Art Follows Money as Culture Becomes a Hot Commodity
轉自《紐時周報全文精譯》藝術追著錢跑 文化變成熱門商品
希望大家看完文章能分享一下想法
To artists and art lovers, museums are temples of knowledge and beauty, places of refuge that
invite quiet reflection.
對藝術家與藝術愛好者而言，博物館是知識與美的寶殿，也是發人寧靜深省的精神殿堂。
But the reigning values of the art world are money, prestige and power. Scholarship and
education take second nonstop fundraising, big-name architects, blockbuster shows,
attendance figures, gift shops, restaurants and branding. In the process, museums have
become part of a globalized creative industry.
然而在藝術界裡，則是金錢、名氣、權力至上。學術與教育的地位，排在馬不停蹄的募款活動、名建築師、賣座的展覽、參觀人數、禮品店、餐廳、品牌經營的後頭。在這樣的過程中，博物館成了全球化創意產業的一環。
Little wonder, then, that old-style curators were recently shocked to learn that the French government had agreed to rent the name of the Louvre to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the United Arab Emirates, for 30 years for $520 million. As part of the full $1.3 billion deal, the Louvre and other French museums will also lend works and offer advice to Abu Dhabi.
如此說來，最近老一派館長驚聞法國政府同意以5億2千萬美元，將羅浮宮的名字租給阿拉伯聯合大公國首都阿布達比30年，也就不足為奇了。在總值13億美元的交易中，羅浮宮與法國的其他博物館同時將提供建議與出借展品給阿布達比。
Why shocked? France has traditionally viewed culture as sacrosanct, not only inseparable from its identity, but also intrinsically good for people. Like health and education, it should be financed by the government. With its instinct for profit, the private sector has always been viewed as a threat to the spiritual quality of culture.
為何大驚失色？法國傳統上視文化為神聖不可侵犯之物，認為它不僅與法國的認同密不可分，而且本身就對人民有益。就和衛生、教育一樣，文化也應由政府資助。而私人企業以賺錢為本，一向被視為文化精神面的一大威脅。
But there was more. To protect its audiovisual industry from being overwhelmed by American movies and television programs, France has long limited American imports through quotas. To justify this “French exception” to free trade, it has argued that works of artistic creation should not be sold like toothpaste or Coca-Cola.
不僅如此。為保護視聽產業者不被美國電影與電視節目淹沒，法國長久以來一直以配額限制美國產品進口。法國為自外於自由貿易原則所提出的理由是，藝術創作不該當成牙膏或可口可樂來賣。
Yet, to the three horrified curators whose protests were endorsed by 4,700 signatures on a petition, here was France about to “sell” its museums, or, as they put, its very soul. Further, they seemed to feel it was unseemly for France － the Louvre, no less － to enter into a partnership with a minuscule oil-rich emirate with 1.6 million people and no cultural tradition.
然而，對驚恐萬分、反對此事的請願書獲得4,700人聯署的三位館長而言，法國即將「出賣」它的博物館，或者如同他們所說，出賣法國的靈魂。此外，他們似乎覺得，和油藏豐富、卻只有160萬人口且了無文化傳統的蕞爾小國建立夥伴關係，對法國和羅浮宮而言，都有失身分。
But the government did not back off. Not only is the payoff lucrative, but top French politicians decided it was time to make better use of one of the country’s greatest assets. They concluded that if France did not cash in, others would.
但是政府不為所動。除了這筆交易大有賺頭外，法國的最高層政治人物且已認定，善用法國這項最偉大資產事不宜遲。他們的說法是，法國不賺這筆錢，別人會搶著要。
They have a point: the globalization of museums is under way.
依他們的看法：博物館正在全球化。
Under its empire-building director, Thomas Krens, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation in New York led the way, first by adding the Guggenheim Bilbao in northern Spain to its traditional outpost in Venice, where it houses the Peggy Guggenheim Collection. It followed up with annexes in Berlin and Las Vegas. When Abu Dhabi began waving its checkbook, the Guggenheim quickly signed up.
在古根漢帝國締造者湯瑪士‧克倫斯總監的率領下，紐約「索羅門‧Ｒ‧古根漢基金會」成為開路先鋒。除了展出「佩姬‧古根漢收藏」的威尼斯舊有分館外，古根漢先在西班牙北部設立「畢爾包古根漢」，繼而又在柏林與拉斯維加斯成立分館。當阿布達比拿著支票簿向他們招手時，古根漢也馬上簽字同意。
The Guggenheim strategy has become something of a model. Both the Victoria & Albert Museum in London and the Georges Pompidou Center in Paris were ready to participate in the West Kowloon Cultural District in Hong Kong, now postponed. Since then, the Pompidou has agreed to oversee management of a new contemporary art museum carrying its name in Shanghai.
古根漢的策略多少已成了一種模式。倫敦的「維多利亞與亞伯特博物館」以及巴黎的「喬治‧龐畢度中心」原本準備參與現今遭到擱置的香港西九龍文娛藝術區計畫。其後，龐畢度中心又同意監督上海一個用它名字的新現代美術館的管理。
The logic behind these expansions is that most European and American museums can display only a small part of their art. In fact, before thinking globally, both the Louvre and the Pompidou began building annexes in northern France, in Lens and Metz, to share their collections.
這些擴張行動背後的邏輯是，大多數歐洲和美國的博物館僅能展出他們一小部分的館藏。事實上，在放眼全球之前，羅浮與龐畢度已開始在法國北部的蘭斯與梅茲設立分館，分享館藏。
The State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg profits from its relatively new outposts in London, Amsterdam and Las Vegas, while the Guggenheim also earns revenue from its satellites. These international forays also spread a museum’s fame. And with France’s government-owned museums, foreign out- reach enhances the country’s image.
俄羅斯聖彼得堡的「艾米塔吉博物館」從它比較新的倫敦、阿姆斯特丹、拉斯維加斯分館獲利，而古根漢也從它的分館賺取收入。這些國外分館同時為母館傳揚名聲。對法國的國營博物館而言，觸角延伸至國外，有助於提升國家形象。
In most cases, art is following money. Auction houses and art fairs are heading for the Middle East, Latin America, Russia, China and India, where the new rich are finding that art is a good investment and a symbol of success.
在多數情況下，藝術是追著錢跑。拍賣與藝展業正朝中東、拉丁美洲、俄羅斯、中國大陸、印度前進，當地的新富發現藝術是很好的投資，也是成功的象徵。
European and American museum visitors are discovering horizons of art through exhibitions of treasures lent by China, India, Iran, Afghanistan, Peru and Mexico.
歐洲與美國博物館的參觀者，正透過由大陸、印度、伊朗、阿富汗、秘魯、墨西哥出借的珍奇展品，拓展他們的藝術視野。
The boundaries of art are shifting. While this move is propelled principally by money and image, if the result is to increase appreciation of － and participation in － the creative process, it can only be positive. But the peril facing globalized museums is that architecture, tourist-pleasing shows, gift shops and fancy restaurants become ends unto themselves. And, inevitably, art as business devalues art.
藝術的邊界正在變動。儘管變動主要的推動力量是金錢與形象，但只要結果有助於提升對創作過程的欣賞與參與，這就是正面的發展。博物館全球化的危機，是建築、討好觀光客的表演、禮品店、華麗的餐廳喧賓奪主。無可避免地，藝術變成生意一定會貶低藝術的價值。
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