ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alexa Meade - Visual artist
Alexa Meade paints mesmerizing, illusionistic portraits directly on living subjects, subverting familiar visual cues with perspective and color.

Why you should listen

Alexa Meade creates paintings in 3D space that make the real world appear to be a 2D painting. What may look like a traditional painted portrait is actually a photograph of a living, breathing person whose face, clothes and surroundings are all covered in acrylic paint. The 3D paintings can be photographed from any angle and maintain the illusion of flatness without the need for digital effects.

Alexa stumbled upon this technique by accident. While she was studying political science in college, she had an idea for an art project: what would it look like if she covered up shadows in the landscape with black paint? This question led her down a rabbit hole of experiments with painitng in 3D space that led to her discovery of this new style of optical illusion. She paints on people around the world who become part of the urban landscape as living street art. The photographs of the ephemeral painting performances hang on the walls of galleries and museums.

She recieved critical acclaim from CNN, Wired, NPR, the Wall Street Journal, and more. She has lectured at the CalArts, UC-Berkeley, Apple, Adobe and National Geographic London

Alexa travels the world creating live painting performances, art installations and commisioned portraits. Currently, Alexa is collaborating with scientists and researching spacetime at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. Alexa is making a series of magical paintings with David Blaine, transforming her home into a "Fun House" with Chris Hughes, developing a line of toys and volunteering in the art program at the Braille Institute. 

More profile about the speaker
Alexa Meade | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2013

Alexa Meade: Your body is my canvas

艾里珊.米得 (Alexa Meade): 你的身體我的畫布

Filmed:
2,815,934 views

艾里珊.米得 (Alexa Meade) 使用一種新穎的手法去創造藝術。對她來說,不只是拉緊畫布後在畫布上練習素描,而是選擇一個主題,並把它實在地畫出來。她將場景上的一切──人、 椅子、食物,只要能想到的──都以一層顏料依照畫下方的物體畫出來。在這次令人大開眼界的演講中,米得向我們展示出一些照片,一些稀奇古怪的作品,並分享了有關人、畫和牛奶的新專案。
- Visual artist
Alexa Meade paints mesmerizing, illusionistic portraits directly on living subjects, subverting familiar visual cues with perspective and color. Full bio

