivian from leukemia in 2007. He recorded the journey on an ultra-high definition 4K camera and scored the work with an acoustic soundtrack to heighten the dramatic arc of the trek. Focusing solely on the path ahead, the video mimics the otherworldly quality of Liou’s journey, with its startling and ever-changing vistas. The viewer cannot help but be mesmerized by the slow, steady excursion around the sacred mountain to a pass strewn with colorful prayer flags—evidence of the spiritual quests of thousands of pilgrims before.
Kora is deliberately shot and edited from a first person perspective, placing the viewer on the path of a pilgrim. The thin air of the dizzying altitude is made palpable through the hand-held camera technique. Only that which is closest in view has defined edges; the mountain remains a mirage receding into the heavens. The slowly unfolding composition of expansive electronic sounds and string instruments gradually brings one’s attention to the present moment of the solitary hike.
Biography:
Born 1968 in Zhongli, Taiwan, and currently based in Indiana, USA.
Liou is an artist, educator, and administrator with a background in photography, digital media, film, and journalism. His recent projects include a pilgrimage in the sacred mountains in Tibet, a journey through the tsunami-ravaged coastline of Japan,
and a cinematic collaboration with a brain scientist regarding the connection between endocannabinoids and memory. Liou works with lens-based materials and electronic imaging to create installations depicting mental and surreal spaces.
Liou’s videos and prints have been featured in programs, exhibitions, and collections in Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography, Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, Rubin Museum in New York, Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, Museum of Contemporary Photography in Chicago, Indianapolis Museum of Art, National Gallery Victoria, Melbourne, Seoul Museum of Art, Red Brick Museum in Beijing, Taipei Fine Arts Museum, and Sharjah Biennial.
攝影：ANPIS FOTO 王世邦。國立臺灣美術館提供。
Photographer: Anpis Wang. Courtesy of National Taiwan Museum of Fine Arts.
