ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Willard Wigan - Micro-sculptor
Willard Wigan sculpts figures small enough to fit on the head of a pin. To create these microscopic masterpieces, he works diligently through the stillest hours of the night, between his own heartbeats.

Why you should listen

Willard Wigan has immortalized the Obama family in the eye of a needle and Muhammad Ali on the head of a match. In producing sculptures so incredibly small, he works under a microscope and employs ingenious tools, such as a fly's hair or an ex-girlfriend's eyelash for paintbrushes.

This passion for the diminutive stems from feelings of insignificance in Wigan's childhood. He was severely dyslexic but undiagnosed, and his teachers' harsh words drove him to hide in a nearby shed where he made shoes and hats for his friends, the ants. Today, his art has earned him national honors and critical acclaim, proving that some treasures can't be seen with the naked eye.

More profile about the speaker
Willard Wigan | Speaker | TED.com
TEDGlobal 2009

Willard Wigan: Hold your breath for micro-sculpture

Willard Wigan: 請為微型雕塑屏息靜氣

Filmed:
764,304 views

Willard Wigan 訴說他那孤單和充滿錯折的童年怎樣驅使他發現自己獨特的天賦-製作小得連肉眼也看不見的藝術品。他用一連串幻燈片,通個顯微鏡展示他那今人難以想像的作品。
- Micro-sculptor
Willard Wigan sculpts figures small enough to fit on the head of a pin. To create these microscopic masterpieces, he works diligently through the stillest hours of the night, between his own heartbeats. Full bio

