How to Unleash Your Inner Maximalist Through Costume | Machine Dazzle | TED

翻译人员: Koala Wu

Hello, I am Machine Dazzle,

你们好，我是 Machine Dazzle

and I am an emotionally-driven,

我是一位感性，

instinct-based conceptual artist, designer and musician.

基于直觉的概念艺术家、设计师和音乐家。

Today I'm going to talk about the power of transformation

今天我要谈论一种变革的力量

through the sacred ritual of costume.

产生于神圣的服装仪式。

With the help of my friend Matty Crosland.

我的朋友玛蒂·克罗斯兰 （Matty Crosland）会帮助我。

Matty?

玛蒂？

Oh, hey, girl.

嘿，姑娘。

(Laughs)

（笑声）

Matty is going to hand out a few seeds of possibility while I continue.

玛蒂将在我的演讲的同时， 分发一些充满可能的种子。

Growing up in Middle America, I wasn't allowed to be who I was.

在美国中部长大的我， 并不被允许做我自己。

I was discouraged from a career in the arts.

在从事艺术方面的职业道路上， 我曾受到劝阻。

When we went to the toy store,

当我们去玩具店的时候，

my two brothers would run to the black and blue aisle

我的两个兄弟会跑到黑色和蓝色的过道

and I would run to the pink aisle.

而我跑向的是粉色过道。

There was a lot of shame surrounding my preference

让我背负许多羞耻的是

for "girls'" toys.

我对 “女孩” 玩具的偏好。

I shoplifted my first Barbie.

我偷走了我的第一个芭比娃娃，

Desperate people do desperate things.

这是绝望的人会做出的绝望的事。

But what was really happening during that time

但正是在那段时间里，

is I was building up a massive reserve of ideas,

我积累了大量的想法、

unrealized desires and dreams.

未实现的欲望和梦想。

And when I bought that one-way ticket to New York,

当我购买了前往纽约的单程机票，

which is the first decision I ever truly made for myself,

真正为自己做出了第一个决定时，

I brought with me that reserve of unrealized dreams, desires and ideas.

我带着那些未实现的梦想、 欲望和想法来到了这里。

And that's when I really started to take risks.

从那时起，我真正开始了冒险。

And I learned about the power of transformation,

我了解到了转变的力量

starting with becoming my true self.

从成为真正的自己开始。

In 2019, I was commissioned by Guggenheim Works and Process to do a show.

在 2019 年，我受古根海姆博物馆 “Works and Process” 项目

委托做一个时装秀。

I knew immediately that I wanted to make a show about my mother, Deborah.

我立刻就知道我想做的是 关于我母亲黛博拉的时装秀。

Here she is, printed on my dress.

在这里，她被印在我的裙子上。

It was the '60s, the bouffant, the cat-eye frames.

上世纪 60 年代的蓬蓬头，猫眼镜框。

Maybe some of you remember.

你们当中有些人可能会记得。

Sadly, I lost my mother in 1996 to cancer.

不幸的是，我的母亲 于 1996 年因癌症去世。

So in her honor, I created a rock and roll cabaret.

所以为了纪念她，我创作了 一个摇滚歌舞卡巴莱。

It features songs that I wrote and sang about her,

它收录了我为她写的歌曲，

my relationship with her and my self-actualization.

歌颂了我与她的关系、 还有我的自我实现。

It is called "Treasure,"

它就叫做《宝藏》（“Treasure”）

and you can listen to it on your favorite streaming service.

你可以在你最喜欢的 流媒体平台上听到它。

In fact, I just released the first dance track from it.

事实上，我刚刚发布了其中的第一首舞曲

It's called "Understand," and if you like to wiggle your peach,

它叫做《理解》（“Understand”）， 如果你们喜欢扭动的话，

then you should look it up.

应该去搜索听听看。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

My opening outfit, I created this big '60s bouffant.

我打造了一个很大的 60 年代 蓬蓬造型作为开场服装。

It is made out of about 2,500 metallic pipe cleaners.

