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: 用藝術反對種族暴力

Filmed:
1,158,104 views

概念派藝術家同 TED 研究生 Sanford Biggers 用畫、雕塑、視頻同表演去帶起關於美國黑人歷史同精神創傷嘅激烈對話。聽下佢講解佢兩個精彩作品,以及佢創作背後嘅動機。佢話︰「只有通過關於歷史同人種嘅深度對話,我哋先可以進化成個人同社會。」
- 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.

作為一個概念派藝術家
00:12
As a conceptual概念 artist藝術家,
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我一直搵緊創意嘅方式
去引起激烈嘅對話
00:14
I'm constantly係咁 looking for creative創造性 ways方式
to spark火花 challenging挑戰 conversations對話.
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於是我通過畫畫、雕塑、視頻
同表演完成呢件事
00:18
I do this though雖然 painting繪畫, sculpture雕塑,
video視頻 and performance性能.
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但唔計形式
00:22
But regardless無論 of the format格式,
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我最鍾意嘅兩種材料係歷史同對話
00:23
two of my favorite中意 materials材料
are history歷史 and dialogue對話.
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00:27
In 2007, I created創建 "Lotus蓮花,"
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2007 年,我創作咗「蓮」
一個直徑七呎半
00:30
a seven-and-a-half-foot七呎半尺 diameter直徑,
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重 600 磅嘅玻璃蓮花
00:32
600-pound glass玻璃 depiction描述
of a lotus蓮花 blossom開花.
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00:35
In Buddhism佛教, the lotus蓮花 is a symbol象徵
for transcendence超越
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喺佛教裡邊,蓮花係超脫
00:39
and for purity純度 of mind介意 and spirit精神.
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同內心純潔嘅象徵
00:41
But a closer look at this lotus蓮花
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但係我哋行進啲睇呢朵蓮花
00:44
reveals揭示 each每個 petal花瓣
to be the cross-section橫斷面 of a slave奴隸 ship.
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就會發現每個花瓣都係一艘
運奴船嘅切面
00:47
This iconic標誌 diagram was taken採取
from a British英國 slaving役使 manual手動
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敢諷刺嘅畫面黎自一本英國奴隸手冊
00:51
and later之後 used by abolitionists廢除死刑者 to show顯示
the atrocities暴行 of slavery奴隷製.
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佢之後仲俾廢奴主義者拎黎
做證明奴隸主暴行嘅證據
00:56
In America美國, we don't like
to talk about slavery奴隷製,
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喺美國,我哋唔鍾意講關於奴隸嘅嘢
00:58
nor do we look at it as a global全球 industry行業.
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我哋亦都唔鍾意將佢睇成係
一個全球性嘅產業
01:01
But by using使用 this Buddhist佛教 symbol象徵,
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但係通過呢個佛教嘅標誌
01:03
I hope希望 to universalize普及 and transcend超越
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我希望等更加多嘅人
01:05
the history歷史 and trauma創傷 of black America美國
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知道美國黑人呢段歷史同創傷
01:08
and encourage鼓勵 discussions討論
about our shared共享 past過去.
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再激發關於我哋歷史嘅討論
01:12
To create創建 "Lotus蓮花,"
we carved雕刻 over 6,000 figures數字.
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為咗創作「蓮」,我雕咗六千幾幅人仔
01:16
And this later之後 led to a commission委員會
by the City城市 of New新增功能 York約克
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呢幅作品之後,等紐約嘅一個委員會
01:19
to create創建 a 28-foot version版本 in steel
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用鐵再整咗個二十八呎大嘅版本
01:21
as a permanent永久 installation安裝
at the Eagle Academy學院 for Young年輕 Men男人,
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作為老鷹男子學校嘅永久雕塑
01:24
a school學校 for black and latino拉丁裔 students學生,
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佢係一間專門俾黑人同拉丁裔
01:27
the two groups most affected影響
by this history歷史.
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即係受呢段歷史影響最大嘅
兩個種族嘅學校
01:30
The same相同 two groups are very affected影響
by a more recent最近 phenomenon現象,
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呢兩個種族宜家俾一個
正在發生嘅現象影響緊
01:33
but let me digress離題.
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但係先等我講下其他嘢
01:35
I've been collecting收集
wooden African非洲 figures數字
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我一直收藏緊非洲嘅木雕
01:38
from tourist旅行 shops商店 and flea跳蚤 markets市場
around the world世界.
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從旅遊商店又好,從世界
各地嘅舊貨市場又好
01:40
The authenticity真實性 and origin起源
of them is completely完全 debatable值得商榷,
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好多人拗緊佢哋係咪堅嘢
同埋佢哋嘅起源
01:43
but people believe these
to be imbued充滿 with power權力,
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但係啲人相信佢哋充滿咗力量
01:46
or even magic魔法.
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甚至係魔法
01:47
Only recently最近 have I figured out
how to use this in my own自己 work.
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呢排我先知我要點將呢啲
用系我嘅作品裡面
01:51
(Gun shots鏡頭)
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(槍聲)
02:05
Since因為 2012, the world世界 has witnessed目睹
the killings殺戮 of TrayvonTrayvon Martin馬丁,
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從 2012 年開始,美國就發生咗
特雷沃馬丁事件
02:09
Michael迈克尔 Brown棕色, Eric埃里克 Garner獲得,
Sandra桑德拉 Bland乏味, TamirTamir Rice
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米高布朗、艾力加納、
山島布蘭德、蒂米爾萊斯事件
02:13
and literally從字面上 countless無數 other
unarmed手無寸鐵 black citizens公民
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同埋真係數唔清嘅
謀攻擊力嘅黑人公民俾警察誤傷嘅事件
02:16
at the hands of the police警方,
