R. Alan Brooks: When the world is burning, is art a waste of time? | TED

Transcriber:

翻译人员: Coco Hua 校对人员: Yan Li Xiao

我在佐治亚州的亚特兰大市长大， 我不认识很多白人，

但是我是在一个被白人至上 主义阴影笼罩下的

I grew up in Atlanta, Georgia, and I didn't know very many white people,

一个南方黑人教堂长大的。

那是一个黑人运营的教堂，

他们被教着去讨厌他们自己。

but I was raised in a Southern Black church

that was under the shadow of white supremacy

抚养我长大的这代人的记忆 对绞刑还是依旧熟悉。

and run by Black people

who in many ways were taught to hate themselves.

所以为了不让自己 被种族主义者杀害，

The generation that raised me was still familiar with lynchings.

在我这代之前的黑人们

学会了让自己看起来不起眼一点。

So in order to not be murdered by racists,

我们不能太大声，

some of the Black people in the generation before me

太聪明，太引人注目，太勇敢。

learned to make themselves smaller.

一定程度上，他们觉得

去做任何令我们突出的事情

We couldn't be too loud,

too smart, too attractive, too bold.

都会引来杀身之祸。

On some level, they felt

在这样一种时代下，我出现了，

like anything that we did that made us stand out

这个会说唱的，

might get us murdered.

爱 “怪人奥尔” 扬科维奇

和读漫画书的全 A 优等生。

In the midst of that, I emerged,

this straight-A student who rapped,

仅仅是为了试图 让自己显得不出众一点。

loved "Weird Al" Yankovic

所以我身边的大人 经常打压我的艺术性。

and read comic books.

So much for not standing out.

对他们来说，漫画书才是

对世界懵懂的小孩子该追求的。

So the grownups around me regularly discouraged my artistry.

他们告诉我艺术是愚蠢的，

然后我会经历一些 关于现实世界的教训。

To them, comic books were the pursuit of a kid

who didn't really understand the world.

They told me that art was silly

那时候，我只有一个 喜欢漫画书的朋友，

and I was in for some hard lessons about the real world.

但他还去了另一所学校。

所以在我 11 岁左右时，

我们俩去了我们人生中 第一个漫画书展览会。

Back then, I only had one other friend who was into comic books

他们几乎没见过黑人小孩子去那里，

and he went to a different school.

所以一个白人大人 错把我带到了保安那里

So when I was around 11,

he and I went to our very first comic book convention.

然后给我看了他的入场证。

They were so unused to seeing Black kids there,

记得，我那时 11 岁。

that one grown white man mistook me for security

但是我和我朋友爱这些展览。

and showed me his convention badge in order to get in.

终于，我们有另一个人 可以聊一些重要的问题，

Remember, I was 11.

比如，为什么绿巨人 总穿紫色的裤子？

But me and my friend loved these conventions.

在那之后一年左右 每一秒的空闲时间里，

Finally, we had other people to talk to about the important questions,

我和那个朋友都在积极地画漫画书。

like, why does the Hulk always wear purple pants?

他爸爸发现了这件事后 和我们在客厅里坐下。

About a year or so later with every free moment that we had

me and that same friend were actively drawing comic books.

他爱我们，于是他决定是 时候和我们说清楚了。

His father took notice of this and he sat us down in the living room.

他说：“你们两个喜欢 这些漫画书，这很好，

He loved us both, and he decided it was time to set us straight.

但是你们需要选一个认真的职业，

一个可以养活你们 自己和家人的职业。

He said, "It's great that you two love these comic books,

凭漫画书是做不到的。”

but you need to pick a serious profession,

我朋友的爸爸不是 故意要伤害我们的。

something that's going to take care of you and your families.

他是为了使我们为现实世界做准备，

And you’re not going to be able to do that with comic books.”

本质上我的父母也有着同样的恐惧。

My friend's father wasn't trying to hurt us.

就是作为一个黑人艺术家 会让我变得出众，

He was trying to prepare us for the world

我也可能因此被种族主义者谋杀。

and underneath that was this fear that was shared by my own parents.

这其实不是一个很跳跃的想法。

That being a Black artist would make me stand out

我的父母生在 1950 年代，

and that I might be murdered by racists.

And it's not like that was a far jump.

在 1955 年，一个白人女人 控告一个 14 岁的男孩对她吹口哨。

My parents were born in the early 50s.

