ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Janet Echelman - Artist
American artist Janet Echelman reshapes urban airspace with monumental, fluidly moving sculpture that responds to environmental forces including wind, water, and sunlight.

Why you should listen

Janet Echelman builds living, breathing sculpture environments that respond to the forces of nature — wind, water and light— and become inviting focal points for civic life.

Exploring the potential of unlikely materials, from fishing net to atomized water particles, Echelman combines ancient craft with cutting-edge technology to create her permanent sculpture at the scale of buildings. Experiential in nature, the result is sculpture that shifts from being an object you look at, to something you can get lost in.

Recent prominent works include “Her Secret is Patience”, which spans two city blocks in downtown Phoenix,  “Water Sky Garden”, which premiered for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, and “She Changes”, which transformed a waterfront plaza in Porto, Portugal.  Her newest commission creates a “Zone of Recomposure” in the new Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport. Upcoming projects include the remaking of Dilworth Plaza in front of Philadelphia City Hall -- turning it into a garden of dry-mist.

More profile about the speaker
Janet Echelman | Speaker | TED.com
TED2011

Janet Echelman: Taking imagination seriously

珍妮特·艾克曼:珍惜想象力

Filmed:
2,274,256 views

当用于展览的绘画展品丢失后,珍妮特·艾克曼不得不寻找非正统的新艺术材料来代替,也因而找到了她真正的艺术心声。现在,她塑造的作品站在科技前沿,有建筑般大小,且能随风波动。在这里,她用10分钟来传播真正创造力。
- Artist
American artist Janet Echelman reshapes urban airspace with monumental, fluidly moving sculpture that responds to environmental forces including wind, water, and sunlight. Full bio

