Amanda Williams: Why I turned Chicago's abandoned homes into art | TED

翻译人员: 校对人员: Danyang Luo

I really love color.

我热爱色彩。

我随时随地都在观察色彩。

I notice it everywhere and in everything.

My family makes fun of me

我的家人常常开我的玩笑，

because I like to use colors with elusive-sounding names,

因为我喜欢用名字晦涩的颜色，

like celadon ...

比如青瓷......

(Laughter)

（笑声）

ecru ...

淡褐色......

carmine.

胭脂红。

Now, if you haven't noticed, I am black, thank you --

如果你还没注意到， 我是黑人，是的——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

and when you grow up in a segregated city as I have,

而如果你像我一样 在一个种族分化严重的城市长大，

like Chicago,

像是芝加哥，

you're conditioned to believe that color and race can never be separate.

你会清晰地意识到 肤色和种族是不可分割的。

There's hardly a day that goes by

人们不再关注你的肤色

that somebody is not reminding you of your color.

几乎是不可能的。

Racism is my city's vivid hue.

种族歧视是我家乡的鲜明特色。

Now, we can all agree that race is a socially constructed phenomenon,

大家都知道种族是一种社会现象，

but it's often hard to see it in our everyday existence.

但是日常生活中 人们常常忽视了这一点。

Its pervasiveness is everywhere.

种族特色随处可见。

The neighborhoods I grew up in

在我长大的社区，

were filled with a kind of culturally coded beauty.

充满了各种各样人文景观。

Major commercial corridors were lined with brightly painted storefronts

主要的商业区充满了 颜色鲜艳的招牌，

that competed for black consumer dollars.

来吸引黑人消费者。

The visual mash-ups of corner stores and beauty supply houses,

街上充斥着各色商店的视觉混搭， 街角商铺，美容店，

currency exchanges,

还有货币兑换商店。

are where I actually, inadvertently learned the foundational principles

在这些地方，我不经意间 掌握了一些基本原理，

of something I would later come to know is called color theory.

被称为色彩理论， 这是我后来才发现的。

I can remember being pretty intimidated by this term in college --

我仍记得这个 让我受到惊吓的名字——

color theory.

色彩理论。

All these stuffy old white guys with their treatises

那些沉闷的白人大佬， 他们的论文，

and obscure terminologies.

还有那些朦胧的术语，

I'd mastered each one of their color palettes and associated principles.

我掌握了每一组配色 以及相关的原理。

Color theory essentially boils down to the art and science

色彩理论本质上可以归结于艺术与科学，

of using color to form compositions and spaces.

用颜色来体现布局以及空间。

It's not so complicated.

这并不复杂。

This was my bible in college.

色彩原理就是我大学中的圣经。

Josef Albers posited a theory about the color red,

约瑟夫·阿尔伯斯提出了 一个关于红色的理论，

and it always has stuck with me.

它总是困扰着我。

He argues that the iconic color of a cola can is red,

他说可乐罐的标志性颜色是红色，

and that in fact all of us can agree that it's red

事实上，我们所有人 都认为它是红色的。

but the kinds of reds that we imagine

但是我们每一个人所想的红色

are as varied as the number of people in this room.

都是独一无二的。

So imagine that.

请想象一下。

This color that we've all been taught since kindergarten is primary --

我们从幼儿园就开始 接触基础的颜色——

red, yellow, blue --

红，黄，蓝......

in fact is not primary,

它们其实并不基础，

is not irreducible,

它们可以被简化。

is not objective but quite subjective.

事实上这些颜色是 相对主观而不是相对客观的。

What?

什么？

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Albers called this "relational."

阿尔伯斯管这叫“相关的”。

Relational.

相关的。

And so it was the first time

所以这是我第一次，

that I was able to see my own neighborhood as a relational context.

把我的社区视为一种关系环境。

Each color is affected by its neighbor.

社区影响着每一种颜色，

Each other is affected by its neighbor.

