ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Isadora Kosofsky - Photojournalist, filmmaker
Isadora Kosofsky embeds herself in the lives of others, documenting them in their most fragile moments.

Why you should listen

A documentary photographer who works from a place of empathy, Isadora Kosofsky is devoted to sitting with people in their most fragile moments. She began photographing at the age of 14, documenting women in hospice care in Los Angeles. A contributor to international press and a recipient of numerous honors, Kosofsky has created long-term bodies of work considered epics of visual storytelling in which an individual or group remains her focus for years.

Whether it is documenting a woman with dementia for a decade, shadowing youths while incarcerated and after their release for the last eight years, photographing developmentally disabled couples for four years or documenting children and adults affected by relational traumas, Kosofsky often explores the intersection of intimate lives and institutions, where she typically gains unprecedented access, focusing on nuance and the complexity of human bonds. Her forthcoming work documents a young woman's life after enduring early sexual violence.

More profile about the speaker
Isadora Kosofsky | Speaker | TED.com
TED2018

Isadora Kosofsky: Intimate photos of a senior love triangle

Isadora Kosofsky: Fotos íntimas de um triângulo amoroso maduro

Filmed:
500,297 views

A fotógrafa e bolsista do TED, Isadora Kosofsky, é uma cronista do amor, da perda e da solidão. Nesta palestra, ela compartilha fotos de seus quatro anos documentando as vidas de um triângulo amoroso entre idosos - e revela o que eles podem nos ensinar sobre a busca universal por identidade e pertencimento.
- Photojournalist, filmmaker
Isadora Kosofsky embeds herself in the lives of others, documenting them in their most fragile moments. Full bio

