ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sanford Biggers - Conceptual artist
Sanford Biggers creates art that upends traditional narratives about topics ranging from hip hop to Buddhism to American history.

Why you should listen

An LA native working in NYC, Sanford Biggers creates artworks that integrate film, video, installation, sculpture, drawing, original music and performance. He intentionally complicates issues such as hip hop, Buddhism, politics, identity and art history in order to offer new perspectives and associations for established symbols. Through a multi-disciplinary formal process and a syncretic creative approach, he makes works that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are conceptual.

The significance of Biggers' work within contemporary society has been celebrated through solo exhibitions both nationally and internationally, most recently at the Brooklyn Museum, Sculpture Center and Mass MoCA. He has participated in prestigious residencies and fellowships including: Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany; Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland; Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, California; ARCUS Project Foundation, Ibaraki, Japan; and the Art in General/ Trafo Gallery Eastern European Exchange in Budapest, Hungary. He has been a fellow of the Creative Time Global Residency, the Socrates Sculpture Park Residency, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council World Views AIR Program, the Eyebeam Atelier Teaching Residency, the Studio Museum AIR Program, the P.S. 1 International Studio Program and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture residency.

Biggers' installations, videos and performances have appeared in venues worldwide including Tate Britain and Tate Modern in London, the Whitney Museum and Studio Museum in Harlem, New York and the Yerba Bue a Center for the Arts in San Francisco, as well as institutions in China, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Poland and Russia. The artist's works have been included in notable exhibitions such as: Prospect 1 New Orleans Biennial, Illuminations at the Tate Modern, Performa 07 in NY, the Whitney Biennial and Freestyle at the Studio Museum in Harlem. His works are included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Walker Art Center, Whitney Museum, Brooklyn Museum and Bronx Museum.

Biggers has won awards including: the American Academy in Berlin Prize, Greenfield Prize, New York City Art Teachers Association Artist-of-the-Year, Creative Time Travel Grant, Creative Capital Project Grant, New York Percent for the Arts Commission, Art Matters Grant, New York Foundation for the Arts Award, the Lambent Fellowship in the Arts, the Pennies From Heaven/ New York Community Trust Award, Tanne Foundation Award and Rema Hort Mann Foundation Award Grant.

Biggers is Assistant Professor at Columbia University's Visual Arts program and a board member of Sculpture Center, Soho House and the CUE Foundation. He has also taught at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Sculpture and Expanded Media program and was a visiting scholar at Harvard University's VES Department in 2009.

More profile about the speaker
Sanford Biggers | Speaker | TED.com
TED2016

Sanford Biggers: An artist's unflinching look at racial violence

Filmed:
1,158,104 views

Conceptual artist and TED Fellow Sanford Biggers uses painting, sculpture, video and performance to spark challenging conversations about the history and trauma of black America. Join him as he details two compelling works and shares the motivation behind his art. "Only through more thoughtful dialogue about history and race can we evolve as individuals and society," Biggers says.
- Conceptual artist
Sanford Biggers creates art that upends traditional narratives about topics ranging from hip hop to Buddhism to American history. Full bio

