Why art thrives at Burning Man | Nora Atkinson

譯者: Lilian Chiu 審譯者: Helen Chang

It's like a dream.

就像作夢一樣。

Imagine, in the empty desert,

想像一下，在空蕩蕩的沙漠，

you come upon a huge wheel ringed in skeletons,

你發現了一個巨大的輪子， 周圍都是骨骸，

and someone invites you to come pull a series of heavy ropes at its base,

有人邀請你去拉在它 基部的一串粗重繩子，

so you walk to one side, where a team is waiting,

所以你走到一邊， 有一個團隊在那裡等著，

and you all throw your backs into it,

你們所有人都使出吃奶的力氣，

and you pull in turn,

你們輪流拉，

and eventually, the wheel roars to life,

最終，輪子發出轟鳴，動了起來，

lights begin to flicker, and the audience cheers,

光開始閃爍，觀眾在歡呼，

and you've just activated Peter Hudson's "Charon,"

你們剛剛啟動了彼得哈德森的 「卡戎（冥河渡神）」，

one of the world's largest zoetropes.

它是世界上最大的 西洋鏡（幻影箱）之一。

This is the farthest thing from marketable art.

這是距離可行銷藝術最遙遠的東西。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

It's huge, it's dangerous,

它很巨大，它很危險，

it takes a dozen people to run, and it doesn't go with the sofa.

要花十多個人才能運作， 且還沒有附沙發。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

It's beautifully crafted and completely useless,

它的工藝非常美麗， 且它完全沒有用途，

and it's wonderful.

它很美好。

You're unlikely to see works like "Charon" in the art-world headlines.

你不太可能在藝術世界的標題 看到像「卡戎」這樣的作品。

These days, the buying and selling of artwork

藝術作品現今的買與賣

often gets more attention than the works themselves.

通常比作品本身更受到矚目。

In the last year, a Jean-Michel Basquiat sold for 110 million dollars,

去年，一件尚米榭巴斯奇亞的作品 就賣到一億一千萬美元，

the highest price ever achieved for the work of an American artist,

這是美國藝術家的作品 所達到的最高售價，

and a painting by Leonardo da Vinci sold for 450 million,

還有一幅達文西的畫， 賣了四億五千萬美元，

setting a new auction record.

打破了拍賣的記錄。

Still, these are big, important artists,

然而，這些都是重要的大藝術家，

but still, when you look at these works and you look at the headlines,

儘管如此，當你看這些作品 和新聞頭條時，

you have to ask yourself,

你得要問問自己：

"Do I care about these because they move me,

「我在乎這些作品 是因為它們感動了我？

or do I care about them because they're expensive

或是我在乎它們是因為它們很貴，

and I think they're supposed to?"

且我認為它們應該要很貴？」

In our contemporary world, it can be hard to separate those two things.

在我們現代的世界， 很難區分這兩件事。

But what if we tried?

但如果我們嘗試呢？

What if we redefined art's value --

如果我們重新定義藝術的價值，

not by its price tag,

不是用標價，

but by the emotional connection it creates between the artist and the audience,

而是用它在藝術家和觀眾之間 創造出的情緒連結，

or the benefits it gives our society,

或是它給予我們社會的益處，

or the fulfillment it gives the artists themselves?

或是它給予藝術家自己的滿足感？

This is Nevada's Black Rock Desert,

這是內華達的黑石沙漠，

about as far as you can get from the galleries of New York

從紐約、倫敦，以及香港的畫廊，

and London and Hong Kong.

你所能到的最遠的地方就是這裡。

And here, for just about 30 years, at Burning Man,

在燃燒人節慶這裡， 大約有三十年的時間，

a movement has been forming that does exactly that.

有一個運動，就是 為了這個目的而形成。

Since its early anarchist years, Burning Man has grown up.

一開始像無政府般混亂的 燃燒人節慶已經成長了。

Today, it's more of an experiment in collective dreaming.

