在舊檔案中發現這個文件，是2021年5月台灣疫情升高為三級警戒之後，寶藏巖藝術村與英國Cove Park和Luminate兩機構做線上的文化交流時，藝術村所作訪談紀錄，我覺得做得蠻好的，就把它放在這裡：
I found this document in some old files. It is a record of interviews conducted by Treasure Hill Artist Village during an online cultural exchange with Cove Park and Luminate in the UK, after Taiwan raised its COVID-19 alert to level 3 in May 2021. I think they did a pretty good job, so I'm placing it here.
藝術家周靈芝訪談
周靈芝是一位從事藝術創作已有30年的台灣藝術家。早年的學習背景為人文歷史和人類學及社會科學，後來從事新聞與翻譯工作。因緣際會之下，接觸到台北市立美術館的社會推廣教育而開啟了藝術的嚮往之路。經由大量的觀展和吸收學習，積極地參與藝術相關活動以及與藝術家互動，逐步累積了創作能量。早期曾參與另類空間(新樂園藝術空間)的經營管理，以及協力文建會全球藝術村的研究調查(1998)。2004年第一次以出訪藝術家的身份至澳洲雪梨駐村，此後並獲得補助或是受邀出訪如日本、澳門、澳洲、印度及英國等地。所關注的焦點也從人文社會／文化心理等層面延伸至環境保護和生態議題。作品形式不拘，有空間裝置、錄像、社區共創及出版等等。
透過2021年7月27日的訪談紀錄讓我們更了解她的創作歷程和想法。周靈芝並非藝術學院畢業，她小時候喜歡畫畫，但當時的環境鼓勵升學、念書，逐漸地她就把這個興趣暫時擱置。出社會後由於文字能力強，從事新聞與翻譯工作。當她還在中時晚報工作時，參加了台北市立美術館的當代藝術推廣教育課程，修習幾位海外歸國的藝術家開設的素描、雕塑、油畫等課程，得到啟蒙而開始走入當代藝術創作領域。
其中一堂莊普老師的素描課，給了她很大的啟發，使她跳脫畫得「像不像」、「精不精準」的框架，使她在作品中專注於力量的展現、思想的表達，將她從過去傳統對於繪畫的想像轉換到當代藝術的視野。透過莊普的課程她感受到的不是具象或視覺上的問題，而是背後線條所傳遞出來的能量以及情緒，才發覺其實創作跟個人有關，當個人在當下的狀態，會反映在所能夠表達出來的圖像上，有奠基了她對於創作過程中需要打破界線、突破極限的體悟。
訪談中也聊到她的創作是以發展式的狀態一直在前進的，就像老殘遊記的啟示，找尋解藥之路是順著足跡慢慢生出來的，在不刻意追尋的狀態下，一段時間之後，隨著身心改變，逐漸的去一件一件發展出新的創作路線。
此外，創作以外的藝術行政工作，也會把她跟很多的機構跟團體串連在一起。也因為參與了當時文建會藝術村研究案，加上當時是新樂園的成員，與藝術進駐相關的活動交流也非常頻繁。靈芝的駐村經驗相當豐富，但最近幾年比較少去國外駐村，如果有機會她想去韓國和德國看看，因為對於韓國文化比較感興趣和好奇；德國因為沒去過，所以想親身感受德國與歐洲其他國家的社會文化氛圍有甚麼不同。
也許是一直保持在專注的狀態下創作，她沒有太常去思考年齡的問題。雖然年齡還是會帶來一些影響，她採取的方法是去調適，尤其2008年開始接觸環境行動、面對全球氣候變遷議題所產生的生態思維，也許讓她更能以心態調適的角度去看待年齡老化。人會老是一個必然的過程，比如說體力會變差，沒有辦法跟年輕的時候一樣熬夜三、四天工作，短時間將作品做出來。所以在創作上面的速度會改為比較穩健的方式。有些需要耗費很大的力氣，會選擇自己能勝任的部分和方式去完成，主要還是態度的調適。所以她並不會因為單單是老化這件事情，而是去面對一個現實狀態，調整自己應對的方式。
從機構的角度來看藝術家在各個年齡層需要的資源，她認為如果是從整體大環境來談，特別是對於促進當代藝術發展的話，資源的分配比例很重要。以她的觀察，二、三十歲處於大量吸收經驗的狀態，到35歲以後到50、60歲這一階段則是需要有足夠的舞台讓藝術家去發展。
Interview with artist, Julie CHOU
Julie CHOU is a Taiwanese artist who has been dedicated to art for 30 years. Her educational background was history, anthropology, and social science, later she had been working in the news industry and as an interpreter. She then participated in the promotion and education department of Taipei Fine Arts Museum by coincidence, and this experience had opened her pursuit for art. By proactively attending exhibitions, learning, dedicating art activities and interactions with other creators, she has accumulated the energy of creation. In her early life, she had worked in a management role of the alternative space (SLY art space,) and assisted the Council for Cultural Affair’s research program of artist villages around the world (1998.) In 2004, for the first time as an artist, she joined the residential program in Sydney, Australia, later on she started to receive subsidies or was invited to Japan, Macau, Australia, India, and England, etc. Her focus also extended from humanities and social science/cultural psychology to environmental conservation and ecology issues. Form of her works are not limited to site-specific installation, video, community collaboration and publication.
Through the interview on 27th July, 2021, we have known more about her creation and thoughts. Julie Chou didn’t graduate from art collage, she adored drawing as a kid, but she was brought up under an exam-oriented atmosphere, which made her postpone her interest in art. When she started to work, because of her writing ability, she had been working in news and as an interpreter. When she was an employee of China Times Express, she took the classes of contemporary art held by Taipei Fine Arts Museum, which included classes of sketch, sculpture, and oil painting, etc. by artists who just finished their study abroad, which inspired her to start her career in the field of contemporary art.
