Willard Wigan: Hold your breath for micro-sculpture | TED

翻译人员: Igrain Hu 校对人员: Zhu Jie

There's an old saying, "Just because you can't see something,

有句老话说：“你看不见的，

doesn't mean it's not there."

不见得是不存在的”。

My work is -- it's a reflection of myself.

我的作品——它是我内心的反映。

What I wanted to do is to

我想借此

show the world that the little things

向世界证明小不点

can be the biggest things.

也能有大作为。

We all seem to think that,

我们似乎都认为

you know, if we look down on the ground, there's nothing there.

地上什么都没有。

And we use the word "nothing."

注意我们用的词语是“什么都没有”。

Nothing doesn't exist, because there is always something.

“什么都没有”是不存在的，那里总会有些什么。

My mother told me that, when I was a child,

我小时候，母亲告诉我，

that I should always respect the little things.

要尊重那些不起眼的东西。

What made me do this work? I shall go into my story.

想知道我怎么开始这项工作的吗？下面我将和大家分享一下我的故事。

This all started when I was age five.

这一切开始于我五岁的时候。

What made me do it? At school, I will admit this:

我是怎么开始的呢？我必须承认，在学校的时候

academically, I couldn't express myself.

在学习上我无法展现自己的能力。

So I was, more or less, classed as "nothing."

所以，或多或少的，我在班级里仿佛“不存在”。

My world was seen as less.

我的世界总是被忽视。

So I decided I didn't really want to be a part of that world.

因此我下定决心不想成为那个世界的一部分。

I thought, I need to retreat

我想，我得退入

into something else.

别的世界。

So when my mother used to take me to school,

当我母亲送我去学校时，

she thought I was at school,

她以为我会在学校呆着。

and I used to do a U-turn, when her back was turned,

等她一转过身，我就会跟着调头，

and run off and hide in the shed at the back of the garden.

一遛小跑溜到花园后面的棚子里躲起来。

Now, the one time I was in the shed,

有一次，我躲在棚子里，

and my mother suspected something,

我妈妈好像感觉到了什么，

thinking I was at school.

怀疑起我是否在学校里。

My mother was like the woman in Tom and Jerry.

她就像动画片《猫和老鼠》里的那个女人一样，

So you'd just see her feet.

你只能看见她的脚。

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

So I was hiding in the shed, like that.

我就那么猫在窝棚里。

And all of a sudden ...

突然……

And then I saw her legs.

我看见了她的腿。

And then she said -- grabbed me like that, because my mother was quite big --

她一把抓住我，就像这样，因为她体格很壮。

and she lifted me up and she says,

她把我拎起来，对我说：

"How come you're not at school?"

“你怎么没在学校里？”

I told her I couldn't face it because the way

我告诉她我没法面对校园生活，因为

the teacher was treating me, ridiculing me,

老师待我不好，总是嘲弄我，

and using me as an example of failure.

而且总是拿我做反例。

So I told her.

虽然我想告诉她这些情况。

At that age, obviously, I couldn't express it that way,

但我那时很小，显然不可能用这种方式表达。

but I told her I didn't feel right.

所以我告诉她我不喜欢上学。

And then she just said, "You're going back to school tomorrow."

她对我说：“明天你必须回学校。”

And walked off. And I didn't expect that,

然后就走开了。这有些出乎我的意料。

because I expected one of these ...

我以为她会……（打屁股）

But I didn't get it.

但是她没有。

So I'm sitting there thinking.

于是我就坐在那儿开始思考。

And as I looked down on the ground,

当我低头看着地面的时候，

I noticed there was some ants running around.

我发现有些蚂蚁在四周爬来爬去。

And I went into this little fantasy world.

我不由自主地沉浸到这个小小的奇妙世界里了。

And I thought,

我想

"These ants, are they looking for the queen ant?

“这些蚂蚁是在寻找它们的蚁后吗？

Or do they need somewhere to live?"

还是在找安身的地方？”

So I thought "Perhaps,

于是我又想，“也许，

if I made these ants some apartments,

要是我给它们造一些公寓，

they'll move in."

它们就会搬进来住了。”

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

So I did.

