with a bit of an unexpected background.

我是一個當代藝術創作者

I was in my 20s before I ever went to an art museum.

來自一個不太尋常的背景。

I grew up in the middle of nowhere

我在20幾歲的時候才第一次造訪一個美術館。

on a dirt road in rural Arkansas,

我在一個荒無一物的地方長大

an hour from the nearest movie theater.

在阿肯薩州一個鄉村的土道上,

And I think it was a great place to grow up as an artist

距離我最近的電影院要車程一小時。

because I grew up around quirky, colorful characters

但我覺得這是個讓藝術創作者生長的最好的地方,

who were great at making with their hands.

因為我被一群古怪,多彩的人們環繞著

And my childhood is more hick

這些人擅於用他們的手創造東西。

than I could ever possibly relate to you,

我的童年是很鄉土氣的

and also more intellectual than you would ever expect.

我甚至沒辦法完全的讓你們瞭解,

For instance, me and my sister, when we were little,

同時它也是你認知無法想像接受的事情。

we would compete to see who could eat the most squirrel brains.

比如說,我跟我的妹妹,當我們年紀還小的時候,

(Laughter)

我們會比賽看誰可以吃最多松鼠的腦。

But on the other side of that, though,

(笑聲)

we were big readers in our house.

但另一方面,

And if the TV was on, we were watching a documentary.

我們在家時也大量的閱讀。

And my dad is the most voracious reader I know.

如果電視是開著的,我們會看紀錄片。

He can read a novel or two a day.

我爸爸是我所認識最大量閱讀的人。

But when I was little, I remember,

他可以在一天到兩天之內看完一本小說。

he would kill flies in our house with my BB gun.

但是我記得當我還小得時候,

And what was so amazing to me about that --

他會用我的BB彈槍打死我們在家裡的蒼蠅。

well he would be in his recliner, would holler for me to fetch the BB gun,

而讓我最驚奇的是--

and I'd go get it.

他會在他的躺椅上,叫我把BB彈槍拿來,

And what was amazing to me --

然後我會去拿。

well it was pretty kickass; he was killing a fly in the house with a gun --

然後讓我驚奇的是--

but what was so amazing to me

這個很厲害;他真的用這把槍打死蒼蠅--

was that he knew just enough how to pump it.

然後讓我更驚奇的是--

And he could shoot it from two rooms away

是他知道怎麼施壓。

and not damage what it was on

他可以從兩個房間外射擊

because he knew how to pump it just enough to kill the fly

而不破壞到那面牆,

and not damage what it landed on.

因為他知道要怎麼施壓可以足夠殺死那隻蒼蠅

So I should talk about art.

而不破壞到蒼蠅在的地方。

(Laughter)

我應該要談一談藝術創作。

Or we'll be here all day with my childhood stories.

(笑聲)

I love contemporary art,

不然我們一整天都會在這裡講我小時候的故事。

but I'm often really frustrated with the contemporary art world

我愛當代藝術,

and the contemporary art scene.

但我時常對當代藝術的領域

A few years ago,

以及它的圈子感到沮喪。

I spent months in Europe

幾年前,

to see the major international art exhibitions

我花了幾個月的時間在歐洲

that have the pulse

去那裡看幾個重要的國際藝術展

of what is supposed to be going on in the art world.

這些藝術展有所謂的脈動

And I was struck

呈現了藝術圈裡正在發生的趨勢。

by going to so many, one after the other,

我很驚喜

with some clarity of what it was

看到這麼多,一個接著一個的藝術家,

that I was longing for.

很清楚的呈現

And I was longing for several things that I wasn't getting,

我所期待的。

or not getting enough of.

以及我所希望看到卻從沒辦法得到的,

But two of the main things:

或者是不充足的。

one of it, I was longing for more work

但主要是兩件事:

that was appealing to a broad public,

其一,我想要做更多的作品

that was accessible.

能更吸引大眾的喜歡,

And the second thing that I was longing for

並且能更容易被大眾所接受。

was some more exquisite craftsmanship

其二,

and technique.

我想要達到更精巧的手工技巧

So I started thinking and listing

及技術。

what all it was that I thought would make a perfect biennial.

所以我開始發想並且條列

So I decided,

什麼作品是我認為能夠為我組織一個完美的雙年展。

I'm going to start my own biennial.

