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Improvisation Notes: Tune in Urban Villages (即兴笔记：收听城中村)
The definition of 'urban villages' bewilders people in much the same way as the definition of art. Yet, when we 'read/write' about art, we do not begin with ONE firm definition as the foundation but with matters at hand, i.e. what we see, talk, hear, smell, think... or in a single word: sense. Similarly, when we 'read/write' about urban villages, it is not the whirlpool of definitions we immerse in but the field. Thus, what is significant is what we have sensed and experienced in the field and how we can hone, expand, and refine our sensorium and attunement.
However, in this nascent phase where we are remote from the field, we will simply start with readings, searching for and collecting things that relate to urban villages in China, giving off-site matters equal weight, in hopes that the interlinkage between matters and the methods they demand will slowly reveal themselves as the work progresses. Therefore, what this work-in-progress will illustrate are notes of a process—the process of search and approach—rather than notes from the field.
「城中村」的定义同「艺术」一样，常让人感到困惑。然而，当我们「 阅读/写作」艺术时，我们往往不会囿于定义，更多是从事物/事件本身出发，谈及我们的所看所思，或干脆凭著感知一言以蔽之。因此同样的，当我们谈论城中村时，我们也无需过多纠结它的定义，争个对错。城中村就在那里，我们只需走进去，甚至住进去，去看去听。可以说，‘定义’并不是我们了解城中村的开始，更非唯一路径。重要的是在场，在实地的感知与体验，并在此过程中思考如何调度自己的感官，使其更为灵敏。
但在项目初期，远离现场的我们，该如何“进入”城中村呢？很简单的，我们打算给予场外同等的重视，先从阅读与短暂逗留开始，以相对独立的视角寻找并搜集与城中村有关的文本或事物。在项目推进过程中，捕捉事物之间的关联及其所需/现有的研究方法。因此，此项目—即兴笔记：收听城中村—将会是一个关于“进入”过程的记录，而非田野笔记的展现。
The definition of 'urban villages' bewilders people in much the same way as the definition of art. Yet, when we 'read/write' about art, we do not begin with ONE firm definition as the foundation but with matters at hand, i.e. what we see, talk, hear, smell, think... or in a single word: sense. Similarly, when we 'read/write' about urban villages, it is not the whirlpool of definitions we immerse in but the field. Thus, what is significant is what we have sensed and experienced in the field and how we can hone, expand, and refine our sensorium and attunement.
However, in this nascent phase where we are remote from the field, we will simply start with readings, searching for and collecting things that relate to urban villages in China, giving off-site matters equal weight, in hopes that the interlinkage between matters and the methods they demand will slowly reveal themselves as the work progresses. Therefore, what this work-in-progress will illustrate are notes of a process—the process of search and approach—rather than notes from the field.
「城中村」的定义同「艺术」一样，常让人感到困惑。然而，当我们「 阅读/写作」艺术时，我们往往不会囿于定义，更多是从事物/事件本身出发，谈及我们的所看所思，或干脆凭著感知一言以蔽之。因此同样的，当我们谈论城中村时，我们也无需过多纠结它的定义，争个对错。城中村就在那里，我们只需走进去，甚至住进去，去看去听。可以说，‘定义’并不是我们了解城中村的开始，更非唯一路径。重要的是在场，在实地的感知与体验，并在此过程中思考如何调度自己的感官，使其更为灵敏。
但在项目初期，远离现场的我们，该如何“进入”城中村呢？很简单的，我们打算给予场外同等的重视，先从阅读与短暂逗留开始，以相对独立的视角寻找并搜集与城中村有关的文本或事物。在项目推进过程中，捕捉事物之间的关联及其所需/现有的研究方法。因此，此项目—即兴笔记：收听城中村—将会是一个关于“进入”过程的记录，而非田野笔记的展现。