TEDIndia 2009
Alwar Balasubramaniam: Art of substance and absence
Alwar Balasubramaniam:物质存在与缺失之艺术
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Alwar Balasubramaniam的雕塑利用时间，形状，光影，视角这四种或揭露或隐藏事物本质的感官错觉与我们对话。在TED印度的舞台上，艺术家利用幻灯片给我们展示了他的神奇设备。
Alwar Balasubramaniam - Artist
Sculptor, painter and printmaker Alwar Balasubramaniam makes work that crosses the boundary between art, perception and life. Full bio
Sculptor, painter and printmaker Alwar Balasubramaniam makes work that crosses the boundary between art, perception and life. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:16
The moment I say "school,"
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当我说“学校”这个词的时候，
00:18
so many memories come back to me.
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我的脑海里涌现出很多回忆。
00:22
It's like after every exam, when I walk out,
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就像每次考试后我走出教室时，
00:25
the teacher would say, "Hey, come.
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老师会说：“嘿，过来一下，
00:27
How did you do?"
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做得怎样啊？”
00:29
I would say with a great smile, "I will definitely pass."
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我会咧开嘴笑：“我一定会及格的，放心吧。”
00:31
And I didn't understand why,
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那时我不懂为什么，
00:33
in one hand they say, "Speak the truth,"
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一方面他们说：“要说真话，”
00:35
in the other hand, when you say the truth, they hated you.
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另一方面，当你说真话的时候，他们又不满意了。
00:37
So it went on like that,
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所以一直那样纠结着，
00:39
and I didn't know where else to find myself.
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找不到自己的位置。
00:42
So I remember those nights
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我记得那些个夜晚，
00:44
I used to go to sleep
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睡觉前
00:46
with asking help from [the] Unknown
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我会向未知求助，
00:49
because, for some reason,
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因为，由于某种原因，
00:51
I couldn't believe what my father and mother
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我不能奉我父母
00:53
hanged in the Puja room as a god,
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挂在梵刹内的东西为神，
00:56
because my friend's family
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因为我朋友家
00:58
had something else as a god.
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又信另一种神。
01:00
So I thought, "I guess I'll pray to [the] Unknown
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所以我对自个儿说：“还是不要指名道姓好了，
01:02
and ask help,"
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得到帮助的机会会大点儿。”
01:05
and started getting help from everywhere,
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至此以后便一发不可收拾，
01:07
each and every corner of my life at that time.
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什么神都来帮我了。
01:11
My brothers started giving me a few tips about drawing and painting.
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比如我老哥开始在绘画上给我一些指点。
01:14
Then, when I was in eighth standard
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然后，当我上八年级
01:17
around 13 years old,
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大概13岁的时候，
01:20
I started working in a part-time job
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开始在一个叫putu的制作招牌的艺术家那儿
01:22
in one of the signboard artists called Putu.
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兼职。
01:28
And then school also started supporting me.
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又比如，学校开始给我提供支持与帮助：
01:30
"Oh, he's bad at studies,
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“哦，他在学习上是没什么花头了，
01:32
but let him send to the drawing competitions."
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不过送他去绘画比赛也许有戏。”
01:35
So it was good to survive with that little tool
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所以我得以幸存，
01:38
that I found to find my own place in school.
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并找到了自己在学校里的位置。
01:42
And one of those competitions,
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在其中一次比赛中，
01:44
I just won a small, little transistor Philips radio.
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我赢来了一个小小的飞利浦的晶体管收音机。
01:47
And I didn't have the patience to wait
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我那时极为猴急。
01:49
until I reached home.
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等不到回家就把它拆开了。
01:51
So I just switched on in the train, loudly.
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还在火车上，我调大了音量。
01:53
If you travel in Indian trains,
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如果你坐过印度火车，
01:55
you can see people listening to radio
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就知道人们喜欢听收音机。
01:57
and, you know, even from their mobiles.
