Sam Van Aken: How one tree grows 40 different kinds of fruit
山姆‧凡‧艾肯: 一棵會長四十種水果的樹
Sam Van Aken is a contemporary artist who works beyond traditional modes of art-making, crossing artistic genres and disciplines to develop new perspectives on themes like communication, botany, agriculture, climatology and the ever-increasing impact of technology. Full bio
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of apples growing in the United States.
蘋果在美國生長。
by industrialization of agriculture,
include the Blood Cling,
by Spanish missionaries to the Americas,
由西班牙傳道士引進美洲,
Americans for centuries;
by Chinese immigrants
on the Transcontinental Railroad;
that originated in the Middle East
原產於中東,
French and German immigrants.
法國及德國的移民引進。
were brought here,
幾乎都是從外地引進的,
is our culture.
還有我們的文化。
and cultivated them,
that they brought them here with them
them on and shared them.
這些水果就是我們的故事。
to learn about it
來學習這個故事,
entitled the "Tree of 40 Fruit."
varieties of stone fruit.
nectarines and cherries
杏子、油桃、櫻桃
throughout the majority of the year,
看起來都像棵正常的樹,
in pink and white
bears a multitude of different fruit.
for purely artistic reasons:
純粹是出於藝術原因:
the reality of the everyday,
when people would see this tree
開這些不同顏色的花,
through the process of grafting.
in winter, store them,
onto the ends of branches in spring.
fruit trees are grafted,
is a genetic variant of the parent.
that we really like,
is by taking a cutting off of one tree
came from one tree
from generation to generation.
can't be preserved by seed.
不能靠種子保留。
as long as I can remember.
grafting peach orchards
a magical or mystical capability.
就好像他有什麼神奇超能力一樣。
for the Tree of 40 Fruit
在我的《四十果樹》上,
throughout Western religion
and not the infinite
也不是無限,
varieties of these fruit,
that I live in New York state,
producers of these fruit.
research orchards
look like when they were first planted,
一開始種植的樣子,
six years later.
of immediate gratification --
if a graft has succeeded;
to know if it produces fruit;
to create just one of the trees.
才能創造出一棵像這樣的樹。
to the Tree of 40 Fruit
and a slightly different color.
of when all these blossomed
何時開花的時間表,
how the tree appears during spring.
這棵樹在春天的樣子。
through September.
in there, somewhere ...
that exists outside of the gallery,
展示在藝廊內的傳統作品,
by way of the art world.
these in different locations,
創作同樣的樹作品時,
historically grown in that area,
或原本在當地種植的品種,
and graft them to the tree
of the area where they're located.
農業歷史展。
was all of the tattoos that I saw
照著《四十果樹》刺的刺青圖。
you do that to your body?"
要這樣折磨你的身體?
was all of the requests that I received
as a central part within their service.
is "I hope not?"
like the Tree of 40 Fruit?]
on NPR's "Weekend Edition,"
I thought I peaked --
我以為我已經爬到頂了——
of my career --
誰在聽公共廣播電台。
from the Department of Defense.
Project Administration invited me
innovation and creativity,
shifted to a discussion of food security.
很快就轉成糧食安全。
is dependent upon our food security.
與糧食安全息息相關。
varieties of each crop,
to just one of those varieties,
upon our food supply.
our food security
by everybody that had a garden
每一個有花園的人
in their backyard,
passed down through their family.
of 40 Fruit in one week in August.
在八月某星期內結的李子。
collections of these fruit
這些水果的品種數量
is absolutely terrifying.
I didn't know what I had.
我真的不懂我有什麼。
of the varieties I had
of the industrialization of agriculture.
thousands and thousands of years.
with trying to preserve them,
before they were torn out
or the trunk section
of flowers and the leaves
to preserve the story
and letterpress descriptions.
two buildings in New York City --
兩棟建築物之間,
variety in the 19th century
十九世紀最大的商業品種,
to modern agriculture.
it needs to be told.
of being able to touch,
available to the public,
in the highest density of people
of land in New York City --
開始在紐約市找一畝地。
seemed, like, rather ambitious,
似乎還挺有雄心的,
was returning my phone calls or emails --
都沒有人回我的電話或電郵。
I heard back from Governors Island.
我終於聽到總督島的回音。
to the City of New York in 2000.
from New York.
that we're calling the "Open Orchard"
我們稱之為「開放果園」,
in New York for over a century.
種植的水果品種。
will be 50 multigrafted trees
and antique fruit varieties.
及古董級的水果品種。
or were historically grown in the region.
或原本就種在當地的品種。
and Third Avenue.
can't be preserved by seed,
like a living gene bank,
people to participate in conservation
and thousands of emails from people,
about "How do you plant a tree?"
這種基本問題。
of the population
is going to invite people
and to take part in workshops,
修剪樹木及收成;
to prune and to harvest a tree;
and blossom tours;
to learn how to use these fruit
如何使用這些水果,
就是特別為這些佳餚而種的。
were grown specifically for.
site of the orchard,
that compiles all of those recipes.
and traits of those fruit,
I thought I understood agriculture,
我認為自己了解農業,
within my own DNA.
closely tied to the culture,
都有更密切的關係,
and the story of our food,
to this unknown past,
what the future of our food could be.
未來食物走向的一種方式。
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sam Van Aken - ArtistSam Van Aken is a contemporary artist who works beyond traditional modes of art-making, crossing artistic genres and disciplines to develop new perspectives on themes like communication, botany, agriculture, climatology and the ever-increasing impact of technology.
Why you should listen
Sam Van Aken’s interventions in the natural and public realm are seen as metaphors that serve as the basis of narrative, sites of place making and, in some cases, even become the basis of scientific research.
Born in Reading, Pennsylvania, Van Aken received his undergraduate education in art and communication theory. Immediately following his studies, he lived in Poland and worked with dissident artists under the former communist regime through the auspices of the Andy Warhol Foundation and the United States Information Agency. Van Aken received his MFA from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and since then his work has been exhibited and placed nationally and internationally. He has received numerous honors including a Joan Mitchell Foundation Award, Association of International Curator's of Art Award and a Creative Capital Grant. Most recently, his work has been presented as part of Nature-Cooper Hewitt Design Triennial with the Cube Design Museum, Netherlands. Van Aken lives and works in Syracuse, New York, where he is currently an associate professor in the School of Art at Syracuse University. Van Aken's work is represented by Ronald Feldman Fine Arts.
Sam Van Aken | Speaker | TED.com