Béatrice Coron: Stories cut from paper

翻译人员: Dong Mao 校对人员: Xiaoqiao Xie

(Applause)

（掌声）

(Applause)

（掌声）

I am a papercutter.

我是个剪纸匠（此处为双关，papercutter也意为裁纸机）

(Laughter)

（笑声）

I cut stories.

我裁剪出故事。

So my process is very straightforward.

我所做的其实很简单。

I take a piece of paper,

我拿出一张纸，

I visualize my story,

我构想一下我的故事，

sometimes I sketch, sometimes I don't.

有时候我会打画稿，有时候不打。

And as my image

由于故事的图景

is already inside the paper,

早已存在于纸里面了，

I just have to remove

我只需要把不属于这个故事的部分

what's not from that story.

剪掉就行了。

So I didn't come to papercutting

其实我并不是

in a straight line.

一开始就干剪纸这一行的。

In fact,

事实上，

I see it more as a spiral.

我觉得那过程曲折的多。

I was not born

我并不是生来

with a blade in my hand.

就对剪纸天赋异禀。

And I don't remember papercutting as a child.

我甚至都不记得我小时候剪过纸。

As a teenager,

到我的青少年时期，

I was sketching, drawing,

我开始素描，画画，

and I wanted to be an artist.

并且梦想当一个艺术家。

But I was also a rebel.

不过那时候我是个叛逆分子。

And I left everything

我放下了一切，

and went for a long series of odd jobs.

去做了一堆奇奇怪怪的工作。

So among them,

那段时间里，

I have been a shepherdess,

我放过羊，

a truck driver,

开过卡车，

a factory worker,

还在工厂里做过工，

a cleaning lady.

甚至当过清洁工。

I worked in tourism for one year

我后来在墨西哥

in Mexico,

干了一年跟旅游相关的工作，

one year in Egypt.

然后又去埃及干了一年

I moved for two years

然后我去台湾

in Taiwan.

住了两年。

And then I settled in New York

最终我在纽约定居了，

where I became a tour guide.

并且在那当了个本地导游。

And I still worked as a tour leader,

同时我还兼任一些海外旅行团的领队，

traveled back and forth

领着大家到处跑，

in China, Tibet and Central Asia.

去中国大陆，西藏和中亚其他国家。

So of course, it took time, and I was nearly 40,

当然了这些事儿让我花了不少时间，我那时候已经快40岁了，

and I decided it's time

于是我觉得是时候

to start as an artist.

去做一个艺术家了。

(Applause)

（掌声）

I chose papercutting

我选择剪纸。

because paper is cheap,

因为纸挺便宜的，

it's light,

而且也不重，

and you can use it

你能用它

in a lot of different ways.

干许多事儿。

And I chose the language of silhouette

我选择用剪影来表述的另一个原因，

because graphically it's very efficient.

是因为图像化的讲述是非常有效的手段。

And it's also just getting to the essential of things.

而且它的确能触及事物的本质。

So the word "silhouette"

剪影(silhouette)这个词，

comes from a minister of finance,

其实是拜一位18世纪法国的财政大臣的名字所赐

Etienne de Silhouette.

艾蒂安·德·西卢埃特 （Etienne de Silhouette）

And he slashed so many budgets

他在任期间削减了许多预算，

that people said they couldn't afford

以至于人们声称

paintings anymore,

再也买不起画了，

and they needed to have their portrait

但是他们需要有一副自己的肖像！

"a la silhouette."

“一幅西卢埃特（剪影）”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So I made series of images, cuttings,

我构思了许多图景也做了许多裁剪，

and I assembled them in portfolios.

然后我把它们整合成一个作品集。

And people told me --

大家都告诉我说——

like these 36 views of the Empire State building --

像这个是三十六个不同视角的帝国大厦——

they told me, "You're making artist books."

他们告诉我说：“你做的这玩意真像是艺术家之书。”

So artist books have a lot of definitions.

人们对艺术家之书有不同的定义。

They come in a lot of different shapes.

他们也有很多不同的形式。

But to me,

但是对我而言，

they are fascinating objects

他们是能够用视觉讲故事的

to visually narrate a story.

引人入胜的玩意儿。

They can be with words

有没有语言文字的注解

or without words.

都无所谓。

And I have a passion

我对图像和语言文字

for images and for words.

有着极大的热情。

I love pun

我非常喜爱用双关语

and the relation to the unconscious.

