(For English preface and guest speakers introduction of Lumen Quarterly 2021 Summer, please scroll down.)打工
“我说的劳工，不但是金工、木工，等等，凡是用自己的劳力作成有益他人的事业，不管他用的是体力、是脑力，都是劳工。所以农是种植的工；商是转运的工；学校职员、著述家、发明家，是教育的工；我们都是劳工……我们要自己认识劳工的价值！劳工神圣！”
——蔡元培
1918年11月16日，为了庆祝一战的胜利，蔡元培在天安门发表了“劳工神圣”的演讲。著名的知识分子李大钊则喊出了“诸位啊！快去做工呵！”这一激昂的口号。站在不劳而获的资本家的对立面，劳动是光荣的，劳动是美好的，劳动是成为新人的必要手段。100年后的今天，劳动却不再被神圣的光晕所笼罩，疲惫的“打工人”甚至“失去了世俗的欲望”，只想在“下班”后“躺平”。工作变成了上班，进而变成了打工。除了少数凭兴趣养活自己的幸运儿，上到大公司CEO，下到疲于奔命的小职员，谁还不是个打工人呢。
这个季度，我们将打工主题分成三个单元，“打工”、“打工人”，和“打工？”，从马克思的异化劳动谈起，一同看看不同时代的艺术创作者们都是如何在回应他们时代的“打工”问题。
赖以维生的劳动什么时候变成打工的，马克思说是从劳动者失去生产资料的那一刻起。随着分工的不断细化，劳动者不仅丧失了对劳动目的及时间的把握，甚至失去了对打工之外生活的控制力。这个单元我们将从上世纪20年代爱森斯坦的经典作品开始，一同回顾普通劳动者抗争的历史，看不同时代的艺术家如何回应他们所处的现实。在个人的行动中体验社会结构的变化。
涉及劳动者：包括产业工人（制造业、建筑业等）/服务业从业者（骑手、快递、饭店服务员、洗脚妹等）/日结工人等“打工人”表情包用得最6的往往不是传统意义上的打工仔，而是基本生活可以保障，一边感叹自己的行业“内卷”，一边继续疯狂“996”的上班族。说自称“打工人”是中产的矫情未免苛刻，不论这份工作的收益如何，打工人的焦虑和痛苦，以及自嘲时的清醒是真实的。相比起朝不保夕的底层“打工仔”，得到基本保障的“社畜”更有能力去反思这种失去灵魂的生活。这个单元，我们将有更多艺术家的作品去讨论当代打工生活的困境，同时找寻“躺平”之外的可能性。涉及劳动者：包括中产阶级职业（例如程序员、公务员、教师）与精英职业（律师、医生、投行与金融公司职员）等相比起那些可以用职业划分的打工人，有那么一些劳动从未被视作生产活动，也有那么一些职业也从来未被当作一种职业。跳出职业的划分，回到劳动本身我们或许能够得到更多的启发。这一章节，我们将以开放的姿态，从各式各样的工作，劳动，以及创作本身去思考我们当下的工作和生活。去发掘有意义的劳动和生产的可能性。涉及劳动者：包括未被归入职业领域的工作者（家庭妇女、性工作者）/自由职业者（艺术家、作者）等 本季Host
吴琦
本季度，我们邀请到了《单读》的主编，也是经验丰富的谈话者吴琦来做这一主题的Host。吴琦的创作实践包括与项飙合著的谈话录《把自己作为方法》，译作《下一次将是烈火》等。2021年，吴琦的播客节目“螺丝在拧紧”正式上线。节目中，他会邀请不同领域的青年实践者进行对话，针对文化事件及公共话题展开讨论和批评。该栏目第三期“工作是理想的坟墓还是归宿”中，吴琦与他的朋友兼同事刘宽便就自己的职业展开过一场深度讨论。我们相信，在吴琦的带领之下，大家可以共同发掘更多有趣的角度，重新去看待“打工”这样一个被反复热议的话题。
《40%的工作没意义，为什么还抢着做？》大卫·格雷伯 著，李屹 译《强控制与弱契约：互联网技术影响下的家政业用工模式研究》梁萌 《经营“灵活性”——制造业劳动力市场的组织生态与制度环境—基于 W 市劳动力招聘的调查》刘子曦、朱江华峰 《进取与迷失：程序员实习生的职业生活》王程韡、杨坤韵结绳志主创之一，芝加哥大学人类学系博士候选人。长期关注教育、语言、宗教、劳工、流动人口价值理论等议题。曾获芝加哥大学艺术中心“艺术、科学、文化研究生合作基金”、“中国人类学研究生论文田野调查奖助金”、Wenner-Gren 基金会田野奖学金。曾毓坤亦供稿于《澎湃·思想市场》《界面文化》等媒体。本季度所有参与者，包括观众与嘉宾均会领到一张身份卡及游戏手册，伴随整个季度活动共同完成一个有关打工的剧本杀游戏。游戏中，每个人都将有机会转化阶级身份及立场，并于现场获得相应的机构福利。坚守利益，勇敢抗争，还是重建制度，你的选择关乎利益，也会决定最终的演出结局。2021夏季片单及具体活动日程，敬请关注VCD影促会自媒体后期推送。
Lumen Quarterly 2021 Summer:Employ, Employee, Employment “The labor we speak of is not the labor of metalsmiths, of carpenters, and so forth. The undertaking of all those who use their own labor power to benefit others is labor, regardless of whether it is mental or manual. Farmers do the labor of cultivating; merchants do the labor of transporting; writers and inventors do educational labor. We are all labors. We must all recognize the value of labor. Sacred, the labors!” On November 14, 1918, a celebratory crowd gathered outside Tiananmen in Beijing to commemorate the end of the First World War. The Chinese philosopher, politician and educationalist, Cai Yuanpei made the speech on "sacred labor" on the last day. The famous interllectual, Li Dazhao hailed the passionate slogan, "Everybody, quick! Go to work!" Working, against the capitalist's leaping without sowing, was of honor, was of merit, was the foundamental means to become a socialist new man. Yet a hundred years later, the sacred aureole of working, has fainted. Weary "wage slaves" no longer have the desires to compete, neither to develop any relationships - they just want post the friday memes to end every week and "lie flat" at home but also at work next week. Working becomes merely "doing the job", and then turn into "wage slavery". While only a few lucky ones can live off of their enthusiasm, no matter CEOes of the big companies with a more decent life, or the commuting ordinary employees, aren't we all slaves?
