ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Matt Kenyon - New media artist
From a plant that lives or dies based on stock prices to an oilcan that flows backward, Matt Kenyon creates art that startles, amuses and challenges assumptions.

Why you should listen

Matt Kenyon works at the intersection of art and technology, creating pieces that question society’s large, complex systems — from our reliance on global corporations and oil, to the military-industrial complex. His works include: “SPORE 1.1,” a self-sustaining ecosystem for a rubber tree, purchased from The Home Depot and watered in conjunction with Home Depot stock prices; “Supermajor,” a collection of vintage oilcans with droplets of oil that defy gravity and flow back into a punctured hole; and ”Notepad,” a commemoration of the Iraqi civilians who died as a result of the US-led invasion, printed in the lines of what appear to be your average, everyday legal pads. 

Kenyon creates these projects through SWAMP, or Studies of Work Atmosphere and Mass Production. He teaches art at the University of Michigan's Stamps School of Art & Design.

More profile about the speaker
Matt Kenyon | Speaker | TED.com
TED2015

Matt Kenyon: A secret memorial for civilian casualties

Matt Kenyon: 我是如何将伊拉克战争平民纪念物混入美国政府的

Filmed:
861,905 views

据统计约15~100万伊拉克平民在2003年美国主导的伊拉克战争中死亡. 艺术家 Matt Kenyon 希望能够纪念他们. 但是他没有建造纪念碑, 而是(将纪念物)做得非常小, 并且可以复制. 他花了五年时间潜入权力中心--包括直接面对面的将纪念物送给伊拉克战争期间的美国司法部长. 这一过程被摄像机记录了下来.
- New media artist
From a plant that lives or dies based on stock prices to an oilcan that flows backward, Matt Kenyon creates art that startles, amuses and challenges assumptions. Full bio

