ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Titus Kaphar - Artist
Titus Kaphar's artworks interact with the history of art by appropriating its styles and mediums.

Why you should listen

As Titus Kaphar says of his work: "I’ve always been fascinated by history: art history, American history, world history, individual history -- how history is written, recorded, distorted, exploited, reimagined and understood. In my work I explore the materiality of reconstructive history. I paint and I sculpt, often borrowing from the historical canon, and then alter the work in some way. I cut, crumple, shroud, shred, stitch, tar, twist, bind, erase, break, tear and turn the paintings and sculptures I create, reconfiguring them into works that nod to hidden narratives and begin to reveal unspoken truths about the nature of history."

Kaphar is founder/CEO of the NXTHVN, a multidisciplinary arts incubator that's being built to train professional artists and to further establish New Haven's growing creative community. His latest works are an investigation into the highest and lowest forms of recording history. From monuments to mug shots, this body of work exhibited at Jack Shainman gallery December-January 2017 seeks to collapse the line of American history to inhabit a fixed point in the present. Historical portraiture, mug shots, and YouTube stills challenge viewers to consider how we document the past, and what we have erased. Rather than explore guilt or innocence, Kaphar engages the narratives of individuals and how we as a society manage and define them over time. As a whole, this exhibition explores the power of rewritten histories to question the presumption of innocence and the mythology of the heroic.

More profile about the speaker
Titus Kaphar | Speaker | TED.com
TED2017

Titus Kaphar: Can art amend history?

泰特斯卡法: 藝術能修正歷史嗎?

Filmed:
1,527,150 views

藝術家泰特斯卡法的繪畫與雕塑作品與過去進行角力,也呈現今日的多樣化和進步。在現場工作室中,卡法用白顏料遮掩了 17 世紀畫作複製品的一部份,凸顯出被隱藏的故事給大家看。他告訴我們,這類藝術品中暗藏著故事。當他轉移我們的焦點,去正視未被說出來的真相時,會發生什麼事?
- Artist
Titus Kaphar's artworks interact with the history of art by appropriating its styles and mediums. Full bio

