Arthur Ganson: Moving sculpture

翻译人员: Yuan Gao 校对人员: beibei su

A few words about how I got started,

先说说我是如何开始的

and it has a lot to do with happiness, actually.

实际上，它和快乐密不可分

When I was a very young child, I was extremely introverted

当我还是个孩子时，我非常的内向

and very much to myself.

非常的自闭

And, kind of as a way of surviving,

对我来说，就好像是一种生存方式

I would go into my own very personal space,

我会深入我的个人空间

and I would make things.

去创作一些东西

I would make things for people

我会为人们创作东西

as a way of, you know, giving, showing them my love.

作为把我的爱传达--展示给他们的一种方式

I would go into these private places,

我会到一些私密的地方

and I would put my ideas and my passions into objects --

把我的思想和感情灌输到物体上

and sort of learning how to speak with my hands.

学着如何用我的双手来说话

So, the whole activity of working with my hands and creating objects

所以我用双手创作物体的整个过程

is very much connected with not only the idea realm,

不仅仅是和我的思想世界紧密相连

but also with very much the feeling realm.

也是和我的感情世界紧密相连

And the ideas are very disparate.

并且这些思想都迥然不同

I'm going to show you many different kinds of pieces,

我将给你们展示一些不同的作品

and there's no real connection between one or the other,

它们之间没有任何实实在在的联系

except that they sort of come out of my brain,

除了它们都是从我的大脑中迸发出来的

and they're all different sort of thoughts that are triggered

它们都是一些不同类型的思想

by looking at life, and seeing nature and seeing objects,

都是通过观察生活、大自然和物体而产生的

and just having kind of playful random thoughts about things.

也仅仅是对事物的一些随意的、好玩的想法

When I was a child, I started to explore motion.

当我还是个小孩的时候，我就开始探索运动

I fell in love with the way things moved,

我喜欢上了物体运动的方式

so I started to explore motion by making little flipbooks.

于是最开始我做了一些小的翻页动画

And this is one that I did, probably like when I was around seventh grade,

这个是我大概七年级时做的

and I remember when I was doing this,

我记得当我做这件东西的时候

I was thinking about that little rock there,

我正在想那块小石头

and the pathway of the vehicles as they would fly through the air,

还有汽车在空中飞行的轨迹

and how the characters --

和车里的人们是什么样的 --

(Laughter) --

(笑声)

would come shooting out of the car,

怎么从车中飞出来

so, on my mind, I was thinking about the trajectory of the vehicles.

所以在我的脑海中，我在考虑车辆运行的轨迹

And of course, when you're a little kid, there's always destruction.

当然，当你还是个小孩时，头脑里想的总是破坏

So, it has to end with this --

所以，它的结局是 --

(Laughter) --

(笑声)

gratuitous violence.

无厘头的暴力

(Laughter)

(笑声)

So that was how I first started to explore the way things moved,

这就是在一开始我如何探索物体运动的方式

and expressed it.

并且表达它

Now, when I went to college,

当我读大学时

I found myself making fairly complicated, fragile machines.

我已经在做很复杂和精致的机器了

And this really came about

这些东西的产生

from having many different kinds of interests.

都是源于我广泛的爱好

When I was in high school, I loved to program computers,

当我读高中时，我喜欢计算机编程

so I sort of liked the logical flow of events.

所以我喜欢事件的逻辑流程

I was also very interested in perhaps going into surgery

我也很想去学外科

and becoming a surgeon,

并且成为一名外科医生

because it meant working with my hands

因为它意味着用我的双手工作

in a very focused, intense way.

用一种专注、深入的方式

So, I started taking art courses,

所以我开始学习艺术课程

and I found a way to make sculpture

并且发现了一种制作工艺品的方法

that brought together my love for being very precise with my hands,

于是它把我的两种爱好结合了起来，即细致的使用双手

with coming up with different kinds of logical flows of energy through a system.

和控制一个系统中能量的逻辑流程

And also, working with wire -- everything that I did

并且，和金属丝打交道 -- 我做的一切

was both a visual and a mechanical engineering decision

都既是视觉的结果也是机械工程的结果

at the same time.

它们是同时存在的

So, I was able to sort of exercise all of that.

所以我把这些能力都锻炼了

Now, this kind of machine is as close as I can get to painting.

看，这个机器是我对绘画的最近似的解读

And it's full of many little trivial end points,

它充满了许多琐碎的终点

like there's a little foot here that just drags around in circles

比如这有一个小脚，它只是在那里画圈

and it doesn't really mean anything.

实际上它没有任何意义

It's really just for the sort of joy of its own triviality.

