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: Dê uma sacudida em sua história

Filmed:
1,036,676 views

O artista Raghava KK demonstra seu novo livro infantil para iPad com um recurso divertido: quando você o sacode, a história – e a perspectiva dela – mudam. Nessa charmosa palestra, ele nos convida a sacudir um pouquinho nossa perspectiva.
- 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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Oi, pessoal.
00:17
I'm an artist and a dad -- second time around.
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Sou artista e pai – pela segunda vez.
00:20
Thank you.
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Obrigado.
00:22
And I want to share with you my latest art project.
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E quero compartilhar com vocês meu último projeto de arte.
00:25
It's a children's book for the iPad.
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É um livro infantil para iPad.
00:28
It's a little quirky and silly.
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É um pouco peculiar e bobo.
00:30
It's called "Pop-It,"
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Chama-se "Pop-it".
00:32
And it's about the things little kids do with their parents.
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E é sobre as coisas que crianças pequenas fazem com seus pais.
00:35
(Music)
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(Música)
00:37
So this is about potty training --
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Então, isso é sobre o treino do banheiro –
00:39
as most of you, I hope, know.
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espero que a maioria de vocês já saiba.
00:42
You can tickle the rug.
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Você pode fazer cócegas no tapete.
00:44
You can make the baby poop.
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O bebê pode fazer cocô.
00:46
You can do all those fun things.
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Você pode fazer todas essas coisas divertidas.
00:50
You can burst bubbles.
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Pode estourar bolhas.
00:54
You can draw, as everyone should.
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Pode desenhar, como todos deveríamos fazer.
00:58
But you know, I have a problem with children's books:
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Mas, sabe, tenho um problema com livros infantis:
01:00
I think they're full of propaganda.
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acho que eles são cheios de propaganda.
01:02
At least an Indian trying to get one of these American books in Park Slope, forget it.
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Pelo menos um indiano tentando comprar um desses livros americanos em Park Slope, nem pensar.
01:05
It's not the way I was brought up.
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Não fui criado para isso.
01:08
So I said, "I'm going to counter this with my own propaganda."
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Então eu disse, "vou me opor a isso com minha própria propaganda."
01:10
If you notice carefully,
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Se você observar com cuidado,
01:12
it's a homosexual couple bringing up a child.
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é um casal homossexual educando uma criança.
01:15
You don't like it?
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Não gosta?
01:17
Shake it, and you have a lesbian couple.
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É só sacudir, e você tem um casal lésbico.
01:20
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
01:22
Shake it, and you have a heterosexual couple.
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Sacuda, e você tem um casal heterossexual.
01:26
You know, I don't even believe in the concept of an ideal family.
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Sabe, eu nem acredito no conceito de uma família ideal.
01:29
I have to tell you about my childhood.
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Tenho que contar a vocês sobre a minha infância.
01:31
I went to this very proper Christian school
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Estudei em uma escola cristã muito convencional
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taught by nuns, fathers, brothers, sisters.
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com professores que eram freiras, padres, irmãos, irmãs.
01:37
Basically, I was brought up to be a good Samaritan,
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Basicamente, fui criado para ser um bom samaritano,
01:39
and I am.
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e eu sou.
01:41
And I'd go at the end of the day to a traditional Hindu house,
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E no fim do dia eu ia para uma tradicional casa hindu,
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which was probably the only Hindu house
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que provavelmente era a única casa hindu
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in a predominantly Islamic neighborhood.
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numa vizinhança predominantemente islâmica.
01:50
Basically, I celebrated every religious function.
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Basicamente, celebrei todas as cerimônias religiosas.
01:53
In fact, when there was a wedding in our neighborhood,
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Na verdade, quando havia um casamento na vizinhança,
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all of us would paint our houses for the wedding.
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nós pintávamos nossas casas para o casamento.
01:58
I remember we cried profusely
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Lembro-me que choramos copiosamente
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when the little goats we played with in the summer
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quando os cabritinhos com os quais brincávamos no verão
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became biriani.
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viraram biriani.
02:04
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
02:06
We all had to fast during Ramadan.
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Tínhamos todos que jejuar durante o Ramadã.
02:08
It was a very beautiful time.
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Era uma época muito linda.
02:10
But I must say,
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Mas devo dizer,
02:12
I'll never forget, when I was 13 years old, this happened.
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nunca esquecerei, quando tinha 13 anos, do que aconteceu.
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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uma das mais lindas mesquitas da Índia,
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built by King Babur, I think, in the 16th century --
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construída pelo Rei Babur, no século 16, creio eu –
