You are fluent in this language (and don't even know it) | Christoph Niemann

翻译人员: Thomas Tam 校对人员: Tianji (Homer) Li

I'm an artist.

我是一位艺术家。

Being an artist is the greatest job there is.

成为一名艺术家，是最好的工作。

And I really pity each and every one of you

我很同情你们每一个人，

who has to spend your days discovering new galaxies

得花时间去发现新的星系，

or saving humanity from global warming.

或者拯救人类免受全变暖的影响，

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But being an artist is also a daunting job.

但作为一名艺术家， 也是一项艰巨的工作。

I spend every day, from nine to six, doing this.

我每天从9点到6点都是这样的状态。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I even started a side career that consists entirely

我甚至开始了一个副业，

of complaining about the difficulty of the creative process.

完全为了抱怨创作过程的艰辛。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But today, I don't want to talk about what makes my life difficult.

但是我今天并不想谈论这些困难，

I want to talk about what makes it easy.

而想谈谈如何让事情变得简单。

And that is you --

那就是你们，

and the fact that you are fluent in a language

和你们能理解的流利语言，

that you're probably not even aware of.

而你们可能都没有意识到这一点。

You're fluent in the language of reading images.

你能流利地阅读图像语言。

Deciphering an image like that

解读这些图像

takes quite a bit of an intellectual effort.

需要运用相当多的智力。

But nobody ever taught you how this works,

但没有人教过你怎样做，

you just know it.

你天生就知道。

College, shopping, music.

大学、购物和音乐。

What makes a language powerful is that you can take a very complex idea

使语言变得强大的是， 你从中能领略复杂的想法，

and communicate it in a very simple, efficient form.

并以一种简单而有效的 方式进行沟通。

These images represent exactly the same ideas.

这些图像代表着完全相同的想法。

But when you look, for example, at the college hat,

但是，当你看到，例如毕业帽，

这并不只是代表在你被授予毕业证书时

you know that this doesn't represent the accessory you wear on your head

when you're being handed your diploma,

戴在你头上的配件，

but rather the whole idea of college.

而是象征着大学教育这个整体概念。

Now, what drawings can do is they cannot only communicate images,

图画可以做的，是它们 不仅可以传达图像，

they can even evoke emotions.

甚至可以激发情感。

假设你在一个陌生地方看到这个图像，

Let's say you get to an unfamiliar place and you see this.

You feel happiness and relief.

就会感到快乐和宽慰。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Or a slight sense of unease or maybe downright panic.

或是有点不安，甚至全然的恐慌。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Or blissful peace and quiet.

又或是幸福和宁静。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But visuals, they're of course more than just graphic icons.

但在视觉方面，它们又 不仅仅是图像符号。

You know, if I want to tell the story of modern-day struggle,

如果我想讲述现代斗争的故事，

I would start with the armrest between two airplane seats

我会从飞机座椅之间的扶手开始，

还有两个互不相让的胳膊肘。

and two sets of elbows fighting.

What I love there is this universal law

我喜欢一个通则，

that, you know, you have 30 seconds to fight it out

在30秒内，谁占有了扶手，

and once it's yours, you get to keep it for the rest of the flight.

谁就可以在其余的 飞行时间里拥有这个扶手。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Now, commercial flight is full of these images.

在商业航班里充满了这些图像。

If I want to illustrate the idea of discomfort,

如果我想说明不舒服的想法，

nothing better than these neck pillows.

没有比这些颈枕更好的了。

They're designed to make you more comfortable --

它们旨在让你更舒适——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

except they don't.

但常常事与愿违。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So I never sleep on airplanes.

所以我从不在飞机上睡觉。

What I do occasionally is I fall into a sort of painful coma.

偶尔我会陷入一种痛苦的昏迷状态。

And when I wake up from that,

当我醒来时，

I have the most terrible taste in my mouth.

我口中会有一种最可怕的味道。

It's a taste that's so bad, it cannot be described with words,

这是一种很糟糕的味道， 难以用文字来形容，

but it can be drawn.

但可以把它画出来。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

The thing is, you know, I love sleeping.

问题在于，我喜欢睡觉。

And when I sleep, I really prefer to do it while spooning.

