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

伊莎杜拉· 科索夫斯基: 年長者三角愛情的親密照片

Filmed:
500,297 views

身為攝影師的 TED 研究員伊莎杜拉· 科索夫斯基是愛、失去和寂寞的記錄者。在這場尋根究底的演說中,她分享自己花了四年時間拍的照片,記錄一段年長者三角愛情,她也說明了常見身分和歸屬的尋找,這些年長者能教導我們什麼。
- 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珍妮, Will and Adina阿迪娜
are three senior前輩 citizens公民
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吉妮、威爾,和艾迪娜
是三位年長者,
00:16
connected連接的 by a special特別 relationship關係.
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他們以一種特殊的方式聯繫在一起,
他們將彼此間的連結視為防護盾,
用來對抗老化的孤獨。
00:19
They view視圖 their bond as a shield屏蔽
from the loneliness孤單 of aging老化.
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00:24
I first met會見 them at a retirement退休
home in Los洛杉磯 Angeles洛杉磯,
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我初次見到他們的地方
是洛杉磯的一間養老院,
00:27
where I had been photographing拍攝
for three years年份.
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我已經在那裡做了三年的攝影。
00:30
I saw as they approached接近
the gate one night,
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有一天晚上,我看見他們靠近大門,
00:33
and felt an immediate即時 connection連接 to them.
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我馬上就感覺到
我和他們之間有某種聯繫。
00:36
Although雖然 I didn't know the details細節
of their love triangle三角形,
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雖然我不知道他們三角愛情的細節,
00:40
I intuitively直觀地 felt
that I had to find out who they were.
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我的直覺告訴我,
我得查出他們是什麼人。
00:45
Questioning質疑 a nurse護士
a day later後來, she said to me,
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那天過後,我問了
一位護士,她告訴我:
00:49
"Oh, you're talking about the threesome三人行."
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「喔,你說的是那三人組。」
00:52
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
00:53
I was intrigued好奇.
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我很好奇。
00:54
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
00:57
The trio三人 set out on a daily日常 adventure冒險
to coffee咖啡 and doughnut甜甜圈 shops商店,
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這三個人開始一日探險,
去了咖啡廳、甜甜圈店、
01:01
bus總線 stops停止 and street corners角落.
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公車站,以及街角。
01:04
I soon不久 learned學到了 that the purpose目的
of these outings郊遊 was solace慰藉
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我很快就了解,這些旅行的目的
是安慰以及尋找意義。
01:08
and a search搜索 for meaning含義.
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01:10
The trio三人 sought追捧 to combat戰鬥 their alienation異化
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這三人將他們自己
融入到公眾的街道中,
01:13
by literally按照字面 integrating整合 themselves他們自己
in public上市 streets街道.
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以尋求對抗他們的被疏離感。
01:17
Yet然而, even when arm in arm,
no one saw them.
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但,即使是臂挽著臂,
也沒有人看見他們。
01:22
We often經常 think that as we age年齡,
we lose失去 the desires慾望 held保持 in our youth青年.
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我們通常會認為,當我們變老,
我們會失去年輕時的慾望。
01:28
Actually其實, as a teenage青少年 photojournalist攝影記者
when I met會見 the trio三人,
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其實,身為十幾歲的攝影記者,
當我見到三人組時,
01:32
I saw their behavior行為 as a mirror鏡子
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我把他們的行為視為一面鏡子,
01:34
to the fears恐懼 of exclusion排除
and desires慾望 for intimacy親密關係
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反射出對被排斥的恐懼
及想要親密感的渴望,
01:38
that I also carried攜帶的.
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這些感覺我也有。
01:41
I related有關 to their invisibility隱形,
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我能同理他們被忽視的感受,
01:43
which哪一個 pained苦澀 me during my childhood童年
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在我童年時,這種感受讓我很痛苦,
01:46
but has become成為 my greatest最大 asset財富
as an immersive身臨其境 documentarian紀錄片,
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但這也成為我身為沉浸式
記錄工作者珍貴的資產,
01:51
because I can just fade褪色 into my empathy同情.
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因為我可以就這樣
消失在我的同理心當中。
01:55
As we walked down
the streets街道 of Hollywood好萊塢,
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當我們在好萊塢的街道上走著,
01:57
in a neighborhood鄰里 of screenwriters編劇,
actors演員 and filmmakers電影製片人,
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住這一帶的都是
編劇、演員和製片人,
三人組所承受的漠視,
是每位年長者都在承受的。
02:01
the trio三人 assumed假定 the invisibility隱形
that each senior前輩 does.
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02:05
I would ask myself,
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我會問我自己:
02:07
"How is it that no one else其他
sees看到 these three human人的 beings眾生?
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「為什麼沒有其他人
看見這三個人?
02:12
Why is it that I am
the only one who sees看到 them?"
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為什麼只有我看見他們?」
02:16
Years年份 later後來, as I began開始 to share分享
this work with the public上市,
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多年後,當我開始公開
分享這件作品時,
02:20
I noticed注意到 that people are largely大部分
uncomfortable不舒服 with this story故事.
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我注意到大部分人對於
這個故事都會感到不舒服。
02:24
Perhaps也許 it is because the trio三人
doesn't assume承擔 conventional常規 notions概念
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可能是因為這三人組並不符合
世俗對於愛、浪漫,
或伴侶關係的傳統觀念。
02:29
associated相關 with love,
romance浪漫 or partnership合夥.
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02:33
They were unseen看不見 in public上市
and shunned迴避 by their peers同行.
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在公眾場合,他們被無視,
在同儕之中,他們被迴避。
02:37
They wanted to belong屬於 somewhere某處
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他們想要有所歸屬,