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

00:12
Jeanie, Will and Adina
are three senior citizens
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Jeanie, Will e Adina são três idosos
00:16
connected by a special relationship.
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ligados por uma relação especial.
00:19
They view their bond as a shield
from the loneliness of aging.
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Eles veem essa ligação como um escudo
contra a solidão do envelhecimento.
00:24
I first met them at a retirement
home in Los Angeles,
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Eu os conheci em um
lar de idosos em Los Angeles,
00:27
where I had been photographing
for three years.
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onde eu estava fotografando por três anos.
00:30
I saw as they approached
the gate one night,
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Eu os vi quando eles se aproximaram
do portão uma noite,
00:33
and felt an immediate connection to them.
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e senti uma conexão imediata com eles.
00:36
Although I didn't know the details
of their love triangle,
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Embora eu não soubesse os detalhes
do triângulo amoroso entre eles,
00:40
I intuitively felt
that I had to find out who they were.
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tive uma sensação que precisava
descobrir quem eles eram.
00:45
Questioning a nurse
a day later, she said to me,
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Perguntando para uma enfermeira
um dia mais tarde, ela me disse:
00:49
"Oh, you're talking about the threesome."
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"Ah, você está falando sobre o trio".
00:52
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
00:53
I was intrigued.
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Fiquei intrigada.
00:54
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
00:57
The trio set out on a daily adventure
to coffee and doughnut shops,
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O trio saía em uma aventura diária
para lojas de café e rosquinha,
01:01
bus stops and street corners.
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paradas de ônibus e esquinas de ruas.
01:04
I soon learned that the purpose
of these outings was solace
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Logo descobri que o propósito
desses passeios
era consolo e busca por um significado.
01:08
and a search for meaning.
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01:10
The trio sought to combat their alienation
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O trio procurava combater o abandono,
01:13
by literally integrating themselves
in public streets.
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literalmente se integrando
em ruas públicas.
01:17
Yet, even when arm in arm,
no one saw them.
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No entanto, mesmo quando estavam
de braços dados, ninguém os via.
01:22
We often think that as we age,
we lose the desires held in our youth.
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Sempre achamos que, conforme envelhecemos,
perdemos os desejos mantidos na juventude.
01:28
Actually, as a teenage photojournalist
when I met the trio,
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De fato, como fotojornalista adolescente
quando eu conheci o trio,
01:32
I saw their behavior as a mirror
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vi o comportamento deles como um espelho
01:34
to the fears of exclusion
and desires for intimacy
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aos medos da exclusão
e desejos pela intimidade
01:38
that I also carried.
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que eu também tinha.
01:41
I related to their invisibility,
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Me identifiquei com a invisibilidade deles
01:43
which pained me during my childhood
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a qual me afetou durante a infância,
01:46
but has become my greatest asset
as an immersive documentarian,
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porém se tornou meu maior trunfo
como documentarista imersiva,
01:51
because I can just fade into my empathy.
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porque simplesmente posso compreendê-los.
01:55
As we walked down
the streets of Hollywood,
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Enquanto descíamos as ruas de Hollywood,
01:57
in a neighborhood of screenwriters,
actors and filmmakers,
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em um bairro de roteiristas,
atores e cineastas,
02:01
the trio assumed the invisibility
that each senior does.
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o trio assumiu a invisibilidade
que todo idoso assume.
02:05
I would ask myself,
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Me perguntava:
02:07
"How is it that no one else
sees these three human beings?
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"Como é que ninguém mais
vê esses três seres humanos?
02:12
Why is it that I am
the only one who sees them?"
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Por que eu sou a única que os vê?"
02:16
Years later, as I began to share
this work with the public,
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Anos depois, quando comecei a compartilhar
este trabalho com o público,
02:20
I noticed that people are largely
uncomfortable with this story.
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percebi que grande parte das pessoas
fica desconfortável com esta história.
02:24
Perhaps it is because the trio
doesn't assume conventional notions
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Talvez seja porque o trio não assuma
princípios convencionais
02:29
associated with love,
romance or partnership.
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relacionados com amor,
romance ou parceria.
02:33
They were unseen in public
and shunned by their peers.
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Eles eram despercebidos em público
e ignorados por outros idosos.
02:37
They wanted to belong somewhere
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Eles queriam pertencer a algum lugar
02:40
but only seemed to belong with each other.
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mas pareciam pertencer apenas um ao outro.
02:43
I wanted to belong somewhere, too.
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Eu queria pertencer a algum lugar também.
02:45
And my camera has been a catalyst
for me to belong everywhere.
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E minha câmera tem sido um incentivo
para que eu pertença a todos os lugares.
02:50
But beyond challenging sociocultural
norms about the elderly,
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Além do desafio do padrão sociocultural
sobre a população idosa,
02:54
the trio sheds light
on fear of remoteness.
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o trio evidencia o medo do afastamento.
02:58
At the end of each day, they return
to their respective retirement homes.
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No final de cada dia, eles retornam
para seus respectivos lar de idosos.
03:03
Under the surface of their aloneness,
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Sob a superfície de sua solidão,
03:06
there is a desire for community,
for their people.
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existe um desejo de comunidade,
para o seu povo.
03:11
There was a sense that they were each
yearning for their tribe,
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Havia um sentimento de que estavam
desejando pela tribo deles,
03:15
but that comfort comes with compromise,
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mas esse conforto vem com compromisso,
porque Will não consegue
se comprometer com uma mulher.
03:18
because Will cannot commit to one woman.
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03:22
Sitting with Jeanie one day
in her apartment, she said to me,
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Um dia sentada com Jeanie,
no apartamento dela, ela me disse:
03:26
"Sharing Will is a thorn in your side.
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"Compartilhar Will é uma pedra
no seu sapato.
03:29
A relationship between a man
and a woman is private.
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Um relacionamento entre um homem
e uma mulher é privado.
03:33
It is a couple, not a trio."
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É um casal, não um trio".
Meu processo é basicamente transformar
as pessoas que eu registro
03:37
My process is to essentially
become the people I document
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03:41
by spending years with them
as an observer-occupant,
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passando anos com elas como espectadora,
criando um espaço seguro,
escondida à vista de todos.
03:45
to create a safe space,
to then become hidden in plain sight.
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03:50
I was about 17 when I met the trio,
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Eu tinha uns 17 anos
quando conheci o trio,
e eu os observei por quatro anos.
03:52
and I shadowed them for four years.
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03:55
We actually see, in the breakdown
of social development,
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Nós de fato vemos no colapso
do desenvolvimento social
que adolescência e velhice
são incrivelmente parecidas,
03:58
that adolescence and old age
look strikingly alike,
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04:03
because both are periods
of identity confusion.
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pois ambas são períodos
de confusão da identidade.
04:07
I identified with the women.
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Eu me identifiquei com as mulheres.
04:10
But also with Will, who made me
aware of the divide in me.
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Mas também com o Will, que me fez
conhecedora da divisão dentro de mim.
04:15
The schism that we each often have
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A divisão que temos sobre nossos desejos
04:18
about what we crave
and the actuality of our situation.
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e a realidade da nossa situação.
Antes de filmar esta série,
eu também estava apaixonada
04:23
Before shooting this series,
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04:25
I was also in love with two different
people who knew about each other,
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por duas pessoas diferentes
que se conheciam,
04:29
being the object over which they fought.
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sendo o motivo pelo qual eles brigavam.
Eu sabia como era estar na base
do triângulo amoroso
04:32
But I also knew what it was like
to be at the base of the triangle,
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como Jeanie ou Adina,
04:36
like Jeanie or Adina,
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04:38
asking myself,
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e me perguntava:
04:39
"Why aren't I enough?"
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"Por que eu não sou suficiente?"
Eu olhava através das minha câmera
e via três figuras idosas,
04:43
I would look through my viewfinder
and see three elderly figures,
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e se tornou impossível negar
que independentemente da idade,
04:47
and it became impossible to deny
that regardless of age,
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04:51
we were each in pursuit of filling
the proverbial hole through other people.
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cada um buscava preencher o vazio
em sua vida por meio de outras pessoas.
Talvez o desconforto de olhar
para a história de Jeanie, Will e Adina
04:58
Perhaps the discomfort of looking
at Jeanie, Will and Adina's story
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05:02
is truly a reminder
that even at the end of life,
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seja porque é um lembrete real
que mesmo no final da vida,
nunca vamos alcançar a fantasia
que imaginamos para nós mesmos.
05:07
we may never reach the fantasy
we have envisioned for ourselves.
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05:13
Thank you for listening.
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Obrigada pela sua atenção.
05:14
(Applause)
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(Aplausos).
Translated by Adriana Maggiorini
Reviewed by Maricene Crus

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Isadora Kosofsky - Photojournalist, filmmaker
Isadora Kosofsky embeds herself in the lives of others, documenting them in their most fragile moments.

Why you should listen

A documentary photographer who works from a place of empathy, Isadora Kosofsky is devoted to sitting with people in their most fragile moments. She began photographing at the age of 14, documenting women in hospice care in Los Angeles. A contributor to international press and a recipient of numerous honors, Kosofsky has created long-term bodies of work considered epics of visual storytelling in which an individual or group remains her focus for years.

Whether it is documenting a woman with dementia for a decade, shadowing youths while incarcerated and after their release for the last eight years, photographing developmentally disabled couples for four years or documenting children and adults affected by relational traumas, Kosofsky often explores the intersection of intimate lives and institutions, where she typically gains unprecedented access, focusing on nuance and the complexity of human bonds. Her forthcoming work documents a young woman's life after enduring early sexual violence.

More profile about the speaker
Isadora Kosofsky | Speaker | TED.com