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A few words about how I got started,
譯者: Louise Chen 審譯者: Michelle Fan
and it has a lot to do with happiness, actually.
先說一說這一切是怎麼開始的
When I was a very young child, I was extremely introverted
其實是跟開心好玩有很大的關係
and very much to myself.
我小時候非常內向
And, kind of as a way of surviving,
幾乎不和別人來往
I would go into my own very personal space,
可能是爲了生存吧
and I would make things.
我會到我自己的祕密基地
I would make things for people
做些東西
as a way of, you know, giving, showing them my love.
我會做東西給別人
I would go into these private places,
你知道,送東西,是我表達愛的方式
and I would put my ideas and my passions into objects --
我會到我的祕密基地裡
and sort of learning how to speak with my hands.
然後把我的構想和熱情放到東西裡面
So, the whole activity of working with my hands and creating objects
算是學著怎麼用手說話吧
is very much connected with not only the idea realm,
所以做勞作和創造物件這整個活動
but also with very much the feeling realm.
不僅僅和我的構想世界相連接
And the ideas are very disparate.
也與我的感官世界連接在一起
I'm going to show you many different kinds of pieces,
我的各種構想差異很大
and there's no real connection between one or the other,
現在讓我們看一些不同的作品
except that they sort of come out of my brain,
這些作品之間
and they're all different sort of thoughts that are triggered
除了都是從我的腦海裡出來的以外,並沒有什麼關聯
by looking at life, and seeing nature and seeing objects,
而且這些不同的構想,是透過
and just having kind of playful random thoughts about things.
審視生活,發現大自然和觀察物件而激發的
When I was a child, I started to explore motion.
或者只是對事物有一些好玩且隨性的想法
I fell in love with the way things moved,
我小時候就開始探索運動
so I started to explore motion by making little flipbooks.
我愛上了事物運動的方式
And this is one that I did, probably like when I was around seventh grade,
所以,我從製作小動畫本子開始探索
and I remember when I was doing this,
這個大概是我在七年級的時候做的
I was thinking about that little rock there,
我記得我在做的時候
and the pathway of the vehicles as they would fly through the air,
我在想那裡那個小石頭
and how the characters --
和汽車飛過的途徑
(Laughter) --
還有這些人--
would come shooting out of the car,
(笑聲)
so, on my mind, I was thinking about the trajectory of the vehicles.
會怎樣從汽車裏面飛出去
And of course, when you're a little kid, there's always destruction.
所以我腦海裏想的是汽車的軌跡
So, it has to end with this --
當然啦,小時候總會想要搞些毀滅
(Laughter) --
所以這是這樣結束的--
gratuitous violence.
(笑聲)
(Laughter)
純粹的暴力
So that was how I first started to explore the way things moved,
(笑聲)
and expressed it.
那就是我開始探索物體運動的方式
Now, when I went to college,
並且將其表達出來
I found myself making fairly complicated, fragile machines.
現在當我上大學的時候
And this really came about
我發現自己在製造很複雜而且很容易壞的機器
from having many different kinds of interests.
這真的是從
When I was in high school, I loved to program computers,
有很多不同的興趣產生的
so I sort of liked the logical flow of events.
在高中的時候我喜歡寫電腦程式
I was also very interested in perhaps going into surgery
所以我也蠻喜歡事情的邏輯連貫性
and becoming a surgeon,
我對進入外科
because it meant working with my hands
當一名外科醫生也很有興趣
in a very focused, intense way.
因為那需要用我的雙手工作
So, I started taking art courses,
而且工作內容非常密集而精細
and I found a way to make sculpture
所以我開始上藝術課
that brought together my love for being very precise with my hands,
然後我找到了雕塑
with coming up with different kinds of logical flows of energy through a system.
雕塑將我對精密手工的熱愛
And also, working with wire -- everything that I did
和透過一個系統而產生的另類邏輯能量結合在一起
was both a visual and a mechanical engineering decision
並且使用電線來做──我做的所有東西
at the same time.
不但是視覺設計
So, I was able to sort of exercise all of that.
也是一個機械工程的決定
Now, this kind of machine is as close as I can get to painting.
所以基本上我在各方面都可以此練習
And it's full of many little trivial end points,
這種機器是我能做出最接近繪畫的機器
like there's a little foot here that just drags around in circles
到處都是很多細小的端點
and it doesn't really mean anything.
就像有個小腳在這裡繞圈圈
It's really just for the sort of joy of its own triviality.
而且它也沒什麼意義
The connection I have with engineering
真的只是爲了它本身細小而繁瑣的樂趣
is the same as any other engineer, in that I love to solve problems.
