TED2011
Janet Echelman: Taking imagination seriously
Janet Echelman:重視想像力
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當Janet Echelman的畫作都不見時她才發現了自己的藝術風格——因為她不得不迫使自己尋找一種非主流的新創作材料。現在她創作的起伏流動，房子大小的雕塑有著令人驚訝的古怪的外形。讓我們體會10分鐘的純創作吧。
Janet Echelman - Artist
American artist Janet Echelman reshapes urban airspace with monumental, fluidly moving sculpture that responds to environmental forces including wind, water, and sunlight. Full bio
American artist Janet Echelman reshapes urban airspace with monumental, fluidly moving sculpture that responds to environmental forces including wind, water, and sunlight. Full bio
Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.
00:15
This story
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這個故事
00:17
is about taking imagination seriously.
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是關於如何重視想像力。
00:20
Fourteen years ago,
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14年前，
00:22
I first encountered this ordinary material, fishnet,
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我第一次接觸到這種平平無奇的東西，漁網，
00:25
used the same way for centuries.
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幾百年來都是用來打漁。
00:28
Today, I'm using it to create
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今天，我卻用它來創作
00:30
permanent, billowing, voluptuous forms
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持久的，起伏有致，充滿張力的
00:33
the scale of hard-edged buildings
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建筑物大小的雕塑，
00:35
in cities around the world.
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放置在世界上的很多城市。
00:38
I was an unlikely person to be doing this.
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我本來是最不可能從事這行的。
00:41
I never studied sculpture,
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我從來沒學過雕塑，
00:43
engineering or architecture.
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工程或建築
00:45
In fact, after college
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事實上，大學畢業後，
00:47
I applied to seven art schools
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我申請了7個藝術院校
00:49
and was rejected by all seven.
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結果他們全把我拒之門外。
00:53
I went off on my own to become an artist,
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我只好自己想辦法成為一名藝術工作者，
00:55
and I painted for 10 years,
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我畫了10年的畫，
00:59
when I was offered a Fulbright to India.
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當我拿到Fullbright獎學金去印度。
01:02
Promising to give exhibitions of paintings,
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我承諾要舉辦一個畫展，
01:05
I shipped my paints and arrived in Mahabalipuram.
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就把我所有的畫都打包郵寄了，自己也到了Mahabalipuram（印度南部城市）
01:07
The deadline for the show arrived --
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展覽快要開幕了——
01:10
my paints didn't.
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我的畫卻沒來！
01:12
I had to do something.
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我必須做點什麽。
01:14
This fishing village was famous for sculpture.
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這個漁村以雕塑聞名。
01:16
So I tried bronze casting.
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於是我嘗試青銅鑄件。
01:19
But to make large forms was too heavy and expensive.
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但是要造大型的作品太重也太貴。
01:22
I went for a walk on the beach,
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我跑去沙灘上散步，
01:24
watching the fishermen
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看那些漁民
01:26
bundle their nets into mounds on the sand.
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在沙灘上，將漁網收攏成一堆。
01:28
I'd seen it every day,
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這是我每天都看到的場景，
01:30
but this time I saw it differently --
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但這次我卻有了新的發現——
01:32
a new approach to sculpture,
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一種新的雕塑方法——
01:34
a way to make volumetric form
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可以創造大型作品
01:37
without heavy solid materials.
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卻無需沉重的實心材料。
01:40
My first satisfying sculpture
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我的第一個滿意的雕塑作品
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was made in collaboration with these fishermen.
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就是和這些漁民一起完成的。
01:45
It's a self-portrait
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這個雕塑是我自己
01:47
titled "Wide Hips."
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叫做“闊臀。”
01:49
(Laughter)
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（觀眾笑聲）
01:53
We hoisted them on poles to photograph.
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我們把它們吊起來放到柱子上拍照。
01:56
I discovered
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我發現
01:58
their soft surfaces
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它們柔軟的表面
02:00
revealed every ripple of wind
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能展現風的任何蛛絲馬跡
02:02
in constantly changing patterns.
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不斷地改變著形狀。
02:04
I was mesmerized.