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

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This story故事
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这个故事
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is about taking服用 imagination想像力 seriously认真地.
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是想告诉大家要珍惜想象力
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Fourteen十四 years年份 ago,
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14年前
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I first encountered遇到 this ordinary普通 material材料, fishnet鱼网,
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我第一次接触到这个普通的材料,渔网
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used the same相同 way for centuries百年.
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几百年来人们一直用它捕鱼
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Today今天, I'm using运用 it to create创建
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今天,我用它来创造
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permanent常驻, billowing滚滚, voluptuous妖娆 forms形式
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永久的,随风飘逸的,动感十足的
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the scale规模 of hard-edged锋芒毕露 buildings房屋
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如坚固建筑物大小的雕塑
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in cities城市 around the world世界.
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竖立在世界各地的城市中
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I was an unlikely不会 person to be doing this.
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我本来不太可能做出这样的成就
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I never studied研究 sculpture雕塑,
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我从未学习过雕塑
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engineering工程 or architecture建筑.
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工程设计或者建筑
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In fact事实, after college学院
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事实上,大学毕业后
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I applied应用的 to seven art艺术 schools学校
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我申请了七所艺术学院
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and was rejected拒绝 by all seven.
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而无一例外地都遭到了拒绝
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I went off on my own拥有 to become成为 an artist艺术家,
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我决定自己走上艺术家之路
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and I painted for 10 years年份,
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我画了十年的画
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when I was offered提供 a Fulbright富布赖特 to India印度.
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终于拿到傅尔布莱特奖学金,被邀请去印度
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Promising有希望 to give exhibitions展览 of paintings绘画,
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许诺了要办画展
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I shipped my paints油漆 and arrived到达 in Mahabalipuram马哈巴利普兰.
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我将画送上船运,然后抵达了玛玛拉普兰(Mahabalipuram)
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The deadline截止日期 for the show显示 arrived到达 --
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画展快要开幕了
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my paints油漆 didn't.
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可画还没运到
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I had to do something.
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我必须找到代替品
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This fishing钓鱼 village was famous著名 for sculpture雕塑.
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这个渔村以雕塑闻名
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So I tried试着 bronze青铜 casting铸件.
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因此我尝试了铜雕
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But to make large forms形式 was too heavy and expensive昂贵.
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但要雕刻大型的铜像很笨重且很费钱
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I went for a walk步行 on the beach海滩,
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一日我去海滩散步
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watching观看 the fishermen渔民
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看着渔民
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bundle their nets into mounds土墩 on the sand.
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在沙滩上将网捆绑成型
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I'd seen看到 it every一切 day,
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每天经过时我都看到这一场景
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but this time I saw it differently不同 --
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但这一次,我观察的角度变了
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a new approach途径 to sculpture雕塑,
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我看到了一种新的雕塑方式
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a way to make volumetric容积 form形成
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它可以塑造立体几何的造型
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without heavy solid固体 materials物料.
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而不必运用沉重坚实的材料
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My first satisfying满意的 sculpture雕塑
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我第一个令人满意的雕塑
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was made制作 in collaboration合作 with these fishermen渔民.
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是和这些渔人们合作的成果
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It's a self-portrait自画像
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它是一个自画像
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titled标题 "Wide Hips臀围."
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名为“宽臀”
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(Laughter笑声)
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笑声
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We hoisted悬挂 them on poles to photograph照片.
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我们用杆将它支起来拍照
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I discovered发现
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我发现
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their soft柔软的 surfaces
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它柔软的表面
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revealed透露 every一切 ripple波纹 of wind
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展现了风的褶皱
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in constantly经常 changing改变 patterns模式.
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伴随着不断变化的图案
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I was mesmerized如醉如痴.
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我被迷住了
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I continued继续 studying研究 craft手艺 traditions传统
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我继续学习工艺传统
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and collaborating合作 with artisans工匠,
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与工匠们合作
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next下一个 in Lithuania立陶宛 with lace花边 makers制造商.
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随后在立陶宛与花边编织者合作
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I liked喜欢 the fine detail详情
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我喜欢将这精美的细节
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it gave my work,
