Eva Zeisel: The playful search for beauty

Prevodilac: Silvija Varga Lektor: Tatjana Jevdjic

So I understand that this meeting was planned,

Razumem da je ovaj sastanak bio planiran

and the slogan was From Was to Still.

i da mu je slogan "Od nekad do još uvek".

And I am illustrating Still.

Ja predstavljam "još uvek".

Which, of course, I am not agreeing with because,

S čim se, naravno, ne slažem, jer

although I am 94, I am not still working.

iako su mi 94 godine, ja ne radim "još uvek".

And anybody who asks me, "Are you still doing this or that?"

Svakome ko me pita: "Radiš li još uvek ovo ili ono?",

I don't answer because I'm not doing things still, I'm doing it like I always did.

ne odgovaram, jer ne radim stvari "još uvek", nego onako kako sam uvek i radila.

I still have -- or did I use the word still? I didn't mean that.

Još uvek imam -- jesam li rekla "još uvek"? Nisam tako mislila.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I have my file which is called To Do. I have my plans.

Imam svoj dosije koji se zove Uraditi. Imam svoje planove.

I have my clients. I am doing my work like I always did.

Imam svoje klijente. I radim svoj posao kao što sam oduvek radila.

So this takes care of my age.

Ovo vodi računa o mojim godinama.

I want to show you my work so you know what I am doing and why I am here.

Želim da vam pokažem svoj rad kako biste znali šta radim i zašto sam ovde.

This was about 1925.

Ovo je bilo oko 1925.

All of these things were made during the last 75 years.

Sve ove stvari napravljene su tokom poslednjih 75 godina.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

But, of course, I'm working since 25,

Naravno, ja radim od svoje 25. godine,

doing more or less what you see here. This is Castleton China.

praveći, manje više, ovo što vidite ovde. Ovo je Kaselton porcelan.

This was an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art.

Ovo je bila izložba u Muzeju savremene umetnosti.

This is now for sale at the Metropolitan Museum.

Ovo je sada na prodaji u Metropolitan muzeju.

This is still at the Metropolitan Museum now for sale.

Ovo je još uvek u Metropolitan muzeju, sada na prodaji.

This is a portrait of my daughter and myself.

Ovo je portret moje ćerke i mene.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

These were just some of the things I've made.

Ovo su samo neke od stvari koje sam napravila.

I made hundreds of them for the last 75 years.

Napravila sam stotine ovakvih u poslednjih 75 godina.

I call myself a maker of things.

Nazivam sebe stvaraocem stvari.

I don't call myself an industrial designer because I'm other things.

Ne nazivam sebe industrijskim dizajnerom jer nisam samo to.

Industrial designers want to make novel things.

Industrijski dizajneri žele da prave nove stvari.

Novelty is a concept of commerce, not an aesthetic concept.

Novitet je koncept trgovine, a ne estetski koncept.

The industrial design magazine, I believe, is called "Innovation."

Časopis koji se bavi industrijskim dizajnom se zove Inovacija.

Innovation is not part of the aim of my work.

Inovacija nije ono što želim da postignem svojim radom.

Well, makers of things: they make things more beautiful, more elegant,

Stvaraoci stvari: čine stvari lepšim, elegantnijim.

more comfortable than just the craftsmen do.

udobnijim, nego što to čini zanatlija.

I have so much to say. I have to think what I am going to say.

Imam mnogo toga da kažem. Moram da razmislim šta želim da kažem.

Well, to describe our profession otherwise,

Kako bih drugačije opisala našu profesiju,

we are actually concerned with the playful search for beauty.

rekla bih da se mi zapravo bavimo razigranom potragom za lepotom.

That means the playful search for beauty was called the first activity of Man.

To znači da je razigrana potraga za lepotom bila prva aktivnost Čoveka.

Sarah Smith, who was a mathematics professor at MIT, wrote,

Sara Smit, koja je bila profesor matematike na Institutu za tehnologiju, napisala je:

"The playful search for beauty was Man's first activity --

"Razigrana potraga za lepotom je bila prva aktivnost Čoveka,

that all useful qualities and all material qualities

svi korisni kvaliteti i materijalni kvaliteti

were developed from the playful search for beauty."

su se razvili iz razigrane potrage za lepotom."

