Theaster Gates: How to revive a neighborhood: with imagination, beauty and art
Tijester Gejts (Theaster Gates): Kako oživeti neki kraj - maštom, lepotom i umetnošću
Theaster Gates is a potter whose ambitions stretch far beyond the wheel and the kiln. In Chicago, his leadership of artist-led spaces has catalyzed interest and excitement in a formerly neglected neighborhood, as he uses culture as a transformational weapon. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
excites me in my artistic practice
tokom umetničkog rada
how to make great things out of nothing;
nešto sjajno ni od čega;
with mounds of clay trying stuff;
sa brdom gline, isprobavajući stvari,
of my capacity, my ability,
mojih kapaciteta i sposobnosti
a really nice bowl
da napravim stvarno lepu činiju,
mnogo pomogao u životu.
has been very, very helpful to my life.
kako da oblikujete svet.
how to shape the world.
in my artistic capacity
iz istorije SAD ili sveta,
the history of the world
from that content?
discontinued firehoses from Alabama,
iskidana vatrogasna creva iz Alabame
građanskih prava '60-ih godina?
of civil rights in the '60s?
o očevim i mojim radnim projektima?
and I doing labor projects?
građevinac, mali preduzimač,
he owned small businesses,
a ja nasledio njegov kotlić za katran.
and his tar kettle was my inheritance.
kao neko nasledstvo. I nije.
like much of an inheritance. It wasn't.
mnogo prostora u mom ateljeu,
a lot of space in my studio,
da zajedno stvaramo umetnost,
to make some art with me,
of nothing material
da ni iz čega stvorimo nešto posebno
ovog materijala i kroz očevu veštinu
and my dad's skill,
just like clay, in a new way,
o katranu na nov način, kao o glini,
helping us to imagine what was possible?
da zamislimo šta bi bilo moguće.
različitim materijalima
to lots of different kinds of materials,
because I thought, well,
jer sam mislio:
već u sposobnosti preoblikovanja.“
it's about our capacity to shape things.
za ideje i sve više stvari
were happening just outside my studio.
I live in Chicago.
živim u Čikagu.
ali potičem iz zapadnog Čikaga.
I'm a West Sider.
ovo ništa ne znači,
that won't mean anything,
da sam iz južnog dela,
that I was a West Sider,
in the city that would be very upset.
is Grand Crossing.
that has seen better days.
in my neighborhood,
making pots and busy making art
i umetničke karijere,
u neposrednoj blizini mog ateljea.
that was happening
failing housing markets
sa neuspehom na stambenom tržištu,
with some of our cities more than others,
neke gradove u odnosu na druge,
a i drugi gradovi,
U.S. cities and beyond
sa kojima ljudi više ne znaju šta da rade.
no longer know what to do anything with.
that I could start to think
or an expansion of my artistic practice?
ili proširenje moje umetničke prakse?“
sa drugim kreativcima -
along with other creatives --
real estate finance people --
u poslu sa nekretninama -
to kind of think
mogli da smislimo
about the reshaping of cities.
preoblikujemo gradove.
samo da bi se nešto događalo
to try to just get some activity happening
za oko 18 000 dolara,
for about 18,000 dollars,
da čistim zgradu.
as a kind of performance.
ljudi bi dolazili,
and people would come over,
and sweeping was free.
bili besplatni.
za male zakuske,
to stage exhibitions, small dinners,
u mojoj ulici, Dorčester -
on my block, Dorchester --
as Dorchester projects --
„Projekat Dorčester“ -
became a kind of gathering site
what we called now the Archive House.
u ono što danas nazivamo „Kuća arhive“.
all of these amazing things.
u gradu i izvan njega
in the city and beyond
in the middle of the hood.
između prethodnog bavljenja grnčarstvom
between my history with clay
starting to develop,
the South Side of the city.
a beautiful vessel important,
koji se unutar te zgrade događa.
in those buildings is also very important.
about development,
that could happen
between one neighbor and another.
ono što nazivamo „Kuća slušanja“,
the Listening House,
that was going out of business.
iz stare knjižare koja se zatvorila.