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甚至用手机听。
01:59
So at that time -- and I was 13 --
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而那时候，-我才13--
02:01
and I was listening to just radio,
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所以我也听收音机，
02:04
and someone happened to sit next to me,
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正好就有个人坐我旁边，
02:06
like these three people are sitting here.
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就像坐在这边的这三个人一样。
02:08
You know, like just adjacent to me.
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就是坐我旁边啦。
02:10
He just started asking, "Where did you buy the radio? How much is it?"
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他就开问了：“这收音机哪儿买的？多少钱啊？”
02:13
I said, "It's a prize from [an] art competition."
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我说：“这可是画画比赛的奖品。”
02:16
And he said, "Oh, I teach at a college of arts.
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他说：“哦，我在大学里教画画呢。
02:19
I think
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我觉得，
02:21
you should study in a school of art.
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你应该在艺术学校里学习，
02:23
You just quit school and come there."
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你直接退了学去那儿吧。”
02:25
So, why I'm telling you this,
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所以，我和你说这个的目的是，
02:27
you know, maybe, you know,
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也许，
02:29
whoever is sitting next to you can change your whole life -- it's possible.
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无论谁坐在你旁边，都可能改变你的人生。这是有可能的。
02:32
It is that we need we need to be open and fine-tuned.
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只要我们足够思想开明并具备潜质。
02:36
So that's what made me enter
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所以，这就是支持我
02:39
[the] college of arts after three attempts
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失败三次仍继续尝试，
02:42
and just continue to inquire
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并最终进入艺术学院，
02:45
what I really want to do with art work, or art
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去做我真正想要从事的艺术工作，
02:48
and finally I'm here in front of you.
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并最终站在你们面前的动力。
02:50
When I look back, you know,
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当我回首往事，
02:52
on what happened between that time
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去想在那时候与现在这段时间之间，
02:54
and now here --
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发生的事，
02:57
the last 10/15 years --
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在过去的10或15年里，
02:59
I can see that most of the works
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我总结出大部分作品，
03:01
revolve around three subjects,
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都围绕着三个主题，
03:04
but it was not intentional.
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但这不是故意的。
03:06
And I just start out with a trace because I was thinking,
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我的脑海里浮现出一道轨迹，
03:08
"What really makes us?" -- you know,
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因为我在想，“究竟什么造就了我们？”
03:10
it's actually [the] past, what makes a person.
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然后我恍然：是过去啊，是过去造就了我们。”
03:14
So I was thinking,
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所以我想，
03:16
but when you look at the past,
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当你回首过去，
03:18
the way to understand the past
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去理解过去的方法，
03:20
is only by the traces available,
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只有沿着留下的痕迹去追寻。
03:22
because we cannot go back [to] the past.
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因为 过去已如泥沙沉淀。
03:24
It can be ruins, or it can be music,
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它可能是一堆残骸，也可能是一曲仙乐，
03:26
or it can be painting or drawing or writing, whatever it is.
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又或者留在油彩或墨水中，任何方式，
03:29
But it is just a kind of trace of that time.
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但，这些都是时间的指纹。
03:34
And that fascinated me,
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我沉迷于此，
03:36
to explore that territory.
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沉迷于开拓这片艺术的疆土。
03:40
So I was working on the line,
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所以当我遨游于线条之间，
03:43
but instead of working about traces,
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去收拾这些痕迹，
03:47
I started capturing traces.
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捕捉他们，描绘他们。
03:50
So here are some of the works I would like to show you.
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现在我想给你们展示其中的一些作品。
03:53
So this is called "Self In Progress."
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这叫做：“进步的自我。”
03:56
It's just a trace of being in this body.
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它是寄居于这个身体的一道痕迹。
03:59
So here, what happened then,
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然后呢，
04:01
you know -- what I really enjoyed the most
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身体真的非常享受这个模具，
04:03
is that this sculpture
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就像这个雕像，
04:05
is nothing but a trace of myself.
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就是从我自己的过去而来的。
04:09
It's almost like a 3D photograph.
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简直就像一张3D照片。
04:11
So there is an element of performance,
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里面有表演的元素，
04:13
and there is an element of sculpture,
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雕刻的元素，
04:15
and there is an element of feeling one's self, so close to one's self.