他是个黑人，

所以只因为她的控告，

In 1955, a white woman accused a 14-year-old boy of whistling at her.

两个成年白人将他残忍地杀害了。

这些人始终没有被送进监狱。

He was Black

这个男孩的名字是 爱默特·提尔 （Emmett Till）。

and two grown white men brutally murdered him

just for her accusation.

所以我的父母成长于一个

仅凭一个对白人 女人吹口哨的控告

These men never went to prison.

The boy's name was Emmett Till.

就可以引来一个黑人男孩 残忍的杀身之祸的时代。

So my parents grew up in a time

where just the accusation of whistling at a white woman

作为一个波西米亚的有艺术气的小伙子， 他们怎能不会担心我变得太出众呢？

could get a Black boy brutally murdered.

所以作为一个黑人艺术家， 我问过我自己：

So why wouldn't they be concerned about me standing out as some bohemian artsy dude?

当世界好像陷入了危机的时候， 艺术真的值得吗？

So as a Black artist, I've had to ask myself:

when the world seems like it's burning, is art really worth it?

我长大后做了些正经的工作， 同时也在拿艺术当副业。

让我告诉你关于 我最正经的那份工作。

I grew up and I worked serious jobs and did art on the side.

我运营了一家保险公司，

我知道你们目前对我的了解

Let me tell you about the most serious job that I ever worked.

好像都在告诉你们 我是一个保险代理。

可以预料的事，我讨厌那份工作。

I ran an insurance agency

and I know everything that you've learned about me so far

所以几年之后，我违反了我人生中听过 的所有明智的建议，

screams insurance agent.

Predictably, I hated that job.

我决定关掉我的保险公司 然后开始试着写漫画小说。

So after a few years and against all the wise advice I heard in my life,

我希望去讲我热爱的那些社会问题。

I decided to close my insurance agency and try my hand at writing graphic novels.

像警察暴力执法， 性别歧视，种族歧视那些。

I wanted to address the social issues that I was passionate about.

但是坦白讲，

我离开那个正经的保险工作

Police brutality, sexism, racism, that kind of thing.

是为了画漫画书。

But to make it clear,

I was leaving the serious insurance job

你知道的，艺术，

一个愚蠢的东西，

in order to pursue writing comic books.

尤其是放在一个 专注于谋杀我的世道里。

You know, art,

which is silly,

那是在 2016 年，

especially in the face of a world that seemed dedicated to murdering me.

有这么一个真人秀 主持人要竞选总统。

你们可能从来没听说过他，

但是当时世界各地都开始 有令人不安的事情发生。

This was 2016

and there was this reality show host running for president.

纳粹们更大胆了。

You guys probably never heard of him,

人们对他们的种族主义 感到没那么羞耻，

仇恨犯罪逐渐产生。

but there were all these disturbing things arising in the world.

作为回应，

Nazis were feeling bolder.

我的黑人和棕色人种朋友们 组织了公众抗议和抵制。

People were feeling less shame about their racism,

hate crimes arising.

我很多的自由派白人朋友每周末 都去美国国会大厦游行示威。

In response,

my Black and Brown friends organize public protest and boycotts.

但我想着写一本漫画。

A lot of my liberal white friends were marching on the Capitol every weekend.

我是在犯傻吗？

在做无用功吗？

And I wanted to write a comic book.

我从没靠艺术养活过自己，

而现在我就把工作辞了，

Was I being silly?

尤其是当世界好像在瓦解的时候。

Vain?

I never made a living off of art before

艺术是愚蠢的，对吗？

我纠结了一段时间。

and now I just quit my job

所以我用了一个月的时间 第一次去英国旅行。

when it seemed like the world was falling apart.

这次旅行我很紧张， 因为我是一个人旅行。

Art is silly, right?

I struggled with this for a while.

我也不知道这些国家的人

So I took a month to travel in the UK for the first time.

对黑人的看法是怎样的，

但是我去了柏林， 布拉格，布达佩斯，

I was nervous about this trip because I was traveling alone.

And I didn't know how people in these countries

还有这个叫梅尔克舍姆的英国小镇。

felt about Black people,

在柏林，我和那里最大的漫画书

but I went to Berlin, Prague, Budapest,

连锁商店老板坐在一起。

and this tiny British town called Melksham.

