ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Isadora Kosofsky - Photojournalist, filmmaker
Isadora Kosofsky embeds herself in the lives of others, documenting them in their most fragile moments.

Why you should listen

A documentary photographer who works from a place of empathy, Isadora Kosofsky is devoted to sitting with people in their most fragile moments. She began photographing at the age of 14, documenting women in hospice care in Los Angeles. A contributor to international press and a recipient of numerous honors, Kosofsky has created long-term bodies of work considered epics of visual storytelling in which an individual or group remains her focus for years.

Whether it is documenting a woman with dementia for a decade, shadowing youths while incarcerated and after their release for the last eight years, photographing developmentally disabled couples for four years or documenting children and adults affected by relational traumas, Kosofsky often explores the intersection of intimate lives and institutions, where she typically gains unprecedented access, focusing on nuance and the complexity of human bonds. Her forthcoming work documents a young woman's life after enduring early sexual violence.

More profile about the speaker
Isadora Kosofsky | Speaker | TED.com
TED2018

Isadora Kosofsky: Intimate photos of a senior love triangle

伊莎多拉·科索夫斯基: 一组亲密的照片:长者的三角恋

Filmed:
500,297 views

摄影师兼TED演讲者伊莎多拉·科索夫斯基是对于爱、失去和孤独的年代记录者。在这场探寻意义的演说中,她分享了她一组照片,是她花了四年时间记录的的一段关于长者三角恋的照片——她还揭示了其中的教育意义:关于人类对身份认同感和归属感的普遍追求。
- Photojournalist, filmmaker
Isadora Kosofsky embeds herself in the lives of others, documenting them in their most fragile moments. Full bio

