How one tree grows 40 different kinds of fruit | Sam Van Aken

翻译人员: Lipeng Chen 校对人员: Yolanda Zhang

100 years ago,

100 年前，

there were 2,000 varieties of peaches,

在美国有着 2000 多种桃子，

nearly 2,000 different varieties of plums

将近 2000 种不同的李子，

and almost 800 named varieties of apples growing in the United States.

以及将近 800 种可以叫出名字的苹果。

Today, only a fraction of those remain,

如今，只剩下了其中一小部分，

and what is left is threatened by industrialization of agriculture,

而剩下的也受着农业的工业化、

disease and climate change.

疾病和气候变化的威胁。

Those varieties that are threatened include the Blood Cling,

受到威胁的品种包括血桃，

a red-flesh peach brought by Spanish missionaries to the Americas,

一种由西班牙传教士带到美国、

then cultivated by Native Americans for centuries;

然后被印第安人培育了 数个世纪的血红色桃子；

an apricot that was brought by Chinese immigrants

杏子，由建设美国横贯大陆铁路的

who came to work on the Transcontinental Railroad;

中国移民带来；

and countless varieties of plums that originated in the Middle East

以及数不清的原产于中东，

and were then brought by Italian, French and German immigrants.

然后被意大利、法国和 德国移民带来的李子。

None of these varieties are indigenous.

这些品种中没有一个产于当地。

In fact, almost all of our fruit trees were brought here,

事实上，我们的大部分 果树种类都是外来物种，

including apples and peaches and cherries.

包括苹果、桃子和樱桃。

So more than just food,

所以这些水果不仅仅是食物，

embedded within these fruit is our culture.

它们还包含着我们的文化。

It's the people who cared for and cultivated them,

人们关爱、培育并且珍视这些水果

who valued them so much that they brought them here with them

才把它们一起带来，

as a connection to their home,

作为和家乡的联系，

and it's the way that they've passed them on and shared them.

这些水果得以代代相传，为人分享。

In many ways, these fruit are our story.

从许多角度来看， 这些水果就是我们的故事。

And I was fortunate enough to learn about it

我非常幸运，通过我创作的

through an artwork that I created entitled the "Tree of 40 Fruit."

名为“四十果树”的艺术品 学习到了这些。

The Tree of 40 Fruit is a single tree

“四十果树”是一棵

that grows 40 different varieties of stone fruit.

长着四十种不同核果的树。

So that's peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines and cherries

桃子、李子、杏子、 油桃、樱桃，

all growing on one tree.

都长在一棵树上。

It's designed to be a normal-looking tree throughout the majority of the year,

它被设计成在一年的多数时间里， 看上去是一棵正常的树，

until spring, when it blossoms in pink and white

直到春天，它会开出 粉色和白色的花朵，

and then in summer, bears a multitude of different fruit.

而到夏天，它会结出多种不同的果实。

I began the project for purely artistic reasons:

我因纯粹的艺术缘由 开始了这个项目：

I wanted to change the reality of the everyday,

我想要改变日常的现实，

and to be honest,

说实话，

create this startling moment when people would see this tree

就是创造出这个 当人们看到这棵树

blossom in all these different colors

开出不同颜色的花，

and bear all of these different fruit.

长出不同果实的惊奇时刻。

I created the Tree of 40 Fruit through the process of grafting.

我通过嫁接的手段创造了“四十果树”。

I'll collect cuttings in winter, store them,

我在冬天收集插条，保存好，

and then graft them onto the ends of branches in spring.

然后在春天把它们嫁接到枝丫的末端。

In fact, almost all fruit trees are grafted,

事实上，基本所有的果树都是嫁接的，

because the seed of a fruit tree is a genetic variant of the parent.

因为果树的种子会发生基因变异。

So when we find a variety that we really like,

所以当我们找到一种 我们十分喜欢的品种时，

the way that we propagate it is by taking a cutting off of one tree

我们培育它的方法就是 从树上砍下插条，

and putting it onto another --

再把它嫁接到另一棵树上——

which is kind of crazy to think

想象一下每一个麦金塔苹果

that every single Macintosh apple came from one tree

都来自同一棵树， 人们代代嫁接，

that's been grafted over and over from generation to generation.

听起来有些疯狂吧？

But it also means that fruit trees can't be preserved by seed.

这也意味着果树不能由 种子保留下来。

I've known about grafting as long as I can remember.

我从记事起就了解到了嫁接。

My great-grandfather made a living grafting peach orchards

我的曾祖父靠着嫁接 位于宾州东南部的

in Southeastern Pennsylvania.

