[讀者回應精選]本文回應<「西九」是一個政治經濟學的問題
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siu sai, thanks for reporting, i am so grateful for you guys. or else, i am out there in the states so far away, won't be able to get that much from hong kong.
jimmy, i think what you mentioned is similar to what long hair's ideas based on, that is pretty much marxist, and yet you also raised another issue of "time." i can see both long hair and you analyze the ways from the economic-politically point of view, and yet you add the idea of time that is related to how one self (his/her own subjectivities) deals with the dominant ideas, or ideology in our society.
in a way, long air is right. i still remember i did write something on the idea of "poor" and art in 1999. when i was very sick and heavily in debt and busy working, i wouldn't go to any kind of "cultural" events. i didn't buy any cd... then i was not supporting art?
however, i am NOT trying to make it like a generalizing comment that only rich people can do and enjoy art. i did hear this before and i feel so bad about this kind of self-victimized tokenistic statement for it does not help communication.
jimmy, what you mention about the idea of time is interesting. in a way, hk is going too fast... actually, if we look back and view it not in a single event, what made hk govt in such dead end and drown by failures are the fast yet not thoughtful enough policies being pushed by tung. you can trace it one by one, 85000, cyber port, stopping home ownership scheme, cutting social service, article 23, west kln....
seems like things should be done in a very fast way. and with a false hope that they would be settled soon and then ...there will be "development" "naturally". yet, we didn't really sit down and look back what we have and what we have done... like to review our own lives...
yes, it is a life time to learn about the idea of time, which compresses so many things that fuck up our society.
the idea of time, the personal experience of time of our own subjectivities and to struggle rendering our own ways of thinking to be able to deal with life.
is it the idea of art making?
what siu sai mentions about 得從(藝術)教育入手，創造(藝術)市場，提昇全民藝術賞析能力。然而，文化藝術圈的朋友恐怕是捉錯用神了，因為歸根究底，問題的癥結似乎不在於教育，也不在於文化，而是在於高度異化的資本主義經濟文化！
i think there are some other discussions about it rather than shutting the possibilities of education down, at least to re inscribe and reconsider what is art education, or what kind of education should be in an art school.
we can't simply say cultural development is MORE an economic-political issue. it may be as limited as those "cultural people" (you put them in quotation) to see west kln in one aspect that is --
how to make west kln project possible, and in a better way.
i'd rather say, education, or the idea of art making (not what is art), is exactly a way to also deal with the problems of 高度異化的資本主義經濟文化. or it is a hope and something art educators have to think about.
education is hope. it is a tactic too. we MUST USE it. as there is NO SINGLE institution or any other group or ngo, can get as much a school or university has. it is really important, as a tactic. (i always think i have very strange ideas of tactics after being years of activist and then a lay back patient ;p) teaching is NOT just a work for me. it is a tactic to path some effort and hope to cultural advancement, though little and slow. (is this precisely why cultural studies originated?) some teachers blame they have to deal with politics and pressure and stuffs... yes, there are fucked up politics. yet, every one working has pressure. it is NOT an excuse for us NOT to figure it out why we want to teach, and what can we accomplish in teaching., though again, everyone may be different.
for me (at least, these are my ideas when i am teaching), education is important for cultural development, BUT not to "educate" people to do art or "educate" them to be able to "understand" art, or promote art events. education in art school for me NOT merely about these things. i am NOT very interested in art (though i am now in an art school, see my struggles...). NOR even technology (though i am a highly technical person). skills and technical stuffs are important for students. but i will take them as knowledge to share, experiences and fundamental survival kit for students to get jobs.
in addition, as if every single political and social movement is part of cultural development, education is also part of it. if we look at it in this way, education in an art school is about concern to the society, critical theories, rethinking of our systems of thinking, unlearning (rethinking about our selves, i always think reflexivity is the the most important quality of an artist), opening our eyes and hearts to the places we are living in and onto the world. NOT shutting down oneself in a room to "make" art, and certainly NOT to ask more people to go to art events.
the SI wrote this in 1960, the use of free time
http://library.nothingness.org/articles/SI/en/display/317
it is about time, about art as everydaylife practices, (their famous tactic is detournement http://library.nothingness.org/articles/SI/en/display/315) in a post-capitalist society. long hair's ideas is still very much related to this, to certain extend
here is another article about revolution in everydaylife
http://library.nothingness.org/articles/SI/en/pub_contents/5
yet, i don't think people are that "passive." i always think. people, as agency, can do every single very trivial creative thing for cultural resistance in our everydaylife... then we can "enjoy" life more, this is so important. we need to get back our life in the fucking awful everyday work and the condition of exhastion. in a way, it is about what we can do... the point is, why certain creative actions in everydaylife are NOT considered as art, and people won't think that is creativity.
can we walk another road to work and take some pics there? or write down what we feel about the place? can we go to another shop to buy breadfast and talk to people there? it just take us 10-20mins more maybe... does time matter that much?
going back to jimmy's question. or even long hair's comment.
in a way, i am NOT interested in how technology help people to do art (haha, this is what people expect me to have after studying here... hahahaha!). i am more interested in how technology changes people's life and relations and everydaylife practices, in which creativity or art making (not what is art) should be considered practices of everydaylife -- like blogs!
i wish i could do more later when i am back. not just to teach what i know but to practice my ideas of education (in an "art" school) as dealing with the most fundamental economic-political issues -- creativity in everydaylife... yet, it doesn't mean that all of our creative works must be related to political issues... pls don't mistaken me and turn everything into the necessarity of art charged with high votts political tokenism. this is another complicated topic...
i am too long winded already.
good health. let's hope we can unlearn and do more and... deal better with time!
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