現今，它更像是 一個集體作夢的體驗。

It's a year-round community, and every August, for a single week,

它是個全年無休的社區， 每年八月，有一週的時間，

70,000 people power down their technology and pilgrimage out into the desert

七萬人會離開他們的科技， 進入沙漠朝聖，

to build an anti-consumerist society

來打造一個反消費主義的社會，

outside the bounds of their everyday lives.

超越他們日常生活的範圍。

The conditions are brutal.

條件很嚴酷。

Strangers will hug you,

陌生人會擁抱你，

and every year, you will swear it was better the last,

每年，你都會發誓， 最好這是最後一次，

but it's still ridiculous and freeing and alive,

但它仍然很荒唐、很解放， 也很有生命力，

and the art is one thing that thrives here.

而在這裡，藝術能夠有一片天。

So this is me on the desert playa last year

這是我，去年在沙漠乾鹽湖拍的，

with my brother, obviously hard at work.

旁邊是我兄弟， 很顯然他努力地在工作。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I'd been studying the art of Burning Man for several years,

我研究燃燒人節慶的藝術 已經有很多年了，

for an exhibition I curated at the Smithsonian's Renwick Gallery,

為的是我幫史密森尼學會的 倫威克美術館所策畫的一項展覽，

and what fascinates me the most isn't the quality of the work here,

讓我覺得最炫的， 並不是這裡的作品品質，

which is actually rather high,

不過品質是真的很高，

it's why people come out here into the desert again and again

最炫的是為什麼大家會 一而再再而三地來到這個沙漠，

to get their hands dirty and make in our increasingly digital age.

在這個越來越數位的時代， 親自動手製作東西。

Because it seems like this gets to something that's essentially human.

因為似乎這樣做就能夠 找到一些人類的本質。

Really, the entire encampment of Burning Man

說真的，整個燃燒人節慶的營地

could be thought of as one giant interactive art installation

可以被視為是一個巨大的 互動式藝術裝置，

driven by the participation of everyone in it.

由參與節慶的每一個人所驅動。

One thing that sets this work aside from the commercial art world

讓這個節慶與商業藝術世界 有所區別的其中一點，

is that anyone who makes work can show it.

就是任何創作人 都可以呈現自己的作品。

These days, around 300 art installations and countless artistic gestures

現今大約有三百件 藝術裝置和無數的藝術象徵

go to the playa.

被送到乾鹽湖。

None of them are sold there.

全是非賣品。

At the end of the week, if the works aren't burned,

在一週的尾聲， 如果作品沒有被燒掉，

artists have to cart them back out and store them.

藝術家就得要把它們 運送回去儲存起來。

It's a tremendous labor of love.

那是非常大的工程， 出於愛的工程。

Though there is certainly a Burning Man aesthetic,

雖然肯定有著燃燒人節慶的美感，

pioneered by artists like Kate Raudenbush and Michael Christian,

由像凱特勞登布許 和麥可克里斯汀這些藝術家領頭，

much of the distinctive character of the work here

但這裡的作品的獨特特色大部分

comes from the desert itself.

來自沙漠本身。

For a work to succeed,

一件作品若要能成功，

it has to be portable enough to make the journey,

它必須要可攜帶， 至少要能走這段旅途，

rugged enough to withstand the wind and weather and participants,

它必須要夠粗壯，能承受風、 天氣，和參與者的影響。

stimulating in daylight and darkness,

在光線下和黑暗中 都要有刺激的效果，

and engaging without interpretation.

且不用詮釋就能和人連結。

Encounters with monumental and intimate works here feel surreal.

在這裡，與紀念性和親密的 作品接觸，感覺很超現實。

Scale has a tendency to fool the eyes.

比例可以愚弄眼睛。

What looked enormous in an artist's studio could get lost on the playa,

在藝術家的工作室中看來很巨大的 作品，在乾鹽湖中卻難以看見，

but there are virtually no spatial limits,

但那裡真的沒有空間的限制，

so artists can dream as big as they can build.