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

00:12
There's an old saying, "Just because you can't see something,
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俗語有云:「儘管你看不到一件事物,
00:15
doesn't mean it's not there."
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並不代表它不存在。」
00:18
My work is -- it's a reflection反射 of myself.
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我的作品,是我內心的反映。
00:25
What I wanted to do is to
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我想做到的
00:29
show顯示 the world世界 that the little things
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是讓世人明白,微不足道的事物
00:34
can be the biggest最大 things.
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也可以是大有作為的。
00:37
We all seem似乎 to think that,
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普遍的想法是
00:40
you know, if we look down on the ground地面, there's nothing there.
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如果我們望望地上,看不到甚麼
00:46
And we use the word "nothing."
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我們很自然就用「空無一物」來形容。
00:49
Nothing doesn't exist存在, because there is always something.
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但「空無一物」並不存在,因為那裡總有一點甚麼。
00:52
My mother母親 told me that, when I was a child兒童,
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小時候,我媽媽告訴我
00:54
that I should always respect尊重 the little things.
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要時刻尊重微小的事物。
00:59
What made製作 me do this work? I shall go into my story故事.
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是甚麼令我開始藝術創作呢?我應該從我的故事說起。
01:03
This all started開始 when I was age年齡 five.
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一切得從我五歲時說起。
01:07
What made製作 me do it? At school學校, I will admit承認 this:
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是其麼令我開始呢?我得承認,是在學校裡,
01:10
academically學術上, I couldn't不能 express表現 myself.
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我無法用學業成績表現自己。
01:13
So I was, more or less, classed歸類 as "nothing."
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所以我某程度上被歸類為「甚麼也不是」。
01:18
My world世界 was seen看到 as less.
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我的世界被認為有所不足。
01:23
So I decided決定 I didn't really want to be a part部分 of that world世界.
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於是我決定我不想成為那個世界的一部份。
01:27
I thought, I need to retreat撤退
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我想,我要逃到
01:31
into something else其他.
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另一個世界裡。
01:33
So when my mother母親 used to take me to school學校,
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從前是我媽帶我上學的,
01:36
she thought I was at school學校,
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她總以為我在學校裹,
01:38
and I used to do a U-turn掉頭, when her back was turned轉身,
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其實我總會在她轉身後來個急轉彎,
01:41
and run off and hide隱藏 in the shed at the back of the garden花園.
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跑到後園,躲到小木棚裡。
01:45
Now, the one time I was in the shed,
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記得有一次我躲在木棚裡時,
01:50
and my mother母親 suspected嫌疑 something,
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我媽開始懷疑,
01:53
thinking思維 I was at school學校.
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我究竟是否真的在學校。
01:55
My mother母親 was like the woman女人 in Tom湯姆 and Jerry傑瑞.
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我媽就像卡通《猫和老鼠》裡那個女人。
01:59
So you'd just see her feet.
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你只能看到她的雙腳。
02:02
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
02:06
So I was hiding in the shed, like that.
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當時我正躲在木棚裡,
02:10
And all of a sudden突然 ...
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突然間......
02:15
And then I saw her legs.
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我看到她的雙腳。
02:19
And then she said -- grabbed抓起 me like that, because my mother母親 was quite相當 big --
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然後她說(她像這樣抓著我,因為她個子挺高大的)
02:22
and she lifted取消 me up and she says,
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她把我揪起,對我說:
02:25
"How come you're not at school學校?"
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「為甚麼你沒有上學?」
02:27
I told her I couldn't不能 face面對 it because the way
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我告訴她這是因為我無法面對
02:30
the teacher老師 was treating治療 me, ridiculing嘲笑 me,
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老師對待我的態度,她們總是在刁難我,
02:33
and using運用 me as an example of failure失敗.
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並以我作為失敗的例子。
02:36
So I told her.
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我這樣對她說。
02:38
At that age年齡, obviously明顯, I couldn't不能 express表現 it that way,
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當然,那個年紀的我不懂得這樣表達出來
02:42
but I told her I didn't feel right.
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我只是告訴她我覺得不對勁。
02:45
And then she just said, "You're going back to school學校 tomorrow明天."
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然後她說:「你明天給我回到學校去。」
02:47
And walked off. And I didn't expect期望 that,
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說完便走開了。這跟我預期的很不一樣。
02:49
because I expected預期 one of these ...
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我以為會她會這樣對我......(打屁股)
02:53
But I didn't get it.
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可是她沒有。
02:55
So I'm sitting坐在 there thinking思維.
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於是我坐在那裡思考。
02:57
And as I looked看著 down on the ground地面,
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正當我低頭看著地上時,
03:01
I noticed注意到 there was some ants螞蟻 running賽跑 around.
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我留意到有些螞蟻在到處跑。
03:05
And I went into this little fantasy幻想 world世界.
