Life Is Hard. Art Helps | Liana Finck | TED

翻译人员: Jia Z 校对人员: Yanyan Hong

The ways of the world often baffle me.

世界的运行方式常常令我困惑。

I sometimes wonder if I missed the memo about the most basic things.

有时我会想， 我是否忽略了最基本的什么事情。

What are you supposed to make for dinner?

你晚餐应该做什么？

What do you talk about in an elevator?

你在电梯里都聊些什么？

Why do people cut in line?

人们为什么要插队？

How do you leave a dinner party without being rude?

离开晚宴是如何不失礼？

Or do you leave it all?

还是说都放任不管？

["Why are you still here?"]

[“你为什么还在这儿？”]

(Laughter)

（笑声）

My tendency to see the world like I'm from outer space

我看待世界的方式好似我来自外太空，

was a bit of a liability when I was a kid.

从儿时起，就变成了我的负担。

True story.

真实的故事。

["What's a noogie?"]

[“什么是“摸头杀”？”]

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But it's been helpful in my career.

但这对我的职业生涯很有帮助。

I'm a cartoonist.

我是一名漫画家。

When I first started making cartoons for The New Yorker about a decade ago,

大约十年前，当我第一次开始 为《纽约客》画漫画时，

I kept my ideas light and quirky.

我的想法轻松又古怪。

And please shout out if you don't get any of them,

如果你看不懂任何一幅漫画， 请大声喊出来，

I'll explain.

我会解释的。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

["The synchronized swim team quits"]

[“花样游泳队退场”]

I didn't draw anything too personal.

我没有画任何太私人的东西。

["Unicorns do exist!"]

[“独角兽确实存在！”]

I mean, personal for someone.

我的意思是，对某人来说是私人的。

I figured I was too specific,

我感觉我画得太具体了，

too hard to relate to and read, possibly, too female.

太难以理解和阅读，可能太女性化了。

It took a breakup.

这经历过一次分手。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

["I know there would be a time

[“我知道总有一天

I could wear them without destroying my feet."]

我可以不伤脚地穿着它们。”]

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It took a breakup to get me to start drawing more autobiographically.

经历了一次分手，我开始画更多的自传。

The pain I was feeling, although objectively pretty run of the mill,

虽然很平常，但是我无法忽视

was impossible to ignore.

我感受上的伤痛。

[Tunnel of love]

[爱情隧道]

I knew that drying was my strongest problem-solving tool.

我知道绘画是我解决问题的最强工具。

So I decided to diagram what I was going through.

所以我决定用图画来解释 我正在经历的事情。

[Tunnel of love. Just kidding. Wall of death.]

[爱情隧道。开玩笑啦。 此路不通。]

(Laughter)

（笑声）

By making these drawings, I could see how my ex and I had hurt each other.

通过画这些图，我可以看到 我和我的前任如何互相伤害。

And move on.

并继续前进。

Onto other breakups.

再到更多次的分手。

["Again?" Pit of despair]

[“又来？” 绝望的深渊]

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Drawing from my own life was a revelation to me,

对我来说，从我生活中汲取灵感，

not only because it helped me understand myself better,

不仅帮助我更好地了解自己，

but because it made me see for the first time

还让我第一次看到

that people could relate to me.

人们可以与我产生共鸣。

Now that I had this amazing tool,

现在我有了这个神奇的工具，

there were so many problems I wanted to solve with it.

我想用它解决很多问题。

The problem of scheduling.

日程安排的问题。

[Work | Family / Friends]

[工作 | 家人/朋友]

The problem of too many things happening all at the same time.

太多事情同时发生的问题。

[ "I'm having a birthday party! "I'm visiting New York!"]

[“我要开生日派对！“我要去纽约！”]

The problem, relatedly, of time.

与时间相关的问题。

[Childhood / now]

[童年/现在]

And finally, dating again.

直到最后，再次约会。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

There's an endless amount to say about dating.

关于约会的话题，永无止境。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

There are, of course, problems

当然，有些问题

that can't be summed up in a single drawing.

是无法用一张画来概括的。

For these problems, you need many drawings.

对于这些问题，你需要画很多画。

One more complex problem I have is with God.

我遇到的一个更复杂的问题与上帝有关。

I'm Jewish, so I'm talking about the God of the Old Testament.

我是犹太人，所以 我谈论的是《旧约》中的上帝。

My problem with God isn't actually a big problem.

我与上帝的问题实际上 并不是一个大问题。

It's just, I don't know, it's stayed with me.