它是由大约 2500 个金属管道 清洁器组成的。

Why pipe cleaners?

为什么是管道清洁器呢？

Because wigs are common.

因为假发很常见，

And I like to challenge existing systems

而我喜欢挑战既有的事物体系，

and take risks.

并敢于冒险。

And it is actually quite heavy.

实际上它相当的沉重。

Transformation takes commitment.

转变也是需要承担和投入的。

Did I mention that my work is maximal?

我有没有提到我的作品是极繁主义的？

We are complex beings.

我们是复杂的存在。

We exist in many layers.

我们存在于许多的层面。

Speaking of layers, then I added this swing coat.

说到层次，我还加上了这件摇摆外套。

It's made out of an old American flag camouflaged in paint, dye

它是用一面旧美国国旗制成的， 经过了涂漆、染色，

and adorned with flowers.

并点缀上花朵。

Flowers that I found in the dumpster at the cemetery

这些花朵是我在墓地的垃圾箱里找到的，

where my mother's ashes are buried.

那里葬着我母亲的骨灰。

Yes, people take fake flowers off of the graves,

是的，人们会把假花从坟墓上摘下来，

throw them into the dumpster

扔进垃圾桶，

to put new fake flowers on the graves.

然后再在坟墓上放上新的假花。

I thought it was appropriate.

我认为这很合适。

And so there it is, a source of protection.

因此，它成了一种保护的来源。

On stage, I became not my mother,

在舞台之上，我并没有成为我的母亲，

that wasn't the point.

那并不是重点。

I became a higher version of myself.

重点是我成为了一个更高层次的自己。

Not man, not woman.

不是男人，也不是女人。

Something other.

而是别的。

In this show,

在这场表演中，

I'm hoping to realize all of my dreams and not just mine,

我希望实现的不仅仅是我的所有梦想，

but all of my mother's, too, because she had them.

还有我妈妈的，因为她也 曾经拥有过梦想。

More is more.

多多益善。

One of my -- yes, I wish you could all have them,

是的，我也希望你们每个人 都可以分到一个，

but you know how it is.

但你们懂的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Pom pom on head, look at that.

头上的蓬蓬球，看看那个。

One of my most maximal projects to date is with my favorite collaborator,

迄今为止我最为繁富的项目之一，

是与我最喜欢的合作伙伴 泰勒·麦克（Taylor Mac）一起完成的。

Taylor Mac.

Together with hundreds of others, we created a 24-hour show.

我们和数百人一起 创作了一场 24 小时的演出，

It is called "24 Decades: A History of Popular Music."

它叫做《24 个年代： 流行音乐的历史》。

It premiered in Brooklyn at St. Ann’s Warehouse in 2016.

在 2016 年在布鲁克林的 圣安艺术仓库首演。

It's a 24-hour show.

这是一个 24 小时的演出，

It starts in 1776 and goes to the present day.

从 1776 年开始，一直到现在。

Every hour of the show is dedicated to a different decade in American history.

演出的每一个小时都讲述了 美国历史上不同的年代。

For every decade, I created a costume that is conceptually adjacent,

针对每一个年代，我都设计了 一款概念相近的服装，

not historically accurate.

而非忠于史实的。

Why?

为什么呢？

Because traditional historical costume already exists,

因为传统历史的服装已经存在，

conceptually and otherwise.

无论是概念上还是其他方面。

And I like to break traditions and invent new ones.

而我喜欢打破传统，并开创新的传统。

And when you break an egg,

当你打破一个鸡蛋，

there are countless ways to turn it into something delicious.

会有无数种方法把它变成美味的东西。

So it’s high noon in Brooklyn at St. Ann’s Warehouse.

所以在布鲁克林圣安 艺术仓库的正午时分，

It's the top of the show in 1776,

节目从 1776 年这一部分开始了，

right after we freed ourselves from the British in the United States.

就在我们美国摆脱英国统治后不久。

And inspiration came when I was walking in Brooklyn, where I live.

我的灵感来自于我居住的 布鲁克林的一次散步

I was passing this laundromat.

