ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Magda Sayeg - Textile artist
Magda Sayeg uses handmade, eye-catching yarn bombs to shake up the way we see the world and make us notice things we hadn't seen before.

Why you should listen

Considered to be the mother of yarn bombing, Magda Sayeg’s 10-year body of work includes the widely recognized knitted/crocheted covered bus in Mexico City as well as her first solo exhibit in Rome at La Museo des Esposizione. Her work has evolved to include large scale installations around the world including commissions and collaborations with companies such as Commes Des Garçons, CR Fashionbook, Absolut Vodka, Insight 51, Mini Cooper, Gap, Smart Car. She continues to participate in shows such as Milan's Triennale Design Museum, Le M.U.R. in Paris and the National Gallery of Australia, among others. Her installations have also been featured prominently at American monuments to contemporary culture, such as The Standard Hotel, South By Southwest and the Austin City Limits Festival.

Magda has most recently expanded her artwork to encompass new mediums and techniques as with her solo show in Rome, which explored the usage of lighting with knitted material. She continues to expand her boundaries by joining integrated media company 1stAveMachine as one of their directors which will serve as a platform for new types of experimentation and collaboration.

Recent projects include an installation for Dover Street Market in NYC covering a column spanning 6 floors and a knitted/crocheted Route Master Double Decker bus in London.

More profile about the speaker
Magda Sayeg | Speaker | TED.com
TEDYouth 2015

Magda Sayeg: How yarn bombing grew into a worldwide movement

Magda Sajeg (Magda Sayeg): Kako je bombardovanje predivom postalo svetski raširen pokret

Filmed:
1,427,235 views

Tekstilna umetnica Magda Sajeg pretvara urbane pejzaže u sopstveno igralište tako što svakodnevne predmete ukrašava šarenim pletenim i štrikanim radovima. Ove tople, čupave "bombe od prediva" počele su kao male, na STOP znacima i hidrantima u Sajeginom rodnom gradu, ali ljudi su uskoro otkrili vezu sa veštinom i raširili je širom sveta. "Svi živimo u ubrzanom, digitalnom svetu, ali još uvek žudimo i težimo za nečim sa čime možemo da uspostavimo vezu", kaže Sajegova. "Skrivena moć se može pronaći na mestima gde najmanje očekujete, i svi posedujemo veštine koje samo čekaju da budu otkrivene."
- Textile artist
Magda Sayeg uses handmade, eye-catching yarn bombs to shake up the way we see the world and make us notice things we hadn't seen before. Full bio