these buildings as much as I could
ove zgrade kako god sam mogao,
ko bi mi se pridružio.
amazing building stock.
stecište narkomana u ulici,
the former crack house on the block,
šta bi se tu moglo događati.
imagine what else could happen there.
u nešto što zovemo „Crnački bioskop“.
what we call Black Cinema House.
da se u kraju prikažu filmovi
in the hood to screen films
to the folk who lived around me,
za ljude u mojoj okolini,
neki stari film Melvina Van Piblsa
an old Melvin Van Peebles film, we could.
ako smo hteli.
from just a small piece of clay,
a sada je to moj atelje.
piece of clay, which is now my studio.
koji su vezani za neke oblasti,
for those of you who are zoning junkies,
that had been left behind,
the buildings were built,
needs to stay residential."
nije zainteresovan da živi tamo?
ain't nobody interested in living there?
način da odu već otišli?
the means to leave have already left?
these abandoned buildings?
to wake them up using culture.
was so exciting for folk,
bilo toliko uzbudljivo svima,
that we had to then find bigger buildings.
da smo morali da tražimo veće zgrade.
necessary to think about those things.
i o resursima koji su neophodni pri ovome.
it was in pretty bad shape.
„Banka umetnosti“, bila je u lošem stanju.
of standing water.
in the neighborhood
zainteresovane za ovaj kraj,
in the neighborhood
za ovaj kraj
It was nowhere.
Bilo je u nedođiji.
šta bi se ovde moglo odigravati?
what else could happen in this building?
of my block has spread,
can now be a center
music performance,
who are now interested
koji su sada zainteresovani
jer smo uneli neku toplinu,
because we brought some heat,
pripada korporaciji „Izdavaštvo Džonson“.
is this Johnson Publishing Corporation.
suvenire iz američke istorije
memorabilia from American history,
or have lived in that neighborhood.
su prikazi poniženih crnaca,
are degraded images of black people,
čiji je sadržaj problematičan,
of very challenging content,
svoj identitet,
asking themselves about their identity
predstavlja centar,
hardcore node of cultural activity,
čvrsto jezgro kulturne aktivnosti,
to make multiple hubs
green stuff around there,
sa privlačnim zelenilom u okruženju,
purchased and rehabbed,
miniature Versailles on top of that,
minijaturni Versaj povrh svega
predivnim zelenim pojasom -
by a beautiful greenbelt --
never wanted to be
gde ljudi nikad nisu želeli da budu,
the country and world.
very much like I'm a potter,
koje zavise od nas;
that are at our wheel,
that I want to make.
koju želimo napraviti.
do kuće, ulice, naselja,
house to a block to a neighborhood
do razmišljanja o gradu
to thinking about the city,
neke stvari koje nisam znao.
that I didn't know that I had to learn.
about zoning law in my life.
o zakonu zoniranja.
that there's not just room
ne samo za moje umetničko delovanje,
artistic practices.
going to go to scale?"
da prenesem svoje ideje,
I couldn't export myself,
da je neophodno u gradovima
in cities like Akron, Ohio,
Detroit u Mičigenu i Geri u Indijani,
koji već veruju u svoja mesta,
who already believe in those places,
to make those places beautiful,
who are passionate about a place
oni koji su predani svojim naseljima
necessary to make cool things happen,
neophodnih za boljitak,
a contingency of people
da se neke stvari dese.
ljude širom zemlje
around the country
that are in front of you,
koje su im u okolini,
u svom neposrednom okruženju,
at a wheel or at your block
ili da to urade na nivou grada.
many people watching this
isto što i Vi na kraju:
the question you just raised at the end:
i u njihovim gradovima?
about what someone who is inspired
ko je inspirisan svojim gradom
to take on projects like yours?
projekte slične Vašim?
I've found that's really important
Jedna od najvažnijih stvari
the kind of individual project,
between an old house,
between those things?
među ovim stvarima?
te ljude na razgovor?
where neighborhoods have failed,
in that place, the passionate people,
u tim mestima, ostrašćene ljude,
who have been fighting,
about the place that they live?
da dopune baterije, radi svog mesta?