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赋予到我作品中
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but I wanted to make them larger --
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但我想把作品放大
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to shift转移 from being存在 an object目的 you look at
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让它不仅能供人观赏
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to something you could get lost丢失 in.
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还能让人迷失其中
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Returning返回 to India印度 to work with those fishermen渔民,
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回到印度后,我与渔人们合作
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we made制作 a net
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编织了一张网
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of a million百万 and a half hand-tied手绑 knots --
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有一百五十万个半手工编制的结
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installed安装 briefly简要地 in Madrid马德里.
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在马德里短暂安置
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Thousands成千上万 of people saw it,
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数千人看到了这件作品
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and one of them was the urbanist城市规划
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其中一人是城市规划专家
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Manual手册 Sola-Morales索拉 - 莫拉莱斯
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索拉莫拉雷斯(Manual Sola-Morales)
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who was redesigning重新设计 the waterfront滨水
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当时他正在重新设计
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in Porto波尔图, Portugal葡萄牙.
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葡萄牙波尔图的海滨
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He asked if I could build建立 this
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他问我能不能把作它建成
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as a permanent常驻 piece for the city.
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一座永久的作品,立在城市中
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I didn't know if I could do that
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我不知道我能否在这样做的同时
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and preserve保留 my art艺术.
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保留我作品的艺术性
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Durable耐用, engineered工程, permanent常驻 --
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耐用,工程度高,永久
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those are in opposition反对
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这些都与
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to idiosyncratic特质, delicate精巧 and ephemeral短暂的.
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独特,精致,短暂,恰恰相反
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For two years年份, I searched搜索 for a fiber纤维
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我花了两年的时间,寻找一种纤维
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that could survive生存 ultraviolet紫外线 rays阳光,
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能够抵抗紫外线
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salt, air空气, pollution污染,
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盐空气,污染
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and at the same相同 time remain soft柔软的 enough足够
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而同时能够保持足够的柔软度
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to move移动 fluidly流体 in the wind.
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在风中游动
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We needed需要 something to hold保持 the net up
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我们需要一些东西支撑大网
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out there in the middle中间 of the traffic交通 circle.
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让它能竖立在交通环道的中央
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So we raised上调 this 45,000-pound-磅 steel ring.
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因此我们架起了这座45,000镑重的钢圈
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We had to engineer工程师 it
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我们必须进行工程设计
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to move移动 gracefully优雅 in an average平均 breeze微风
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让网能在微风中优雅地流动
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and survive生存 in hurricane飓风 winds.
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同时又能抵御飓风的袭击
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But there was no engineering工程 software软件
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但当时没有设计软件
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to model模型 something porous多孔 and moving移动.
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来模拟这种多孔物体的移动
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I found发现 a brilliant辉煌 aeronautical航空 engineer工程师
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我找到了一个优秀的航空学工程师
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who designs设计 sails for America's美国 Cup杯子 racing赛跑 yachts游艇
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他设计了美国杯竞赛帆船的帆
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named命名 Peter彼得 HeppelHeppel.
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他是彼得·赫普尔(Peter Heppel)
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He helped帮助 me tackle滑车 the twin双胞胎 challenges挑战
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彼得帮助我解决了这个二重挑战
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of precise精确 shape形状
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模拟了精确的外形
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and gentle温和 movement运动.
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和优雅的运动
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I couldn't不能 build建立 this the way I knew知道
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我不能按照旧的方式来塑造这次的作品
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because hand-tied手绑 knots
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因为手捆的结
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weren't going to withstand经受 a hurricane飓风.
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承受不了飓风的袭击
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So I developed发达 a relationship关系
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因此我与一个渔网工厂
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with an industrial产业 fishnet鱼网 factory,
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结成合作伙伴
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learned学到了 the variables变量 of their machines,
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学习了他们机器的不同变量
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and figured想通 out a way
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并找出了一种方式
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to make lace花边 with them.
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通过机器来制作花边
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There was no language语言
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当时没有语言
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to translate翻译 this ancient, idiosyncratic特质 handcraft手工
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来翻译这古老的,独特的手工艺