以及它和潜意识之间的联系。

I love oddities of languages.

我还喜爱语言的奇异之处。

And everywhere I lived, I learned the languages,

在我每个生活过的地方，我都会学习当地语言，

but never mastered them.

不过我从来没有精通过任何一个。

So I'm always looking

我一直都在寻找

for the false cognates

一些错误的同源词，

or identical words in different languages.

以及不同语言中相同的词语。

So as you can guess, my mother tongue is French.

也许你已经猜到了，我的母语是法语。

And my daily language is English.

不过我平时都说英语。

So I did a series of work

我曾经剪过一些关于

where it was identical words

英语和法语中

in French and in English.

完全一样的词的作品。

So one of these works

其中一个作品是

is the "Spelling Spider."

“蜘蛛猜词”

So the Spelling Spider

“蜘蛛猜词”

is a cousin of the spelling bee.

其实是“蜜蜂猜词”（"spelling bee"指一般的猜词游戏）的兄弟。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But it's much more connected to the Web.

不过跟互联网（此处双关，web也作蜘蛛网）联系更多罢了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And this spider

这个蜘蛛

spins a bilingual alphabet.

织出了双语的字母组合。

So you can read "architecture active"

你可以读成（法语）“建筑在施工中”（architecture active)

or "active architecture."

或者（英语）“施工中的建筑”(active architecture)。

So this spider goes through the whole alphabet

这个蜘蛛用完全相同的形容词和名词

with identical adjectives and substantives.

织出了这些字母组合。

So if you don't know one of these languages,

所以就算你不了解其中某个语言，

it's instant learning.

你也立马就能学会。

And one ancient form of the book

这书中一个历史悠久的组成部分

is scrolls.

是卷轴。

So scrolls are very convenient,

卷轴非常方便使用，

because you can create a large image

因为你可以用它在一张小桌子上

on a very small table.

做出一副大图。

So the unexpected consequences of that

不过一个意料之外的结果就是

is that you only see one part of your image,

你只能看到图的一部分，

so it makes a very freestyle architecture.

所以这也给了我一个自由发挥的空间。

And I'm making all those kinds of windows.

我还剪过各种各样的窗户。

So it's to look beyond the surface.

这是为了让人们能够透过表象去看。

It's to have a look

去看一看

at different worlds.

不一样的世界。

And very often I've been an outsider.

我有多时候都像是一个旁观者。

So I want to see how things work

我想要知道事物是怎么运作的

and what's happening.

以及会发生什么。

So each window

每个窗户

is an image

都是一个简单的影像

and is a world

但同时也是一个

that I often revisit.

我经常会重新回顾与思考的世界。

And I revisit this world

我反复光临这些世界，

thinking about the image

思考些关于我们欲望的

or cliché about what we want to do,

意象或其他乱七八糟的东西，

and what are the words, colloquialisms,

还会思考我们用来表达这些的

that we have with the expressions.

语言或者词语。

It's all if.

这些其实都是假设。

So what if we were living in balloon houses?

那么假设我们可以生活在气球房子里呢？

It would make a very uplifting world.

那这个世界可就令人振奋的多了。

And we would leave a very low footprint on the planet.

我们留在这个星球上的足迹将会变浅。

It would be so light.

而且那么轻盈。

So sometimes I view from the inside,

有时候我会从里往外看，

like EgoCentriCity

像这个 《自我中心城》

and the inner circles.

还有这些内部的圆圈。

Sometimes it's a global view,

我试图从全球性作为切入点，

to see our common roots

来审视我们的一些共同的根基

and how we can use them to catch dreams.

和我们怎样用这些根基来捕获梦想。

And we can use them also

我们还可以把这些根脉

as a safety net.

当作一个安全网。

And my inspirations

其实我的灵感

are very eclectic.

是非常不拘一格的。

I'm influenced by everything I read,

我会被所有我所读到

everything I see.

和看到的所启发。

I have some stories that are humorous,

我也剪出过一些幽默的故事，

like "Dead Beats."

比如这个《懒汉》（“dead beats”,dead与图上的骷髅想呼应）

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Other ones are historical.

我还剪过一些历史故事。

Here it's "CandyCity."

这是《糖果城》。

It's a non-sugar-coated

是没有包上糖衣的

history of sugar.

糖的历史。

It goes from slave trade

它从奴隶交易

to over-consumption of sugar

讲到糖的过度消费

with some sweet moments in between.