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於是我走進這個細小的幻想世界裡。
03:07
And I thought,
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我想,
03:09
"These ants螞蟻, are they looking for the queen女王 ant螞蟻?
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「這些螞蟻,牠們在尋找蟻后嗎?
03:14
Or do they need somewhere某處 to live生活?"
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抑或牠們只是需要一個棲息的地方?」
03:16
So I thought "Perhaps也許,
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於是我想:「或許,
03:18
if I made製作 these ants螞蟻 some apartments公寓,
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我若為這些蟻造一些公寓,
03:22
they'll他們會 move移動 in."
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牠們會搬進去。」
03:26
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
03:30
So I did.
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而我真的這樣做了。
03:32
And how I set about that, I got some splinters稀里嘩啦 of wood.
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開始時,我先找來一些碎木片。
03:35
And I sliced切片 the little splinters稀里嘩啦 of wood with a broken破碎 shard碎片 of glass玻璃,
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然後我用一片玻璃碎把木片削薄。
03:38
constructed this little apartment公寓.
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建造成一座小小的公寓。
03:42
Well it looked看著 like a little shanty窩棚 shed when I'd finished.
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完成後,它看起來就像一間簡陋的小木屋。
03:47
But I thought, perhaps也許 the ant螞蟻 won't慣於 know, it'll它會 probably大概 move移動 in.
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但我心想,或許螞蟻們不會知道,而願意遷入。
03:49
And so they did.
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而牠們真的搬進去。
03:51
That was a bit crude原油, at the time. And I made製作 all these little apartments公寓
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那時的作品有點粗糙,但我還是造了很多小公寓,
03:54
and little merry-go-rounds旋轉木馬輪, seesaws蹺蹺板 and swings波動, little ladders梯子.
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還有小型的旋轉木馬、蹺蹺板、鞦韆和梯子。
03:58
And then I encouraged鼓勵 the ants螞蟻 to come 'round'回合 by putting sugar and things like that.
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然後我放置糖粒之類的東西,鼓勵螞蟻們造訪
04:02
And then I satSAT down and all the ants螞蟻 came來了 along沿.
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接著我坐下來,看著螞蟻開始聚集。
04:08
And all I could hear was "Is this for us?"
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我彷彿聽到:「這些是為我們造的嗎?」
04:11
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:13
And I say, "Yes, they're all for you."
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我說:「是的,全都是給你們造的。」
04:15
And they moved移動 in, and decided決定 not to pay工資 me any rent出租.
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於是牠們搬進去,還決定不付我任何租金。
04:19
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
04:22
And from there I was watching觀看 this little world世界.
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我看著這個微小的世界,
04:25
It became成為 part部分 of me.
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它成為了我的一部份。
04:30
When I discovered發現 that I had this gift禮品,
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當我發現自己有這種天賦,
04:37
I wanted to experiment實驗 with this world世界
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我便想用這個我們看不到的世界
04:41
that we can't see.
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來作試驗。
04:43
So I realized實現 that there was more to life
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所以我意識到,生命不只局限於
04:46
than just everything that we see around us that's huge巨大.
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我們週遭一切看到的、巨大的事物。
04:50
So I started開始 to educate教育 myself on this molecular分子 level水平.
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於是我開始在這種分子的層面上教育自己。
04:55
And as I got older舊的, I continued繼續. I showed顯示 my mother母親.
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我長大後一直繼續著。當我展示作品給我媽看時,
04:59
My mother母親 told me to take it smaller.
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她叫我把它們弄得更小。
05:01
Now I shall show顯示 you something here.
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現在我先給你們看一些東西,
05:05
And I'll explain說明.
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然後我再解釋。
05:08
As you can see,
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你可以看到,
05:11
that's a pinhead針頭.
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這是一個釘頭
05:13
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
05:17
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
05:25
Now that is called the HufHUF Haus豪斯.
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這間房子叫做Huf宅
05:29
The gentleman紳士 who commissioned委託 me to do this
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委托我創作這件作品的
05:31
was a gentleman紳士 called Peter彼得 HufHUF.
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是一位叫 Peter Huf 的先生。
05:34
And he says to me "Willard威拉德, can you put my house on a pinhead針頭?"
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他對我說:「Willard,你能夠把我的房子放到釘頭上嗎?」
05:38
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
05:43
So I say, "How are you going to fit適合 in there?"
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於是我說:「你怎樣擠到裡面去呢?」
05:46
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
05:49
And then he said to me,
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然後他對我說,
05:52
"I don't believe you can do it. Can you really do it?"
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「我不相信你能做到。你真的能夠做到嗎?」
05:55
And I says, "Well, try me."
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我回答說:「那就讓我試試看啊。」
05:59
And then he said, "But I don't believe that you can do this." So I said, "OK."
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他說:「我還是不相信你能做得到。」我答道:「那好吧。」
06:05
So, to cut a long story故事 short,
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總之,長話短說,
06:07
I went home, went underneath the microscope顯微鏡,