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

00:12
I love museums博物館.
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我很愛博物館。
00:16
Have you guys ever been
to the Natural自然 History歷史 Museum博物館?
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你們曾經去過國家歷史博物館嗎?
00:19
In New York紐約 City?
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在紐約市的?
00:20
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
00:22
So one of the things that I do
is I take my kids孩子 to the museum博物館.
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我會帶我的孩子去博物館。
00:27
Recently最近 I took them
to the Natural自然 History歷史 Museum博物館.
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最近,我帶他們到國家歷史博物館。
00:30
I had my two sons兒子 with me,
Sabian灑遍 and DabithDabith.
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我帶著兩個兒子,
賽賓恩跟戴比斯,
00:33
And we go into the front面前
entrance入口 of the museum博物館,
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我們到了博物館前面的入口,
00:36
and there's that amazing驚人 sculpture雕塑
of Teddy泰迪熊 Roosevelt羅斯福 out there.
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外面有一座很棒的羅斯福雕像。
00:39
You guys know which哪一個 one I'm talking about.
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你們知道我在說的是哪一座吧。
00:41
Teddy泰迪熊 Roosevelt羅斯福 is sitting坐在 there
with one hand on the horse,
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羅斯福坐在那裡,一隻手在馬上,
00:45
bold膽大, strong強大, sleeves袖子 rolled熱軋 up.
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英勇、堅強、捲著袖子。
00:47
I don't know if he's bare-chested袒胸露背,
but it kind of feels感覺 like it.
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我不知道他有沒有袒胸,
但感覺好像有。
00:50
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
00:51
And on the left-hand左手 side of him
is a Native本地人 American美國 walking步行.
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在他的左手邊,
有個美國原住民在走路。
00:56
And on the right-hand右手 side of him
is an African-American非裔美國人 walking步行.
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在他的右手邊,
有個非裔美國人在走路。
01:01
And as we're moving移動 up the stairs樓梯,
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當我們正在上樓梯時,
01:05
getting得到 closer接近 to the sculpture雕塑,
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越來越靠近雕像,
01:08
my oldest最老的 son兒子, who's誰是 nine, says,
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我九歲的大兒子說:
01:10
"Dad, how come he gets得到 to ride,
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「爹,為什麼他可以騎馬,
01:15
and they have to walk步行?"
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他們卻得走路?」
01:18
It stopped停止 me in my tracks軌道.
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這讓我我突然停下來。
01:20
It stopped停止 me in my tracks軌道.
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這讓我我突然停下來。
01:22
There was so much history歷史
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要講好多的歷史,
01:24
that we would have to go through通過
to try to explain說明 that,
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才有辦法去試著解釋這件事,
01:26
and that's something
I try to do with them anyways無論如何.
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但我還是這麼做了。
01:30
It's a question that I probably大概
would have never really asked.
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這個問題可能是
我永遠不會問的問題。
01:34
But fundamentally從根本上 what he was saying was,
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但基本上,他在說的是:
01:36
"That doesn't look fair公平.
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「那看起來不公平,
01:38
Dad, that doesn't look fair公平.
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爹,那看起來不公平。
01:41
And why is this thing that's so not fair公平
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為什麼這個不太公平的東西
01:43
sitting坐在 outside
of such這樣 an amazing驚人 institution機構."
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會放在這麼棒的機構外面?」
01:47
And his question got me wondering想知道,
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他的問題讓我思忖,
01:49
is there a way for us
to amend修改 our public上市 sculptures雕塑,
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有沒有什麼方式讓我們能修改
公開展示的雕像和國家紀念碑?
01:54
our national國民 monuments紀念碑?
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01:56
Not erase抹去 them,
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不是要抹除它們,
01:58
but is there a way to amend修改 them?
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而是有沒有方式修改它們?
02:00
Now, I didn't grow增長 up going to museums博物館.
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我成長過程沒去過博物館,
02:05
That's not my history歷史.
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那不是我的歷史。
02:07
My mother母親 was 15 years年份 old
when I was born天生.
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我出生時,我媽才十五歲。
02:09
She is amazing驚人.
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她棒極了。
02:12
My father父親 was struggling奮鬥的
with his own擁有 things
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我人生中大部份的時候,
我爸都在掙扎著他自己的事。
02:14
for most of my life.
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02:17
If you really want to know the truth真相,
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如果你們真的想知道真相,
02:19
the only reason原因 I got into art藝術
is because of a woman女人.
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我進入藝術這行的
唯一理由,是一個女人。
02:23
There was this amazing驚人, amazing驚人,
fantastic奇妙, beautiful美麗, smart聰明 woman女人,
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有個非常棒、出色、
美麗、聰明的女人,
02:28
four years年份 older舊的 than me,
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她比我大四歲,
02:30
and I wanted to go out with her.
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我想約她出去。
02:32
But she said, "You're too young年輕
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但她說:「你太年輕,
02:33
and you're not thinking思維
about your future未來."
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且你沒有好好思考你的未來。」
02:35
So I ran on down to the junior初級 college學院,
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所以,我跑去專科學校,
02:39
registered註冊 for some classes,
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註冊參加了一些課程,
02:41
ran on back,
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再跑回來,
02:43
and basically基本上 was like,
"I'm thinking思維 about my future未來 now."
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那基本上就像是:「我現在
有在思考我的未來了。」
02:46
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
02:48
"Can we go out?"
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「我們能約出去了嗎?」
02:51
For the record記錄, she's even more amazing驚人.
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鄭重聲明,她結果還更棒,
02:53