One sketch class taught by Tsong Pu especially inspired her, and she learned that art was not just about “being realistic” or “being accurate,” so she could focus on expression of strength and thoughts, which made her scope transferred from traditional painting to contemporary art. By the class of Tsong Pu, she felt not only the figurative or visual issue but also the energy and emotion hinted in the lines and strokes, by then she found that creation is very personal, the images would always reflect its creator’s condition in the moment, and which is also by then she realized that it is necessary to break the boundaries and push oneself to the limit while creating.
We also talked about how her creation is also in progress, just like what The Travels of Lao Can reveals, the path for the cure is generated step by step, unintentionally, the body and soul would change and gradually piece by piece, a new creation style will be developed.
Other than that, the art administration work had linked her to many other art institutions and groups. Also because of her participation in the Council for Cultural Affair’s research program of artist villages, and as a member of the SLY art space, she was very active in art residential and exchange activities. Julie Chou is very experienced in art residency, however she has been less going abroad in recent years, and if there is any chance, she would love to go to Korea and Germany, for she is quite interested in Korean culture and has never been to Germany, so she would love to experience the differences of social and culture atmosphere between Germany and other European countries.
Maybe because she has always been very focused on creation, she has not noticed the age issue. Though age does affect at some point, she is dealing with it by adjusting, especially when she started to get involved in environmental action in 2008, facing global warming with an ecological mindset also made her face personal aging issues with a more harmonizing perspective. For her, aging is an inevitable process, like the physical weakening which no longer allows her to stay up for 3 to 4 days in a row for work or to complete a piece of work in a short time. Therefore, she has to adjust her work pace to a more stable and steady mode. If work requires a lot of energy, she would choose to complete it in a competent way, and it’s mainly about the attitude of willing to adjust. So, she would not just focus on being aged, but to face the reality and to adjust herself to deal with it.
To review what artists do need in each age level from an institutional point of view, she thinks if we discuss the issue in a broader context, especially for improving the development of contemporary art, the allocation of resources is very important. She observes that for artists in their 20s and 30s, it is at the stage of absorption, and from 35 years old to 50 or 60, there should be a proper stage for artist to fulfill.
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