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我回到家,在顯微鏡底下,
06:09
and I crushed up a piece of glass玻璃,
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把一塊玻璃
06:13
crushed it up.
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徹底壓碎。
06:15
And underneath the microscope顯微鏡
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在顯微鏡下,
06:17
there were splinters稀里嘩啦 of glass玻璃.
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這些玻璃碎片
06:19
Some of them were quite相當 jagged盤陀.
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當中有些呈鋸齒狀。
06:22
So I was crushing破碎 up these pieces of glass玻璃,
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我壓碎的這些玻璃,
06:24
which哪一個, as you can see,
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你可以看到它們
06:27
that's the actual實際 frame of the house.
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最後成為了房子的框架。
06:29
And the actual實際 roof屋頂 is made製作 up of a fiber纖維,
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而屋頂則是用一根纖維做成,
06:35
which哪一個 I found發現 in my sister's姐妹 old teddy泰迪熊 bear.
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來自我妹妹的一隻舊玩具熊。
06:38
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
06:41
So I got the teddy泰迪熊 bear and I said,
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我拿起玩具熊,對它說,
06:43
"Do you mind心神 if I pull out one of your fibers纖維?"
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「你介意我拔走一根你身上的纖維嗎?」
06:46
So I did.
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然後就拔了。
06:48
And I looked看著 at it beneath下面 the microscope顯微鏡. And some of it was flat平面.
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我把它放到顯微鏡下看,有部份是平坦的。
06:51
So I decided決定 to slice these up
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於是我決定把它切片
06:53
with the tool工具 that I make
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用的是我自己製造的一把工具
06:55
by -- I sharpen削尖 the end結束 of a needle into a blade.
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--一把用針的未端削尖成刀鋒。
06:59
And then I actually其實
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然後我真的
07:01
slow down my whole整個 nervous緊張 system系統.
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把整個人的神經系統放慢
07:04
And then I work between之間 my heartbeat心跳,
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並在心跳與心跳間工作
07:07
I have one-and-a-half1個半 seconds
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我有一秒半的時間
07:10
to actually其實 move移動.
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去動手
07:12
And at the same相同 time I have to watch I don't inhale吸入
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同時我要小心不吸入
07:14
my own擁有 work, at the same相同 time.
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自己的作品
07:16
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
07:19
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
07:25
Because that has happened發生 to me.
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因為那曾在我身上發生過。
07:27
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
07:31
So what I did, like I said, come back to the glass玻璃.
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言歸正傳,說回那些玻璃。
07:34
I found發現 these little bits of glass玻璃.
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我找來這些玻璃碎
07:36
And I had to make them square廣場.
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還得把它們弄得方方正正。
07:39
So I'm thinking思維 "How can I do this?"
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我當時想:「我如何才能做到呢?」
07:41
So what I did, I got an oilstone油石. Broke布羅克 the edge邊緣 of an oilstone油石 off.
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於是我找來一塊磨刀石,把邊角弄了一小片下來,
07:45
And what I did, I took pieces of glass玻璃. And I started開始 to rub them.
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然後我拿起玻璃碎在上面打磨,
07:49
I used a little tweezer which哪一個 I made製作 from a hair頭髮 clip.
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我用的是一把由髮夾改造成的鑷子
07:52
And I built內置 rubber橡膠 around the end結束 of the tweezer so it wouldn't不會 crush粉碎 the glass玻璃.
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鑷子的未端用橡膠包著,以防它把玻璃壓壞
07:56
And then I started開始 rubbing, very very gently平緩,
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然後我開始輕輕地打磨
08:01
till直到 some of the edges邊緣 were quite相當 square廣場. And then I constructed it.
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直到邊位變得方正起來。然後,我會開始構造房子。½
08:05
And how I constructed it,
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構建的方法
08:07
is by making製造 grooves凹槽 in the top最佳 of the pinhead針頭.
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是先在釘頭上弄出坑紋
08:10
And then pushing推動 the glass玻璃 in with its own擁有 friction摩擦.
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然後利用玻璃本身的摩擦力把它推進坑裡
08:13
And as I was doing it, what happened發生?
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當我這樣做時,發生了甚麼事呢?
08:16
The instrument儀器 that I used turned轉身 into a catapult彈射.
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我用的工具成了投石器
08:20
And it went like this ...
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屋子像這樣被彈走...
08:24
And then that was it.
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就這樣
08:27
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
08:28
Gone.
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一去不回
08:30
So I'm thinking思維, "Mr先生. HufHUF isn't going to be very happy快樂
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我心想:「Huf先生一定不會太高興
08:32
when I told him his house has gone走了 to another另一個,
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要是我告訴他他的房子
08:35
into the atmosphere大氣層 somewhere某處."
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一飛沖天去了
08:38
So to cut the story故事 short,
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長話短說
08:40
I decided決定 that I had to go back and do it.
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我決定重頭開始
08:42
So I found發現 some more. And I decided決定 to, sort分類 of,
