Fun, Fierce and Fantastical African Art | Wanuri Kahiu | TED

Prevodilac: Mirjana Čutura Lektor: Tijana Mihajlović

So, my mother's a pediatrician,

Moja majka je pedijatar

and when I was young, she'd tell the craziest stories

i kada sam bila mala, pričala bi mi najluđe priče

that combined science with her overactive imagination.

koje su kombinovale nauku sa njenom bujnom maštom.

One of the stories she told was that if you eat a lot of salt,

Jedna od priča koju je pričala je bila da ako jedemo mnogo soli,

all of the blood rushes up your legs,

sva krv navali uz noge,

through your body,

kroz telo

and shoots out the top of your head,

i izbija do temena glave,

killing you instantly.

trenutno vas ubijajući.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

She called it "high blood pressure."

Zvala je to „visoki krvni pritisak“.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

This was my first experience with science fiction,

Bio je to moj prvi susret sa naučnom fantastikom

and I loved it.

i volela sam to.

So when I started to write my own science fiction and fantasy,

Kada sam i sama počela da pišem naučnu fantastiku i fantastiku,

I was surprised that it was considered un-African.

bila sam iznenađena da su moji radovi bili smatrani neafričkim.

So naturally, I asked, what is African?

Naravno, zapitala sam se: „Šta je afričko?“

And this is what I know so far:

I ovo sam do sada saznala -

Africa is important.

Afrika je važna.

Africa is the future.

Afrika je budućnost.

It is, though.

Jeste, zaista.

And Africa is a serious place where only serious things happen.

Afrika je ozbiljno mesto gde se samo ozbiljne stvari dešavaju.

So when I present my work somewhere, someone will always ask,

Kada negde predstavljam svoj rad, neko će uvek pitati:

"What's so important about it?

„Šta je tako važno u tome?

How does it deal with real African issues

Kako se bavi stvarnim problemima u Africi

kao što su rat, siromaštvo, pustošenje ili sida?“

like war, poverty, devastation or AIDS?"

And it doesn't.

Ne bavi se.

Moj rad je o pop grupama iz Najrobija koje žele da idu u svemir

My work is about Nairobi pop bands that want to go to space

or about seven-foot-tall robots

ili o robotima dvometrašima

that fall in love.

koji se zaljubljuju.

It's nothing incredibly important.

Nije to ništa neverovatno važno.

It's just fun, fierce and frivolous,

Samo je zabavno, žestoko i neozbiljno,

as frivolous as bubble gum --

neozbiljno kao žvakaća guma -

"AfroBubbleGum."

„Afrička žvakaća guma“.

So I'm not saying that agenda art isn't important;

Ne kažem da ideološka umetnost nije važna;

I'm the chairperson of a charity

predsednik sam humanitarne organizacije

that deals with films and theaters that write about HIV and radicalization

koja se bavi filmovima i pozorišnim delima

koja govore o sidi, radikalizaciji

and female genital mutilation.

i unakažavanju ženskih genitalija.

It's vital and important art,

To je bitna i značajna umetnost,

but it cannot be the only art that comes out of the continent.

ali to ne može biti jedina umetnost koja dolazi sa kontinenta.

Moramo ispričati više priča

We have to tell more stories

that are vibrant.

koje su pune života.

The danger of the single story is still being realized.

Opasnost samo jedne priče se još uvek sagledava.

And maybe it's because of the funding.

Možda je to zbog finansiranja.

A lot of art is still dependent on developmental aid.

Mnogo umetnosti još uvek zavisi od pomoći za razvoj,

So art becomes a tool for agenda.

tako da umetnost postaje oruđe za ideologiju.

Or maybe it's because we've only seen one image of ourselves for so long

Ili je to možda zato što toliko dugo viđamo samo jednu sliku sebe

da je to sve što znamo da stvorimo.

that that's all we know how to create.

Whatever the reason, we need a new way,

Koji god da je razlog, treba nam novi način,

and AfroBubbleGum is one approach.

a „Afrička žvakaća guma“ je jedan pristup.