I married已婚 her.
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我娶了她。
02:54
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
03:00
So when I randomly隨機 ran down
to the junior初級 college學院
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當我隨機跑到專科學校
03:05
and registered註冊 for classes,
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並註冊了一些課程時,
03:06
I really wasn't paying付款 attention注意
to what I was registering註冊 to.
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我其實沒有注意我註冊了什麼。
03:10
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
03:11
So I ended結束 up with an art藝術 history歷史 class,
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我最後是去上了藝術史課程,
03:14
and I didn't know a thing
about art藝術 history歷史.
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我對藝術史什麼都不知道。
03:17
But something amazing驚人 happened發生
when I went into that class.
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但當我上課時發生了很棒的事。
03:21
For the first time in my academic學術的 career事業,
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在我的學術生涯中,那是第一次
03:25
my visual視覺 intelligence情報 was required需要 of me.
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我需要用到我的視覺智能。
03:28
For the first time.
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那是第一次。
03:30
The professor教授 would put up an image圖片,
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教授會展示出一張圖,
03:32
bold膽大 strokes of blues藍調 and yellows,
and say, "Who's誰是 that?"
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圖上有著大膽的藍色與黃色筆觸,
他會說:「那是誰?」
03:36
And I'd go, "That's Van麵包車 Gogh梵高.
Clearly明確地 that is Van麵包車 Gogh梵高.
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我會說:「那是梵谷,
很明顯那是梵谷。
03:39
I got this."
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這個我知道。」
03:41
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
03:43
I got a B in that class.
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那堂課我的成績得到 B。
03:46
For me, that was amazing驚人.
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對我來說,那很不可思議。
03:50
In high school學校, let's just say
I wasn't a great student學生. OK?
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在高中,姑且說
我不是個很棒的學生,好嗎?
03:54
In high school學校, my GPAGPA was .65.
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在高中,我的 GPA 成績是 .65。
03:57
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
03:58
Decimal十進制 point first, six five.
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前面有個小數點,後面才是 65。
04:02
So me getting得到 a B was huge巨大, huge巨大,
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所以我拿到 B
是件很大很大的事,
04:07
absolutely絕對 huge巨大.
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絕對是很大的事。
04:08
And because of the fact事實 that I realized實現
that I was able能夠 to learn學習 things visually視覺
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且因為我了解到我可以
用視覺的方式來學習那些
04:13
that I couldn't不能 learn學習 in other ways方法,
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我無法用其他方式學的事物,
04:15
this became成為 my strategy戰略,
this became成為 my tactic戰術
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這就變成了我的策略,
這就變成了我的戰術,
04:18
for understanding理解 everything else其他.
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用來了解所有其他的一切。
04:21
I wanted to stay in this relationship關係.
Things were going well.
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我想要留在這段關係中,
一切都很順利。
04:24
I decided決定, let me keep taking服用
these art藝術 history歷史 classes.
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我決定要繼續修這些藝術史的課程。
04:27
One of the last art藝術 history歷史 classes,
I will not forget忘記, I will never forget忘記.
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我永遠忘不了我最後上的
藝術史課的其中一堂,
04:31
It was one of those survey調查
art藝術 history歷史 classes.
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那堂課是堂藝術史概論課程。
04:33
Anybody任何人 ever have one of those
survey調查 art藝術 history歷史 classes,
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有人曾經上過藝術史概論課程嗎?
04:36
where they try to teach you
the entire整個 history歷史 of art藝術
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在這種概論課程中,
他們會試著把整個藝術史
04:38
in a single semester學期?
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用一個學期教給你。
04:40
I'm talking about cave洞穴 paintings繪畫
and Jackson傑克遜 Pollock波洛克
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我在說的是,洞穴繪畫和
傑克遜波洛克
04:45
just crunched嘎吱嘎吱 together一起 all in the same相同 --
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通通都擠縮在一起……
04:47
It doesn't really work,
but they try anyway無論如何.
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這樣其實沒有用,
但他們還是試著這樣做。
04:51
Well, at the beginning開始 of the semester學期,
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在學期初,
04:54
I looked看著 at the book,
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我看著書,
04:55
and in this 400-page-頁 book
was about a 14-page-頁 section部分
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在這本四百頁的書中,
有個章節大約十四頁,
04:59
that was on black黑色 people in painting繪畫.
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內容是關於繪畫中的黑人。
05:01
Now, this was a crammed臨時抱佛腳 in section部分
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這是個什麼都硬塞進去的章節,
05:03
that had representations交涉
of black黑色 people in painting繪畫
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有繪畫中對黑人的表述、
05:07
and black黑色 people who painted.
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也有會畫畫的黑人。
05:10
It was poorly不好 curated策劃,
let's just put it that way.
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編排策劃得很差,
姑且就那樣形容它吧。
05:15
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
05:16
Nonetheless儘管如此 I was really excited興奮 about it,
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不論如何,我還是很興奮,
05:19
because in all
the other classes that I had,
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因為在我上過的其他課程中,
05:21
we didn't even have that conversation會話.
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我們甚至沒有那樣的談話,
05:25
We didn't talk about it at all.
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我們完全不談它的。
05:27
So imagine想像 my surprise
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所以,想像我去上課時
05:29
when I get to class
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是有多麼驚喜的,
05:31
and on the day that we're supposed應該
to go over that particular特定 chapter章節,
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到了我們應該要讀
那個章節的那一天,
05:35
my professor教授 announces宣布,
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我的教授宣佈:
05:38
"We're going to skip跳躍 this chapter章節 today今天
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「今天我們要跳過這個章節,