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於是我找來更多材料。今次我決定
08:45
construct構造 it very, very slowly慢慢地,
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很慢很慢地構建它
08:47
holding保持 my breath呼吸, working加工 between之間 my heartbeat心跳,
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屏息靜氣,小心亦亦地工作
08:50
and making製造 sure everything is leveled夷為平地.
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並確保一切都四平八穩。
08:52
Because it's such這樣 a small sculpture雕塑,
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這個雕塑太細小了
08:56
nothing can go wrong錯誤.
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實在不容有失
08:58
And I decided決定 to build建立 it up.
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然後我決定著手搭建這屋子
09:01
Then I used fibers纖維 out of my jumper跨接器,
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我拿毛衣上的纖維
09:04
which哪一個 I held保持 and stretched拉伸.
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把它們拉直
09:06
And made製作 the beams going around the house.
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弄成房子外圍的樑
09:08
And the actual實際 windows視窗 and the balcony陽台
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原屋的窗戶和露台
09:10
had to be sort分類 of constructed.
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也需要構造出來
09:12
I used a money spider's蜘蛛 web捲筒紙
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我用了一隻金錢蜘蛛的網
09:14
to actually其實 attach連接 certain某些 things,
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去作固定用途
09:16
which哪一個 sent發送 me insane.
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這差點沒把我弄瘋
09:18
But I managed管理 to do it.
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不過我還是做到了
09:21
And when I finished it, I came來了 back the next下一個 day.
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完成後的第二天,我回去一看
09:24
I noticed注意到 that the house was occupied佔據.
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發現那小屋已經有住客了
09:28
Have we ever heard聽說 of a dust灰塵 mite?
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你們認識一隻塵蹣嗎?
09:32
Darren達倫 dust灰塵 mite and his family家庭 moved移動 in.
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塵蹣Darren舉家搬進來了
09:34
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
09:37
So basically基本上 I'd completed完成 the house.
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基本上,我完成了那棟房子
09:41
And there you are.
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就在你們眼前
09:44
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
09:51
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
09:55
Right. As you can see,
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好,如你所見
09:57
Bart巴特 Simpson辛普森 is having a little argument論據.
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Bart Simpson 正和它老爸爭執
10:01
I think they're arguing爭論 about the space空間 on the pin.
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我想他們在爭論針頭上的空間
10:04
There's not enough足夠 room房間 for the two of them.
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不夠容納他們兩個
10:07
So I didn't think he was going to throw Bart巴特 off.
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我不認為Homer真的會把Bart扔下去
10:09
I think he was just warning警告 him actually其實.
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我想他只是想警告一下他而已
10:11
But this one was made製作 out of a nylon尼龍 tag標籤
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不過這件作品是用我恤衫上
10:15
out of my shirt襯衫.
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的尼龍標籤做的
10:17
What I did, I plucked撥弦 the tag標籤 out
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我把標籤拔出來
10:20
and put it underneath the microscope顯微鏡.
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放到顯微镜底下
10:23
I used the needle which哪一個 has got a slight輕微 blade on the end結束.
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我用那根帶刀锋的针
10:26
Can anybody任何人 see the blade on the end結束 of that needle?
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有誰能看到針上的刀鋒嗎?
10:28
Audience聽眾: No.
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觀眾:不能
10:30
WWWW: So what I did is the same相同 process處理 where I
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我用的是相同的方法
10:33
just kind of hold保持 my breath呼吸
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就是屏息靜氣
10:36
and just work away very, very slowly慢慢地,
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慢慢地,逐步地
10:40
manipulating操縱 the plastic塑料, cutting切割 it, because it behaves的行為 different不同.
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擺弄、切割塑料。因为它表現不同
10:44
Whenever每當 you work on that level水平, things behave表現 different不同.
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當你在那種層面工作,事物會表現很截然不同。
10:47
Because it's on this molecular分子 level水平 things change更改
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因為在這種分子層面,一切事物都會改變
10:49
and they act法案 different不同.
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和表現不同。
10:51
And sometimes有時 they turn into little catapults彈射器 and things go up in the air空氣.
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有時它們會變成小投石器,把東西射到空中
10:54
And, you know, all different不同 things happen發生.
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各種不同的事都會發生
10:57
But I had to make a little barrier屏障, going around it, out of cellophane玻璃紙,
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我要用玻璃紙做了一個屏障圍著它
11:00
to stop it moving移動.
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令它不會亂動
11:02
Then static靜態的 electricity電力 set in.
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然后便到靜電出場了。
11:04
And it went ...
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它像這樣......
11:06
And I'm trying to remove去掉 it. And the static靜態的 is interfering干擾 with everything.
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然后我嘗試弄走它,但靜電總和我對著幹。
11:09
So there is sweat dripping滴水 off my head,
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汗水從我的頭上滴下來
