Chris Jordan: Turning powerful stats into art

譯者: Sunny Kan Ngai Hang 審譯者: Marie Wu

My work is about the behaviors that we all engage in unconsciously,

我的作品主要是以宏觀的角度，關注人們在不知不覺中

on a collective level.

所作出的行為，

And what I mean by that, it's the behaviors

我所指的是那些我們

that we're in denial about,

不願承認的行為，

and the ones that operate below the surface of our daily awareness.

和那些我們每天無意當中所做的行為。

And as individuals, we all do these things, all the time, everyday.

作為獨立的個人，我們大家每天都在做這些事，隨時都在做。

It's like when you're mean to your wife

就像你對你的妻子發脾氣，

because you're mad at somebody else.

其實是因為你在對其他人生氣。

Or when you drink a little too much at a party, just out of anxiety.

或當你在派對中喝多了，原因是你在焦慮。

Or when you overeat because your feelings are hurt, or whatever.

或是你因為感情受到傷害而暴飲暴食，諸如此類。

And when we do these kind of things,

當我們做這樣的事情時，

when 300 million people do unconscious behaviors,

而且有3億人都這樣在無意當中進行這般行為時，

then it can add up to a catastrophic consequence

很有可能加乘為災難性的後果，

that nobody wants, and no one intended.

沒有人願意接受，也沒有人故意造成這些後果。

And that's what I look at with my photographic work.

而這正是我的攝影作品所關注的。

This is an image I just recently completed, that is --

這是一幅我最近剛剛完成的圖像，

when you stand back at a distance,

當你站遠些，

it looks like some kind of neo-Gothic, cartoon image

看起來像一種新歌德式的漫畫圖像，

of a factory spewing out pollution.

像一座排放污染物的工廠。

And as you get a little bit closer,

當你靠近一點看，

it starts looking like lots of pipes, like maybe a chemical plant,

開始看起來像許多管路，好像是一所化學工廠，

or a refinery, or maybe a hellish freeway interchange.

或是煉油廠，也可能是讓人頭疼的高速公路交流道。

And as you get all the way up close,

而當你貼近作品來看，

you realize that it's actually made of lots and lots of plastic cups.

你會發現它實際上是由很多很多的塑膠杯所構成。

And in fact, this is one million plastic cups,

而事實上，這裡有一百萬個塑膠杯，

which is the number of plastic cups that are used on airline flights

這個數字是美國境內飛行的航班上，每六個小時

in the United States every six hours.

所消耗的塑膠杯數量。

We use four million cups a day on airline flights,

我們在飛機上，每天就使用了四百萬個塑膠杯，

and virtually none of them are reused or recycled.

完全沒有回收或再利用；

They just don't do that in that industry.

這個行業就是不做這樣的事。

Now, that number is dwarfed

但是這還只是個小數目，

by the number of paper cups we use every day,

看看我們每天所使用的紙杯數量，

and that is 40 million cups a day for hot beverages,

我們每天使用四千萬個紙杯來盛裝熱飲，

most of which is coffee.

大多是咖啡。

I couldn't fit 40 million cups on a canvas,

我沒辦法將四千萬個紙杯放進一幅畫框裡，

but I was able to put 410,000. That's what 410,000 cups looks like.

我只能放進41萬個紙杯。41萬個紙杯看起來就是這個樣子。

That's 15 minutes of our cup consumption.

我們每15分鐘消耗這麼多的紙杯。

And if you could actually stack up that many cups in real life,

假若在現實生活中可以疊起那麼多的紙杯子，

that's the size it would be.

它的規模會是這個樣子。

And there's an hour's worth of our cups.

這是我們每小時所消耗的紙杯數量。

And there's a day's worth of our cups.

這是一天的量。

You can still see the little people way down there.

你仍然可以看到小小的人在底下那裡。

That's as high as a 42-story building,

這相當於42層樓高，

and I put the Statue of Liberty in there as a scale reference.

我把自由女神像放進來作為參考比例。

Speaking of justice, there's another phenomenon going on in our culture

談到正義，在我們的文化中存在著另一種現象，

that I find deeply troubling, and that is that America, right now,

令人深感不安，那就是美國目前

has the largest percentage of its population in prison

囚犯的比例

of any country on Earth.