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还有接近自我，感知自我的元素。
04:18
So it's almost like fossils for the future.
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简直就像献给未来的化石。
04:21
And then moved slowly
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然后呢，慢慢移动，
04:23
to explore the other possibilities of capturing traces.
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去探索捕捉过去的各种可能。
04:29
So this is what I was talking about, while molding,
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所以，这就是我制模时候讲的话。
04:32
it's such a great experience,
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这种体验非常之棒，
04:34
because we have freedom of like walking,
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因为我们拥有自由如走路，
04:36
or moving my hand or, moving around in the space,
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自由地挥挥手。
04:39
but the moment this becomes solid,
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但是在一瞬间这些都凝固了，
04:42
when you cannot move even an inch,
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你一动也不能动，
04:45
because this is plaster of Paris, so the moment you pour it it's like liquid;
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因为他是熟石灰，这一刻它流动自如，
04:48
but after 20 minutes, it's almost like a hard stone.
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20分钟后，他就硬如磐石了。
04:52
So this is capturing the trace of a thumbprint
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这是对指纹的捕捉，
04:56
because, knowingly or unknowingly,
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因为，知觉或不知，
04:58
whatever we do, you know, we leave our traces here.
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无论我们做什么，总是留下痕迹。
05:01
So I just thought, "I'm going to capture
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所以我想，我将捕捉，
05:04
thumbprint, footprint,
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指纹，趾纹。
05:06
or whatever traces we leave as humans."
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任何我们作为人类留下的痕迹。
05:09
This is the trace of fire,
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这是火的痕迹，
05:12
this is the trace of sun.
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这是太阳的。
05:15
Because when I was capturing traces, you know,
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因为当我捕捉痕迹时，
05:17
this thought comes to me always:
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我总是想到，
05:20
is it, only when the object touches the thing and it leaves the trace,
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是不是，一个物体自由移动，碰到了另一个物体，留下了痕迹，
05:23
or is there other ways to capture it?"
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或有没有其他方法来捕捉他呢？”
05:25
So this work is nothing but like --
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这个作品是--
05:27
because of the focal length of the lens,
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因为镜头的焦距问题，
05:29
it just shows what is on the other side.
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他只显示出了另外一边是什么。
05:33
So I just put the paper on the focal length,
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所以我就把纸放在焦距上，
05:35
which was an etching print,
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他是张蚀刻画，
05:37
then I got the portrait of [the] sun from sunlight.
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然后从阳光那儿我就得到了太阳的肖像。
05:41
This is called "Dawn to Dawn."
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这个叫“黎明”
05:43
What I did here, I just put like 10 feet [of] paper
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我做的呢，就是，放了10英尺的纸
05:46
then put a coconut rope,
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然后
05:48
and just burnt it.
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恩，
05:50
So it took about 24 hours to get this line.
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花了24小时弄的。
05:52
So wherever the fire is eating the paper,
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所以无论哪儿纸张在被火侵蚀，
05:54
that's what becomes the work --
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他就成了作品了。
05:56
detail.
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细节。
06:02
Even though we have traces
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即使我们有痕迹，
06:04
when we try to understand them,
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当我们试图理解他们，
06:08
the perception and context
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知觉和环境
06:10
play a major role to understand it.
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起的作用最大。
06:12
So do we really understand what it is,
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所以我们真正理解了吗，
06:15
or are we trying to get
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或我们只是
06:17
what we think it is?
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按我们臆想去理解他的呢?
06:19
Then move towards questioning the perception
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那么就提问直觉吧
06:21
because, even though there are traces,
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因为，即使有痕迹，
06:23
when you try to understand them, you know you play a major role.
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当你去理解时，你扮演的角色也是责任重大。
06:26
So like let's say even a simple act.
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就像，比如说，一项简单的行为中。
06:28
How many of you saw a cow crossing in India
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你们中多少人看到过印度的牛过马路，
06:31
while you were coming from Bangalore to Mysore?