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我簡直著了魔。
02:07
I continued studying craft traditions
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我繼續學習傳統手工藝
02:10
and collaborating with artisans,
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和工匠們一起工作，
02:12
next in Lithuania with lace makers.
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後來在立陶宛，和蕾絲工匠們一起。
02:14
I liked the fine detail
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我喜歡它賦予我的作品
02:16
it gave my work,
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精細的細節。
02:18
but I wanted to make them larger --
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但是我希望它們可以大些——
02:20
to shift from being an object you look at
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從一個你能注視的物體
02:22
to something you could get lost in.
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放大到足以讓你迷失在其中。
02:25
Returning to India to work with those fishermen,
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回到印度，和漁民一起，
02:28
we made a net
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我們造了一張網，
02:30
of a million and a half hand-tied knots --
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上面有一百五十萬個手打的繩結——
02:35
installed briefly in Madrid.
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在馬德里短期展出。
02:38
Thousands of people saw it,
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上千人看到了它，
02:40
and one of them was the urbanist
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其中一個人是城市規劃師
02:42
Manual Sola-Morales
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Manual Sola-Morales
02:44
who was redesigning the waterfront
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他當時在重新設計
02:46
in Porto, Portugal.
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葡萄牙波爾圖的濱河地帶。
02:49
He asked if I could build this
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他問我是否能把這個
02:51
as a permanent piece for the city.
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做成一個永久性的作品放在波爾圖。
02:53
I didn't know if I could do that
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我也不知道在讓其固定的同時
02:55
and preserve my art.
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還能否保持我的藝術風格。
02:57
Durable, engineered, permanent --
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持久，設計，永恆——
03:00
those are in opposition
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這些正好與
03:02
to idiosyncratic, delicate and ephemeral.
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敏感，脆弱和短暫相對。
03:06
For two years, I searched for a fiber
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在兩年裡，我尋找一種纖維，
03:09
that could survive ultraviolet rays,
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可以經受得住紫外線，
03:11
salt, air, pollution,
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含鹽分的空氣，污染，
03:14
and at the same time remain soft enough
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而同時還能保持足夠柔軟，
03:16
to move fluidly in the wind.
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可以在風中起伏運動。
03:19
We needed something to hold the net up
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我們需要某種東西可以支撐起網子
03:21
out there in the middle of the traffic circle.
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讓它矗立在交通環島中央。
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So we raised this 45,000-pound steel ring.
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結果我們抬起了這個重達4萬5千磅的鋼環。
03:28
We had to engineer it
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我們必須把它設計得
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to move gracefully in an average breeze
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能隨著每陣輕風優雅地拂動，
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and survive in hurricane winds.
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同時又能在颶風中倖存下來。
03:35
But there was no engineering software
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但是沒有一種工程軟件
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to model something porous and moving.
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來模擬這種多孔又運動的物體。
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I found a brilliant aeronautical engineer
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我找到一位出色的航空工程師
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who designs sails for America's Cup racing yachts
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他為美國杯帆船賽設計風帆，
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named Peter Heppel.
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他叫Peter Heppel。
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He helped me tackle the twin challenges
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他幫我解決了這兩個密切相關的挑戰
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of precise shape
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精確的形態
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and gentle movement.
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與輕柔的運動並存。
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I couldn't build this the way I knew
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我不能用我熟悉的方式創造它，
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because hand-tied knots
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因為手打的繩結
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weren't going to withstand a hurricane.
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無法耐受住一場颶風。
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So I developed a relationship
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於是我聯繫了
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with an industrial fishnet factory,
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一個生產工業用漁網的工廠，
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learned the variables of their machines,
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學習了他們機床上的各種變量，
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and figured out a way
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找到一個方法
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to make lace with them.
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可以用它們編制蕾絲。
04:15
There was no language
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沒有現成的方法
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to translate this ancient, idiosyncratic handcraft
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能轉化這一古老的，特殊的手工藝
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into something machine operators could produce.
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好讓機床工人能製造出類似的東西。
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So we had to create one.
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所以我們必須自己創造出一個方法。
04:27
Three years and two children later,
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在花了三年時間，并生了兩個孩子以後，
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we raised this 50,000-square-foot lace net.