我的确这么做了。

And how I set about that, I got some splinters of wood.

怎么做的呢？我找了一些碎木块，

And I sliced the little splinters of wood with a broken shard of glass,

然后用一片碎玻璃把木块切成更小的木片，

constructed this little apartment.

用这些木片搭成蚂蚁的小公寓。

Well it looked like a little shanty shed when I'd finished.

完工后的公寓看起来就像个破旧的小窝棚。

But I thought, perhaps the ant won't know, it'll probably move in.

不过我想蚂蚁大概不会知道这点，它会搬进去的。

And so they did.

它们的确搬进去了。

That was a bit crude, at the time. And I made all these little apartments

那个小公寓现在看来相当粗糙，但所有的小房间都是我亲手做的。

and little merry-go-rounds, seesaws and swings, little ladders.

还有那些小旋转木马，小跷跷板，小梯子等等。

And then I encouraged the ants to come 'round by putting sugar and things like that.

我把糖粒之类的食物摆在周围做诱饵，把蚂蚁们引到房子附近。

And then I sat down and all the ants came along.

然后就坐下来看着蚂蚁们纷至沓来。

And all I could hear was "Is this for us?"

我听见它们说：“这是给我们的吗？”

(Laughter)

（笑）

And I say, "Yes, they're all for you."

我回答说：“是的，都是给你们的。”

And they moved in, and decided not to pay me any rent.

它们就搬进去了，而且不打算付房租给我。

(Laughter)

（笑）

And from there I was watching this little world.

由此我开始关注这个微型世界。

It became part of me.

它成为了我的一部分。

When I discovered that I had this gift,

我发现自己的这个天赋后，

I wanted to experiment with this world

就想在这个微型世界里检验一下。

that we can't see.

这是个微小到肉眼不可见的世界。

So I realized that there was more to life

我意识到，这里有更丰富的生命的意义，

than just everything that we see around us that's huge.

相比我们肉眼可见到的周围巨大的世界而言。

So I started to educate myself on this molecular level.

我开始自学这种接近分子水平的微型雕刻。

And as I got older, I continued. I showed my mother.

随着年龄的增长，我一直都在持续练习。我向我母亲展示我的作品。

My mother told me to take it smaller.

她说我还可以做得更小些。

Now I shall show you something here.

我现在想给你们看点东西。

And I'll explain.

让我说明一下。

As you can see,

正如你们所见，

that's a pinhead.

那是大头针的顶端。

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

(Applause)

（掌声）

Now that is called the Huf Haus.

这个小建筑名为霍夫屋。

The gentleman who commissioned me to do this

委托我做这个的那位先生，

was a gentleman called Peter Huf.

他的名字叫彼得·霍夫。

And he says to me "Willard, can you put my house on a pinhead?"

有一天他对我说：“维拉德，你能把我的房子放在大头针头上吗？”

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

So I say, "How are you going to fit in there?"

我回答说：“那你要怎么住进去呢？”

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

And then he said to me,

然后他说：

"I don't believe you can do it. Can you really do it?"

“我不相信你能做到。你真能做到吗？”

And I says, "Well, try me."

我回答他：“那就试试吧。”

And then he said, "But I don't believe that you can do this." So I said, "OK."

他接着又说：“我实在不太相信你真的能做到。”“那好吧。”我说。

So, to cut a long story short,

长话短说。

I went home, went underneath the microscope,

我回到家，趴在显微镜前，

and I crushed up a piece of glass,

碾碎了一小片玻璃，

crushed it up.

碾碎后，

And underneath the microscope

放在显微镜下，

there were splinters of glass.

可以看到很多玻璃碎片，

Some of them were quite jagged.

有一些非常参差不齐。

So I was crushing up these pieces of glass,

我碾碎的这些玻璃碎片，

which, as you can see,

就如你们看到的，

that's the actual frame of the house.

是这间小屋的主体结构材料。

And the actual roof is made up of a fiber,

屋顶部分是用一根纤维制成的，

which I found in my sister's old teddy bear.

那根纤维是从我妹妹的旧泰迪熊身上取来的。

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

So I got the teddy bear and I said,

我找到泰迪熊，对它说，

"Do you mind if I pull out one of your fibers?"