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

00:13
I'm a textileтекстил artistуметник
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Ja sam tekstilna umetnica
najpoznatija po tome što sam započela
pokret bombardovanja predivom.
00:15
mostнајвише widelyшироко knownпознат for startingпочевши
the yarnprediva bombingбомбардовање movementпокрет.
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00:18
YarnPrediva bombingбомбардовање is when you take
knittedisplela or crochetedHeklane materialматеријал
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Bombardovanje predivom je kad uzmete
štrikani ili heklani materijal,
00:21
out into the urbanурбано environmentЖивотна средина,
graffiti-stylegrafiti u stilu --
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stavite ga u urbanu sredinu,
nalik na grafite,
00:23
or, more specificallyпосебно,
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ili, specifičnije,
00:24
withoutбез permissionдозволу and unsanctionedneodobrene.
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bez dozvole i bez kazne.
00:26
But when I startedпочела this over 10 yearsгодине agoпре,
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Ali kada sam počela
pre više od deset godina,
00:29
I didn't have a wordреч for it,
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nisam imala ime za ovo,
00:31
I didn't have any
ambitiousambiciozan notionsпојмове about it,
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niti neke ambiciozne pojmove,
00:33
I had no visionsvizije of grandeurlepote.
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nikakve vizije grandioznosti.
00:35
All I wanted to see was something
warmтопло and fuzzyфуззи and human-likeљудско биће као и
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Samo sam želela da vidim nešto
toplo i čupavo i nalik ljudima
00:39
on the coldхладно, steelчелик, grayсива facadeфасада
that I lookedпогледао at everydayсваки дан.
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na hladnim, čeličnim, sivim fasadama
koje sam svakog dana gledala.
00:43
So I wrappedомотан the doorврата handleручку.
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Tako sam omotala kvaku od vrata.
00:45
I call this the AlphaAlfa PieceKomad.
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Ovo zovem komadom Alfa.
00:47
Little did I know that this tinyситни pieceпиеце
would changeпромена the courseкурс of my life.
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Nisam imala pojma da će mi ovaj komad
izmeniti tok života.
00:52
So clearlyјасно the reactionреакција was interestingзанимљиво.
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Jasno je da je reakcija bila zanimljiva.
00:54
It intriguedzaintrigiralo me and I thought,
"What elseдруго could I do?"
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Zaintrigiralo me je i pomislila sam:
"Šta bih još mogla da uradim?"
00:56
Could I do something in the publicјавно domainдомена
that would get the sameисти reactionреакција?
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Nešto u javnom domenu
što bi izazvalo istu reakciju?
01:00
So I wrappedомотан the stop signзнак
poleпол nearблизу my houseкућа.
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Tako sam zamotala znak STOP
pored moje kuće.
01:03
The reactionреакција was wildдивље.
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Reakcija je bila luda.
01:05
People would parkпарк theirњихова carsаутомобили
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Ljudi bi parkirali svoje automobile,
01:07
and get out of theirњихова carsаутомобили and stareбуљити at it,
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izlazili napolje i zurili u znak,
01:09
and scratchогреботина theirњихова headsглаве and stareбуљити at it,
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češali se po glavama i zurili u njega,
01:11
and take picturesслике of it
and take picturesслике nextследећи to it,
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slikali ga i slikali se pored njega,
01:14
and all of that was really excitingузбудљиво to me
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i sve to mi je bilo veoma uzbudljivo
01:16
and I wanted to do everyсваки stop signзнак poleпол
in the neighborhoodкомшилук.
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i htela sam da to uradim
sa svakim STOP znakom u kraju.
01:19
And the more that I did,
the strongerјачи the reactionреакција.
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A što sam više to radila,
reakcija je bila sve jača.
01:22
So at this pointтачка I'm smittenpozvao.a.
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U ovom trenutku sam očarana.
01:24
I'm hookedзакачен.
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Navukla sam se.
01:25
This was all seductivezavodljiva.
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Ovo je bilo veoma zavodljivo.
01:26
I foundнашао my newново passionстраст
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Našla sam svoju novu strast
01:28
and the urbanурбано environmentЖивотна средина
was my playgroundигралиште.
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i urbano okruženje
bilo je moje igralište.
01:31
So this is some of my earlyрано work.
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Ovo su neki od mojih ranih radova.
01:35
I was very curiousрадознао about this ideaидеја
of enhancingpoboljšanje the ordinaryобичан,
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Veoma me je zanimala ideja
poboljšavanja običnog,
01:38
the mundaneМундане, even the uglyружно,
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jednostavnog, čak i ružnog,
01:39
and not takingузимајући away its identityидентитет
or its functionalityфункционалност
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bez oduzimanja identiteta
ili funkcionalnosti,
01:43
but just givingдавање it a well-tailoredDobro skrojen
suitодело out of knittingpletenje.
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samo sam mu pružala
dobro ispleteno odelo.
01:46
And this was funзабавно for me.
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Ovo mi je bilo zabavno.
01:48
It was really funзабавно
to take inanimateнеживи objectsобјеката
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Bilo je veoma zabavano
uzeti nežive predmete
01:50
and have them come to life.
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i pružiti im život.
01:53
So ...
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Tako...
Mislim da svi ovde vidimo šta je smešno,
01:54
I think we all see the humorхумор in this,