桃子果园为生。

And although I never met him,

尽管我从未见过他，

any time anyone would mention his name,

但是任何时候只要 有人提及他的名字，

they were quick to note

人们都会很快的说起，

that he knew how to graft as if he had a magical or mystical capability.

我的曾祖父知道如何嫁接， 就像有一种魔法般或是神秘的能力。

I decided on the number 40 for the Tree of 40 Fruit

我为“四十果树” 定下 40 这个数字，

because it's found throughout Western religion

因为 40 在西方宗教中

as not the quantifiable dozen and not the infinite

被认为是不可量化的， 但也不是无穷的，

but a number that's beyond counting.

而是一个数不清的数字。

It's a bounty or a multitude.

它代表很多或是大量。

But the problem was that when I started,

但问题是，当我开始创作时，

I couldn't find 40 different varieties of these fruit,

我没法找到 40 种不同的核果，

and this is despite the fact that I live in New York state,

尽管我居住在纽约州，

which, a century ago,

在一个世纪前

was one of the leading producers of these fruit.

这里可是生产核果的龙头老大。

So as they were tearing out research orchards

所以当人们拆除研究型果园，

and old, vintage orchards,

以及老旧的果园时，

I would collect branches off them

我就会收集果树的枝干，

and graft them onto trees in my nursery.

并把它们嫁接到 我的苗圃里的树上。

So this is what the Tree of 40 Fruit look like when they were first planted,

这是“四十果树”刚被种下时的样子，

and this is what they look like six years later.

这是它们六年后的样子。

这肯定不是快速嫁接运动——

This is definitely not a sport of immediate gratification --

(Laughter)

（笑声）

It takes a year to know if a graft has succeeded;

想要知道嫁接是否成功， 需要一年的时间；

it takes two to three years to know if it produces fruit;

想要知道嫁接是否结果， 需要两到三年；

and it takes up to eight years to create just one of the trees.

而要创作出这样一棵树， 需要长达八年的时间。

Each of the varieties grafted to the Tree of 40 Fruit

每一种被嫁接到“四十果树”的核果，

has a slightly different form and a slightly different color.

都有着稍微不同的形态 和稍微不同的颜色。

And I realized that by creating a timeline of when all these blossomed

我意识到通过记录 所有品种开花时间点之间

in relationship to each other,

相互关系的时间线，

I can essentially shape or design how the tree appears during spring.

我就可以塑造或设计出 果树在春天的样子。

And this is how they appear during summer.

这是果树在夏天的样子。

果树从六月到九月都在结果。

They produce fruit from June through September.

First is cherries, then apricots,

首先是樱桃，然后是杏子，

Asian plums, nectarines and peaches,

亚洲李，油桃和桃子，

and I think I forgot one in there, somewhere ...

我觉得我在哪里忘了一个品种……

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Although it's an artwork that exists outside of the gallery,

尽管这是一个存在于 美术馆之外的艺术品，

as the project continues,

随着项目的继续，

it's been conservation by way of the art world.

它却被艺术世界 以一种方式保留了下来。

As I've been asked to create these in different locations,

当我被邀请在不同的地点 创造出这些果树时，

what I'll do is I'll research varieties

我会做的就是研究

that originated or were historically grown in that area,

那个地区土生土长的 或是历史上生长过的品种，

I'll source them locally and graft them to the tree

然后我会在当地寻找这些品种， 并把它们嫁接到树上，

so that it becomes an agricultural history of the area where they're located.

这样这棵果树就变成了 所在地区的农业历史。

And then the project got picked up online,

然后这个项目就在网上传开了，

which was horrifying and humbling.

让我有些惊讶，觉得有点不好意思。

The horrifying part was all of the tattoos that I saw

让我感到惊讶的是我看到的那些

of images of the Tree of 40 Fruit.

“四十果树”的纹身图案。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Which I was like, "Why would you do that to your body?"

我就想，“你为什么要对 你的身体这样做？”

(Laughter)

（笑声）

And the humbling part was all of the requests that I received

令我有点难为情的 是那些我收到的来自

from pastors, from rabbis and priests

神父、拉比和牧师的请求，

who asked to use the tree as a central part within their service.

他们想把这棵树作为 他们宗教礼拜的核心部分。

And then it became a meme --

然后这棵树变成了表情包——

and the answer to that question is "I hope not?"

这个问题的答案是“我希望不是？”

[Is your marriage like the Tree of 40 Fruit?]