比世界上其他國家都高。

One out of four people, one out of four humans in prison

全球每四個監獄囚犯，就有一個

are Americans, imprisoned in our country.

是美國人，被監禁在美國本土的監獄裡。

And I wanted to show the number.

我想表現這個數目。

The number is 2.3 million Americans were incarcerated in 2005.

2005年，美國有230萬名囚犯被監禁。

And that's gone up since then, but we don't have the numbers yet.

從此至今這數字仍在增加，但我們現在還沒有實際的數字。

So, I wanted to show 2.3 million prison uniforms,

所以我想向大家展示230萬件囚服，

and in the actual print of this piece,

這幅作品印出來時，

each uniform is the size of a nickel on its edge.

每件囚服只有一個五分美元硬幣的厚度。

They're tiny. They're barely visible as a piece of material,

非常的小，只能勉強看出它是一件物品，

and to show 2.3 million of them required a canvas

倘若要將230萬件囚服全放進同一張圖片，

that was larger than any printer in the world would print.

世界上找不到這麼大的印表機可以將它印出來。

And so I had to divide it up into multiple panels

因此，我不得不把它分割成幾個版面，

that are 10 feet tall by 25 feet wide.

每件長度為10英尺(3公尺)高、25英尺(7.5公尺)寬。

This is that piece installed in a gallery in New York --

這件作品在紐約一家畫廊展出，

those are my parents looking at the piece.

正在看著這一幅作品的是我的父母。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

Every time I look at this piece,

每當我看見這張照片，

I always wonder if my mom's whispering to my dad,

我總懷疑我媽媽在悄悄地對爸爸說：

"He finally folded his laundry."

「他總算會摺衣服了。」

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

I want to show you some pieces now that are about addiction.

現在我想給各位看一些有關成癮症的作品。

And this particular one is about cigarette addiction.

這一幅是針對菸癮的作品。

I wanted to make a piece that shows the actual number of Americans

我想製作一幅作品可以代表美國人

who die from cigarette smoking.

因為吸菸而死亡的實際數字。

More than 400,000 people die in the United States every year

美國每年有超過40萬人死亡,

from smoking cigarettes.

因為吸菸而死亡。

And so, this piece is made up of lots and lots of boxes of cigarettes.

所以這件作品是由很多的香菸盒所構成.

And, as you slowly step back,

而且,當你慢慢地向後退,

you see that it's a painting by Van Gogh, called "Skull with Cigarette."

您將看到一幅由梵谷所畫的“骷髏與香菸”。

It's a strange thing to think about, that on 9/11,

我有一個奇怪的想法,在9月11日,

when that tragedy happened, 3,000 Americans died.

當悲劇發生時,有3千名美國人死亡,

And do you remember the response?

你還記得的當時的反應嗎？

It reverberated around the world,

它在世界各地引起迴響，

and will continue to reverberate through time.

隨著時間過去，仍將繼續產生迴響，

It will be something that we talk about in 100 years.

這將是值得我們談論100年的話題。

And yet on that same day, 1,100 Americans died from smoking.

然而,就在同一天,有1千1百名美國人因吸菸而死亡，

And the day after that, another 1,100 Americans died from smoking.

而一天之後,另外1千1百名美國人也因吸菸而死亡，

And every single day since then, 1,100 Americans have died.

自那時起,每天都有1千1百名美國人因吸菸而死亡，

And today, 1,100 Americans are dying from cigarette smoking.

而今天,仍有1千1百名美國人因吸菸而死亡，

And we aren't talking about it -- we dismiss it.

而我們竟然不談論它,不屑一提。

The tobacco lobby, it's too strong.

菸草集團，實在太強大。

We just dismiss it out of our consciousness.

我們只是不自覺地忽略這件事，

And knowing what we know about the destructive power of cigarettes,

我們明知香菸的破壞性，

we continue to allow our children, our sons and daughters,

但是我們繼續讓孩子們,我們的兒子和女兒,

to be in the presence of the influences that start them smoking.

在這影響存在的情況下開始吸菸，

And this is what the next piece is about.