所以，藝術家可以夢想 任何能做得出來的尺寸。

Some pieces bowl you over by their grace

有些作品會讓你感到驚奇 是因為它們的優雅，

and others by the sheer audacity it took to bring them here.

有些則是因為將它們帶到這裡 所需要的十足膽量。

Burning Man's irreverent humor comes out in pieces

燃燒人節慶中一些作品 會有著無關緊要的幽默，

like Rebekah Waites' "Church Trap,"

像是蕾貝卡魏特茲的 「教堂陷阱」，

a tiny country chapel set precariously on a wooden beam, like a mousetrap,

一個小型鄉下禮拜堂，很不穩固地 放在木樑上，就像是捕鼠陷阱，

that lured participants in to find religion --

引誘參與者進入尋找宗教——

it was built and burned in 2013 ...

它是在 2013 年建造並被燒毀的，

while other works, like Christopher Schardt's "Firmament,"

而其他作品，像是 克里斯多夫夏茲的「蒼天」，

aim for the sublime.

把目標放在呈現壯觀。

Here, under a canopy of dancing lights set to classical music,

在這裡，上頭是有著 舞廳燈光的頂篷，搭配古典音樂，

participants could escape the thumping rave beats

讓參與者能夠逃離周圍的

and chaos all around.

吵鬧重擊節拍和混亂。

At night, the city swarms with mutant vehicles,

晚上，城市裡滿是變種的車輛，

the only cars allowed to roam the playa.

乾鹽湖只容許這種車遊盪。

And if necessity is the mother of invention,

如果需求是發明之母，

here, absurdity is its father.

在這裡，荒謬就是發明之父。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

They zigzag from artwork to artwork

從一件藝術作品到另一件 之間的曲折變化，

like some bizarre, random public transportation system,

就像怪誕、隨機的大眾運輸系統，

pulsing with light and sound.

帶著光線與聲音在脈動著。

When artists stop worrying about critics and collectors

當藝術家不再擔心評論家和收藏家，

and start making work for themselves,

開始為自己創造作品時，

these are the kinds of marvelous toys they create.

這些就是他們 創造出來的絕妙玩具。

And what's amazing is that, by and large, when people first come to Burning Man,

很棒的是，一般來說， 當大家初次來到燃燒人節慶時，

they don't know how to make this stuff.

他們不知道要如何做這些東西。

It's the active collaborative maker community there

是這裡的個積極合作式自造者社區

that makes this possible.

讓這一切成為可能。

Collectives like Five Ton Crane come together to share skills

像「 Five Ton Crane」這樣的 集體企業會團結起來分享技能，

and take on complex projects a single artist would never even attempt,

挑戰單一位藝術家永遠 不可能嘗試的複雜計畫，

from a Gothic rocket ship that appears ready to take off at any moment

從看起來隨時準備好 要起飛的哥德式火箭，

to a fairytale home inside a giant boot

到如童話般位在巨大靴子中的家，

complete with shelves full of artist-made books,

附帶有放滿藝術家 製作之書籍的書架、

a blackbird pie in the oven

一個放在爐中的黑鳥派餅，

and a climbable beanstalk.

以及可以攀爬的豆莖。

Skilled or unskilled, all are welcome.

不論是否要用到技能，通通都歡迎。

In fact, part of the charm and the innovation of the work here

事實上，這裡的作品之所以 有魅力和創新，部分原因

is that so many makers aren't artists at all,

是因為許多自造者根本不是藝術家，

but scientists or engineers

而是科學家或工程師，

or welders or garbage collectors,

或是焊工或垃圾收集者，

and their works cross disciplinary boundaries,

他們的作品跨越了學科領域的界線，

from a grove of origami mushrooms

從根據蒙古包設計

that developed out of the design for a yurt

發展出來的褶紙香菇叢，

to a tree that responds to the voices and biorhythms

到會回應所有周圍聲音

of all those around it

和生物節律的樹木，

through 175,000 LEDs embedded in its leaves.