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into something machine operators运营商 could produce生产.
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将它转为程序,让机器操作者可以用来生产
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So we had to create创建 one.
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所以我们得创造了一种
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Three years年份 and two children孩子 later后来,
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三年后,我有了两个孩子
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we raised上调 this 50,000-square-foot-平方英尺 lace花边 net.
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我们终于竖立起这张50,000平方英尺的花边网
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It was hard to believe
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难以置信
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that what I had imagined想象
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我曾经的想象
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was now built内置, permanent常驻
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现在被建成了永久的作品
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and had lost丢失 nothing in translation翻译.
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而在这转化过程中仍保持了原有风味
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(Applause掌声)
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掌声
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This intersection路口 had been bland平淡 and anonymous匿名.
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这个十字路口曾经是乏味,毫不起眼的
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Now it had a sense of place地点.
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而现在已成为一道风景线
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I walked underneath it
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我第一次漫步
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for the first time.
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于雕塑下
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As I watched看着 the wind's风的 choreography编舞 unfold展开,
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看着风的舞姿慢慢伸展
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I felt sheltered避风
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我感到被庇护
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and, at the same相同 time,
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而同时
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connected连接的 to limitless无限 sky天空.
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又与无尽的天空相连
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My life was not going to be the same相同.
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我的生活从那时改变
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I want to create创建 these oases绿洲 of sculpture雕塑
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我想要创造出这些绿洲雕塑
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in spaces空间 of cities城市 around the world世界.
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让他们竖立于世界各地城市的空隙之中
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I'm going to share分享 two directions方向
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我想要与大家分享我工作中
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that are new in my work.
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两个新的方向
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Historic历史性 Philadelphia费城 City Hall大厅:
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历史悠久的费城城市大厅
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its plaza广场, I felt, needed需要 a material材料 for sculpture雕塑
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这是它的广场,我当时认为,我们需要的雕塑材料
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that was lighter打火机 than netting.
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要比网还轻
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So we experimented试验
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我们实验了
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with tiny atomized雾化 water particles粒子
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这些微型原子化水离子
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to create创建 a dry mist薄雾
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创造出一种干的薄雾
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that is shaped成形 by the wind
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能够被风改变形状
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and in testing测试, discovered发现
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在测试中我们发现
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that it can be shaped成形 by people
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它也能被人改变外形
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who can interact相互作用 and move移动 through通过 it without getting得到 wet湿.
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并且穿行其中的人们不会被沾湿
05:53
I'm using运用 this sculpture雕塑 material材料
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我用这种雕塑材料
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to trace跟踪 the paths路径 of subway地铁 trains火车 above以上 ground地面
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在地表来追踪地铁
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in real真实 time --
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即时的路径
06:03
like an X-rayX-射线 of the city's城市的 circulatory循环系统 system系统 unfolding展开.
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这就像城市循环系统扩散的X射线
06:11
Next下一个 challenge挑战,
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这是下一个挑战
06:13
the Biennial双年展 of the Americas美洲 in Denver丹佛
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丹佛将召开两年一次的美洲会议
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asked, could I represent代表
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有人问我,能否将
06:17
the 35 nations国家 of the Western西 hemisphere半球 and their interconnectedness互联
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西半球的三十五个国家和他们的关联性
06:20
in a sculpture雕塑?
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表现在一件作品当中
06:22
(Laughter笑声)
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笑声
06:25
I didn't know where to begin开始,
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我不知从何开始
06:27
but I said yes.
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但我说能
06:29
I read about the recent最近 earthquake地震 in Chile智利
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我读到了最近智利的地震
06:32
and the tsunami海啸 that rippled波纹 across横过
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海啸的余波动荡了
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the entire整个 Pacific和平的 Ocean海洋.
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整个太平洋
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It shifted the Earth's地球 tectonic构造 plates,
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它改变了地球的构造板块
06:39
sped加快 up the planet's地球上的 rotation回转
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加速了地球的自传
06:41
and literally按照字面 shortened缩短 the length长度 of the day.
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甚至缩短了地球一天的长度
06:44
So I contacted联系 NOAANOAA,
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我联系了美国国家海洋和大气局(NOAA)
06:47
and I asked if they'd他们会 share分享 their data数据 on the tsunami海啸,
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询问他们是否能够提供海啸的数据
06:50
and translated翻译 it into this.
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然后我将那些数据转变成了这件作品
06:55
Its title标题: "1.26"
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它名为“1.26”
06:58
refers to the number of microseconds微秒
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指代的是地球天数
07:00
that the Earth's地球 day was shortened缩短.
