ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Raghava KK - Artist
Raghava KK's paintings and drawings use cartoonish shapes and colors to examine the body, society, our world.

Why you should listen

Raghava KK began his career in art as a newspaper cartoonist, and the cartoonist’s bold line -- and dead-on eye for truth -- still powers his art. His work spans painting, sculpture, installation, film and iPad art, always linked by his challenging opinions on identity, conformity, gender, celebrity, ceremony. (He even views his lavish Indian wedding as a piece of performance art.)

His early work as a painter made a complete break with his cartoon career -- he painted watercolors on canvas using only his hands and feet. Since then, his work has grown to knit together aesthetics from both worlds, as collage and complication play against flat color and precise lines. He shows in galleries and performance spaces around the world and often collaborates with other artists, most recently with musicians Paul Simon and Erykah Badu.  In 2011, he launched his children's iPad book, Pop-it, shaking up the concept  of an ideal family. He is currently working on a project that promises to shake up everything! From news to education.

More profile about the speaker
Raghava KK | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2011

Raghava KK: Shake up your story

Raghava KK : Secouez votre histoire

Filmed:
1,036,676 views

L’artiste Raghava KK montre son nouveau livre pour enfants sur iPad, avec un aspect amusant : quand vous secouez l'iPad, l’histoire – et votre point de vue – change. Dans cet adorable discours, il invite tout le monde à secouer un peu notre point de vue.
- Artist
Raghava KK's paintings and drawings use cartoonish shapes and colors to examine the body, society, our world. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:15
Hi everyone.
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Bonjour tout le monde.
00:17
I'm an artist and a dad -- second time around.
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Je suis artiste et papa — pour la deuxième fois.
00:20
Thank you.
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Merci.
00:22
And I want to share with you my latest art project.
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Et je voudrais partager avec vous mon dernier projet artistique.
00:25
It's a children's book for the iPad.
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Il s'agit d'un livre pour enfants sur l'iPad.
00:28
It's a little quirky and silly.
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C'est un peu loufoque et bête.
00:30
It's called "Pop-It,"
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Ça s'appelle "Pop-It",
00:32
And it's about the things little kids do with their parents.
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Et ça parle des choses que les petits enfants font avec leurs parents.
00:35
(Music)
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(Musique)
00:37
So this is about potty training --
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Donc là, il s'agit de l'entraînement à la propreté
00:39
as most of you, I hope, know.
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ce que tout le monde ici, j'espère, connaît.
00:42
You can tickle the rug.
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On peut chatouiller le tapis.
00:44
You can make the baby poop.
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On peut faire faire popo au bébé.
00:46
You can do all those fun things.
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On peut faire toutes ces choses amusantes.
00:50
You can burst bubbles.
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On peut éclater les bulles.
00:54
You can draw, as everyone should.
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On peut dessiner, ce que tout le monde devrait faire.
00:58
But you know, I have a problem with children's books:
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Mais vous savez, j'ai un problème avec les livres pour enfants:
01:00
I think they're full of propaganda.
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Je pense qu'ils sont remplis de propagande.
01:02
At least an Indian trying to get one of these American books in Park Slope, forget it.
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Du moins un Indien qui essaie d'avoir un de ces livres américains à Park Slope, laissez tomber.
01:05
It's not the way I was brought up.
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Ce n'est pas comme ça que j'ai été élevé.
01:08
So I said, "I'm going to counter this with my own propaganda."
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Donc je me suis dit : "Je vais contrer cela avec ma propre propagande."
01:10
If you notice carefully,
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Si vous y prêtez attention,
01:12
it's a homosexual couple bringing up a child.
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il s'agit d'un couple homosexuel élevant un enfant.
01:15
You don't like it?
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Vous n'aimez pas ?
01:17
Shake it, and you have a lesbian couple.
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Secouez, et vous avez un couple de lesbiennes.
01:20
(Laughter)
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(Rires)
01:22
Shake it, and you have a heterosexual couple.
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Secouez, et vous avez un couple hétérosexuel.
01:26
You know, I don't even believe in the concept of an ideal family.
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Vous savez, je n'adhère pas au concept de famille idéale.
01:29
I have to tell you about my childhood.
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Je dois vous parler de mon enfance.
01:31
I went to this very proper Christian school
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J'ai été dans cette très correcte école catholique
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taught by nuns, fathers, brothers, sisters.
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où enseignaient les nonnes, les pères, les frères, les sœurs.
01:37
Basically, I was brought up to be a good Samaritan,
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À la base, j'ai été élevé pour être un bon samaritain,
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and I am.
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et je le suis.
01:41
And I'd go at the end of the day to a traditional Hindu house,
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Et je rentrais le soir dans une maison hindoue traditionnelle,
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which was probably the only Hindu house
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probablement la seule maison hindoue
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in a predominantly Islamic neighborhood.
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dans un voisinage principalement musulman.
01:50
Basically, I celebrated every religious function.
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De ce fait, je célébrais toutes les fêtes religieuses.
01:53
In fact, when there was a wedding in our neighborhood,
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En effet, quand il y avait un mariage dans le quartier,
01:56
all of us would paint our houses for the wedding.
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tout le monde peignait sa maison pour le mariage.
01:58
I remember we cried profusely
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Je me souviens combien nous avions pleuré
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when the little goats we played with in the summer
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quand les petites chèvres avec lesquelles nous jouions en été
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became biriani.
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sont devenues du biryani.
02:04
(Laughter)
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(Rires)
02:06
We all had to fast during Ramadan.
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Nous devions tous jeûner pendant le Ramadan.
02:08
It was a very beautiful time.
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C'était un moment merveilleux.
02:10
But I must say,
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Mais je dois dire,
02:12
I'll never forget, when I was 13 years old, this happened.
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je n’oublierai jamais, quand j’avais 13 ans. Voilà ce qui est arrivé.
02:15
Babri Masjid --
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Babri Masjid —
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one of the most beautiful mosques in India,
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une des plus belles mosquées d'Inde,
02:19
