Can you recall the sounds of the last day of the 20th century? That was a time before YouTube and iPhone, when betacam was the main way to record video and cathode-ray tube (CRT) televisions easily found at homes. For Kate Gu, Associate Curator of Digital Special Projects, and Sindy Mak, Associate Conservator of Digital and Media Art, they hope to inspire the audience to consider these topics with the installation of Broadcast at the Same Time (1999.12.31 night) (2000) by Zhang Peili, who is one of the most influential Chinese video artists of our times.
The installation is made up of a ring of CRT televisions loop-playing news footage from around the world on the last day before the arrival of the millennium. Walking into the circle, you immediately get a peculiar impression that the televisions are talking to and drowning out one another simultaneously. Audiences of all ages can form distinctive connections with the installation based on their personal experiences. Kate believes Zhang actually foresaw the problem of over-saturation of information, critiquing this phenomenon through archiving a collection of videotapes across the globe.
還記得二十世紀最後一天的聲音嗎？那是早在YouTube和iPhone出現前，人們還用betacam錄影、顯像管電視仍在家中佔一席地的時代。辜雪婷（M+數碼特別項目製作副策展人）和麥瑞淇（M+數碼及媒體藝術副藏品修復員）希望藉張培力的裝置作品《同時播報1999年12月31日夜》（2000）引發觀眾思考這個問題。
張培力為當代最具影響力的中國錄像藝術家之一。這個裝置由圍成一圈的顯像管電視組成，循環播放著世界各地踏入千禧年前夕的新聞片段。踏進圈內，觀衆立即能感受到電視猶在互相對話和蓋過彼此聲浪的奇特景象。不同年齡的觀衆都能從自身經歷出發，與作品產生獨一無二的連繫。辜雪婷認為張培力早已預見資訊飽和的問題，並透過搜羅再現全球各地的錄影帶批判這一現象。
To fully convey Zhang’s artistic vision, Kate and Sindy have collaborated extensively with the team of technicians to install the work at the M+ Main Hall. One of the major challenges has been tuning the sounds to an appropriate level, creating the impression of hearing the voices blended together yet being unable to distinguish the exact information. They came up with the solution of using soundbars so that it is possible to adjust the volume while responding to the conditions of the exhibition space and respecting the integrity of the artwork.
It is perhaps fitting that the works of Zhang, which is preoccupied with the flow of information and time, also faces the inevitable challenge of technological obsolescence. Though the content of the tapes can be preserved through digitalisation and technical migration, institutions will have to consider alternative modes of displays with the inevitable decline of CRT televisions. Zhang’s work illustrates the challenges museums, artists, and collectors face in preserving and exhibiting time-based media works against the flow of time.
Broadcast at the Same Time (1999.12.31 night) is now on display at the M+ Main Hall from now to summer 2024.
為充分傳達張培力的藝術理念，辜雪婷和麥瑞淇與技術人員緊密合作，商討如何在M+大堂設置這件作品。他們的挑戰之一是調節適當的音量，以達到聲音混搭在一起又使人無法判斷內容的狀態。團隊最後使用條形音箱，令他們既可根據展覽空間的環境調整音量，又能保持作品原貌。
張培力的作品關注資訊與時間的流逝，但也正在面對技術過時的威脅。雖然錄影帶的內容能透過數碼化和資料轉移保存，但在顯像管電視日趨式微的情況下，各機構仍需考慮其他展示方法。張培力的作品反映了博物館、藝術家、收藏家在保存和展示流動影像作品時所面對的挑戰。
《同時播報1999年12月31日夜》現於M+地下大堂展出至2024年夏季。
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