我们讲了在他小时候， 他最喜欢的英雄是美国队长，

In Berlin, I sat down with the owner

of the biggest comic book store chain there.

但是他从没有读过 那部漫画的某一些期

And we talked about how as a kid, his favorite hero was Captain America,

因为在那些书里， 美国队长在打纳粹。

而任何关于纳粹的东西 在德国都是被禁止的，

but certain issues of that comic book he never got to read as a kid

哪怕他们是在被打败。

because Captain America was fighting Nazis in those books.

那我们想想：

And nothing with Nazis was allowed in Germany,

在德国，

纳粹是被完全禁止的

even if they were getting beat up.

So let's think about that for a moment.

与此同时在美国，

我们为背叛我们国家的 同盟者树立了雕像。

In Germany,

Nazis were banished from everything

总之，我想到了这个人，

这个在德国长大的，

while here in the States,

we've erected statues to Confederates who betrayed our country.

但是爱着美国偶像的故事的粉丝。

Anyway, I thought about this man,

于是我意识到了一部写得好 的漫画书或漫画小说

this comic book fan who grew up in Germany,

but fell in love with the story of an American icon.

可以被世界另一端的人看到。

And I realized a well-written comic book or graphic novel

我想到了革命，

无论什么时候社会需要改变，

could reach someone all the way across the world.

那个改变都是至少在 某种程度上受艺术家影响的。

And I thought about revolution,

how whenever society needs to change,

我想到独裁者们和暴君们是 如何经常地谋杀和败坏艺术家们的。

that change is inspired at least in part by the artist.

希特勒的人专门发明了一个词 去败坏艺术家们的名声：

I thought about how dictators and despots regularly murder and discredit artists.

“堕落艺术”。

他们烧毁了书和画。

Hitler's people came up with a term specifically to discredit artists:

但是为什么，

为什么纳粹党的领导者们 专心致力于消灭艺术呢？

degenerate art.

They were burning books and paintings.

But why,

如果艺术真的没有力量，

why were the leaders of the Nazi party

如果真的在是愚蠢的浪费时间的话，

dedicating their attention to destroying art?

那么为什么独裁者们害怕它呢？

If art really has no power,

为什么纳粹们要烧毁书和画呢？

if it's really a silly waste of time,

为什么麦卡锡在 1950 年代 那么一心要把艺术家列入黑名单呢？

then why are dictators afraid of it?

为什么斯大林的政府那么专注于 审查在俄罗斯的艺术家呢？

Why were Nazis burning books and paintings?

Why was McCarthy so dedicated to blacklisting artists in the 1950s?

因为艺术使独裁者畏惧。

Why was Stalin's government so focused on censoring artists in Russia?

因为他们明白这个

我纠结了一生去弄懂的事情。

艺术是强大的。 艺术是重要的。

Because art scares dictators.

艺术可以改变 整个世界的心灵和思想。

Because they understood something

that I've been struggling to understand my entire life.

在 1894 年，俄罗斯作家列夫·托尔斯泰 (Leo Tolstoy) 写了《天国在你们心中》。

Art is powerful. Art is important.

Art can change hearts and minds all the way across the world.

这是一本提倡非暴力的书。

In 1894, Russian author, Leo Tolstoy wrote "The Kingdom of God Is Within You".

1920 年代，圣雄甘地 （Mahatma Gandhi） 将托尔斯泰的书列为

It's a book that advocates for nonviolence.

对他人生产生的最重要 的影响的三本书其一。

In the 1920s, Mahatma Gandhi listed Tolstoy's book

托尔斯泰启发了甘地。

as one of the three most important influences in his life.

那你知道甘地启发了谁吗？

So Tolstoy inspired Gandhi.

马丁·路德·金。

所以如果托尔斯泰 从没有写他的书的话，

And you know who Gandhi inspired?

美国的民权运动会 发生怎样的变化呢？

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

So how would the civil rights movement in America have changed

托尔斯泰的书启发了 人们去真正改变了世界。

if Tolstoy had never written his book?

Would I even be here talking to you now?

在民权运动中，

Tolstoy's book made real changes in the world by inspiring people.

黑人会手拉手的站在一起

被警察和警犬攻击

During the civil rights struggle,

同时唱着福音歌。

Black people would stand hand in hand

as police and dogs attacked us

那些歌，

是艺术激励了这些人，

and we'd sing gospel songs.

