TED2011
Janet Echelman: Taking imagination seriously
珍妮特·艾克曼：珍惜想象力
Filmed:
Readability: 4.8
2,274,256 views
当用于展览的绘画展品丢失后，珍妮特·艾克曼不得不寻找非正统的新艺术材料来代替，也因而找到了她真正的艺术心声。现在，她塑造的作品站在科技前沿，有建筑般大小，且能随风波动。在这里，她用10分钟来传播真正创造力。
Janet Echelman - Artist
American artist Janet Echelman reshapes urban airspace with monumental, fluidly moving sculpture that responds to environmental forces including wind, water, and sunlight. Full bio
American artist Janet Echelman reshapes urban airspace with monumental, fluidly moving sculpture that responds to environmental forces including wind, water, and sunlight. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
This story
0
0
2000
这个故事
00:17
is about taking imagination seriously.
1
2000
3000
是想告诉大家要珍惜想象力
00:20
Fourteen years ago,
2
5000
2000
14年前
00:22
I first encountered this ordinary material, fishnet,
3
7000
3000
我第一次接触到这个普通的材料，渔网
00:25
used the same way for centuries.
4
10000
3000
几百年来人们一直用它捕鱼
00:28
Today, I'm using it to create
5
13000
2000
今天，我用它来创造
00:30
permanent, billowing, voluptuous forms
6
15000
3000
永久的，随风飘逸的，动感十足的
00:33
the scale of hard-edged buildings
7
18000
2000
如坚固建筑物大小的雕塑
00:35
in cities around the world.
8
20000
3000
竖立在世界各地的城市中
00:38
I was an unlikely person to be doing this.
9
23000
3000
我本来不太可能做出这样的成就
00:41
I never studied sculpture,
10
26000
2000
我从未学习过雕塑
00:43
engineering or architecture.
11
28000
2000
工程设计或者建筑
00:45
In fact, after college
12
30000
2000
事实上，大学毕业后
00:47
I applied to seven art schools
13
32000
2000
我申请了七所艺术学院
00:49
and was rejected by all seven.
14
34000
3000
而无一例外地都遭到了拒绝
00:53
I went off on my own to become an artist,
15
38000
2000
我决定自己走上艺术家之路
00:55
and I painted for 10 years,
16
40000
4000
我画了十年的画
00:59
when I was offered a Fulbright to India.
17
44000
3000
终于拿到傅尔布莱特奖学金，被邀请去印度
01:02
Promising to give exhibitions of paintings,
18
47000
3000
许诺了要办画展
01:05
I shipped my paints and arrived in Mahabalipuram.
19
50000
2000
我将画送上船运，然后抵达了玛玛拉普兰（Mahabalipuram）
01:07
The deadline for the show arrived --
20
52000
3000
画展快要开幕了
01:10
my paints didn't.
21
55000
2000
可画还没运到
01:12
I had to do something.
22
57000
2000
我必须找到代替品
01:14
This fishing village was famous for sculpture.
23
59000
2000
这个渔村以雕塑闻名
01:16
So I tried bronze casting.
24
61000
3000
因此我尝试了铜雕
01:19
But to make large forms was too heavy and expensive.
25
64000
3000
但要雕刻大型的铜像很笨重且很费钱
01:22
I went for a walk on the beach,
26
67000
2000
一日我去海滩散步
01:24
watching the fishermen
27
69000
2000
看着渔民
01:26
bundle their nets into mounds on the sand.
28
71000
2000
在沙滩上将网捆绑成型
01:28
I'd seen it every day,
29
73000
2000
每天经过时我都看到这一场景
01:30
but this time I saw it differently --
30
75000
2000
但这一次，我观察的角度变了
01:32
a new approach to sculpture,
31
77000
2000
我看到了一种新的雕塑方式
01:34
a way to make volumetric form
32
79000
3000
它可以塑造立体几何的造型
01:37
without heavy solid materials.
33
82000
3000
而不必运用沉重坚实的材料
01:40
My first satisfying sculpture
34
85000
2000
我第一个令人满意的雕塑
01:42
was made in collaboration with these fishermen.