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01:56
but --
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ali -
01:58
(LaughterSmeh)
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(Smeh)
Došla sam do tačke
gde sam želela da to shvatam ozbiljno.
01:59
I was at a pointтачка where
I wanted to take it seriouslyозбиљно.
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Želela sam da ga analiziram.
02:01
I wanted to analyzeанализирај it.
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02:03
I wanted to know why I was lettingизнајмљивање
this take over my life,
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Želela sam da znam zašto puštam
da mi ovo preuzme život,
zašto sam bila toliko pasionirana,
02:05
why I was passionateстраствено about it,
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02:07
why were other people
reactingреаговање so stronglyснажно to it.
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zašto su drugi ljudi reagovali na to
tako snažno.
02:09
And I realizedреализован something.
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I shvatila sam nešto.
02:11
We all liveживи in this
fast-pacedBrza, digitalдигитални worldсвет,
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Svi živimo u ubrzanom, digitalnom svetu,
02:14
but we still craveжудим and desireжеља
something that's relatablehumanim.
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ali još uvek žudimo i težimo nečemu
sa čime možemo da se poistovetimo.
02:18
I think we'veми смо all becomeпостати desensitizedokrenule
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Mislimo da smo svi oguglali
02:21
by our overdevelopedpreviљe razvijen.
citiesградова that we liveживи in,
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na prerazvijene gradove u kojima živimo,
02:24
and billboardsбилборди and advertisementsрекламе,
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na bilborde i reklame
02:26
and giantгигант parkingпаркинг lots,
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i ogromne parkinge,
02:28
and we don't even complainжалите се
about that stuffствари anymoreвише.
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pa se više i ne žalimo na te stvari.
02:31
So when you stumbleposrnuo uponна
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Onda kada naletite
02:32
a stop signзнак poleпол
that's wrappedомотан in knittingpletenje
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na STOP znak koji je umotan u predivo
02:35
and it seemsИзгледа so out of placeместо
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i tako odudara od okoline,
02:36
and then graduallyпостепено -- weirdlyuvrnuto --
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a onda postepeno, i čudno,
02:38
you find a connectionвеза to it,
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pronađete povezanost sa time,
02:40
that is the momentтренутак.
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to je trenutak.
02:41
That is the momentтренутак I love
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To je trenutak koji volim
02:42
and that is the momentтренутак
I love to shareОбјави with othersдруги.
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i to je trenutak
koji volim da delim sa drugima.
02:46
So at this pointтачка, my curiosityрадозналост grewрастао.
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Ovde se pojačala moja znatiželja.
02:49
It wentотишао from the fireватра hydrantshidranti
and the stop signзнак polesстубови
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Otišla je od hidranata i STOP znakova
do bilo čega što sam mogla
da uradim sa ovim materijalom.
02:52
to what elseдруго can I do with this materialматеријал.
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02:54
Can I do something bigвелики
and large-scaleвелике and insurmountablenepremostivo?
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Mogu li da uradim nešto veliko,
velikih razmera i nepremostivo?
02:58
So that's when the busаутобус happenedдесило.
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Onda se desio autobus.
03:03
This was a realправи gameигра changerizmenjivač for me.
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Ovo je zaista promenilo priču za mene.
03:05
I'll always have a softмеко spotместо
in my heartсрце for this one.
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U mom srcu će uvek biti
posebno mesto za ovo.
03:08
At this pointтачка, people
were recognizingпрепознаје my work
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U tom trenutku,
ljudi su prepoznavali moj rad
ali nije bilo mnogo toga u svetu
03:10
but there wasn'tније much out there
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03:11
that was wrappedомотан in knittingpletenje
that was large-scaleвелике,
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što je bilo umotano u predivo
a da je bilo velikih razmera,
03:14
and this definitelyдефинитивно was the first
cityград busаутобус to be wrappedомотан in knittingpletenje.
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a ovo je sigurno bio prvi gradski autobus
koji je bio umotan u predivo.
03:17
So at this pointтачка, I'm experiencingдоживљава,
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U ovom trenutku doživljavam,
03:19
or I'm witnessingsvedoci something interestingзанимљиво.
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ili sam svedok nečemu zanimljivom.
Možda sam započela bombardovanje predivom,
ali svakako ga više ne posedujem.
03:21
I mayможе have startedпочела yarnprediva bombingбомбардовање
but I certainlyсигурно don't ownвластити it anymoreвише.
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03:24
It had reachedдостигао globalглобално statusстатус.
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Dostiglo je svetski status.
03:26
People from all over the worldсвет
were doing this.
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Ljudi širom sveta su radili ovo.
03:28
And I know this because I would travelпутовање
to certainизвестан partsделови of the worldсвет
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A ovo znam jer bih putovala
u određene krajeve sveta
gde nikada pre nisam bila,
03:31
that I'd never been to,
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03:32
and I'd stumbleposrnuo uponна a stop signзнак poleпол
and I knewзнала I didn't wrapзавити it.
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i naletela bih na STOP znak
i znala bih da ga ja nisam obmotala.
03:36
So as I pursuedнастављено
my ownвластити goalsциљеве with my artуметност --
