ABOUT THE SPEAKER
eL Seed - Artist
French-Tunisian artist eL Seed blends the historic art of Arabic calligraphy with graffti to portray messages of beauty, poetry and peace across all continents.

Why you should listen

Born in Paris to Tunisian parents, eL Seed travels the world, making art in Paris, New York, Jeddah, Melbourne, Gabes, Doha and beyond. His goal: to create dialogue and promote tolerance as well as change global perceptions of what Arabic means. In 2012, for instance, he painted a message of unity on a 47-meter-high minaret on the Jara mosque in Gabes, Tunisia. This piece and others can be found in his book, Lost Walls: Graffiti Road Trip through Tunisia

Most recently he created a sprawling mural in the Manshiyat Naser neighborhood of Cairo that spans 50 buildings and can only be viewed from a local mountaintop. Intending to honor the historic garbage collectors of the Manshiyat Naser neighborhood, the piece reads, "Anyone who wants to see the sunlight clearly needs to wipe his eye first."

More profile about the speaker
eL Seed | Speaker | TED.com
TED2015

eL Seed: Street art with a message of hope and peace

eL Seed: 传递希望与和平的街头艺术

Filmed:
1,581,298 views

生长在法国的突尼西亚裔艺术家,eL Seed 热衷于兼顾融合多种文化、语言和身份,这些热忱特别体现在他的艺术作品中,他用街头艺术和图腾书画来演绎阿拉伯诗文。在这个看似平静却激情澎湃的演说中,这位艺术家兼 TED 研究会员的伟大志向是:创造一种无需翻译的美丽。
- Artist
French-Tunisian artist eL Seed blends the historic art of Arabic calligraphy with graffti to portray messages of beauty, poetry and peace across all continents. Full bio

