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

Prevodilac: Ivana Krivokuća Lektor: Tijana Mihajlović

I am a visual artist,

Ja sam vizuelni umetnik

and I make revolutionary art to propel history forward.

i stvaram revolucionarnu umetnost da bih pokrenuo istoriju.

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

Odmah ću se otvoriti i reći vam nešto.

I don't accept the economic foundation,

Ne prihvatam ekonomsku osnovu,

the social relations

društvene odnose

or the governing ideas of America.

niti vladajuće ideje u Americi.

My art contributes to fundamental change

Moja umetnost doprinosi fundamentalnim promenama

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

tako što podstiče publiku da se bavi velikim pitanjima iz tog ugla.

Social change is hard, but ideas matter tremendously.

Društvene promene su teške, ali ideje su izuzetno važne.

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

Kada kažem da sam umetnik, većina ljudi pomisli: „O, on je slikar.“

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

Iza mene možete videti neka dela na kojima radim.

"Imagine a World Without America" is a painting,

„Zamislite svet bez Amerike“ je slika,

but I work in a range of media,

ali radim u okviru raznih medija,

including photography, video and performance art.

uključujući fotografiju, video i umetnost performansa.

A current project, "Slave Rebellion Reenactment,"

Trenutni pojekat, „Rekonstrukcija događaja pobune robova“,

is going to be reenacted on the outskirts of New Orleans

odigraće se na periferiji Nju Orleansa

this November.

ovog novembra.

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

Godine 1989. imao sam umetničko delo koje je postalo centar kontroverze

over its transgressive use of the American flag.

zbog svoje neodgovarajuće upotrebe američke zastave.

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

„Koji je pravilan način za izlaganje američke zastave?“

is a conceptual work that encouraged audience participation.

je konceptualni rad koji je podsticao učešće publike.

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

Sastojao se od fotomontaže sa tekstom koji je glasio:

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

„Koji je pravilan način za izlaganje američke zastave?“

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

Ispod su bile knjige u koje su ljudi mogli da upišu odgovor na to pitanje,

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

a ispod je bila zastava na kojoj su ljudi imali opciju da stoje.

Fotomontaža se sastojala od slika učenika iz Južne Koreje

The photo montage consisted of images of South Korean students

burning American flags,

koji spaljuju američke zastave,

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

držeći znak koji kaže: „Jenki, idi kući. Kučkin sine.“

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

A ispod toga su kovčezi prekriveni zastavama

koji se vraćaju iz Vijetnama.

People wrote long and short answers.

Ljudi su pisali duge i kratke odgovore.

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

Hiljade ljudi se priključilo ovom radu na mnogo različitih jezika.

Some of the people said,

Neki od ljudi su govorili:

"I'm a German girl.

„Ja sam Nemica.

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

Kada bismo se mi Nemci divili svojoj zastavi kao vi,

we would be called Nazis again.

opet bi nas nazivali nacistima.

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

Mislim da zaista imate previše problema sa ovom zastavom.“

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

„Mislim da umetnik treba da se vrati svom zavičaju,

i.e., the jungles of Africa,

tj. afričkoj džungli,

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

i onda može da mlati praznu slamu na svoj umetnički način.“

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

„Ova zastava na kojoj stojim predstavlja sve ono što je represivno u ovom sistemu:

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

ubijanje Indijanaca i svih ugnjetavanih širom sveta,

including my brother who was shot by a pig,

uključujući mog brata koga je ubila neka stoka,

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

koja je šutirala njegovo telo 'da se uveri da je crnja mrtav.'

That pig was wearing the flag.

Ta stoka je nosila zastavu.

Thank you, Dread Scott, for this opportunity."

Hvala ti, Drede Skote, na ovoj mogućnosti.“

"As a veteran defending the flag,

„Kao veteran koji je branio zastavu,

I personally would never defend your stupid ass!

lično nikada ne bih branio tebe, idiota!"

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

Treba te ubiti! - Tim američke mornarice.“

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

Kao što možete videti, ljudi su imali veoma snažne reakcije na zastavu tada,

as they do now.

kao što imaju i sada.

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

Bilo je demonstracija veterana ispred Instituta za umetnost u Čikagu.

Uzvikivali su stvari poput:

They chanted things like,

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

„Zastavu i umetnika, visoko ih obesite“,

evoking images of lynching.

evocirajući prizore linčovanja.

I received numerous death threats,

Dobio sam brojne pretnje smrću,

i telefonom su mojoj školi stizale pretnje bombom.

and bomb threats were phoned in to my school.

It was a very dangerous situation.

Bila je to veoma opasna situacija.

Later, President Bush called the work "disgraceful,"

Kasnije je predsednik Buš nazvao delo sramotnim,

which I viewed as a tremendous honor,

što sam ja smatrao za veliku čast,

and Congress outlawed the work.

i Kongres je zabranio ovaj rad.

(Laughter)

(Smeh)

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

Postao sam deo slučaja Vrhovnog suda

kada sam se zajedno sa drugima usprotivio tom zakonu

by burning flags on the steps of the Capitol.

tako što smo palili zastave na stepenicama Kapitola.

That action and the subsequent legal and political battle

Ova akcija i zakonska i politička borba koja je usledila

led to a landmark First Amendment decision that prevented the government

doveli su do značajne odluke vezane za Prvi amandman

koja je sprečila vlast da zahteva da patriotizam bude obavezan.

from demanding patriotism be mandatory.

But let me back up a bit.

Ali da se vratim malo unazad.

These people literally wanted me dead.

Ovi ljudi su mi bukvalno želeli smrt.

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

Ono što ću uraditi u datom trenutku biće od velikog značaja.

This is me at the exact same moment,

Ovo sam ja baš u tom trenutku,

eight stories above that crowd.

osam spratova iznad te gomile ljudi.

It was supposed to be for a photo shoot

Trebalo je da bude slikanje na stepenicama,

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

gde su se veterani nalazili u to vreme.

Ne bi bilo bezbedno za mene da budem tamo, blago rečeno.

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

Ali je bilo jako važno da se to slikanje obavi,

But it was really important to do that shoot,

jer iako su neki želeli da me ubiju, to je takođe bila situacija

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

gde su oni koji su videli američku zastavu kao simbol svega represivnog

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

u ovom sistemu

in this system

osetili da imaju pravo glasa,

felt that they had a voice,

i da taj glas treba da se jače čuje.

and that voice needed to be amplified.

The point is this:

Poenta je sledeća:

changing anything --

promena bilo čega,

whether it's conventional ideas about US national symbols,

bilo da su u pitanju konvencionalne ideje o nacionalnim simbolima SAD-a,

traditional thinking challenged by scientific breakthroughs

tradicionalno razmišljanje koje osporavaju naučna otkrića

or ousting an authoritarian president --

ili svrgavanje autoritarnog predsednika -

requires a lot of things.

zahteva mnogo toga.

It requires courage,

Zahteva hrabrost,

luck

sreću,

and also vision and boldness of action.

kao i viziju i smele akcije.

But on luck --

Ali što se tiče sreće -

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

moram priznati, naše snimanje možda i nije proteklo baš najbolje.

We laughed after we were out of the area.

Smejali smo se kad smo bili van tog područja.

Ali radi se o tome da je vredelo rizikovati

But the thing is, it was worth the risk

because of the stakes that were involved.

zbog svega što je bilo u igri.

A u ovom slučaju je sreća dovela do divne,

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

duboke i moćne situacije

profound and powerful situation

that was also humorous.

koja je bila i duhovita.

Thank you.

Hvala.

(Applause)

(Aplauz)