Dread Scott: How art can shape America's conversation about freedom
Dread Scott: Come l'arte può influenzare la conversazione americana sulla libertà
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
to propel history forward.
per spingere in avanti la storia.
and tell you something:
e vi dico una cosa:
a un cambiamento fondamentale
big questions from that perspective.
grandi domande da quella prospettiva.
but ideas matter tremendously.
ma le idee sono molto importanti.
most people think, "Oh, he's a painter."
la gente pensa "Oh, è un pittore."
some of the kind of work I do.
alcuni lavori che faccio.
Without America" is a painting,
è un dipinto
video and performance art.
i video e l'arte rappresentativa.
"Slave Rebellion Reenactment,"
della rivolta di schiavi"
on the outskirts of New Orleans
nella periferia di New Orleans
the center of controversy
fu al centro di una controversia
of the American flag.
della bandiera Americana.
to Display a US Flag?"
di esporre una bandiera Usa?"
audience participation.
la partecipazione del pubblico.
that had text that read,
con un testo che diceva,
to Display a US Flag?"
di esporre una bandiera Usa?"
could write responses to that question in,
potevano scrivere le risposte,
that people had the option of standing on.
su cui si poteva camminare.
of images of South Korean students
in immagini di studenti Sud Coreani
"Yankee go home. Son of a bitch,"
Figlio di puttana,"
coming back from Vietnam.
dal Vietnam coperte da bandiere.
risposte brevi e lunghe.
in a lot of different languages.
al lavoro in tante lingue diverse.
our flag as you all do,
la nostra bandiera come fate voi,
trouble about this flag."
riguardo questa bandiera."
should be returned to his heritage,
debba ritornare alla propria eredità,
in his artistic way."
nel suo modo artistico."
everything oppressive in this system:
tutto ciò che è oppressivo nel sistema:
and all the oppressed around the world,
e tutti gli oppressi del mondo,
who was shot by a pig,
ucciso da uno sbirro,
to 'make sure the nigger was dead.'
sicuro che il negro fosse morto'.
for this opportunity."
per questa opportunità."
defend your stupid ass!
il tuo stupido culo!
Us Navy Seal.
very strong reactions about the flag then,
reazioni molto forti sulla bandiera,
in front of the Art Institute of Chicago.
davanti all'Istituto d'Arte di Chicago.
hang them both high,"
impiccateli entrambi,"
were phoned in to my school.
minacce di bombe.
the work "disgraceful,"
definì il lavoro "vergognoso",
un grandissimo onore
when I and others defied that law,
Corte Suprema
ci siamo opposti alla legge,
on the steps of the Capitol.
sui gradini del Campidoglio.
legal and political battle
battaglie politiche e legali
that prevented the government
sul Primo Emendamento
patriotism be mandatory.
fosse obbligatorio.
letteralmente morto.
would make a difference.
ha fatto la differenza.
preciso momento,
where the veterans were at that time.
dove si trovavano i veterani.
stare lì, a dir poco.
for me to be there, to say the least.
fare quel servizio,
to do that shoot,
era anche una situazione
it was also a situation
americana come simbolo di oppressione
as standing for everything oppressive
about US national symbols,
sui simboli nazionali americani,
by scientific breakthroughs
da scoperte scientifiche
might not have worked out so well.
può non aver funzionato cosi bene.
led to a wonderful,
ha portato a una situazione,
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