於是我決定,

I'm going to organize it and direct it

我要作一個我自己的雙年展。

and get it going in the world.

我要自己組織並且指導這個展覽

So I thought, okay,

並讓它傳到全世界。

I have to have some criteria of how to choose work.

因此我想,

So amongst all the criteria I have,

我必須要有一些選擇作品的必要條件。

there's two main things.

這些所謂的必要條件

One of them, I call my Mimaw's Test.

必須包含兩件事。

And what that is

第一,我叫它做'婆婆的試驗'。

is I imagine explaining a work of art

也就是

to my grandmother in five minutes,

當我試著解釋這件創作時,我會想像

and if I can't explain it in five minutes,

用五分鐘的時間向我的婆婆解釋這件作品。

then it's too obtuse

如果我不能用五分鐘的時間解釋的話,

or esoteric

就代表這個作品還是太粗糙

and it hasn't been refined enough yet.

或是不明確

It needs to worked on

還沒有仔細的琢磨。

until it can speak fluently.

需要更多的心思

And then my other second set of rules --

直到能更順暢的把作品的創意表達出來。

I hate to say "rules" because it's art --

然後我的第二個規則--

my criteria would be

我不喜歡叫它做'規則'因為我們現在討論的是藝術--

the three H's,

我的第二條件就是

which is head, heart and hands.

三個英文字母H的準則

And great art would have "head":

也就是頭(head),心(heart)跟手(hands)。

it would have interesting intellectual ideas

一個好的藝術創作作品要有第一個H, 頭(Head):

and concepts.

這指的是有趣的想法,

It would have "heart" in that it would have passion

和概念。

and heart and soul.

同時這樣的作品會有第二個H, 心(heart), 所以有熱情

And it would have "hand" in that it would be greatly crafted.

跟精神靈魂。

So I started thinking about

最後它會有第三個H, 手(hand), 所以有精巧製作的作品。

how am I going to do this biennial,

所以我開始想

how am I going to travel the world

我要怎麼開始做這個雙年展,

and find these artists?

我要怎麼旅遊世界

And then I realized one day, there's an easier solution to this.

去找到那些藝術創作者。

I'm just going to make the whole thing myself.

於是我突然有一天瞭解到,有一個最容易的方式。

(Laughter)

我乾脆自己做這些作品。

And so this is what I did.

(笑聲)

So I thought, a biennial needs artists.

後來這就是我做的。

I'm going to do an international biennial; I need artists from all around the world.

於是我想, 一個雙年展需要藝術家。

So what I did was

我要做一個國際的雙年展,我需要來自世界各地的藝術家。

I invented a hundred artists from around the world.

所以我做的是,

I figured out their bios, their passions in life

我虛擬了上百位來自國際的藝術家。

and their art styles,

我創作了這些藝術家的簡歷,還有他們的興趣

and I started making their work.

以及他們的創作風格,

(Laughter)

然後我開始創作他們的作品。

(Applause)

(笑聲)

I felt, oh this is the kind of project that I could spend my whole life doing.

(掌聲)

So I decided, I'm going to make this a real biennial.

我想,這就是我可以花一輩子的時間做的作品。

It's going to be two years of studio work.

我決定,我要把這個計畫作成一個真正的雙年展。

And I'm going to create this in two years,

這將是一個值兩年時間作品的展覽。

and I have.

而我將真正用兩年的時間完成。

So I should start to talk about these guys.

然後我的確做到了。

Well the range is quite a bit.

我應該開始談一談這些創作的藝術家。

And I'm such a technician, so I loved this project,

我創作的範圍很廣。

getting to play with all the techniques.

我是一個很講技術的創作者,所以我愛這些創作想法,

So for example, in realist paintings,

讓我可以運用各種的技術。

it ranges from this,

所以比如說,在畫作的創作上,

which is kind of old masters style,

從這種

to really realistic still-life,

有點傳統畫匠式的,

to this type of painting where I'm painting with a single hair.

到這種實體靜物式的,

And then at the other end, there's performance and short films

到這個我只用一根頭髮作成的畫筆所創作的畫作。

and indoor installations

然後令一方面,我也創作了表演藝術, 短片

like this indoor installation

以及室內裝置藝術

and this one,

像這一個室內裝置作品

and outdoor installations like this one

還有這一個,

and this one.