built by King Babur, I think, in the 16th century --
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construite par King Babur, je crois, au 16e siècle —
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was demolished by Hindu activists.
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a été démolie par les activistes hindous.
02:24
This caused major riots in my city.
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Ceci a provoqué de sérieuses émeutes dans ma ville.
02:26
And for the first time,
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Et pour la première fois,
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I was affected
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j’étais concerné
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by this communal unrest.
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par cette agitation collective.
02:32
My little five-year-old kid neighbor
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Mon petit voisin de cinq ans
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comes running in,
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est venu me voir en courant,
02:36
and he says, "Rags, Rags.
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et m’a dit : “Rags, Rags.
02:39
You know the Hindus are killing us Muslims. Be careful."
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Tu sais, les Hindous sont en train de tuer les Musulmans. Fais attention.”
02:42
I'm like, "Dude, I'm Hindu."
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Et moi : “Eh petit, je suis Hindou.”
02:44
(Laughter)
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(Rires)
02:45
He's like, "Huh!"
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Et lui : “Hah !”
02:48
You know, my work is inspired
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Mon travail est inspiré
02:51
by events such as this.
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par les événements comme celui-ci.
02:53
Even in my gallery shows,
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Même dans mes expositions en galerie,
02:55
I try and revisit historic events
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j’essaie de revisiter les événements historiques
02:57
like Babri Masjid,
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comme Babri Masjid,
02:59
distill only its emotional residue
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j’essaie de condenser son résidu émotionnel
03:01
and image my own life.
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et de représenter ma propre vie.
03:03
Imagine history being taught differently.
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Imaginez l’histoire enseignée différemment.
03:05
Remember that children's book
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Vous vous souvenez du livre pour enfants
03:06
where you shake and the sexuality of the parents change?
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où vous secouez et la sexualité des parents change ?
03:09
I have another idea.
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J’ai une autre idée.
03:10
It's a children's book about Indian independence --
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C’est un livre pour enfants sur l’indépendance indienne —
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very patriotic.
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très patriotique.
03:15
But when you shake it, you get Pakistan's perspective.
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Mais quand vous le secouez, vous avez le point de vue du Pakistan.
03:17
Shake it again, and you get the British perspective.
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Secouez à nouveau, et vous avez le point de vue britannique.
03:20
(Applause)
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(Applaudissements)
03:25
You have to separate fact from bias, right.
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Il faut séparer les faits des préjugés.
03:27
Even my books on children
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Même mes bouquins sur les enfants
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have cute, fuzzy animals.
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ont des animaux mignons et tendres.
03:31
But they're playing geopolitics.
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Mais ils jouent à la géopolitique.
03:33
They're playing out Israel-Palestine,
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Ils jouent à faire Israël contre Palestine,
03:35
India-Pakistan.
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Inde contre Pakistan.
03:37
You know, I'm making a very important argument.
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Vous savez, je défends un point de vue très important.
03:39
And my argument [is]
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Et mon point de vue est que
03:41
that the only way for us to teach creativity
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la seule façon d’enseigner la créativité
03:45
is by teaching children perspectives
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est d’enseigner aux enfants la perspective
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at the earliest stage.
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dès le premier âge.
03:49
After all, children's books are manuals on parenting,
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Après tout, les livres pour enfants sont des manuels d’éducation,
03:51
so you better give them children's books that teach them perspectives.
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vous avez donc intérêt à donner aux enfants des livres qui enseignent la perspective.
03:54
And conversely,
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Et à l'inverse,
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only when you teach perspectives
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c'est seulement en enseignant les points de vue
03:58
will a child be able to imagine
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qu'un enfant sera capable d’imaginer
04:00
and put themselves in the shoes
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et de se mettre à la place
04:02
of someone who is different from them.
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de quelqu’un de différent.
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I'm making an argument that art and creativity
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Mon point de vue est que l’art et la créativité
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are very essential tools in empathy.
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sont des outils essentiels à l’empathie.
04:09
You know, I can't promise my child
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Je ne peux pas promettre à mon enfant
04:11
a life without bias --
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une vie sans préjugé —
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we're all biased --
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nous en avons tous —
04:15
but I promise to bias my child with multiple perspectives.
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mais je promets de donner à mon enfant des préjugés de plusieurs points de vue.
04:18
Thank you very much.
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Merci beaucoup.
04:20
(Applause)
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(Applaudissements)
Translated by Shadia Ramsahye
Reviewed by Amélie Gourdon

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Raghava KK - Artist
Raghava KK's paintings and drawings use cartoonish shapes and colors to examine the body, society, our world.

Why you should listen

Raghava KK began his career in art as a newspaper cartoonist, and the cartoonist’s bold line -- and dead-on eye for truth -- still powers his art. His work spans painting, sculpture, installation, film and iPad art, always linked by his challenging opinions on identity, conformity, gender, celebrity, ceremony. (He even views his lavish Indian wedding as a piece of performance art.)

His early work as a painter made a complete break with his cartoon career -- he painted watercolors on canvas using only his hands and feet. Since then, his work has grown to knit together aesthetics from both worlds, as collage and complication play against flat color and precise lines. He shows in galleries and performance spaces around the world and often collaborates with other artists, most recently with musicians Paul Simon and Erykah Badu.  In 2011, he launched his children's iPad book, Pop-it, shaking up the concept  of an ideal family. He is currently working on a project that promises to shake up everything! From news to education.

More profile about the speaker
Raghava KK | Speaker | TED.com