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02:17
who frequently經常 walk away
with no punishment懲罰 at all.
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但係呢啲警察經常唔會受到任何懲罰
02:20
In consideration諗緊 of these victims受害者
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諗到呢啲受害者
02:22
and the several幾個 times that even I,
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同埋好幾次我
02:24
a law-abiding守法, Ivy常春藤 League聯盟 professor教授,
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呢個守法嘅常春藤教授
02:27
have been targeted目標 and harassed騷擾
at gunpoint槍口 by the police警方.
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都好幾次俾警察盤問過、同用支槍指住
02:30
I created創建 this body身體 of work
simply淨係 entitled題為 "BAMBam."
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所以我創造咗呢套叫做「BAM」嘅作品
02:36
It was important重要 to erase擦除
the identity身份 of each每個 of these figures數字,
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重要嘅係要抹走每個人仔嘅特徵
02:39
to make them all look the same相同
and easier容易 to disregard無視.
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等佢哋都睇起來一樣,唔容易俾人拎清
02:43
To do this, I dip them in a thick,
brown棕色 wax
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所以我將佢哋擺起好濃嘅棕色嘅臘裡邊
02:45
before taking採取 them to a shooting射擊 range範圍
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再將佢哋攞去靶場
02:47
where I re-sculpted重新雕刻 them using使用 bullets子彈.
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用子彈打佢哋黎重新造型
02:51
And it was fun有趣,
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敢樣
用槍同高速攝像頭創作,其實好好玩嘅
02:52
playing with big guns and
high-speed高速 video視頻 cameras相機.
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02:55
But my reverence崇敬 for these figures數字
kept保持 me from actually講真 pulling the trigger觸發,
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但係我對呢啲人仔嘅尊敬
等我唔敢真係開槍
02:58
somehow無論如何 feeling感覺 as if I would
be shooting射擊 myself自己.
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因為我有時覺得我系度打緊自己
03:01
Finally最後, my cameraman攝影師, Raul鲁尔,
fired炒魷 the shots鏡頭.
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最後係我嘅攝像師 Raul 開嘅槍
03:06
I then took the fragments碎片 of these
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我再攞果啲碎片去做模
03:08
and created創建 molds模具,
and cast them first in wax,
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先用臘整出初稿
03:12
and finally最後 in bronze青銅
like the image圖像 you see here,
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最後用銅整出定稿
就好似你哋宜家睇島嘅
03:15
which bears the marks標誌著
of its violent暴力 creation創造
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帶住受過暴力對待嘅痕跡
03:18
like battle戰鬥 wounds傷口 or scars傷疤.
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就好似戰鬥過嘅傷口或者疤痕
03:20
When I showed表明 this work recently最近 in Miami邁阿密,
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我嘅作品呢排喺邁阿密展出
03:22
a woman女人 told me she felt覺得
every gun shot拍攝 to her soul靈魂.
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有個女人同我講佢覺得
每一槍都打系佢嘅心口
03:25
But she also felt覺得 that these artworks藝術品
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但係姖又覺得呢啲作品
03:28
memorialized紀念 the victims受害者 of these killings殺戮
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紀念緊各種事件中喪生嘅受害者
03:30
as well as other victims受害者 of
racial種族 violence暴力 throughout整個 US history歷史.
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同埋美國歷史裡頭受過
種族暴力嘅其他受害者
03:33
But "Lotus蓮花" and "BAMBam" are larger
than just US history歷史.
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但係「蓮」同「BAM」反映嘅
唔止係美國歷史
03:36
While showing顯示 in Berlin柏林 last year,
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舊年喺柏林展出嗰陣
03:38
a philosophy哲學 student學生 asked問吓 me
what prompted促使 these recent最近 killings殺戮.
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一個哲學系嘅學生問我
係咩嘢激發最近嘅事件
03:42
I showed表明 him a photo
of a lynching私刑 postcard明信片
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我俾佢睇咗一張
20 世紀早期對黑人
執行死刑嘅明信片
03:44
from the early早期 1900s
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03:46
and reminded him that these killings殺戮
have been going on for over 500 years.
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再提醒佢,呢啲殺戮已經
進行咗五百幾年
03:51
But it's only through透過 questions個問題 like his
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但係淨得通過好似佢呢啲問題
03:53
and more thoughtful周到 dialogue對話
about history歷史 and race比賽
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同埋更加多深入嘅
關於歷史同種族嘅討論
03:56
can we evolve進化 as individuals and society社會.
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我哋先可以進化為真正嘅個人同社會
03:59
I hope希望 my artwork藝術品 creates創建 a safe安全 space空間
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我希望我嘅作品可以
為咁樣嘅坦承交流創造一個安全嘅空間
04:02
for this type類型 of honest老實 exchange交換
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04:05
and an opportunity機會 for people
to engage從事 one another另一個
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為大家互相進行真實必要嘅對話
04:07
in real真正 and necessary必要 conversation談話.
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提供一個機會
04:10
Thank you.
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多謝
04:11
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Yolanda Wei
Reviewed by Chak Lam Wan

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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