中间还穿插着一些甜蜜瞬间。

And sometimes I have an emotional response to news,

有时候我会对新闻做出感性的回应，

such as the 2010 Haitian earthquake.

比如说我剪过2010年的海底地震。

Other times, it's not even my stories.

有时候我甚至不只剪我自己的故事。

People tell me their lives,

人们会告诉我他们的故事，

their memories, their aspirations,

他们的记忆，他们的渴望，

and I create a mindscape.

然后我就会构思出一个心灵图景。

I channel their history

我为他们建造出能回溯历史的通道，

[so that] they have a place to go back

让他们能够有机会可以

to look at their life and its possibilities.

回顾自己的生活以及相关的各种可能性。

I call them Freudian cities.

我叫他们弗洛伊德之城。

I cannot speak for all my images,

我没有时间介绍每一个作品，

so I'll just go through a few of my worlds

我就简单展示几个我的世界吧

just with the title.

只提一下标题。

"ModiCity."

《中庸城》

"ElectriCity."

《电气城》

"MAD Growth on Columbus Circle."

《哥伦布环上的疯狂生长》

"ReefCity."

《礁石城》

"A Web of Time."

《时间之网》

"Chaos City."

《混乱之城》

"Daily Battles."

《日常战斗》

"FeliCity."

《幸福之城》

"Floating Islands."

《浮岛》

And at one point,

有一次

I had to do "The Whole Nine Yards."

我剪出了《九院》。

So it's actually a papercut that's nine yards long.

它真的有九码(yard既有“院子”也做“码”的意思）长！

(Laughter)

（笑声）

So in life and in papercutting,

其实在生活和剪纸中，

everything is connected.

所有东西都是息息相关的。

One story leads to another.

一个故事会引出另一个故事。

I was also interested

我对这个作品的实物特性

in the physicality of this format,

也很感兴趣，

because you have to walk to see it.

因为你得边走边看才行。

And parallel to my cutting

其实我的剪纸经历

is my running.

就跟跑步差不多。

I started with small images,

我是从剪小图象开始的，

I started with a few miles.

那时候我只算是积硅步。

Larger images, I started to run marathons.

大图象呢，就算是马拉松了。

Then I went to run 50K, then 60K.

后来我开始跑50公里，60公里。

Then I ran 50 miles -- ultramarathons.

最终我跑出了五十英里——超级马拉松。

And I still feel I'm running,

不过我觉得我还在跑，

it's just the training

之前那些不过都是

to become a long-distance papercutter.

为了成为长跑剪纸匠的训练罢了。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And running gives me a lot of energy.

跑步给了我更多的活力。

Here is a three-week papercutting marathon

这是一个在纽约艺术设计博物馆

at the Museum of Arts and Design

的为时三周的

in New York City.

剪纸马拉松。

The result is "Hells and Heavens."

最后的我做出了这副《地狱和天堂》

It's two panels 13 ft. high.

它由两个13英尺高的镶板组成。

They were installed in the museum on two floors,

它们在博物馆占了两层楼的空间，

but in fact, it's a continuous image.

不过事实上，他们并非割裂的影像。

And I call it "Hells and Heavens"

我叫它《地狱和天堂》

because it's daily hells and daily heavens.

因为我们每天都生活在地狱和天堂。

There is no border in between.

它们之间并没有分界。

Some people are born in hells,

有些人生于地狱，

and against all odds, they make it to heavens.

克服千难万险后，去到了天堂。

Other people make the opposite trip.

另一些人则相反。

That's the border.

这算是一个分界。

You have sweatshops in hells.

地狱有血汗工厂。

You have people renting their wings in the heavens.

天堂里有人出租自己的翅膀。

And then you have all those individual stories

我们可以从这些故事中发现

where sometimes we even have the same action,

如果我们真的去到地狱或天堂的话

and the result puts you in hells or in heavens.

我们也会做出同样的事得到同样的结果。

So the whole "Hells and Heavens"

整个的《地狱和天堂》

is about free will

其实是关于自由意志

and determinism.

和宿命论的。

And in papercutting,

在剪纸的时候，

you have the drawing as the structure itself.

图画其实就是结构本身。

So you can take it off the wall.

你可以把它们从墙上取下来。

Here it's an artist book installation

这是一个叫做“身份工程”的

called "Identity Project."

艺术家之书。

It's not autobiographical identities.

这不是我的自我定位。

They are more our social identities.