“你介意我抽走一根纤维吗？”

So I did.

我拔了一根，

And I looked at it beneath the microscope. And some of it was flat.

把它放到显微镜下观察，发现纤维的某些部分是扁平的。

So I decided to slice these up

我打算把这些部分切割成更小的薄片。

with the tool that I make

就用我自己制作的工具。

by -- I sharpen the end of a needle into a blade.

我把一根针的尖端打磨成薄薄的刀刃。

And then I actually

然后，

slow down my whole nervous system.

我开始平心静气，放慢呼吸，

And then I work between my heartbeat,

聚精会神地开始小心翼翼的工作。

I have one-and-a-half seconds

我有1.5秒钟的时间

to actually move.

移动工具，

And at the same time I have to watch I don't inhale

同时我还得小心，

my own work, at the same time.

别把自己的工作成果吸入鼻子里。

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

(Applause)

（掌声）

Because that has happened to me.

那种事情的确发生过。

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

So what I did, like I said, come back to the glass.

我的工作又回到玻璃上。

I found these little bits of glass.

我找到了一些小玻璃片，

And I had to make them square.

但需要把它们弄成方形。

So I'm thinking "How can I do this?"

于是我就想，“怎么弄呢？”

So what I did, I got an oilstone. Broke the edge of an oilstone off.

我找了块油磨石，把边角敲了一点下来。

And what I did, I took pieces of glass. And I started to rub them.

然后把玻璃片放到油磨石碎块上打磨。

I used a little tweezer which I made from a hair clip.

我用的是一把用小发卡改造成的镊子，

And I built rubber around the end of the tweezer so it wouldn't crush the glass.

为了防止镊子夹坏玻璃，我还在镊子顶部涂上了橡胶。

And then I started rubbing, very very gently,

然后我开始小心翼翼地打磨玻璃，

till some of the edges were quite square. And then I constructed it.

直到玻璃的边角变得十分齐整后，我才开始搭建房屋。

And how I constructed it,

我是怎么搭起这座小屋的呢？

is by making grooves in the top of the pinhead.

首先，我在大头针顶端刻出沟槽。

And then pushing the glass in with its own friction.

然后，借用玻璃本身的摩擦力把玻璃片插入槽里。

And as I was doing it, what happened?

就在我这么做的时候，出了点状况。

The instrument that I used turned into a catapult.

我用的工具成了一个弹弓，

And it went like this ...

就像这样……

And then that was it.

我的工作成果化为乌有。

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

Gone.

烟消云散。

So I'm thinking, "Mr. Huf isn't going to be very happy

“霍夫先生一定不怎么高兴，”我想，

when I told him his house has gone to another,

“当我告诉他他的小屋已经去了另一个……

into the atmosphere somewhere."

已经消失在空气中的时候。”

So to cut the story short,

还是长话短说吧。

I decided that I had to go back and do it.

我决定重新开始。

So I found some more. And I decided to, sort of,

我找到一些玻璃片。这次我打算，

construct it very, very slowly,

慢慢地，非常小心地搭建它们。

holding my breath, working between my heartbeat,

我屏气凝神，小心翼翼地工作，

and making sure everything is leveled.

确保每一个部分都保持平稳。

Because it's such a small sculpture,

这么小的雕塑，

nothing can go wrong.

一点点差错都是不允许的。

And I decided to build it up.

而其，这次我下定决心要完成这个作品。

Then I used fibers out of my jumper,

这回我用的是自己毛衣上的纤维。

which I held and stretched.

我抽出纤维，拉伸它们，

And made the beams going around the house.

做成房屋四周的梁柱。

And the actual windows and the balcony

窗户和阳台

had to be sort of constructed.

也需要搭建出来。

I used a money spider's web

我用了一些蛛丝

to actually attach certain things,

来粘合一些部件。

which sent me insane.

这些蛛丝简直快让我疯掉了，

But I managed to do it.

但我还是做成了。

And when I finished it, I came back the next day.

完工后第二天，

I noticed that the house was occupied.

我发现房子里竟然有了住客。

Have we ever heard of a dust mite?

