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

Sanford Biggers: Pandangan tanpa menghakimi seorang seniman terhadap kekerasan rasial

Filmed:
1,158,104 views

Seniman konseptual dan TED Fellow, Sanford Biggers, menggunakan lukisan, seni pahat, video, dan pertunjukan seni untuk memicu diskusi menantang mengenai sejarah dan trauma yang dialami warga kulit hitam Amerika. Bergabunglah dengannya saat ia menceritakan dua karya menyentuh dan berbagi motivasi di balik karyanya. "Hanya melalui dialog mendalam mengenai sejarah dan ras kita bisa berkembang sebagai individu dan masyarakat," ujar Biggers.
- 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.

Sebagai seniman konseptual,
00:12
As a conceptualkonseptual artistartis,
0
976
1394
00:14
I'm constantlyselalu looking for creativekreatif wayscara
to sparkSpark challengingmenantang conversationspercakapan.
1
2394
4308
saya selalu mencari cara untuk
memulai percakapan yang menantang.
00:18
I do this thoughmeskipun paintinglukisan, sculpturepatung,
videovideo and performancekinerja.
2
6726
3699
Saya melakukannya melalui lukisan,
seni pahat, video dan penampilan.
00:22
But regardlesstidak peduli of the formatformat,
3
10449
1439
Tapi terlepas dari formatnya,
00:23
two of my favoritefavorit materialsbahan
are historysejarah and dialoguedialog.
4
11912
3452
dua materi kesukaan saya adalah
sejarah dan dialog.
00:27
In 2007, I createddiciptakan "LotusLotus,"
5
15796
2439
Pada tahun 2007, saya menciptakan "Lotus,"
00:30
a seven-and-a-half-foottujuh-dan-a-setengah-kaki diameterdiameter,
6
18259
1774
patung bunga lotus dari kaca
00:32
600-pound-pound glasskaca depictionpenggambaran
of a lotusteratai blossomBlossom.
7
20057
3555
berdiameter 2,3 meter seberat 300 kg.
00:35
In BuddhismBuddhisme, the lotusteratai is a symbolsimbol
for transcendencetransendensi
8
23937
3469
Dalam Buddha, teratai adalah
simbol transenden
00:39
and for puritykemurnian of mindpikiran and spiritsemangat.
9
27430
2428
serta kesucian pikiran dan jiwa.
00:41
But a closerlebih dekat look at this lotusteratai
10
29882
2421
Tetapi ketika teratai ini
dilihat lebih dekat,
00:44
revealsmengungkapkan eachsetiap petalkelopak
to be the cross-sectionpenampang of a slavebudak shipkapal.
11
32327
3214
bisa terlihat bahwa setiap kelopaknya
terbuat dari penampang kapal budak.
00:47
This iconicikon diagramdiagram was takendiambil
from a BritishInggris slavingbekerja keras manualmanual
12
35985
3675
Diagram simbolik ini diambil
dari panduan budak Inggris
00:51
and laterkemudian used by abolitionistsperbudakan to showmenunjukkan
the atrocitieskekejaman of slaveryperbudakan.
13
39684
3833
yang lalu digunakan penentang perbudakan
untuk menunjukkan kekejaman perbudakan.
00:56
In AmericaAmerika, we don't like
to talk about slaveryperbudakan,
14
44104
2405
Di Amerika, kita tidak suka
membahas perbudakan,
00:58
normaupun do we look at it as a globalglobal industryindustri.
15
46533
2840
atau melihatnya sebagai industri global.
01:01
But by usingmenggunakan this BuddhistBuddha symbolsimbol,
16
49397
1628
Namun, melalui simbol Buddha ini,
01:03
I hopeberharap to universalizeuniversalize and transcendmelampaui
17
51049
2603
saya berharap untuk
menyatukan dan melampaui
01:05
the historysejarah and traumatrauma of blackhitam AmericaAmerika
18
53676
2389
sejarah dan trauma
warga kulit hitam Amerika
01:08
and encouragemendorong discussionsdiskusi
about our sharedbersama pastlalu.
19
56089
3364
dan mendorong diskusi
tentang masa lalu kita semua.
01:12
To createmembuat "LotusLotus,"
we carvedukiran over 6,000 figuresangka.
20
60033
4095
Untuk membuat "Lotus",
kami mengukir lebih dari 6.000 bentuk.
01:16
And this laterkemudian led to a commissionKomisi
by the CityKota of NewBaru YorkYork
21
64469
2723
Lalu dialihkan kepada Kota New York untuk
01:19
to createmembuat a 28-foot-kaki versionversi in steelbaja
22
67216
2254
membuat "Lotus" versi baja
berukuran 8,5 meter
01:21
as a permanentpermanen installationinstalasi
at the EagleElang AcademyAkademi for YoungMuda MenLaki-laki,