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

00:13
There's this quote引用 by activist活动家 and punk朋克
rock musician音乐家 Jello果冻 Biafra比夫拉 that I love.
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引用我喜欢的激进朋克摇滚音乐家 Jello Biafra 的话
00:18
He says, "Don't hate讨厌 the media媒体.
Be the media媒体."
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他说:“不要憎恨媒体,要成为媒体”
00:23
I'm an artist艺术家.
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我是一个艺术家
00:24
I like working加工 with media媒体 and technology技术
because A, I'm familiar with them
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我喜欢运用媒体和技术,
因为:A. 我对其熟悉
00:29
and I like the power功率 they hold保持.
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也喜欢其力量
00:31
And B, I hate讨厌 them and I'm terrified
of the power功率 they hold保持.
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B. 我也憎恨和害怕它们的力量
00:35
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
00:37
I remember记得 watching观看, in 2003, an interview访问
between之间 Fox狐狸 News新闻 host主办 Tony托尼 Snow
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我记得在2003年,
00:42
and then-US当时的美国 Defense防御 Secretary秘书,
Donald唐纳德 Rumsfeld拉姆斯菲尔德.
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福克斯主持人Tony Snow 采访了
美国国防部长Donald Rumsfeld
00:47
They were talking
about the recent最近 invasion侵入 of Iraq伊拉克,
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他们谈论了近来对伊拉克的侵略
00:50
and Rumsfeld拉姆斯菲尔德 is asked the question,
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Rumsfeld 被问道:
00:53
"Well, we're hear about our body身体 counts计数,
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“我们听闻到我方阵亡数,
但从不知敌方的,为什么?”
00:55
but we never hear about theirs他们的, why?"
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“我们听闻到我方阵亡数,
但从不知敌方的,为什么?”
00:59
And Rumsfeld's拉姆斯菲尔德 answer回答 is,
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Rumsfeld 回答:
01:03
"Well, we don't do body身体 counts计数
on other people."
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“我们不统计他人的阵亡数。”
01:07
Right?
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是吧?
01:09
It's estimated预计 that between之间 150,000
to one million百万 Iraqis伊拉克人, civilians老百姓,
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据估计,15—100万伊拉克平民
01:14
have died死亡 as a result结果
of the US-led以美国为首的 invasion侵入 in 2003.
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在2003年死于美国主导的入侵
01:19
That number is in stark与之形成鲜明 contrast对比 with
the 4,486 US service服务 members会员 who died死亡
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这与美兵同期阵亡数
01:25
during that same相同 window窗口 of time.
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4486人形成强烈反差
01:28
I wanted to do more than just bring带来
awareness意识 to this terrifying可怕的 number.
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除了让人知道这恐怖的数字,
我还想做些事
01:32
I wanted to create创建 a monument纪念碑
for the individual个人 civilians老百姓
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我想为死于入侵的平民
01:35
who died死亡 as a result结果 of the invasion侵入.
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做一个纪念物
01:39
Monuments纪念碑 to war战争,
such这样 as Maya玛雅 Lin's Vietnam越南 Memorial纪念馆,
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战争纪念物, 像是 Maya Lin 建的越战纪念碑
01:42
are often经常 enormous巨大 in scale规模.
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一般都规模浩大
01:44
Very powerful强大 and very one-sided片面.
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既有影响力,也很片面
01:48
I wanted my monument纪念碑 to live生活
in the world世界, and to circulate流通.
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我希望我的纪念物长存并流传于世界
01:54
I remember记得 when I was a boy男孩 in school学校,
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记得当我还是个在校读书的小男孩时,
01:57
my teacher老师 assigned分配 us
this classic经典 civics公民 assignment分配
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老师布置了个经典的公民教育作业,
02:01
where you take a sheet of paper
and you write a member会员 of your government政府.
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用纸写一封信给一位公务员
02:06
And we were told,
if we wrote a really good letter,
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老师说,如果我们写得好,
02:08
if we really thought about it,
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如果有认真思考,
02:10
we would get back more than just
a simple简单 formed形成 letter as a reply回复.
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我们得到的不会只是公式化的回复
02:16
This is my "Notepad记事本."
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这是我的“便签薄”
02:19
What looks容貌 like an everyday每天,
yellow黄色 legal法律 tablet片剂 of paper
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虽然看起来像常用便签薄,
02:22
is actually其实 a monument纪念碑
to the individual个人 Iraqi伊拉克人 civilians老百姓
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实际上是对伊拉克平民的纪念物,
02:25
that died死亡 as a result结果 of the US invasion侵入.
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死于美国入侵的平民。
02:30
"Notepad记事本" is an act法案 of protest抗议
and an act法案 of commemoration纪念活动
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“便签薄”是一个抗议和纪念的行动,
02:34
disguised伪装 as an everyday每天 tablet片剂 of paper.
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虽伪装成常用便签薄。
02:38
The lines线 of the paper, when magnified放大,
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当纸上的横线被放大,
02:42
are revealed透露 to be micro-printed微印刷 text文本
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可以看见微细的字体,
02:44
that contains包含 the details细节, the names,
the dates日期 and locations地点
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记录着伊拉克平民的名字、
02:49
of individual个人 Iraqi伊拉克人 civilians老百姓 that died死亡.
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去世的日期和地点。
02:54
So, for the last 5 years年份, I've been taking服用
pads of this paper, tons of this stuff东东,
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过去的5年,
我一直做着这数以万计的记录,
02:58
and smuggling走私 it
into the stationery文具 supplies耗材
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并将这些便签本子混入到
03:01
of the United联合的 States状态
and the Coalition联盟 governments政府.
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美国和联合政府的文具供应中
03:04
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
03:05
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
03:14
I don't have to tell you guys this is not
the place地点 to discuss讨论 how I did that.
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在此,我不想谈论我是怎么做到的。
03:18
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
03:20
But also, I've been meeting会议 one-on-one一对一
with members会员 and former前任的 members会员
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但我也和辅助过侵略的“志愿联盟”成员或前成员,
03:26
of the so-called所谓 Coalition联盟 of the Willing愿意,
who assisted辅助 in the invasion侵入.
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进行过一对一的会面.
03:31
And so, whenever每当 I can,
I meet遇到 with one of them,
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每当有机会和他们见面
03:33
and I share分享 the project项目 with them.
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我就和他们分享这行动
03:35
And last summer夏季, I had the chance机会 to meet遇到
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去年夏天,我有机会见到
03:37
with former前任的 United联合的 States状态 Attorney律师 General一般
and Torture拷打 Memo备忘录 author作者, Alberto阿尔贝托 Gonzales冈萨雷斯.