影响着每一个人。

In the 1930s,

上个世纪三十年代，

the United States government created

美国政府建立了

the Federal Housing Administration,

联邦住宅管理局，

which in turn created a series of maps

他们画了一系列的地图，

which were using a color-coding system to determine which neighborhoods

并使用色彩编码系统来决定

哪些人可以收到联邦住房贷款。

should and should not receive federal housing loans.

Their residential security map was its own kind of color palette,

他们在住房安全地图上 所使用的配色十分独特，

and in fact was more influential than all of those color palettes

与我在大学研究的所有配色相比，

that I had been studying in college combined.

这种配色实际上更具有影响力。

Banks would not lend to people who lived in neighborhoods like mine.

银行不会给我们社区的人贷款。

That's me in D86.

我就住在D86区。

Their cartographers were literally coloring in these maps

我们在地图上的颜色

and labeling that color "hazardous."

被标记为”危险“。

Red was the new black,

红色成为黑人的新代表色，

and black neighborhoods were colored.

黑人社区都被标记为了红色。

The problem persists today,

这个问题至今仍存在，

and we've seen it most recently in the foreclosure crisis.

特别是在丧失抵押品赎回权中尤为常见。

In Chicago, this is best symbolized by these Xs

在芝加哥，

that are emblazoned on the fronts of vacated houses

在房子的南面或者西面，

on the South and West Side.

这些空置的房屋上刻着“X”。

The reality is that someone else's color palettes were determining

这些人的配色决定了

my physical and artistic existence.

我存在的意义。

Ridiculous.

无稽之谈。

I decided that I'd create my own color palette

我决定要创造自己独特的颜色，

and speak to the people who live where I do

并与周围的人交流，

and alter the way that color had been defined for us.

去改变用颜色定义我们的方式。

It was a palette that I didn't have to search far for

这是一个我不用过多检索的调色板，

and look for in a treatise,

不需要过多的查找文献，

because I already knew it.

因为我已经知道了。

What kind of painter emerges from this reality?

什么样的画家会从现实中诞生？

What color is urban?

都市是什么颜色的？

What color is ghetto?

贫民窟是什么颜色的？

What color is privilege?

特权是什么颜色的？

What color is gang-related?

帮派是什么颜色的？

What color is gentrification?

贵族是什么颜色的？

What color is Freddie Gray?

弗雷迪·格雷是什么颜色的？ （美籍非裔，因警察暴力去世）

What color is Mike Brown?

迈克·布朗是什么颜色的？ （美籍非裔，被警方枪杀）

Finally, I'd found a way

最终，我找到了一种方法，

to connect my racialized understanding of color

把我对颜色的种族化理解

和我对颜色的理论认知联系起来。

with my theoretical understanding of color.

And I gave birth to my third baby:

所以我创造了第三个理论：

"Color(ed) Theory."

“有色理论”。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

"Color(ed) Theory" was a two-year artistic project

“有色理论”是一个 长达两年的艺术项目。

in which I applied my own color palette to my own neighborhoods

在这个项目中，我用自己的 调色板，用我独特的方式

来装饰社区。

in my own way.

Now, if I walked down 79th Street right now

现在，如果行走在79街上，

and I asked 50 people for the name of the slightly greener shade of cyan,

询问50名路人 “比青色更绿一点的颜色叫什么”，

they would look at me sideways.

他们会很诧异地看着我。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

但如果我说： “超亮（护发素品牌）是什么颜色的？”

But if I say, "What color is Ultra Sheen?" --

oh, a smile emerges,

他们的脸上便会浮出笑容，

stories about their grandmother's bathroom ensue.

关于他们祖母浴室的故事也接踵而至。

I mean, who needs turquoise when you have Ultra Sheen?

当你手头有这种护发素时， 谁会需要青绿色？

Who needs teal when you have Ultra Sheen?

谁会需要蓝绿色？

Who needs ultramarine when you have ...

谁会需要群青，如果你有......

(Audience) Ultra Sheen.

（观众）超亮。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

This is exactly how I derived my palette.

