Nora Atkinson: Why art thrives at Burning Man
Nora Atkinson: Por que a arte prospera no 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,
presa a esqueletos,
a series of heavy ropes at its base,
cordas pesadas na base dessa roda,
where a team is waiting,
onde um time te espera,
and the audience cheers,
e o público aplaude,
Peter Hudson's "Charon,"
o "Charon" de Peter Hudson,
from marketable art.
uma obra de arte comercializável.
and it doesn't go with the sofa.
e não combina com o sofá.
and completely useless,
e completamente inútil,
in the art-world headlines.
nas manchetes do mundo da arte.
and selling of artwork
than the works themselves.
do que as próprias obras.
sold for 110 million dollars,
por US$ 110 milhões no ano passado,
for the work of an American artist,
de um artista americano,
sold for 450 million,
vendida por US$ 450 milhões,
and you look at the headlines,
para estes trabalhos e para as manchetes,
because they move me,
por que me comovem,
because they're expensive
que elas deveriam me comover?
to separate those two things.
ser difícil separar essas duas coisas.
das obras de arte,
between the artist and the audience,
entre o artista e o público
que ela gera para a sociedade,
the artists themselves?
para os próprios artistas?
from the galleries of New York
de Nova Iorque, Londres e Hong Kong.
30 years, at Burning Man,
no evento chamado "Burning Man",
that does exactly that.
exatamente isso vem se formando.
Burning Man has grown up.
o Burning Man vem crescendo.
in collective dreaming.
sobre sonho coletivo.
and every August, for a single week,
e em agosto, durante uma única semana,
and pilgrimage out into the desert
de tecnologias e peregrinam para o deserto
fora dos limites da vida cotidiana delas.
of their everyday lives.
it was better the last,
que o último ano foi melhor,
and freeing and alive,
libertador e animado,
that thrives here.
on the desert playa last year
do deserto ano passado
obviamente trabalhando duro.
of Burning Man for several years,
do Burning Man por vários anos,
at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery,
na galeria Smithsonian Renwick,
isn't the quality of the work here,
não é a qualidade do trabalho aqui,
into the desert again and again
para o deserto repetidas vezes
in our increasingly digital age.
em uma época cada vez mais digital.
to something that's essentially human.
uma coisa que é essencialmente humana.
encampment of Burning Man
interactive art installation
artística interativa gigante
of everyone in it.
de todos que lá estão.
from the commercial art world
do mundo artístico comercial
uma obra pode mostrá-la.
and countless artistic gestures
e incontáveis gestos artísticos
if the works aren't burned,
se as obras não estão queimadas,
back out and store them.
a Burning Man aesthetic,
normas estéticas do Burning Man,
Kate Raudenbush and Michael Christian,
Kate Raudenbush e Michael Christian,
character of the work here
to make the journey,
para chegar até lá,
the wind and weather and participants,
o clima e os participantes,
and intimate works here feel surreal.
e monumentais parecem surreais.
could get lost on the playa,
pode se perder na playa,
limites espaciais,
as big as they can build.
tanto quanto puderem construir.
it took to bring them here.
que tiveram para levá-la até lá.
comes out in pieces
se mostra em obras
on a wooden beam, like a mousetrap,
de madeira, como uma ratoeira,
to find religion --
a encontrarem a religião;
like Christopher Schardt's "Firmament,"
como "Firmament" de Christopher Schardt,
set to classical music,
e ao som de música clássica,
the thumping rave beats
das batidas esmagadoras de rave
with mutant vehicles,
por veículos mutantes,
percorrer a playa.
is the mother of invention,
public transportation system,
público aleatório, bizarro,
about critics and collectors
com a crítica e com os colecionadores
of marvelous toys they create.
maravilhosos que criam.
when people first come to Burning Man,
ao Burning Man pela primeira vez,
maker community there
e colaborativa dali
come together to share skills
se juntam para compartilhar habilidades
a single artist would never even attempt,
que um único artista nunca tentaria fazer,
ready to take off at any moment
que parece pronto para decolar
dentro de uma bota gigante,
de livros feitos por artistas,
full of artist-made books,
são todas bem-vindas.
and the innovation of the work here
do trabalho realizado lá
aren't artists at all,
disciplinary boundaries,
fronteiras disciplinares,
de cogumelos feitos em origami
out of the design for a yurt
to the voices and biorhythms
e biorritmos de todos aqueles a sua volta
embedded in its leaves.
embutidas em suas folhas.
less than 30 seconds with a work of art,
menos de 30 segundos em cada obra,
from label to label,
vagando entre as obras,
of a work of art
in that one 80-word text.
naquele único texto de 80 palavras.
there are no gatekeepers
just natural curiosity.
só curiosidade natural.
and you ride towards it.
Will I be impaled by it?
Serei espetada por ela?
for extended interaction,
para uma interação estendida,
might be short-lived,
than at the Temple.
é mais verdadeiro do que no Templo.
built the first Temple,
construíram o primeiro Templo,
was killed tragically in an accident
foi tragicamente morto em um acidente
um memorial improvisado.
piece of architecture,
until it disappears
um casco até desaparecer
de mensagens.
universal of human experiences,
da experiência humana mais universal,
is overpowering and indescribable,
arrebatadora e indescritível,
on the last night of the event.
na última noite do evento.
from all different walks of life,
compele pessoas de diferentes origens,
in a way we rarely see anywhere else.
que raramente vemos por aí.
capable of great feats of imagination,
capazes de grandes feitos da imaginação,
cathedrals in the dust.
catedrais na poeira.
world if not this?
contemporâneo se não for para isso?
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