These are tiles. The word, "playful" is a necessary aspect of our work

Ovo su pločice. Reč "razigrano" je neophodan aspekt našeg rada,

because, actually, one of our problems is that we have to make,

jer je zapravo jedan od naših problema taj što moramo da pravimo,

produce, lovely things throughout all of life, and this for me is now 75 years.

proizvodimo lepe stvari tokom čitavog života, u mom slučaju to je sada već 75 godina.

So how can you, without drying up,

Dakle, kako možeš, bez gubitka inspiracije,

make things with the same pleasure, as a gift to others, for so long?

da praviš stvari sa jednakim zadovoljstvom, kao poklon drugima, tako dugo?

The playful is therefore an important part of our quality as designer.

Razigranost zato predstavlja važan deo naše osobenosti kao dizajnera.

Let me tell you some about my life.

Dozvolite da vam kažem nešto o svom životu.

As I said, I started to do these things 75 years ago.

Kao što sam rekla, počela sam ovo da pravim pre 75 godina.

My first exhibition in the United States

Moja prva izložba u Americi

was at the Sesquicentennial exhibition in 1926 --

bila je na stopedestogodišnjoj izložbi 1926. godine

that the Hungarian government sent one of my hand-drawn pieces as part of the exhibit.

na koju je je mađarska vlada poslala jedan moj crtež kao deo izložbe.

My work actually took me through many countries,

Moj rad me je odveo u mnoge zemlje

and showed me a great part of the world.

i pokazao mi veliki deo sveta.

This is not that they took me -- the work didn't take me --

Zapravo me nije odveo -- rad me nije odveo --

I made the things particularly because I wanted to use them to see the world.

pravila sam stvari baš zato što sam ih htela iskoristiti da vidim svet.

I was incredibly curious to see the world, and I made all these things,

Htela sam da vidim svet iz radoznalosti, te sam pravila sve ove stvari

which then finally did take me to see many countries and many cultures.

koje su me naposletku zaista i odvele u mnoge zemlje i mnoge kulture.

I started as an apprentice to a Hungarian craftsman,

Počela sam kao pripravnik kod mađarskog zanatlije

and this taught me what the guild system was in Middle Ages.

i to me je naučilo kakav je bio esnafski sistem u srednjem veku.

The guild system: that means when I was an apprentice,

Esnafski sistem znači da sam bila pripravnik,

I had to apprentice myself in order to become a pottery master.

morala sam da učim da bih postala grnčarski majstor.

In my shop where I studied, or learned, there was a traditional hierarchy

U radionici u kojoj sam učila, postojala je tradicionalna hijerarhija:

of master, journeyman and learned worker, and apprentice,

zanatlija, najamnik i naučeni radnik, pripravnik,

and I worked as the apprentice.

a ja sam radila kao pripravnik.

The work as an apprentice was very primitive.

Taj posao je bio prilično primitivan.

That means I had to actually learn every aspect of making pottery by hand.

Značilo je da sam morala da naučim sve aspekte ručnog pravljenja grnčarije.

We mashed the clay with our feet when it came from the hillside.

Nogama smo mešali glinu kada je stizala sa brda.

After that, it had to be kneaded. It had to then go in, kind of, a mangle.

Posle toga smo je mesili, pa valjali.

And then finally it was prepared for the throwing.

Najzad je glina bila spremna za rad.

And there I really worked as an apprentice.

Stvarno sam radila kao pripravnik.

My master took me to set ovens

Zanatlija me učio kako da namestim peći

because this was part of oven-making, oven-setting, in the time.

jer je to bilo vreme kada smo nameštali peći.

And finally, I had received a document

Najzad, kada sam dobila dokument

that I had accomplished my apprenticeship successfully,

da sam završila sa svojim pripravništvom,

that I had behaved morally, and this document was given to me

da sam se lepo ponašala, dobila sam sertifikat

by the Guild of Roof-Coverers, Rail-Diggers, Oven-Setters,

od strane udruženja krovopokrivača, kopača šina i podešivača peći

Chimney Sweeps and Potters.

čistača dimnjaka i grnčara.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

I also got at the time a workbook which explained my rights

Tada sam dobila i knjigu o pravima zaposlenih,

and my working conditions, and I still have that workbook.

o uslovima rada i još uvek imam tu knjigu.

First I set up a shop in my own garden,

Prvo sam napravila radionicu u svojoj bašti

and made pottery which I sold on the marketplace in Budapest.

i pravila posuđe koje sam prodavala na pijaci u Budimpešti.