这正是我独特的调色板。

I would ask friends and family

我会问我的朋友和家人，

and people with backgrounds that were similar to mine

以及那些和我背景相似的人，

for those stories and memories.

问起他们的故事和回忆。

The stories weren't always happy

这些故事并不总是愉快的，

but the colors always resonated more than the product itself.

但产品的颜色总比 产品本身更容易引起共鸣。

I took those theories to the street.

我对街道的配色使用了这套理论。

"Ultra Sheen."

”超亮“，

"Pink Oil Moisturizer."

"粉油保湿霜"。

If you're from Chicago, "Harold's Chicken Shack."

如果你来自芝加哥， 你应该知道“哈罗的鸡肉小吃”。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

"Currency Exchange + Safe Passage."

"货币兑换和安全通行证 "，

"Flamin' Red Hots."

"火红的火种"，

"Loose Squares" ...

"松散方格"，

and "Crown Royal Bag."

以及"烈酒装饰袋" 。 （以上为讲者对这些建筑的命名）

I painted soon-to-be-demolished homes

我给许多将要 被拆除的房子上了色，

in a much-maligned area called Englewood.

那些房子在一个 充满非议的地区——恩格尔伍德。

We'd gather up as much paint as I could fit in my trunk,

我们会尽可能在我的卡车上装满油漆，

I'd call my most trusted art homies,

我会叫上我最信任的艺术伙伴，

my amazing husband always by my side,

我的丈夫总会在身边支持我，

and we'd paint every inch of the exteriors in monochromatic fashion.

然后我们会把建筑外的每一寸 都涂上同一种颜色。

I wanted to understand scale in a way that I hadn't before.

我想用一种新的方法去理解比例。

I wanted to apply the colors to the biggest canvas I could imagine ...

我想在最大的画布上上色......

houses.

在房子上上色。

So I'd obsessively drive up and down familiar streets that I'd grown up on,

我在熟悉的街道上来回踱量，

I'd cross-reference these houses with the city's data portal

在城市信息查询处检查

to make sure that they'd been tagged for demolition --

哪些建筑物将被摧毁——

unsalvageable, left for dead.

或已无法修复，或者是死者的故居。

I really wanted to understand what it meant to just let color rule,

我十分想理解被颜色主宰的感觉，

to trust my instincts,

相信直觉，

to stop asking for permission.

停止请求许可。

不询问城市管理员的意见，

No meetings with city officials,

no community buy-in,

不需要社区认同，

just let color rule

让颜色主宰一切。

in my desire to paint different pictures about the South Side.

我想在城南绘制不同的图案。

These houses sit in stark contrast to their fully lined counterparts.

这些房子和它们周围的房屋 形成了鲜明的对比。

We'd paint to make them stand out like Monopoly pieces

在这样的环境中，我们把它们画得像

大富翁的房子一样显眼。

in these environments.

And we'd go on these early Sunday mornings

我们常常在周日上午去，

and keep going until we ran out of that paint or until someone complained.

一直到油漆用完或有人投诉。

"Hey, did you paint that?"

”嘿，你在给那个房屋上色吗？？

a driver asked as I was taking this image one day.

某一天我在拍这张图片的时候， 一个司机问我。

Me, nervously:

我紧张地回答道：

"Yes?"

“是的。”

His face changed.

他的脸色瞬间变了。

"Aw, I thought Prince was coming."

“噢，我以为王子（Prince R. Nelson， 美国著名音乐家）要来了。”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

He had grown up on this block,

他从小在这附近长大，

and so you could imagine when he drove past

你可以想象当他开车经过的时候，

and saw one of its last remaining houses mysteriously change colors overnight,

看到为数不多的老房子 在一夜之间神奇地改变了颜色，

it was clearly not a Crown Royal bag involved,

这显然不是因为眼花了，

it was a secret beacon from Prince.

这可能是来自王子的秘密信号。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And though that block was almost all but erased,

尽管那个街区几乎要被拆掉了，

it was the idea that Prince could pop up in unexpected places

但王子仍可能会突然出现在 意想不到的地方，

and give free concerts in areas that the music industry and society

在音乐产业和社会都认为 不再有价值的区域，

had deemed were not valuable anymore.

