Hou Yi-Ren: Guest artist of Kaohsiung International Container Arts Festival／高雄貨櫃藝術節受邀藝術家侯宜仁
Hou Yi-Ren: Guest artist of Kaohsiung International Container Arts Festival
◎English Translation: Marie-claude Pelchat
◎Photos courtesy of Hou Yi-ren
Local and international artists have been invited to take part in the 2012 Kaohsiung International Container Arts Festival, which lasts until January 31. The creative theme of the festival is "home," and artist Hou Yi-ren who hails from Kaohsiung's sister city of Tulsa, Oklahoma has used two trailers, a kumquat tree and a goat to create her impression of "home." Her work can be seen at Pier 2 Art Center.
Born in Taiwan, Hou has lived in the United States for almost 16 years. She participated at the festival event, thanks to a grant from the US State Department. Hou said she heard about the event and immediately started to think about concepts for an installation along with her husband, James Gallagher. They transformed a shipping container into two trailers, a fruit tree and a cow, representing elements necessary for human nutrition. The work was immediately selected to be part of the exhibition.
Explaining the source for her inspiration, Hou said that as a child she lived in the mountains and ox carts were omnipresent. The trailer in her installation symbolizes "going home." For three weeks, Hou worked with volunteers in Kaohsiung to set up her installation and realize her vision. This creation process was unforgettable. Since the real cow in the original installation could not be included, it was replaced by a small goat. Thanks to the help of local friends, a small plastic goat was found on opening day, thus completing the original vision of the work. For Hou, the most precious memories of this exhibition are the interactions with volunteers and her visit to Kaohsiung Guangrong Elementary School. There she shared with teachers and students about her creative process and received wonderful feedback. The overall experience convinced her of the friendliness of Kaohsiung's people.
After completing the installation, Hou and her husband explored the city. Hou loves art and culture. Taking the MRT, they visited Kaohsiung Museum of Fine Arts, Ciaotou Sugar Refinery. She said that her previous impression of Kaohsiung was that of an industrial city. Now, however, she describes Kaohsiung as a city where people have space to breathe. She admires Kaohsiung for its nice weather and Love River. She is looking forward to bringing her creations to share with friends in the city.
高雄貨櫃藝術節受邀藝術家 侯宜仁
◎文／張嘉玲
◎照片提供／Hou Yi-ren
2012高雄貨櫃藝術節以「家」為創作主題，展期至1月31日。高雄姊妹市陶沙的受邀藝術家侯宜仁以兩台拖車、金桔樹、羊，在高雄駁二藝術特區，完成她對「家」的想像。
出生於台灣的侯宜仁，旅居美國約16 載，此次在美國國務院贊助下赴台。侯宜仁說，偶然獲知高雄市邀請藝術家參展，她立即和先生葛理漢構思作品，將一個貨櫃改造成兩台拖車，分別裝載果樹和母牛，象徵供養人類的營養，他們的作品旋即獲選參展。侯宜仁談起作品的靈感源於，兒時居住山區，牛車隨處可見，作品中的拖車即有言喻「回家」之意。在高雄創作的3星期間，在志工幫忙下，她經歷了難忘的創作歷程。原本作品中的母牛無法實際出現，於是以一頭小羊代表，經由當地朋友的幫忙，總算在開幕當天，尋覓到一條塑膠小牛 ，重現作品的原始設計。侯宜仁談起此次參展最珍貴的回憶，是與志工朋友的交流，讓她體驗到高雄溫暖的人情味，她並至高雄光榮國小，與該校師生分享創作概念，獲得熱烈迴響。
在高雄期間，侯宜仁忙完展覽會場，常和先生葛理漢徜徉高雄。侯宜仁鍾愛藝術文化，搭著捷運，他們造訪高雄美術館、橋頭糖廠等地。侯宜仁說，過去對高雄的印象是個工業大城，現今她形容高雄讓人擁有呼吸的空間，她盛讚高雄有著陽光普照的好天氣和愛河。侯宜仁期待下次再帶著作品與高雄的朋友交流。
Rich Matheson-Capturing local culture through his lens
◎English translation by Marie Pelchat
◎Photo courtesy of Rich Matheson
Canadian photographer Rich Matheson came to Taiwan 20 years ago and fate led him to settle in Tainan. Rich's wife belongs to the Bunun aboriginal tribe in Kaohsiung's Namasia District, and Rich himself was quickly seduced by the area's clean air, natural environment, rich culture and warm people. Rich and his family moved to Namasia District in 2004, and he even built their house by himself.