This season, we will divide the theme to three parts: "Employ", "Employee", "Employment?" First, we cannot begin it all without talking about the alienation of labor by Marx, and then let's dive deep into times to see generations of art work makers and their response to the questions of "working" in their temporality.When did the working-to-make-a-living turn into employment? According to Karl Marx, the very moment is when the workers lost their means of production. Alongside the specialization in the division of labor is the worker's loss of purpose and control of work time, and furthermore, the loss of control over the spare time. "Part 1. Employ" will start with Eisenstein's classic piece, Strike(1925), and revisit the resistance history of ordinary workers through the artistic moving images responding to the realities in different times. In the personal actions on the screen, we shall experience the micro and macro shift of societal structure. Relevant laborer group: #industrial workers(manufacture/construction) #service workers(delivery/waitress and waiter/massagist) #hourly workersThe most active users of the "wage slave" memes sometimes are not the conventional wage workers, but those who can have a stable income. On one hand, they complain about the unreasonable competition in their profession; on the other hand, they won't quit working "996". But calling out the middle class who claim thenselves "wage slaves" might be a little harsh too. After all, regardless of the salary level, the collective anxiety, suffocation, and sober self-mocking of the mass office workers are indeed something happening in the Chinese society. In comparison to the underclass workers, they usually have a better chance to reflect on this dehumanized life. In "Part 2. Employee", we have programmed more video art discussing the cul de sac of contemporary employee life, and seek for possibilities alternative to "lying flat".Relevant laborer group: #middle class office workers(programer/civil servant/teacher) #elite workers(lawyer/doctor/banker)There are always some work never regarded as production, and careers never regarded as jobs. If we step outside the specification in professionalism and return to working itself, what awaits may give us inspirations. "Part 3. Employment?" attempts to open up the discussion more, look into a wider range of dedication and creation as a reference for our current working life, and explore the potentiality of meaningful labor and production.Relevant laborer group: #uncategorized workers (housewife/sex worker) #freelance creative workers(artist/writer)WU Qi: This season, we have invited Wu Qi, Editor-in-Chief of