A One-man Factory 一人工廠

A One-Man Factory, 2012

24-hour ceaseless sculpture making at home

Mixed Media and single channel video

Dimension variable

24-hour documentation
12:00am - 12:00am, 9-7-2013:

“Invention can be categorized into invention of objects and invention of methods which invention of objects is not limited to any tangible form.”

I accidentally encounter the above sentence while looking up meaning of the word “invention”. If turning it into the word “creation”, it seems to raise a discourse about visual and conceptual languages to define art.

“Invention” and “creation”, both meanings have delicate relationship literally. Except creative production process, industry, efficiency, commercialization and high coordination with livelihood, are parts of characteristics of “Invention” in past that they just adversely compare to individuals, low efficiency, limited production, detached and non-functional behavior, as parts of “creation”. In recent two decades, characteristics of “invention” and “creation” have become more similar. Like many other categories, concept is boarder and media are wider to be applied in the same context forming complex structures. When “two” are grouped into “one”, does it cause any loss of intrinsic value? Or sublimation? My intention of the experiment is to place sculpture making in the situation between an individual and industry

From a midnight of a day to another midnight of the following day, I will lock myself in a recycling factory and apply all available materials inside to make a sculpture per hour. Then 24 sculptures will be made finally. When art convert into an assembly-line, do continuous and efficient production make creation become commercialized and meaningless? General daily working pattern is condensed into a whole day industrial activity. Do my mental state and behavior change over time? At the end of the road, 24 hours later, do meaning of art is completely drained? Or there is another way around which can derive new stories?

｢發明可以分為物件的發明及方法的發明；而物件的發明亦不限於有形的物件。｣

從嘗試定義 ｢發明｣ 這個詞的時候看到以上這句，如果將 ｢發明｣ 二字轉換成 ｢創作｣ ，就似提出了有關視覺與概念的話語般介定藝術。

｢發明｣ 跟 ｢創作｣ 二者，字義上所指向的活動具相當微妙的關係。除一同牽涉創意的生產過程外，以前， ｢發明｣ 的工業、效率、產品化、與生活的高度配合，恰恰跟 ｢創作｣ 的個人、低效率、量產化、抽離生活的非功能行為相反。及至近二十年，｢發明｣ 跟 ｢創作｣ 的特質卻互相靠攏。正如許多範疇一般，概念越用越闊；媒介越跨越廣，交融並用，意義繁多並形成複雜結構。那麼，由 ｢二｣ 歸納成 ｢一｣ ，箇中可有珍貴的本質價值流失？還是昇華？我嘗試透過將雕塑製作置於個體與工業間更極端的對立情境作實驗。

由某天凌晨零時開始至翌日凌晨零時作結，把自己鎖進回收廠內，運用裡頭一切可用的物料，並以每小時製作一件雕塑的頻率，合共完成24件作品。當藝術創作演化成流水作業，持續及具效率的勞動會否讓創作產品化及失去意義？一般日出而作，日入而息的常態推展為濃縮成一天的工業活動，精神狀態及行為隨時間遠去又會如何改變？路的盡頭，二十四小時過後，藝術的意義是被消磨殆盡了？還是可找到轉彎抹角處，衍生新的含義？