11:12
because I have to carve雕刻 Homer荷馬 Simpson辛普森 like that, in that position位置.
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因为我要把Homer Simpson雕成那样,在那個位置
11:17
And after I've cut out the shape形狀,
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在我剪出那個形狀後
11:19
then I have to make sure that there is room房間 for Bart's巴特的 neck頸部.
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還要確保有空問容納Bart的頸
11:23
So after I've doneDONE the same相同 thing,
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完成後
11:25
then I have to paint塗料 it.
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我還要替它上色
11:27
And after I've actually其實 sculpted雕刻 them,
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在我把他們雕刻出来後
11:29
I have to paint塗料 them.
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我便替他們上色
11:31
I experimented試驗 with a --
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我做了一個實驗 ...
11:34
I found發現 a dead fly.
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我找來一隻死了的蒼蝿
11:36
And I plucked撥弦 the hair頭髮 off the fly's飛的 head.
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從它的頭上拔出一根毛
11:38
Decided決定 to make a paintbrush畫筆.
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用來做畫筆
11:40
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
11:46
But I would never do it to a living活的 fly.
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但我絕不會這樣對待一隻活生生的蒼蝿
11:50
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
11:53
Because I've heard聽說 a fly in pain疼痛.
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因為我曾聽到一隻痛苦的蒼蝿
11:58
And they go "Meow! Ow!"
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「噢......! 噢!」地叫著
12:01
Even though雖然 they get on our nerves神經,
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儘管牠們惹人討厭
12:03
I would never kill an insect昆蟲
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我卻絕不會殺死任何一隻昆蟲
12:05
because, "All creatures生物 great and small" --
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因為「世上萬物,無分大小」...
12:09
there is a hymn聖歌 that says that.
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有一首聖詩是這樣說的
12:11
So what I decided決定 to do
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於是我決定
12:14
is to pluck採摘 fine hair頭髮 out of my face面對.
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從自己臉上拔出一根幼毛
12:18
And I looked看著 at it underneath the microscope顯微鏡.
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並在顯微鏡下看它
12:22
That was the paintbrush畫筆.
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那就是我的畫筆
12:24
And whilst同時 I'm painting繪畫 I have to be very careful小心,
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我在上色的時候一定要非常小心
12:26
because the paint塗料 starts啟動 to turn into little blobs斑點.
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因為顏料會開始結成小滴
12:29
And it starts啟動 to dry very quickly很快.
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而且很快地變乾
12:33
So I have to be very quick.
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所以我的行動要快
12:36
If I'm not, it will end結束 up looking
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要不然它最後看起來
12:39
not like what it's supposed應該 to look like.
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便半點不像了
12:41
It could end結束 up looking like Humpty矮胖 Dumpty矮胖子 or somebody else其他.
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它可能落得一個矮胖子或者其他人的模樣
12:46
So I have to be very very careful小心.
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因此我要加倍小心。
12:48
This one took me approximately,
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這件作品大約花了我,
12:52
I would say, six to seven weeks.
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我想,六至七個星期完成。
12:55
My work, rough estimate估計,
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粗略估計,我的作品
12:57
sometimes有時 five, six to seven weeks;
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一般需時五至七個星期。
13:00
you can't always anticipate預料.
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有時很難預算
13:04
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
13:11
As you can see,
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如你所見,
13:13
that's Charlton查爾頓 Heston赫斯頓 brought down to size尺寸.
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那是被縮小了的 Charlton Heston
13:15
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
13:22
He says to me, "Willard威拉德" --
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他對我說:「Willard...」
13:24
You can see him saying, "Why me?"
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你可以看到他在說:「為何徧徧是我?」
13:28
I says, "I enjoyed享受 your film電影. That's why."
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我說:「因為我欣賞你的電影」
13:30
As you can see, there's an aphid fly there.
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你見到的,是一隻蚜蠅
13:34
That's just to show顯示 the scale規模
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那是用來顯出對比
13:36
and the actual實際 size尺寸 of the sculpture雕塑.
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和雕塑的實際大小
13:39
I would say it probably大概 measures措施 ...
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我會說它太約有......
13:44
a quarter25美分硬幣 of a millimeter毫米.
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四分一毫米大。
13:46
In America美國 they say a period stop.
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在美國他們把句號叫作 period stop。
13:48
So say if you cut a period stop in half,
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如果你把一個句號分成兩半,
13:51
a full充分 stop, that's about the size尺寸 of the whole整個 thing.
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那差不多就是整件作品的大小。
13:55
It's made製作 -- the chariot is made製作 of gold.
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那輛戰車是用黃金造的。
13:59
And Charlton查爾頓 Heston赫斯頓 is made製作 of a floating漂浮的 fiber纖維,
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而 Charlton Heston 則是用一根漂浮的纖維造成,
14:03