05:40
because we do not have time
to go through通過 it."
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因為我們沒時間去討論它。」
05:42
"Whoa, I'm sorry,
hold保持 on, professor教授, professor教授.
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「哇,對不起,等等,教授,教授。
05:45
I'm sorry. This is a really
important重要 chapter章節 to me.
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對不起,對我來說這個章節很重要。
05:49
Are we going to go over it at any point?"
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我們會找其他時間來讀它嗎?」
05:51
"Titus泰特斯, we don't have time for this."
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「泰特斯,我們沒時間這麼做。」
05:53
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry,
I'm sorry, I'm sorry,
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「對不起,對不起,對不起,
05:55
please, I really need to understand理解.
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拜託,我真的需要了解它。
05:57
Clearly明確地 the author作者 thinks
that this is significant重大.
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顯然作者認為這是重要的,
05:59
Why are we skipping跳繩 over this?"
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為什麼我們要跳過它?」
06:01
"Titus泰特斯, I do not have time for this."
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「泰特斯,我沒時間來談這個。」
06:03
"OK, last question, I'm really sorry here.
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「好吧,最後一個問題,
我真的很抱歉。
06:05
When can we talk,
because we need to talk."
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那我們何時可以談?
因為我們需要談。」
06:07
(Laughter笑聲)
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(笑聲)
06:09
I went to her office辦公室 hours小時.
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我在她的課輔時間去找她。
06:11
I ended結束 up getting得到 kicked
out of her office辦公室.
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我最後被踢出她的辦公室。
06:14
I went to the dean院長.
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我去找校長。
06:15
The dean院長 finally最後 told me,
"I can't force her to teach anything."
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校長終於告訴我:
「我無法強迫她教什麼。」
06:18
And I knew知道 in that moment時刻
if I wanted to understand理解 this history歷史,
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在那時,我理解到,
如果我想要了解這段歷史,
06:23
if I wanted to understand理解 the roles角色
of those folks鄉親 who had to walk步行,
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如果我想要了解這些
得要走路的同胞們的角色,
06:27
I was probably大概 going
to have to figure數字 that out myself.
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我可能得要自己去想辦法。
06:33
So ...
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所以……
06:39
above以上 you right here on the slide滑動
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在上面的投影片上,
06:43
is a painting繪畫 by Frans弗蘭斯 Halshal.
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是弗蘭斯哈爾斯的畫。
06:47
This is one of the kinds of images圖片
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這是在那個章節中
06:51
that was in that chapter章節.
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會出現的畫之一。
06:55
I taught myself how to paint塗料
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我自學畫畫的方式
06:57
by going to museums博物館
and looking at images圖片 like this.
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是去博物館看像這樣的畫。
07:03
I want to show顯示 you something.
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我想給各位看一樣東西。
07:18
I made製作 this.
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這是我畫的。
07:20
I --
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我……
07:21
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
07:23
I made製作 some alterations改變.
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我做了一些改變,
07:24
You'll你會 see there are
some slight輕微 differences分歧 in the painting繪畫.
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你們可以看到畫中有些許的不同。
07:28
All this art藝術 history歷史
that I had been absorbing吸收
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我過去一直在吸收的藝術史,
07:33
helped幫助 me to realize實現
that painting繪畫 is a language語言.
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協助我了解到,繪畫是一種語言。
07:41
There is a reason原因
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有理由可以說明,
07:47
why he is the highest最高
in the composition組成 here.
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他為什麼在這裡有最高的位置。
07:57
There is a reason原因
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有理由可以說明,
08:01
why the painter畫家 is showing展示 us
this gold necklace項鍊 here.
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為什麼畫家要讓我們
看到這裡的金項鍊。
08:08
He's trying to tell us something
about the economic經濟 status狀態
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他試圖要告訴我們畫中這些
08:11
of these people in these paintings繪畫.
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人物的經濟狀況。
08:16
Painting繪畫 is a visual視覺 language語言
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繪畫是視覺性的語言,
08:20
where everything in the painting繪畫
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畫中的一切
08:23
is meaningful富有意義的, is important重要.
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都有意義,都重要,
08:26
It's coded編碼.
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它像編碼一樣。
08:32
But sometimes有時, because
of the compositional成分 structure結構體,
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但有時,因為創作的結構,
08:35
because of compositional成分 hierarchy等級制度,
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因為創作的階層,
08:38
it's hard to see other things.
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會很難看見其他東西。
08:56
This silk is supposed應該 to tell us also
that they have quite相當 a bit of money.
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這塊絲也是要用來
告訴我們,他們很有錢。
09:02
There's more written書面
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在我們的藝術史上,
09:04
about dogs小狗 in art藝術 history歷史
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對於狗的描繪還多於
09:08
than there are about
this other character字符 here.
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這裡的這個角色。
09:13
Historically歷史 speaking請講,
in research研究 on these kinds of paintings繪畫,
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就歷史而言,在這類繪畫的研究中,
09:16
I can find out more about the lace花邊
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找這畫中女人穿著的飾帶、
09:20
that the woman女人 is wearing穿著
in this painting繪畫 --
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飾帶製造商之類的相關資訊,
09:23
the manufacturer生產廠家 of the lace花邊 --
than I can about this character字符 here,
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多於我能找到關於這個角色的資訊,
09:28
about his dreams, about his hopes希望,