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was demolished by Hindu activists.
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foi demolida por ativistas hindus.
02:24
This caused major riots in my city.
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Isso provocou grandes tumultos em minha cidade.
02:26
And for the first time,
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E pela primeira vez,
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I was affected
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fui afetado
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by this communal unrest.
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por essa manifestação comunitária.
02:32
My little five-year-old kid neighbor
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Meu pequeno vizinho de 5 anos
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comes running in,
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chegou correndo,
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and he says, "Rags, Rags.
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e disse: "Rags, Rags.
02:39
You know the Hindus are killing us Muslims. Be careful."
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Sabe, os hindus estão matando a gente, muçulmanos. Cuidado".
02:42
I'm like, "Dude, I'm Hindu."
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E eu: "Cara, eu sou hindu."
02:44
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
02:45
He's like, "Huh!"
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Ele ficou assim, "Huh!".
02:48
You know, my work is inspired
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Sabe, meu trabalho é inspirado
02:51
by events such as this.
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por fatos como esse.
02:53
Even in my gallery shows,
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Mesmo em minhas exposições em galerias,
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I try and revisit historic events
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eu experimento e relembro fatos históricos
02:57
like Babri Masjid,
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como Babri Masjid,
02:59
distill only its emotional residue
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destilo somente seu resíduo emocional
03:01
and image my own life.
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e espelho minha própria vida.
03:03
Imagine history being taught differently.
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Imaginem a história contada de outro jeito.
03:05
Remember that children's book
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Sabe aquele livro infantil
03:06
where you shake and the sexuality of the parents change?
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que você sacode e a sexualidade dos pais muda?
03:09
I have another idea.
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Eu tenho outra ideia.
03:10
It's a children's book about Indian independence --
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É um livro infantil sobre a Independência Indiana –
03:13
very patriotic.
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muito patriótico.
03:15
But when you shake it, you get Pakistan's perspective.
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Mas quando você o sacode, tem a perspectiva paquistanesa.
03:17
Shake it again, and you get the British perspective.
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Sacode novamente, e tem a perspectiva britânica.
03:20
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
03:25
You have to separate fact from bias, right.
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Você tem que separar fatos de preconceitos, certo?
03:27
Even my books on children
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Mesmo meus livros para crianças
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have cute, fuzzy animals.
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têm lindos animais peludos.
03:31
But they're playing geopolitics.
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Mas eles estão brincando de geopolítica.
03:33
They're playing out Israel-Palestine,
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Estão brincando com Israel-Palestina,
03:35
India-Pakistan.
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Índia-Paquistão.
03:37
You know, I'm making a very important argument.
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Sabe, estou tocando um ponto muito importante.
03:39
And my argument [is]
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E meu raciocínio é
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that the only way for us to teach creativity
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que o único meio de ensinarmos criatividade
03:45
is by teaching children perspectives
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é ensinando perspectivas às crianças
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at the earliest stage.
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desde bem pequenas.
03:49
After all, children's books are manuals on parenting,
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Afinal, livros infantis são manuais para pais,
03:51
so you better give them children's books that teach them perspectives.
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então melhor darmos a eles livros infantis que os ensinem sobre perspectivas.
03:54
And conversely,
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E inversamente,
03:56
only when you teach perspectives
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somente quando você ensina perspectivas
03:58
will a child be able to imagine
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a criança será capaz de imaginar
04:00
and put themselves in the shoes
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e colocar-se no lugar
04:02
of someone who is different from them.
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de alguém que é diferente dela.
04:04
I'm making an argument that art and creativity
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Estou dizendo que arte e criatividade
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are very essential tools in empathy.
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são ferramentas essenciais de empatia.
04:09
You know, I can't promise my child
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Sabe, não posso prometer a meu filho
04:11
a life without bias --
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uma vida sem preconceitos –
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we're all biased --
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somos todos preconceituosos –
04:15
but I promise to bias my child with multiple perspectives.
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mas prometo prover meu filho com múltiplas perspectivas.
04:18
Thank you very much.
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Muito obrigado.
04:20
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
Translated by Viviane Ferraz Matos
Reviewed by Roberto Paes

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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