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

00:12
You may可能 want to take a closer接近 look.
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你或許會想仔細地看看
00:14
There's more to this painting繪畫 than meets符合 the eye.
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這幅畫比你看到的還複雜
00:17
And yes, it's an acrylic丙烯酸樹脂 painting繪畫 of a man,
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是的,這張畫是用壓克力顏料
畫出來的男人
00:21
but I didn't paint塗料 it on canvas帆布.
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但我並不是畫在畫布上
00:24
I painted it directly on top最佳 of the man.
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而是直接畫在那個男人身上
00:27
What I do in my art藝術 is I skip跳躍 the canvas帆布 altogether,
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我的藝術創作常常略過畫布
00:30
and if I want to paint塗料 your portrait肖像,
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如果想替你畫一幅肖像
00:32
I'm painting繪畫 it on you, physically物理 on you.
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我會畫在你身上,
實際地畫在你的身體上
00:35
That also means手段 you're probably大概 going to end結束 up
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這也意味著最終
00:37
with an earful大發牢騷 of paint塗料,
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你的耳朵裡可能到處是顏料
00:39
because I need to paint塗料 your ear on your ear.
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因為我必須在你的耳朵上畫上你的耳朵
00:43
Everything in this scene現場, the person, the clothes衣服,
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這場景內一切事物,人物、衣服、
00:46
chairs椅子, wall, gets得到 covered覆蓋 in a mask面具 of paint塗料
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椅子、 牆壁,都遮蓋著一層顏料
00:49
that mimics模仿 what's directly below下面 it,
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依照畫下方的物體繪畫出來
00:52
and in this way, I'm able能夠 to take a three-dimensional三維 scene現場
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以這種方式,
我能創造一個三維的場景
00:56
and make it look like a two-dimensional二維 painting繪畫.
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並使它看起來像一幅平面圖
00:59
I can photograph照片 it from any angle角度,
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我能從任何角度拍攝
01:01
and it will still look 2D.
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它看起來仍會像是二維的
01:04
There's no PhotoshopPhotoshop中 here.
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這裡沒有用 Photoshop (修圖軟體)
01:07
This is just a photo照片
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這只是一張相片
01:09
of one of my three-dimensional三維 paintings繪畫.
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那些三維油畫的其中一幅
01:13
You might威力 be wondering想知道 how I came來了 up with this idea理念
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或許你會想知道我怎麼會想到
01:15
of turning車削 people into paintings繪畫.
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把人變成圖畫
01:17
But originally本來, this had nothing to do
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原先其實跟人或顏料
01:20
with either people or paint塗料.
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也無關的
01:22
It was about shadows陰影.
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這是關於影子
01:25
I was fascinated入迷 with the absence缺席 of light,
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我著迷於沒有光的世界
01:27
and I wanted to find a way that I could give it materiality實質性
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想找一種方法,在它改變之前
01:31
and pin it down before it changed.
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可以把它實質地固定下來
01:33
I came來了 up with the idea理念 of painting繪畫 shadows陰影.
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於是我想到了畫陰影
01:36
I loved喜愛 that I could hide隱藏 within this shadow陰影
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我熱愛可以隱藏在
01:38
my own擁有 painted version,
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這些我畫的影子中
01:40
and it would be almost幾乎 invisible無形
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而且幾乎是看不見的
01:43
until直到 the light changed, and all of a sudden突然
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直至光線改變了,突然間
01:45
my shadow陰影 would be brought to the light.
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我的影子就暴露在日光下
01:48
I wanted to think about what else其他 I could put shadows陰影 on,
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我在想還可把陰影畫在哪裡
01:51
and I thought of my friend朋友 Bernie伯尼.
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於是想到了朋友貝尼
01:54
But I didn't just want to paint塗料 the shadows陰影.
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但我不僅想畫一些影子
01:57
I also wanted to paint塗料 the highlights強調
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還想畫上一些加亮的部分
01:59
and create創建 a mapping製圖 on his body身體 in greyscale灰階.
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在他的身體上創作
一幅貼圖製成的灰階圖檔
02:02
I had a very specific具體 vision視力 of what this would look like,
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對於它會變成什麼樣子
我有一個明確的概念
02:06
and as I was painting繪畫 him,
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當我給他塗顏料時
02:08
I made製作 sure to follow跟隨 that very closely密切.
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我得確保畫得很相近
02:10
But something kept不停 on flickering閃爍 before my eyes眼睛.
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但有些東西不停地
在我眼前忽隱忽現
02:13
I wasn't quite相當 sure what I was looking at.
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我不大確定看見什麼
02:15
And then when I took that moment時刻 to take a step back,
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然後當我退一步,一瞬間
02:19
magic魔法.
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不可思議!
02:21
I had turned轉身 my friend朋友 into a painting繪畫.
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我把朋友變成了一幅畫
02:24
I couldn't不能 have foreseen預見 that
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在我剛開始畫陰影時
02:25
when I wanted to paint塗料 a shadow陰影,
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從未預料到會變成這樣
02:28
I would pull out this whole整個 other dimension尺寸,
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把其他空間維度也一併拉出來
02:30
that I would collapse坍方 it,
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然後折疊起來
02:31
that I would take a painting繪畫 and make it my friend朋友
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繪畫上色,再畫一下朋友
02:36
and then bring帶來 him back to a painting繪畫.
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然後把他送回到一幅畫裡
02:39
I was a little conflicted衝突 though雖然,
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我心裡有點矛盾
02:41
because I was so excited興奮 about what I'd found發現,
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因為我對我的發現非常興奮
02:45
but I was just about to graduate畢業 from college學院
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但快要大學畢業了
02:47
with a degree in political政治 science科學,
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而且會得到政治學學位
02:49
and I'd always had this dream夢想
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我一直有個夢想
02:51
of going to Washington華盛頓, D.C.,
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就是去華盛頓哥倫比亞特區
02:53
and sitting坐在 at a desk
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坐在辦公室
02:56
and working加工 in government政府.
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受僱於政府
02:58
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
03:00
Why did this have to get in the way of all that?
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為什麼出現這個擋路的?
03:04
I made製作 the tough強硬 decision決定
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我做了一個艱難決定
03:05
of going home after graduation畢業
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畢業後就搬回家
03:09
and not going up to Capitol國會大廈 Hill爬坡道,
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而不是到國會山莊去
03:12
but going down to my parents'父母' basement地下室
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回到父母家的地下室
03:14
and making製造 it my job工作 to learn學習 how to paint塗料.
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學習如何以繪畫為生
03:17
I had no idea理念 where to begin開始.
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我不知道該從何處著手
03:21
The last time I'd painted,
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最後一次繪畫
03:22
I was 16 years年份 old at summer夏季 camp,
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是在十六歲時的夏令營
03:25
and I didn't want to teach myself how to paint塗料
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我不想透過臨摹年老大師的作品
03:27
by copying仿形 the old masters主人
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或者拉緊畫布後
03:29
or stretching拉伸 a canvas帆布
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在那平面上反復練習
03:31
and practicing over and over again on that surface表面,
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去學習如何繪畫
03:34
because that's not what this project項目 was about for me.