靠其樹葉中內建的 17 萬 5 千個 LED 燈來回應。

In museums, a typical visitor spends less than 30 seconds with a work of art,

在博物館，典型的訪客會花在一件 藝術作品上的時間不到 30 秒，

and I often watch people wander from label to label,

我常常看著大家 在各標籤之間徘徊，

searching for information,

尋找資訊，

as though the entire story of a work of art

好像藝術作品的整個故事

could be contained in that one 80-word text.

都能夠被包含在 80 個字的文字說明中。

But in the desert, there are no gatekeepers

但在沙漠中，沒有守門人，

and no placards explaining the art, just natural curiosity.

沒有小牌子來解釋藝術， 只有自然的好奇心。

You see a work on the horizon, and you ride towards it.

你看到地平線上有一件作品， 你就朝它前進。

When you arrive, you walk all around it,

抵達後，你繞著它的周圍走著，

you touch it, you test it.

你觸碰它，你測試它。

Is it sturdy enough to climb on? Will I be impaled by it?

它夠堅固可以爬上去嗎？ 我會不會被它刺穿？

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Art becomes a place for extended interaction,

藝術變成了延伸互動的地方，

and although the display might be short-lived,

雖然展示的時間很短暫，

the experience stays with you.

但這經驗會與你同在。

Nowhere is that truer at Burning Man than at the Temple.

在燃燒人節慶中，最真實的 地方就是「寺廟」了。

In 2000, David Best and Jack Haye built the first Temple,

2000 年，大衛貝斯特和傑克海耶 建造了第一座「寺廟」，

and after a member of their team was killed tragically in an accident

在活動即將開始之前， 他們的團隊中有一位成員

shortly before the event,

因為意外而喪命，這之後，

the building became a makeshift memorial.

這建物就變成了湊合使用的紀念館。

By itself, it's a magnificent piece of architecture,

它本身是很了不起的建築，

but the structure is only a shell until it disappears

但建築物只是個外殼，

直到它被滿滿的想法訊息給覆蓋。

under a thick blanket of messages.

"I miss you."

「我想你。」

"Please forgive me."

「請原諒我。」

"Even a broken crayon still colors."

「即使是斷掉的蠟筆 也仍然能上色。」

Intimate testaments to the most universal of human experiences,

這親密治療針對最普遍的人類經歷：

the experience of loss.

「失去」的經歷。

The collective emotion in this place is overpowering and indescribable,

在這個地方的集體情緒 真的是過強到無法形容，

before it's set afire on the last night of the event.

直到活動的最後一夜， 它被放火燒盡為止。

Every year, something compels people from all different walks of life,

每年，總有什麼會驅使各行各業的人

from all over the world,

從世界各個角落

to go out into the desert and make art

來到沙漠中並創作藝術，

when there is no money in it.

而且這還是沒有錢賺的。

The work's not always refined,

作品不見得一定都很精製，

it's not always viable,

不見得一定都很可行，

it's not even always good,

甚至不見得一定都很好，

but it's authentic and optimistic in a way we rarely see anywhere else.

但它們都是真實的、樂觀的， 這點在其他地方是很罕見的。

In these cynical times,

在這憤世嫉俗的時代，

it's comforting to know that we're still capable of great feats of imagination,

很讓人欣慰的是知道我們 仍然有非凡的想像能力，

and that when we search for connection,

且當我們在尋找連結時，

we come together and build cathedrals in the dust.

我們能團結在一起， 從塵土中建起大教堂。

Forget the price tags.

把價格標籤忘掉。

Forget the big names.

把名人的名字忘掉。

What is art for in our contemporary world if not this?

在我們現代的世界裡， 若這不是藝術，什麼才是藝術？

Thank you.

謝謝。

(Applause)

（掌聲）