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当你们从班加罗尔到迈索尔的时候？
06:33
Can you just raise the hand?
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举下手好吗?
06:36
If you just ask an opinion
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如果你问一个观点意见什么的，
06:38
of how, everyone can interpret it.
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每个人的理解都不一样。
06:41
Like, let's say, if a schoolteacher says,
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比如，一老师说的话，
06:43
she'll simply say, "To get to the other side."
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她会直接说，“为了到另一边去。”
06:45
Why the cow was crossing the road, you know.
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当被问及为什么奶牛穿越马路，你知道。
06:48
The answer can be so different if Potter said it.
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如果哈利波特说的话，答案又不一样了。
06:51
He would say, "For the greater good."
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他会说，“为了更大的利益。”
06:54
Martin Luther King would say,
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马丁路德金会说，
06:56
"I imagine a world where all cows will be free
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我有一个梦想，所有奶牛都获取自由去
06:59
to cross the road,
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穿越马路，
07:01
without having their motives called into question."
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而不受任何争议。”
07:04
(Laughter)
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（笑）
07:06
Imagine Moses comes now, and he sees
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想象一下摩斯现在来了，然后他看到了
07:08
the same cow walking around the street.
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那头同样的奶牛在穿越马路。
07:10
He would definitely say,
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他一定会说，
07:12
"God came down from heaven,
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“神仙下凡了，
07:15
and he said unto the cow,
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然后他对奶牛说，
07:18
'Thou shalt cross the road.'
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“汝应穿越马路。”
07:21
And cow crossed the road,
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然后奶牛穿越了马路，
07:23
and there was much rejoicing as a holy cow."
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然后大受鼓舞，天降神牛啊，天降神牛啊。
07:26
(Laughter)
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（笑）
07:28
Freud would say,
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弗洛伊德会说，
07:30
"The fact that you're at all concerned
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你如此关注的事实
07:32
reveals your underlying sexual insecurity."
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揭露了你隐藏的性欲。”
07:35
(Laughter)
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（笑）
07:37
If we ask Einstein,
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如果我们问爱因斯坦，
07:39
he would say, "Whether the cow crossed the road,
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他会说：“是奶牛穿越马路，
07:42
or the road moved underneath the cow,
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还是奶牛身下道路的移动，
07:44
depends on your frame of reference."
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都取决于你的参照系。”
07:46
(Laughter)
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（笑）
07:48
Or Buddha --
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那么，佛陀呢。
07:50
if he saw the same cow, he would say,
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如果他看见了同一头奶牛，他会说，
07:52
"Asking this question denies your own nature [as a] cow."
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“问这个问题否定了你自身的奶牛本性。”
07:55
(Laughter)
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（笑）
07:58
So, what we see
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所以，我们看见的，
08:01
is just what we think often,
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经常只是我们的所想而已，
08:04
and most of the time, we don't see what it is.
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并且大部分时候，我们看不见事物的本质。
08:07
It just all depends on one's perception.
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我们只是依靠于我们的直觉。
08:10
And context, what is really context?
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那么情景呢，情景是什么？
08:13
You know, I could just show you this little piece of paper.
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我们来看一下这张小纸片就知道了。
08:16
Because I always think meaning doesn't really exist.
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因为我总是认为根本就没有什么意义之说。
08:21
The meaning of what we create in this world doesn't exist.
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我们在这世上的创造物根本是没什么意义的。
08:23
It's just created by the mind.
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意义什么的只存在于我们的脑袋里。
08:26
If you look at this piece of paper,
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如果你看着这张纸，
08:29
this is the breadth
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这是宽，
08:31
and this is called length.
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这是长，
08:33
This is how we've been taught in school.
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这就是我们在学校里学到的。
08:37
But if you tear it in the middle --
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但是如果你从中间把它撕开。
08:40
now, I didn't touch this breadth,
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现在，我不碰到这宽，
08:42
but still, the meaning of this changes.
