Aparna Rao: High-tech art (with a sense of humor)

Prevoditelj: Silvija Florijan Recezent: Tilen Pigac - EFZG

Hi. Today, I'm going to take you through glimpses

Zdravo. Danas ću vam dati kratke preglede

of about eight of my projects,

osam mojih projekata,

done in collaboration with Danish artist Soren Pors.

napravljenih u suradnji s danskim umjetnikom Sorenom Porsom.

We call ourselves Pors and Rao,

Sebe nazivamo Pors & Rao,

and we live and work in India.

i živimo i radimo u Indiji.

I'd like to begin with my very first object,

Htjela bih početi sa svojim prvim objektom,

which I call "The Uncle Phone."

koji zovem "Ujakov telefon".

And it was inspired by my uncle's peculiar habit

Inspiriran je osebujnom navikom mojeg ujaka

of constantly asking me to do things for him,

koji je stalno tražio da radim stvari za njega,

almost like I were an extension of his body --

skoro kao da sam bila produžetak njegova tijela --

to turn on the lights or to bring him a glass of water,

da upalim svjetla ili da mu donesem čašu vode,

a pack of cigarettes.

kutiju cigareta.

And as I grew up, it became worse and worse,

Kako sam odrastala, postajalo je sve gore i gore,

And I started to think of it as a form of control.

i počela sam razmišljati o tome kao o obliku kontrole.

But of course, I could never say anything,

Ali, naravno, nikad nisam mogla ništa reći,

because the uncle is a respected figure

zato što je ujak poštovana osoba

in the Indian family.

u indijskoj obitelji.

And the situation that irked me and mystified me the most

I situacija koja me najviše ljutila i zbunjivala

was his use of a landline telephone.

bila je njegovo korištenje fiksnim telefonom.

He would hold on to the receiver and expect me to dial a number for him.

Držao bi slušalicu i očekivao da okrećem broj za njega.

And so as a response and as a gift to my uncle,

I kao odgovor i poklon za mog ujaka,

I made him "The Uncle Phone."

napravila sam mu "Ujakov telefon".

It's so long that it requires two people to use it.

Tako je dugačak da je potrebno dvoje ljudi da ga koristi.

It's exactly the way my uncle uses a phone that's designed for one person.

To je upravo način na koji moj ujak koristi telefon dizajniran za jednu osobu.

But the problem is that, when I left home and went to college,

No problem je bio u tome što su mi, kad sam otišla od kuće i upisala fakultet,

I started missing his commands.

počele nedostajati njegove naredbe.

And so I made him a golden typewriter

I tako sam mu napravila zlatnu pisaću mašinu

through which he could dispense his commands

putem koje je mogao dijeliti svoje naredbe

to nephews and nieces around the world as an email.

nećacima i nećakinjama diljem svijeta kao e-mail.

So what he had to do was take a piece of paper, roll it into the carriage,

Ono što je trebao napraviti jest uzeti list papira, umetnuti u mašinu,

type his email or command and pull the paper out.

utipkati e-mail ili naredbu i povući papir van.

This device would automatically send the intended person

Ova sprava bi automatski poslala naznačenoj osobi

the letter as an email.

pismo kao e-mail.

So here you can see, we embedded a lot of electronics

Ovdje možete vidjeti kako smo ugradili puno elektronike

that understands all of the mechanical actions

koja razumije sve mehaničke hodove

and converts it to digital.

i pretvara ih u digitalne.

So my uncle is only dealing with a mechanical interface.

Moj ujak ima posla jedino s mehaničkim sučeljem.

And of course, the object had to be very grand and have a sense of ritualism,

I naravno, objekt je morao biti prilično veličanstven i imati osjećaj za ritualno,

the way my uncle likes it.

onako kako se mojem ujaku sviđa.

The next work is a sound-sensitive installation

Sljedeći rad je instalacija osjetljiva na zvuk

that we affectionately call "The Pygmies."

koji odmila zovemo "Pigmejci".