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我們掛起了這張5萬平方英尺的蕾絲網。
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It was hard to believe
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很難相信
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that what I had imagined
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我的想像
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was now built, permanent
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現在真的成形了，還是永久的，
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and had lost nothing in translation.
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而且在實現過程中沒有走樣。
04:44
(Applause)
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（觀眾掌聲）
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This intersection had been bland and anonymous.
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這個交通路口曾經一度平平無奇籍籍無名
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Now it had a sense of place.
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現在它卻成為一個景點。
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I walked underneath it
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我第一次
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for the first time.
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從下面走過。
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As I watched the wind's choreography unfold,
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當我看到風的舞動一一展現時，
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I felt sheltered
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我覺得自己受到遮護，
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and, at the same time,
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而與此同時，
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connected to limitless sky.
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又與無盡的天空相通。
05:08
My life was not going to be the same.
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我的人生從此改變。
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I want to create these oases of sculpture
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我想要繼續創作這些雕塑綠洲
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in spaces of cities around the world.
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散佈到全世界的城市。
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I'm going to share two directions
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我想給大家看我的創作中
05:27
that are new in my work.
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兩個新方向。
05:30
Historic Philadelphia City Hall:
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費城歷史紀念館：
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its plaza, I felt, needed a material for sculpture
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我覺得它的廣場需要一種雕塑
05:36
that was lighter than netting.
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要比漁網還輕。
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So we experimented
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於是我們試驗
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with tiny atomized water particles
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用小小的噴霧狀水滴
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to create a dry mist
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創造出一片乾燥的薄霧，
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that is shaped by the wind
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會被風改變形狀。
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and in testing, discovered
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在實驗中我們發現
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that it can be shaped by people
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它也會被人改變形狀，
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who can interact and move through it without getting wet.
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人可以與之互動，可以從中穿過卻不會被弄濕。
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I'm using this sculpture material
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我正在用這種雕塑材料
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to trace the paths of subway trains above ground
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去追蹤地上城鐵的軌跡，
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in real time --
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是實時的——
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like an X-ray of the city's circulatory system unfolding.
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就像逐漸延展開的城市循環系統的X光片。
06:11
Next challenge,
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下一個挑戰，
06:13
the Biennial of the Americas in Denver
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是丹佛的美國雙年展
06:15
asked, could I represent
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請我去把
06:17
the 35 nations of the Western hemisphere and their interconnectedness
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西半球的35個國家以及他們之間的相互關聯
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in a sculpture?
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用一個雕塑展現出來。
06:22
(Laughter)
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（觀眾笑聲）
06:25
I didn't know where to begin,
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我都不知道從哪下手，
06:27
but I said yes.
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但是我卻說：行。
06:29
I read about the recent earthquake in Chile
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我查閱了最近智利的地震，
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and the tsunami that rippled across
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以及橫掃過
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the entire Pacific Ocean.
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整個太平洋的海嘯。
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It shifted the Earth's tectonic plates,
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它移動了地球的板塊構造，
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sped up the planet's rotation
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加速了地球的自轉
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and literally shortened the length of the day.
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而且真的縮短了白晝的長度。
06:44
So I contacted NOAA,
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於是我聯絡美國國家海洋氣象局
06:47
and I asked if they'd share their data on the tsunami,
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詢問他們是否可以和我分享他們關於海嘯的數據
06:50
and translated it into this.
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然後創作出這個作品。
06:55
Its title: "1.26"
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標題：1.26。
06:58
refers to the number of microseconds
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就是1.26微秒
07:00
that the Earth's day was shortened.
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地球白晝被縮短的時間。
07:03
I couldn't build this with a steel ring, the way I knew.
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我無法根據已知的方法用一個鋼環來創作這個作品
07:06
Its shape was too complex now.
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它的外形太過複雜了。
07:09
So I replaced the metal armature
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於是我把金屬骨架替換為
07:11
with a soft, fine mesh
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一種柔軟的細篩，
07:13
of a fiber 15 times stronger than steel.
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它的纖維比鋼絲的強度高15倍。
07:17
The sculpture could now be entirely soft,
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現在這個雕塑可以是徹底柔軟的，
07:21
which made it so light
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而且如此之輕，
07:23
it could tie in to existing buildings --
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可以系在已有的建築物上——
07:26
literally becoming part of the fabric of the city.