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被缩短的微妙
07:03
I couldn't不能 build建立 this with a steel ring, the way I knew知道.
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我不能依靠钢圈,以我原有的方式来搭建这座雕塑
07:06
Its shape形状 was too complex复杂 now.
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因它的形状太过复杂
07:09
So I replaced更换 the metal金属 armature衔铁
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我将金属的支架
07:11
with a soft柔软的, fine mesh网孔
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用一种柔软,细孔状的纤维代替
07:13
of a fiber纤维 15 times stronger than steel.
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它比钢强韧15倍
07:17
The sculpture雕塑 could now be entirely完全 soft柔软的,
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雕塑现在完全是柔软的
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which哪一个 made制作 it so light
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因此很轻
07:23
it could tie领带 in to existing现有 buildings房屋 --
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可以被固定在已有的建筑上
07:26
literally按照字面 becoming变得 part部分 of the fabric of the city.
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名副其实地成为城市织物的一部分(译者注:fabric这里有双重含义:织物;建筑构筑)
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There was no software软件
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当时没有软件
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that could extrude拉伸 these complex复杂 net forms形式
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能够模拟这种复杂的网状结构
07:34
and model模型 them with gravity重力.
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并模拟重力对它的影响
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So we had to create创建 it.
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因此我们必须制作一个
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Then I got a call from New York纽约 City
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然后我接到一通来自纽约的电话
07:42
asking if I could adapt适应 these concepts概念
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问我能否将这些概念应用到
07:45
to Times Square广场
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时代广场
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or the High Line线.
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或者高线公园
07:49
This new soft柔软的 structural结构 method方法
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新的软构架模式
07:52
enables使 me to model模型 these
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让我能够模拟这些雕塑外形
07:54
and build建立 these sculptures雕塑
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并且将它们建得
07:56
at the scale规模 of skyscrapers摩天大楼.
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如摩天大厦一般高大
07:59
They don't have funding资金 yet然而,
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邀请方还未筹集到资金
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but I dream梦想 now
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但我现在梦想着
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of bringing使 these to cities城市 around the world世界
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将这些雕塑带给世界各地的城市
08:06
where they're most needed需要.
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给那些最需要的地方
08:09
Fourteen十四 years年份 ago,
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14年前
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I searched搜索 for beauty美女
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我处处搜寻美
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in the traditional传统 things,
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在传统事物中
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in craft手艺 forms形式.
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在手工艺中寻找
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Now I combine结合 them with hi-tech高科技 materials物料 and engineering工程
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现在,我将其与高科技材料和工程设计结合
08:26
to create创建 voluptuous妖娆, billowing滚滚 forms形式
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来创造撩人的,随风波动的
08:29
the scale规模 of buildings房屋.
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如建筑般大小的作品
08:32
My artistic艺术的 horizons视野 continue继续 to grow增长.
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我艺术的边界不断扩展
08:35
I'll leave离开 you with this story故事.
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最后,我要告诉你们这个故事
08:38
I got a call from a friend朋友 in Phoenix凤凰.
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我接到了凤凰城一个朋友的电话
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An attorney律师 in the office办公室
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她是一个办公室律师
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who'd谁愿意 never been interested有兴趣 in art艺术,
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从未对艺术感兴趣过
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never visited参观 the local本地 art艺术 museum博物馆,
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从未去过当地的艺术博物馆
08:48
dragged everyone大家 she could from the building建造
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但却把所有她能号召的人拉出大楼
08:51
and got them outside to lie谎言 down underneath the sculpture雕塑.
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让大家一起躺在雕塑的下方
08:54
There they were in their business商业 suits西装,
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他们躺在那儿,穿着商务套装
08:56
laying铺设 in the grass,
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躺在草地中
08:58
noticing注意到 the changing改变 patterns模式 of wind
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看着雕塑的形状随风而变
09:00
beside people they didn't know,
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与陌生人一起
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sharing分享 the rediscovery重新发现 of wonder奇迹.
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分享这重新发现的美
09:06
Thank you.
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谢谢大家
09:08
(Applause掌声)
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掌声
09:11
Thank you. Thank you.
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非常感谢
09:13
Thank you.
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谢谢大家
09:15
Thank you. Thank you.
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非常感谢
09:18
(Applause掌声)
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掌声
Translated by Lan Xu
Reviewed by Jenny Yang

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Janet Echelman - Artist
American artist Janet Echelman reshapes urban airspace with monumental, fluidly moving sculpture that responds to environmental forces including wind, water, and sunlight.

Why you should listen

Janet Echelman builds living, breathing sculpture environments that respond to the forces of nature — wind, water and light— and become inviting focal points for civic life.

Exploring the potential of unlikely materials, from fishing net to atomized water particles, Echelman combines ancient craft with cutting-edge technology to create her permanent sculpture at the scale of buildings. Experiential in nature, the result is sculpture that shifts from being an object you look at, to something you can get lost in.

Recent prominent works include “Her Secret is Patience”, which spans two city blocks in downtown Phoenix,  “Water Sky Garden”, which premiered for the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympics, and “She Changes”, which transformed a waterfront plaza in Porto, Portugal.  Her newest commission creates a “Zone of Recomposure” in the new Terminal 2 at San Francisco International Airport. Upcoming projects include the remaking of Dilworth Plaza in front of Philadelphia City Hall -- turning it into a garden of dry-mist.

More profile about the speaker
Janet Echelman | Speaker | TED.com