【你的婚姻像“四十果树”吗？】

(Laughter)

（笑声）

Like all good memes,

就像所有风靡起来的表情包作者，

this has led to an interview on NPR's "Weekend Edition,"

我接受了 NPR 的 “周末特辑”节目的采访，

and as a college professor, I thought I peaked --

作为一名大学教授， 我认为这就是——

like, that was the pinnacle of my career --

算是我事业的顶峰了——

but you never know who's listening to NPR.

但你永远也不知道谁会听 NPR。

And several weeks after the NPR interview,

在 NPR 采访的几周之后，

I received an email from the Department of Defense.

我收到了一封来自美国国防部的邮件。

The Defense Advanced Research Project Administration invited me

国防高级研究计划局邀请我

to come talk about innovation and creativity,

去进行关于创新和创造力的演讲，

and it's a conversation that quickly shifted to a discussion of food security.

这场对话迅速的转向了 关于食品安全的讨论。

You see, our national security is dependent upon our food security.

很明显，我们的国家安全 也依赖于我们的食品安全。

Now that we've created these monocultures

考虑到我们走向了单一种植，

that only grow a few varieties of each crop,

只培育每种作物的几个品种，

if something happens to just one of those varieties,

如果这些品种之一发生了什么事，

it can have a dramatic impact upon our food supply.

则会对我们的食物供给 产生显著的影响。

And the key to maintaining our food security

保证食物安全的关键就是

is preserving our biodiversity.

保护我们的生物多样性。

100 years ago, this was done by everybody that had a garden

100 年前，只要有花园或是

or a small stand of trees in their backyard,

在后院中长着几棵树的人 都在做这件事，

and grew varieties that were passed down through their family.

他们培育不同品种， 再在家族中代代相传。

These are plums from just one Tree of 40 Fruit in one week in August.

这些是八月的一周里 从一棵“四十果树”上收获的李子。

Several years into the project,

项目开始后的几年，

I was told that I have one of the largest collections of these fruit

我被告知，在美国东部，

in the Eastern United States,

我所收集的这些水果的数量最多，

which, as an artist, is absolutely terrifying.

对于一个艺术家来说， 我觉得受宠若惊。

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But in many ways, I didn't know what I had.

但在许多方面， 我并不知道我到底拥有什么。

I discovered that the majority of the varieties I had

我发现我培育品种中的大多数

were heirloom varieties,

都是原种品种，

so those that were grown before 1945,

也就是在 1945 年之前生长的品种，

which is seen as the dawn of the industrialization of agriculture.

那个时间点被看做是 农业工业化的前夕。

Several of the varieties dated back thousands and thousands of years.

有些品种的起源可以 追溯到几千年以前。

And finding out how rare they were,

了解到它们的稀缺性，

I became obsessed with trying to preserve them,

我执着的想要保存它们，

and the vehicle for this became art.

而这个载体就是艺术。

I would go into old, vintage orchards before they were torn out

我会在老旧果园被拆毁前造访，

and I would save the bowl or the trunk section

我会收集那些保留了 原始嫁接结构的

that possessed the original graft union.

树枝或树桩。

I started doing pressings of flowers and the leaves

我开始压制花朵和树叶

to create herbarium specimens.

来制作植物标本。

I started to sequence the DNA.

我开始测序 DNA。

But ultimately, I set out to preserve the story

但最终，我会用 铜制蚀刻板和凸版印刷描述

through these copper-plate etchings and letterpress descriptions.

来保留这些故事。

To tell the story of the George IV peach,

我想讲讲乔治四世品种的桃子，

which took root between two buildings in New York City --

它生长在纽约市的两栋建筑之间——

someone walks by, tastes it,

人们从旁边走过，品尝，

it becomes a major commercial variety in the 19th century

它成为了 19 世纪 一种主要的商业品种，

because it tastes just that good.

因为它的味道太好了。

Then all but vanishes,

然后一下子又全部消失了，

because it doesn't ship well

因为这种桃子没法运输，

and it doesn't conform to modern agriculture.

而且也不适应现代农业。

But I realize that as a story, it needs to be told.

但我意识到， 这种桃子的故事需要有人讲述。

And in the telling of that story,

要讲述这个故事，

it has to include the experience of being able to touch,

需要包含能够接触、

to smell and to taste those varieties.

闻到以及品尝这些品种的经历。

So I set out to create an orchard

所以我开始创建果园，

to make these fruit available to the public,

来让这些水果面向大众，

and have the aim of placing them in the highest density of people

最初目标是把果树种在 我能找到的

that I could possibly find.