which哪一個 I took out of the air空氣.
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是我從空氣中檢回來的。
14:05
When the sunlight陽光 comes through通過 the window窗口 you see these little fibers纖維.
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當陽光從窗外透進來時,你會看到這些纖維。
14:08
And what I normally一般 do is walk步行 'round'回合 a room房間 --
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而我一般就在房間裡來回地走,
14:11
(Laughter笑聲) --
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(笑聲)
14:15
trying to find one. And then I put it underneath the microscope顯微鏡.
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嘗試去找。然後我會把它到放到顯微鏡下。
14:18
I remember記得 one time I was doing it, and the window窗口 was open打開.
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記得有一次我這樣做的時候,窗是開著的。
14:21
And there was a lady淑女 standing常設 by the bus總線 stop.
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在巴士站旁有一位女士站著
14:23
And she saw me walking步行 around like this.
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她看到我這樣走來走去
14:25
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
14:28
And then she looked看著 at me.
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她看著我
14:30
And then I went ...
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我馬上這樣...
14:35
And then she went, "Hmm, OK, he's not mad."
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她於是想:「嗯,還好,他不是瘋的。」
14:38
Yeah, to actually其實 do this thing --
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對,如何做出這件作品呢-
14:41
the actual實際 chariot is made製作 of gold.
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那戰車是用黃金造的。
14:44
I had a 24-karat-karat gold ring.
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我有一隻24K的金介指,
14:46
And I cut off a little flake薄片 of gold.
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從上面我削下一小片黃金。
14:48
And I bent彎曲 it 'round'回合,
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接著我把它剪裁好,並彎曲起來,
14:50
and made製作 it into the chariot.
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最後弄成戰車。
14:52
And the horse is made製作 from nylon尼龍.
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馬匹是用尼龍造的,
14:54
And the spider's蜘蛛 web捲筒紙 is for the reins on the horse.
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牠身上的韁繩則是用蜘蛛絲造成
14:57
To get the symmetrical對稱 shape形狀 of the horse
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要做出馬匹對稱的形狀
14:59
was very difficult,
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實在很困難
15:01
because I had to get the horse to rear up
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因為牠猛蹬了一下,所以我要把牠弄成站起來
15:03
and look as though雖然 it was in some kind of action行動.
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令牠看起來更有動感。
15:05
When I did this one,
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當我做這件作品時,
15:07
a gentleman紳士 seen看到 it and said to me,
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一位先生看後對我說:
15:09
"There's no way you can do this, you must必須 have used some kind of machine.
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「單憑你自己是沒可能做到的,你一定是借助了某種機器。
15:12
There's no way a man can do that.
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人類沒可能做得到,
15:14
It must必須 be a machine."
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把它造出來的一定是一部機器。」
15:16
So I says, "OK then, if you say it's a machine ..."
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於是我說:「好吧,既然你說那是一部機器...」
15:20
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
15:26
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
15:32
That one took me approximately six weeks.
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那件作品大約花了我六星期
15:40
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
15:46
The most famous著名 statue雕像 in the world世界.
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世上最有名的雕像
15:49
This one, I would say,
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我想說,這件作品
15:51
was a serious嚴重 challenge挑戰.
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是一項嚴峻的挑戰。
15:54
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
16:05
Because I had to put the torch火炬 on the top最佳.
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因為我要把火炬放在頂端。
16:08
That one is, more or less, the same相同 type類型 of process處理.
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這件作品是採用類似的工序製作。
16:12
The bottom底部 of it is carved from a grain糧食 of sand,
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它的底座是從一粒沙粒雕刻出來的
16:18
because I wanted to get a bit of the stone effect影響.
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因為我想讓它有石質的效果。
16:20
I used a microscopic顯微 shard碎片 of diamond鑽石
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我用了一塊微細的鑽石碎片
16:23
to actually其實 carve雕刻 the actual實際 base基礎.
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去雕刻出那底座。
16:25
Well, I can look at this one and I can be very proud驕傲 of this,
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看著這件作品,我為它感到非常自豪
16:29
because that statue雕像 has always sort分類 of
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因為那個雕像一直
16:31
kept不停 an image圖片 in my head of, you know,
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在我腦海裡留下一個景象:
16:33
the beginning開始 of people coming未來 to America美國.
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移民到美國的人的開端
16:37
So it's sort分類 of Ellis埃利斯 Island, and seeing眼看 America美國 for the first time.
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那就是到埃利斯島,第一次看到美國。
16:41
And that's the first thing they saw.
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那雕像就是他們第一樣看到的東西。
16:43
So I wanted to have that little image圖片.
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所以我想形造出那個小小的景象
16:45
And this is it.
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就是這件藝術品。
16:50
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
16:57
And we all know that is the Hulk廢船.