你们有没有听说过尘螨？

Darren dust mite and his family moved in.

尘螨达伦一家住进了我的小屋。

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

So basically I'd completed the house.

至此，霍夫小屋基本完成。

And there you are.

就是你们看到的这个样子。

(Applause)

（掌声）

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

Right. As you can see,

正如你们所见，

Bart Simpson is having a little argument.

巴特·辛普森正和老爸发生了口角。

I think they're arguing about the space on the pin.

我想他们是在为大头针头上的空间而争吵。

There's not enough room for the two of them.

好像空间不太够。

So I didn't think he was going to throw Bart off.

不过我不认为老爸真的会把巴特扔下去，

I think he was just warning him actually.

我想他只是在警告他。

But this one was made out of a nylon tag

这个雕塑是用一枚我衬衣上的

out of my shirt.

尼龙标签做的。

What I did, I plucked the tag out

怎么做的呢？我把标签拔下来，

and put it underneath the microscope.

放到显微镜下。

I used the needle which has got a slight blade on the end.

还是用那种尖端有刀刃的针。

Can anybody see the blade on the end of that needle?

有人能看见这根针头上的刀刃吗？

Audience: No.

观众：不能。

WW: So what I did is the same process where I

维拉德：所以，还是像之前一样，

just kind of hold my breath

我屏住气，

and just work away very, very slowly,

很慢很慢地进行一步一步的操作。

manipulating the plastic, cutting it, because it behaves different.

我捏住塑料，进行切割。塑料的质地会变得很不一样，

Whenever you work on that level, things behave different.

到了那么微小的程度，什么东西的质地都会变得很不一样。

Because it's on this molecular level things change

因为在分子水平上，物体会发生变化，

and they act different.

它们的反应也会发生变化。

And sometimes they turn into little catapults and things go up in the air.

有时候它们会变成小弹弓，把零件弹上天。

And, you know, all different things happen.

有时候，各种各样稀奇古怪的事情都会发生。

But I had to make a little barrier, going around it, out of cellophane,

我不得不用玻璃纸做一个小围栏，围住它们，

to stop it moving.

防止它们四散。

Then static electricity set in.

可是又出现了静电，

And it went ...

事情就变得……

And I'm trying to remove it. And the static is interfering with everything.

我试图去除静电，因为它干扰了所有的工作。

So there is sweat dripping off my head,

我急得满头大汗。

because I have to carve Homer Simpson like that, in that position.

因为我必须把霍默辛普森刻成那个姿势，放在那个位置上。

And after I've cut out the shape,

形状出来后，

then I have to make sure that there is room for Bart's neck.

还得确保有足够的空间放下巴特的脖子。

So after I've done the same thing,

重复前面的工作后，

then I have to paint it.

该给雕塑上色了。

And after I've actually sculpted them,

等我完完全全地把他们雕塑出来后，

I have to paint them.

准备给他们上色。

I experimented with a --

我拿了一个小东西做实验 ——

I found a dead fly.

一只死苍蝇。

And I plucked the hair off the fly's head.

拔下它头上的一根毛，

Decided to make a paintbrush.

打算拿这个做颜料刷。

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

But I would never do it to a living fly.

我可不会对一只活苍蝇这么做。

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

Because I've heard a fly in pain.

因为我听到过苍蝇痛苦的呻吟，

And they go "Meow! Ow!"

就像这样，“呜嘤——呜嘤——”

Even though they get on our nerves,

虽然苍蝇总是让人烦躁，

I would never kill an insect

但我不会杀死任何一只昆虫。

because, "All creatures great and small" --

因为“所有的生命，无论大小……”——

there is a hymn that says that.

有一首赞美诗里这么写的。

So what I decided to do

于是我决定，

is to pluck fine hair out of my face.

拔下自己脸上的一根汗毛。

And I looked at it underneath the microscope.

我把它放到显微镜下，

That was the paintbrush.

发现很适合作画笔。

And whilst I'm painting I have to be very careful,

上色的时候必须非常小心，

because the paint starts to turn into little blobs.

颜料变成了小液滴，

And it starts to dry very quickly.

很容易干掉。

So I have to be very quick.

