ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sanford Biggers - Conceptual artist
Sanford Biggers creates art that upends traditional narratives about topics ranging from hip hop to Buddhism to American history.

Why you should listen

An LA native working in NYC, Sanford Biggers creates artworks that integrate film, video, installation, sculpture, drawing, original music and performance. He intentionally complicates issues such as hip hop, Buddhism, politics, identity and art history in order to offer new perspectives and associations for established symbols. Through a multi-disciplinary formal process and a syncretic creative approach, he makes works that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are conceptual.

The significance of Biggers' work within contemporary society has been celebrated through solo exhibitions both nationally and internationally, most recently at the Brooklyn Museum, Sculpture Center and Mass MoCA. He has participated in prestigious residencies and fellowships including: Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany; Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland; Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, California; ARCUS Project Foundation, Ibaraki, Japan; and the Art in General/ Trafo Gallery Eastern European Exchange in Budapest, Hungary. He has been a fellow of the Creative Time Global Residency, the Socrates Sculpture Park Residency, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council World Views AIR Program, the Eyebeam Atelier Teaching Residency, the Studio Museum AIR Program, the P.S. 1 International Studio Program and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture residency.

Biggers' installations, videos and performances have appeared in venues worldwide including Tate Britain and Tate Modern in London, the Whitney Museum and Studio Museum in Harlem, New York and the Yerba Bue a Center for the Arts in San Francisco, as well as institutions in China, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Poland and Russia. The artist's works have been included in notable exhibitions such as: Prospect 1 New Orleans Biennial, Illuminations at the Tate Modern, Performa 07 in NY, the Whitney Biennial and Freestyle at the Studio Museum in Harlem. His works are included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Walker Art Center, Whitney Museum, Brooklyn Museum and Bronx Museum.

Biggers has won awards including: the American Academy in Berlin Prize, Greenfield Prize, New York City Art Teachers Association Artist-of-the-Year, Creative Time Travel Grant, Creative Capital Project Grant, New York Percent for the Arts Commission, Art Matters Grant, New York Foundation for the Arts Award, the Lambent Fellowship in the Arts, the Pennies From Heaven/ New York Community Trust Award, Tanne Foundation Award and Rema Hort Mann Foundation Award Grant.

Biggers is Assistant Professor at Columbia University's Visual Arts program and a board member of Sculpture Center, Soho House and the CUE Foundation. He has also taught at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Sculpture and Expanded Media program and was a visiting scholar at Harvard University's VES Department in 2009.

More profile about the speaker
Sanford Biggers | Speaker | TED.com
TED2016

Sanford Biggers: An artist's unflinching look at racial violence

Sanford Biggers: Pandangan tanpa menghakimi seorang seniman terhadap kekerasan rasial

Filmed:
1,158,104 views

Seniman konseptual dan TED Fellow, Sanford Biggers, menggunakan lukisan, seni pahat, video, dan pertunjukan seni untuk memicu diskusi menantang mengenai sejarah dan trauma yang dialami warga kulit hitam Amerika. Bergabunglah dengannya saat ia menceritakan dua karya menyentuh dan berbagi motivasi di balik karyanya. "Hanya melalui dialog mendalam mengenai sejarah dan ras kita bisa berkembang sebagai individu dan masyarakat," ujar Biggers.
- Conceptual artist
Sanford Biggers creates art that upends traditional narratives about topics ranging from hip hop to Buddhism to American history. Full bio

