Amanda Williams: Why I turned Chicago's abandoned homes into art | TED

譯者: JIAWEN ZHANG 審譯者: Zoe Chang

I really love color.

我真的很愛顏色。

無論何處任何東西， 我首先注意到的就是顏色。

I notice it everywhere and in everything.

My family makes fun of me

我的家人則取笑我，

because I like to use colors with elusive-sounding names,

因為我喜歡用一些 名字很縹緲的顏色，

like celadon ...

譬如青瓷色……

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

ecru ...

生成色……

carmine.

胭脂紅。

Now, if you haven't noticed, I am black, thank you --

對了，如果你還沒有注意到， 我是黑人，謝謝。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

and when you grow up in a segregated city as I have,

如果你像我一樣， 生長在種族隔離的城市，

like Chicago,

例如芝加哥，

you're conditioned to believe that color and race can never be separate.

你自然而然就相信 膚色和種族永遠是分不開的。

There's hardly a day that goes by

幾乎每一天，

that somebody is not reminding you of your color.

都有人會提醒你，你的膚色。

Racism is my city's vivid hue.

種族主義給了我的城市 一個鮮明的色彩。

Now, we can all agree that race is a socially constructed phenomenon,

如今我們都同意， 種族意識是社會建構的產物。

but it's often hard to see it in our everyday existence.

即使在日常生活中不是很明顯。

Its pervasiveness is everywhere.

它卻影響深遠無處不在。

The neighborhoods I grew up in

在我成長的那個區，

were filled with a kind of culturally coded beauty.

充滿了某種種族文化的美。

Major commercial corridors were lined with brightly painted storefronts

鎮中心的商業街兩旁都是 漆了鮮明亮麗顏色的店家，

that competed for black consumer dollars.

爭相招攬黑人顧客的生意。

The visual mash-ups of corner stores and beauty supply houses,

就在這樣充滿視覺混搭的 街角小店、美容用品店、

currency exchanges,

外幣兌換店的環境中，

are where I actually, inadvertently learned the foundational principles

我不知不覺地學到了日後知道

of something I would later come to know is called color theory.

名為色彩理論的基本原理。

I can remember being pretty intimidated by this term in college --

我還記得在大學的時候， 自己非常害怕這個名詞──

color theory.

色彩理論。

All these stuffy old white guys with their treatises

也怕那些論述一堆、滿口術語的

and obscure terminologies.

沉悶乏味的白人。

I'd mastered each one of their color palettes and associated principles.

我早已熟知所有的 調色組合及相關原理。

Color theory essentially boils down to the art and science

色彩理論基本上就是 藝術和科學的濃縮，

of using color to form compositions and spaces.

運用顏色形成架構與空間。

It's not so complicated.

其實並不複雜。

This was my bible in college.

這是我大學時奉為圭臬的書。

Josef Albers posited a theory about the color red,

約瑟夫·亞伯斯提出的 一個有關紅色的理論，

and it always has stuck with me.

我牢記不忘。

He argues that the iconic color of a cola can is red,

他說可口可樂的經典顏色──紅色，

and that in fact all of us can agree that it's red

大家都同意那是紅色，

but the kinds of reds that we imagine

可是我們每個人想像中的紅色種類

are as varied as the number of people in this room.

可能與在座的人數一樣多。

So imagine that.

所以你可以想像，

This color that we've all been taught since kindergarten is primary --

我們從幼稚園就學到的三原色──

red, yellow, blue --

紅色、黃色、藍色──

in fact is not primary,

事實上並不是原色，

is not irreducible,

也沒有那麼絕對，

is not objective but quite subjective.

它們並非客觀， 而是相當主觀的顏色。

What?

什麼？！

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Albers called this "relational."

亞伯斯稱之為「相關性」。

Relational.

相關性。

And so it was the first time

那是第一次，

that I was able to see my own neighborhood as a relational context.

我用相關性去審視我所居住的地方。

Each color is affected by its neighbor.

每個顏色都受到環境的影響。

Each other is affected by its neighbor.