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關於他的夢想、希望,
09:30
about what he wanted out of life.
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關於他在人生中想要什麼。
09:35
I want to show顯示 you something.
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我想給各位看一樣東西。
09:39
I don't want you to think
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我不希望你們認為
09:41
that this is about eradication根除.
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這與根絕有關。
09:45
It's not.
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並不是。
09:46
The oil that you saw me
just put inside of this paint塗料
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你們剛剛看到我塗在畫上的油,
09:50
is linseed亞麻籽 oil.
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是亞麻子油。
09:51
It becomes transparent透明 over time,
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隨時間過去,它會變透明。
09:54
so eventually終於 what's going to happen發生
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最終會發生的事情是,
09:57
is these faces面孔
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這些臉孔…
10:00
will emerge出現 a little bit.
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會漸漸出現。
10:04
What I'm trying to do,
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我在試圖做的是,
10:06
what I'm trying to show顯示 you,
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我在試圖給各位看的是,
10:08
is how to shift轉移 your gaze凝視 just slightly,
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是如何稍微轉移你的注視,
10:11
just momentarily瞬間,
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只要短暫一下,
10:13
just momentarily瞬間,
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只要短暫一下,
10:15
to ask yourself你自己 the question,
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問問你自己這個問題,
10:18
why do some have to walk步行?
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為什麼有人得要走路?
10:20
What is the impact碰撞 of these kinds
of sculptures雕塑 at museums博物館?
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在博物館中這類雕像的影響是什麼?
10:24
What is the impact碰撞
of these kinds of paintings繪畫
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這類畫作對於社會中
10:28
on some of our most vulnerable弱勢 in society社會,
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最脆弱的那些人有什麼影響,
10:31
seeing眼看 these kinds of depictions描寫
of themselves他們自己 all the time?
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總是看到自己被這樣地描繪?
10:35
I'm not saying erase抹去 it.
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我並不是說要抹除它。
10:37
We can't erase抹去 this history歷史.
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我們無法抹滅歷史。
10:39
It's real真實. We have to know it.
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它是真實的。我們得要知道它。
10:41
I think of it in the same相同 way
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我去思考它的方式,就如同
10:43
we think of --
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我們思考……
10:47
Let me step back a second第二.
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讓我暫時先退回來一步。
10:49
You remember記得 old-school老套 cameras相機,
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你們記得老式照像機嗎?
10:52
where when you took a picture圖片,
you actually其實 had to focus焦點. Right?
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拍照時還真的得要調焦聚,對嗎?
10:55
You'd put the camera相機 up,
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先把相機架起來,
10:56
and if I wanted you in focus焦點,
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如果我想要聚焦在你身上,
10:58
I would move移動 the lens鏡片 a little to the left
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我會把鏡頭稍微向左旋轉,
11:00
and you would come forward前鋒.
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你就會凸顯出來。
11:02
I could move移動 the lens鏡片
a little to the right,
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我可以把鏡頭向右旋轉一點,
11:04
and you would go back and the folks鄉親
in the background背景 would come out.
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你就會失焦,而背景的人會凸顯出來。
我在嘗試做的就是這個。
11:07
I'm just trying to do that here.
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11:09
I'm trying to give you that opportunity機會.
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我在嘗試給你們那個機會。
11:13
I'm trying to answer回答 that question
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我在嘗試回答我兒子問的那個問題。
11:15
that my son兒子 had.
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11:20
I want to make paintings繪畫,
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我想要畫畫,
11:22
I want to make sculptures雕塑
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我想要雕塑,
11:24
that are honest誠實,
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我的作品要誠實,
11:26
that wrestle搏鬥 with
the struggles鬥爭 of our past過去
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要與我們過去的掙扎進行角力,
11:31
but speak說話 to the diversity多樣
and the advances進步 of our present當下.
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要能夠談及現今的多樣化和進步。
11:36
And we can't do that by taking服用 an eraser橡皮
and getting得到 rid擺脫 of stuff東東.
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用個橡皮擦把東西擦掉
並不是可行的辦法,
11:40
That's just not going to work.
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那樣不會有用。
11:41
I think that we should
do it in the same相同 way
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我認為我們的做法應該類似
11:43
the American美國 Constitution憲法 works作品.
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美國憲法運作的方式。
11:45
When we have a situation情況
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當我們遇到
11:46
where we want to change更改
a law in the American美國 Constitution憲法,
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想要改變美國憲法
法條的情況時,
11:50
we don't erase抹去 the other one.
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我們並不會把另一條給擦掉。
11:53
Alongside並肩 that is an amendment修訂,
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我們是在旁邊放一條修正條款,
11:55
something that says,
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它會寫說:
11:57
"This is where we were,
but this is where we are right now."
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「這是我們過去的狀況,
這是我們現在的狀況。」
12:01
I figure數字 if we can do that,
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我認為,如果我們能那樣做,
12:03
then that will help us
understand理解 a little bit
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那就能協助我們多了解一點
12:06
about where we're going.
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我們在前進的方向。
12:38
Thank you.
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謝謝各位。
12:39
(Applause掌聲)
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(掌聲)
Translated by Lilian Chiu
Reviewed by Yi-Fan Yu