事实上仅仅是为了它的琐碎本身所带来的快乐

The connection I have with engineering

我与工程的联系

is the same as any other engineer, in that I love to solve problems.

和任何其他的工程师都一样，即喜欢解决问题

I love to figure things out,

我喜欢把事情搞明白

but the end result of what I'm doing is really completely ambiguous.

但做出的结果往往模棱两可

(Laughter)

(笑声)

That's pretty ambiguous.

非常的模棱两可

(Laughter)

(笑声)

The next piece that is going to come up

下一个即将展示的作品

is an example of a kind of machine that is fairly complex.

是复杂机器中的一个很好的例子

I gave myself the problem.

我为自己出了一个难题

Since I'm always liking to solve problems,

因为我一直喜欢解决问题

I gave myself the problem of turning a crank in one direction,

我给自己出了这么一个问题，即只朝一个方向摇动手柄

and solving all of the mechanical problems

就解决让这个小人来回行走中

for getting this little man to walk back and forth.

所有的机械问题

So, when I started this, I didn't have an overall plan for the machine,

当我开始做的时候，我并没有一个整体的架构

but I did have a sense of the gesture,

但我的确有对它的姿势的一种感觉

and a sense of the shape and how it would occupy space.

对它形状的一种感觉以及它如何占据空间

And then it was a matter of starting from one point

之后的工作就是从起点开始

and sort of building to that final point.

一直做到终点

That little gear there switches back and forth to change direction.

通过那个小齿轮转动方向的改变来改变小人的行走方向

And that's a little found object.

这就是一个小小的艺术品

So a lot of the pieces that I've made,

所以我做过的很多作品当中

they involve found objects.

都包含了日常生活中的物件

And it really -- it's almost like doing visual puns all the time.

它真的 -- 它就像一直在玩视觉双关游戏

When I see objects, I imagine them in motion.

当我看到物体时，我就想象它们在运动

I imagine what can be said with them.

我想象它们能够表达什么

This next one here, "Machine with Wishbone,"

接下来一个是带叉骨的机器

it came about from playing with this wishbone after dinner.

它的灵感来自于饭后玩弄这个叉骨

You know, they say, never play with your food --

人们总说，永远也不要玩你的食物 --

but I always play with things.

但我经常玩这些东西

So, I had this wishbone, and I thought,

所以拿着这块叉骨，我想

it's kind of like a cowboy who's been on his horse for too long.

它像一个在马背上坐了太久的牛仔

(Laughter)

(笑声)

And I started to make him walk across the table,

我开始让它走过桌子

and I thought, "Oh, I can make a little machine that will do that."

于是我想，“哦，我可以做一个小机器来完成这个任务”

So, I made this device, linked it up, and the wishbone walks.

所以我做了这个装置，连起来，叉骨就可以行走了

And because the wishbone is bone -- it's animal --

并且由于叉骨是骨头 -- 它是动物 --

it's sort of a point where I think we can enter into it.

我想这是我们能够想到它的切入点

And that's the whole piece.

这是整个装置

(Laughter)

(笑声)

That's about that big.

大概有那么大

(Applause)

(掌声)

This kind of work is also very much like puppetry,

这类的作品非常类似于木偶剧

where the found object is, in a sense, the puppet,

其中的生活用品，在某种意义上说，就是木偶

and I'm the puppeteer at first, because I'm playing with an object.

我就是表演木偶戏的人，起初因为我在控制一个物体

But then I make the machine, which is sort of the stand-in for me,

但是后来我发明了机器，代替了我的工作

and it is able to achieve the action that I want.

它能够达到我想要的动作

The next piece I'll show you is a much more conceptual thought,

我将给你们展示的下一个作品更加的概念化

and it's a little piece called "Cory's Yellow Chair."

它是一个小家伙，叫做“科里的黄色椅子”

I had this image in my mind, when I saw my son's little chair,

当我看到我儿子的小椅子时，我的大脑中浮现了这幅图画

and I saw it explode up and out.

我仿佛看到它爆炸并飞向四方

And --

并且 --

so the way I saw this in my mind at first,

所以最初在我大脑中形成的景象

was that the pieces would explode up and out with infinite speed,

是椅子会爆炸，碎片会以无穷的速度向外飞去

and the pieces would move far out,

这些碎片会飞出很远

and then they would begin to be pulled back

然后它们又逐渐被拉回来

with a kind of a gravitational feel,

带着一种重力的感觉

to the point where they would approach infinite speed back to the center.

逐渐加速到无穷的速度最后被拉回到中心

And they would coalesce for just a moment,

然后有一小段时间，它们会结合在一起

so you could perceive that there was a chair there.

