疫情之下：再利用的藝術與藝術的再利用
新冠肺炎上半年在全球各地爆發以來，國際上的醫療和防疫物資嚴重短缺，工業生產線被再利用來生產消毒液、口罩、呼吸機等物資和設備，酒店被再利用為隔離中心，而人們最津津樂道的例子莫過於法國奢侈品品牌LVMH將香水生產線改為生產洗手液和消毒用品，雖然生產出來的用品並不會有LVMH的標籤。
這一系列的生產線和經營場所的「再利用」令人想到戰時物資匱乏的時候。二戰時，美國通用汽車的生產線被改為生產槍械和坦克，政府號召民眾收集金屬、紙張、塑膠等物資來再利用，以支援戰爭的需要。在家庭和個人生活中，再利用同樣無所不在，男裝大衣能被改造為女裝鞋和外套。有時，災難或危機的出現反而更能激發人的想像力，迫使人們創造性地再利用一切有限的資源。
疫情之下，不少關上大門的文化藝術機構也在應用再利用的策略，尤其表演藝術方面的機構。當現場的表演及體驗難以被實現，大量文化表演的紀錄影像被放到網絡之上，提供替代性的體驗；網絡上一時間出現了各種欣賞舞蹈、戲劇、音樂會的免費渠道，這類觀眾在疫情期間可謂因禍得福。
內容的再利用對文化藝術界來說還只是一種簡易的對應策略，在資源銳減的情況下，文化藝術機構也對人員進行再利用，其中一個最有趣的例子發生在美國奧克拉荷馬市的國家牛仔和西部文化遺產博物館，那裡的一位名叫「添」的保安主管被告知一項額外的任務—負責博物館的社交媒體營運。保安添是推特的新手，因為不熟稔操作，貼文裡總是笑料百出，比如孫子讓他使用Hashtag，他卻把Hashtag直接寫出來，而不是使用#符號，結果反而博得粉絲歡心，由素人變成達人，令博物館的社交媒體粉絲數在半個月間從數千人增至二十多萬。
就像其他商業機構，再利用對文化藝術機構來說不僅是為了確保營運上的持續性，也是為了讓僱員繼續受僱。事實上，文化藝術工作者正是這次疫情中首當其衝受影響最大的一群。許多歐美機構以大量裁員的方式減少開支，連擁有超過十億美元捐獻基金的紐約現代美術館也在4月初終止了全部教育人員的合約，令許多文化工作者失望。令人質疑的是，那些大量裁減僱員的文化機構，有沒有嘗試思考資源的調配和再利用？如同被終止合約的一位教育工作者指出，對一座無法敞開大門的美術館而言，教育工作不是顯得更為重要嗎？
從文化工作者的角度思考再利用這個話題，還有一個頗值得討論的地方，那就是藝術本身可以被再利用嗎？或者說，藝術能在疫情之下變得更有用嗎？答案可能有點未如人意。藝術家或者可以發揮創意，以各種再利用的方式來創作，但藝術創作本身卻是非功利的，也就是說，它本身便是無用的，因此也無所謂再利用。這段抗疫的日子裡，筆者覺得藝術最大的作用，便是讓人們能夠轉移視線，從疫情引發的社會和經濟問題中逃離。換句話說，藝術還是一樣地無用，更無法被再利用來做更有用的事。但正因為藝術的無用，才能讓在疫情期間在焦慮或苦悶中度日的我們得以在它的面前緩一口氣，內心得到片刻的平靜。
The art of reusing and reusing art during the COVID-19 pandemic
As the COVID-19 pandemic hit the globe, medical resources and supplies have become increasingly in shortage internationally. As a result, industrial production lines had been converted and reused for producing medical supplies such as disinfectants, face masks and ventilators. Hotels are being used as quarantine centres. Even French luxury brand LVMH had converted its perfume production line to make sanitisers and other sterilising supplies. However, these supplies are not printed with LVMH’s logo.
The conversion and reuse of these production lines and business spaces remind us of the supply shortage during wartime. In World War II, American automaker General Motors’ production line was converted to manufacture weaponry and tanks. The American government called to its people to collect supplies like metal, paper and plastic to support the American army. Such conversion was everywhere, in Americans’ lifestyle, in households. Coats made for men were remade and became shoes and coats for women. Sometimes, disasters and crises could inspire people to be more creative and make use of limited resources.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, a number of art and cultural organisations that had suspended operation, especially performing arts organisations, have also been considering how to make use of their existing resources. At a time where it is impossible to deliver live performances offline, lots of performances and shows have been filmed and uploaded to the Internet, providing the audience with an alternative experience. Now there are a variety of dance performances, plays and concerts on the Internet, which allow users to watch for free. The audience somehow benefits from the pandemic.
Reusing content is an easy tactic for the cultural and art industry to respond to the pandemic. Cultural and art organisations also need to reuse their personnel as resources dive sharply. One interesting case has been the National Cowboy & Western Heritage Museum in the Oklahoma City of the United States. The museum’s head of security Tim was given an extra task that required him to run the museum’s social media. Tim is a new user of Twitter. He often made a joke of himself on Twitter because of the lack of experience with social media. Most of his tweets are funny to read. For example, Tim’s grandson tried to teach him to use a hashtag. And Tim typed hashtag on his tweets instead of using #. This won him more followers, turning him into an Internet influencer. The number of followers that the museum’s social media page had subsequently jumped from a couple thousand to over 200,000 in 15 days.
Similar to other businesses, reusing existing resources not only ensures continuity of operation but also keeps jobs for employees. Professional talents of the cultural and art industry had been hit the hardest by the pandemic. Many businesses in the west have to layoff a mass number of employees to cut cost. Even the Museum of Modern Art of New York, which has a foundation of over one billion dollars, had terminated its contracts with its entire education department staff in early April. It is uncertain whether these cultural organisations had considered the possibility of reusing and redistributing existing resources. As one of the educators whose contract had been terminated pointed out, education might be even more important when galleries are closed down.
Another meaningful discussion from the perspective of cultural professionals is whether art can be reused. Or in other words, can art become more useful during the pandemic? The answer might be disappointing. Artists might be able to make use of their creativity and create new content by reusing existing materials. But art itself is not profit-driven. This means that art is “useless” at nature. When it is “useless”, we can’t reuse it. In my opinion, the biggest function of art during the COVID-19 pandemic has been its ability to help people escape from heavy issues like societal and economic aftermath. Art is still “useless” as it has always been, and therefore cannot be reused for other meaningful purposes. But the uselessness of art provides us with the chance to catch our breath by escaping the anxiety and boredom that we suffer during the pandemic, offering us moments of peace.