当我睡觉时，更喜欢揽着太太。

I've been spooning on almost a pro level for close to 20 years,

近20年来，我几乎一直 保持着专业的姿势，

but in all this time, I've never figured out

但我从未想过

what to do with that bottom arm.

在下面的手臂怎么办。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

And the only thing --

唯一的事情——

the only thing that makes sleeping even more complicated

唯一让睡眠变得比在飞机上睡着

than trying to do it on an airplane

还要困难的，

is when you have small children.

是当你有了小孩。

他们会在凌晨4点走到你的床边，

They show up at your bed at around 4am

编造一些借口，比如 “我做了一个恶梦。”

with some bogus excuse of, "I had a bad dream."

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And then, of course you feel sorry for them, they're your kids,

你当然会为此感到难过， 毕竟是亲生的孩子，

so you let them into your bed.

就让他们上床吧。

And I have to admit, at the beginning, they're really cute and warm and snugly.

开始时他们表现得很乖， 令你温暖又舒适。

The minute you fall back asleep, they inexplicably --

但当你再睡着的那一刻，不知怎的，

(Laughter)

（笑声）

start rotating.

他们就开始摆出横七竖八的姿势。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

We like to call this the helicopter mode.

我们喜欢称之为直升机模式。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Now, the deeper something is etched into your consciousness,

另外，有一些更深入的东西 被刻进了你的意识中，

the fewer details we need to have an emotional reaction.

只需要比较少的细节， 就能触动情绪的反应。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So why does an image like this work?

为什么像这样的图像能引起共鸣呢？

It works, because we as readers

因为我们做为阅读者，

are incredibly good at filling in the blanks.

擅长于填补缺失的部分。

Now, when you draw, there's this concept of negative space.

当你画画时，有一种负空间的概念。

And the idea is, that instead of drawing the actual object,

其核心做法不是绘制实际的物体，

you draw the space around it.

只是画出它周围的空间。

所以图中的碗是空的。

So the bowls in this drawing are empty.

But the black ink prompts your brain to project food into a void.

但黑色的墨水会促使 你将食物投射到空间中。

What we see here is not a owl flying.

这里看到的并不是飞行的猫头鹰。

What we actually see is a pair of AA batteries

实际上是一对 AA 电池

standing on a nonsensical drawing,

放在一张荒诞的画上，

and I animate the scene by moving my desk lamp up and down.

我通过上下移动台灯的光线， 让场景动起来了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

The image really only exists in your mind.

图像只存在于你的脑海中。

So, how much information do we need to trigger such an image?

那么，需要多少信息 才能触发这样的一个图像？

My goal as an artist is to use the smallest amount possible.

艺术家的目标是用尽可能少的信息。

I try to achieve a level of simplicity

我想要达到的极简程度，

where, if you were to take away one more element,

就是只需要拿走一个元素，

the whole concept would just collapse.

整个概念都会崩塌。

And that's why my personal favorite tool as an artist is abstraction.

我作为艺术家， 最喜欢用抽象做工具。

I've come up with this system which I call the abstract-o-meter,

我想出一个称之为抽像仪表的系统，

and this is how it works.

这是它的工作原理。

So you take a symbol, any symbol, for example the heart and the arrow,

你拿其中一个符号， 例如心脏和箭头，

which most of us would read as the symbol for love,

人们都会视之为爱情的象征，

and I'm an artist, so I can draw this

我是艺术家，可以把它画出来，

in any given degree of realism or abstraction.

并以任何现实或抽象的程度来呈现。

Now, if I go too realistic on it, it just grosses everybody out.

如果它过于现实， 就会让所有人难以接受。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

If I go too far on the other side and do very abstract,

如果我做得太抽象，

nobody has any idea what they're looking at.

就没人能看懂了。

So I have to find the perfect place on that scale,

所以我必须找到平衡点，

in this case it's somewhere in the middle.

位于仪表标尺上接近中间的某处。

Now, once we have reduced an image to a more simple form,

一旦将图像变得更简单，

all sorts of new connections become possible.

就会增加各种新联系的可能性，

And that allows for totally new angles in storytelling.

