Janet Echelman: Taking imagination seriously

Prevoditelj: Tilen Pigac - EFZG Recezent: Mislav Ante Omazić - EFZG

This story

Ova priča

is about taking imagination seriously.

je o shvaćanju mašte ozbiljno.

Fourteen years ago,

Prije 14 godina,

I first encountered this ordinary material, fishnet,

prvi put sam se upoznala s tim običnim materijalom, mrežom za ribu,

used the same way for centuries.

koja je korištena na isti način stoljećima.

Today, I'm using it to create

Danas, koristim je kako bih stvorila

permanent, billowing, voluptuous forms

trajne, valovite, pohotljive oblike

the scale of hard-edged buildings

veličine zgrada s oštrim rubovima

in cities around the world.

u gradovima diljem svijeta.

I was an unlikely person to be doing this.

Nije se činilo kao da sam baš ja osoba koja će to raditi.

I never studied sculpture,

Nikada nisam studirala kiparstvo,

engineering or architecture.

inžinjerstvo ili arhitekturu.

In fact, after college

Zapravo, nakon fakulteta

I applied to seven art schools

prijavila sam se na sedam umjetničkih škola

and was rejected by all seven.

i odbili su me na svih sedam.

I went off on my own to become an artist,

Otišla sam i sama postala umjetnica,

and I painted for 10 years,

i slikala sam 10 godina,

when I was offered a Fulbright to India.

kada mi je ponuđena Fullbright stipendija za Indiju.

Promising to give exhibitions of paintings,

Obećala sam kako ću izložiti svoje slike,

I shipped my paints and arrived in Mahabalipuram.

i dostavila sam svoje slike i stigla sam u Mahabalipuram.

The deadline for the show arrived --

Datum izložbe je stigao --

my paints didn't.

moje slike nisu.

I had to do something.

Morala sam nešto učiniti.

This fishing village was famous for sculpture.

To ribarsko selo je bilo poznato po kiparstvu.

So I tried bronze casting.

Stoga sam probala s lijevanjem bronce.

But to make large forms was too heavy and expensive.

Ali za izradu velikih oblika ona je bila preteška i skupa.

I went for a walk on the beach,

Otišla sam u šetnju po plaži,

watching the fishermen

promatrajući ribare

bundle their nets into mounds on the sand.

kako vežu svoje mreže na pješćane nasipe.

I'd seen it every day,

Vidjela bih to svaki dan,

but this time I saw it differently --

ali ovaj put vidjela sam to drugačije --

a new approach to sculpture,

novi pristup kiparstvu,

a way to make volumetric form

način kako napraviti volumetrijske oblike

without heavy solid materials.

bez teških čvrstih materijala.

My first satisfying sculpture

Moja prva zadovoljvajuća skulptura

was made in collaboration with these fishermen.

je napravljena u suradnji s tim ribarima.

It's a self-portrait

To je autoportret

titled "Wide Hips."

nazvan "Široki kukovi."

(Laughter)

(Pljesak)

We hoisted them on poles to photograph.

Istaknuli smo ih na stupovima kako bi ih fotografirali.

I discovered

Primjetila sam

their soft surfaces

kako je njihovu nježnu površinu

revealed every ripple of wind

otkrio svaki val vjetra

in constantly changing patterns.

u stalno drugačijim uzorcima.

I was mesmerized.

Bila sam očarana.

I continued studying craft traditions

Nastavila sam proučavati tradicije zanata

and collaborating with artisans,

i surađivati s artizanima,

next in Lithuania with lace makers.

zatim u Litvi s izrađivačima vezica.

I liked the fine detail

Voljela sam fini detalj

it gave my work,

koji je moj rad pružao,

but I wanted to make them larger --

ali željela sam ih izrađivati veće --

to shift from being an object you look at

napraviti promjenu od objekta koji promatrate

to something you could get lost in.

do nečega u čemu se možete izgubiti.

Returning to India to work with those fishermen,

Vraćajući se u Indiju kako bi radila s tim ribarima,

we made a net

napravili smo mrežu

of a million and a half hand-tied knots --

od milijun i pol ručno vezanih čvorova --

installed briefly in Madrid.

koja je nakratko bila postavljena u Madridu.

Thousands of people saw it,

Tisuće ljudi je to vidjelo,

and one of them was the urbanist

a jedan od njih je bio i urbanist

Manual Sola-Morales

Manual Sola-Morales

who was redesigning the waterfront

koji je redizajnirao rivu

in Porto, Portugal.

u Portu, Portugalu.

He asked if I could build this

On me pitao bih li mogla izraditi to

as a permanent piece for the city.

kao trajni dio za grad.

I didn't know if I could do that

Nisam znala bih li mogla to učiniti

and preserve my art.

i sačuvati svoju umjetnost.