I would be talking about buildings alone,
pričao bih samo o građevinama
a "For Lease" sign in the window.
na njihove prozore.
have to curate more than that,
organizovati više od toga,
you have to be mindful about,
da više razmišljate o tome
that I want to grow here?
who live in this place
te poslove sa nekim.
samo kulture ili stanovanja;
a cultural space or housing;
of an economic core.
ekonomskog izvora.
together feels right.
to create the spark again
slogging for 20 years.
that have helped break through?
da se to prevaziđe?
there are lots of examples
postoji mnogo primera
kao kada mediji stalno govore
when the media is constantly saying
happen in a place,
and the particular context,
i određenom kontekstu,
in your neighborhood
protiv nekih od tih stvari?
if you're a theater person,
ako ste ljubitelj pozorišta,
the resources in certain neighborhoods
u određenim krajevima
a certain kind of splashy,
of making sure that people
of the things that are happening locally,
lokalne događaje,
neverovatne stvari.
da projekti koje stvarate
that the projects you're creating
zainteresovanoj za nezavisne filmove,
vegetarian indie movie crowd
da iskoristi projekat?
to take advantage of them.
it starts to get into the thick weeds.
na kojoj počinju da se javljaju prepreke.
TG: Right now, Grand Crossing
TG: Trenutno je u Grend Krosingu
ili bar ljudi koji žive u njemu,
vlasnici nekretnina
who owns property in a place
koji su svakodnevno na ulicama.
the streets every day.
that Grand Crossing is already
drugačiji od onoga kakav je sada.
different than it is today.
housing trusts or land trusts
o građevinskim ili zemljišnim fondovima
neprofitnih organizacija
some of the space that happens,
neke od prostora,
7,500 empty lots in a city,
7 500 praznih parcela,
just interested in the development piece,
koji nisu samo zainteresovani za razvoj,
in the stabilization piece,
i za deo vezan za stabilizaciju,
is really motivated,
koji se bave razvojem zaista motivisani,
of neighborhood consciousness,
important watchdogs
ojačavanje organizacija kontrole
that are made available
da se dostupni resursi
who have lived in a place for a long time.
koji dugo žive ovde.
One more question:
Još jedno pitanje -
o važnosti lepote i umetnosti.
and the importance of beauty and the arts.
mogla bolje utrošiti
that funds would be better spent
sa takvim pogledima na stvari?
or come against it?
is a basic service.
kada postoje resursi
when there are resources
to certain under-resourced cities
sa manjkom resursa,
that helps to ignite,
što može da pokrene stvari.
if you can start with culture
reinvested in their place,
da ulažu u svoje mesto življenja,
amenities start to grow,
podneti poetski zahtev,
that's a poetic demand,
are necessary to wake up our cities,
neophodni za buđenje naših gradova
što ste danas bili s nama.
for being here with us today.
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Theaster Gates - Artist, potter, community builderTheaster Gates is a potter whose ambitions stretch far beyond the wheel and the kiln. In Chicago, his leadership of artist-led spaces has catalyzed interest and excitement in a formerly neglected neighborhood, as he uses culture as a transformational weapon.
Why you should listen
Theaster Gates is helping to define the future of artistic place-based efforts, in research and practice. Beginning with interventions in small-scale residences now known as Dorchester Projects, Gates’ houses in Greater Grand Crossing in Chicago have become a nexus for globally engaged experiments in structures of individual and collective living, working and art-making. Launched into the international art world at Documenta(13), the houses embodied a new system of values and celebrated both a flexible use of space and provided a way for artists, visitors and students to connect and collaborate.
The latest example of this kind of work is the Stony Island Arts Bank, set to open for the Chicago Architecture Biennial in October 2015. Gates will convert a formerly derelict bank on Chicago's south side to create an artwork -- and a communal and creative space.
At the University of Chicago, where he is a professor and the director of arts and public life, Gates leads the Arts Incubator in Washington Park. Gates also leads an urban research initiative known as the Place Lab, a team of social scientists, architects, creative professionals and business leaders. With support from the Knight Foundation, Gates and his team will create frameworks for reimagining the role that culture plays in the redevelopment of transforming African American communities.
Theaster Gates | Speaker | TED.com