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Titus Kaphar - Artist
Titus Kaphar's artworks interact with the history of art by appropriating its styles and mediums.

Why you should listen

As Titus Kaphar says of his work: "I’ve always been fascinated by history: art history, American history, world history, individual history -- how history is written, recorded, distorted, exploited, reimagined and understood. In my work I explore the materiality of reconstructive history. I paint and I sculpt, often borrowing from the historical canon, and then alter the work in some way. I cut, crumple, shroud, shred, stitch, tar, twist, bind, erase, break, tear and turn the paintings and sculptures I create, reconfiguring them into works that nod to hidden narratives and begin to reveal unspoken truths about the nature of history."

Kaphar is founder/CEO of the NXTHVN, a multidisciplinary arts incubator that's being built to train professional artists and to further establish New Haven's growing creative community. His latest works are an investigation into the highest and lowest forms of recording history. From monuments to mug shots, this body of work exhibited at Jack Shainman gallery December-January 2017 seeks to collapse the line of American history to inhabit a fixed point in the present. Historical portraiture, mug shots, and YouTube stills challenge viewers to consider how we document the past, and what we have erased. Rather than explore guilt or innocence, Kaphar engages the narratives of individuals and how we as a society manage and define them over time. As a whole, this exhibition explores the power of rewritten histories to question the presumption of innocence and the mythology of the heroic.

More profile about the speaker
Titus Kaphar | Speaker | TED.com