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

00:12
In 2012, when I painted
the minaret尖塔 of Jara哈拉 Mosque清真寺
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在2012年,当我图画
Jara Mosque清真寺塔尖
00:17
in my hometown家乡 of Gab瞎扯és,
in the south of Tunisia突尼斯,
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在我的家乡
突尼西亚南部城市加贝斯,
00:19
I never thought that graffiti涂鸦 would bring带来
so much attention注意 to a city.
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我从没想过墙上的涂鸦
会给这个城市带来如此多的关注。
00:25
At the beginning开始, I was just looking
for a wall in my hometown家乡,
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一开始,我只是在我的家乡
寻找一座墙面,
00:29
and it happened发生 that the minaret尖塔
was built内置 in '94.
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正好是94年建造的这个尖塔。
00:33
And for 18 years年份, those 57 meters
of concrete具体 stayed grey灰色.
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长达18年的时间里,57米高的混凝土
依旧是灰色的。
00:38
When I met会见 the imam阿訇 for the first time,
and I told him what I wanted to do,
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当我第一次见到阿訇,
我告诉他我的计划,
00:42
he was like, "Thank God you finally最后 came来了,"
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他说,“感谢主,你终于来了,”
00:44
and he told me that for years年份
he was waiting等候 for somebody
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他告诉我,这么多年他都在等待某个人
00:47
to do something on it.
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能够做些什么。
00:49
The most amazing惊人 thing about this imam阿訇
is that he didn't ask me anything --
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最神奇的是,这位阿訇
没有问我任何有关
00:53
neither也不 a sketch草图,
or what I was going to write.
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我要画些什么的问题。
00:57
In every一切 work that I create创建,
I write messages消息
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在每个我创作的工作上,
我书写信息
01:00
with my style样式 of calligraffiticalligraffiti --
a mix混合 of calligraphy书法 and graffiti涂鸦.
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用我特有的calligraffiti——
混杂着书法和涂鸦的方式。
01:05
I use quotes报价 or poetry诗歌.
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我书写引述或是诗文。
01:08
For the minaret尖塔, I thought that
the most relevant相应 message信息
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就这个尖塔而言,我想
最与它相关的是
01:10
to be put on a mosque清真寺
should come from the Quran古兰经,
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在清真寺上书写
来自古兰经里的话,
01:13
so I picked采摘的 this verse:
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因此我选择了这条:
01:15
"Oh humankind人类, we have created创建 you
from a male and a female,
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“人类啊,我把你们造成男性和女性,
01:18
and made制作 you people and tribe部落,
so you may可能 know each other."
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我把你们分成部落和民族,
为的是你们互相了解。”
01:21
It was a universal普遍 call for peace和平,
tolerance公差, and acceptance验收
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这是普世的号召,
为了和平,宽容和接纳
01:25
coming未来 from the side that we don't usually平时
portray写真 in a good way in the media媒体.
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这样美好的讯息,
我们并不时常从媒体上获得。
01:29
I was amazed吃惊 to see how the local本地
community社区 reacted反应 to the painting绘画,
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我很惊讶地看到当地居民是
如何回应这样的图画的,
01:33
and how it made制作 them proud骄傲 to see
the minaret尖塔 getting得到 so much attention注意
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他们该多么骄傲,
看到清真寺获得
01:37
from international国际 press
all around the world世界.
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来自全球媒体的目光。
01:41
For the imam阿訇, it was not
just the painting绘画;
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对那位阿訇来说,
这并不只是图画;
01:43
it was really deeper更深 than that.
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比图画更加深邃。
01:45
He hoped希望 that this minaret尖塔 would become成为
a monument纪念碑 for the city,
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他希望这个尖塔能够成为
这座城市的历史遗迹,
01:48
and attract吸引 people
to this forgotten忘记了 place地点 of Tunisia突尼斯.
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吸引人们来到突尼西亚
这个被遗忘的地方。
01:52
The universality普遍性 of the message信息,
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这条信息的广泛性,
01:54
the political政治 context上下文
of Tunisia突尼斯 at this time,
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此时突尼西亚的政治状况,
01:57
and the fact事实 that I was writing写作
Quran古兰经 in a graffiti涂鸦 way
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以及我用涂鸦方式书写
古兰经这件事
02:00
were not insignificant微不足道.
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并不是毫无建树的。
02:02
It reunited重聚 the community社区.
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它使这个社群重新聚集起来。
02:05
Bringing people, future未来 generations,
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我所做的,就是
02:08
together一起 through通过 Arabic阿拉伯 calligraphy书法
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用阿拉伯书画
把人们,未来的每一代人
连结起来。
02:11
is what I do.
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02:13
Writing写作 messages消息 is
the essence本质 of my artwork艺术品.
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我艺术作品的精髓
是书写信息。
02:16
What is funny滑稽, actually其实, is that
even Arabic-speaking阿拉伯语 people
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好笑的是,事实上,
以阿拉伯语为母语的人们
02:20
really need to focus焦点 a lot
to decipher解码 what I'm writing写作.
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都需要花些时间
来破译我写的文字内容。
02:24
You don't need to know
the meaning含义 to feel the piece.
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感知这份艺术作品
你并不需要知道它的意思。
02:28
I think that Arabic阿拉伯 script脚本 touches触摸
your soul灵魂 before it reaches到达 your eyes眼睛.
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我想,阿拉伯文字
先触及了你的灵魂然后才是眼睛。
02:31
There is a beauty美女 in it
that you don't need to translate翻译.
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其中有一种无需翻译的美感。
02:35
Arabic阿拉伯 script脚本 speaks说话 to anyone任何人, I believe;
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阿拉伯文字和每个人相通,
我相信:
02:37
to you, to you, to you, to anybody任何人,
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和你,和你,和你,和每一个人。
02:41
and then when you get the meaning含义,
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然后,你知道了文字的含义,
02:43
you feel connected连接的 to it.
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便产生共鸣。
02:45
I always make sure to write messages消息
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我总是会确认书写那些
02:47
that are relevant相应 to the place地点
where I'm painting绘画,
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与我艺术创作地点相关联的文字。
02:50
but messages消息 that have
a universal普遍 dimension尺寸,
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但是信息有全球化的不同维度,
02:53
so anybody任何人 around the world世界
can connect to it.
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使地球上的每个人都能与此连结。
02:56
I was born天生 and raised上调 in France法国, in Paris巴黎,
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我在法国巴黎出生长大,
02:59
and I started开始 learning学习 how to write
and read Arabic阿拉伯 when I was 18.
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18岁时我开始学习如何
书写阅读阿拉伯文字。
03:03
Today今天 I only write messages消息 in Arabic阿拉伯.