And we wanted to work with a notion of being

I željeli smo raditi s idejom o tome da smo

surrounded by a tribe of very shy, sensitive and sweet creatures.

okruženi plemenom vrlo sramežljivih, osjetljivih i slatkih bića.

So how it works is we have these panels, which we have on the wall,

Način na koji radi jest da imamo ove ploče, na zidu,

and behind them, we have these little creatures which hide.

i iza njih imamo ova mala bića koja se skrivaju.

And as soon as it's silent, they sort of creep out.

I čim se stiša, oni izlaze van.

And if it's even more silent, they stretch their necks out.

I što je više tiho, oni protežu vratove.

And at the slightest sound, they hide back again.

I na najmanji šum ponovo se skrivaju.

So we had these panels on three walls of a room.

Dakle, imamo te ploče na tri zida prostorije.

And we had over 500 of these little pygmies hiding behind them.

I imamo preko 500 tih malih Pigmejaca koji se kriju iza njih.

So this is how it works.

Evo kako funkcionira.

This is a video prototype.

Ovo je video prototip.

So when it's quiet, it's sort of coming out from behind the panels.

Kad je tiho, to nalikuje izlaženju iz stražnje strane ploča.

And they hear like humans do, or real creatures do.

I oni čuju kao ljudi, ili stvarna bića.

So they get immune to sounds that scare them after awhile.

I postaju imuni na zvukove koji ih plaše nakon nekog vremena.

And they don't react to background sounds.

I ne reagiraju na zvukove u pozadini.

You'll hear a train in moment that they don't react to.

Čut ćete vlak u trenutku kad ne reagiraju.

(Noise)

(Buka)

But they react to foreground sounds. You'll hear that in a second.

Ali reagiraju na zvukove u prednjem planu. Čut ćete to za sekundu.

(Whistling)

(Zviždanje)

So we worked very hard

Naporno smo radili

to make them as lifelike as possible.

da ih napravimo živima što je moguće više.

So each pygmy has its own behavior, psyche,

Pa svaki Pigmejac ima svoje ponašanje, psihu,

mood swings, personalities and so on.

promjene raspoloženja, osobnost, itd.

So this is a very early prototype.

Ovo je vrlo rani prototip.

Of course, it got much better after that.

Naravno, postalo je puno bolje nakon ovog.

And we made them react to people,

I napravili smo ih da reagiraju na ljude,

but we found that people were being quite playful and childlike with them.

no otkrili smo da su ljudi bili dosta razigrani i poput djece s njima.

This is a video installation called "The Missing Person."

Ovo je video instalacija "Nestala osoba".

And we were quite intrigued

I bili smo dosta intrigirani

with playing with the notion of invisibility.

igranjem s idejom nevidljivosti.

How would it be possible to experience a sense of invisibility?

Kako bi bilo moguće iskusiti osjećaj nevidljivosti?

So we worked with a company

Radili smo s kompanijom

that specializes in camera surveillance,

koja se specijalizirala za videonadzor,

and we asked them to develop a piece of software with us,

i zamolili smo ih da razviju softver za nas,

using a camera

koristeći kameru

that could look at people in the room, track them

koja bi mogla gledati u ljude u prostoriji, pratiti ih

and replace one person with the background, rendering them invisible.

i zamijeniti jednu osobu s pozadinom, čineći ih nevidljivima.

So I'm just going to show you a very early prototype.

Samo ću vam pokazati vrlo rani prototip.

On the right side you can see my colleague Soren,

Na desnoj strani možete vidjeti mog kolegu Sorena,

who's actually in the space.

koji se zapravo nalazi u prostoru.

And on the left side, you'll see the processed video

I na lijevoj strani vidjet ćete obrađeni video

where the camera has made him invisible.

gdje ga je kamera učinila nevidljivim.

Soren enters the room. Pop! He goes invisible.

Soren ulazi u sobu. Puf! Nevidljiv je.

And you can see that the camera is tracking him and erasing.

I možete vidjeti da ga kamera prati i briše.

It's a very early video,

Ovo je vrlo rani video,

so we haven't yet dealt with the overlap and all of that,

pa se još nismo pozabavili s preklapanjem i sl.,

but that got refined pretty soon, later.

no to je usavršeno ubrzo, kasnije.