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美国前司法部长和刑讯手册作者:Alberto Gonzales
03:44
(Video视频) Matt马特 Kenyon肯扬:
May可能 I give this to you?
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(演讲者):
“我能把这个送你吗?
03:46
This is a special特别 legal法律 tablet片剂.
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这是个特别的便签薄,
03:48
It's actually其实 part部分
of an ongoing不断的 art艺术 project项目.
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是一个艺术行动的一部分。”
03:51
Alberto阿尔贝托 Gonzalez冈萨雷斯:
This is a special特别 legal法律 pad?
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Alberto Gonzalez:“这是个特别的便签薄?”
03:54
MKMK: Yes. You won't惯于 believe me,
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“是的,可能你不相信,
03:55
but it's in the collection采集 of the Museum博物馆
of Modern现代 Art艺术; I'm an artist艺术家.
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这是现代艺术博物馆的藏品。
我是个艺术家。
03:59
MKMK: And all of the lines线
of the paper are actually其实 --
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纸上的所有横线实际上是...”
04:02
AGAG: Are they going to disappear消失?
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"他们会消失吗?"
04:03
MKMK: No, they're micro-printed微印刷 text文本
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”不,它们是微印刷文字,
04:06
that contains包含 the names
of individual个人 Iraqi伊拉克人 civilians老百姓
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记录着死于伊拉克战争的平民的名字。”
04:10
who have died死亡 since以来 the invasion侵入 of Iraq伊拉克.
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记录着死于伊拉克战争的平民的名字。”
04:13
AGAG: Yeah. OK.
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“好吧,谢谢。”
04:16
AGAG: Thank you. MKMK: Thank you.
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(演讲者):“谢谢”
04:18
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
04:20
The way he says "thank you"
really creeps蠕动 me out.
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他那声“谢谢”真让我毛骨悚然
04:23
(Laughter笑声)
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(笑声)
04:25
OK, so I'd like each of you
to look under your chairs椅子.
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那么,我希望在座各位看看凳底
04:28
There's an envelope信封.
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有个信封
04:32
And please open打开 it.
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请打开它
04:38
The paper you're holding保持 in your hand
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你们拿着的纸,
04:41
contains包含 the details细节 of Iraqi伊拉克人 civilians老百姓
that died死亡 as result结果 of the invasion侵入.
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记录着死于伊拉克战争的平民的信息。
04:50
I'd like you to use this paper
and write a member会员 of government政府.
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我希望你们用这张纸给公务员写封信。
04:54
You can help to smuggle走私
this civilian平民 body身体 count计数
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你们可以帮忙将平民阵亡数
04:58
into government政府 archives档案.
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偷偷混入政府档案。
05:01
Because every一切 letter
that's sent发送 in to the government政府,
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因为每封信都是寄给政府的,
05:05
and this is all across横过
the world世界, of course课程 --
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会游历全球,
05:07
every一切 letter that is sent发送 in
is archived存档, filed提交 and recorded记录.
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每封信都会被存档、整理、编号。
05:13
Together一起, we can put this in the mailboxes邮箱
and under the noses鼻子 of people in power功率.
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这样,我们就可以将此置于执政者的眼底下
05:19
Everything that's sent发送 in
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所有寄出去的纸,
05:21
eventually终于 becomes part部分 of the permanent常驻
archive档案 of our government政府,
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终将变成政府的永久文档、
05:27
our shared共享 historical历史的 record记录.
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我们共享的历史性记录。
05:30
Thank you.
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谢谢
05:31
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
05:42
Tom汤姆 Rielly里利: So, tell me Matt马特,
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主持:Matt, 告诉我
05:43
how did this idea理念
come into your head, of "Notepad记事本"?
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你是怎么想到“便签薄”这个主意的?
05:49
Matt马特 Kenyon肯扬: I'd just finished a project项目
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之前我完成了一个项目
05:51
that dealt处理 with
the US Coalition联盟 side of the war战争
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是关于美国联盟那一方的,
05:55
and it was a black黑色 armband臂章 that was called
the "Improvised即兴 Empathetic感情移入的 Device设备"
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他们有个黑色的袖章叫“即时同感装置”,
06:00
which哪一个 accumulated积累, in real真实 time,
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它会实时记录,
06:03
the names, ranks行列,
cause原因 of death死亡 and location位置
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在海外阵亡美兵的名字
06:07
of US service服务 members会员
who had died死亡 overseas海外,
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军阶、死因及地点.
06:09
and each time the Department of Defense防御
or CENTCOMCENTCOM released发布 their data数据,
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当国防部和中央司令部公开这些数据,
06:13
it would stab me in the arm.
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袖章会戳我的手臂。
06:15
And so, I became成为 aware知道的
that there was a spectacle场面
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我开始意识到
06:18
associated相关 with our own拥有 people
who were dying垂死 overseas海外,
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我与那些海外阵亡士兵有种神奇的联系
06:21
but a disproportionate不成比例
amount of casualties伤亡
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但这与平民的死亡数
06:24
were the civilian平民 casualties伤亡.
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是不成比例的
06:26
TRTR: Thank you so much.
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(主持人): 谢谢
06:27
MKMK: Thank you.
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(演讲者): 谢谢.
06:28
(Applause掌声)
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(掌声)
Translated by Xiaojun Pan
Reviewed by Psycho Decoder

▲Back to top

ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Matt Kenyon - New media artist
From a plant that lives or dies based on stock prices to an oilcan that flows backward, Matt Kenyon creates art that startles, amuses and challenges assumptions.

Why you should listen

Matt Kenyon works at the intersection of art and technology, creating pieces that question society’s large, complex systems — from our reliance on global corporations and oil, to the military-industrial complex. His works include: “SPORE 1.1,” a self-sustaining ecosystem for a rubber tree, purchased from The Home Depot and watered in conjunction with Home Depot stock prices; “Supermajor,” a collection of vintage oilcans with droplets of oil that defy gravity and flow back into a punctured hole; and ”Notepad,” a commemoration of the Iraqi civilians who died as a result of the US-led invasion, printed in the lines of what appear to be your average, everyday legal pads. 

Kenyon creates these projects through SWAMP, or Studies of Work Atmosphere and Mass Production. He teaches art at the University of Michigan's Stamps School of Art & Design.

More profile about the speaker
Matt Kenyon | Speaker | TED.com