02:40
but only seemed似乎 to belong屬於 with each other.
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但他們似乎只歸屬於彼此。
02:43
I wanted to belong屬於 somewhere某處, too.
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我也想要有所歸屬。
02:45
And my camera相機 has been a catalyst催化劑
for me to belong屬於 everywhere到處.
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我的照相機一直是我的催化劑,
讓我能歸屬於每個地方。
02:50
But beyond challenging具有挑戰性的 sociocultural社會文化
norms規範 about the elderly老年,
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但在挑戰傳統社會
所定義的老年人背後,
02:54
the trio三人 sheds light
on fear恐懼 of remoteness遙遠.
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這三人組闡釋了對於疏離的恐懼。
02:58
At the end結束 of each day, they return返回
to their respective各自 retirement退休 homes家園.
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在每天的約會結束後,
他們會回到各自的養老院。
03:03
Under the surface表面 of their aloneness孤獨,
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在他們孤獨的表面底下,
03:06
there is a desire慾望 for community社區,
for their people.
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有一種渴望,那是對社區、
對專屬於他們的人的渴望;
03:11
There was a sense that they were each
yearning懷念 for their tribe部落,
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也有一種感覺,彷彿他們
都嚮往屬於自己的部落,
但那安慰卻來自妥協,
03:15
but that comfort安慰 comes with compromise妥協,
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03:18
because Will cannot不能 commit承諾 to one woman女人.
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因為威爾無法只對
一個女人做出承諾。
03:22
Sitting坐在 with Jeanie珍妮 one day
in her apartment公寓, she said to me,
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有一天,我和吉妮
坐在她的公寓裡,她對我說:
03:26
"Sharing分享 Will is a thorn in your side.
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「分享威爾對你來說是惱人的事。
03:29
A relationship關係 between之間 a man
and a woman女人 is private私人的.
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一個男人和一個女人
之間的關係是私事。
03:33
It is a couple一對, not a trio三人."
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是一對,而不是三人組。」
03:37
My process處理 is to essentially實質上
become成為 the people I document文件
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我的工作,是要在本質上
成為我所記錄的人,
03:41
by spending開支 years年份 with them
as an observer-occupant不受影響的住戶,
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我要以觀察者—居住者的身分,
花數年的時間和他們相處,
03:45
to create創建 a safe安全 space空間,
to then become成為 hidden in plain sight視力.
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來創造出安全的空間,
然後從顯眼的地方隱身消失。
03:50
I was about 17 when I met會見 the trio三人,
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遇到三人組時,我十七歲,
03:52
and I shadowed附有陰影 them for four years年份.
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我如影隨形跟了他們四年。
03:55
We actually其實 see, in the breakdown分解
of social社會 development發展,
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在分析社會發展時,
我們其實可以發現,
03:58
that adolescence青春期 and old age年齡
look strikingly驚人 alike一樣,
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青少年和老年人看起來非常像,
04:03
because both are periods
of identity身分 confusion混亂.
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因為兩者都處於
對身分感到困惑的時期。
04:07
I identified確定 with the women婦女.
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我認同這兩位女人。
04:10
But also with Will, who made製作 me
aware知道的 of the divide劃分 in me.
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但也認同威爾,他讓我
意識到我內在的分歧。
04:15
The schism分裂 that we each often經常 have
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我們每個人通常都會有分裂,
04:18
about what we crave渴望
and the actuality現實 of our situation情況.
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在我們的渴望和我們的
實際情況之間有著分裂。
04:23
Before shooting射擊 this series系列,
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在拍攝這個系列之前,
04:25
I was also in love with two different不同
people who knew知道 about each other,
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我也愛上了兩個不同的人,
他們兩個認識彼此,
04:29
being存在 the object目的 over which哪一個 they fought戰鬥.
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我是他們兩個爭奪的目標。
04:32
But I also knew知道 what it was like
to be at the base基礎 of the triangle三角形,
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但我也知道在三角形的
底部是什麼樣子,
04:36
like Jeanie珍妮 or Adina阿迪娜,
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就像吉妮或艾迪娜,
04:38
asking myself,
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我問我自己:
04:39
"Why aren't I enough足夠?"
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「有我不夠嗎?」
04:43
I would look through通過 my viewfinder取景器
and see three elderly老年 figures人物,
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透過我的取景器,
我看見三個年邁的身影,
04:47
and it became成為 impossible不可能 to deny拒絕
that regardless而不管 of age年齡,
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我無法否認,不論年齡,
04:51
we were each in pursuit追求 of filling填充
the proverbial諺語 hole through通過 other people.
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我們每個人都在追求透過其他人
來填滿俗話所說「洞」。
04:58
Perhaps也許 the discomfort不舒服 of looking
at Jeanie珍妮, Will and Adina's阿迪納的 story故事
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也許,看著吉妮、威爾,
和艾迪娜的故事所產生的不舒服,
05:02
is truly a reminder提醒
that even at the end結束 of life,
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正是在提醒我們,
即使人生走到最後,
05:07
we may可能 never reach達到 the fantasy幻想
we have envisioned設想 for ourselves我們自己.
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我們可能也永遠無法達到
我們為自己所想像的夢幻。
05:13
Thank you for listening.
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謝謝聆聽。
05:14
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Lilian Chiu
Reviewed by Bella Chen

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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