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

Sebagai seniman konseptual,
00:12
As a conceptualkonseptual artistartis,
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00:14
I'm constantlyselalu looking for creativekreatif wayscara
to sparkSpark challengingmenantang conversationspercakapan.
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saya selalu mencari cara untuk
memulai percakapan yang menantang.
00:18
I do this thoughmeskipun paintinglukisan, sculpturepatung,
videovideo and performancekinerja.
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Saya melakukannya melalui lukisan,
seni pahat, video dan penampilan.
00:22
But regardlesstidak peduli of the formatformat,
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Tapi terlepas dari formatnya,
00:23
two of my favoritefavorit materialsbahan
are historysejarah and dialoguedialog.
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dua materi kesukaan saya adalah
sejarah dan dialog.
00:27
In 2007, I createddiciptakan "LotusLotus,"
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Pada tahun 2007, saya menciptakan "Lotus,"
00:30
a seven-and-a-half-foottujuh-dan-a-setengah-kaki diameterdiameter,
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patung bunga lotus dari kaca
00:32
600-pound-pound glasskaca depictionpenggambaran
of a lotusteratai blossomBlossom.
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berdiameter 2,3 meter seberat 300 kg.
00:35
In BuddhismBuddhisme, the lotusteratai is a symbolsimbol
for transcendencetransendensi
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Dalam Buddha, teratai adalah
simbol transenden
00:39
and for puritykemurnian of mindpikiran and spiritsemangat.
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serta kesucian pikiran dan jiwa.
00:41
But a closerlebih dekat look at this lotusteratai
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Tetapi ketika teratai ini
dilihat lebih dekat,
00:44
revealsmengungkapkan eachsetiap petalkelopak
to be the cross-sectionpenampang of a slavebudak shipkapal.
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bisa terlihat bahwa setiap kelopaknya
terbuat dari penampang kapal budak.
00:47
This iconicikon diagramdiagram was takendiambil
from a BritishInggris slavingbekerja keras manualmanual
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Diagram simbolik ini diambil
dari panduan budak Inggris
00:51
and laterkemudian used by abolitionistsperbudakan to showmenunjukkan
the atrocitieskekejaman of slaveryperbudakan.
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yang lalu digunakan penentang perbudakan
untuk menunjukkan kekejaman perbudakan.
00:56
In AmericaAmerika, we don't like
to talk about slaveryperbudakan,
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Di Amerika, kita tidak suka
membahas perbudakan,
00:58
normaupun do we look at it as a globalglobal industryindustri.
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atau melihatnya sebagai industri global.
01:01
But by usingmenggunakan this BuddhistBuddha symbolsimbol,
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Namun, melalui simbol Buddha ini,
01:03
I hopeberharap to universalizeuniversalize and transcendmelampaui
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saya berharap untuk
menyatukan dan melampaui
01:05
the historysejarah and traumatrauma of blackhitam AmericaAmerika
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sejarah dan trauma
warga kulit hitam Amerika
01:08
and encouragemendorong discussionsdiskusi
about our sharedbersama pastlalu.
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dan mendorong diskusi
tentang masa lalu kita semua.
01:12
To createmembuat "LotusLotus,"
we carvedukiran over 6,000 figuresangka.
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Untuk membuat "Lotus",
kami mengukir lebih dari 6.000 bentuk.
01:16
And this laterkemudian led to a commissionKomisi
by the CityKota of NewBaru YorkYork
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Lalu dialihkan kepada Kota New York untuk
01:19
to createmembuat a 28-foot-kaki versionversi in steelbaja
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membuat "Lotus" versi baja
berukuran 8,5 meter
01:21
as a permanentpermanen installationinstalasi
at the EagleElang AcademyAkademi for YoungMuda MenLaki-laki,
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sebagai instalasi permanen
di Eagle Academy for Young Men,
01:24
a schoolsekolah for blackhitam and latinolatino studentssiswa,
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sekolah bagi siswa kulit hitam dan latin,
01:27
the two groupskelompok mostpaling affectedterpengaruh
by this historysejarah.
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dua komunitas yang paling
terdampak oleh sejarah ini.
01:30
The samesama two groupskelompok are very affectedterpengaruh
by a more recentbaru phenomenonfenomena,
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Dua komunitas yang juga sangat
terpengaruh oleh fenomena baru-baru ini,
01:33
but let me digressngelantur.
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tapi izinkan saya sedikit menyimpang.
01:35
I've been collectingmengumpulkan
woodenkayu AfricanAfrika figuresangka
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Saya telah mengumpulkan
patung kayu Afrika
01:38
from touristturis shopstoko and fleaFlea marketspasar
around the worlddunia.
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dari toko suvenir dan pasar loak
di seluruh dunia.
01:40
The authenticitykeaslian and originasal
of them is completelysama sekali debatablebelum pasti,
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Keaslian dan asal usul
patung ini masih diragukan,
01:43
but people believe these
to be imbueddijiwai with powerkekuasaan,
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Namun, orang-orang percaya
patung ini disisipi kekuatan,
01:46
or even magicsihir.
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bahkan sihir.
01:47
Only recentlybaru saja have I figuredberpola out
how to use this in my ownsendiri work.
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Baru-baru ini saya menemukan cara untuk
menggunakannya dalam karya saya.
01:51
(GunPistol shotstembakan)
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(Tembakan)
02:05
SinceSejak 2012, the worlddunia has witnesseddisaksikan
the killingspembunuhan of TrayvonTrayvon MartinMartin,
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Sejak 2012, dunia menyaksikan
pembunuhan Trayvon Martin
02:09
MichaelMichael BrownBrown, EricEric GarnerGarner,
SandraSandra BlandBland, TamirTamir RiceBeras
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Michael Brown, Eric Garner,
Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice
02:13
and literallysecara harfiah countlesstak terhitung other
unarmedbersenjata blackhitam citizenswarga
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dan nyaris tak terhitung lagi
warga kulit hitam tanpa senjata,
02:16
at the handstangan of the policePOLISI,
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di tangan polisi
02:17
who frequentlysering walkberjalan away
with no punishmenthukuman at all.
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yang seringkali bisa bebas