所有事物都被鄰近的環境影響。

In the 1930s,

在 1930 年代，

the United States government created

美國政府成立了

the Federal Housing Administration,

聯邦住宅管理局（FHA），

which in turn created a series of maps

之後 FHA 做了一系列的地圖，

which were using a color-coding system to determine which neighborhoods

上面用顏色代號清楚劃分出

哪些地區可以申請到 聯邦住宅貸款，哪些不行。

should and should not receive federal housing loans.

Their residential security map was its own kind of color palette,

他們的住宅區安全地圖， 又有自成一套的顏色系統，

and in fact was more influential than all of those color palettes

而且比我在大學裡 所學到的所有的顏色系統

that I had been studying in college combined.

具有更大的影響力。

Banks would not lend to people who lived in neighborhoods like mine.

銀行絕不會貸款給住在 類似我所住的社區的人。

That's me in D86.

我住在地圖上的 D86 這區。

Their cartographers were literally coloring in these maps

他們的製圖師在這些地圖上 塗上顏色，

and labeling that color "hazardous."

然後將之標示為「高風險」。

Red was the new black,

紅色就是黑人所在區，

and black neighborhoods were colored.

黑人社區被塗上顏色。

The problem persists today,

這問題現在依然存在，

and we've seen it most recently in the foreclosure crisis.

前不久那一波銀行沒收房屋、 法拍變現的危機中就可看見。

In Chicago, this is best symbolized by these Xs

在芝加哥的西邊及南岸，

that are emblazoned on the fronts of vacated houses

那些被畫上大叉叉的空房子

on the South and West Side.

就是最好的代表。

The reality is that someone else's color palettes were determining

現實的情況是，這個別人的顏色系統

左右了我實質上及藝術的存在感。

my physical and artistic existence.

Ridiculous.

太荒謬了。

I decided that I'd create my own color palette

我決定創作一套我自己的顏色系統，

and speak to the people who live where I do

讓與我住在同一區的人知道，

and alter the way that color had been defined for us.

不要再由他人定義我們的顏色。

It was a palette that I didn't have to search far for

我想要的顏色系統近在眼前，

and look for in a treatise,

無須翻查論述，

because I already knew it.

一切了然於心。

What kind of painter emerges from this reality?

在這樣的現實環境中 能產生什麼樣的畫家呢？

What color is urban?

都市是什麼顏色？

What color is ghetto?

貧民區又是什麼顏色？

What color is privilege?

權貴是什麼顏色？

What color is gang-related?

黑道又是什麼顏色？

What color is gentrification?

仕紳化又是什麼顏色？

What color is Freddie Gray?

弗雷迪·格雷是什麼顏色？ （被警察拘留時死亡的一名黑人）

What color is Mike Brown?

邁克·布朗又是什麼顏色？ （無辜被警察射殺的一名黑人）

Finally, I'd found a way

最後，我找到了一種方式，

to connect my racialized understanding of color

將我對顏色在種族方面的理解

with my theoretical understanding of color.

與我學到的顏色理論連結起來。

And I gave birth to my third baby:

這便是我的第三個孩子：

"Color(ed) Theory."

「有色理論」。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

"Color(ed) Theory" was a two-year artistic project

「有色理論」是為期兩年的藝術創作，

in which I applied my own color palette to my own neighborhoods

將我的顏色系統，

以我自己的方式，運用在我的社區。

in my own way.

Now, if I walked down 79th Street right now

假如我到 79 街上，

and I asked 50 people for the name of the slightly greener shade of cyan,

隨便問 50 個人知不知道 那個偏淺綠的青色是什麼顏色，

they would look at me sideways.

他們會很可疑地看著我。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

But if I say, "What color is Ultra Sheen?" --

如果我問：「超炫亮 （廉價護髮素）是什麼顏色？」

oh, a smile emerges,

噢，微笑出現了，

stories about their grandmother's bathroom ensue.

緊接著就是一堆跟 祖母的浴室相關的回憶。

I mean, who needs turquoise when you have Ultra Sheen?

真的，如果你已經有超炫亮了， 誰還需要土耳其藍？

Who needs teal when you have Ultra Sheen?

如果有了超炫亮，誰會需要水鴨藍？

Who needs ultramarine when you have ...

誰需要群青色，如果你已經有──

(Audience) Ultra Sheen.

（觀眾）超炫亮。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

This is exactly how I derived my palette.