出现不同的，讲故事的新角度。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And so, what I like to do is,

因此我喜欢做的是，

I like to take images from really remote cultural areas and bring them together.

从很偏远的文化区域拍摄图像， 并将它们整合在一起。

Now, with more daring references --

更大胆的参考资料——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I can have more fun.

使我可以获得更多的乐趣。

But of course, I know that eventually things become so obscure

但最终事情变得太模糊，

that I start losing some of you.

就会让你们中的一些人失去兴趣。

So as a designer, it's absolutely key to have a good understanding

因此，作为设计师，关键是要 对关于观众视觉和文化的词汇

of the visual and cultural vocabulary of your audience.

有着很好的理解。

With this image here, a comment on the Olympics in Athens,

这张图片评论了雅典奥运会，

I assumed that the reader of the "New Yorker"

我默认《纽约客》的读者

对希腊艺术有些基本的了解。

would have some rudimentary idea of Greek art.

If you don't, the image doesn't work.

否则，图像就不起作用了。

But if you do, you might even appreciate the small detail,

如果你有一定的理解， 甚至会欣赏那些细节，

like the beer-can pattern here on the bottom of the vase.

就像花瓶底部的啤酒罐图案。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

A recurring discussion I have with magazine editors,

我与杂志编辑们一起反复讨论过——

who are usually word people,

他们是文字方面的行家——

is that their audience, you,

他们的观众，也就是在座的各位，

are much better at making radical leaps with images

能够赋予图像比其原本所要表现的意图

than they're being given credit for.

更加跳跃式的含义。

And the only thing I find frustrating is that they often seem to push me

而唯一让我感到沮丧的 一件事是，他们经常

towards a small set of really tired visual clichés

迫使我设计一小部分 老套的视觉图像，

that are considered safe.

认为这样做很保险。

You know, it's the businessman climbing up a ladder,

比如商人爬上梯子，

and then the ladder moves, morphs into a stock market graph,

然后梯子移动，变成股票市场图，

and anything with dollar signs; that's always good.

任何有美元符号的东西； 这些总是好的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

If there are editorial decision makers here in the audience,

如果观众中有编辑决策者，

I want to give you a piece of advice.

我想给你们一些建议。

Every time a drawing like this is published,

每次发布这样的图片时，

a baby panda will die.

就会有一只熊猫宝宝死掉。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Literally.

说真的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

When is a visual cliché good or bad?

怎么判定视觉上的陈词滥调是好是坏？

It's a fine line.

有一个准则。

And it really depends on the story.

这取决于故事背景。

In 2011, during the earthquake and the tsunami in Japan,

2011 年，在日本的地震和海啸期间，

I was thinking of a cover.

我正在构想一个封面。

And I went through the classic symbols:

审视经典的符号：

the Japanese flag,

日本国旗，

"The Great Wave" by Hokusai, one of the greatest drawings ever.

北斋的 “大浪”，是有史以来 最伟大的绘画之一。

And then the story changed

然后故事变了，

when the situation at the power plant in Fukushima got out of hand.

福岛电厂的情况失控。

And I remember these TV images of the workers in hazmat suits,

我记得这些穿着 防护服工人的电视画面，

just walking through the site,

仅仅是走过那地方，

and what struck me was how quiet and serene it was.

那种宁静和安祥的感觉 却令我印象深刻。

所以我想创造一个静默的灾难图象。

And so I wanted to create an image of a silent catastrophe.

And that's the image I came up with.

这就是我设计的画面。

(Applause)

（掌声）

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）

What I want to do is create an aha moment, for you, for the reader.

我想为各位，为读者们 创造一个顿悟时刻。

And unfortunately, that does not mean

不幸的是，这并不意味着

that I have an aha moment when I create these images.

当我创造这些图像时， 正处于灵光乍现的时刻。

I never sit at my desk

我坐在办公桌前的时候，

with the proverbial light bulb going off in my head.

脑海中象征灵感的灯泡从不会熄灭。

What it takes is actually a very slow,

它需要经历一个缓慢的，难熬的过程，

unsexy process of minimal design decisions

为最细微的设计决策而绞尽脑汁，

that then, when I'm lucky, lead to a good idea.