tanpa hukuman sama sekali.
02:20
In considerationpertimbangan of these victimskorban
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Untuk mengenang para korban ini,
dan beberapa kali,
bahkan saya sendiri,
02:22
and the severalbeberapa timeswaktu that even I,
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02:24
a law-abidingtaat hukum, IvyIvy LeagueLiga professorprofesor,
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professor universitas Ivy League
yang taat hukum,
02:27
have been targetedditargetkan and harasseddilecehkan
at gunpointbawah todongan senjata by the policePOLISI.
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menjadi target dan diancam
dengan senjata oleh polisi.
02:30
I createddiciptakan this bodytubuh of work
simplysecara sederhana entitledberhak "BAMBAM."
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Saya membuat karya
yang berjudul "BAM" ini.
02:36
It was importantpenting to erasemenghapus
the identityidentitas of eachsetiap of these figuresangka,
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Penting untuk menghapus
identitas setiap patung ini
02:39
to make them all look the samesama
and easierlebih mudah to disregardmengabaikan.
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supaya semuanya tampak sama
dan lebih mudah untuk diabaikan.
02:43
To do this, I dipberenang them in a thicktebal,
browncoklat waxlilin
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Saya mencelupnya dalam lilin coklat pekat,
02:45
before takingpengambilan them to a shootingpenembakan rangejarak
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1963
sebelum saya membawanya
ke arena tembak
02:47
where I re-sculptedkembali terpahat them usingmenggunakan bulletspeluru.
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di mana saya memahat ulang
patung-patung ini dengan peluru.
02:51
And it was funmenyenangkan,
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Dan itu menyenangkan,
02:52
playingbermain with bigbesar gunssenjata and
high-speedkecepatan tinggi videovideo cameraskamera.
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bermain dengan pistol dan
kamera video berkecepatan tinggi.
02:55
But my reverencepenghormatan for these figuresangka
keptterus me from actuallysebenarnya pullingmenarik the triggerpelatuk,
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Namun penghormatan pada patung ini
mencegah saya untuk menarik pelatuknya,
02:58
somehowentah bagaimana feelingperasaan as if I would
be shootingpenembakan myselfdiri.
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saya merasa seakan menembak diri sendiri.
03:01
FinallyAkhirnya, my cameramanjuru kamera, RaulRaul,
fireddipecat the shotstembakan.
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Akhirnya, juru kamera saya, Raul,
yang menembak.
03:06
I then tookmengambil the fragmentsfragmen of these
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Saya lalu mengambil bagian-bagiannya
03:08
and createddiciptakan moldscetakan,
and castmelemparkan them first in waxlilin,
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membuat cetakan, melapisinya dengan lilin,
lalu menyepuhnya dengan tembaga
seperti gambar yang Anda lihat,
03:12
and finallyakhirnya in bronzeperunggu
like the imagegambar you see here,
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03:15
whichyang bearsberuang the markstanda
of its violenthebat creationpenciptaan
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yang menunjukkan bekas
pembuatan yang kasar
03:18
like battlepertarungan woundsluka or scarsbekas luka.
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seperti bekas luka dalam peperangan.
03:20
When I showedmenunjukkan this work recentlybaru saja in MiamiMiami,
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2008
Saat saya memajang karya ini di Miami,
seorang wanita berkata bahwa ia
merasakan setiap tembakan di jiwanya.
03:22
a womanwanita told me she feltmerasa
everysetiap gunsenjata shottembakan to her souljiwa.
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03:25
But she alsojuga feltmerasa that these artworkskarya seni
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Namun, ia juga merasa bahwa karya ini
03:28
memorializeddiabadikan the victimskorban of these killingspembunuhan
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mengenang para korban pembunuhan tersebut
03:30
as well as other victimskorban of
racialrasial violencekekerasan throughoutsepanjang US historysejarah.
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dan juga korban kekerasan rasial
lainnya sepanjang sejarah AS.
03:33
But "LotusLotus" and "BAMBAM" are largerlebih besar
than just US historysejarah.
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Namun, "Lotus" dan "BAM" lebih besar
dari sekedar sejarah AS.
03:36
While showingmenunjukkan in BerlinBerlin last yeartahun,
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Ketika dipamerkan di Berlin tahun lalu,
seorang mahasiswa filsafat
03:38
a philosophyfilsafat studentmahasiswa askedtanya me
what prompteddiminta these recentbaru killingspembunuhan.
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menanyakan apa yang menyebabkan
pembunuhan baru-baru ini.
03:42
I showedmenunjukkan him a photofoto
of a lynchingmenggantung postcardkartu pos
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Saya menunjukkan padanya kartu pos
bergambar hukuman mati
03:44
from the earlyawal 1900s
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dari awal tahun 1900-an dan
mengingatkan
03:46
and remindedmengingatkan him that these killingspembunuhan
have been going on for over 500 yearstahun.
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bahwa pembunuhan-pembunuhan ini
telah berlangsung lebih dari 500 tahun.
03:51
But it's only throughmelalui questionspertanyaan like his
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Namun, hanya lewat pertanyaan seperti ini
03:53
and more thoughtfulbijaksana dialoguedialog
about historysejarah and raceras
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dan dialog lebih mendalam
mengenai sejarah dan ras,
03:56
can we evolveberkembang as individualsindividu and societymasyarakat.
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kita bisa berkembang sebagai
individu dan masyarakat.
03:59
I hopeberharap my artworkkarya seni createsmenciptakan a safeaman spaceruang
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Saya harap karya saya
menciptakan ruang aman
04:02
for this typemengetik of honestjujur exchangebertukar
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bagi dialog jujur seperti ini
04:05
and an opportunitykesempatan for people
to engagemengikutsertakan one anotherlain
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dan kesempatan bagi orang-orang
untuk terlibat bersama-sama
04:07
in realnyata and necessaryperlu conversationpercakapan.
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dalam pembahasan yang
nyata dan dibutuhkan.
04:10
Thank you.
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Terima kasih.
04:11
(ApplauseTepuk tangan)
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(Tepuk tangan)
Translated by Chiquita Clarissa
Reviewed by Prameswari Rahmanu