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因為這並不是我想要的計劃
03:37
It was about space空間 and light.
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這是關於空間和光
03:40
My early canvases畫布 ended結束 up being存在
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我早期用的畫布最後都變成
03:43
things that you wouldn't不會 expect期望 to be used as canvas帆布,
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某些你不會想要用來當畫布的東西
03:46
like fried油炸 food餐飲.
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像煎炸食物
03:48
It's nearly幾乎 impossible不可能
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讓顏料黏貼在雞蛋的油脂上
03:50
to get paint塗料 to stick to the grease潤滑脂 in an egg.
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幾乎是不可能的
03:53
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
03:55
Even harder更難 was getting得到 paint塗料 to stick
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讓顏料黏貼在葡萄柚的酸上
03:58
to the acid in a grapefruit葡萄柚.
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就更加困難
04:00
It just would erase抹去 my brush strokes
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它只會把我的筆觸效果擦掉
04:03
like invisible無形 ink墨水.
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像隱形墨水一樣
04:05
I'd put something down, and instantly即刻 it would be gone走了.
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我畫下任何東西,它也會立即消失
04:08
And if I wanted to paint塗料 on people,
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如果我想要在人類的身體上塗顏色
04:10
well, I was a little bit embarrassed尷尬
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好吧,我真是有點尷尬
04:13
to bring帶來 people down into my studio工作室
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要把其他人帶到工作室來
向他們展示
04:15
and show顯示 them that I spent花費 my days in a basement地下室
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我整天躲在地下室
04:18
putting paint塗料 on toast烤麵包.
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繪畫在土司上
04:21
It just seemed似乎 like it made製作 more sense
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在自己身上練習作畫
04:23
to practice實踐 by painting繪畫 on myself.
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看起來似乎更為合理
04:26
One of my favorite喜愛 models楷模 actually其實 ended結束 up being存在
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我最喜歡的模特兒之一
04:29
a retired退休 old man
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是一個已退休的老男人
04:31
who not only didn't mind心神 sitting坐在 still
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他不僅不介意坐著靜止不動
04:33
and getting得到 the paint塗料 in his ears耳朵,
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且在耳朵裡面塗滿顏料
04:36
but he also didn't really have much embarrassment困窘
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他倒是一點也不覺得尷尬
04:38
about being存在 taken採取 out into very public上市 places地方
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即使把他帶到公共場合
04:40
for exhibition展覽,
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展覽
04:42
like the Metro地鐵.
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例如捷運
04:45
I was having so much fun開玩笑 with this process處理.
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過程中,帶給我許多快樂
04:49
I was teaching教學 myself how to paint塗料 in all these different不同 styles款式,
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我繼續自學嘗試畫出不同的風格
04:53
and I wanted to see what else其他 I could do with it.
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看看還能做點什麼不一樣的事
04:56
I came來了 together一起 with a collaborator合作者, Sheila希拉 VandVAND,
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我和拍檔希拉‧萬斯 (Sheila Vand) 一起
04:59
and we had the idea理念 of creating創建 paintings繪畫
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我們有個想法
05:02
in a more unusual異常 surface表面,
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在一塊更為不尋常的表面上繪畫創作
05:04
and that was milk牛奶.
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就是牛奶
05:07
We got a pool. We filled填充 it with milk牛奶.
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我們找到了一個水池,
把它裝滿了牛奶
05:10
We filled填充 it with Sheila希拉. And I began開始 painting繪畫.
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把希拉放在裡面
然後我開始作畫
05:13
And the images圖片 were always
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最後畫像總是
05:15
completely全然 unexpected意外 in the end結束,
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完全出乎意料
05:17
because I could have a very specific具體 image圖片
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因為我有一個非常明確的圖像
05:20
about how it would turn out,
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它最後會變成的效果
05:21
I could paint塗料 it to match比賽 that,
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我能畫得跟想像的一樣
05:23
but the moment時刻 that Sheila希拉 laid鋪設 back into the milk牛奶,
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但當希拉躺在牛奶中的時候
05:26
everything would change更改.
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所有東西都在改變
05:28
It was in constant不變 flux通量,
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且不斷地變化著
05:30
and we had to, rather than fight鬥爭 it, embrace擁抱 it,
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我們必須欣然接受,
而不是與其作戰
05:33
see where the milk牛奶 would take us
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隨著牛奶帶領我們
05:34
and compensate補償 to make it even better.
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並作出補償使畫作變得更好
05:38
Sometimes有時, when Sheila希拉 would lay鋪設 down in the milk牛奶,
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有些時候,當希拉躺進牛奶裡
05:42
it would wash all the paint塗料 off of her arms武器,
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她手臂上的顏料會被沖洗掉
05:44
and it might威力 seem似乎 a little bit clumsy笨拙,
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這樣似乎有點笨拙
05:47
but our solution would be, okay, hide隱藏 your arms武器.
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但是我們的解決方法就是把手臂藏起來
05:50
And one time, she got so much milk牛奶 in her hair頭髮
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有一次,她的頭髮沾滿了牛奶
05:53
that it just smeared all the paint塗料 off of her face面對.
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臉上的顏料也被擦模糊了
05:56
All right, well, hide隱藏 your face面對.
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好吧,這樣的話就把妳的臉藏起來
05:59
And we ended結束 up with something far more elegant優雅
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最後我們的作品
06:02
than we could have imagined想像,
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比想像中的更為優美精緻
06:04
even though雖然 this is essentially實質上 the same相同 solution
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即使這解決方法就像小孩子
06:06
that a frustrated受挫 kid孩子 uses使用 when he can't draw hands,
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因為不會畫手而沮喪
06:09
just hiding them in the pockets口袋.
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然後把手藏在口袋裡一樣
06:13
When we started開始 out on the milk牛奶 project項目,
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當我們開始這項牛奶計劃時
06:15
and when I started開始 out,
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當我剛開始時
06:17
I couldn't不能 have foreseen預見 that I would go
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根本無法預料
06:20
from pursuing追求 my dream夢想 in politics政治
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由到政治界去追夢
06:22
and working加工 at a desk
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在辦公室工作
06:24
to tripping跳閘 over a shadow陰影
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到為影子神魂顛倒
06:25
and then turning車削 people into paintings繪畫
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繼而將人們變成油畫
06:28
and painting繪畫 on people in a pool of milk牛奶.
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在牛奶池裡的人體上作畫
06:32
But then again, I guess猜測 it's also not unforeseeable不可預見的
144
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但話說回來,我想根本不能預料到
06:35
that you can find the strange奇怪 in the familiar,
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你會在熟識的事物裡找到新奇的東西
06:38
as long as you're willing願意 to look beyond
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只要你肯去看遠一點
06:40
what's already已經 been brought to light,
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去看那些已經熟識的東西
06:41
that you can see what's below下面 the surface表面,
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那麼你就可以看得到底下蘊藏的東西
06:44
hiding in the shadows陰影,
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躲在影子裡的東西
06:46
and recognize認識 that there can be more there
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你會發現更多
06:48
than meets符合 the eye.
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比想像中更複雜的東西
06:50
Thank you.
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謝謝
06:51
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by William Choi
Reviewed by Marssi Draw