这更像是我们的社会身份。

And then you can just walk behind them

你从它们旁边经过的时候，

and try them on.

可以尝试“试穿”一下它们。

So it's like the different layers

这其实就像是

of what we are made of

组成我们的不同层面

and what we present to the world

和我们表现给世人的

as an identity.

我们的身份。

That's another artist book project.

这是我的另一个艺术家之书作品。

In fact, in the picture, you have two of them.

照片那两个相同的作品。

It's one I'm wearing

一个是我刚才穿着的，

and one that's on exhibition

另外一个正在纽约的

at the Center for Books Arts in New York City.

图书艺术中心展览。

Why do I call it a book?

我为什么把它称作书呢？

It's called "Fashion Statement,"

因为它叫做《时尚宣言》，

and there are quotes about fashion,

在它上面有许多关于时尚的引用句，

so you can read it,

你可以随意阅读，

and also,

而且，

because the definition of artist book

由于艺术家之书的定义很宽泛。

is very generous.

由于艺术家之书的定义很宽泛。

So artist books, you take them off the wall.

所以，你可以把它们从墙上拿下来。

You take them for a walk.

你可以带着他们去散步。

You can also install them as public art.

你还可以把它们当做艺术品给安置起来。

Here it's in Scottsdale, Arizona,

这是亚利桑那的斯科茨代尔，

and it's called "Floating Memories."

这副作品做《漂浮的记忆》。

So it's regional memories,

这些都是记忆的片段，

and they are just randomly moved by the wind.

它们随风随意摆动。

I love public art.

我喜欢公共艺术。

And I entered competitions

我已经踏入这个竞争激烈的圈子很久了。

for a long time.

我已经踏入这个竞争激烈的圈子很久了。

After eight years of rejection,

在被拒绝了8年之后，

I was thrilled to get my first commission

我终于从纽约“百分比艺术计划”拿到的第一笔报酬，

with the Percent for Art in New York City.

简直让我激动坏了。

It was for a merger station

这象征一个供救生员和消防员

for emergency workers and firemen.

共同使用的综合救护站。

I made an artist book

我没有用纸，而是用不锈钢

that's in stainless steel

做了这个

instead of paper.

艺术家之书。

I called it "Working in the Same Direction."

我把它叫做《劲儿往一处使》。

But I added weathervanes on both sides

我还在两面都加了风向标

to show that they cover all directions.

让它可以指向所有的方向。

With public art,

在公共艺术方面，

I could also make cut glass.

我有些作品是用玻璃做成的。

Here it's faceted glass in the Bronx.

这是一个安置在纽约布朗克斯的小型的玻璃作品。

And each time I make public art,

每次我做公众艺术品的时候，

I want something that's really relevant

我希望做出一些与它们被安置的环境

to the place it's installed.

有关联的东西。

So for the subway in New York,

在纽约的地铁上，

I saw a correspondence

我发现了“乘坐地铁”

between riding the subway

与“阅读”之间

and reading.

有一种关联。

It is travel in time, travel on time.

乘坐地铁跟及时和准时旅行有关。

And Bronx literature,

布朗克斯的文学呢

it's all about Bronx writers

则是关于布朗克斯作家与

and their stories.

他们的故事的。

Another glass project

这是另一个在

is in a public library

在加州圣何塞公共图书馆的

in San Jose, California.

玻璃作品。

So I made a vegetable point of view

我做了一个以蔬菜为角度的

of the growth of San Jose.

圣何塞的发展情况的作品。

So I started in the center

我用橡子作为中心

with the acorn

来表示

for the Ohlone Indian civilization.

奥隆（指美国西海岸部分地区）印第安文明。

Then I have the fruit from Europe

然后我用欧洲的水果

for the ranchers.

来象征那些牧场工人。

And then the fruit of the world for Silicon Valley today.

还有用世界各地的水果来象征今天的硅谷。

And it's still growing.

它们仍然在生长。

So the technique, it's cut,

至于做的技术，就是裁剪，

sandblasted, etched

喷漆，镂空

and printed glass into architectural glass.

以及把普通玻璃加工成建筑型玻璃。

And outside the library,

在图书馆外面，

I wanted to make a place to cultivate your mind.

我计划开辟一片能够“浇灌思想”的地方。

I took library material

我找了些有水果名字作标题

that had fruit in their title

的图书馆材料

and I used them to make an orchard walk

然后我用它们做了一个“果园人行道”，

with these fruits of knowledge.