所以你能够察觉到那有一个椅子

For me, it's kind of a feeling about the fleetingness of the present moment,

对我而言，那是一种当前时刻迅速消逝的感觉

and I wanted to express that.

这就是我想表达的思想

Now, the machine is -- in this case, it's a real approximation of that,

所以，这个机器 -- 从这个角度来讲，是这种想法的近似表达

because obviously you can't move physical matter

因为很显然你不能够赋予现实中的物体

infinitely with infinite speed and have it stop instantaneously.

以无穷的速度并且使它瞬间停止

This whole thing is about four feet wide,

整个装置大约有四个足长那么宽

and the chair itself is only about a few inches.

椅子本身只有几英寸

(Applause)

(掌声)

Now, this is a funny sort of conceptual thing,

这是一个有趣的概念性的东西

and yesterday we were talking about Danny Hillis' "10,000 Year Clock."

昨天我们还在谈论丹尼·希利斯的万年钟

So, we have a motor here on the left,

左边是一个发动机

and it goes through a gear train.

它通过一系列相连的齿轮

There are 12 pairs of 50:1 reductions,

这里一共有12对50:1的减速装置

so that means that the final speed of that gear on the end

所以这意味着终端齿轮的最终速度

is so slow that it would take two trillion years to turn once.

是非常的慢，它需要20兆年才能转一圈

So I've invented it in concrete, because it doesn't really matter.

所以我把它做成水泥的，因为这无关紧要

(Laughter)

(笑声)

Because it could run all the time.

因为它能够永远运行下去

(Laughter)

(笑声)

Now, a completely different thought.

现在，一个完全不同的想法

I'm always imagining myself in different situations.

我经常设想自己身处不同的情形之中

I'm imagining myself as a machine.

我想象自己是个机器

What would I love?

我会喜欢什么呢？

I would love to be bathed in oil.

我会喜欢在油里面洗澡

(Laughter)

(笑声)

So, this machine does nothing but just bathe itself in oil.

所以，这个机器唯一的工作就是使自己在油中洗澡

(Laughter)

(笑声)

(Applause)

(掌声)

And it's really, just sort of --

并且实际上，它仅仅是一种 --

for me, it was just really about the lusciousness of oil.

对我来说，它真就只是关心油的香甜可口

(Laughter)

(笑声)

And then, I got a call from a friend

后来我接到一个朋友的电话

who wanted to have a show of erotic art,

说想办一个情色艺术展

and I didn't have any pieces.

但我并没有这样的作品

But when she suggested to be in the show, this piece came to mind.

但当她提出要我参加时，我就想起这个作品

So, it's sort of related, but you can see it's much more overtly erotic.

它与之相关，但是你可以看到它是更露骨的色情

And this one I call "Machine with Grease."

我称这个机器为“带着润滑油的机器”

It's just continually ejaculating, and it's --

它仅仅是在持续不断的射出，并且它 --

(Laughter) --

(笑声)

this is a happy machine, I'll tell you.

我要告诉你，这是一个快乐的机器

(Laughter)

(笑声)

It's definitely happy.

它绝对是快乐的

From an engineering point of view,

在一个工程师看来

this is just a little four-bar linkage.

这不过是一个四连杆

And then again, this is a found object, a little fan that I found.

我们继续，这又是一个日常用品，是我发现的一个小扇子

And I thought, what about the gesture of opening the fan,

于是我想，打开扇子的姿势怎么样

and how simply could I state something.

以及我能多么简单的表达一件事

And, in a case like this, I'm trying to make something which is clear

在这种情形下，我在试着做一些明确的东西

but also not suggestive of any particular kind of animal or plant.

同时也不暗示任何具体的动植物

For me, the process is very important,

对于我来说，过程非常重要

because I'm inventing machines,

因为我在发明机器

but I'm also inventing tools to make machines,

但是我也在发明制造机器的工具

and the whole thing is all sort of wrapped up from the beginning.

这一切一开始就把我迷住了

So this is a little wire-bending tool.

这是一个弯曲金属丝的小工具

After many years of bending gears with a pair of pliers,

有很多年我一直用钳子制作齿轮，在那之后

I made that tool, and then I made this other tool

我发明了那个工具，后来又发明了另一个工具

for sort of centering gears very quickly --

为了更快的定位齿轮的中心

sort of developing my own little world of technology.

也是为了开创我的小小技术世界

My life completely changed when I found a spot welder.

当我发明了一个电焊机之后，我的生命彻底改变了

(Laughter)

(笑声)

And that was that tool.

这就是那个工具

It completely changed what I could do.

它彻底改变了我所能做的事

Now here, I'm going to do a very poor job of silver soldering.

这里我将做一个粗糙的银焊工作

This is not the way they teach you to silver solder when you're in school.

