歡迎光臨/ Huan Yin Guang Lin ("Welcome" in Chinese)

感謝魏欣妍跟Diandra Millar的幫忙！
Special Thanks to Wei Hsinyen and Diandra Millar!

歡迎光臨

2011/09/11
芝加哥藝術學院美術館（AIC）

這是為了上課做的作業。教授要我們幾個人一組，然後去公共場所做一些小小介入觀眾的實驗。

我們這一組挑了美術館。我選了一個藝術家的展場，展場入口處掛了金色簾子，展場的左右角落各自放了一堆糖果跟一堆紙，觀眾可以任意拿取，但現場並沒有文字說明讓觀眾知道可以這樣做。

我的作品是這樣子的，我找了另一個台灣女生欣妍（她有來玩過跳蛋喔 但我們認識幾天以後才發現這件事 真好玩），我們兩個像穿制服的服務生一身黑，脖子上綁著用色紙作的蝴蝶結，然後站在展場入口的兩旁。如果有觀眾想要進去，我跟她就會幫觀眾掀簾子，然後用中文跟觀眾說“歡迎光臨！”，觀眾走進展場，我們繼續用中文跟他們說明兩旁的作品可以任意拿取，像是“那邊的糖果/紙可以自己拿喔”。如果被觀眾問問題，我們繼續用中文回答。態度超級友善，笑容滿面，但只說中文。

我們在星期天去了美術館，結果整個忘記那天是個特別的日子。當我們站在那裡“歡迎光臨”不到兩三個觀眾，警衛就過來問我們是不是申請在這裡公開表演核准的藝術家，我用中文回答她“不是”，她滿臉疑惑的重複了“不是”兩個字，隱約發現我說的應該是“no"，然後她就很sorry的請我們離開:"(以下英翻中，有點尷尬) girls, 我知道你們做得事情很有趣，但我真的覺得你們不要繼續這樣作比較好。尤其今天是911(!)，上面的人都很敏感，你們是外國人，在這裡講著大家聽不懂的話，讓觀眾（跟館方）都很緊張"。

我們試著解釋我們在做什麼，但是她很遺憾的搖搖頭。之後我們試著找別的展間做其他人的作品，也不斷碰到警衛過來關心。有一個警衛人很好，他讓我們做完作品才過來跟我們說今天其實並不是這樣做的好時機; 結果過沒多久美術館經理就走過來跟他說話，同時一直盯著我們看。後來等到經理離開，警衛才告訴我們我們在美術館外面做呼吸暖身時就被注意了，因為我們三個穿著一身黑，又做很奇怪的事情。

本來我的作品只是要說身處異鄉的疏離感，但是好狗運（？）碰到911, 為整個情境帶來一種更廣闊跟基巴的意涵（？吧）。

我在美國的第一件作品就是被這樣”歡迎光臨“的。

歡迎光臨 Huan Yin Guang Lin ("Welcome" in Chinese)

2011/09/11
AIC Museum
I chose the exhibition venue for “Felix Gonzalez-Torres” as the location for my piece. There is a golden curtain made by plastic beads installed at the entrance in the exhibition venue, after passing the curtain, they would see a pile of candies placed in the right corner and a stack of papers in the left corner. Audience can take a candy or a piece of paper at will, but there is no specific illustration to tell that they can do so. My piece is “歡迎光臨”(huan yin guang lin, means “welcome”)I chose Hsinyen, who also comes from Taiwan as me, as my partner in the performance, and Diandra helped to document the performance. Hsinyen and I who dressed in black with red bow ties on our necks (like waiter’s uniform) have to stand on the each side of the entrance before the curtain. When we see audience who tend to go through the entrance, both of us would push aside the curtain for them and greet “Welcome” in Chinese at the same time. After audience passing the entrance, we would try to explain what they could do with the pieces in Chinese, like “you can get a candy in the corner” or “you can take a piece of paper over there if you want”, in a really friendly attitude. If audience would like to ask us some questions, we also reply them in Chinese, friendly. What I want to do in the performance is to convert the localization by language. By providing service to audience in a foreign language, I try to make audience get a sense of alienation (even both of us are really friendly), as if they themselves stay in a museum not located in U.S.A. What inspires me to do the piece is my personal experience of being outside from my home country for this period of time. In fact, people here treat me really friendly and politely, like I treat immigrant workers (most of them come from south-east Asia) in Taiwan, but I still can’t get rid of a sense of isolation. Then I suddenly become aware of what my attitude toward immigrant people is: I treat them friendly and politely by the political correctness, and as a native inhabitant who want to support the immigrant issue, I thought that I practiced it pretty well in my daily life, until I found that I never try to make a deeply conversation based on understanding with them. For me, the piece is like a reminder, and I also want to remind others by experiencing the similar condition. But something happened changed the whole story. We forgot the date we decided to do our performance was 911. After observing what we had done for a short while (about two or three audience passing by), the security guard came to us and asked me if we were permitted applicants for performing in the museum. “不是(bu shi, means “no” in Chinese)” I replied, then the security repeated what I said in a confused tone. “Bu shi..?? (she suddenly found out it should mean no) Anyway, girls, what you do is really interesting, but I really don’t think it’s a good idea to continue doing it, especially today is 911, our boss is really sensitive at this time, that's why you see so many security guards here today... and you guys speak foreign language to people that they don’t know, it makes them (and us) nerves.” We tried to explain what we did to her to get much time doing the piece, but it was in vain. Then she kept her eyes on us in that space to make sure we couldn’t do it again. There comes an interesting contrast between my performance and the reaction of the security guards (meanwhile, as audience); for me, it makes an irony that my first performance in U.S.A. could be welcomed in this way