我必须动作很快，

If I'm not, it will end up looking

否则，它就会看上去

not like what it's supposed to look like.

不像我想要的样子。

It could end up looking like Humpty Dumpty or somebody else.

它可能会看上去像汉普蒂·邓普蒂（蛋壳先生）或者别的什么人。

So I have to be very very careful.

所以我得非常小心。

This one took me approximately,

这个雕塑花了我大概

I would say, six to seven weeks.

六七个星期左右。

My work, rough estimate,

粗略估计，我的作品

sometimes five, six to seven weeks;

一般会花五周，六周或七周时间。

you can't always anticipate.

有时也很难说。

(Applause)

（掌声）

As you can see,

如你们所见，

that's Charlton Heston brought down to size.

这是缩微的查尔顿·赫斯顿。

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

He says to me, "Willard" --

他在对我说：“维拉德，”

You can see him saying, "Why me?"

你们可以看到他在对我说，“为什么是我？”

I says, "I enjoyed your film. That's why."

我的回答是，“因为我喜欢你演的电影。”

As you can see, there's an aphid fly there.

你们可以看到，那边有一只蚜蝇。

That's just to show the scale

放在那儿是为了显示出照片的放大比例

and the actual size of the sculpture.

和雕塑的真实大小。

I would say it probably measures ...

我想大概是……

a quarter of a millimeter.

四分之一毫米吧。

In America they say a period stop.

美国人把句号称作“period stop”,

So say if you cut a period stop in half,

如果你把一个句号切成两半，

a full stop, that's about the size of the whole thing.

一个句号的一半，大概就是这个雕塑的体积。

It's made -- the chariot is made of gold.

双轮战车是纯金制成的，

And Charlton Heston is made of a floating fiber,

查尔顿·赫斯顿则是用一根漂浮的纤维做的。

which I took out of the air.

我从空气里收集到的一根纤维。

When the sunlight comes through the window you see these little fibers.

当阳光照进窗户的时候，你会看到一些细小的纤维。

And what I normally do is walk 'round a room --

一般我都会这样在屋里四处走动，

(Laughter) --

（观众笑）

trying to find one. And then I put it underneath the microscope.

试图收集一根纤维，然后我就把它放到显微镜下。

I remember one time I was doing it, and the window was open.

我记得有一次，窗户开着，我正在四处走动，

And there was a lady standing by the bus stop.

公交车站旁站着一位女士，

And she saw me walking around like this.

她看见我这样在屋里转来转去。

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

And then she looked at me.

她有些惊讶地看着我，

And then I went ...

于是我就……（假装打个招呼）

And then she went, "Hmm, OK, he's not mad."

她就走开了，想着“嗯，还好，他没疯。”

Yeah, to actually do this thing --

那么，这个作品是怎么完成的呢——

the actual chariot is made of gold.

战车是纯金的。

I had a 24-karat gold ring.

我有一枚24K的金戒指。

And I cut off a little flake of gold.

我从上面切下一小片金子，

And I bent it 'round,

加以切削，弯成环形，

and made it into the chariot.

然后做成战车的模样。

And the horse is made from nylon.

马是尼龙做的。

And the spider's web is for the reins on the horse.

马的缰绳是蛛丝做的。

To get the symmetrical shape of the horse

做出匀称的马的造型

was very difficult,

非常难。

because I had to get the horse to rear up

因为马前蹄扬起，我必须让马表现出跃起的姿态，

and look as though it was in some kind of action.

看上去有动感。

When I did this one,

当我在做这个作品的时候，

a gentleman seen it and said to me,

有位先生见到了，他对我说，

"There's no way you can do this, you must have used some kind of machine.

“你不可能靠手把它做出来，你肯定用了某种机器。

There's no way a man can do that.

人手不可能做出这样的雕塑，

It must be a machine."

肯定是机器做的。”

So I says, "OK then, if you say it's a machine ..."

我回答说：“好吧，如果你一定要说是机器做的话……”

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

(Applause)

（掌声）

That one took me approximately six weeks.

这个作品花了我大概六周的时间。

(Applause)

（掌声）

The most famous statue in the world.