And there I was sitting, and my then-boyfriend --

Sedela sam tamo zajedno sa svojim tadašnjim momkom --

I didn't mean it was a boyfriend like it is meant today --

nije mi to bio momak kao što je to danas --

but my boyfriend and I sat at the market and sold the pots.

ali zajedno smo bili na pijaci i prodavali posuđe.

My mother thought that this was not very proper,

Moja majka je smatrala da to nije u redu,

so she sat with us to add propriety to this activity.

tako da je i ona sedela sa nama, da bi to bilo pristojno.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

However, after a while there was a new factory being built in Budapest,

Međutim, u to vreme se gradila fabrika u Budimpešti,

a pottery factory, a large one.

velika fabrika posuđa.

And I visited it with several ladies, and asked all sorts of questions of the director.

Nekoliko gospođa i ja, posetile smo fabriku i postavljale svakakva pitanja direktoru.

Then the director asked me, why do you ask all these questions?

Tada me je direktor pitao zašto postavljam sva ta pitanja.

I said, I also have a pottery.

Rekla sam da i ja proizvodim posuđe.

So he asked me, could he please visit me, and then finally he did,

On me je pitao da li bi mogao da dođe i vidi šta ja to tačno radim, te je došao

and explained to me that what I did now in my shop was an anachronism,

i objasnio mi je da je to što radim zastarelo,

that the industrial revolution had broken out,

jer je industrijska revolucija započela

and that I rather should join the factory.

i da bi bilo bolje kada bih radila u fabrici.

There he made an art department for me where I worked for several months.

Radila sam nekoliko meseci u fabrici na umetničkom odeljenju.

However, everybody in the factory spent his time at the art department.

Međutim, svi u fabrici su provodili svoje vreme na umetničkom odeljenju.

The director there said there were several women casting

Direktor mi je rekao da nekoliko žena pravi kalupe

and producing my designs now in molds, and this was sold also to America.

i proizvodi prema mom dizajnu i to se prodavalo čak i u Americi.

I remember that it was quite successful.

Sećam se, to je bilo vrlo uspešno.

However, the director, the chemist, model maker -- everybody --

Međutim, direktor, hemičari, modelari, gotovo svi --

concerned himself much more with the art department --

brinuli su mnogo više o umetničkom odeljenju --

that means, with my work -- than making toilets,

što znači moj posao -- nego pravljenje toaleta,

so finally they got a letter from the center, from the bank who owned the factory,

naposletku su dobili pismo iz centrale, od banke koja je posedovala fabriku,

saying, make toilet-setting behind the art department, and that was my end.

govoreći da prave toalete u umetničkom odeljenju. Bio je to moj kraj.

So this gave me the possibility because now I was a journeyman,

To mi je otvorilo mnoge mogućnosti, zato što sam sada bila najamni radnik,

and journeymen also take their satchel and go to see the world.

a najamnik spakuje torbu i obilazi svet.

So as a journeyman, I put an ad into the paper that I had studied,

Dakle, kao najamnik sam stavila oglas u novinama da sam obrazovana,

that I was a down-to-earth potter's journeyman

da sam realističan najamni radnik

and I was looking for a job as a journeyman.

i da tražim posao.

And I got several answers, and I accepted the one

Dobila sam nekoliko odgovora i prihvatila jedan

which was farthest from home and practically, I thought, halfway to America.

koji je bio najudaljeniji od kuće, mislila sam da je na pola puta do Amerike.

And that was in Hamburg.

To je bilo u Hamburgu.

Then I first took this job in Hamburg, at an art pottery

Prvo sam radila u Hamburgu, kao umetnički grnčar

where everything was done on the wheel,

gde se sve radilo preko točka,

and so I worked in a shop where there were several potters.

u toj radionici je radilo još nekoliko ljudi zajedno sa mnom.

And the first day, I was coming to take my place at the turntable --

Prvog dana, kada sam došla da zauzmem svoje mesto --

there were three or four turntables -- and one of them, behind where I was sitting,

tamo su bila 3 ili 4 točka -- i onaj koji je bio iza mog,

was a hunchback, a deaf-mute hunchback, who smelled very bad.

za njim je sedeo jedan gluvonemi grbavac koji je zaista loše mirisao.

So I doused him in cologne every day, which he thought was very nice,

Tako da sam ga polivala parfemom svaki dan, što je on smatrao veoma lepim gestom

and therefore he brought bread and butter every day,

i zauzvart je donosio hleb i puter svaki dan,

which I had to eat out of courtesy.

koji sam morala da jedem iz pristojnosti.

