Dread Scott: How art can shape America's conversation about freedom
Dread Scott: Wie Kunst Amerikas Gespräch über Freiheit formen kann
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
to propel history forward.
um Geschichte vorwärts zu treiben.
und sage Ihnen eines:
and tell you something:
die wirtschaftliche Basis,
fundamentale Veränderung,
big questions from that perspective.
Fragen aus dieser Perspektive zu stellen.
but ideas matter tremendously.
aber Ideen machen enorm viel aus.
denken die Meisten: "Oh, er ist Maler."
most people think, "Oh, he's a painter."
some of the kind of work I do.
Without America" is a painting,
Amerika vor" ist ein Gemälde,
video and performance art.
"Slave Rebellion Reenactment,"
"Nachstellung Sklavenrebellion",
on the outskirts of New Orleans
von New Orleans nachgestellt.
the center of controversy
das ins Zentrum der Kontroverse kam,
der amerikanischen Flagge beinhaltete.
of the American flag.
to Display a US Flag?"
eine US-Flagge zu zeigen?"
audience participation.
die zu Publikumsbeteiligung ermutigte.
die den Text beinhaltete:
that had text that read,
eine US Flagge zu zeigen?"
to Display a US Flag?"
could write responses to that question in,
Antworten dazu schreiben konnten,
auf die die Leute sich stellen konnten.
that people had the option of standing on.
of images of South Korean students
von südkoreanischen Studierenden,
und Schilder hielten:
"Yankee go home. Son of a bitch,"
coming back from Vietnam.
die aus Vietnam zurückkamen.
und kurze Antworten.
in a lot of different languages.
in vielen verschiedenen Sprachen.
so verehren würden, wie ihr das tut,
our flag as you all do,
trouble about this flag."
macht mit dieser Flagge."
in seine Heimat zurückkehren,
should be returned to his heritage,
in his artistic way."
auf seine künstlerische Art."
alles Unterdrückende in diesem System:
everything oppressive in this system:
Unterdrückten rund um die Welt,
and all the oppressed around the world,
who was shot by a pig,
einem Bullen erschossen wurde,
to 'make sure the nigger was dead.'
'sicher zu sein, dass der Neger tot ist'.
for this opportunity."
für diese Möglichkeit."
defend your stupid ass!
deinen verdammten Arsch verteidigen!
-- US Navy Seal Team.
very strong reactions about the flag then,
starke Reaktionen auf die Flagge,
in front of the Art Institute of Chicago.
vor dem Art Institute of Chicago.
hängt sie beide auf",
hang them both high,"
were phoned in to my school.
the work "disgraceful,"
die Arbeit 'würdelos',
when I and others defied that law,
da wir uns dem Gesetz widersetzten,
einige Flaggen verbrannten.
on the steps of the Capitol.
legal and political battle
rechtliche und politische Schlacht
that prevented the government
zum Ersten Zusatzartikel,
patriotism be mandatory.
als verpflichtend einzufordern.
wortwörtlich tot sehen.
would make a difference.
würde entscheidend sein.
genau auf den Stufen sein,
where the veterans were at that time.
zu dem Zeitpunkt waren.
um es vorsichtig auszudrücken.
for me to be there, to say the least.
dieses Shooting zu machen,
to do that shoot,
wollten, war es eine Situation,
it was also a situation
as standing for everything oppressive
als Symbol der Unterdrückung ansahen,
about US national symbols,
über US-nationale Symbole,
angezweifelte alte Denkweisen
by scientific breakthroughs
autoritären Präsidenten --
might not have worked out so well.
auch hätte schiefgehen können.
als wir aus dem Bereich raus waren.
war es das Risiko wert.
zu einer wundervollen,
led to a wonderful,
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Dread Scott - Visual artistDread Scott makes revolutionary art to propel history forward.
Why you should listen
Dread Scott's work is exhibited across the US and internationally. In 1989, his art became the center of national controversy over its transgressive use of the American flag, while he was a student at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. President G.H.W. Bush called his art "disgraceful," and the entire US Senate denounced and outlawed this work. Scott became part of a landmark Supreme Court case when he and others defied the new law by burning flags on the steps of the US Capitol. His studio is now based in Brooklyn.
Scott's work has been included in exhibitions at New York's MoMA PS1, the Walker Art Center, Minneapolis and Gallery MOMO in Cape Town, South Africa. His performance work has been presented at BAM in Brooklyn and on the streets of Harlem, NY. His work is in the collection of the Whitney Museum of American Art and the Brooklyn Museum, and it has been featured on the cover of Artforum magazine and the front page of NYTimes.com. Scott is a recipient of a 2018 United States Artists Fellowship and grants from the Creative Capital Foundation and the Open Society Institute. He works in a range of media, from performance and photography to screen-printing and video.
Scott plays with fire -- metaphorically and sometimes literally -- as when he burned $171 on Wall Street and encouraged those with money to add theirs to the pyre. His work asks viewers to look soberly at America's past and our present. Writing about a recent banner project, Angelica Rogers wrote in the New York Times: "...it was difficult to look away from the flag's blocky, capitalized type. 'A Man Was Lynched by Police Yesterday.' It shouted the words so matter-of-factly that I felt myself physically flinch."
Scott is currently working on Slave Rebellion Reenactment, a community engaged performance that will reenact the largest rebellion of enslaved people in American History.
Dread Scott | Speaker | TED.com