It's the advocacy of art for art's sake.

To je zalaganje za umetnost radi umetnosti.

It's the advocacy of art that is not policy-driven

To je zalaganje za umetnost koja nije vođena politikom,

or agenda-driven

ni ideologijom,

niti je zasnovana na obrazovanju,

or based on education,

just for the sake of imagination:

već postoji samo zbog mašte -

AfroBubbleGum art.

umetnost „Afrička žvakaća guma“.

And we can't all be AfroBubbleGumists.

Ne možemo svi biti umetnici „Afričke žvakaće gume“.

Moramo da procenimo naš rad za moguće zamke korišćenja u promotivne svrhe.

We have to judge our work for its potential poverty porn pitfalls.

Moramo imati testove slične Bekdelovom testu

We have to have tests that are similar to the Bechdel test,

[Makar dve žene koje pričaju o nečem drugom osim o muškarcu.]

i postaviti pitanja kao što su:

and ask questions like:

Are two or more Africans in this piece of fiction healthy?

Da li su dva ili više Afrikanca u ovom književnom delu zdrava?

Are those same Africans financially stable and not in need of saving?

Da li su ta dva ista Afrikanca finansijski dobrostojeća

i bez potrebe da im se pruži pomoć?

Are they having fun and enjoying life?

Da li se zabavljaju i uživaju u životu?

Ako možete odgovoriti sa „da“ na dva ili više od ovih pitanja,

And if we can answer yes to two or more of these questions,

onda ste zasigurno umetnik „Afričke žvakaće gume“.

then surely we're AfroBubbleGumists.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

And fun is political,

Zabava je politička,

because imagine if we have images of Africans who were vibrant

jer zamislite ako bismo imali slike Afrikanaca koji su puni života,

and loving and thriving

nežni, uspešni

and living a beautiful, vibrant life.

i koji žive lep i ispunjen život.

What would we think of ourselves then?

Šta bismo tada mislili o nama samima?

Would we think that maybe we're worthy of more happiness?

Da li bismo mislili da možda zaslužujemo više sreće?

Would we think of our shared humanity through our shared joy?

Da li bismo mislili o zajedničkoj humanosti

kroz zajedničku radost?

I think of these things when I create.

Ja mislim o ovim stvarima kada stvaram.

I think of the people and the places that give me immeasurable joy,

Mislim na ljude i mesta koja mi daju neizmernu radost

and I work to represent them.

i radim da ih predstavim.

And that's why I write stories

I zato pišem priče

about futuristic girls that risk everything to save plants

o devojčicama iz budućnosti koje rizikuju sve da spasu biljke,

ili da organizuju trke kamila,

or to race camels

or even just to dance,

ili samo da plešu,

to honor fun,

da odaju čast zabavi,

because my world is mostly happy.

jer moj svet je uglavnom srećan.

And I know happiness is a privilege in this current splintered world

Znam da je sreća privilegija u sadašnjem podeljenom svetu,

where remaining hopeful requires diligence.

gde je marljivost neophodna da bismo i dalje održali nadu.

Ali možda, ako mi se pridružite u stvaranju, predstavljanju i naručivanju

But maybe, if you join me in creating, curating and commissioning

more AfroBubbleGum art,

više umetničkih dela „Afričke žvakaće gume“,

there might be hope for a different view of the world,

možda će postojati nada za drugačiji pogled na svet,

a happy Africa view

pogled na srećnu Afriku,

where children are strangely traumatized

gde su deca čudno traumatizovana

by their mother's dark sense of humor,

crnim smislom za humor svojih majki,

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

but also they're claiming fun, fierce and frivolous art

ali ona takođe polažu pravo na zabavnu, žestoku i besmislenu umetnost

u ime svih neozbiljno afričkih stvari.

in the name of all things unseriously African.

Because we're AfroBubbleGumists

Zato što smo umetnici „Afričke žvakaće gume“

and there's so many more of us than you can imagine.

i ima nas mnogo više nego što možete da zamislite.

Thank you so much.

Hvala vam puno.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)