上面还有水果的相关知识。

I also planted the bibliotree.

我还“种”了一颗“书目之树”。

So it's a tree,

这样一棵树，

and in its trunk you have the roots of languages.

在它的树干上有语言的根脉。

And it's all about international writing systems.

它们是关于各种国际写作体系的。

And on the branches

图书馆材料

you have library material growing.

在它的枝干上生长。

You can also have function and form

公共艺术同样可以拥有

with public art.

实用功能。

So in Aurora, Colorado it's a bench.

在科罗拉多的奥罗拉有这样一条长凳，

But you have a bonus with this bench.

不过你可以从这张长凳上得到点小礼物。

Because if you sit a long time in summer in shorts,

因为如果你在夏天时候穿着短袖坐在上面稍微久一点，

you will walk away

你走的时候

with temporary branding of

大腿上就会多一些临时性的

the story element on your thighs.

故事的片段。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Another functional work,

另外一个功能性的作品，

it's in the south side of Chicago

现在被安置在芝加哥南边的

for a subway station.

一个地铁站。

And it's called "Seeds of the Future are Planted Today."

它叫做《在今天栽种未来》。

It's a story about transformation

这是一个关于变化

and connections.

与连接的故事。

So it acts as a screen

它被用来当做隔离乘客

to protect the rail and the commuter,

与轨道的屏风，

and not to have objects falling on the rails.

防止东西掉下铁轨。

To be able to change fences

如果能够把栅栏

and window guards into flowers,

和防盗网变成鲜花，

it's fantastic.

那就更给力了。

And here I've been working for the last three years

我用了过去三年时间

with a South Bronx developer

与一个来自南布朗克斯的工匠

to bring art to life

一起把艺术带入了生活，

to low-income buildings

使它们可以服务于那些低收入者公寓

and affordable housing.

以及经济适用房。

So each building has its own personality.

每一栋建筑都有自己的个性。

And sometimes it's about a legacy of the neighborhood,

有时候街坊邻里之间也流传着传奇故事，

like in Morrisania, about the jazz history.

像这个莫里桑尼亚的爵士乐历史。

And for other projects, like in Paris,

至于其他的作品，比如在巴黎的这个，

it's about the name of the street.

是关于街道名字的。

It's called Rue des Prairies -- Prairie Street.

它叫做草原街（法语为： Rue des Prairies）

So I brought back the rabbit,

我把兔子，

the dragonfly,

蜻蜓

to stay in that street.

都带回了这条街上。

And in 2009,

2009年，

I was asked to make a poster

我被邀请之作一个要在

to be placed in the subway cars in New York City

纽约地铁车厢里

for a year.

张贴一年的海报。

So that was a very captive audience.

地铁里的这些观众在我看来都是被俘虏的。

And I wanted to give them an escape.

所以我想给他们一个逃跑的机会。

I created "All Around Town."

我就做了一个《城市四周》

It is a papercutting,

这是一个剪纸作品，

and then after, I added color on the computer.

不过除此之外，我还用电脑给它加了颜色。

So I can call it techno-crafted.

所以我叫它“科技手工艺品”。

And along the way,

这一路上，

I'm kind of making papercuttings

我在剪纸的同时，

and adding other techniques.

还用上了各种别的技巧技术。

But the result is always to have stories.

但是作品的实质总是关于各种故事的。

So the stories, they have a lot of possibilities.

这些故事给我们展示了许多可能性。

They have a lot of scenarios.

同样它们也有不同的情节。

I don't know the stories.

我并不了解这些故事。

I take images from our global imagination,

我只是从我们世界的影像中，

from cliché, from things we are thinking about,

从一些被人忽视的东西中，从我们所关心的事物中，从历史中，

from history.

提取出一些图像。

And everybody's a narrator,

每个人都是一个讲述者，

because everybody has a story to tell.

因为每个人都有不同的故事要讲。

But more important

不过更重要的是

is everybody has to make a story

每个人都会创造出自己的故事

to make sense of the world.

来证明自己曾经存在于这个世界的意义。

And in all these universes,

世间万物之中，

it's like imagination is the vehicle

想象就像是用来承载事物的

to be transported with,

交通工具，

but the destination is our minds

不过目的地是我们的思想，

and how we can reconnect

我们要怎样用这样的魔力

with the essential and with the magic.

把事物的本质联系起来，

And it's what story cutting is all about.

才是裁剪故事的最终意义。

(Applause)

（掌声）