Nora Atkinson: Why art thrives at Burning Man
Nora Atkinson: Por qué el arte prospera en Burning Man
Nora Atkinson is a craft curator, a humanist and a romantic -- as she says, "I can’t believe I get to do what I do for a living." Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
ringed in skeletons,
bordeada de esqueletos,
a series of heavy ropes at its base,
de cuerdas pesadas en su base,
donde un equipo los está esperando,
where a team is waiting,
se pone en movimiento,
and the audience cheers,
y el público aplaude,
Peter Hudson's "Charon,"
el "Charon" de Peter Hudson,
más grandes del mundo.
from marketable art.
del arte comercializable.
and it doesn't go with the sofa.
para moverlo y no va con el sofá.
and completely useless,
y es completamente inútil,
in the art-world headlines.
en los titulares del mundo del arte.
and selling of artwork
y venta de obras de arte
than the works themselves.
que las obras mismas.
sold for 110 million dollars,
se vendió por 110 millones de dólares,
for the work of an American artist,
el trabajo de un artista estadounidense,
sold for 450 million,
se vendió por 450 millones,
grandes e importantes,
and you look at the headlines,
estas obras y lees los titulares,
because they move me,
porque me conmueven,
because they're expensive
to separate those two things.
puede ser difícil separar esas dos cosas.
between the artist and the audience,
entre el artista y la audiencia,
le da a nuestra sociedad,
the artists themselves?
a los mismos artistas?
de Black Rock en Nevada,
from the galleries of New York
30 years, at Burning Man,
that does exactly that.
que hace exactamente eso.
Burning Man has grown up.
Burning Man creció.
in collective dreaming.
de soñar colectivamente.
and every August, for a single week,
y cada agosto, durante una semana,
and pilgrimage out into the desert
su tecnología y peregrinan al desierto
of their everyday lives.
it was better the last,
que fue mejor el último,
and freeing and alive,
y liberador y vivo,
that thrives here.
on the desert playa last year
del desierto el año pasado
obviamente trabajando duro.
of Burning Man for several years,
Burning Man durante varios años
at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery,
en la Galería Renwick del Smithsonian,
isn't the quality of the work here,
la calidad del trabajo,
into the desert again and again
al desierto una y otra vez
in our increasingly digital age.
en nuestra era cada vez más digital.
to something that's essentially human.
que es esencialmente humano.
encampment of Burning Man
campamento de Burning Man
interactive art installation
instalación gigante de arte interactivo
of everyone in it.
from the commercial art world
del mundo del arte comercial
mostrar su creación.
and countless artistic gestures
de 300 instalaciones de arte
if the works aren't burned,
si las obras no se queman,
back out and store them.
de vuelta y almacenarlas.
a Burning Man aesthetic,
hay una estética de Burning Man,
Kate Raudenbush and Michael Christian,
Kate Raudenbush y Michael Christian,
character of the work here
distintivo del trabajo
portátil para hacer el viaje,
to make the journey,
the wind and weather and participants,
el viento, el clima y los participantes,
y en la oscuridad,
and intimate works here feel surreal.
e íntimas se vive de manera surrealista.
a engañar a los ojos.
could get lost on the playa,
un artista podría perderse en la playa,
no hay límites espaciales
as big as they can build.
lo más grande que puedan construir.
desconciertan por su gracia
it took to bring them here.
que llevó traerlas aquí.
comes out in pieces
Burning Man se manifiesta
de Rebekah Waites,
precariamente sobre una viga de madera,
on a wooden beam, like a mousetrap,
to find religion --
a encontrar religión
like Christopher Schardt's "Firmament,"
"Firmament" de Christopher Schardt
set to classical music,
danzantes al son de música clásica,
de la música ensordecedora
the thumping rave beats
with mutant vehicles,
se llena de vehículos mutantes,
para circular por la playa.
is the mother of invention,
es la madre de la invención,
de arte en obra de arte
public transportation system,
de transporte público aleatorio,
por los críticos y coleccionistas
about critics and collectors
el trabajo para sí mismos,
of marvelous toys they create.
juguetes maravillosos que crean.
when people first come to Burning Man,
a Burning Man, no sabe cómo hacerlo.
maker community there
y solidaria de creadores
come together to share skills
se unen para compartir habilidades
a single artist would never even attempt,
que un solo artista nunca intentaría,
ready to take off at any moment
para despegar en cualquier momento
dentro de una bota gigante
full of artist-made books,
de libros hechos por artistas,
todos son bienvenidos.
and the innovation of the work here
y la innovación de las obras
aren't artists at all,
no son artistas en absoluto,
disciplinary boundaries,
los límites disciplinarios,
out of the design for a yurt
del diseño de una yurta,
to the voices and biorhythms
a las voces y los biorritmos
embedded in its leaves.
LED incrustadas en sus hojas.
less than 30 seconds with a work of art,
menos de 30 segundos con una obra de arte,
from label to label,
pasear de etiqueta en etiqueta,
of a work of art
de una obra de arte
in that one 80-word text.
en ese texto de 80 palabras.
there are no gatekeepers
just natural curiosity.
el arte, solo curiosidad natural.
and you ride towards it.
y te diriges hacia él.
Will I be impaled by it?
como para subir? ¿Seré empalado por eso?
for extended interaction,
para la interacción extendida,
might be short-lived,
puede ser de corta duración,
than at the Temple.
que en el Templo de Burning Man.
built the first Temple,
construyeron el primer Templo,
was killed tragically in an accident
muriera trágicamente en un accidente
improvisado en su memoria.
piece of architecture,
magnífica obra de arquitectura,
until it disappears
un caparazón hasta que desaparece
universal of human experiences,
la experiencia humana más universal,
is overpowering and indescribable,
es abrumadora e indescriptible,
on the last night of the event.
en la última noche del evento.
from all different walks of life,
de distintos ámbitos de la vida,
in a way we rarely see anywhere else.
manera que rara vez vemos en otro lado.
capable of great feats of imagination,
capaces de grandes hazañas de imaginación,
cathedrals in the dust.
catedrales en el polvo.
world if not this?
mundo contemporáneo sino para esto?
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Nora Atkinson - Craft curatorNora Atkinson is a craft curator, a humanist and a romantic -- as she says, "I can’t believe I get to do what I do for a living."
Why you should listen
Nora Atkinson is the Lloyd Herman Curator of Craft Renwick Gallery, Smithsonian American Art Museum Washington, D.C. As she writes, "I was born and raised in the Northwest, and I find my perspective heavily influenced by its laid-back, pioneering spirit. After earning my MA from the University of Washington, I intended to curate art, but fell into the unusual specialty of craft, which appeals to me as a way of living differently in the modern world that tells us something about being human; I continue to be fascinated by the place of the handmade in our increasingly digital age.
"In 2014, after eight years at Bellevue Arts Museum, I moved to DC to join the Renwick Gallery. I attended my first Burning Man in 2017 as research for my exhibition 'No Spectators: The Art of Burning Man,' which explores the event as a creative laboratory and one of the most important cultural movements of our time. As a curator, I tell stories through objects, and I want to teach people to approach the world with curious eyes and find the magic around them. My work is as much about inspiring people as transmitting knowledge."
Nora Atkinson | Speaker | TED.com