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Kako sam sledila sopstvene ciljeve
mojom umetnošću -
03:40
this is a lot of my recentскорашњи work --
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ovo je dosta mojih skorašnjih radova -
to je radilo i bombardovanje predivom.
03:43
so was yarnprediva bombingбомбардовање.
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03:44
YarnPrediva bombingбомбардовање was alsoтакође growingрастуће.
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Bombardovanje predivom je takođe raslo.
03:45
And that experienceискуство showedпоказао me
the hiddenсакривен powerмоћ of this craftзанат
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A to iskustvo pokazalo mi je
skrivenu moć ove veštine
03:50
and showedпоказао me
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i pokazalo mi je
03:52
that there was this commonзаједнички languageЈезик
I had with the restодмор of the worldсвет.
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da postoji zajednički jezik
koji sam imala sa ostatkom sveta.
03:57
It was throughкроз this grannyBaka hobbyhobi --
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Kroz ovaj hobi za bake -
03:59
this unassumingnenametljiva hobbyhobi --
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ovaj skromni hobi -
04:01
that I foundнашао commonalitysličnosti with people
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pronašla sam nešto zajedničko s ljudima
04:04
that I never thought
I'd have a connectionвеза with.
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sa kojima sa mislila
da nikada neću imati povezanost.
04:08
So as I tell my storyприча todayданас,
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Dok danas iznosim svoju priču,
želela bih da vam prenesem i to
04:10
I'd alsoтакође like to conveyпреноси to you
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04:12
that hiddenсакривен powerмоћ can be foundнашао
in the mostнајвише unassumingnenametljiva placesместа,
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da se skrivena moć može pronaći
na mestima gde najmanje očekujete
04:15
and we all possessпоседовати skillsвештине
that are just waitingчекајући to be discoveredоткривени.
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i da svi posedujemo veštine
koje samo čekaju da budu otkrivene.
Ako razmislite o našim rukama,
to su alati koji su povezani sa nama,
04:19
If you think about our handsруке,
these toolsалати that are connectedповезан to us,
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04:22
and what they're capableспособан of doing --
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i šta sve mogu da urade -
04:25
buildingзграде housesкуће and furnitureнамештај,
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grade kuće i prave nameštaj,
04:26
and paintingсликарство giantгигант muralsmurali --
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slikaju ogromne murale -
04:28
and mostнајвише of the time
we holdдржати a controllerkontroler or a cellмобилни phoneтелефон.
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a većinu vremena držimo
kontroler ili mobilni telefon.
04:32
And I'm totallyтотално guiltyкрив of this as well.
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I ja sam od onih koji rade ovo.
04:34
But if you think about it,
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Ali ako razmislite o ovome,
04:36
what would happenдесити се
if you put those things down?
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šta bi se desilo
kada biste spustili te stvari?
04:38
What would you make?
What would you createстворити with your ownвластити handsруке?
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Šta biste napravili?
Šta biste stvorili sopstvenim rukama?
04:42
A lot of people think
that I am a masterмајстор knitterplete
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Mnogi ljudi misle
da sam vrhunska pletilja,
04:44
but I actuallyзаправо couldn'tније могао knitкнит
a sweaterdžemper to saveсачувати my life.
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ali zapravo nemam blage veze sa pletenjem.
04:47
But I did something
interestingзанимљиво with knittingpletenje
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Ali uradila sam nešto zanimljivo pletenjem
04:49
that had never been doneГотово before.
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što nikada pre nije urađeno.
04:51
I alsoтакође wasn'tније "supposedпретпостављено to be" an artistуметник
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Takođe "nije trebalo" da budem umetnica,
04:53
in the senseсмисао that I wasn'tније
formallyформално trainedобучени to do this --
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u smislu da sa nisam
formalno obrazovala za ovo -
zapravo sam diplomirala matematiku.
04:57
I'm a mathматематика majorглавни actuallyзаправо.
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04:59
So I didn't think
this was in the cardsкартице for me,
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Tako da ne mislim
da mi je ovo bilo suđeno,
05:01
but I alsoтакође know that I didn't
stumbleposrnuo uponна this.
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ali takođe znam
da na ovo nisam nabasala.
05:04
And when this happenedдесило to me,
I heldОдржан on tightчврсто,
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A kada mi se ovo desilo,
uhvatila sam se čvrsto,
05:07
I foughtборио се for it and I'm proudпоносан to say
that I am a workingрад artistуметник todayданас.
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borila sam se za to i ponosno kažem
da danas radim kao umetnica.
05:12
So as we ponderRazmislite o the futureбудућност,
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I dok se pitamo o budućnosti,
05:15
know that your futureбудућност
mightМожда not be so seamlessбеспрекорно.
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znajte da vaša budućnost
možda nije tako jasna.
05:17
And one day, you mightМожда
be as boredдосадно as I was
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Jednog dana, možda će vam
biti dosadno kao i meni
05:20
and knitкнит a doorврата handleручку
to changeпромена your worldсвет foreverзаувек.
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i isplešćete kvaku na vratima
da biste zauvek promenili svoj svet.
05:23
Thank you.
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Hvala vam.
05:25
(ApplauseAplauz)
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(Aplauz)
Translated by Mile Živković
Reviewed by Milenka Okuka