而這就是下一幅圖所要表現的。

This is just lots and lots of cigarettes: 65,000 cigarettes,

這只是很多很多的香菸:6萬5千支香菸,

which is equal to the number of teenagers

這數字相當於每個月

who will start smoking this month, and every month in the U.S.

美國青少年開始吸菸的人數。

More than 700,000 children in the United States aged 18 and under

在美國，每年都有超過70萬名未滿18歲的兒童

begin smoking every year.

開始吸菸。

One more strange epidemic in the United States

美國還有更奇怪的流行病，

that I want to acquaint you with

我希望你們更了解這種現象,

is this phenomenon of abuse and misuse of prescription drugs.

也就是濫用和誤用藥物。

This is an image I've made out of lots and lots of Vicodin.

這是用許多Vicodin藥丸(止痛藥)構成的圖片-

Well, actually, I only had one Vicodin

其實我只有一夥Vicodin藥丸，

that I scanned lots and lots of times.

我掃描了很多很多次。

(Laughter)

（笑聲）

And so, as you stand back, you see 213,000 Vicodin pills,

往後退你就會看到21萬3千顆Vicodin藥丸,

which is the number of hospital emergency room visits

這相當於美國每年所有醫院急診室裡，

yearly in the United States,

因為濫用、

attributable to abuse and misuse of prescription painkillers

誤用處方止痛藥和抗焦慮藥物，

and anti-anxiety medications.

所收治的病人總數。

One-third of all drug overdoses in the U.S. --

而在美國,用藥過量的人裡--

and that includes cocaine, heroin, alcohol, everything --

包括古柯鹼、海洛因、酒精、各式各樣的藥--

one-third of drug overdoses are prescription medications.

有三分之一是服用過量的醫院處方藥。

A strange phenomenon.

這是很奇怪的現象。

This is a piece that I just recently completed

這一幅是我最近完成的作品，

about another tragic phenomenon. And that is the phenomenon,

這是關於另一個悲慘的現象，而這種現象，

this growing obsession we have with breast augmentation surgery.

正是日益增長而困擾我們的隆乳手術。

384,000 women, American women, last year

美國去年有38萬4千名婦女，

went in for elective breast augmentation surgery.

選擇進行隆乳手術，

It's rapidly becoming the most popular high school graduation gift,

它迅速成為最流行的高中畢業禮物,

given to young girls who are about to go off to college.

送給即將上大學的年輕女孩。

So, I made this image out of Barbie dolls,

因此,我以芭比娃娃作出了這個作品,

and so, as you stand back you see this kind of floral pattern,

當你站遠一點，就會看到一種花紋,

and as you get all the way back, you see 32,000 Barbie dolls,

而當你一路走遠,你會看到3萬2千個芭比娃娃,

which represents the number of breast augmentation surgeries

這個數字是美國每個月

that are performed in the U.S. each month.

所進行的隆乳手術的數字。

The vast majority of those are on women under the age of 21.

絕大多數婦女在未滿21歲時動手術，

And strangely enough, the only plastic surgery

而且最奇怪的是,在整形外科裡，

that is more popular than breast augmentation is liposuction,

唯一比隆乳手術還要流行的，竟是抽脂手術，

and most of that is being done by men.

而且大多數的醫生都是男性。

Now, I want to emphasize that these are just examples.

現在,我想強調一點,這些都只是例子。

I'm not holding these out as being the biggest issues.

我不認為這些是最大的問題，

They're just examples.

他們僅僅是幾個例子而已。

And the reason that I do this, it's because I have this fear

而我之所以這樣做,是因為我擔心

that we aren't feeling enough as a culture right now.

大家還沒有體認到這一股風氣，

There's this kind of anesthesia in America at the moment.

因為美國現正處於麻木的時刻，

We've lost our sense of outrage, our anger and our grief

現在文化上所產生的轉變、國家裡發生的事情，

about what's going on in our culture right now,

都無法激起我們的憤慨、

what's going on in our country,

憤怒和悲痛，

the atrocities that are being committed in our names around the world.

儘管這些暴行已經使我們的聲譽受損，

They've gone missing; these feelings have gone missing.

但情緒都不見了，感情也都消失了。

Our cultural joy, our national joy is nowhere to be seen.