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但改变仍然已经发生。
08:44
So what we conceive as a meaning
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所以我们所谓意义，
08:46
is always not there;
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根本是不存在的；
08:48
it's on the other side,
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他在事物的另一面，
08:50
even when we say dark, light,
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即使是我们说的黑暗，光亮，
08:52
good, bad, tall, short --
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好，坏，高，矮--
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all meaning it doesn't exist in reality.
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现实中并不存在。
08:57
It's just that being a human,
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那只是，作为一个人类，
08:59
the way we train to perceive the reality
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通过被训练一些看待事物特定方法，
09:02
creates this meaning.
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我们自个创造了意义。
09:04
So this work from this period
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所以这阶段的这个作品，
09:06
is mostly like --
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很像是--
09:08
you know, this is a work called "Light Makes Dark."
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呃，他叫做“光明制造黑暗”
09:10
It's just captured through from the lamp.
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这是从台灯那儿捕捉到的。
09:13
So the lamp is not just giving a light, it's also giving a darkness.
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所以台灯不仅创造了光亮，也创造了黑暗。
09:16
So this is a work of art, which is just trying to explore that.
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所以这就是一个试图探索这个主题的艺术作品。
09:20
This is called "Limit Out."
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这叫“无极限”
09:22
This shows how limited our eye or hearing sense or touch --
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他展示了我们的视觉听觉的极度受限--
09:25
do we really see?
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我们真的看到了吗？
09:27
This is an exact negative.
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这是个极好的佐证。
09:29
It's about six inches deep in the wall,
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它嵌在墙里大约6英尺，
09:31
but it just appears like it's coming out of the wall.
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但看上去好像他正要从墙里钻出来呢。
09:37
You know the wall is almost like --
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这个墙就像是--
09:39
this is the first skin, and this is the second,
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这是第一层表皮，第二层，
09:41
and there's a third, and each creates a meaning.
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第三层，每一层都有一个意义。
09:43
And we're just pulling the wall off the gallery.
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我们只是把墙脱离出整个画廊。。
09:46
Again, "Inward Out."
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再一次，“里外”
09:48
It's a full-figure cast from myself.
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它是由我自己铸成的。
09:50
It's about eight inches deep.
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大概8英尺深。
09:56
When I was doing that, I always wondered since I've worked with creators --
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当我在做它的时候，总是怀疑自己曾与造物主合作--
09:59
and now you know, I've moved to questioning the perception --
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现在到了提问知觉的时候了--
10:02
whenever I see the bird flying in the sky,
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无论何时我看到有鸟在天上飞
10:05
it just makes me feel like:
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就感到--
10:08
is there anything behind, are there any traces up there,
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他们有没有留下什么痕迹呢，有没有呢?
10:11
which as a human, we don't see them?
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作为人，我们无法用肉眼看到的痕迹?
10:14
Is there any way to capture the thought
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有没有一种方法能够把这种想法
10:17
into visual art?
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投射到可见的艺术当中？
10:20
I couldn't find it.
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我找不到。
10:23
But a solution arrived
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但是停止工作安静思考6，7个月后，
10:26
after being quiet and not working for about six, seven months,
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我终于想到了，
10:29
in the restroom,
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在一个餐馆里，
10:31
when I was changing the air freshener
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当我在换空气清新剂的时候。
10:34
that goes from solid substance to vapor.
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他从固体变为液体。
10:36
It's called Odonil.
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它就叫Odonil。
10:38
This is the work I made out of that material.
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这是我对那个素材的创作。
10:42
The process to get to make the sculpture was interesting,
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做雕塑的过程非常有趣。
10:44
because I wrote to Balsara,
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因为我给做空气清新剂Odonil的
10:46
who produces that air freshener called Odonil,
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Balsara公司写信。
10:48
saying, "Dear Sir, I am an artist. This is my catalogue.
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信上说，“亲爱的先生，我是名艺术家，这是我的履历。
10:50
Will you help me to make this sculpture?"
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你能帮我做这个雕塑吗？”
10:52
They never wrote back to me.