人口密度最高的地方。

Naturally, I started looking for an acre of land in New York City --

自然而然，我尝试在纽约市 寻找一英亩土地——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

which, in retrospect, seemed, like, rather ambitious,

现在想来，这听上去 还蛮有雄心壮志的，

and probably the reason why nobody was returning my phone calls or emails --

也许也是没人回复我电话 或邮件的原因——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

until eventually, four years later, I heard back from Governors Island.

直到四年之后， 我收到了总督岛的回复。

So Governors Island is a former naval base

总督岛曾是一个海军基地，

that was given to the City of New York in 2000.

于 2000 年被赠予纽约市。

And it opened up all of this land

纽约市开放了整座岛，

just a five-minute ferry ride from New York.

离纽约只有五分钟的轮渡。

And they invited me to create a project that we're calling the "Open Orchard"

他们邀请我去创作一个 我们称为“开放果园”的项目，

that will bring back fruit varieties

这个项目会带回那些

that haven't been grown in New York for over a century.

在过去一个世纪， 未被在纽约培育的水果品种。

Currently in progress,

目前项目正在进行，

The Open Orchard will be 50 multigrafted trees

“开放果园” 将会包含 50 棵多嫁接果树，

that possess 200 heirloom and antique fruit varieties.

包含 200 种原生和古老的水果品种。

So these are varieties that originated or were historically grown in the region.

这些是原产于或历史上 生长于该地区的品种。

Varieties like the Early Strawberry apple,

品种中有草莓苹果，

which originated on 13th Street and Third Avenue.

原产于 13 街和第三大道。

Since a fruit tree can't be preserved by seed,

因为果树不可以通过种子留存，

The Open Orchard will act like a living gene bank,

“开放果园”将会变成 一个活的基因银行，

or an archive of these fruit.

或是这些水果的档案库。

Like the Tree of 40 Fruit,

就像是“四十果树”，

it will be experiential;

“开放果园”将是实验性的，

it will also be symbolic.

它也将是象征性的。

Most importantly, it's going to invite people to participate in conservation

最重要的是，它将会 邀请人们加入对话，

and to learn more about their food.

并邀请人们了解自己的食物。

Through the Tree of 40 Fruit,

通过“四十果树”，

I've received thousands and thousands of emails from people,

我收到了来自人们 的成千上万封邮件，

asking basic questions about "How do you plant a tree?"

询问我“你怎么种树的？” 之类最基本的问题。

With less than three percent of the population

和农业有着直接的联系

having any direct tie to agriculture,

的人口还不到3%，

the Open Orchard is going to invite people

“开放果园”会邀请人们

to come take part in public programming and to take part in workshops,

参与公共项目和工作坊，

to learn how to graft, to grow, to prune and to harvest a tree;

学习如何嫁接、培育、 修剪和采摘果树；

to take part in fresh eating and blossom tours;

参与鲜果品尝和花季观赏；

to work with local chefs to learn how to use these fruit

与当地厨师一起学习 如何利用这些水果

and to recreate centuries-old dishes

来重新创作专门培育这些品种

that many of these varieties were grown specifically for.

来制作的百年菜谱。

Extending beyond the physical site of the orchard,

延伸到果园的物理地址之外，

it will be a cookbook that compiles all of those recipes.

项目还会是包含所有菜谱的食谱书。

It will be a field guide

它会是实地指南，

that talks about the characteristics and traits of those fruit,

包括这些水果的特征和特性，

their origin and their story.

它们的起源和它们的故事。

Growing up on a farm, I thought I understood agriculture,

成长于农场的我， 曾认为我理解农业，

and I didn't want anything to do with it.

我也不想从事农业相关的工作。

So I became an artist --

所以我成为了艺术家——

(Laughter)

（笑声）

But I have to admit that it's something within my own DNA.

但我必须承认我自己的 DNA 中 存在着某样东西。

And I don't think that I'm the only one.

我并不认为我是唯一一个。

100 years ago, we were all much more closely tied to the culture,

100 年前，我们和我们食物背后的

the cultivation and the story of our food,

文化、培育以及储存方法 联系更加紧密，

and we've been separated from that.

而现在我们与其分离了。

The Open Orchard creates the opportunity

“开放果园”创造了这样的机会，

not just to reconnect to this unknown past,

不止让我们与未知 的过去重新建立联系，

but a way for us to consider what the future of our food could be.

还让我们开始思考食物的未来 将是什么样的。

Thank you.

谢谢。

(Applause)

（掌声）