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

00:12
Jeanie珍妮, Will and Adina阿迪娜
are three senior前辈 citizens公民
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珍妮,威尔和阿迪娜
是三名老年人,
00:16
connected连接的 by a special特别 relationship关系.
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他们因为一种特殊的关系
紧密联系在一块。
00:19
They view视图 their bond as a shield屏蔽
from the loneliness孤单 of aging老化.
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他们的关系是用来抵抗
因衰老而带来的孤独感。
00:24
I first met会见 them at a retirement退休
home in Los洛杉矶 Angeles洛杉矶,
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我第一次见到他们
是在洛杉矶的一家老人院,
00:27
where I had been photographing拍摄
for three years年份.
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我在那儿从事拍摄工作有三年。
有一晚,在我看到他们走近
老人院门口的时候,
00:30
I saw as they approached接近
the gate one night,
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00:33
and felt an immediate即时 connection连接 to them.
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就立即被他们吸引了。
00:36
Although虽然 I didn't know the details细节
of their love triangle三角形,
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虽然我并不清楚他们
三角恋的细节,
00:40
I intuitively直观地 felt
that I had to find out who they were.
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但直觉告诉我有必要去了解他们。
00:45
Questioning质疑 a nurse护士
a day later后来, she said to me,
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一天后,我询问了一名护士,
她跟我说,
00:49
"Oh, you're talking about the threesome黑人."
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“你说的是那三角黄昏恋吧。”
00:52
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
00:53
I was intrigued好奇.
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我很好奇。
00:54
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
00:57
The trio三人 set out on a daily日常 adventure冒险
to coffee咖啡 and doughnut甜甜圈 shops商店,
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这三个人每天都结伴出门冒险,
到咖啡厅,甜甜圈店,
公交站和街角去转悠。
01:01
bus总线 stops停止 and street corners角落.
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01:04
I soon不久 learned学到了 that the purpose目的
of these outings郊游 was solace慰藉
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我很快就明白他们出游的目的
是为了寻求安慰,
和探索生命的意义。
01:08
and a search搜索 for meaning含义.
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他们三个人用这种方法
对抗这种被疏远的孤独感,
01:10
The trio三人 sought追捧 to combat战斗 their alienation异化
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将自身与公共街道彻底融为一体,
01:13
by literally按照字面 integrating整合 themselves他们自己
in public上市 streets街道.
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01:17
Yet然而, even when arm in arm,
no one saw them.
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然而,即便他们手挽手的走在街上,
也没有人注意到他们。
01:22
We often经常 think that as we age年龄,
we lose失去 the desires欲望 held保持 in our youth青年.
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我们经常想,随着我们年龄增长,
我们就会失去年轻时的欲望,
01:28
Actually其实, as a teenage青少年 photojournalist摄影记者
when I met会见 the trio三人,
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但事实上,作为一名少年摄影记者,
当我遇到他们三个人时,
01:32
I saw their behavior行为 as a mirror镜子
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我把他们的行为视为一面镜子,
01:34
to the fears恐惧 of exclusion排除
and desires欲望 for intimacy亲密关系
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反映了对被排斥的恐惧,
以及对被亲近的渴望,
01:38
that I also carried携带的.
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而我对此感同身受。
01:41
I related有关 to their invisibility隐形,
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我对他们被人无视的经历感同身受,
01:43
which哪一个 pained苦涩 me during my childhood童年
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这让我在童年时期十分痛苦,
01:46
but has become成为 my greatest最大 asset财富
as an immersive身临其境 documentarian纪录片,
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但是这段切身经历成为了
我作为纪实摄影师最宝贵的财富,
01:51
because I can just fade褪色 into my empathy同情.
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因为这样我可以淡化自己的同理心。
01:55
As we walked down
the streets街道 of Hollywood好莱坞,
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随着我们沿着好莱坞的街道行走,
01:57
in a neighborhood邻里 of screenwriters编剧,
actors演员 and filmmakers电影制片人,
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在这一个编剧,演员,
和制片人比比皆是的社区里,
02:01
the trio三人 assumed假定 the invisibility隐形
that each senior前辈 does.
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他们三个人所承受的漠视,
是每位老年人都在承受的。
02:05
I would ask myself,
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我会问我自己,
02:07
"How is it that no one else其他
sees看到 these three human人的 beings众生?
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“怎么会没有人注意到
这三个人呢?”
02:12
Why is it that I am
the only one who sees看到 them?"
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“为什么我是唯一
一个注意他们的人?”
02:16
Years年份 later后来, as I began开始 to share分享
this work with the public上市,
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几年后,当我开始和大众
分享我的这组作品时,
02:20
I noticed注意到 that people are largely大部分
uncomfortable不舒服 with this story故事.
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我注意到,大部分人听完
这个故事后感到很不舒服,
02:24
Perhaps也许 it is because the trio三人
doesn't assume承担 conventional常规 notions概念
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也许是因为他们三个人的故事
02:29
associated相关 with love,
romance浪漫 or partnership合伙.
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不符合世俗对爱情,浪漫,
伴侣关系的传统看法。
02:33
They were unseen看不见 in public上市
and shunned回避 by their peers同行.
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他们在公众面前被视而不见,
也被他们的同龄人所不容。
02:37
They wanted to belong属于 somewhere某处
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他们也想身有所属,
02:40
but only seemed似乎 to belong属于 with each other.
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但似乎他们只属于彼此。
02:43
I wanted to belong属于 somewhere某处, too.
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我也想找到我的容身之处,
02:45
And my camera相机 has been a catalyst催化剂
for me to belong属于 everywhere到处.
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而我的镜头帮助我更快的
融入每一个地方。
02:50
But beyond challenging具有挑战性的 sociocultural社会文化
norms规范 about the elderly老年,
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但除了挑战了世俗对于长者的看法外,
02:54
the trio三人 sheds light
on fear恐惧 of remoteness遥远.
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他们三个人也诠释了对于
被疏远的恐惧。
02:58
At the end结束 of each day, they return返回