我经过一家洗衣店，

What were they doing?

他们在干什么？

They were taking down these old, plastic, grand-opening flags.

他们正在拆除一些旧的塑料开业旗帜。

What were they doing?

他们在干什么？

They were putting up new plastic, grand-opening flags.

他们把新的开业旗帜挂了起来。

Well, I snatched them out of the garbage because, you know,

我把它们从垃圾桶里 一把抓起，因为你懂的，

and I noticed how weather-worn and brittle and fragile they were.

我还注意到它们饱经风霜，脆弱不堪，

And I got to thinking about the end of the American Revolution

我开始思考美国革命结束时的情景，

and how tattered

一切有多么破烂不堪

and torn and broken everything must have been.

摇摆不定和支离破碎。

And then it hit me.

然后，灵感出现了。

This costume wants to tell a story.

这件服装想要讲述一个故事。

An illegitimate child of colonialism ran away from home to New Orleans

一个殖民主义的私生子 离家出走，来到新奥尔良

and opened the laundromat called Lou Washery,

并开了自助洗衣店，名叫卢·沃什瑞

and they are celebrating the Grand Overture as the official,

他们正在庆祝盛大的开幕式，

unofficial cheerleader of the original 13 colonies.

作为原始13个殖民地的官方和非官方啦啦队

This is maximalism.

这就是极繁主义。

Not only is it layer upon layer aesthetically,

不仅仅是美学意义上的层层叠加，

it's idea on top of idea conceptually.

从概念上讲也是想法的相互叠加。

It becomes its own story, almost

它成为了自己的故事，

that you can almost read like a book.

你几乎可以像读书一样阅读它。

Well, if history has taught us anything,

如果说历史教会了我们什么，

it's that things change.

那就是世事无常。

Here we are an hour later in the show,

现在我们已经过了一个小时的表演

and it's time for a costume change.

是时候换装了。

An apple pie as a headdress.

一个苹果派作为头饰，

The care and the craft and the smell of home.

体现了关怀、手艺和家的味道

And I put two pipes on Taylor's back,

我在泰勒的背上放了两根管道，

upholstered in a colonial fabric,

并采用殖民时期的布料装饰，

steam was coming out of them at the top of that decade.

在那个时代的巅峰时期，他们的激情正喷薄而出

But you know how it is.

但你知道怎么回事。

And they represent the invention of the steam engine,

蒸汽机的发明代表着西部扩张的开始，

which gave way to westward expansion, for better or for worse.

不管是好是坏。

And then I thought, well, what else was happening?

我接着思考，还发生了什么？

Well, George Washington was president at the time,

乔治华盛顿当时是总统

and I was always kind of into his little cherry tree story of virtue.

我总是很喜欢他那个与美德有关的的小樱花树故事

You know, "I cannot tell a lie, I chopped down that cherry tree."

你们知道的，“我不能说谎，我砍倒了那棵樱桃树。”

And it was the French Revolution across the pond

与此同时，法国大革命正在大西洋彼岸进行。

and the guillotine was like, full on.

断头台正处于全盛时期。

So I was like, "Well, why don't I combine them together?"

于是我就想，为什么不将它们结合起来呢？

And, oh, you know, severed heads in cherry tree drag as garment.

如你所见，樱桃树装扮中拖动着被斩首的头颅

What I'm getting at is, the costume can be so much more than the costume.

我的意思是，服装可以超越它本身的形式

It can be the props, it can be the set, it can tell its own stories,

它可以是道具，可以是舞台布景，可以讲述自己的故事，

it can even be its own character.

甚至可以成为一个独立的角色。

It can be all of it at the same time.

它可以同时扮演所有这些角色。

This kind of maximalism leaves an audience completely satisfied,

这种极繁主义会让观众感到满足，

yet wanting more at the same time.

却又渴望更多。

More is more.

越多越好。

Well, wouldn’t you know, now it’s 7pm at night,

你知道吗，现在是晚上7点，

and it's time for the Civil War.