23
69494
3442
sebagai instalasi permanen
di Eagle Academy for Young Men,
01:24
a schoolsekolah for blackhitam and latinolatino studentssiswa,
24
72960
2138
sekolah bagi siswa kulit hitam dan latin,
01:27
the two groupskelompok mostpaling affectedterpengaruh
by this historysejarah.
25
75122
2673
dua komunitas yang paling
terdampak oleh sejarah ini.
01:30
The samesama two groupskelompok are very affectedterpengaruh
by a more recentbaru phenomenonfenomena,
26
78244
3551
Dua komunitas yang juga sangat
terpengaruh oleh fenomena baru-baru ini,
01:33
but let me digressngelantur.
27
81819
1623
tapi izinkan saya sedikit menyimpang.
01:35
I've been collectingmengumpulkan
woodenkayu AfricanAfrika figuresangka
28
83840
2167
Saya telah mengumpulkan
patung kayu Afrika
01:38
from touristturis shopstoko and fleaFlea marketspasar
around the worlddunia.
29
86031
2484
dari toko suvenir dan pasar loak
di seluruh dunia.
01:40
The authenticitykeaslian and originasal
of them is completelysama sekali debatablebelum pasti,
30
88539
3082
Keaslian dan asal usul
patung ini masih diragukan,
01:43
but people believe these
to be imbueddijiwai with powerkekuasaan,
31
91645
2658
Namun, orang-orang percaya
patung ini disisipi kekuatan,
01:46
or even magicsihir.
32
94327
1332
bahkan sihir.
01:47
Only recentlybaru saja have I figuredberpola out
how to use this in my ownsendiri work.
33
95683
3126
Baru-baru ini saya menemukan cara untuk
menggunakannya dalam karya saya.
01:51
(GunPistol shotstembakan)
34
99412
6809
(Tembakan)
02:05
SinceSejak 2012, the worlddunia has witnesseddisaksikan
the killingspembunuhan of TrayvonTrayvon MartinMartin,
35
113253
4168
Sejak 2012, dunia menyaksikan
pembunuhan Trayvon Martin
02:09
MichaelMichael BrownBrown, EricEric GarnerGarner,
SandraSandra BlandBland, TamirTamir RiceBeras
36
117445
3740
Michael Brown, Eric Garner,
Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice
02:13
and literallysecara harfiah countlesstak terhitung other
unarmedbersenjata blackhitam citizenswarga
37
121209
2960
dan nyaris tak terhitung lagi
warga kulit hitam tanpa senjata,
02:16
at the handstangan of the policePOLISI,
38
124193
1429
di tangan polisi
02:17
who frequentlysering walkberjalan away
with no punishmenthukuman at all.
39
125646
2808
yang seringkali bisa bebas
tanpa hukuman sama sekali.
02:20
In considerationpertimbangan of these victimskorban
40
128775
2029
Untuk mengenang para korban ini,
dan beberapa kali,
bahkan saya sendiri,
02:22
and the severalbeberapa timeswaktu that even I,
41
130828
1810
02:24
a law-abidingtaat hukum, IvyIvy LeagueLiga professorprofesor,
42
132662
2473
professor universitas Ivy League
yang taat hukum,
02:27
have been targetedditargetkan and harasseddilecehkan
at gunpointbawah todongan senjata by the policePOLISI.
43
135159
3464
menjadi target dan diancam
dengan senjata oleh polisi.
02:30
I createddiciptakan this bodytubuh of work
simplysecara sederhana entitledberhak "BAMBAM."
44
138647
3654
Saya membuat karya
yang berjudul "BAM" ini.
02:36
It was importantpenting to erasemenghapus
the identityidentitas of eachsetiap of these figuresangka,
45
144389
3499
Penting untuk menghapus
identitas setiap patung ini
02:39
to make them all look the samesama
and easierlebih mudah to disregardmengabaikan.
46
147912
3749
supaya semuanya tampak sama
dan lebih mudah untuk diabaikan.
02:43
To do this, I dipberenang them in a thicktebal,
browncoklat waxlilin
47
151685
2200
Saya mencelupnya dalam lilin coklat pekat,
02:45
before takingpengambilan them to a shootingpenembakan rangejarak
48
153909
1963
sebelum saya membawanya
ke arena tembak
02:47
where I re-sculptedkembali terpahat them usingmenggunakan bulletspeluru.
49
155896
2798
di mana saya memahat ulang
patung-patung ini dengan peluru.
02:51
And it was funmenyenangkan,
50
159098
1181
Dan itu menyenangkan,
02:52
playingbermain with bigbesar gunssenjata and
high-speedkecepatan tinggi videovideo cameraskamera.
51
160303
2837
bermain dengan pistol dan
kamera video berkecepatan tinggi.
02:55