35
87000
3000
是和这些渔人们合作的成果
01:45
It's a self-portrait
36
90000
2000
它是一个自画像
01:47
titled "Wide Hips."
37
92000
2000
名为“宽臀”
01:49
(Laughter)
38
94000
3000
笑声
01:53
We hoisted them on poles to photograph.
39
98000
3000
我们用杆将它支起来拍照
01:56
I discovered
40
101000
2000
我发现
01:58
their soft surfaces
41
103000
2000
它柔软的表面
02:00
revealed every ripple of wind
42
105000
2000
展现了风的褶皱
02:02
in constantly changing patterns.
43
107000
2000
伴随着不断变化的图案
02:04
I was mesmerized.
44
109000
3000
我被迷住了
02:07
I continued studying craft traditions
45
112000
3000
我继续学习工艺传统
02:10
and collaborating with artisans,
46
115000
2000
与工匠们合作
02:12
next in Lithuania with lace makers.
47
117000
2000
随后在立陶宛与花边编织者合作
02:14
I liked the fine detail
48
119000
2000
我喜欢将这精美的细节
02:16
it gave my work,
49
121000
2000
赋予到我作品中
02:18
but I wanted to make them larger --
50
123000
2000
但我想把作品放大
02:20
to shift from being an object you look at
51
125000
2000
让它不仅能供人观赏
02:22
to something you could get lost in.
52
127000
3000
还能让人迷失其中
02:25
Returning to India to work with those fishermen,
53
130000
3000
回到印度后，我与渔人们合作
02:28
we made a net
54
133000
2000
编织了一张网
02:30
of a million and a half hand-tied knots --
55
135000
3000
有一百五十万个半手工编制的结
02:35
installed briefly in Madrid.
56
140000
3000
在马德里短暂安置
02:38
Thousands of people saw it,
57
143000
2000
数千人看到了这件作品
02:40
and one of them was the urbanist
58
145000
2000
其中一人是城市规划专家
02:42
Manual Sola-Morales
59
147000
2000
索拉莫拉雷斯（Manual Sola-Morales）
02:44
who was redesigning the waterfront
60
149000
2000
当时他正在重新设计
02:46
in Porto, Portugal.
61
151000
3000
葡萄牙波尔图的海滨
02:49
He asked if I could build this
62
154000
2000
他问我能不能把作它建成
02:51
as a permanent piece for the city.
63
156000
2000
一座永久的作品，立在城市中
02:53
I didn't know if I could do that
64
158000
2000
我不知道我能否在这样做的同时
02:55
and preserve my art.
65
160000
2000
保留我作品的艺术性
02:57
Durable, engineered, permanent --
66
162000
3000
耐用，工程度高，永久
03:00
those are in opposition
67
165000
2000
这些都与
03:02
to idiosyncratic, delicate and ephemeral.
68
167000
3000
独特，精致，短暂，恰恰相反
03:06
For two years, I searched for a fiber
69
171000
3000
我花了两年的时间，寻找一种纤维
03:09
that could survive ultraviolet rays,
70
174000
2000
能够抵抗紫外线
03:11
salt, air, pollution,
71
176000
3000
盐空气，污染
03:14
and at the same time remain soft enough
72
179000
2000
而同时能够保持足够的柔软度
03:16
to move fluidly in the wind.
73
181000
3000
在风中游动
03:19
We needed something to hold the net up
74
184000
2000
我们需要一些东西支撑大网
03:21
out there in the middle of the traffic circle.
75
186000
2000
让它能竖立在交通环道的中央
03:23
So we raised this 45,000-pound steel ring.
76
188000
5000
因此我们架起了这座45,000镑重的钢圈
03:28
We had to engineer it
77
193000
2000
我们必须进行工程设计
03:30
to move gracefully in an average breeze
78
195000
2000
让网能在微风中优雅地流动
03:32
and survive in hurricane winds.