举办免费音乐会，

For him,

对他而言，

the idea that just the image of this house

仅仅是这座房子的图片

was enough to bring Prince there

就足以吸引王子前来。

meant that it was possible.

这意味着万事皆有可能。

In that moment,

在那一瞬间，

that little patch of Eggleston had become synonymous with royalty.

埃格尔斯顿的一小部分 已经成为皇室的代名词。

And for however briefly,

简单来讲，

Eric Bennett's neighborhood had regained its value.

埃里克·班纳特的社区 已经恢复了价值。

So we traded stories despite being strangers

所以虽然我们是陌生人， 但是我们互相交换了故事，

about which high school we'd gone to

我们谈论了曾经念过的高中，

and where we'd grown up,

从小生长的地方，

还有一家

and Mrs. So-and-so's candy store --

of being kids on the South Side.

在芝加哥南边的糖果店。

And once I revealed

一旦我表示

that in fact this project had absolutely nothing to do with Prince,

这个项目和王子 一点关系都没有时，

埃里克似乎是同意的，

Eric nodded in seeming agreement,

and as we parted ways and he drove off,

但当我们分开的时候，

he said, "But he could still come!"

他仍坚持，“王子还是有可能会来”。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

He had assumed full ownership of this project

他声明了这个项目的所有权，

and was not willing to relinquish it,

并且不愿意放弃这个观点，

even to me, its author.

甚至对我这个创作者 也持有这个态度。

That, for me, was success.

那对我而言就是成功的。

I wish I could tell you that this project transformed the neighborhood

我希望我可以告诉你们 这个项目改变了社区，

and all the indices that we like to rely on:

用那些我们依赖的指数：

increased jobs, reduced crime, no alcoholism --

新增工作岗位，犯罪率降低， 没有人酗酒——

但事实上，它更灰暗。

but in fact it's more gray than that.

"Color(ed) Theory" catalyzed new conversations

“有色理论”促进了

about the value of blackness.

关于黑人的价值新的讨论。

"Color(ed) Theory" made unmistakably visible the uncomfortable questions

“有色理论”明确地指出 令人不适的问题，

that institutions and governments have to ask themselves

那些组织和政府必须问问自己的问题，

about why they do what they do.

他们为什么要这样做。

They ask equally difficult questions of myself and my neighborhood counterparts

他们问我们难以回答的问题，

about our value systems

关于我们的价值体系，

and what our path to collective agency needs to be.

以及我们通往 集体组织的方式。

Color gave me freedom in a way that didn't wait for permission

色彩给了我喘息的空间， 不需要得到许可，

or affirmation or inclusion.

也不需要肯定和包容。

Color was something that I could rule now.

色彩是我可以自己主宰的东西。

One of the neighborhood members and paint crew members said it best

我的邻居兼上色伙伴 曾经说过一句很在理的话，

when he said, "This didn't change the neighborhood,

“这些行为没有改变我们的社区，

it changed people's perceptions about what's possible for their neighborhood,"

它”——或多或少——“改变了

in big and small ways.

人们对我们的看法。“

Passersby would ask me, "Why are you painting that house

路人可能会问我： “为什么你要给这些房子上色呢？

when you know the city's just going to come and tear it down?"

政府马上就要拆了它们。”

At the time, I had no idea,

那时候，我往往没有答案，

I just knew that I had to do something.

我只知道我应该做些什么。

I would give anything to better understand color as both a medium

我愿意付出一切 为了更好地理解

and as an inescapable way that I am identified in society.

作为一种媒介 和我定义社会的方式的颜色。

If I have any hope of making the world better,

如果我对美好的世界抱有希望，

I have to love and leverage both of these ways that I'm understood,

我必须热爱和利用 这两种我理解的方式，

and therein lies the value and the hue.

那就是价值和色彩。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause and cheers)

（掌声）