So how we used it was in a room where we had a camera looking into the space,

Koristili smo to u prostoriji gdje je bila kamera koja je gledala u prostor,

and we had one monitor, one on each wall.

i imali smo jedan monitor, jedan na svakom zidu.

And as people walked into the room,

I kako bi ljudi ulazili u prostoriju,

they would see themselves in the monitor, except with one difference:

vidjeli bi se u monitoru, osim jedne razlike:

one person was constantly invisible

jedna osoba je bila stalno vidljiva

wherever they moved in the room.

gdjegod se kretali u prostoriji.

So this is a work called "The Sun Shadow."

Ovo je rad "Sunčeva sjena".

And it was almost like a sheet of paper,

Bilo je gotovo poput lista papira

like a cutout of a childlike drawing

kao izrezani dječji crtež

of an oil spill or a sun.

mrlje od ulja ili sunca.

And from the front, this object appeared to be very strong and robust,

I sprijeda je objekt izgledao vrlo čvrsto i robusno,

and from the side, it almost seemed very weak.

a sa strane je gotovo izgledao vrlo slabo.

So people would walking into the room and they'd almost ignore it,

Ljudi su mogli ušetati u prostoriju i gotovo bi ga ignorirali,

thinking it was some crap laying around.

misleći da je to neko smeće na podu.

But as soon as they passed by,

No čim bi prošli kraj njega,

it would start to climb up the wall in jerky fashion.

počeo bi se penjati po zidu trzajući se.

And it would get exhausted, and it would collapse every time.

I iscrpio bi se, i kolapsirao bi svaki put.

(Laughter)

(Smijeh)

So this work

Ovaj rad je

is a caricature of an upside-down man.

karikatura naopako postavljenog čovjeka.

His head is so heavy, full of heavy thoughts,

Njegova je glava tako teška, puna teških misli,

that it's sort of fallen into his hat,

da je na neki način pao u svoj šešir,

and his body's grown out of him almost like a plant.

a njegovo je tijelo izraslo iz njega gotovo kao biljka.

Well what he does is he moves around

Ono što radi jest da se kreće naokolo

in a very drunken fashion on his head

vrlo pijano na svojoj glavi

in a very unpredictable and extremely slow movement.

u vrlo nepredvidljivom i ekstremno sporom pokretu.

And it's kind of constrained by that circle.

I na neki je način ograničen tim krugom.

Because if that circle weren't there, and the floor was very even,

Jer, da tog kruga nema, i da je pod vrlo ravan,

it would start to wander about in the space.

počeo bi lutati negdje u prostoru.

And there's no wires.

I nema žica.

So I'll just show you an instance --

Pokazat ću vam samo primjer --

so when people enter the room, it activates this object.

kad ljudi uđu u prostoriju, to aktivira ovaj objekt.

And it very slowly, over a few minutes,

I on vrlo polako, više od nekoliko minuta,

sort of painfully goes up,

nekako bolno ide gore,

and then it gains momentum

i tada postiže zamah

and it looks like it's almost about to fall.

i izgleda kao da će pasti.

And this is an important moment,

I to je važan trenutak,

because we wanted to instill in the viewer

zato što smo željeli usaditi u gledatelja

an instinct to almost go and help, or save the subject.

instinkt da skoro ode i pomogne, ili spasi subjekt.

But it doesn't really need it,

No on to ustvari ne treba,

because it, again, sort of manages to pull itself up.

zato što se, opet, nekako uspije izvući gore.

So this work was a real technical challenge for us,

Ovaj rad je bio pravi tehnički izazov za nas,

and we worked very hard, like most of our works, over years

i radili smo jako naporno, kao kod većine naših radova, godinama

to get the mechanics right and the equilibrium and the dynamics.

da uskladimo mehaniku i ravnotežu i dinamiku.

