How art can shape America's conversation about freedom | Dread Scott

Translator: Qomariah Najmi Reviewer: Yolanda Raintina

Saya seorang seniman visual,

dan saya membuat seni revolusioner untuk mengangkat sejarah.

Saya akan memberitahukan Anda sesuatu:

Saya tidak setuju dengan fondasi ekonomi,

I am a visual artist,

interaksi sosial

and I make revolutionary art to propel history forward.

atau prinsip pemerintahan Amerika.

Karya saya berkontribusi pada perubahan fundamental

I'm going to come right out and tell you something:

dengan mendorong penonton untuk menjawab pertanyaan besar dari perspektif itu.

I don't accept the economic foundation,

the social relations

or the governing ideas of America.

Perubahan sosial itu sulit, tetapi ide-ide sangatlah berpengaruh.

My art contributes to fundamental change

by encouraging an audience to address big questions from that perspective.

Jika saya akui saya seniman, orang pikir, “Oh, dia seorang pelukis.”

Di belakang saya, Anda dapat lihat beberapa karya saya.

Social change is hard, but ideas matter tremendously.

“Bayangkan Dunia Tanpa Amerika” adalah karya yang saya kerjakan di berbagai media

When I say I'm an artist, most people think, "Oh, he's a painter."

termasuk fotografi, video, dan seni pertunjukan.

Behind me, you can see some of the kind of work I do.

"Imagine a World Without America" is a painting,

but I work in a range of media,

Proyek kali ini, ”Peragaan Pemberontakan Budak,”

including photography, video and performance art.

akan diperagakan kembali di pinggiran kota New Orleans bulan November ini.

A current project, "Slave Rebellion Reenactment,"

Pada tahun 1989, saya mempunyai karya seni yang menjadi pusat kontroversi

is going to be reenacted on the outskirts of New Orleans

atas penggunaan bendera Amerika yang melanggar batas.

this November.

“Bagaimana Cara yang Benar untuk Menampilkan Bendera AS?”

In 1989, I had an artwork that became the center of controversy

adalah karya konseptual yang mendorong partisipasi dari penonton.

over its transgressive use of the American flag.

Karya itu berisi montase foto yang terdapat teks berbunyi,

"What is the Proper Way to Display a US Flag?"

“Bagaimana Cara yang Benar Untuk Menampilkan Bendera AS?”

is a conceptual work that encouraged audience participation.

Di bawahnya ada buku untuk orang-orang menuliskan jawabannya,

dan di bawahnya lagi ada bendera yang dapat mereka injak.

It consisted of a photo montage that had text that read,

"What is the Proper Way to Display a US Flag?"

Montase berisi foto siswa Korea Selatan yang membakar bendera Amerika,

Below that were books that people could write responses to that question in,

and below that was a flag that people had the option of standing on.

sambil memegang tulisan, “Yankee pulanglah. Dasar bajingan,”

dan di bawahnya ada peti mati dari Vietnam yang dibungkus bendera.

The photo montage consisted of images of South Korean students

Orang-orang ada yang menulis jawaban panjang maupun pendek.

burning American flags,

holding signs that said, "Yankee go home. Son of a bitch,"

Ribuan orang menulis dalam beragam bahasa.

and below that were flag-draped coffins coming back from Vietnam.

Ada yang mengatakan,

“Saya adalah perempuan Jerman.

People wrote long and short answers.

Jika kami, orang Jerman mengagumi bendera kami seperti yang Anda lakukan,

Thousands of people engaged with the work in a lot of different languages.

kami akan disebut Nazi lagi.

Saya pikir Anda punya banyak masalah dengan bendera ini.”

Some of the people said,

"I'm a German girl.

If we Germans would admire our flag as you all do,

“Saya pikir seniman seharusnya kembali pada warisannya,

we would be called Nazis again.

contohnya hutan Afrika,

I think you do have too much trouble about this flag."

yang mana ia dapat buat banyak hal dari situ dengan cara artistik.”

"I think that the artist should be returned to his heritage,

“Bendera yang saya injak ini bermakna tentang segala yang menindas dalam sistem:

i.e., the jungles of Africa,

pembunuhan orang India dan orang tertindas lainnya di dunia,

and then he can shovel manure in his artistic way."

termasuk saudara saya,

"This flag I'm standing on stands for everything oppressive in this system:

yang ditembak babi, ditendang tubuhnya untuk ‘memastikan orang Negro ini mati.’

the murder of the Indians and all the oppressed around the world,

Babi itu mengenakan bendera.

Terima kasih, Dread Scott, untuk kesempatan ini.”

including my brother who was shot by a pig,

who kicked over his body to 'make sure the nigger was dead.'