79
197000
3000
同时又能抵御飓风的袭击
03:35
But there was no engineering software
80
200000
3000
但当时没有设计软件
03:38
to model something porous and moving.
81
203000
4000
来模拟这种多孔物体的移动
03:42
I found a brilliant aeronautical engineer
82
207000
3000
我找到了一个优秀的航空学工程师
03:45
who designs sails for America's Cup racing yachts
83
210000
3000
他设计了美国杯竞赛帆船的帆
03:48
named Peter Heppel.
84
213000
3000
他是彼得·赫普尔（Peter Heppel）
03:51
He helped me tackle the twin challenges
85
216000
2000
彼得帮助我解决了这个二重挑战
03:53
of precise shape
86
218000
2000
模拟了精确的外形
03:55
and gentle movement.
87
220000
3000
和优雅的运动
03:58
I couldn't build this the way I knew
88
223000
2000
我不能按照旧的方式来塑造这次的作品
04:00
because hand-tied knots
89
225000
2000
因为手捆的结
04:02
weren't going to withstand a hurricane.
90
227000
2000
承受不了飓风的袭击
04:04
So I developed a relationship
91
229000
2000
因此我与一个渔网工厂
04:06
with an industrial fishnet factory,
92
231000
2000
结成合作伙伴
04:08
learned the variables of their machines,
93
233000
2000
学习了他们机器的不同变量
04:10
and figured out a way
94
235000
2000
并找出了一种方式
04:12
to make lace with them.
95
237000
3000
通过机器来制作花边
04:15
There was no language
96
240000
2000
当时没有语言
04:17
to translate this ancient, idiosyncratic handcraft
97
242000
4000
来翻译这古老的，独特的手工艺
04:21
into something machine operators could produce.
98
246000
3000
将它转为程序，让机器操作者可以用来生产
04:24
So we had to create one.
99
249000
3000
所以我们得创造了一种
04:27
Three years and two children later,
100
252000
4000
三年后，我有了两个孩子
04:31
we raised this 50,000-square-foot lace net.
101
256000
3000
我们终于竖立起这张50,000平方英尺的花边网
04:34
It was hard to believe
102
259000
2000
难以置信
04:36
that what I had imagined
103
261000
2000
我曾经的想象
04:38
was now built, permanent
104
263000
3000
现在被建成了永久的作品
04:41
and had lost nothing in translation.
105
266000
3000
而在这转化过程中仍保持了原有风味
04:44
(Applause)
106
269000
5000
掌声
04:49
This intersection had been bland and anonymous.
107
274000
3000
这个十字路口曾经是乏味，毫不起眼的
04:52
Now it had a sense of place.
108
277000
3000
而现在已成为一道风景线
04:55
I walked underneath it
109
280000
2000
我第一次漫步
04:57
for the first time.
110
282000
2000
于雕塑下
04:59
As I watched the wind's choreography unfold,
111
284000
3000
看着风的舞姿慢慢伸展
05:02
I felt sheltered
112
287000
2000
我感到被庇护
05:04
and, at the same time,
113
289000
2000
而同时
05:06
connected to limitless sky.
114
291000
2000
又与无尽的天空相连
05:08
My life was not going to be the same.
115
293000
3000
我的生活从那时改变
05:19
I want to create these oases of sculpture
116
304000
3000
我想要创造出这些绿洲雕塑
05:22
in spaces of cities around the world.
117
307000
3000
让他们竖立于世界各地城市的空隙之中
05:25
I'm going to share two directions
118
310000
2000
我想要与大家分享我工作中
05:27
that are new in my work.
119
312000
3000
两个新的方向
05:30
Historic Philadelphia City Hall:
120
315000
2000
历史悠久的费城城市大厅
05:32
its plaza, I felt, needed a material for sculpture
121
317000
4000
这是它的广场，我当时认为，我们需要的雕塑材料
05:36
that was lighter than netting.