世界上最著名的雕像。

This one, I would say,

我得说，这个

was a serious challenge.

的确是个挑战。

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

Because I had to put the torch on the top.

因为我必须把火炬放在最顶上。

That one is, more or less, the same type of process.

制作的过程和前面的多少有些类似。

The bottom of it is carved from a grain of sand,

雕像的基座由一粒沙子雕刻而成。

because I wanted to get a bit of the stone effect.

因为我想让它有一点石头的质感。

I used a microscopic shard of diamond

我用一片非常微小的钻石

to actually carve the actual base.

雕刻出基座。

Well, I can look at this one and I can be very proud of this,

看着这个作品，我总是感到非常自豪。

because that statue has always sort of

这座雕像总是

kept an image in my head of, you know,

萦绕在我的脑海中，

the beginning of people coming to America.

让我想起初到美国的人们。

So it's sort of Ellis Island, and seeing America for the first time.

就像埃利斯岛是第一次看到美国的地方，

And that's the first thing they saw.

这座雕像是他们看见的第一座标志性物体。

So I wanted to have that little image.

我一直想拥有那么一个雕像，

And this is it.

现在我做到了。

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

And we all know that is the Hulk.

众所周知，这个是绿巨人。

I wanted to create movement in the eye of a needle.

我起初想在针眼里创造一种动感。

Because we know we see needles,

我们都见过针，

but people aren't familiar with the eye of a needle

但人们对针眼却并不那么熟悉，

apart from putting a thread through it.

除了穿针引线时会看看。

So I broke the needle.

我把针眼打开了，

And made a needle look like

让它看上去像

the Hulk's broken it.

是被绿巨人撑开的。

It's -- I had to make little holes

它是……我得在针头底部扎一些小洞，

in the base of the needle, to shove his feet in.

以安放绿巨人的脚。

So most of my work, I don't use glue.

我的绝大部分作品都没有使用胶水。

They go in with their own friction.

它们只是靠自己的摩擦力固定在一起。

And that's how I managed to do it.

这就是我如何做到的。

As you can see, he's looking at the moment. He's got a little grimace on his face.

你们可以看到，他正瞪着眼睛，面部有点狰狞。

And his mouth must be probably about

他的嘴巴大概有

three microns.

三微米左右。

So the eyes are probably about one micron or something.

眼睛大概是一微米左右。

That ship there,

那艘船

that's made from 24-karat gold.

是由24K黄金雕刻而成。

And I normally rig it with the web of a money spider.

通常我会用皿蛛的网丝做帆索，

But I had to rig it with strands of glue.

但这次我不得不用胶水拉出的丝，

Because the web of the spider, it was sending me insane,

那些蛛丝已经让我快要疯了，

because I couldn't get the web to move off.

我没法把它们分开。

And that's 24-karat gold. And it's constructed. I built it.

这是24K纯金，我把它们组装起来，搭建起来，

Constructed each plank of gold.

把每一块金片组装起来。

And the whole thing is sort of symmetrical.

整体看上去还算匀称。

The flag had to be made out of little strands of gold.

旗帜是小金丝做的。

It's almost like doing a surgical operation to get this thing right.

做这个几乎就得像做外科手术一样精确。

(Applause)

（掌声）

As you can see, dressage.

这个是，盛装舞步。

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

It's something I wanted to do just to show how I could get the symmetrical shape.

我做这个小东西只是想看看如何做出匀称的造型。

The actual rigging on the reins on the horse

马的缰绳等索具

are made from the same sort of thing.

都是用同等材质制造的。

And that was done with a particle from my shirt.

是从我衬衣上取下的一点点材料。

And the pinhead I've made green around there

大头针头部的绿色草地

by scraping the particles off a green shirt

是刮了一点绿衬衫上的材料做的，

and then pressed onto the needle.

然后按压在大头针顶部。

It's very painstaking work,

这是一项非常辛苦细致的工作，

but the best things come in small packages.

但是快乐就在这一点一滴中积累起来。

(Laughter)

（观众笑）

Bruno Giussani: Willard Wigan!

布鲁诺·吉桑尼：维拉德·威根！

(Applause)

（掌声）