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Magda Sayeg - Textile artist
Magda Sayeg uses handmade, eye-catching yarn bombs to shake up the way we see the world and make us notice things we hadn't seen before.

Why you should listen

Considered to be the mother of yarn bombing, Magda Sayeg’s 10-year body of work includes the widely recognized knitted/crocheted covered bus in Mexico City as well as her first solo exhibit in Rome at La Museo des Esposizione. Her work has evolved to include large scale installations around the world including commissions and collaborations with companies such as Commes Des Garçons, CR Fashionbook, Absolut Vodka, Insight 51, Mini Cooper, Gap, Smart Car. She continues to participate in shows such as Milan's Triennale Design Museum, Le M.U.R. in Paris and the National Gallery of Australia, among others. Her installations have also been featured prominently at American monuments to contemporary culture, such as The Standard Hotel, South By Southwest and the Austin City Limits Festival.

Magda has most recently expanded her artwork to encompass new mediums and techniques as with her solo show in Rome, which explored the usage of lighting with knitted material. She continues to expand her boundaries by joining integrated media company 1stAveMachine as one of their directors which will serve as a platform for new types of experimentation and collaboration.

Recent projects include an installation for Dover Street Market in NYC covering a column spanning 6 floors and a knitted/crocheted Route Master Double Decker bus in London.

More profile about the speaker
Magda Sayeg | Speaker | TED.com