这和你在学校时他们教你银焊的方法不一样

I just like, throw it in.

我就像，把它扔进去

I mean, real jewelers put little bits of solder in.

我的意思是，真正的珠宝里面放一小块焊锡

So, that's a finished gear.

那就是做好了齿轮

When I moved to Boston,

当我搬到波士顿以后

I joined a group called the World Sculpture Racing Society.

我参加了一个叫做世界工艺品赛跑协会的小组

(Laughter)

(笑声)

And the idea, their premise was that we wanted to show

它的想法，他们的出发点是我们想要

pieces of sculpture on the street,

在街上展示一个个工艺品

and there'd be no subjective decision about what was the best.

并且对于什么是最好的并没有主观的决断

It would be -- whatever came across the finish line first would be the winner.

先到达终点线的就是胜者

(Laughter)

(笑声)

So I made -- this is my first racing sculpture,

所以我做了 -- 这是我的第一个赛跑机器

and I thought, "Oh, I'm going to make a cart,

我想，"哦，我得做一个手推车"

and I'm going to have it --

我将使它 --

I'm going to have my hand writing 'faster,'

我将用我的手写着“faster(快点)”

so as I run down the street, the cart's going to talk to me

所以随着我沿着街道跑，这个手推车会和我谈话

and it's going to go, 'Faster, faster!' "

它将会跑的“Faster(再快点)，faster(再快点)！”

So, that's what it does.

所以这就是它所做的事

(Laughter)

(笑声)

But then in the end, what I decided

但最后，我决定

was every time you finish writing the word,

每次写完这个单词

I would stop and I would give the card to somebody on the side of the road.

我将停下来并把这个卡片给路边上的人

So I would never win the race because I'm always stopping.

所以我永远也不会赢得比赛因为我总是停下来

But I had a lot of fun.

但是我享受到了很多乐趣

(Applause)

(掌声)

Now, I only have two and a half minutes -- I'm going to play this.

现在我只剩下两分半钟了——我将播放这个

This is a piece that, for me, is in some ways

从某种意义上讲，对于我来说这个作品

the most complete kind of piece.

是最完整的作品

Because when I was a kid, I also played a lot of guitar.

因为当我是个孩童时，我弹了很长时间的吉他

And when I had this thought,

当我有了这个想法时

I was imagining that I would make --

我在想像我能做什么 --

I would have a whole machine theater evening,

我将上演一整场机器晚间剧场

where I would -- you would have an audience,

这样我将 -- 你将有一个观众

the curtain would open, and you'd be entertained by machines on stage.

幕帘会打开，并且舞台上的机器会使你愉悦

So, I imagined a very simple gestural dance

所以我设想一个简单的舞蹈

that would be between a machine and just a very simple chair, and ...

它将是在一个机器和一个简单的小椅子之间(的舞蹈)

When I'm making these pieces, I'm always trying to find a point

当我在做这些作品的时候，我一直在寻找一个点

where I'm saying something very clearly and it's very simple,

使得我在非常清楚的表达某些东西，并且作品非常的简单

but also at the same time it's very ambiguous.

但与此同时它也是非常的模糊

And I think there's a point between simplicity and ambiguity

我想在简洁和模糊之间存在那么一个点

which can allow a viewer to perhaps take something from it.

或许能够使得一个观众从中得到些什么

And that leads me to the thought that all of these pieces

这启发我想到，所有的这些作品

start off in my own mind, in my heart,

从我的脑海中，我的心底出发

and I do my best at finding ways to express them with materials,

并且我尽全力想办法用物质来表达它们

and it always feels really crude.

并且它总是感觉上非常粗糙

It's always a struggle,

这往往是一个挣扎的过程

but somehow I manage to sort of get this thought

但不管怎样我最终成功的把我的思想

out into an object, and then it's there, OK.

映射到了物体上，所以它就在那里了，OK

It means nothing at all.

它没有任何意义

The object itself just means nothing.

这个物体本身仅仅是毫无意义

Once it's perceived, and someone brings it into their own mind,

当人们看到它时，人们把它带入自己的思想

then there's a cycle that has been completed.

这样一个周期就完成了

And to me, that's the most important thing

对我来说，那是最重要的事情

because, ever since being a kid, I've wanted to communicate my passion and love.

因为自从我孩提时期开始，我就想传达我的感情和爱

And that means the complete cycle of coming from inside,

那就意味着一个整个的周期，从内心里开始

out to the physical, to someone perceiving it.

出来到有形的物体，最终到达观看它的人那里

So I'll just let this chair come down.

我将让椅子放下来

(Applause)

(掌声)

Thank you.

谢谢

(Applause)

(掌声)