Christine Sun Kim: The enchanting music of sign language
Christine Sun Kim: 手語嘅迷人音律
Through visual art, composition and performance, Christine Sun Kim explores ways of transmuting sound and silence. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
is my favorite musical symbol.
入邊個「p」係我最鍾意嘅樂符
and you notice a "p" in the score,
同埋睇到一個「p」符
upon thousands of p's there may be,
同埋我個人嘅經歷
of American Sign Language, ASL,
to America during the early 1800s,
法國手語第一次傳到美國
mixed with local signs,
我哋而家熟悉嘅美國手語
we know today as ASL.
that sound wasn't a part of my life.
that that wasn't the case at all.
in a world of sound,
就好似我生活喺外國一樣
in a foreign country,
customs, behaviors and norms
behave and respond to sound.
and amplify sound.
I've learned that I create sound,
you're eating from the potato-chip bag!"
your utensils on the plate."
I term "sound etiquette."
我都叫佢哋做「聲音儀態」
in eager nervous anticipation
already contain sound
movement is equivalent to sound.
with my thumb sticking up like that
就會好唔自然
I stick to four lines on paper.
以藝術家嘅身份定居柏林
to travel to Berlin, Germany,
I had been working as a painter.
different museums and gallery spaces,
我參觀咗唔同嘅博物館同畫廊
and this struck me ...
冇一樣嘢係視覺藝術
distance me from art?
have to be the case at all.
just experienced through the ears.
taught regarding sound,
to the art community,
of support and attention I received.
that sound was your thing,
disempower me and my artwork,
around spoken language.
my literal voice to communicate,
it's as if I don't have a voice at all.
who can support me as an equal
共事、幫我發聲
relevancy in society today.
我可以喺社會裏面繼續發揮影響
different ASL interpreters.
my voice and identity.
a temporary form of currency,
with a very high interest rate.
fade off into oblivion
any form of social currency.
the similarities between music and ASL.
and expressed on paper.
for a concept in ASL.
and highly inflected --
而有所變化
a piano metaphor,
understanding of how ASL works.
many different grammatical parameters.
to each finger as you play the piano --
分配俾彈鋼琴嘅每隻手指
好似獨唱咁
to come down simultaneously
were to change the chord,
different meaning.
in regards to pitch, tone and volume.
different grammatical parameters,
通過運用呢啲唔同嘅語法參數
分析美國手語會係點?
through a musical lens?"
and repeat it over and over,
跟住重複做個手語
like a piece of visual music.
for "all night."
represented in this drawing.
about three different kinds of nights:
「夜晚」三個唔同表達嘅方式
a lot more musicality than the other two.
更加有音樂性
is expressed in ASL
可以反映到時間嘅變化
can express the changes in time.
and in front of the body,
過去式,隻手就擺喺身後面
and the past is to your back.
is "a long time ago."
and dramatic notion to it,
of four beats per measure.
is "at the same time."
across the head and the chest.
a hand shape called the "flash claw."
「flash claw」嘅手語
in both the head and the chest,
or at the same time.
in International [Sign].
都可以溝通到
around the world.
to demonstrate is this --
are very similar,
係一件好令人感動嘅事
how ASL is alive and thriving,
about what defines social currency
我哋需要仔細考慮佢嘅意思
its own form of currency --
to lead to a more inclusive society.
我哋嘅社會應該會更加包容
to be deaf to learn ASL,
to learn music.
to have the same experience.
to open your ears,
大家好,我就係 Christie 嘅翻譯員
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Christine Sun Kim - Sound artist, composerThrough visual art, composition and performance, Christine Sun Kim explores ways of transmuting sound and silence.
Why you should listen
Christine Sun Kim uses the medium of sound through technology and conceptualism in art, as it enables her to have the most direct connection to society at large.
She rationalizes and reframes her relationship with sound and spoken languages by using audience’s voice as her own, conducting a group of people to sing with facial movements (rather than sound), composing visual scores with sign language and musical symbols. These attempts are made to raise questions on ownership of sound, explore oral languages as social currency, deconstruct preconceived ideas about silence, and above all, unlearn sound etiquette.
As part of her practice, Kim borrows other people’s voices in order to have one and she does it by collaborating with artists such as Devonté Hynes, Thomas Benno Mader, Wolfgang Müller and Alison O’Daniel. Selected exhibitions and performances include: Sound Live Tokyo, Tokyo; White Space, Beijing; LEAP, Berlin; Carroll / Fletcher, London; nyMusikk, Oslo; Andquestionmark, Stockholm; Southern Exposure, San Francisco; Recess Activities, New York; Calder Foundation, New York; and the Museum of Modern Art, New York. Additionally, she was a recipient of Artist Residency at Whitney Museum, Haverford College, Southern Exposure, Arnolfini, University of Texas’ Visual Arts Center and Fellowship at TED and MIT Media Lab.
Christine Sun Kim | Speaker | TED.com