是内战发生的时候了

I took two distinct inventions from this time to help tell this story.

我从这个时代选取了两项发明来帮助讲述这个故事

I read somewhere once that the American hot dog

我曾在某处读到，美国热狗

evolved out of German immigrants selling their bratwurst and rolls

是在19世纪60年代德国移民在街头卖他们的香肠和面包卷时

on the streets during the 1860s.

演变而来的。

Well, I like that.

我喜欢这个故事。

And then this distinctive barbed wire, you know, barbed wire,

然后，还有那种独特的铁丝网，

a symbol of separation, security, insecurity.

一种分离、安全和不安全的象征。

Well, I wanted to combine the two together.

我想要把这两个结合起来。

In this way of making things,

在这种创造方式中，

I bring order to disorder.

我给混乱带来秩序，

By turning barbed wire into hot dogs,

通过将铁丝网变成热狗，

what I'm trying to do, hopefully, is eat through what is separating us,

我希望吃掉正在分离我们的东西，

in this case, slavery.

也就是奴隶制度。

When you believe in something that is marginalized

当你相信一些被边缘化的、

and goes against the mainstream of society,

与社会主流相悖的东西时，

it is so important that you do it big,

重要的是你要竭尽全力，

bold, brave and unapologetically,

大胆、勇敢、毫不后悔地去做，

truly.

衷心地去做。

OK, well, here we are after the war again.

好了，战争结束后，

It’s time for Reconstruction.

我们又来到了复兴时期。

And, you know, how about the invention of the typewriter?

你知道打字机的发明吗？

I love the way this piece wiggles as Taylor clicks across the stage.

我喜欢这件作品在泰勒走过舞台时的摇摆样子。

And then the introduction of dynamite and toilet paper on rolls,

然后还有炸药和卷筒厕纸的引入,

how domestic!

多么家庭化啊！

Well, I took those empty toilet paper rolls,

我拿那些空的厕纸卷芯，

and I painted them to look like sticks of dynamite and boom --

把它们涂成看起来像炸药棒的样子，嘭——

headdress, hello.

头饰诞生了，你好吗？

You know, why not?

你知道，为什么不呢？

Well, here we are.

好了

Now, we've been performing all night.

我们已经表演了一整夜。

We're tired.

我们累了。

It’s 10am.

现在是上午10点。

It's the 1980s.

20 世纪 80 年代。

Just in time for the AIDS pandemic.

正好赶上艾滋病流行时期。

Taylor wears two white, high-heeled shoes sprinkled with little green pom poms.

泰勒穿着两只白色高跟鞋，上面有绿色的小绒球

They look like clown shoes,

它们看起来像小丑鞋，

but they represent the white blood cells being attacked by HIV.

但它们代表着被艾滋病毒攻击的白细胞。

This collaboration, this "24-Decade History of Popular Music,"

这次合作，这个“24年代流行音乐史”

took maximalism and "more is more" to a whole new level.

将极繁主义和“越多越好”的理念推向了一个全新的高度。

I have to say,

我不得不说，

through the music, the storytelling

通过音乐和叙事

and the transformative nature of the costumes,

还有服装的变革性本质

we changed the course of queer history.

我们改变了酷儿历史的进程。

And if nothing else,

别的不说，

it sure is fun to pull an all-nighter

换上 24 种服装熬个通宵

with 24 costume changes.

还挺好玩的。

Well, here we are.

好了，我们到了这里。

This is an image of me on the streets of New York City

这是我几年前在纽约市的街头

at the Easter Bonnet Parade several years ago.

复活节帽子巡游上的照片。

I am a fan of taking my art to the streets.

我喜欢将我的艺术带到街头。

But I have to tell you,

但是我要告诉你，

it takes a little bit of courage to dress like this in public,

在公共场合穿着这样的服装需要一点勇气，

particularly these days.

尤其是现在。

Just about every part of my creative ethos is under attack

我目前的创作理念

in the United States right now.