Durable, engineered, permanent --

Izdržljiv, projektiran, trajan --

those are in opposition

oni su u suprotnosti

to idiosyncratic, delicate and ephemeral.

s idiosinkrazijskim, krhkim i kratkotrajnim.

For two years, I searched for a fiber

Dvije godine sam tražila vlakno

that could survive ultraviolet rays,

koji bi moglo preživjeti ultraljubičaste zrake,

salt, air, pollution,

slani zrak, zagađenje,

and at the same time remain soft enough

a u isto vrijeme da ostane dovoljno mekano

to move fluidly in the wind.

kako bi se moglo tečno gibati na vjetru.

We needed something to hold the net up

Trebali smo nešto što će držati mrežu

out there in the middle of the traffic circle.

gore usred kružnog toka.

So we raised this 45,000-pound steel ring.

Stoga smo podigli taj 20.500 kg težak čelični prsten.

We had to engineer it

Trebali smo ga projektirati

to move gracefully in an average breeze

tako da se dostojanstveno pomiče na povjetarcu prosječne brzine

and survive in hurricane winds.

te da preživi uraganske vjetrove.

But there was no engineering software

Ali nije postojao nikakav softver za projektiranje

to model something porous and moving.

koji bi omogućio modeliranje nečeg poroznog i gipkog.

I found a brilliant aeronautical engineer

Pronašla sam briljantnog aeronautičkog inžinjera

who designs sails for America's Cup racing yachts

koji dizajnira jedra za utrku jahti na Američkom kupu

named Peter Heppel.

koji se zove Peter Heppel.

He helped me tackle the twin challenges

On mi je pomogao da se uhvatim u koštac s dvojnim izazovom

of precise shape

preciznog oblika

and gentle movement.

i nježnih pokreta.

I couldn't build this the way I knew

Nisam to mogla izraditi na način koji sam poznavala,

because hand-tied knots

jer ručno vezani čvorovi

weren't going to withstand a hurricane.

ne bi izdržali uragan.

So I developed a relationship

Stoga sam stupila u kontakt

with an industrial fishnet factory,

s tvornicom industrijskih ribarskih mreža,

learned the variables of their machines,

naučila sam varijable njihovih strojeva,

and figured out a way

i pronašla način

to make lace with them.

da napravim vezice s njima.

There was no language

Nije postojao nikakav jezik

to translate this ancient, idiosyncratic handcraft

koji bi preveo taj drevni, idiosinkrazijski ručni rad

into something machine operators could produce.

u nešto što bi operatori na strojevima mogli proizvesti.

So we had to create one.

Stoga smo morali stvoriti jedan.

Three years and two children later,

Tri godine i dvoje djece kasnije,

we raised this 50,000-square-foot lace net.

podigli smo tu 4.650 četvornih metara veliku čipkastu mrežu.

It was hard to believe

Bilo je teško vjerovati

that what I had imagined

kako je ono što sam zamislila

was now built, permanent

bilo sada izgrađeno, trajno

and had lost nothing in translation.

i ništa nije bilo izgubljeno u prijevodu.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

This intersection had been bland and anonymous.

To raskrižje je bilo blago i anonimno.

Now it had a sense of place.

Sada je imalo osjećaj prostora.

I walked underneath it

Hodala sam ispod toga

for the first time.

po prvi puta.

As I watched the wind's choreography unfold,

Kako sam vidjela koreografiju vjetra kako se odmotava,

I felt sheltered

osjećala sam se sklonjenom

and, at the same time,

i, u isto vrijeme,

connected to limitless sky.

povezanom s bezgraničnim nebom.

My life was not going to be the same.

Moj život neće biti isti.

I want to create these oases of sculpture

Želim izrađivati te oaze kiparstva

in spaces of cities around the world.

na gradskim prostorima diljem svijeta.

I'm going to share two directions

Podijeliti ću dva smjera

that are new in my work.

koja su nova u mojem radu.

Historic Philadelphia City Hall:

Povijesna gradska vijećnica Philadelphia-e:

its plaza, I felt, needed a material for sculpture

to je trg, osjećala sam kako je trebao materijal za skulpturu

that was lighter than netting.

koji je lakši od mreže.

So we experimented

Stoga smo eksperimentirali

with tiny atomized water particles

sa sićušnim atomiziranim dijelićima vode

to create a dry mist

kako bi stvorili suhu izmaglicu

that is shaped by the wind

koju vjetar oblikuje.

and in testing, discovered

A u testiranju se otkrilo

that it can be shaped by people

kako se mogu oblikovati i od ljudi

who can interact and move through it without getting wet.

koji su u interakciji i koji se kreću kroz nju bez da se smoče.

I'm using this sculpture material

Koristim taj kiparski materijal

to trace the paths of subway trains above ground

kako bih pratila puteve vlakova podzemne željeznice iznad zemlje

in real time --

u stvarnom vremenu --

like an X-ray of the city's circulatory system unfolding.

poput rendgenskih zraka koje otkrivaju gradski sustav cirkulacije.