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sanford Biggers - Conceptual artist
Sanford Biggers creates art that upends traditional narratives about topics ranging from hip hop to Buddhism to American history.

Why you should listen

An LA native working in NYC, Sanford Biggers creates artworks that integrate film, video, installation, sculpture, drawing, original music and performance. He intentionally complicates issues such as hip hop, Buddhism, politics, identity and art history in order to offer new perspectives and associations for established symbols. Through a multi-disciplinary formal process and a syncretic creative approach, he makes works that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are conceptual.

The significance of Biggers' work within contemporary society has been celebrated through solo exhibitions both nationally and internationally, most recently at the Brooklyn Museum, Sculpture Center and Mass MoCA. He has participated in prestigious residencies and fellowships including: Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany; Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland; Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, California; ARCUS Project Foundation, Ibaraki, Japan; and the Art in General/ Trafo Gallery Eastern European Exchange in Budapest, Hungary. He has been a fellow of the Creative Time Global Residency, the Socrates Sculpture Park Residency, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council World Views AIR Program, the Eyebeam Atelier Teaching Residency, the Studio Museum AIR Program, the P.S. 1 International Studio Program and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture residency.

Biggers' installations, videos and performances have appeared in venues worldwide including Tate Britain and Tate Modern in London, the Whitney Museum and Studio Museum in Harlem, New York and the Yerba Bue a Center for the Arts in San Francisco, as well as institutions in China, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Poland and Russia. The artist's works have been included in notable exhibitions such as: Prospect 1 New Orleans Biennial, Illuminations at the Tate Modern, Performa 07 in NY, the Whitney Biennial and Freestyle at the Studio Museum in Harlem. His works are included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Walker Art Center, Whitney Museum, Brooklyn Museum and Bronx Museum.

Biggers has won awards including: the American Academy in Berlin Prize, Greenfield Prize, New York City Art Teachers Association Artist-of-the-Year, Creative Time Travel Grant, Creative Capital Project Grant, New York Percent for the Arts Commission, Art Matters Grant, New York Foundation for the Arts Award, the Lambent Fellowship in the Arts, the Pennies From Heaven/ New York Community Trust Award, Tanne Foundation Award and Rema Hort Mann Foundation Award Grant.

Biggers is Assistant Professor at Columbia University's Visual Arts program and a board member of Sculpture Center, Soho House and the CUE Foundation. He has also taught at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Sculpture and Expanded Media program and was a visiting scholar at Harvard University's VES Department in 2009.

More profile about the speaker
Sanford Biggers | Speaker | TED.com