還有戶外的裝置藝術作品,像這一個

I know I should mention: I'm making all these things.

還有這個。

This isn't Photoshopped.

我想我應該要提到,我實際上創作了這些作品。

I'm under the river with those fish.

這並不是用電腦繪製的。

So now let me introduce some of my fictional artists to you.

我實際的下水去了。

This is Nell Remmel.

現在讓我為您介紹一些來自我的虛擬藝術家。

Nell is interested in agricultural processes,

這位是Nell Remmel。

and her work is based in these practices.

Nell對於農業的發展有興趣,

This piece, which is called "Flipped Earth" --

她的作品是關於這些農業的主題上。

she was interested in taking the sky

這一件作品叫做"倒過來的地球"

and using it to cleanse barren ground.

她把天空

And by taking giant mirrors --

當作裝飾荒蕪一物的地面。

(Applause)

這是用一面鏡子做的--

and here she's taking giant mirrors

(掌聲)

and pulling them into the dirt.

在這個作品,她拿一個大型的鏡子

And this is 22 feet long.

放在土裡。

And what I loved about her work

這個是22英尺長。

is, when I would walk around it

我喜歡她的作品的原因是

and look down into the sky,

當我在這個作品旁,

looking down to watch the sky,

向下可以看到天空,

and it unfolded in a new way.

往下望的天空,

And probably the best part of this piece

是一個全新的面向。

is at dusk and dawn

關於這個作品最棒的地方

when the twilight wedge has fallen and the ground's dark,

就是凌晨跟黃昏

but there's still the light above, bright above.

當天際逐漸暗,地面也昏暗,

And so you're standing there and everything else is dark,

但天空仍然是亮的。

but there's this portal that you want to jump in.

你處在的地方是暗的

This piece was great. This is in my parents' backyard in Arkansas.

但只有你站在的位置是亮的,讓你想要往下跳進。

And I love to dig a hole.

這個作品很棒。這是在我父母親在阿肯薩州的家中後院。

So this piece was great fun

我喜歡挖洞。

because it was two days of digging in soft dirt.

所以做這個作品是很好玩的。

The next artist is Kay Overstry,

因為我花了兩天挖上一個洞。

and she's interested in ephemerality and transience.

下一位藝術家是Kay Overstry,

And in her most recent project,

她對於短暫的時間與瞬間的概念有興趣。

it's called "Weather I Made."

她最近的創作

And she's making weather

叫做"我製作的天氣"。

on her body's scale.

所謂她製作的天氣

And this piece is "Frost."

是用她的身體製作的。

And what she did was she went out on a cold, dry night

這一片是霜

and breathed back and forth on the lawn

她在一個天氣冷的晚上

to leave --

到外面來用呼吸來回在草地上

to leave her life's mark,

留下--

the mark of her life.

留下她生命存在的痕跡,

(Applause)

生命的痕跡。

And so this is five-foot, five-inches of frost

(掌聲)

that she left behind.

所以這個就是她所留下的

The sun rises, and it melts away.

五尺五吋長的霜。

And that was played by my mom.

太陽一起,這個霜也就隨之融化。

So the next artist, this is a group of Japanese artists,

這是我媽媽所扮演的。

a collective of Japanese artists --

下一位創作者,是一個由日本藝術家組成的團體,

(Laughter)

這是一個日本藝術家的大集合--

in Tokyo.

(笑聲)

And they were interested in developing a new, alternative art space,

在東京。

and they needed funding for it,

他們對於開發新的藝術創作空間有興趣。

so they decided to come up with some interesting fundraising projects.

他們需要一些資金,

One of these is scratch-off masterpieces.

所以他們決定要做一個有趣的資金援助企劃。

(Laughter)

這個作品是即刮即中的藝術品。

And so what they're doing --

(笑聲)

each of these artists on a nine-by-seven-inch card,

他們在做的是--

which they sell for 10 bucks,

每一個創作者在一張9x7英吋的卡片上,

they drew original works of art.

他們畫上原創的畫,

And you buy one, and maybe you get a real piece, and maybe not.

每個作品可以賣10元。

Well this has sparked a craze in Japan,

當你買一幅作品的時候,你可能拿到一幅真品,或許不會。

because everyone's wanting a masterpiece.