這正是我的顏色系統的由來。

I would ask friends and family

我請我的朋友和家人，

and people with backgrounds that were similar to mine

以及與我有相似背景的人，

for those stories and memories.

分享他們的故事及記憶。

The stories weren't always happy

不見得都是快樂的故事，

but the colors always resonated more than the product itself.

但是伴隨故事出場的顏色 更讓人產生共鳴。

I took those theories to the street.

我把這些理論應用到街上，

"Ultra Sheen."

「超炫亮護髮素。」

"Pink Oil Moisturizer."

「粉紅油護髮乳。」

If you're from Chicago, "Harold's Chicken Shack."

如果你來自芝加哥，你一定 知道「哈羅德炸雞店。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

"Currency Exchange + Safe Passage."

「外匯兌換店 + 安全導護通道」、

"Flamin' Red Hots."

「火辣奇多」、

"Loose Squares" ...

「散裝香煙唱片公司」……

and "Crown Royal Bag."

還有「皇冠皇家威士忌包裝袋。」

I painted soon-to-be-demolished homes

我將位在備受唾棄的恩格塢那區

in a much-maligned area called Englewood.

即將被拆除的房屋漆上顏色。

We'd gather up as much paint as I could fit in my trunk,

我將卡車後車廂塞滿了油漆，

I'd call my most trusted art homies,

打電話給我最信任的藝術家老友，

my amazing husband always by my side,

還有總是支持我的好丈夫，

and we'd paint every inch of the exteriors in monochromatic fashion.

我們用單一顏色塗滿每個房子的外牆。

I wanted to understand scale in a way that I hadn't before.

我想嘗試從未嘗試過的規模。

I wanted to apply the colors to the biggest canvas I could imagine ...

將這些顏色應用在我所能 想像的、最大的畫布上……

houses.

房屋。

So I'd obsessively drive up and down familiar streets that I'd grown up on,

我著魔似地開著車穿梭在 我從小長大熟悉的街道上，

I'd cross-reference these houses with the city's data portal

參照市政府的數據，

to make sure that they'd been tagged for demolition --

確認這些房屋是已列在拆毀名單中──

unsalvageable, left for dead.

無法整修、廢棄無用。

I really wanted to understand what it meant to just let color rule,

我很想知道將一切 交給顏色去主宰是什麼感覺，

to trust my instincts,

以及相信我的直覺，

to stop asking for permission.

不再等待請求被批准。

No meetings with city officials,

不需要與市政官員開會，

no community buy-in,

無須得到社區同意，

just let color rule

純粹就讓顏色去主宰，

in my desire to paint different pictures about the South Side.

畫出我心目中芝加哥南岸的景象。

These houses sit in stark contrast to their fully lined counterparts.

這些房子與其他排列整齊的 房子形成鮮明對比。

We'd paint to make them stand out like Monopoly pieces

它們上色後，在這個環境中 就像大富翁遊戲中的房子

in these environments.

那樣突出。

And we'd go on these early Sunday mornings

我們每週日一大早就開始，

and keep going until we ran out of that paint or until someone complained.

一直做到油漆用完， 還是被人投訴才停止。

"Hey, did you paint that?"

「嘿，那是你漆的嗎？」

a driver asked as I was taking this image one day.

那天我在拍這張照片時， 一個人停下車問我。

Me, nervously:

我非常緊張的回答他：

"Yes?"

「是的。」

His face changed.

他臉色變了。

"Aw, I thought Prince was coming."

「喔，我以為王子要來。」 （黑人歌手）

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

He had grown up on this block,

他是在這個區長大的，

and so you could imagine when he drove past

所以你可以想像， 當他開車經過時，

and saw one of its last remaining houses mysteriously change colors overnight,

看到唯一剩下的房屋， 一夜之間神秘地改變了顏色。

it was clearly not a Crown Royal bag involved,

而且明顯地與皇冠皇家威士忌無關，

it was a secret beacon from Prince.

肯定是王子的秘密信號。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And though that block was almost all but erased,

即使那個地區幾乎全被拆光了，

it was the idea that Prince could pop up in unexpected places

但是王子就是可能 這樣出其不意地出現在

and give free concerts in areas that the music industry and society

這些音樂界及大眾 早已覺得沒有價值的地方，

had deemed were not valuable anymore.