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實實在在成為城市建築群落的一部份。
07:29
There was no software
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沒有任何軟件
07:31
that could extrude these complex net forms
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能生成這些複雜的網狀物的模型
07:34
and model them with gravity.
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并模擬它們在重力作用下的樣子。
07:36
So we had to create it.
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所以我們必須自己創造。
07:39
Then I got a call from New York City
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這時我收到從紐約來一個電話
07:42
asking if I could adapt these concepts
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問我是否能夠把這個創意適用到
07:45
to Times Square
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時代廣場
07:47
or the High Line.
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或空中公園。
07:49
This new soft structural method
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這種新的軟結構方法
07:52
enables me to model these
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讓我可以設計
07:54
and build these sculptures
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并建造出的雕塑
07:56
at the scale of skyscrapers.
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有摩天大廈大小。
07:59
They don't have funding yet,
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他們現在還沒籌夠資金，
08:01
but I dream now
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但是我現在夢想著
08:03
of bringing these to cities around the world
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可以把這些作品放到世界上的很多城市
08:06
where they're most needed.
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那些最需要它們的地方。
08:09
Fourteen years ago,
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十四年前，
08:12
I searched for beauty
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我爲了追求美
08:15
in the traditional things,
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走進傳統工藝，
08:17
in craft forms.
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手工藝術。
08:22
Now I combine them with hi-tech materials and engineering
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現在我把它們和高科技的材料和工程學結合起來
08:26
to create voluptuous, billowing forms
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創造出起伏飄逸的
08:29
the scale of buildings.
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建築物大小的雕塑。
08:32
My artistic horizons continue to grow.
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我的藝術視野還在擴展。
08:35
I'll leave you with this story.
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最後一個故事，
08:38
I got a call from a friend in Phoenix.
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我接到鳳凰城一個朋友的電話。
08:41
An attorney in the office
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是個坐辦公室的律師
08:43
who'd never been interested in art,
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平生從沒對藝術有過興趣，
08:45
never visited the local art museum,
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也從來沒去過當地的藝術博物館，
08:48
dragged everyone she could from the building
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卻把她樓里的人能拉的都拉出去
08:51
and got them outside to lie down underneath the sculpture.
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讓他們躺在那個雕塑下。
08:54
There they were in their business suits,
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然後他們就那麼西服革履的，
08:56
laying in the grass,
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躺在草地上，
08:58
noticing the changing patterns of wind
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看著不停變化著的風，
09:00
beside people they didn't know,
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儘管身邊的人彼此不認識，
09:02
sharing the rediscovery of wonder.
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卻一同分享著對奇跡的重新發現。
09:06
Thank you.
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謝謝大家。
09:08
(Applause)
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（觀眾掌聲）
09:11
Thank you. Thank you.
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謝謝大家。謝謝大家。
09:13
Thank you.
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謝謝大家。
09:15
Thank you. Thank you.
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謝謝大家。謝謝大家。
09:18
(Applause)
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（觀眾掌聲）
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Janet Echelman - ArtistAmerican artist Janet Echelman reshapes urban airspace with monumental, fluidly moving sculpture that responds to environmental forces including wind, water, and sunlight.
Why you should listen
Janet Echelman builds living, breathing sculpture environments that respond to the forces of nature — wind, water and light— and become inviting focal points for civic life.
Exploring the potential of unlikely materials, from fishing net to atomized water particles, Echelman combines ancient craft with cutting-edge technology to create her permanent sculpture at the scale of buildings. Experiential in nature, the result is sculpture that shifts from being an object you look at, to something you can get lost in.
Recent prominent works include “Her Secret is Patience”, which spans two city blocks in downtown Phoenix, “Water Sky Garden”, which premiered for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, and “She Changes”, which transformed a waterfront plaza in Porto, Portugal. Her newest commission creates a “Zone of Recomposure” in the new Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport. Upcoming projects include the remaking of Dilworth Plaza in front of Philadelphia City Hall -- turning it into a garden of dry-mist.
Janet Echelman | Speaker | TED.com