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他们没给我回信。
10:54
Then I thought, "I will go to the Small Scale Industries
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然后我就想，“那么我就去一些小作坊
10:57
Facilitating Unit and ask help."
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寻求帮助吧。”
10:59
So I told them, "I'd like to start an air freshener company."
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所以我告诉他们，“我想要开一家空气清新剂公司。”
11:03
They said, "Of course.
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他们说，“当然可以了。”
11:05
This is the fee for the project report,
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“这是工程价格报告，
11:07
and we will give you all the details," and they gave.
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过后会给你补充细节。”
11:09
Finally, I went back to them and said,
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最后，我又去找了他们告诉他们：
11:12
"It's not for starting the company, it's just to make my own work.
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我不是要开公司，只是想做我自己的作品。
11:15
Please come for the show."
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你们来看看我的演示吧。”
11:17
And they did.
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然后他们就来了。
11:19
And this work is in the Devi Art Foundation in Delhi.
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这幅作品是“德里的基础”
11:22
In India, nobody really talks about works of art;
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在印度，没有人真正关心艺术。
11:25
they always talk about the appreciation of art.
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他们只关心作品的价格，增值空间。
11:28
You buy this for 3,000 rupees,
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现在你用3000卢比买了这个，
11:30
it'll become 30,000 in two months.
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两个月后它就升值到30000了。
11:32
This is the craft that was going on,
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这就是事实，
11:34
but there are a few collectors
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但也有一些收藏者，
11:36
who also collect art which can depreciate.
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收藏可能贬值的作品。
11:38
And this was collected by Anapum --
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这是Anapum的收藏--
11:40
which is like, finally in the end, he will not have anything,
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其实最终它们不会值几个钱的。
11:42
because it will evaporate.
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因为价值会蒸发。
11:46
So this is after a few weeks,
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这是几星期以后的，
11:49
this is after a few months.
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几个月以后的。
11:51
It's just all about questioning the preconceptions.
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这只是一个关于先入为主的问题。
11:54
So if someone says, "Oh, I see the portrait,"
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所以如果有人说，“哦，我看过那肖像。”
11:57
it may not be the portrait after a few months.
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几个月后他可能就不是肖像了。
11:59
And if they say it's solid,
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如果他们说它是固体，
12:01
it will not be solid, it will evaporate.
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他有可能不是固体，他会蒸发。
12:04
And if they say they don't get it,
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如果他们说他们没拿到，
12:06
that's also not true,
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那也是谎言，
12:08
because it's in the air.
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因为他就弥漫于空气中，
12:10
It's in the same gallery or in the same museum.
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在同一个画廊或博物馆的空气中。
12:12
So they inhaled it,
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他们呼吸着它，
12:14
but they are not aware of it.
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却浑然不觉。
12:17
While I was doing that work,
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当我在完成那件作品时，
12:19
my mom and my dad,
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我老爸老妈，
12:21
they were looking at it and they said,
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看着他然后说，
12:23
"Why do you deal with negative subjects all the time?"
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“为什么你总是围绕着这些稀奇古怪的题材？”
12:26
And I was like, "What do you mean?"
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然后我就说，“什么意思啊？”
12:28
"Light makes dark and now evaporating self.
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“光亮制造了黑暗，然后现在又是会蒸发的细胞？
12:31
Don't you think it remained something about death," they said.
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你不觉得其中包含了一点关于死亡的意味吗？”他们说。
12:34
"Of course not. For me," I'm thinking,
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'“当然不是了，对于我来说。”我想，
12:36
"this is tucked in some small solid,
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“他是被塞入一些小的固体之中，
12:38
but the moment it evaporates,
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但他蒸发的瞬间，
12:40
it's merged with the whole."
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就融入了整个整体。”
12:42
But she said, "No. Still, I don't like it.
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但是她说，“不，我还是不喜欢他。
12:44
Can you make something from nothing
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你作为一个雕塑家，
12:46
as a sculptor?"
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能够实现从无到有的过程吗？”
12:48
I said, "No, mom. It can't be.
