平凡中的不凡—專訪荷蘭獨立設計誌《MacGuffin》

"So it's not the high-fashion Alexander McQueen trousers that we wanted to look into, but the jeans. Or it's not some expensive cabinets, but the old ones that we found on the streets."

How do we define "ordinary"? The bed in the room, the log by the fire, the rope on the construction field…. Unlike the art displayed in galleries, ordinary objects, even though we may easily take them for granted, are the key to quality life. What exciting stories will be found if we look deeply into them?

▲第七期「The Trousers（褲子）」內頁、第十期「The Bottle（瓶子）」內頁、第十二期「The Log（木柴）」內頁 / ISSUE Nº 7 : The Trousers; ISSUE Nº10: The Bottle; ISSUE Nº12: The Log 

「重點不在於這個東西價值多少錢，而是人們如何使用它，在長年累月的使用下，它又如何在社會上占有一席之地。」

 

由設計史學家 Kirsten Algera 與建築史學家 Ernst van der Hoeve 於 2015 年共同創辦，來自荷蘭的半年刊獨立設計誌《MacGuffin》以獨到的編選，將焦點放在日常生活中隨處可見的「平凡」物件上，展開人文與物件的對話。

 

「從一條再平凡不過的鏈子，我們可以得到什麼訊息？或許是金鍊與嘻哈的連結，或許是鍊條與龐克的展現，抑或是腳鐐與奴隸制度下的悲哀？」

"So it's not about their value; it's about how people use them. What that use says about this world, and how they have become a part of our society."

 

Founded by design historian Kirsten Algera and architecture historian Ernst van der Hoeve in 2015, the bi-annual independent magazine “MacGuffin” is known for its unique compile of editing, which focuses on the dialogue between culture and the day-to-day objects in our lives. 

 

"What can we learn from looking at the chain? It may reveal connections between the chain and hip-hop culture, punk, or even oppression."

▲第十一期「The Chain（鏈子）」內頁 / ISSUE Nº 11: The Chain

沿用電影大師希區考克（Alfred Hitchcock）作品中的概念，「MacGuffin（麥高芬）」意指貫穿故事、影響劇情發展的關鍵人事物。借用了此電影術語，《MacGuffin》將日常生活中常見的物件搬上檯面，觀察該物件在歷史、藝術與人文的交織影響下，所產生的不同樣態。好比備受好評的第六期「The Ball」，除了以球場上各式球類為題，更藉由餐桌上的肉丸、繞著太陽轉的行星與笑臉表情符號勾起讀者的好奇心，讓思考跳脫平面，縱躍無限可能。

Originally, MacGuffin is a concept commonly used in Director Alfred Hitchcock's films, indicating the key factors that trigger the plot. Using the concept as a reference, MacGuffin brings the ordinary objects in our lives to the stage and observes their versatility under the intertwined influence of history, art, and humanities. For instance,  "The Ball" not only uses the balls on playgrounds as the theme, but meatballs in restaurants, planets revolving around the sun, and the smiley face emoji to arouse readers' curiosity.

▲第六期「The Ball(球)」內頁 / ISSUE Nº 6: The Ball

而去年（2023）年底發行的第十三期「The Letter」則首度聚焦於「訊息」的無形概念。除了最基本的字母外，《MacGuffin》本期更跳出框架，將手勢、塗鴉、符號納入話題，並深入探討數位時代下自動選字的鬧劇、透過肢體語言展現心中訴求的人物、未被電子化的手繪字型，以及社群軟體上大受歡迎的「迷因（meme）」熱潮。

 

談及此次的選題，主編 Kirsten 笑道：「我們一直都很想做這個主題，也曾懷疑過是不是有點太偏了。但在嘗試過這麼多期後，我們覺得是時候可以向觀眾介紹這個比較抽象的概念了。」

"The Letter," published at the end of 2023, focuses on the intangible concept of words for the first time. In addition to alphabets, this issue of "MacGuffin" goes beyond the framework and incorporates gestures, graffiti, and symbols into topics ; while exploring the farce created by autocorrect in the digital age , characters who express their desires through body language, the undigitized hand-drawn fonts, and the "meme" craze on social media.

 

On the theme of "The Letter," Kirsten smiled and said, "We've always wanted to do a theme on words, but we have also wondered if it's not your typical object. But having done so many themes in our previous issues, we felt it was time to introduce this abstract concept to our audience."

