Matt Kenyon: A secret memorial for civilian casualties
مات كينيون: كيف تمكنتُ من تهريب نصبٍ تذكاري للمدنيين العراقيين إلى داخل حكومة الولايات المتحدة
From a plant that lives or dies based on stock prices to an oilcan that flows backward, Matt Kenyon creates art that startles, amuses and challenges assumptions. Full bio
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rock musician Jello Biafra that I love.
الناشط وموسيقي البانك روك جلو بيفر.
Be the media."
كن أنت الإعلام."
because A, I'm familiar with them
أولاً: لأنني مطلعٌ عليها،
of the power they hold.
between Fox News host Tony Snow
توني سنو،
Donald Rumsfeld.
دونالد رامسفيلد ، في عام ٢٠٠٣.
about the recent invasion of Iraq,
لماذا؟"
on other people."
to one million Iraqis, civilians,
إلى مليون من المدنيين العراقيين،
of the US-led invasion in 2003.
قادته الولايات المتحدة عام ٢٠٠٣.
the 4,486 US service members who died
من افراد الجيش الاميركي الذين لقوا حتفهم
awareness to this terrifying number.
الرقم المخيف،
for the individual civilians
such as Maya Lin's Vietnam Memorial,
مايا لن التذكاري لحرب فيتنام،
in the world, and to circulate.
وينتشر في العالم.
this classic civics assignment
التربية المدنية الكلاسيكية،
and you write a member of your government.
if we wrote a really good letter,
a simple formed letter as a reply.
yellow legal tablet of paper
to the individual Iraqi civilians
للمدنيين العراقيين،
and an act of commemoration
وإحياءٌ لذكرى
the dates and locations
و المواعيد و المواقع ،
pads of this paper, tons of this stuff,
أكوام من الورق وطن من هذا،
into the stationery supplies
and the Coalition governments.
the place to discuss how I did that.
with members and former members
أعضاء حاليين وسابقين
who assisted in the invasion.
الذين تعاونوا على الغزو.
I meet with one of them,
فرصة مقابلة
and Torture Memo author, Alberto Gonzales.
و مؤلف "مذكرة التعذيب"، ألبرتو غونزاليس.
May I give this to you?
هل بيمكني أن أعطيك هذا؟
of an ongoing art project.
مشرع فني مستمر.
This is a special legal pad?
هذه لوحة قانونية خاصة؟
of Modern Art; I'm an artist.
أنا فنان.
of the paper are actually --
هي في الواقع --
ميكْرُوسْكُوبِيّ
of individual Iraqi civilians
really creeps me out.
to look under your chairs.
that died as result of the invasion.
الذين ماتوا نتيجة للغزو.
and write a member of government.
إلى عضوٍ في الحكومة.
this civilian body count
هذا العدد من الجثث
that's sent in to the government,
the world, of course --
is archived, filed and recorded.
مؤرشفة و محفوظة و مسجلة.
and under the noses of people in power.
و تحت نظر أصحاب النفوذ.
archive of our government,
الدائم لحكومتنا،
come into your head, of "Notepad"?
the US Coalition side of the war
الأمريكي للحرب،
the "Improvised Empathetic Device"
"الجهاز التعاطفي الإرتجالي"
cause of death and location
في الخارج أثناء الحرب ،
who had died overseas,
و سبب و مكان الوفاة .
or CENTCOM released their data,
أو القيادة المركزية الأمريكية معلومات،
that there was a spectacle
who were dying overseas,
خارج البلاد،
amount of casualties
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Matt Kenyon - New media artistFrom a plant that lives or dies based on stock prices to an oilcan that flows backward, Matt Kenyon creates art that startles, amuses and challenges assumptions.
Why you should listen
Matt Kenyon works at the intersection of art and technology, creating pieces that question society’s large, complex systems — from our reliance on global corporations and oil, to the military-industrial complex. His works include: “SPORE 1.1,” a self-sustaining ecosystem for a rubber tree, purchased from The Home Depot and watered in conjunction with Home Depot stock prices; “Supermajor,” a collection of vintage oilcans with droplets of oil that defy gravity and flow back into a punctured hole; and ”Notepad,” a commemoration of the Iraqi civilians who died as a result of the US-led invasion, printed in the lines of what appear to be your average, everyday legal pads.
Kenyon creates these projects through SWAMP, or Studies of Work Atmosphere and Mass Production. He teaches art at the University of Michigan's Stamps School of Art & Design.
Matt Kenyon | Speaker | TED.com