這在日本造成很大的轟動,

And the ones that are the most sought after

因為每個人都想擁有一幅原創的藝術品。

are the ones that are only barely scratched off.

而最叫座的一些作品

And all these works, in some way,

是最不容易被刮中的

talk about luck or fate or chance.

而這些作品從某的角度來說,

Those first two

討論的是命運或機會。

are portraits of mega-jackpot winners years before and after their win.

這前面的兩幅

And in this one it's called "Drawing the Short Stick."

是贏得頭彩得贏家在贏前幾年跟贏後幾年的畫像。

(Laughter)

而這一幅則稱作"畫一個短支" 。

I love this piece because I have a little cousin at home

(笑聲)

who introduced me -- which I think is such a great introduction --

我喜歡這個作品因為我在家有一個表親

to a friend one day as, "This is my cousin Shea.

他會這樣介紹我--而我覺得這真是一個太棒的介紹--

He draws sticks real good."

他向朋友這樣介紹我,"這是我的親戚Shea"

(Laughter)

他很會畫棍子。"

Which is one of the best compliments ever.

(笑聲)

This artist is Gus Weinmueller,

這真的是最好的一個稱讚。

and he's doing a project, a large project, called "Art for the Peoples."

這位創作家叫Gus Weinmueller,

And within this project, he's doing a smaller project

他做的一個企劃,大型的企劃,叫做"給大眾的藝術。"

called "Artists in Residence."

而在這個作品裡,他又做了一個小型的作品,

And what he does is --

叫做"常駐藝術家"。

(Laughter)

他所做的是--

he spends a week at a time with a family.

(笑聲)

And he shows up on their porch, their doorstep,

他花一個星期的時間跟一個家庭相處,

with a toothbrush and pajamas,

他出現在這家人的門口,

and he's ready to spend the week with them.

帶著一支牙刷跟一件睡衣,

And using only what's present,

就準備好跟這家人相處一星期。

he goes in and makes a little abode studio to work out of.

用當時可以取得的材料,

And he spends that week talking to the family

他進而開始就像在工作室裡一樣的創作。

about what do they think great art is.

他還用這一星期的時間跟這家人聊天

He has all these discussions with their family,

討論他們覺得藝術是什麼。

and he digs through everything they have,

他跟這些家人討論了許多。

and he finds materials to make work.

然後他到處翻找這家人有的東西,

And he makes a work

讓他可以創作的材料。

that answers what they think great art is.

然後他根據這些創作

For this family, he made this still-life painting.

回答他們什麼示藝術的這個問題。

And whatever he makes

對於這家人,他所創造的是靜物的畫作。

somehow references nesting and space

不論他做的是什麼,

and personal property.

他總是回歸到規律跟空間

This next project,

以及個人資產。

this is by Jaochim Parisvega,

而下一個企劃,

and he's interested in --

是由這位藝術家Jaochim Parisvega帶來,

he believes art is everywhere waiting --

他有興趣的主題是--

that it just needs a little bit of a push to happen.

他相信藝術在各個角落待命--

And he provides this push by harnessing natural forces,

需要一點刺激讓它發生。

like in his series where he used rain to make paintings.

而他使力的方法是透過大自然的力量,

This project is called "Love Nests."

就像他在這個系列當中,用雨來創作他的繪畫。

What he did was to get wild birds to make his art for him.

這個作品叫"愛之巢"。

So he put the material in places where the birds were going to collect them,

他所做的是讓戶外的野鳥來幫他創作。

and they crafted his nests for him.

他把材料放在那些野鳥會去取集的地方,

And this one's called "Lovelock's Nest."

然後牠們為他做出作品。

This one's called "Mixtape Love Song's Nest."

而這個作品叫做"假髮之愛巢"。

(Laughter)

這個叫"錄音帶之愛巢"。

And this one's called "Lovemaking Nest."

(笑聲)

(Laughted)

而這個叫"做愛巢"。

Next is Sylvia Slater.

(笑聲)

Sylvia's interested in art training.

下一位是Sylvia Slater。

She's a very serious Swiss artist.

Sylvia對於藝術訓練有興趣。

(Laughter)

她是位很認真的瑞士籍藝術家。

And she was thinking about her friends and family

(笑聲)

who work in chaos-ridden places and developing countries,

她在想對於那些她在

and she was thinking,

仍處雜亂發展中國家工作的親友,