But my reverencepenghormatan for these figuresangka
keptterus me from actuallysebenarnya pullingmenarik the triggerpelatuk,
52
163164
3657
Namun penghormatan pada patung ini
mencegah saya untuk menarik pelatuknya,
02:58
somehowentah bagaimana feelingperasaan as if I would
be shootingpenembakan myselfdiri.
53
166845
2658
saya merasa seakan menembak diri sendiri.
03:01
FinallyAkhirnya, my cameramanjuru kamera, RaulRaul,
fireddipecat the shotstembakan.
54
169995
3230
Akhirnya, juru kamera saya, Raul,
yang menembak.
03:06
I then tookmengambil the fragmentsfragmen of these
55
174503
1869
Saya lalu mengambil bagian-bagiannya
03:08
and createddiciptakan moldscetakan,
and castmelemparkan them first in waxlilin,
56
176396
3528
membuat cetakan, melapisinya dengan lilin,
lalu menyepuhnya dengan tembaga
seperti gambar yang Anda lihat,
03:12
and finallyakhirnya in bronzeperunggu
like the imagegambar you see here,
57
180749
3103
03:15
whichyang bearsberuang the markstanda
of its violenthebat creationpenciptaan
58
183876
2104
yang menunjukkan bekas
pembuatan yang kasar
03:18
like battlepertarungan woundsluka or scarsbekas luka.
59
186004
1808
seperti bekas luka dalam peperangan.
03:20
When I showedmenunjukkan this work recentlybaru saja in MiamiMiami,
60
188583
2008
Saat saya memajang karya ini di Miami,
seorang wanita berkata bahwa ia
merasakan setiap tembakan di jiwanya.
03:22
a womanwanita told me she feltmerasa
everysetiap gunsenjata shottembakan to her souljiwa.
61
190615
2785
03:25
But she alsojuga feltmerasa that these artworkskarya seni
62
193424
2591
Namun, ia juga merasa bahwa karya ini
03:28
memorializeddiabadikan the victimskorban of these killingspembunuhan
63
196039
2000
mengenang para korban pembunuhan tersebut
03:30
as well as other victimskorban of
racialrasial violencekekerasan throughoutsepanjang US historysejarah.
64
198063
3189
dan juga korban kekerasan rasial
lainnya sepanjang sejarah AS.
03:33
But "LotusLotus" and "BAMBAM" are largerlebih besar
than just US historysejarah.
65
201812
3034
Namun, "Lotus" dan "BAM" lebih besar
dari sekedar sejarah AS.
03:36
While showingmenunjukkan in BerlinBerlin last yeartahun,
66
204870
1864
Ketika dipamerkan di Berlin tahun lalu,
seorang mahasiswa filsafat
03:38
a philosophyfilsafat studentmahasiswa askedtanya me
what prompteddiminta these recentbaru killingspembunuhan.
67
206758
3561
menanyakan apa yang menyebabkan
pembunuhan baru-baru ini.
03:42
I showedmenunjukkan him a photofoto
of a lynchingmenggantung postcardkartu pos
68
210343
2618
Saya menunjukkan padanya kartu pos
bergambar hukuman mati
03:44
from the earlyawal 1900s
69
212985
1365
dari awal tahun 1900-an dan
mengingatkan
03:46
and remindedmengingatkan him that these killingspembunuhan
have been going on for over 500 yearstahun.
70
214374
5072
bahwa pembunuhan-pembunuhan ini
telah berlangsung lebih dari 500 tahun.
03:51
But it's only throughmelalui questionspertanyaan like his
71
219922
1906
Namun, hanya lewat pertanyaan seperti ini
03:53
and more thoughtfulbijaksana dialoguedialog
about historysejarah and raceras
72
221852
2842
dan dialog lebih mendalam
mengenai sejarah dan ras,
03:56
can we evolveberkembang as individualsindividu and societymasyarakat.
73
224718
2578
kita bisa berkembang sebagai
individu dan masyarakat.
03:59
I hopeberharap my artworkkarya seni createsmenciptakan a safeaman spaceruang
74
227709
2833
Saya harap karya saya
menciptakan ruang aman
04:02
for this typemengetik of honestjujur exchangebertukar
75
230566
2412
bagi dialog jujur seperti ini
04:05
and an opportunitykesempatan for people
to engagemengikutsertakan one anotherlain
76
233002
2739
dan kesempatan bagi orang-orang
untuk terlibat bersama-sama
04:07
in realnyata and necessaryperlu conversationpercakapan.
77
235765
2888
dalam pembahasan yang
nyata dan dibutuhkan.
04:10
Thank you.
78
238751
1150
Terima kasih.
04:11
(ApplauseTepuk tangan)
79
239925
6463
(Tepuk tangan)
Translated by Chiquita Clarissa
Reviewed by Prameswari Rahmanu

▲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