122
321000
2000
要比网还轻
05:38
So we experimented
123
323000
2000
我们实验了
05:40
with tiny atomized water particles
124
325000
2000
这些微型原子化水离子
05:42
to create a dry mist
125
327000
2000
创造出一种干的薄雾
05:44
that is shaped by the wind
126
329000
2000
能够被风改变形状
05:46
and in testing, discovered
127
331000
2000
在测试中我们发现
05:48
that it can be shaped by people
128
333000
2000
它也能被人改变外形
05:50
who can interact and move through it without getting wet.
129
335000
3000
并且穿行其中的人们不会被沾湿
05:53
I'm using this sculpture material
130
338000
3000
我用这种雕塑材料
05:56
to trace the paths of subway trains above ground
131
341000
4000
在地表来追踪地铁
06:00
in real time --
132
345000
3000
即时的路径
06:03
like an X-ray of the city's circulatory system unfolding.
133
348000
4000
这就像城市循环系统扩散的X射线
06:11
Next challenge,
134
356000
2000
这是下一个挑战
06:13
the Biennial of the Americas in Denver
135
358000
2000
丹佛将召开两年一次的美洲会议
06:15
asked, could I represent
136
360000
2000
有人问我，能否将
06:17
the 35 nations of the Western hemisphere and their interconnectedness
137
362000
3000
西半球的三十五个国家和他们的关联性
06:20
in a sculpture?
138
365000
2000
表现在一件作品当中
06:22
(Laughter)
139
367000
3000
笑声
06:25
I didn't know where to begin,
140
370000
2000
我不知从何开始
06:27
but I said yes.
141
372000
2000
但我说能
06:29
I read about the recent earthquake in Chile
142
374000
3000
我读到了最近智利的地震
06:32
and the tsunami that rippled across
143
377000
2000
海啸的余波动荡了
06:34
the entire Pacific Ocean.
144
379000
2000
整个太平洋
06:36
It shifted the Earth's tectonic plates,
145
381000
3000
它改变了地球的构造板块
06:39
sped up the planet's rotation
146
384000
2000
加速了地球的自传
06:41
and literally shortened the length of the day.
147
386000
3000
甚至缩短了地球一天的长度
06:44
So I contacted NOAA,
148
389000
3000
我联系了美国国家海洋和大气局（NOAA）
06:47
and I asked if they'd share their data on the tsunami,
149
392000
3000
询问他们是否能够提供海啸的数据
06:50
and translated it into this.
150
395000
3000
然后我将那些数据转变成了这件作品
06:55
Its title: "1.26"
151
400000
3000
它名为“1.26”
06:58
refers to the number of microseconds
152
403000
2000
指代的是地球天数
07:00
that the Earth's day was shortened.
153
405000
3000
被缩短的微妙
07:03
I couldn't build this with a steel ring, the way I knew.
154
408000
3000
我不能依靠钢圈，以我原有的方式来搭建这座雕塑
07:06
Its shape was too complex now.
155
411000
3000
因它的形状太过复杂
07:09
So I replaced the metal armature
156
414000
2000
我将金属的支架
07:11
with a soft, fine mesh
157
416000
2000
用一种柔软，细孔状的纤维代替
07:13
of a fiber 15 times stronger than steel.
158
418000
4000
它比钢强韧15倍
07:17
The sculpture could now be entirely soft,
159
422000
4000
雕塑现在完全是柔软的
07:21
which made it so light
160
426000
2000
因此很轻
07:23
it could tie in to existing buildings --
161
428000
3000
可以被固定在已有的建筑上
07:26
literally becoming part of the fabric of the city.
162
431000
3000
名副其实地成为城市织物的一部分（译者注：fabric这里有双重含义：织物；建筑构筑）
07:29
There was no software
163
434000
2000
当时没有软件
07:31
that could extrude these complex net forms
164
436000
3000
能够模拟这种复杂的网状结构
07:34
and model them with gravity.
165
439000
2000
并模拟重力对它的影响
07:36
So we had to create it.
166
441000
3000
因此我们必须制作一个
07:39
Then I got a call from New York City
167
444000
3000
然后我接到一通来自纽约的电话
07:42
asking if I could adapt these concepts
168
447000
3000
问我能否将这些概念应用到
07:45
to Times Square
169
450000
2000
时代广场
07:47
or the High Line.