▲第十三期「The Letter（訊息）」封面 / ISSUE Nº 13: The Letter

《MacGuffin》過往選題橫跨家具、建築與材料，試圖跨越材質間的疆界，將話題遊戲於灰色地帶。以單期而言，每個主題以不同的切點和詮釋方向自成一派；而遠觀雜誌整體，一系列選題則環環相扣，帶領讀者穿梭虛與實的界線，建構專屬《MacGuffin》的世界觀。

Past topics of "MacGuffin" include furniture and architecture, where they try to cross the boundaries between materials and explore in ambuity. Each issue has its own style, with different tangents and interpretations. However, viewing the magazines as a whole, the themes are closely linked, leading readers to cross the line between the virtual world and reality , through which an exclusive "MacGuffin" worldview is built.

▲第八期「The Desk（桌子）」、第九期「The Rug（地毯）」、第十期「The Bottle（瓶子）」/ ISSUE Nº 8: The Desk; ISSUE Nº 9: The Rug; ISSUE Nº 10: The Bottle

在編纂字典時，有一個常見的現象叫「字母疲勞」，用來表示編輯在尾聲由於疲勞而產生的疏忽或缺失。舉例而言，在《大英百科全書（Encyclopædia Britannica）》第一版中，A 與 B 兩個字母足足占了一卷的篇幅，剩下的二十四個字母則被壓縮在兩卷的內容之中。此現象常見於書籍與戲劇，卻未在本期《MacGuffin》中發生。恰恰相反，由於「訊息」和語言、程式代碼、手勢等各種不同的符號意象息息相關，對編輯室而言，如何將大量資訊濃縮成一期雜誌反而是挑戰之處。

「你可以把雜誌看作成一個『行動展覽』。與書不一樣，它不是線性的，更像是一種體驗。」

要在短時間內抓住讀者的注意力，帶領眾人在扉頁間感受由編輯、企劃、設計共同策展的視覺饗宴，《MacGuffin》認為不僅文字要有深度，圖片的整合、搭配與設計更是勝過千言萬語。

「圖片跟文字一樣重要，我們希望內容不只要承受時間的考驗，更得在讀者腦海裡留下印象。」

"Alphabet Fatigue" is a phenomenon whereby the dictionary editor becomes less and less thorough as they move through the letters of the alphabet. For instance, in the first edition of Encyclopædia Britannica, A and B took up a total volume, and the remaining twenty-four letters are compressed into the content of two. Alphabet Fatigue is commonly seen in books and plays; however, it did not happen in the making of “The Letter.” Quite the contrary, because the letter is closely related to languages, coding, gestures, and symbols, for the editing team, how to condense a large amount of information into one issue is the main challenge.

"You can see magazines as 'portable exhibitions.' Unlike books, it's not linear; it is more like an experience."

To catch readers' attention and have them experience a feast of the eye jointly curated by the editorial team in the flipping of the pages, "MacGuffin" believes that not only should the text be interesting, but the design of the images and the layout are just as important.

"Images matter just as much as words. We want to create something durable that leaves an impression on our readers' minds."

▲ 《MacGuffin》於 2018 年舉行的展覽「Finders Keepers」 / "Finders Keepers" curated by MacGuffin, 2018

在社群媒體遍地開花、數位與資訊內容過載的時代，《MacGuffin》運用紙張與墨水的化學反應為日常物件提供全新的思考方式，切角新穎，不落傳統紙媒的窠臼。作為獨立雜誌，好奇心是踏出第一步的關鍵，與生活的連結則是延續討論的決定因素。他們不受限於大眾的喜好與取向，著重內容的深度；他們也不企圖以花言巧語譁眾取寵，而是邀請讀者進入與《MacGuffin》的聊天室，在問答中引起共鳴，帶領思考。

「也正因如此，我們更有前進的動力。」

In an era dominated by social media and overloaded with digital information, "MacGuffin" uses the chemical reaction of paper and ink to provide a new way of perceiving our daily objects. As an independent magazine, curiosity is the key to taking the first step, but the connection to life is the decisive factor in continuing the discussion. "MacGuffin" does not limit itself to the public's preferences and orientations but focuses on the depth of the content. They do not attempt to impress the public with fancy designs but invite readers to enter the chat room with them, arousing resonance through conversations. 

"And because of this, we are even more driven."

▲《MacGuffin》辦公室 / A view of MacGuffin's office