在美国几乎都受到了威胁。

On first glance, you might see an over-the-top outfit

乍一看，你可能会看到一套过分夸张的服装

on a Sunday, in black and white and pink.

在一个星期天里身穿黑白和粉色的装束

But upon closer inspection,

但仔细一看，

you'll see the details, the skull peeking out,

你会看到细节，骷髅偷偷露出来

the skeletal hand creeping out of the innocent plush animals on my head.

骷髅手从我头上天真无邪的毛绒动物伸出来

I once had my Easter bonnet ripped right off of my head

有一次，我的复活节帽子被人从头上扯下来

in front of St. Patrick's Cathedral.

就在圣帕特里克大教堂前。

Not this one.

不是这个帽子。

I don't think they would dare.

我想他们不敢这么做。

Sometimes, I think

有时候我认为

that life is about overcoming all of your greatest fears.

生活就是要克服自己所有最大的恐惧。

Life itself is how you go about that.

生活本身就是你如何应对的方式。

I go all the way.

我会全力以赴。

I do the work.

我会付出努力。

There is no happiness that I know

除非我在冒险，否则我不知道什么是幸福。

unless I am risking something.

The only true happiness that I know

我所知道的唯一真正的幸福

comes from this sense of accomplishment,

来自于冒险的成就感。

by taking the risk.

Well, here I am again on the streets of New York,

我又回到了纽约的街头，

this time for the Reclaim Pride March back in 2019 again.

这次是参加2019年 “重拾骄傲”的游行。

A good friend gave me really good advice once.

一位好朋友曾经给了我很好的建议

"Machine,

“Machine,

it's never too early to be pre-revolutionary,

成为革命先锋永远不会太早

and it's never too late to be post-apocalyptic chic."

成为后末日的时尚永远不会太迟”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Sometimes this course of action,

有时候这样的行动，

this transformation, is the most honest action that you can take.

这种转变是你所能采取的最诚实的的行动

You owe yourself honesty.

你应该对自己诚实。

I consider it a prayer.

我把它当作是一种祈祷。

Today, after all, is a placeholder for what's coming tomorrow.

毕竟，今天只是明天即将到来的事情的占位符

By becoming other, you avoid labels.

成为他人，你就能避免被贴上标签。

You can change someone's life just by walking across the room

你只需走过这个房间，就能改变一个人的生活。

because you are changing what is possible in their minds.

因为你在改变他们心中的可能性。

Be more.

做得更多，

You will get more out of life.

你会从生活中获得更多。

And not just for you, for everyone around you.

不仅仅是为了你自己， 也是为了你身边的每一个人。

I'm telling you,

我告诉你，

that is the Gospel truth.

这就是福音真理。

Another thing I wanted to say,

还有一件事我想说，

this collective land of make-believe that we are in right now,

我们现在身处的这块虚构的集体土地，

this is very fertile,

是一个非常肥沃，

very creative space where anything is possible.

极具创意的空间，这里一切皆有可能。

Matty, let's bring it home.

玛蒂，让我们来看一下

(Music: "Miss Object of Desire" by Machine Dazzle)

（音乐：Machine Dazzle《欲望对象小姐》）

Mother, I want to be Miss Object of Desire

妈妈，我想成为欲望对象小姐

A walking dream, a Phoenix lips of fire

一个行走的梦，一个凤凰般的火焰之唇

Strange reflection in the perfumed air

芬芳空气中的陌生影像

Changing faces till she settles where a memory vibrates

不断变换着面孔，直到她在震颤的记忆中安顿下来

Liberation

解放

(Applause)

（掌声）

(Music continues) Broken glass and my dress is torn

（音乐继续）破碎的玻璃和我被撕破的的裙子

Screaming in silence

在沉默中尖叫

Thank you.

谢谢

(Laughs)

（笑）

(Music continues)

（音乐继续）

(Applause)

（掌声）

Mother, I want to be Miss Object of desire

妈妈，我想成为欲望对象小姐

A walking dream, a Phoenix lips of fire

一个行走的梦，一个凤凰般的火焰之唇