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

00:12
As a conceptual artist,
0
976
1394
00:14
I'm constantly looking for creative ways
to spark challenging conversations.
1
2394
4308
00:18
I do this though painting, sculpture,
video and performance.
2
6726
3699
00:22
But regardless of the format,
3
10449
1439
00:23
two of my favorite materials
are history and dialogue.
4
11912
3452
00:27
In 2007, I created "Lotus,"
5
15796
2439
00:30
a seven-and-a-half-foot diameter,
6
18259
1774
00:32
600-pound glass depiction
of a lotus blossom.
7
20057
3555
00:35
In Buddhism, the lotus is a symbol
for transcendence
8
23937
3469
00:39
and for purity of mind and spirit.
9
27430
2428
00:41
But a closer look at this lotus
10
29882
2421
00:44
reveals each petal
to be the cross-section of a slave ship.
11
32327
3214
00:47
This iconic diagram was taken
from a British slaving manual
12
35985
3675
00:51
and later used by abolitionists to show
the atrocities of slavery.
13
39684
3833
00:56
In America, we don't like
to talk about slavery,
14
44104
2405
00:58
nor do we look at it as a global industry.
15
46533
2840
01:01
But by using this Buddhist symbol,
16
49397
1628
01:03
I hope to universalize and transcend
17
51049
2603
01:05
the history and trauma of black America
18
53676
2389
01:08
and encourage discussions
about our shared past.
19
56089
3364
01:12
To create "Lotus,"
we carved over 6,000 figures.
20
60033
4095
01:16
And this later led to a commission
by the City of New York
21
64469
2723
01:19
to create a 28-foot version in steel
22
67216
2254
01:21
as a permanent installation
at the Eagle Academy for Young Men,
23
69494
3442
01:24
a school for black and latino students,
24
72960
2138
01:27
the two groups most affected
by this history.
25
75122
2673
01:30
The same two groups are very affected
by a more recent phenomenon,
26
78244
3551
01:33
but let me digress.
27
81819
1623
01:35
I've been collecting
wooden African figures
28
83840
2167
01:38
from tourist shops and flea markets
around the world.
29
86031
2484
01:40
The authenticity and origin
of them is completely debatable,
30
88539
3082
01:43
but people believe these
to be imbued with power,
31
91645
2658
01:46
or even magic.
32
94327
1332
01:47
Only recently have I figured out
how to use this in my own work.
33
95683
3126
01:51
(Gun shots)
34
99412
6809
02:05
Since 2012, the world has witnessed
the killings of Trayvon Martin,
35
113253
4168
02:09
Michael Brown, Eric Garner,
Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice
36
117445
3740
02:13
and literally countless other
unarmed black citizens
37
121209
2960
02:16
at the hands of the police,
38
124193
1429
02:17
who frequently walk away
with no punishment at all.
39
125646
2808
02:20
In consideration of these victims
40
128775
2029
02:22
and the several times that even I,
41
130828
1810
02:24
a law-abiding, Ivy League professor,
42
132662
2473
02:27
have been targeted and harassed
at gunpoint by the police.
43
135159
3464
02:30
I created this body of work
simply entitled "BAM."
44
138647
3654
02:36
It was important to erase
the identity of each of these figures,
45
144389
3499
02:39
to make them all look the same
and easier to disregard.
46
147912
3749
02:43
To do this, I dip them in a thick,
brown wax
47
151685
2200
02:45
before taking them to a shooting range
48
153909
1963
02:47
where I re-sculpted them using bullets.
49
155896
2798
02:51
And it was fun,
50
159098
1181
02:52
playing with big guns and
high-speed video cameras.
51
160303
2837
02:55
But my reverence for these figures
kept me from actually pulling the trigger,
52
163164
3657
02:58
somehow feeling as if I would
be shooting myself.
53
166845
2658
03:01
Finally, my cameraman, Raul,
fired the shots.
54
169995
3230
03:06
I then took the fragments of these
55
174503
1869
03:08
and created molds,
and cast them first in wax,
56
176396
3528
03:12
and finally in bronze
like the image you see here,
57
180749
3103
03:15
which bears the marks
of its violent creation
58
183876
2104
03:18
like battle wounds or scars.
59
186004
1808
03:20
When I showed this work recently in Miami,
60
188583
2008
03:22
a woman told me she felt
every gun shot to her soul.
61
190615
2785
03:25
But she also felt that these artworks
62
193424
2591
03:28
memorialized the victims of these killings
63
196039
2000
03:30
as well as other victims of
racial violence throughout US history.
64
198063
3189
03:33
But "Lotus" and "BAM" are larger
than just US history.
65
201812
3034
03:36
While showing in Berlin last year,
66
204870
1864
03:38
a philosophy student asked me
what prompted these recent killings.
67
206758
3561
03:42
I showed him a photo
of a lynching postcard
68
210343
2618
03:44
from the early 1900s
69
212985
1365
03:46
and reminded him that these killings
have been going on for over 500 years.
70
214374
5072
03:51
But it's only through questions like his
71
219922
1906
03:53
and more thoughtful dialogue
about history and race
72
221852
2842
03:56
can we evolve as individuals and society.
73
224718
2578
03:59
I hope my artwork creates a safe space
74
227709
2833
04:02
for this type of honest exchange
75
230566
2412
04:05
and an opportunity for people
to engage one another
76
233002
2739
04:07
in real and necessary conversation.
77
235765
2888
04:10
Thank you.
78
238751
1150
04:11
(Applause)
79
239925
6463