我們對於文化的喜悅、國家的喜悅,消失得無影無踪。

And one of the causes of this, I think,

我認為其中一個原因,

is that as each of us attempts to build this new kind of worldview,

是因為我們每個人都試圖在自己的內心裡，

this holoptical worldview, this holographic image

為各種事物間所存在的關聯性，

that we're all trying to create in our mind

建立起新型的、涵蓋全球的世界觀、

of the interconnection of things: the environmental footprints

或完整的圖像。像是我們關心我們所買的東西，

1,000 miles away of the things that we buy;

對1千英哩以外的環境產生了什麼影響；

the social consequences 10,000 miles away

像是我們身為消費者，每天所做的消費決定，

of the daily decisions that we make as consumers.

又對1千英里以外的社會造成了什麼影響。

As we try to build this view,

當我們嘗試建立這種觀點,

and try to educate ourselves about the enormity of our culture,

並嘗試教育自己去了解我們的文化有多腐化,

the information that we have to work with is these gigantic numbers:

我們必須消化的資訊是天文數字:

numbers in the millions, in the hundreds of millions,

動輒上百萬、上億、

in the billions and now in the trillions.

數十億，現在則以兆來計算。

Bush's new budget is in the trillions, and these are numbers

布希的新預算是以兆來計算，而這些數字

that our brain just doesn't have the ability to comprehend.

是我們的大腦無力去理解的，

We can't make meaning out of these enormous statistics.

在這些巨大的統計數字中，我們找不到任何意義，

And so that's what I'm trying to do with my work,

所以我想嘗試用我的作品,

is to take these numbers, these statistics

把這些數字、這些統計數據，

from the raw language of data, and to translate them

從原始的資料型態，

into a more universal visual language, that can be felt.

轉化為一般人可以感受到的視覺語言。

Because my belief is, if we can feel these issues,

因為我的信念是,如果我們能感受到這些問題,

if we can feel these things more deeply,

如果我們可以更深刻地感受到這些東西,

then they'll matter to us more than they do now.

我們就會比現在更重視這些問題。

And if we can find that,

如果我們能夠瞭解這一點，

then we'll be able to find, within each one of us,

那麼每一個人都會認真地

what it is that we need to find to face the big question,

尋找這類嚴重問題的解決之道，

which is: how do we change?

那就是:我們該如何改變?

That, to me, is the big question that we face as a people right now:

對我來說，這是一個我們現在所面臨的大問題:

how do we change? How do we change as a culture,

我們該如何去改變?我們該如何改變文化？

and how do we each individually take responsibility

我們每一個人該怎麼負起自己範圍內的責任，

for the one piece of the solution that we are in charge of,

找出解決之道？這得靠我們自己的

and that is our own behavior?

行為來決定。

My belief is that you don't have to make yourself bad

我的信念是,你不必讓自己不愉快地

to look at these issues.

去看待這些問題，

I'm not pointing the finger at America in a blaming way.

我也不是在指責美國政府，

I'm simply saying, this is who we are right now.

我只是簡單地呈現出我們現在的樣貌。

And if there are things that we see

如果我們不喜歡

that we don't like about our culture,

我們文化裡的某些東西，

then we have a choice.

那麼我們有一個選擇，

The degree of integrity that each of us can bring to the surface,

當我們面對問題，質疑自己該如何改變時，

to bring to this question, the depth of character that we can summon,

我們所展現出來的正直勇氣，

as we show up for the question of how do we change --

就決定了我們所能改變的深度。

it's already defining us as individuals and as a nation,

這是在我們成為人民、組成國家時就決定的了，

and it will continue to do that, on into the future.

未來還會繼續延續下去。

And it will profoundly affect the well-being, the quality of life

它將深刻地影響未來即將要繼承我們決策的

of the billions of people

數十億人的

who are going to inherit the results of our decisions.

社會福祉，以及生活品質。

I'm not speaking abstractly about this,

我不是在說抽象的事情，

I'm speaking -- this is who we are in this room,

我所說的是在座每一個人的現狀，

right now, in this moment.

就是現在這一刻的樣貌。

Thank you and good afternoon.

謝謝你，午安。

(Applause)

（掌聲）