One-Way Street Journal, as well as an experienced conversationist to be the host of our "living room". His creative works also covers various fields: dialog documentation book The Self as Method: In Conversation with Biao Xiang, and translation of The Fire Next Time. His podcast, the Turn of the Screw invites young practitioners from all disciplines to bring together discussions and critiques of cultural events and public issues. In the 3rd Episode, "Job, a home or tomb of dream?" Wu Qi and his friend&colleague, Kuan Liu (director, writer) had a profound discussion based on their professional career. We believe that with Wu Qi leading the conversations, we will encounter interesting new perspectives for the already-hit topics around "employment".
Recommended Readings
Demolitions Mask, CHEN Nianxi
The Method of Making Workers Films, Sergei EISENSTEIN
Bullshit Jobs, David GRAEBER
Hard Control and Soft Contract: Domestic Labor under the Influence of Internet, LIANG Meng
Managing “Flexibility”: Organizational Ecology and Institutional Environment of the Labor Market in the Manufacturing Industry, LIU Zixi, ZHUJIANG Huafeng
Capital: A Critique of Political Economy, Karl MARX
Basic Income: And How We Can Make It Happen, Guy STANDING
Survey of the Youth in Shenzhen, TIAN Feng, LIN Kaixuan
Enterprising and Lost: Professional Lives for Programmer-Interns, WANG Chengwei, YANG Kunyun
Labor Sacred: Vision of Early Chinese Sociology, Wen XIANG
Learning to Labour: How Working Class Kids Get Working Class Jobs, Paul WILLIS
Global Body Shopping, XIANG Biao
A New Day, XU Lizhi
Iron Moon, XU Lizhi
Special Event: Group Reading Seminar Moderator: ZENG Yukun (scholar in anthropology): Core member of anthropologist group, Tying Knots. PhD Candidate in the Department of Anthropology, University of Chicago. Zeng's long-term interest includes education, language, religion, labor, migrating population. He is an award winner of Arts, Science & Culture Grant, UChicago, Chinese Anthropology Graduate Dissertation Field Research Grant, and Wenner-Gren Foundation Field Research Grant. Zeng is also a contributor to media platforms including Thinking Market, thePaper.cn, and Culture, Jiemian.com.
Special Event: Script Role-Play Game All participants in this season, including both the audience and the guests, will get an ID card and a Game Manual, which shall be used throughout the season to collectively complete a script role-play game/performance. During the class identity transformation throughout this game, every player will receive different benefit from the institute at the events. In front of them are choices to make: profit, resistance, revolution - consequently, each choice will lead to a different benefit & ending of the performance.
如何参加VCD的四季影展？
World Organization Of Video Culture Development国际影像文化促进会（以下简称：VCD 影促会）于 2017 年夏天在北京正式成立。作为一个非营利机构，它致力于搭建一个观影、学习和交流的平台，向公众普及和推广艺术影像。一方面，VCD 影促会以举办影像资料展、文献展、讲座和学术研讨会等方式为更多人提供影像艺术教育；另一方面，它也通过自身平台挖掘更多优秀的影像艺术作品，在为其提供放映机会的同时助力青年影像艺术家持续创作。
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