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今天我只用阿拉伯语书写信息。
03:07
One of the reasons原因
this is so important重要 to me,
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对我而言最重要的原因之一,
03:10
is because of all the reaction反应 that
I've experienced有经验的 all around the world世界.
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是我在世界范围内的经验。
03:15
In Rio里约热内卢 de Janeiro里约热内卢, I translated翻译
this Portuguese葡萄牙语 poem
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在里约热内卢,
我翻译了这首葡萄牙诗文
03:19
from Gabriela加布里埃拉rresRRES Barbosa巴博萨,
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来自诗人Gabriela Torres Barbosa,
03:21
who was giving an homage尊敬
to the poor较差的 people of the favela贫民窟,
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她向生活在贫民窟的穷人致敬,
03:24
and then I painted it on the rooftop屋顶.
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我把这首诗写在了屋顶。
03:27
The local本地 community社区 were really
intrigued好奇 by what I was doing,
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当地的居民们
对我做的事感到好奇,
03:30
but as soon不久 as I gave them
the meaning含义 of the calligraphy书法,
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当我告诉他们
这些图画文字的真正含义时,
03:33
they thanked感谢 me, as they felt
connected连接的 to the piece.
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他们感谢我,
他们对艺术作品产生了共鸣。
03:38
In South Africa非洲, in Cape Town,
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在南非,开普敦,
03:40
the local本地 community社区 of Philippi
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当地的菲律宾社群
03:43
offered提供 me the only
concrete具体 wall of the slum贫民窟.
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把贫民窟仅有的一面
水泥墙给我,
03:46
It was a school学校, and I wrote on it
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它是一个学校,我在上面图画
03:49
a quote引用 from Nelson纳尔逊 Mandela曼德拉,
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我用了纳尔逊·曼德拉的名言,
03:50
saying, "[in Arabic阿拉伯],"
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说道,“(阿拉伯语)”
03:53
which哪一个 means手段, "It seems似乎
impossible不可能 until直到 it's doneDONE."
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“在事情未成功之前,
一切总看似不可能。”
03:56
Then this guy came来了 to me and said,
"Man, why you don't write in English英语?"
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有个人跟我说,
“你为什么不用英文写呢?”
04:00
and I replied回答 to him, "I would consider考虑
your concern关心 legit合法的 if you asked me
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我回答道,“我会认真考虑你的建议
如果你问我
04:04
why I didn't write in Zulu祖鲁."
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为什么我不用祖鲁语写。”
04:06
In Paris巴黎, once一旦, there was this event事件,
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在巴黎,某次,有个活动,
04:09
and someone有人 gave his wall to be painted.
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某人让我在他的墙上图画。
04:14
And when he saw I was painting绘画 in Arabic阿拉伯,
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当他看到我书写阿拉伯文的时候,
04:16
he got so mad -- actually其实, hysterical歇斯底里 --
and he asked for the wall to be erased擦除.
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他很生气——事实上,歇斯底里——
他要把那面墙上的字抹掉。
04:20
I was mad and disappointed失望.
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我很生气,也很失望。
04:22
But a week later后来, the organizer组织者
of the event事件 asked me to come back,
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但是一周以后,那场活动的组织者
请我回去,
04:26
and he told me that there was a wall
right in front面前 of this guy's家伙 house.
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他告诉我
那个人家门前有一面墙。
04:30
So, this guy --
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所以,这个人......
04:31
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
04:33
like, was forced被迫 to see it every一切 day.
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不得不每天看着我的图腾。
04:35
At the beginning开始, I was going
to write, "[In Arabic阿拉伯],"
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一开始,我打算用阿拉伯文书写,
04:38
which哪一个 means手段, "In your face面对," but --
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意思是,“你的脸上,”但是......
04:40
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
04:42
I decided决定 to be smarter聪明
and I wrote, "[In Arabic阿拉伯],"
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我决定显得更聪明一些
于是我写道,“(阿拉伯文)”
04:46
which哪一个 means手段, "Open打开 your heart."
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意思是,“敞开心扉。”
04:49
I'm really proud骄傲 of my culture文化,
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我真心对我的文化感到自豪,
04:52
and I'm trying to be an ambassador大使
of it through通过 my artwork艺术品.
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我希望用艺术作品传达它。
04:57
And I hope希望 that I can break打破
the stereotypes定型 we all know,
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我希望我能打破
我们心中的刻板印象,
05:02
with the beauty美女 of Arabic阿拉伯 script脚本.
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用美丽的阿拉伯文字。
05:05
Today今天, I don't write the translation翻译
of the message信息 anymore on the wall.
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今天,我不再在墙上书写信息。
05:11
I don't want the poetry诗歌
of the calligraphy书法 to be broken破碎,
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我不希望打破图腾文字的诗文美感,
05:14
as it's art艺术 and you can appreciate欣赏 it
without knowing会心 the meaning含义,
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这门艺术你可以感受
却不用知晓它的含义,
05:18
as you can enjoy请享用 any music音乐
from other countries国家.
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正如同你能欣赏
其他国家的音乐作品。
05:21
Some people see that
as a rejection拒绝 or a closed关闭 door,
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有些人将它视为拒绝
或是关闭的门,
05:25
but for me, it's more an invitation请帖 --
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但对我来说,
这更像是一个邀请--
05:27
to my language语言,
to my culture文化, and to my art艺术.
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来欣赏我的语言
我的文化,我的艺术作品。
05:31
Thank you.
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谢谢。
05:32
(Applause掌声)
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(鼓掌)
Translated by Zhiting Chen
Reviewed by Geoffrey Chen

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
eL Seed - Artist
French-Tunisian artist eL Seed blends the historic art of Arabic calligraphy with graffti to portray messages of beauty, poetry and peace across all continents.

Why you should listen

Born in Paris to Tunisian parents, eL Seed travels the world, making art in Paris, New York, Jeddah, Melbourne, Gabes, Doha and beyond. His goal: to create dialogue and promote tolerance as well as change global perceptions of what Arabic means. In 2012, for instance, he painted a message of unity on a 47-meter-high minaret on the Jara mosque in Gabes, Tunisia. This piece and others can be found in his book, Lost Walls: Graffiti Road Trip through Tunisia

Most recently he created a sprawling mural in the Manshiyat Naser neighborhood of Cairo that spans 50 buildings and can only be viewed from a local mountaintop. Intending to honor the historic garbage collectors of the Manshiyat Naser neighborhood, the piece reads, "Anyone who wants to see the sunlight clearly needs to wipe his eye first."

More profile about the speaker
eL Seed | Speaker | TED.com