辦他的免費演唱會。

For him,

對他來說，

the idea that just the image of this house

光靠這個房子的外形，

was enough to bring Prince there

就足夠吸引王子前來，

meant that it was possible.

就象徵了可能性。

In that moment,

在那一刻，

that little patch of Eggleston had become synonymous with royalty.

恩格塢的這一小塊地方便等同於王室。

And for however briefly,

就在那短暫的片刻，

Eric Bennett's neighborhood had regained its value.

艾瑞克·班尼特的社區 又重新找回它的價值。

So we traded stories despite being strangers

即使互不相識，我們還是聊了起來，

about which high school we'd gone to

各自念了哪個高中，

and where we'd grown up,

在哪些地方長大，

and Mrs. So-and-so's candy store --

還有某某太太的糖果店……

of being kids on the South Side.

就只因我們都是芝加哥南岸的小孩。

And once I revealed

即使在我說明

that in fact this project had absolutely nothing to do with Prince,

這一切和王子一點關係都沒有，

Eric nodded in seeming agreement,

艾瑞克就只是點了點頭，

and as we parted ways and he drove off,

可是在我們互道再見，他要開走前，

he said, "But he could still come!"

他突然加了一句說： 「但是王子還是可以來！」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

He had assumed full ownership of this project

就好像這全部都是他所策畫的，

and was not willing to relinquish it,

毫不放棄，

even to me, its author.

即使在我這個原創人面前。

That, for me, was success.

對於我來說，這就是成功了。

I wish I could tell you that this project transformed the neighborhood

我真希望我能說 這個創作改變了這個地區，

and all the indices that we like to rely on:

改變了那些我們仰賴的數據：

increased jobs, reduced crime, no alcoholism --

例如增加工作的機會、 降低的犯罪率及酗酒率等等，

but in fact it's more gray than that.

但實情比這些更灰暗。

"Color(ed) Theory" catalyzed new conversations

「有色理論」這個藝術工程

about the value of blackness.

催化了黑人價值的新對話。

"Color(ed) Theory" made unmistakably visible the uncomfortable questions

「有色理論」同時也將 那些令人不自在的問題，

明白地顯露出來， 讓政府機關必須檢討

that institutions and governments have to ask themselves

about why they do what they do.

他們的所作所為。

They ask equally difficult questions of myself and my neighborhood counterparts

他們也向我及其他這裡的人 提出了同樣難以回答的問題，

about our value systems

像是我們的價值體系，

and what our path to collective agency needs to be.

及彼此間如何朝一致的方向前進。

Color gave me freedom in a way that didn't wait for permission

顏色在某方面給了我自由， 讓我無需等待批准、

or affirmation or inclusion.

肯定或包容。

Color was something that I could rule now.

顏色是我現在可以主宰的東西，

One of the neighborhood members and paint crew members said it best

與我一起油漆的鄰居形容得很貼切，

when he said, "This didn't change the neighborhood,

他說：「我們所做的 並沒有改變這個社區，

it changed people's perceptions about what's possible for their neighborhood,"

但是我們改變了大家 對自己所屬社區潛能的看法，」

in big and small ways.

在大大小小不同的層面上。

Passersby would ask me, "Why are you painting that house

路人會問：「你既然知道市政府 很快就會來拆掉這個房子，

when you know the city's just going to come and tear it down?"

為什麼還要將它油漆上色？」

At the time, I had no idea,

那當下，我沒有答案。

I just knew that I had to do something.

我只知道我必須做點什麼。

I would give anything to better understand color as both a medium

我不惜一切要找到原因， 為什麼顏色除了做為一種媒介，

and as an inescapable way that I am identified in society.

也同時是一個我在社會上 無所遁逃的身分識別。

If I have any hope of making the world better,

假使我有一絲希望讓世界變得更好，

I have to love and leverage both of these ways that I'm understood,

我就得用我所鍾愛的色彩 及我的身分識別去發揮影響力，

and therein lies the value and the hue.

因為其中的價值與色彩密不可分。

Thank you.

謝謝大家。

(Applause and cheers)

（掌聲和歡呼）