我與工程的聯繫
I love to figure things out,
與其他任何一個工程師都一樣,就是因為我喜歡解決問題
but the end result of what I'm doing is really completely ambiguous.
我喜歡把事情弄清楚
(Laughter)
但是我所做的事的結果是完全不可預料的。
That's pretty ambiguous.
(笑聲)
(Laughter)
那真的是非常不可預料的
The next piece that is going to come up
(笑聲)
is an example of a kind of machine that is fairly complex.
下一個將要展示的作品
I gave myself the problem.
是一種較複雜機器的好例子
Since I'm always liking to solve problems,
我給自己出了一個難題
I gave myself the problem of turning a crank in one direction,
因為我總是喜歡解決難題
and solving all of the mechanical problems
所以就給自己出了個題目,如何朝同一個方向轉動把手
for getting this little man to walk back and forth.
就解決所有機械上的問題
So, when I started this, I didn't have an overall plan for the machine,
讓這個小人可以前後走動
but I did have a sense of the gesture,
剛開始我對於這個機器沒有完整的計畫
and a sense of the shape and how it would occupy space.
但是我的確有動作的構想
And then it was a matter of starting from one point
還有對形狀的想法和它如何佔據空間
and sort of building to that final point.
這樣,這就是一個從一點開始
That little gear there switches back and forth to change direction.
然後完成到最後一點的問題了
And that's a little found object.
那個小齒輪會往前和往後,藉此以改變方向
So a lot of the pieces that I've made,
而且是一個小小的信手拈來的藝術品
they involve found objects.
所以,我做的很多小東西
And it really -- it's almost like doing visual puns all the time.
都有信手拈來的東西
When I see objects, I imagine them in motion.
而且說真的──這幾乎一直就是視覺的雙關語
I imagine what can be said with them.
當我看東西的時候,我會想像東西活動的樣子
This next one here, "Machine with Wishbone,"
我會想像,這個東西可以怎麼說
it came about from playing with this wishbone after dinner.
下一個是連接著「許願骨」的機器
You know, they say, never play with your food --
是我在吃完晚飯後玩著許願骨的時候想出來的
but I always play with things.
你知道的,他們都說,不要玩弄食物──
So, I had this wishbone, and I thought,
可是我總是玩弄東西
it's kind of like a cowboy who's been on his horse for too long.
所以,我拿著許願骨的時候就一面想
(Laughter)
這就像一個騎馬騎太久了的牛仔
And I started to make him walk across the table,
(笑聲)
and I thought, "Oh, I can make a little machine that will do that."
然後我開始讓這個牛仔在桌上走著
So, I made this device, linked it up, and the wishbone walks.
然後我就想:「噢,我可以做一個帶著他走的機器呀」
And because the wishbone is bone -- it's animal --
所以我就做了這個設備,許願骨就開始走路了
it's sort of a point where I think we can enter into it.
而且因為許願骨是骨頭,是動物
And that's the whole piece.
我認為這算是一種切入點
(Laughter)
這就是整個機器
That's about that big.
(笑聲)
(Applause)
大概就這麼大
This kind of work is also very much like puppetry,
(掌聲)
where the found object is, in a sense, the puppet,
這種工作和木偶戲很像
and I'm the puppeteer at first, because I'm playing with an object.
信手拈來的那個東西,在這個場景中就是木偶
But then I make the machine, which is sort of the stand-in for me,
而剛開始時我是那個牽著線的人,因為是我在玩那個東西
and it is able to achieve the action that I want.
但後來我做了一個機器來代替我自己
The next piece I'll show you is a much more conceptual thought,
這個機器可以造就出我想要達到的動作
and it's a little piece called "Cory's Yellow Chair."
下一個我要展示的是比較抽象的概念
I had this image in my mind, when I saw my son's little chair,
我把這個作品叫做「可瑞的黃椅子」
and I saw it explode up and out.
我看到我兒子的小椅子時,腦海裡就呈現出這個畫面
And --
然後我看到椅子向上、向外炸開
so the way I saw this in my mind at first,
然後──
was that the pieces would explode up and out with infinite speed,
而我第一次在腦海中想像到的樣子
and the pieces would move far out,
就是椅子的部件會以無限快的速度,向上、向外炸開
and then they would begin to be pulled back
碎片會向遠處移動
with a kind of a gravitational feel,
然後再被拉回來
to the point where they would approach infinite speed back to the center.
帶著一種引力的感覺被拉回來
And they would coalesce for just a moment,
回來的時候也是會以無限快的速度回到中心點
so you could perceive that there was a chair there.
在一瞬間,這些部件就會完全密合
For me, it's kind of a feeling about the fleetingness of the present moment,
所以你感覺到的會是,那裡曾有一把椅子
and I wanted to express that.