170
452000
2000
或者高线公园
07:49
This new soft structural method
171
454000
3000
新的软构架模式
07:52
enables me to model these
172
457000
2000
让我能够模拟这些雕塑外形
07:54
and build these sculptures
173
459000
2000
并且将它们建得
07:56
at the scale of skyscrapers.
174
461000
3000
如摩天大厦一般高大
07:59
They don't have funding yet,
175
464000
2000
邀请方还未筹集到资金
08:01
but I dream now
176
466000
2000
但我现在梦想着
08:03
of bringing these to cities around the world
177
468000
3000
将这些雕塑带给世界各地的城市
08:06
where they're most needed.
178
471000
3000
给那些最需要的地方
08:09
Fourteen years ago,
179
474000
3000
14年前
08:12
I searched for beauty
180
477000
3000
我处处搜寻美
08:15
in the traditional things,
181
480000
2000
在传统事物中
08:17
in craft forms.
182
482000
3000
在手工艺中寻找
08:22
Now I combine them with hi-tech materials and engineering
183
487000
4000
现在，我将其与高科技材料和工程设计结合
08:26
to create voluptuous, billowing forms
184
491000
3000
来创造撩人的，随风波动的
08:29
the scale of buildings.
185
494000
3000
如建筑般大小的作品
08:32
My artistic horizons continue to grow.
186
497000
3000
我艺术的边界不断扩展
08:35
I'll leave you with this story.
187
500000
3000
最后，我要告诉你们这个故事
08:38
I got a call from a friend in Phoenix.
188
503000
3000
我接到了凤凰城一个朋友的电话
08:41
An attorney in the office
189
506000
2000
她是一个办公室律师
08:43
who'd never been interested in art,
190
508000
2000
从未对艺术感兴趣过
08:45
never visited the local art museum,
191
510000
3000
从未去过当地的艺术博物馆
08:48
dragged everyone she could from the building
192
513000
3000
但却把所有她能号召的人拉出大楼
08:51
and got them outside to lie down underneath the sculpture.
193
516000
3000
让大家一起躺在雕塑的下方
08:54
There they were in their business suits,
194
519000
2000
他们躺在那儿，穿着商务套装
08:56
laying in the grass,
195
521000
2000
躺在草地中
08:58
noticing the changing patterns of wind
196
523000
2000
看着雕塑的形状随风而变
09:00
beside people they didn't know,
197
525000
2000
与陌生人一起
09:02
sharing the rediscovery of wonder.
198
527000
3000
分享这重新发现的美
09:06
Thank you.
199
531000
2000
谢谢大家
09:08
(Applause)
200
533000
3000
掌声
09:11
Thank you. Thank you.
201
536000
2000
非常感谢
09:13
Thank you.
202
538000
2000
谢谢大家
09:15
Thank you. Thank you.
203
540000
3000
非常感谢
09:18
(Applause)
204
543000
2000
掌声
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Janet Echelman - ArtistAmerican artist Janet Echelman reshapes urban airspace with monumental, fluidly moving sculpture that responds to environmental forces including wind, water, and sunlight.
Why you should listen
Janet Echelman builds living, breathing sculpture environments that respond to the forces of nature — wind, water and light— and become inviting focal points for civic life.
Exploring the potential of unlikely materials, from fishing net to atomized water particles, Echelman combines ancient craft with cutting-edge technology to create her permanent sculpture at the scale of buildings. Experiential in nature, the result is sculpture that shifts from being an object you look at, to something you can get lost in.
Recent prominent works include “Her Secret is Patience”, which spans two city blocks in downtown Phoenix, “Water Sky Garden”, which premiered for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, and “She Changes”, which transformed a waterfront plaza in Porto, Portugal. Her newest commission creates a “Zone of Recomposure” in the new Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport. Upcoming projects include the remaking of Dilworth Plaza in front of Philadelphia City Hall -- turning it into a garden of dry-mist.
Janet Echelman | Speaker | TED.com