如果我的运气还不错， 就会得到一个好主意。

So one day, I'm on a train, and I'm trying to decode

有一天在火车上，我正在尝试解读

the graphic rules for drops on a window.

窗玻璃上水滴的图形规则。

And eventually I realize,

最后意识到，

"Oh, it's the background blurry upside-down,

“哦，模糊不清，上下颠倒的背景，

包含在了一幅清晰的图像中。 “

contained in a sharp image."

And I thought, wow, that's really cool,

我想，哇，真的很酷，

and I have absolutely no idea what to do with that.

但却不知道如何应用这种场景。

不久之后，我回到了纽约，

A while later, I'm back in New York,

and I draw this image of being stuck on the Brooklyn bridge in a traffic jam.

在交通拥堵中画出了这张 在布鲁克林大桥上被困的图片。

It's really annoying, but also kind of poetic.

这个场景让人感到 心烦意乱，但也蕴含着诗意。

And only later I realized,

后来我才意识到，

I can take both of these ideas and put them together in this idea.

我可以融合那两个想法， 来得到一个新想法。

And what I want to do is not show a realistic scene.

而我的目的并不是展现真实的场景。

But, maybe like poetry,

也许就像诗歌那样，

make you aware that you already had this image with you,

让你意识到你已经拥有这个图象，

but only now I've unearthed it

但直到现在我才发掘出來，

and made you realize that you were carrying it with you all along.

让你意识到它一直伴随着你。

But like poetry, this is a very delicate process

但也就像诗歌一样， 这是一个非常微妙的过程，

that is neither efficient nor scalable, I think.

既不高效，也不能随意 应用到其他场景中。

And maybe the most important skill for an artist

艺术家最重要的技能

is really empathy.

也许真的是同理心。

You need craft and you need --

你需要草图，你需要——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

you need creativity --

你需要创造力——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

thank you --

谢谢——

to come up with an image like that.

来构思出这样的图像。

But then you need to step back

但是你还需要退后一步，

and look at what you've done from the perspective of the reader.

从读者的角度去看你做了些什么。

I've tried to become a better artist by becoming a better observer of images.

我试着通过成为一个更好的观察者， 去成为更好的艺术家。

And for that, I started an exercise for myself

为此，我开始锻炼自己，

which I call Sunday sketching,

我称这个过程为周日草图，

which meant, on a Sunday, I would take a random object I found around the house

在星期天，我会利用一个 在房子周围随机找到的物品，

并尝试查看该对像 是否可以触发一个

and try to see if that object could trigger an idea

that had nothing to do with the original purpose of that item.

这与该物品的设计初衷无关的想法。

通常，很长一段时间里， 我的大脑都是一片空白。

And it usually just means I'm blank for a long while.

And the only trick that eventually works is if I open my mind

最终唯一有效的技巧， 就是我能敞开心扉，

and run through every image I have stored up there,

并浏览存储在脑海里的每张图片，

and see if something clicks.

试图从中得到灵感。

And if it does, just add a few lines of ink to connect --

如果有，只需添加 几行墨水即可建立连接——

to preserve this very short moment of inspiration.

紧握住这个电光石火间的灵感。

And the great lesson there

我最大的收获就是，

was that the real magic doesn't happen on paper.

真正的魔法不会发生在纸上。

It happens in the mind of the viewer.

它只发生在观众的脑海中。

When your expectations and your knowledge clash with my artistic intentions.

也就是，当你的期望和知识 与我的艺术意图发生碰撞时。

Your interaction with an image,

你与图像的互动，

your ability to read, question, be bothered or bored or inspired

你的阅读、提问、烦恼、厌烦 或受图像启发的

by an image

能力，

is as important as my artistic contribution.

和我的艺术贡献一样重要。

Because that's what turns an artistic statement

因为正是这一点让一种艺术陈述

really, into a creative dialogue.

真正变成了创意对话。

And so, your skill at reading images

所以，你理解图像的能力

is not only amazing,

不仅令人惊叹，

it is what makes my art possible.

也是让我的艺术成为可能的原因。

And for that, I thank you very much.

为此，我非常感谢各位。

(Applause)

（掌声）

(Cheers)

（掌声，站立）

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）