我不知道，但它一直伴随着我。

My problem with God is that he's too confident.

我与上帝的问题是他太自信了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

For me, creation is an act of solving problems,

对我来说，创作是一种解决问题、

of figuring things out.

弄清楚事情的行为。

God already seems to have everything figured out.

上帝似乎已经把一切都弄清楚了。

He strikes me as more of a king than a creator.

他给我的印象更像是一位国王， 而不是一位造物主。

And I'm not sure you can be both.

我不确定你能两者兼而有之。

As an experiment,

作为一项实验，

I decided to remake the Book of Genesis as a graphic novel.

我决定将《创世记》改编成图画小说。

My version of God is not confident.

我这个版本的上帝并不自信。

And maybe not coincidentally,

也许并非巧合，

she's a woman.

她是一位女性。

It surprised me how few changes I needed to make to the original text,

惊喜的是，我只需对松散且古老的文本，

which is sparse and ancient and lends itself well to interpretation.

做些小改动就能使它们通俗易懂。

For example,

例如，

the Bible opens in this mysterious, moody way

《圣经》以这种神秘、 喜怒无常的方式开始，

with God floating aimlessly on the face of a dark, mysterious void.

上帝漫无目的地漂浮在黑暗、 神秘的虚空之上。

In my version, I have her floating this way

在我的版本中，我让她这样漂浮着，

because she's feeling despondent about her limitations as an artist.

因为她对自己 作为艺术家的局限性感到绝望。

She's made this messy, wet, mixed up dark first drafts of the world,

她绘制了这个杂乱、潮湿、 混乱的黑暗世界的初稿，

and she just doesn't know where to go from here.

而她只是不知道接下来该去哪里。

My version of God doesn't know exactly what she's doing,

我这版的上帝并不知道她在做什么，

but she draws a horizon line, and things start to fall into place.

但她划出了一条地平线， 一切开始步入正轨。

She banishes Adam and Eve from the Garden of Eden,

她将亚当和夏娃逐出伊甸园，

not because they disobeyed her,

不是因为他们违背了她的命令，

but because, by eating the apple and becoming wise,

而是因为他们吃了苹果而变得聪明，

she feels they have outgrown the world she created for them,

她觉得他们已经 超越了她为他们创造的世界，

and she needs to let them go.

她需要让他们走出去。

She scatters the builders of the Tower of Babel,

她驱散了巴别塔的建造者，

not because she's threatened by their power,

不是因为她受到他们权力的威慑，

but because, like any introvert,

而是因为，与其他内向的人一样，

she needs her privacy.

她需要自己的隐私。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

When she destroys the world in the story of Noah,

当她在诺亚的故事中毁灭世界时，

it's not because she's incensed with mankind,

并不是因为她对人类感到愤怒，

but because she's incensed with herself.

而是因为她对自己感到愤怒。

She knows she could have done a better job when she made us.

她知道当她创造我们时， 她本可以做得更好。

My adaptation of the Book of Genesis

我对《创世记》的改编

is a creation story full of false starts and absurdities.

是一个充满错误开始和荒谬的创世故事。

But it's a creation story all the same.

但这仍然是一个创世故事。

One in which a self-conscious woman,

一个有自我意识的女人，

even though she worries and makes mistakes,

尽管她担心并犯错，

is nonetheless a successful, committed artist.

但仍然是一位成功、专注的艺术家。

When I finished my book,

当我完成这本书时，

I did feel a new connection to the God of the Torah

我确实感受到与托拉之神有了新的连结，

and a new sense of belonging to my religion.

感到对我的宗教有了新的归属感。

I also felt a new sense of belonging,

我也感受到了新的归属感。

period.

就这样。

It's lonely being someone who has no idea how to act normal.

作为一个不知道如何表现正常的人 是孤独的。

But it's profoundly less lonely being that person

但在一个同样尴尬、自我意识强的

in a world created for her

上帝为她创造的世界里，

by an equally awkward, self-conscious God.

她的孤独感要少得多。

These days,

现在，

when I worry that I won't know what to make for dinner,

当我担心我不知道晚餐做什么时，

I remind myself that God wouldn't know either.

我提醒自己上帝也不知道。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

This picture is giving me anxiety.

这幅画让我感到焦虑。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It's like, literally, I drew it from life.

就像我从生活中画出来的一样。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

This gives me the confidence

这让我有信心

to embrace my cluelessness and just wing it.

接受自己的无知，并即兴发挥。

Thank you, thank you so much.

谢谢，非常感谢。

(Cheers and applause)

（欢呼和掌声）