Always able to talk about art history in ways that are soul-stirring for his audience, Chiang Hsun delivered an eye-opening speech on aesthetics on Tuesday last week for 50 visually impaired people. His audience was both moved and captivated. “We often need to close our eyes because they are typically the greatest handicap for our other organs. When you love someone and get close to them physically, hug them or hold hands, how can you feel the slightest changes in body temperature if your eyes are wide open?”
Chiang said that when he is unable to find peace in Taipei, he goes to Taroko Gorge to listen to the sounds of the Liwu River, the winding river cutting through the gorge, and the sound of water crashing against the stones, which he says sounds quite different from the sounds of the Seine or the Yellow River. He says it is the most beautiful sound. “Your hands are certainly more capable of feeling the lines that the river has left on the rocks over the past 300 million years.”
Chiang recalls seeing a visually impaired person reading a book at the library once, “Each finger skimming over the surface was like eyes for him. If I had to use my fingers to read a book, I would be the one with a disability.” Chiang believes that when the Chinese philosopher Laozi said, “Looking without seeing, listening without hearing,” he spoke of the most veritable disability.
Photo: Hsieh Wen-hua, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者謝文華
(Liberty Times, Translated by Kyle Jeffcoat)
總能將藝術史講得扣人心弦的蔣勳,上週二為五十名視障朋友開「眼界」談美學,聽者悸動,神情陶醉。「很多時候我們必須閉上眼,因為眼睛常成為其他器官最大障礙,愛一個人的時候,當你依靠他、擁抱或牽他的手,如果眼睛睜得大大的,對方體溫細緻的變化,怎感覺得到?」
蔣勳透露,當台北讓他安靜不下來,就到太魯閣去聽立霧溪的水聲,曲折溪水切割出峽谷,碰撞石壁落地擦出的聲音,和塞納河、黃河的水聲都不一樣,是最美的聲音。「你們的手,一定比我能觸摸石頭被三億年溪水沖出的紋理!」
Photo: Wang Yi-sung, Liberty Times
照片:自由時報記者王藝菘
蔣勳曾在圖書館見視障者讀點字書,「每根滑動的手指,好像都是他的眼睛,如果要我用手指讀書,我才是個障礙者!」蔣勳認為,兩千年前老子所言的「視而不見、聽而不聞」,才是真正的障礙。
(自由時報記者謝文華)
A: Artificial intelligence technology has been causing controversy lately: a student was caught cheating with AI to win the grand prize in an art contest. B: That’s so absurd. Does this mean that AI paints better than humans? A: Maybe. Luckily, the student was later disqualified. B: And more absurdly, it’s becoming more and more popular to use AI technology to “resurrect” people. A: Yeah, some netizens even posted videos featuring the late singer CoCo Lee, who was “resurrected” by them with AI software. A: 人工智慧的爭議不斷,有學生違規使用AI參加美術展,甚至贏得首獎。 B: 真誇張,這是不是代表AI比人類還強大? A: 或許吧,幸好得獎資格被取消。 B: 還有更誇張的︰讓死者重現的「AI復活」技術越來越熱門。 A: 對啊,還有網友製作已故歌后李玟「復活」的影片呢! (By Eddy Chang, Taipei Times/台北時報張聖恩)
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