And it was very important for us

I bilo je vrlo važno za nas

to establish the exact moment that it would fall,

da postignemo točan trenutak pada,

because if we made it in a way that it would topple over,

jer da smo ga napravili da se prevrne,

then it would damage itself,

oštetio bi se,

and if it didn't fall enough, it wouldn't instill that fatalism,

a da nije dovoljno pao, ne bi usadio taj fatalizam,

or that sense of wanting to go and help it.

ili taj osjećaj želje da se ode i pomogne.

So I'm going to show you a very quick video

Pokazat ću vam vrlo brzi video

where we are doing a test scenario -- it's much faster.

gdje radimo probni scenarij -- puno je brže.

That's my colleague. He's let it go.

Ovo je moj kolega. Pustio ga je.

Now he's getting nervous, so he's going to go catch it.

Sada postaje nervozan, pa će ga ići uhvatiti.

But he doesn't need to,

Ali ne treba,

because it manages to lift itself up on its own.

zato što se uspijeva podići sam.

So this is a work that we were very intrigued with,

Ovo je rad kojim smo bili vrlo zaintrigirani,

working with the aesthetic of fur

radeći s estetikom dlake

embedded with thousands of tiny different sizes

u koju su ugrađene tisuće sićušnih optičkih vlakana

of fiber optics, which twinkle like the night sky.

različitih veličina, koja trepere kao noćno nebo.

And it's at the scale of the night sky.

I ima omjer noćnog neba.

So we wrapped this around a blob-like form,

Omotali smo ovo oko oblika grudice,

which is in the shape of a teddy bear,

u obliku medvjedića,

which was hanging from the ceiling.

koji je visio sa stropa.

And the idea was to sort of contrast

I ideja je bila da se usporedi

something very cold and distant and abstract like the universe

nešto vrlo hladno i udaljeno kao što je svemir

into the familiar form of a teddy bear,

u poznatom obliku medvjedića,

which is very comforting and intimate.

koji je vrlo utješan i intiman.

And the idea was that at some point

I ideja je bila u tome da bi u jednom trenutku

you would stop looking at the form of a teddy bear

prestali gledati u oblik medvjedića

and you would almost perceive it to be a hole in the space,

i gotovo ga percipirali kao rupu u svemiru,

and as if you were looking out into the twinkling night sky.

i kao da bi promatrali treperavo noćno nebo.

So this is the last work, and a work in progress,

Ovo je posljednji rad, i rad u nastajanju,

and it's called "Space Filler."

zove se "Ispuna prostora".

Well imagine a small cube that's about this big

Zamislite malu kocku koja je ovoliko velika

standing in front of you in the middle of the room,

koja stoji ispred vas u sredini prostorije,

and as you approached it, it tried to intimidate you

i kako joj prilazite, pokušava vas zastrašiti

by growing into a cube

rastući u kocku

that's twice its height and [eight] times its volume.

koja je dvaput viša i ima četiri puta veći volumen nego na početku.

And so this object is constantly expanding and contracting

Taj se objekt stalno širi i skuplja

to create a dynamic with people moving around it --

da stvori dinamiku s ljudima koji se kreću oko njega --

almost like it were trying

gotovo kao da pokušava

to conceal a secret within its seams or something.

sakriti tajnu unutar sebe ili slično.

So we work with a lot of technology,

Mi radimo s puno tehnologije

but we don't really love technology,

ali ustvari ne volimo tehnologiju,

because it gives us a lot of pain in our work over years and years.

zato što nam zadaje puno boli u našem radu godinama i godinama.

But we use it because we're interested

No koristimo je jer smo zainteresirani

in the way that it can help us

za način na koji nam može pomoći

to express the emotions and behavioral patterns

da izrazimo emocije i obrasce ponašanja

in these creatures that we create.

u tim bićima koje stvaramo.

And once a creature pops into our minds,

I jednom kad se biće pojavi u našim umovima,

it's almost like the process of creation

to je gotovo kao da proces stvaranja

is to discover the way this creature really wants to exist

otkriva način na koji to biće zaista želi postojati

and what form it wants to take and what way it wants to move.

i koji oblik želi preuzeti i na koji način se želi kretati.

Thank you.

Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Pljesak)