The first day I came to work in this shop

Prvog dana na poslu,

there was on my wheel a surprise for me.

na mom točku je bilo malo iznenađenje.

My colleagues had thoughtfully put on the wheel where I was supposed to work

Moje kolege su stavile na točak na kojem sam trebala da radim

a very nicely modeled natural man's organs.

lepo oblikovan muški polni organ.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

After I brushed them off with a hand motion, they were very --

Pošto sam samo mahnula rukom, oni su --

I finally was now accepted, and worked there for some six months.

konačno su me prihvatili i tamo sam radila 6 meseci.

This was my first job.

To je bio moj prvi posao.

If I go on like this, you will be here till midnight.

Ako ovako nastavim, bićete ovde do ponoći.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

(Applause)

(Aplauz)

So I will try speed it up a little

Ubrzaću malo.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Moderator: Eva, we have about five minutes.

Moderator: Eva, imamo još 5 minuta.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

Eva Zeisel: Are you sure?

Eva: Jesi li siguran?

Moderator: Yes, I am sure.

Moderator: Da, siguran sam.

EZ: Well, if you are sure,

Eva: Pa, ako si siguran,

I have to tell you that within five minutes I will talk very fast.

onda ću govoriti jako brzo da bih vam sve rekla.

And actually, my work took me to many countries

Moj posao me je odveo u mnoge zemlje

because I used my work to fill my curiosity.

jer sam radila da bih zadovoljila svoju radoznalost.

And among other things, other countries I worked, was in the Soviet Union,

Između ostalog, radila sam i u Sovjetskom Savezu,

where I worked from '32 to '37 -- actually, to '36.

tamo sam bila od 1932. do 1937., zapravo do 1936.

I was finally there, although I had nothing to do -- I was a foreign expert.

Bila sam tamo, iako ništa nisam radila, bila sam strani ekspert.

I became art director of the china and glass industry,

Postala sam umetnički direktor za porcelan i staklenu industriju,

and eventually under Stalin's purges -- at the beginning of Stalin's purges,

i za vreme Staljinovih čistki, zapravo na samom početku,

I didn't know that hundreds of thousands of innocent people were arrested.

nisam znala da su hapsili stotine hiljada ljudi.

So I was arrested quite early in Stalin's purges,

Tako da sam i sama bila uhapšena

and spent 16 months in a Russian prison.

i provela sam 16 meseci u jednom ruskom zatvoru.

The accusation was that I had successfully prepared an Attentat on Stalin's life.

Optužbe su bile da sam uspešno pripremala atentat na Staljina.

This was a very dangerous accusation.

Ovo je bila ozbiljna optužba.

And if this is the end of my five minutes, I want to tell you that

Ako je ovo kraj mojih 5 minuta, želim samo da kažem

I actually did survive, which was a surprise.

da sam preživela, što je bilo iznenađenje.

But since I survived and I'm here,

Ali pošto sam preživela i sada sam ovde,

and since this is the end of the five minutes, I will --

i pošto je ovo kraj mojih 5 minuta, ja ću...

Moderator: Tell me when your last trip to Russia was.

Moderator: Recite mi kada ste poslednji put bili u Rusiji?

Weren't you there recently?

Zar niste nedavno bili tamo?

EZ: Oh, this summer, in fact,

Eva: Zapravo, ovog leta

the Lomonosov factory was bought by an American company, invited me.

Lomonosovu fabriku je kupila američka kompanija, pozvali su me.

They found out that I had worked in '33 at this factory,

Saznali su da sam radila u ovoj fabrici tokom 1933.

and they came to my studio in Rockland County,

došli su u moj studio u okrugu Rokland

and brought the 15 of their artists to visit me here.

i posetili su me sa sa 15 svojih umetnika.

And they invited myself to come to the Russian factory last summer,

Pozvali su me da dođem u rusku fabriku prošlog leta,

in July, to make some dishes, design some dishes.

u julu, da im dizajniram neko posuđe.

And since I don't like to travel alone, they also invited my daughter,

Pošto ne volim da putujem sama, pozvali su i moju ćerku,

son-in-law and granddaughter,

zeta i moju unuku,

so we had a lovely trip to see Russia today,

imali smo lepu posetu današnjoj Rusiji,

which is not a very pleasant and happy view.

koja i nije neka lepota.

Here I am now, if this is the end? Thank you.

I eto me sada ovde. Je l' ovo kraj? Hvala vam.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)