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Alexa Meade - Visual artist
Alexa Meade paints mesmerizing, illusionistic portraits directly on living subjects, subverting familiar visual cues with perspective and color.

Why you should listen

Alexa Meade creates paintings in 3D space that make the real world appear to be a 2D painting. What may look like a traditional painted portrait is actually a photograph of a living, breathing person whose face, clothes and surroundings are all covered in acrylic paint. The 3D paintings can be photographed from any angle and maintain the illusion of flatness without the need for digital effects.

Alexa stumbled upon this technique by accident. While she was studying political science in college, she had an idea for an art project: what would it look like if she covered up shadows in the landscape with black paint? This question led her down a rabbit hole of experiments with painitng in 3D space that led to her discovery of this new style of optical illusion. She paints on people around the world who become part of the urban landscape as living street art. The photographs of the ephemeral painting performances hang on the walls of galleries and museums.

She recieved critical acclaim from CNN, Wired, NPR, the Wall Street Journal, and more. She has lectured at the CalArts, UC-Berkeley, Apple, Adobe and National Geographic London

Alexa travels the world creating live painting performances, art installations and commisioned portraits. Currently, Alexa is collaborating with scientists and researching spacetime at the Perimeter Institute for Theoretical Physics. Alexa is making a series of magical paintings with David Blaine, transforming her home into a "Fun House" with Chris Hughes, developing a line of toys and volunteering in the art program at the Braille Institute. 

More profile about the speaker
Alexa Meade | Speaker | TED.com

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