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我們都知道那是變形俠醫
17:00
I wanted to create創建 movement運動 in the eye of a needle.
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我想在針眼裡塑造出動感
17:03
Because we know we see needles,
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我們都見過針
17:05
but people aren't familiar with the eye of a needle
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但人們不太熟悉針眼
17:07
apart距離 from putting a thread through通過 it.
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除了把線從中穿過之外。
17:09
So I broke打破 the needle.
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所以我弄斷了針
17:11
And made製作 a needle look like
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令這根針看似是
17:14
the Hulk's廢船的 broken破碎 it.
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被變形俠醫弄斷的。
17:16
It's -- I had to make little holes
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我要弄一些小孔
17:17
in the base基礎 of the needle, to shove his feet in.
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在針頭的底部,好讓他的腳插進去。
17:19
So most of my work, I don't use glue.
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我大部份的作品,都不用膠水。
17:22
They go in with their own擁有 friction摩擦.
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它們是以自身的摩摖力固定進去的
17:24
And that's how I managed管理 to do it.
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那就是我用的方法
17:26
As you can see, he's looking at the moment時刻. He's got a little grimace鬼臉 on his face面對.
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你可以看到,他正瞪著眼,齜牙咧嘴。
17:28
And his mouth must必須 be probably大概 about
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他的嘴可能只有
17:32
three microns微米.
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三微米闊
17:35
So the eyes眼睛 are probably大概 about one micron微米 or something.
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所以他的眼腈應該只有一微米左右大
17:41
That ship there,
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那艘船,
17:45
that's made製作 from 24-karat-karat gold.
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是用24K金造的。
17:47
And I normally一般 rig操縱 it with the web捲筒紙 of a money spider蜘蛛.
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我一般是用小蜘蛛的絲去裝帆具
17:51
But I had to rig操縱 it with strands of glue.
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但今次我要動用到膠水絲
17:54
Because the web捲筒紙 of the spider蜘蛛, it was sending發出 me insane,
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因為那些蜘蛛絲快把我弄瘋了
17:57
because I couldn't不能 get the web捲筒紙 to move移動 off.
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我沒法把它們弄走
18:00
And that's 24-karat-karat gold. And it's constructed. I built內置 it.
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那是24K金的。我建造它,
18:03
Constructed each plank of gold.
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逐塊金船版建造出來的。
18:07
And the whole整個 thing is sort分類 of symmetrical對稱.
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整艘船大致上是對稱的
18:10
The flag had to be made製作 out of little strands of gold.
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船上的旗是用小金線造的
18:13
It's almost幾乎 like doing a surgical外科 operation手術 to get this thing right.
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要做好它就像做手術一樣。
18:21
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
18:27
As you can see, dressage盛裝舞步.
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正如你所見,馬術盛裝舞步。
18:31
(Laughter笑聲)
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(掌聲)
18:33
It's something I wanted to do just to show顯示 how I could get the symmetrical對稱 shape形狀.
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我造這件作品,是為了證明我能做出那樣對稱的形狀。
18:36
The actual實際 rigging索具 on the reins on the horse
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那隻馬身上的繮繩
18:39
are made製作 from the same相同 sort分類 of thing.
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是用同類的物料造的。
18:41
And that was doneDONE with a particle粒子 from my shirt襯衫.
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是用我襯衣上的微粒造出來的。
18:46
And the pinhead針頭 I've made製作 green綠色 around there
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我把這個針頭弄成綠色的方法
18:50
by scraping the particles粒子 off a green綠色 shirt襯衫
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就是從綠色襯衣上刮下微粒
18:53
and then pressed壓制 onto the needle.
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然後壓到針上。
18:55
It's very painstaking刻苦 work,
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那是一項嘔心瀝血的工作,
18:57
but the best最好 things come in small packages.
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不過美好的事物,有時候會以細小的形態展現。
19:00
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
19:02
Bruno布魯諾 Giussani吉薩尼: Willard威拉德 Wigan維岡!
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Bruno Giussani: Willard Wigan!
19:04
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Paul Pun
Reviewed by Terence Yip

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Willard Wigan - Micro-sculptor
Willard Wigan sculpts figures small enough to fit on the head of a pin. To create these microscopic masterpieces, he works diligently through the stillest hours of the night, between his own heartbeats.

Why you should listen

Willard Wigan has immortalized the Obama family in the eye of a needle and Muhammad Ali on the head of a match. In producing sculptures so incredibly small, he works under a microscope and employs ingenious tools, such as a fly's hair or an ex-girlfriend's eyelash for paintbrushes.

This passion for the diminutive stems from feelings of insignificance in Wigan's childhood. He was severely dyslexic but undiagnosed, and his teachers' harsh words drove him to hide in a nearby shed where he made shoes and hats for his friends, the ants. Today, his art has earned him national honors and critical acclaim, proving that some treasures can't be seen with the naked eye.

More profile about the speaker
Willard Wigan | Speaker | TED.com