Rich truly enjoys the natural life of Namasia District. He mentions that one of his favorite dishes is the Bunun delicacy "stinky meat." This dish is made from wild boar or wild deer captured by tribespeople. Even if you have the money to buy it, "stinky meat" is hard to come by because tribespeople only prepare the dish during specific seasons and serve it to friends and family members. None of the local restaurants sell it.
Rich and his wife agree that the natural environment of Namasia is ideal for raising their children. However, good times never last and, in 2009, Namasia suffered greatly when typhoon Morakot hit Taiwan. Rich and his family had to move out, but they still come back every weekend.
Having traveled in Tainan, Kaohsiung and Namasia, Rich describes Tainan as a place with a rich history and culture, and where the pace of life is very relaxing. For its part, Kaohsiung is a big city and although smaller than Taipei, it still retains its traditional culture. As for Namasia, it is a paradise for outdoor living and perfect for walking. Rich recommends going hiking in the mountains when coming to Taiwan.
Rich - who wrote the Southern Taiwan section of the Michelin Green Guide - has explored the many corners of Taiwan and used his camera to record Taiwan's religious festivals and culture. He plans to compile his photographic work into a book. For this reason, he often visits Neimen District in Kaohsiung, which occupies a central place in Taiwan's Songjiang Battle Array. Rich says the fierce-looking face paint and eye-catching costumes of Eight Generals Dance performers might instill awe and fear in the hearts of people, but when he asks in Chinese, "Can I take a picture?," these performers are excited to pose in front of the camera and interact in a sincere manner. Through his lens, Rich overcomes the language and cultural gap, representing through images the most outstanding aspects of Taiwan's local culture.
Rich Matheson
捕捉鏡頭下的庶民文化
◎文／侯雅婷
◎照片提供／Rich Matheson
加拿大籍攝影師Rich Matheson 20 年前來到台灣，因緣際會落腳台南，因為太太是高雄那瑪夏區布農族人 ，Rich被那瑪夏區好空氣、鄉間自然環境、豐富文化和友善熱情的族人所吸引 ，2004年舉家搬回那瑪夏區居住。Rich 很享受那瑪夏區的自然生活，他提起，布農族人有道滋味豐富的「臭肉」私房珍饈，是他心中的美食首選，取材自族人捕捉到野生的豬肉或鹿肉特製而成，族人只在特別的時節才製作，僅招待自家親友，當地的餐廳也不販售。
Rich和太太都認同那瑪夏這樣的自然環境是撫養孩子長大的理想環境，可是好景不常，2009年莫拉克颱風重創台灣 ，那瑪夏區受創嚴重，他們因此遷離那瑪夏，但週末時仍會返回那瑪夏的家。
遊走於台南、高雄和那瑪夏，Rich說台南具有深厚的歷史文化，生活步調較放鬆；高雄則是大都會，雖小於台北的規模，但仍保有傳統文化；那瑪夏則是戶外生活的天堂，適合健走，Rich推薦 ，來台灣一定要到山裏走走。
這位撰寫過南台灣米其林指南的專業攝影深入走訪台灣，長期用相機紀錄著台灣廟會和陣頭文化，未來計劃將作品集結成冊，也因此他經常造訪素有「藝陣之鄉」的高雄內門區，Rich說，臉上彩繪著色彩斑斕、服裝造型搶眼的八家將表演者，看起來讓人心生敬畏，但他強調，當他用中文詢問：「我可以拍張照片嗎？」這些表演者都非常開心能入鏡，無比真誠的與他互動，透過鏡頭，跨越語言和文化的鴻溝，呈現於眼前的是台灣最精采的一頁庶民文化。