對我而言,是一種當下瞬間的感覺
Now, the machine is -- in this case, it's a real approximation of that,
而我想把這種感覺表達出來
because obviously you can't move physical matter
現在,在這個情況下,這個機器可說是這種感覺真實的近似體現
infinitely with infinite speed and have it stop instantaneously.
因為你當然無法讓實物
This whole thing is about four feet wide,
以無限快的速度移動然後又突然停止
and the chair itself is only about a few inches.
整個機器的寬度大約有四呎寬
(Applause)
椅子本身也只有幾英吋
Now, this is a funny sort of conceptual thing,
(掌聲)
and yesterday we were talking about Danny Hillis' "10,000 Year Clock."
現在這是一個有趣的概念性的東西
So, we have a motor here on the left,
而且昨天我們才說到希里斯的萬年鐘
and it goes through a gear train.
所以我們就有了左邊的這個馬達
There are 12 pairs of 50:1 reductions,
經過一個齒輪列車
so that means that the final speed of that gear on the end
這裡有 12 對 50 比 1 的減速器
is so slow that it would take two trillion years to turn once.
也就是說到了最後一個齒輪的最終速度
So I've invented it in concrete, because it doesn't really matter.
已經慢到兩兆年才會轉一圈
(Laughter)
因為不管發明在什麼上面都無所謂,所以我就把它放在水泥塊上
Because it could run all the time.
(笑聲)
(Laughter)
反正這個機器一直都是開著的
Now, a completely different thought.
(笑聲)
I'm always imagining myself in different situations.
現在,這是完全不同的一個概念─
I'm imagining myself as a machine.
我一直都想像著自己處於不同境況的情境
What would I love?
我把自己想像成一個機器
I would love to be bathed in oil.
我會喜歡什麼?
(Laughter)
我應該會喜歡泡在油裡面
So, this machine does nothing but just bathe itself in oil.
(笑聲)
(Laughter)
所以,這個機器就只是泡在油裡,什麼也不做
(Applause)
(笑聲)
And it's really, just sort of --
(掌聲)
for me, it was just really about the lusciousness of oil.
而且實際上對我來說─
(Laughter)
這個機器真的只是陳述著油脂的甜美
And then, I got a call from a friend
(笑聲)
who wanted to have a show of erotic art,
後來我接到一個朋友的電話
and I didn't have any pieces.
她想要辦一個情色藝術展
But when she suggested to be in the show, this piece came to mind.
可是我沒有可以參展的作品
So, it's sort of related, but you can see it's much more overtly erotic.
但是當她建議可以展出些什麼時,我想到了這個作品
And this one I call "Machine with Grease."
這個作品算是有點關聯,但是你們可看到,這個實在太過情色了
It's just continually ejaculating, and it's --
我把這個作品叫做「機器和油脂」
(Laughter) --
這個機器不斷地射精,而且─
this is a happy machine, I'll tell you.
(笑聲)
(Laughter)
我可以告訴你,這是一個快樂的機器
It's definitely happy.
(笑聲)
From an engineering point of view,
絕對很快樂
this is just a little four-bar linkage.
從工程的角度來說
And then again, this is a found object, a little fan that I found.
這是一個小小的四條槓的組合
And I thought, what about the gesture of opening the fan,
和前面一樣,這也是一個信手拈來,用我找到的一個小扇子做的
and how simply could I state something.
然後我在想,打開扇子的姿勢是什麼
And, in a case like this, I'm trying to make something which is clear
我可以用多麼簡單的方式來說明某件事
but also not suggestive of any particular kind of animal or plant.
以這件作品為例,我試著要做出一個意象明確的東西
For me, the process is very important,
但卻不會暗示著某種特定的動物或植物
because I'm inventing machines,
對我來說,過程是很重要的
but I'm also inventing tools to make machines,
因為我不僅發明機器
and the whole thing is all sort of wrapped up from the beginning.
我也發明製作機器的工具
So this is a little wire-bending tool.
整件事就好像是從頭到尾一氣喝成的感覺
After many years of bending gears with a pair of pliers,
這是一個小小的用來彎鐵絲的工具
I made that tool, and then I made this other tool
多年來一直用鉗子彎鐵絲做齒輪之後
for sort of centering gears very quickly --
我做出那這個工具,後來我又做出了這個工具
sort of developing my own little world of technology.
可以迅速把齒輪置中
My life completely changed when I found a spot welder.
可說是自行發展我自己的科技世界
(Laughter)
我的人生在我找到了接點焊接器之後就完全改觀
And that was that tool.
(笑聲)
It completely changed what I could do.
這就是那個工具
Now here, I'm going to do a very poor job of silver soldering.