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我说，“不行，老妈，不行的。
12:50
Because we can create
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因为我们可以去
12:53
a sculpture
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把土黏在一起
12:55
by gathering dust together,
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去做一个雕塑，
12:57
or we can break the sculpture and get the dust,
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或者我们可以打破雕塑来得到泥土，
13:00
but there is nowhere that we can bring dust into the universe."
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但是我们不能创造泥土。”
13:03
So, I did this work for her.
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所以我为她制作了这件作品。
13:06
It's called "Emerging Angel."
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它叫“慢慢出现的天使”
13:08
This is the first day --
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这是第一天。
13:10
it just gives the appearance
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看起来像是
13:12
that one is becoming the other.
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一样食物变成了另一样。
13:14
So, the same sculpture
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所以，同一桌雕塑，
13:16
after a few days.
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几天之后，
13:20
This is after 15/20 days.
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这是15，20天之后，
13:23
Through that small little slit
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虽然那条小小的裂缝
13:25
between the glass box and the wood,
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存在于玻璃盒子和木头之间，
13:27
the air goes underneath the sculpture and creates the other one.
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空气钻进了雕塑，然后又产生了另一条裂缝。
13:30
This gave me a greater faith.
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但他给了我一个更大的启发。
13:32
That evaporating sculpture gave me a greater faith
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那个蒸发的雕塑给了我一个更大的，信念。
13:35
that maybe there is many more possibilities
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也许，会有更多的可能
13:37
to capture [the] invisible.
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去捕捉那些看不见的东西。
13:39
So what you see now
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所以你现在看到的东西，
13:41
is called "Shadow Foreshadow."
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叫做“预兆的影子”
13:44
And what I'd like to tell you
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我想告诉你的是，
13:46
is we don't see shadow, and we don't see light too;
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我们不是看见影子，也不是看见光亮，
13:49
we see the source of the light.
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我们看见的是光亮的源头。
13:51
We see where it's bouncing, but we don't see [them] as they exist.
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我们看到的是他们的反射物，而不是他们本身的存在。
13:54
You know, that's why the night sky, we see the sky as dark,
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你知道，这就是为什么，夜晚的时候。我们看到天是黑的，
13:57
but it's filled with light all the time.
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但其实他无时无刻不充满光亮。
13:59
When it's bounced on the moon, we see it.
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当他们在月球表面反射，我们看见了他。
14:01
The same thing in the darkroom.
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暗室也是同样道理。
14:03
The little dust particle will again, reflect the light,
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小的尘埃也会反射光亮，
14:06
and we realize the existence of light.
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然后我们就感觉出了光的存在。
14:08
So we don't see dark, we don't see light,
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我们看不到黑暗，也看不到光亮，
14:11
we don't see gravity, we don't see electricity.
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看不到引力，看不到电流。
14:14
So, I just started doing this work
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所以，我开始做这件作品
14:17
to inquire further
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来更深层次的探寻
14:20
about how to sculpt
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雕塑，
14:22
the space between this object and there.
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物体之间空间的方法。
14:25
Because, as a visual artist, if I'm seeing this and I'm seeing that --
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因为，在可视的艺术中，我看到了这个，那么我也看到了那个--
14:28
but how to sculpt this, you know?
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但是雕塑家们应该怎样去描绘呢？
14:31
If we sculpt this, this has two reference points.
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如果我们雕这个的话，他有两个参照点。
14:34
The skin of this is also representing this.
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它的表面也代表了这个。
14:37
And skin at the other end also represents the floor.
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另外一端的表皮也代表了地面。
14:40
I did this as an experiment
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我把这作为一项实验来做，
14:43
of casting the shadow.
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你知道，铸造影子。
14:45
So this is a corrugated box and its shadow.
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这个呢，是一个有波纹的盒子和他的影子。
14:48
Then the second one --
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第二个--
14:50
the moment you bring any invisible into the visible world
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你把不可见的东西可视化的那一刻，
14:53
it will have all the characteristics of the visible existence.
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它就具备了所有可视物体的性质了。
14:56
So that produced a shadow.