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Sanford Biggers - Conceptual artist
Sanford Biggers creates art that upends traditional narratives about topics ranging from hip hop to Buddhism to American history.

Why you should listen

An LA native working in NYC, Sanford Biggers creates artworks that integrate film, video, installation, sculpture, drawing, original music and performance. He intentionally complicates issues such as hip hop, Buddhism, politics, identity and art history in order to offer new perspectives and associations for established symbols. Through a multi-disciplinary formal process and a syncretic creative approach, he makes works that are as aesthetically pleasing as they are conceptual.

The significance of Biggers' work within contemporary society has been celebrated through solo exhibitions both nationally and internationally, most recently at the Brooklyn Museum, Sculpture Center and Mass MoCA. He has participated in prestigious residencies and fellowships including: Akademie Schloss Solitude, Stuttgart, Germany; Ujazdowski Castle, Warsaw, Poland; Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, California; ARCUS Project Foundation, Ibaraki, Japan; and the Art in General/ Trafo Gallery Eastern European Exchange in Budapest, Hungary. He has been a fellow of the Creative Time Global Residency, the Socrates Sculpture Park Residency, the Lower Manhattan Cultural Council World Views AIR Program, the Eyebeam Atelier Teaching Residency, the Studio Museum AIR Program, the P.S. 1 International Studio Program and the Skowhegan School of Painting and Sculpture residency.

Biggers' installations, videos and performances have appeared in venues worldwide including Tate Britain and Tate Modern in London, the Whitney Museum and Studio Museum in Harlem, New York and the Yerba Bue a Center for the Arts in San Francisco, as well as institutions in China, Germany, Hungary, Japan, Poland and Russia. The artist's works have been included in notable exhibitions such as: Prospect 1 New Orleans Biennial, Illuminations at the Tate Modern, Performa 07 in NY, the Whitney Biennial and Freestyle at the Studio Museum in Harlem. His works are included in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, Walker Art Center, Whitney Museum, Brooklyn Museum and Bronx Museum.

Biggers has won awards including: the American Academy in Berlin Prize, Greenfield Prize, New York City Art Teachers Association Artist-of-the-Year, Creative Time Travel Grant, Creative Capital Project Grant, New York Percent for the Arts Commission, Art Matters Grant, New York Foundation for the Arts Award, the Lambent Fellowship in the Arts, the Pennies From Heaven/ New York Community Trust Award, Tanne Foundation Award and Rema Hort Mann Foundation Award Grant.

Biggers is Assistant Professor at Columbia University's Visual Arts program and a board member of Sculpture Center, Soho House and the CUE Foundation. He has also taught at Virginia Commonwealth University’s Sculpture and Expanded Media program and was a visiting scholar at Harvard University's VES Department in 2009.

More profile about the speaker
Sanford Biggers | Speaker | TED.com

Data provided by TED.

This site was created in May 2015 and the last update was on January 12, 2020. It will no longer be updated.

We are currently creating a new site called "eng.lish.video" and would be grateful if you could access it.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please feel free to write comments in your language on the contact form.

Privacy Policy

Developer's Blog

Buy Me A Coffee