并帮助了他们渡过难关。

Those songs,

行动主义是我们改变世界的方式。

that art inspired these people

也有不同参与行动主义的方式。

and it helped them make it through.

艺术是我的方式。

Activism is how we change the world.

And there are different ways to engage in activism.

所以我回到了美国，

And for me, that way is art.

然后写了关于我之前提出了所有问题：

警察暴力执法， 性别主义，种族主义。

So I came back to the States

and I wrote about all those issues that I mentioned before:

坦白讲，我不知道这个世界 能如何从我这里得到它。

the police brutality, the sexism, the racism.

我只知道我再也不想把 我的生命花在我不在乎的事情上了。

Honestly, I didn't know how the world was going to receive it from me.

所以我雇了一位漫画家，

I just knew that I was tired of giving my life

我开始了众筹

to things that I didn't care about.

然后我的漫画小说变成了 《燃烧的节拍器》。

So I hired a comic book artist,

这是一个关于从人类残暴中 吸取魔法能量的异界生物的

I ran a Kickstarter campaign

超自然谋杀推理小说。

and my graphic novel became "The Burning Metronome."

It's a supernatural murder mystery about otherworldly creatures

他们观察人类，

并且给我们机会去 在慈悲和残暴间选择。

who absorb magical power from human cruelty.

They watch human beings

在其中一个故事里， 一个警察有机会去回到过去

and they give us the chance to choose between compassion and cruelty.

去选择不去做他对一个人 使用的不必要的暴力行为。

In one of the stories a police officer has an opportunity to go back

所以我写完这本书 的后结果是什么呢？

and undo a time when he was unnecessarily violent to someone.

我被电视新闻和报纸采访。

大学邀请我去教 他们的研究生写作课。

So what happened as a result of me writing this book?

I was interviewed on TV news, newspapers.

我现在是名教授。

但是更重要的是，

The university invited me to teach writing in their master's program.

我可以触碰到我自己的心，

将我灵魂最真实的部分拿出来，

I'm a professor now.

并看着它对别人的 生活产生积极的影响。

But more importantly,

I was able to reach into my heart,

pull out the truest parts of my soul

and see it have a positive impact on other people's lives.

我在这个漫画书店签书，

然后这个人和 我聊了 20 分钟左右。

最后他说我的书让他思考 他是如何做他的工作的。

I was signing books in this comic book store

and this man made small talk with me for about 20 minutes.

我理所应当地问他，你是做什么的？

Eventually he said that my book made him think about how he does his job.

他是一名警官。

所以我的书让一名警官思考 他是如何做他的工作的。

So of course I asked, what do you do for a living?

He was a police officer.

So my book made a police officer think about how he does his job.

在我卖保险的时候这从来没发生过。

我以写漫画书和漫画小说为生。

现在我是个专职艺术家。

That never happened when I sold insurance.

如果我从没有写过那本书的话，

你们现在谁也不会在听我讲话。

I write comic books and graphic novels for a living.

而且听好，关于在这个 国家里致死的趋向，

Now I'm a full-time artist.

我的父母对我的警告并没有错。

If I hadn't written that book,

none of you would be listening to me right now.

就在去年，

一个白人至上主义者给我发了关于

And listen, my parents weren't wrong to warn me

一本我还没有写完的 书的我死亡威胁。

about the lethal tendencies of this country.

很明显的是他会觉得被威胁

Just last year,

是因为他意识到了艺术的力量

a white supremacist sent me death threats

over a book that I hadn't even finished writing yet.

可以改变整个世界的心灵和思想。

But obviously the only reason he was threatened

所以我现在告诉你，

is because he recognized the power of art

如果你有任何想创作的艺术，

to change hearts and minds all the way across the world.

如果你心里有任何东西 ， 如果你有想说的话，

我们现在需要你。

So I say to you now,

if there's any art you want to create,

你的艺术可以是激进主义。

if there's something in your heart, if you have something to say,

他可以激励人们并且改变世界。

we need you now.

如果你害怕的话，没关系。

但是不要让它阻止你。

Your art can be activism.

去创作艺术然后令独裁者害怕吧。

It can inspire people and change the world.

If you're afraid, that's OK.

艺术值得吗？

Just don't let it stop you.

当然了。

Go make art and scare a dictator.

谢谢。

Is art worth it?

Hell yeah.

Thank you.