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所以他又有了一个影子。
14:58
Then I thought, okay, let me sculpt that.
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然后我想，好吧，让我把他雕出来。
15:00
Then, again, that becomes an object.
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然后，又一次地，他变成了一个物体。
15:02
Again, throwing light, then the third one.
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然后，第三个。
15:05
So what you see is nothing but shadow
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所以现在你只看得到影子的，
15:07
of a shadow of a shadow.
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影子的影子。
15:09
And then again, at that point, there is no shadow.
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然后又一次，在那个点上，没有影子。
15:12
I thought, "Oh, good. Work is finished."
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我想，“哦，好的，完成了。
15:16
You can see the detail.
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你能看到细节。
15:22
This is called "Gravity."
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它叫“引力”
15:29
It's called "Breath." It's just two holes on the gallery wall.
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它叫“宽”。他就是在画廊墙上的俩洞。
15:32
It's a false wall, which contains
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它是座假墙，里面有，
15:34
like 110 cubic feet.
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大概110立方英尺。
15:36
So that hole actually
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所以事实上，那个洞，
15:38
makes the air come out and go in.
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实现了空气的流通。
15:41
So where it's happening, we can see,
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我们能看见他在发生，
15:43
but what is happening will remain invisible only.
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但实际上发生的事永远是不可见的。
15:45
This is from the show called "Invisible," at Talwar Gallery.
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这是从Talwar画廊的一场秀上来的，
15:48
This is called "Kaayam."
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叫做“Kaayam”。
15:50
Detail.
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细节。
15:55
And what I'd like to tell you,
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我想告诉你的是，
15:58
our senses are so limited --
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我们的感官如此之受限，
16:00
we cannot hear everything, we cannot see everything.
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我们什么也得不到，什么也看不到。
16:02
We don't feel, "I am touching the air,"
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我们不能感觉，“我正在触摸空气，”
16:04
but if the breeze is a little more faster, then I can feel it.
368
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如果气流再快一点，那我能够感觉到他。
16:08
So all of our construction of reality
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所以所有我们关于现实的建构，
16:11
is through these limited senses.
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都是通过这些极受限的感官。
16:13
So my recourse was like,
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所以求援就像是，，
16:15
is there any way to use all this
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又没有一种方法来使用所有的这些
16:17
as just a symbol or a sign?
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作为纯粹的标志或记号？
16:21
And to really get to the point,
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而且真正要达到目的，
16:23
we should move beyond, you know,
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我们需要超越，
16:25
go to the other side of the wall, like in logic,
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走到墙的另一面，逻辑上来说，
16:27
like are invisible.
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看不见的地方。
16:29
Because when we see someone walks, we see the footprint.
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因为我们看到某人走路时，我们看到了脚印。
16:31
But if we're just cutting that footprint from the whole thing and trying to analyze it,
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但如果我们单纯把脚印截取出来，并试图去分析它，
16:34
you will miss the point
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会有失偏颇，
16:36
because the actual journey happens between those footprints,
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因为实际上旅程位于脚印之间，
16:39
and the footprints are nothing but passing time.
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而脚印只不过是在时间里留下的痕迹。
16:41
Thank you.
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谢谢。
16:43
(Applause)
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掌声
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alwar Balasubramaniam - ArtistSculptor, painter and printmaker Alwar Balasubramaniam makes work that crosses the boundary between art, perception and life.
Why you should listen
Alwar Balasubramaniam's work aches to express the overlooked, the invisible, the inexpressible. Quiet white sculptural forms, hung on a wall, unlock philosophical questions as one watches the light pass over them. What is their form, and what is their shadow? What are those mysterious white hands reaching for, around the corner and through the wall?
Trained in painting and printmaking, Balasubramaniam has been experimenting with a range of materials (fiberglass, wax, gold) to create sculptural works that bring forth his ideas and his search process. His work is often very tactile, very physical, but it symbolizes an exploration of big questions: what defines the self? what confines us? how do light and shadow shape our view of the world?
Alwar Balasubramaniam | Speaker | TED.com