Next challenge,

Idući izazov,

the Biennial of the Americas in Denver

Bijenale Amerika u Denveru

asked, could I represent

mogu li predstaviti

the 35 nations of the Western hemisphere and their interconnectedness

35 država zapadne hemisfere i njihovu međupovezanost

in a sculpture?

u skulpturi.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

I didn't know where to begin,

Ne znam gdje da počnem,

but I said yes.

ali rekla sam da.

I read about the recent earthquake in Chile

Čitala sam o nedavnom potresu u Čileu

and the tsunami that rippled across

i o tsunamiju koji je protutnjao preko

the entire Pacific Ocean.

cijelog Pacifičkog oceana.

It shifted the Earth's tectonic plates,

Pomaknuo je Zemljine tektonske ploče,

sped up the planet's rotation

ubrzao rotaciju planeta

and literally shortened the length of the day.

i doslovno skratio trajanje dana.

So I contacted NOAA,

Stoga sam kontaktirala NOAA,

and I asked if they'd share their data on the tsunami,

i pitala da li bi oni podijelili svoje podatke o tsunamiju,

and translated it into this.

i preveli ih u ovo.

Its title: "1.26"

Naslov: "1.26"

refers to the number of microseconds

se odnosi na broj mikrosekundi

that the Earth's day was shortened.

za koji je dan na Zemlji skraćen.

I couldn't build this with a steel ring, the way I knew.

Nisam to mogla izraditi sa čeličnim prstenom, na način koji sam znala.

Its shape was too complex now.

Njegov oblik je sada bio prekompleksan.

So I replaced the metal armature

Stoga sam zamijenila metalnu armaturu

with a soft, fine mesh

s glatkom, finom mrežom

of a fiber 15 times stronger than steel.

vlakana 15 puta snažnijih od čelika.

The sculpture could now be entirely soft,

Skulptura je sada mogla biti potpuno mekana,

which made it so light

što ju je učinilo toliko laganom

it could tie in to existing buildings --

da se mogla vezati na postojeće zgrade --

literally becoming part of the fabric of the city.

doslovno postajući dio tkanine grada.

There was no software

Nije postojao softver

that could extrude these complex net forms

koji bi istisnuo te kompleksne mrežne oblike

and model them with gravity.

i modelirao ih s gravitacijom.

So we had to create it.

Stoga smo ga morali proizvesti.

Then I got a call from New York City

Zatim sam dobila poziv iz New York City-a

asking if I could adapt these concepts

pitajući me bih li mogla adaptirati te koncepte

to Times Square

na Times Square-u

or the High Line.

ili na Highline-u.

This new soft structural method

Ta nova mekana strukturalna metoda

enables me to model these

mi omogućuje da ih modeliram

and build these sculptures

i izradim te skulpture

at the scale of skyscrapers.

veličine nebodera.

They don't have funding yet,

Još uvijek nisu dobili financijsku podršku,

but I dream now

ali sada sanjam

of bringing these to cities around the world

da ih dovedem u gradove diljem svijeta

where they're most needed.

gdje su najviše potrebni.

Fourteen years ago,

Prije 14 godina,

I searched for beauty

tražila sam ljepotu

in the traditional things,

u tradicionalnim stvarima,

in craft forms.

u izrađivačkim oblicima.

Now I combine them with hi-tech materials and engineering

Sada ih kombiniram s materijalima visoke tehnologije i projektiranjem

to create voluptuous, billowing forms

kako bih stvorila pohotljive, valovite oblike

the scale of buildings.

veličine zgrada.

My artistic horizons continue to grow.

Moji umjetnički horizonti se neprestano povećavaju.

I'll leave you with this story.

Ostavit ću vas s ovom pričom.

I got a call from a friend in Phoenix.

Dobila sam poziv od prijateljice iz Phoenix-a.

An attorney in the office

Odvjetnica u uredu

who'd never been interested in art,

koju nikada nije zanimala umjetnost,

never visited the local art museum,

koja nikada nije posjetila lokalni muzej umjetnosti,

dragged everyone she could from the building

dovukla je sve koje je mogla iz te zgrade

and got them outside to lie down underneath the sculpture.

i navela ih da legnu vani ispod skulpture.

There they were in their business suits,

Tamo su oni bili, u svojim poslovnim odjelima,

laying in the grass,

ležeći na travi,

noticing the changing patterns of wind

primjećujući mjenjajuće uzorke vjetra

beside people they didn't know,

pokraj ljudi koje nisu poznavali,

sharing the rediscovery of wonder.

dijeleći s njima ponovno otkrivenje čuda.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)

Thank you. Thank you.

Hvala vam. Hvala vam.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

Thank you. Thank you.

Hvala vam. Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)