這個工具完全改變了我所能做的事
This is not the way they teach you to silver solder when you're in school.
現在我要做一件很糟糕的銲錫工作
I just like, throw it in.
這不是學校教的銲錫法
I mean, real jewelers put little bits of solder in.
我只是就這樣扔進去
So, that's a finished gear.
我的意思是,真正的珠寶技工只會放一點點的焊料
When I moved to Boston,
這就是完成的齒輪
I joined a group called the World Sculpture Racing Society.
當我搬到波士頓之後
(Laughter)
我加入了一個稱為「世界雕塑競速協會」的團體
And the idea, their premise was that we wanted to show
(笑聲)
pieces of sculpture on the street,
整個概念就是,他們的前提就是
and there'd be no subjective decision about what was the best.
我們想在街上展示一件件的雕塑
It would be -- whatever came across the finish line first would be the winner.
而且沒有主觀的判斷來評判哪一個雕塑最好
(Laughter)
誰最先到達終點線誰就是贏家
So I made -- this is my first racing sculpture,
(笑聲)
and I thought, "Oh, I'm going to make a cart,
所以我就做了這個,我的第一個競速雕塑
and I'm going to have it --
而且我想:「我要做一個推車
I'm going to have my hand writing 'faster,'
我要─
so as I run down the street, the cart's going to talk to me
我要讓我可以寫『快一點』
and it's going to go, 'Faster, faster!' "
所以在我上街時,推車就會和我說話
So, that's what it does.
而且會走得『快一點,快一點』」
(Laughter)
這就是這件機器能做的
But then in the end, what I decided
(笑聲)
was every time you finish writing the word,
但到最後,我決定的是
I would stop and I would give the card to somebody on the side of the road.
每一次寫完那個字後
So I would never win the race because I'm always stopping.
我就會停下來,把推車給路邊的人
But I had a lot of fun.
因為我總是停下來,所以我從來沒有贏過競速比賽
(Applause)
可是我覺得很好玩
Now, I only have two and a half minutes -- I'm going to play this.
(掌聲)
This is a piece that, for me, is in some ways
現在我只剩下兩分半鐘了─我現在要放這個
the most complete kind of piece.
這件作品在某種程度上,對我來說
Because when I was a kid, I also played a lot of guitar.
是最完整的一件作品
And when I had this thought,
我小的時候,我彈吉他彈得很多
I was imagining that I would make --
我在有這個想法時
I would have a whole machine theater evening,
我想像著我會做一個─
where I would -- you would have an audience,
我會有一個完全由機器演奏的夜晚
the curtain would open, and you'd be entertained by machines on stage.
在那裡─你會有觀眾
So, I imagined a very simple gestural dance
在拉開序幕的那一刻,舞台上會是由機器來表演
that would be between a machine and just a very simple chair, and ...
所以我想像的是非常簡單的示意舞蹈
When I'm making these pieces, I'm always trying to find a point
就是機器和一張普通椅子間的舞蹈,而且,,,
where I'm saying something very clearly and it's very simple,
當我在做這些設作品,我一直試著找到一點
but also at the same time it's very ambiguous.
讓我可以很清楚、簡單的說一件事
And I think there's a point between simplicity and ambiguity
但同時又很模稜兩可
which can allow a viewer to perhaps take something from it.
我認為,界於清楚與模稜兩可之間有一個點
And that leads me to the thought that all of these pieces
或許可以讓觀眾從中的到些什麼
start off in my own mind, in my heart,
這一點讓我想到這些作品
and I do my best at finding ways to express them with materials,
都是從我的腦海中開始,從我心中開始
and it always feels really crude.
而我盡可能找出用各種素材來表達的方式
It's always a struggle,
而且總是讓人覺得是未經人工雕琢的
but somehow I manage to sort of get this thought
我總是在掙扎
out into an object, and then it's there, OK.
但是我似乎總能把我的想法
It means nothing at all.
注入物件中,然後就呈現出來了
The object itself just means nothing.
那並不具備任何意義
Once it's perceived, and someone brings it into their own mind,
物件本身並沒有任何意義
then there's a cycle that has been completed.
當物件受到理解時,有人會把理解到的帶到他們的腦海中
And to me, that's the most important thing
那麼循環就完成了
because, ever since being a kid, I've wanted to communicate my passion and love.
對我而言,這一點是最重要的
And that means the complete cycle of coming from inside,
因為從孩童時期開始,我一直希望傳達我的熱情和我的愛
out to the physical, to someone perceiving it.
這指的是一個完整的循環,是從內心開始
So I'll just let this chair come down.
向外到有形的世界,再由另一個人理解
(Applause)
所以我只是要把椅子放下來
Thank you.
(掌聲)
(Applause)
謝謝!