to their respective各自 retirement退休 homes家园.
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在每天结束的时候,他们回到
他们各自的老人院,
03:03
Under the surface表面 of their aloneness孤独,
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在他们孤独的表面下,
03:06
there is a desire欲望 for community社区,
for their people.
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有着他们对融入社区的向往,
对被人关爱的渴望,
03:11
There was a sense that they were each
yearning怀念 for their tribe部落,
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他们每个人都渴望遇到
与他们志趣相投的同类人,
03:15
but that comfort安慰 comes with compromise妥协,
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但那样的安慰往往
伴随着妥协,
03:18
because Will cannot不能 commit承诺 to one woman女人.
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因为威尔无法只对
一个女人做出承诺。
03:22
Sitting坐在 with Jeanie珍妮 one day
in her apartment公寓, she said to me,
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有一天在珍妮的公寓里,
我和她坐在一块,她对我说:
03:26
"Sharing分享 Will is a thorn in your side.
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“与别人分享威尔是很烦恼的,
03:29
A relationship关系 between之间 a man
and a woman女人 is private私人的.
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男女之间的感情应该是私人的,
03:33
It is a couple一对, not a trio三人."
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是属于两个人的,不是三个人的。”
03:37
My process处理 is to essentially实质上
become成为 the people I document文件
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我的工作就是最终成为我
所记录的人,
03:41
by spending开支 years年份 with them
as an observer-occupant观察员-乘员,
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以一个的观察者——居住者的身份,
通过与他们相处多年,
建立一个安全的空间,
然后从一个显眼的位置隐身。
03:45
to create创建 a safe安全 space空间,
to then become成为 hidden in plain sight视力.
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03:50
I was about 17 when I met会见 the trio三人,
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遇到他们三个人的时候,
我才17岁,
03:52
and I shadowed附有阴影 them for four years年份.
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我跟踪记录他们的生活四年。
03:55
We actually其实 see, in the breakdown分解
of social社会 development发展,
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分析社会的发展阶段,
我们其实发现,
03:58
that adolescence青春期 and old age年龄
look strikingly惊人 alike一样,
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青春期和老年期其实惊人的相似,
04:03
because both are periods
of identity身分 confusion混乱.
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因为这两个阶段都充满了
对身份认知的困惑。
04:07
I identified确定 with the women妇女.
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我认同那两名女性,
04:10
But also with Will, who made制作 me
aware知道的 of the divide划分 in me.
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但同样的,我也认同威尔,
他让我意识到了我内在的分裂,
04:15
The schism分裂 that we each often经常 have
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而这种分裂是我们每一个人
都具有的:
04:18
about what we crave渴望
and the actuality现实 of our situation情况.
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我们内心渴望的,
以及我们实际的处境。
04:23
Before shooting射击 this series系列,
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在拍摄这系列纪录片之前,
04:25
I was also in love with two different不同
people who knew知道 about each other,
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我同时爱上了两个人,
他们之间相互认识,
04:29
being存在 the object目的 over which哪一个 they fought战斗.
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所以我成为了他们争吵的对象。
04:32
But I also knew知道 what it was like
to be at the base基础 of the triangle三角形,
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但我能理解,成为这段三角恋的
基底是什么样的感受,
04:36
like Jeanie珍妮 or Adina阿迪娜,
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就像珍妮和阿迪娜一样,
04:38
asking myself,
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我不断地问我自己:
04:39
"Why aren't I enough足够?"
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“为什么我这么贪婪呢?”
04:43
I would look through通过 my viewfinder取景器
and see three elderly老年 figures人物,
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我透过我的摄影机,
看到了三个年迈的身影。
04:47
and it became成为 impossible不可能 to deny拒绝
that regardless而不管 of age年龄,
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我们无法否认,
无论年纪大小,
04:51
we were each in pursuit追求 of filling填充
the proverbial谚语 hole through通过 other people.
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我们每一个人都试图通过他人,
填满自身内心的空洞。
04:58
Perhaps也许 the discomfort不舒服 of looking
at Jeanie珍妮, Will and Adina's阿迪纳的 story故事
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也许我们之所以听完珍妮,威尔,
还有阿迪娜的故事感到不舒服
05:02
is truly a reminder提醒
that even at the end结束 of life,
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是因为他们恰恰提醒了我们,
即便是在生命的最后关头,
05:07
we may可能 never reach达到 the fantasy幻想
we have envisioned设想 for ourselves我们自己.
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我们也许也永远无法实现
曾经自我幻想的完美爱情。
05:13
Thank you for listening.
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谢谢大家的聆听。
05:14
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声,呐喊)
Translated by Ziyun Liao
Reviewed by Homer Li

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Isadora Kosofsky - Photojournalist, filmmaker
Isadora Kosofsky embeds herself in the lives of others, documenting them in their most fragile moments.

Why you should listen

A documentary photographer who works from a place of empathy, Isadora Kosofsky is devoted to sitting with people in their most fragile moments. She began photographing at the age of 14, documenting women in hospice care in Los Angeles. A contributor to international press and a recipient of numerous honors, Kosofsky has created long-term bodies of work considered epics of visual storytelling in which an individual or group remains her focus for years.

Whether it is documenting a woman with dementia for a decade, shadowing youths while incarcerated and after their release for the last eight years, photographing developmentally disabled couples for four years or documenting children and adults affected by relational traumas, Kosofsky often explores the intersection of intimate lives and institutions, where she typically gains unprecedented access, focusing on nuance and the complexity of human bonds. Her forthcoming work documents a young woman's life after enduring early sexual violence.

More profile about the speaker
Isadora Kosofsky | Speaker | TED.com

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