“Sebagai veteran yang membela bendera,

Saya tidak akan pernah mau membela Anda!

That pig was wearing the flag.

Anda seharusnya ditembak!” -- Tim Angkatan Laut AS

Thank you, Dread Scott, for this opportunity."

Dulu orang-orang bereaksi keras dengan bendera seperti sekarang.

"As a veteran defending the flag,

I personally would never defend your stupid ass!

You should be shot!" -- US Navy Seal Team.

Dulu ada demonstrasi dari para veteran di depan Institut Seni Chicago.

As you can see, people had very strong reactions about the flag then,

Mereka meneriakkan,

“Bendera dan seniman, gantung keduanya,”

as they do now.

menggambarkan hukuman mati tanpa pengadilan.

There were demonstrations of veterans in front of the Art Institute of Chicago.

Saya menerima banyak ancaman mati,

dan ancaman bom melalui telepon sekolah.

They chanted things like,

Situasi yang sangat berbahaya.

"The flag and the artist, hang them both high,"

Kemudian, Presiden Bush menyebut karya ini ”memalukan”

evoking images of lynching.

I received numerous death threats,

yang saya pandang ketakutan,

and bomb threats were phoned in to my school.

dan Kongres melarang karya itu.

(Tertawa)

It was a very dangerous situation.

Saya menjadi bagian kasus Mahkamah Agung saat saya dan lainnya menentang hukum itu,

Later, President Bush called the work "disgraceful,"

which I viewed as a tremendous honor,

dengan membakar bendera yang ada di tangga Kapitol.

and Congress outlawed the work.

Aksi, pertarungan hukum, dan politik setelahnya

(Laughter)

I became part of a Supreme Court case when I and others defied that law,

membawa pada keputusan Amandemen Pertama yang mencegah pemerintah

by burning flags on the steps of the Capitol.

dari menuntut patriotisme sebagai hal yang wajib.

That action and the subsequent legal and political battle

Izinkan saya mundur sedikit.

Orang-orang ini benar-benar ingin saya mati.

led to a landmark First Amendment decision that prevented the government

Apa yang saya lakukan sekarang akan membuat sebuah perbedaan.

from demanding patriotism be mandatory.

Ini adalah saya di waktu yang sama,

But let me back up a bit.

delapan lantai di atas kerumunan itu.

These people literally wanted me dead.

Seharusnya itu menjadi pemotretan yang dilakukan di tangga,

What I would do at this moment would make a difference.

tempat para veteran saat itu.

This is me at the exact same moment,

Dan bagi saya tentu tidak akan menjadi tempat yang aman.

eight stories above that crowd.

Namun pemotretan itu sangat penting,

It was supposed to be for a photo shoot

meski beberapa orang ingin membunuh saya, itu juga situasi dimana

that was going to take place on the steps where the veterans were at that time.

mereka yang melihat bendera Amerika diinjak sebagai simbol penindasan

It wouldn't have been safe for me to be there, to say the least.

di sistem ini

But it was really important to do that shoot,

merasa mereka punya suara,

dan suara itu perlu diperkuat.

because while some wanted to kill me, it was also a situation

where those who viewed the American flag as standing for everything oppressive

Poinnya adalah:

mengubah apapun --

baik itu ide-ide konvensional tentang simbol nasional AS,

in this system

felt that they had a voice,

and that voice needed to be amplified.

pemikiran tradisional yang ditantang oleh terobosan ilmiah

The point is this:

atau menggulingkan presiden yang otoriter --

changing anything --

whether it's conventional ideas about US national symbols,

membutuhkan banyak hal.

Butuh keteguhan hati,

traditional thinking challenged by scientific breakthroughs

keberuntungan,

juga visi dan aksi keberanian.

or ousting an authoritarian president --

requires a lot of things.

Tapi untungnya --

saya harus katakan, pemotretan yang kami lakukan mungkin tidak berhasil.

It requires courage,

luck

and also vision and boldness of action.

Kami tertawa setelah keluar dari area itu.

Namun, itu sepadan dengan resikonya

But on luck --

karena taruhannya yang terlibat.

I have to say, the photo shoot we did might not have worked out so well.

Dalam hal ini, keberuntungan membawa pada situasi hebat,

We laughed after we were out of the area.

mendalam, dan kuat

serta juga penuh kelucuan.

But the thing is, it was worth the risk

Terima kasih.

(Tepuk tangan)

because of the stakes that were involved.

And in this case, the luck led to a wonderful,

profound and powerful situation

that was also humorous.

Thank you.

(Applause)