I'm a contemporary artist and I show in art galleries and museums. I show a number of photographs and films, but I also make television programs, books and some advertising, all with the same concept. And it's about our fixation with celebrity and celebrity culture, and the importance of the image: celebrity is born of photography.
Sunt o artista contemporana, expun in galerii de arta si muzee. Expun un anumit numar de fotografii si filme, dar de asemenea produc programe de televiziune, carti si ceva materiale publicitare, toate bazate pe acelasi concept. Despre fixatia noastra pentru celebritate si cultul celebritatii, si depre importanta imaginii. Celebritatea se naste din fotografie.
I'm going to start with how I started with this concept seven years ago, when Princess Diana died. There was a sort of a standstill in Britain the moment of her death, and people decided to mourn her death in a sort of mass way. I was fascinated by this phenomenon, so I wondered: could one erase the image of Diana, actually quite crudely and physically? So, I got a gun and started to shoot at the image of Diana, but I couldn't erase this from my memory and certainly it was not being erased from the public psyche. Momentum was being built. The press wrote about her death in rather, I felt, pornographic ways -- like, "Which bit of artery left which bit of body?" and "How did she die in the back of the car?" -- and I was intrigued by this sort of mass voyeurism, so I made these rather gory images.
Voi incepe deci sa va prezint cum am pornit cu acest concept acum 7 ani, cand a murit printesa Diana. Timpul a stat in loc in Mare Britanie in acea zi, sau in acea clipa in care a murit, iar oamenii au decis sa-i planga moartea in grup. Am fost fascinata de acest fenomen. Si m-am intrebat: poate cineva sa stearga imaginea Dianei in mod brutal si fizic? Am luat o arma si am inceput sa trag in imaginea Dianei. Dar nu am putut-o sterge din mintea mea, si in mod cert nu avea sa fie stearsa din mentalitatea publica. Evenimentul lua amploare. Presa a scris despre moartea ei, in opinia mea, intr-un mod pornografic, despre ce artera s-a desprins din ce parte a corpului, si despre cum a murit pe bancheta din spate a masinii. Si am fost intrigata despre acest tip de voyeurism in masa. Astfel am creat aceste imagini insangerate.
I then went on wondering whether I could actually replace her image, so I got a look-alike of Diana and posed her in the right positions and angles and created something that was in, or existed in, the public imagination. So people were wondering: was she going to marry Dodi? Was she in love with him? Was she pregnant? Did she want his baby? Was she pregnant when she died? So I created this image of Diana, Dodi and their imaginary mixed-race child and this image came out, which caused a huge public outcry at the time.
Apoi am inceput sa ma intreb daca nu as putea mai degraba sa inlocuiesc imaginea ei. Am gasit pe cineva care semana cu Diana, am pozat-o in pozitiile si unghiurile convenabile, si am creat ceva care era sau exista in imaginatia publicului. Lumea se intreba daca avea de gand sa se marite cu Dodi. Era indragostita de el? Era insarcinata? Vroia copilul lui? Era insarcinata cand a murit? Astfel am creat imaginea Dianei, cu Dodi si copilul mulatru imaginar. A rezultat aceasta imagine care a cauzat numeroase proteste publice la acel moment.
I then went on to make more comments on the media and press imagery, so I started making reference to media imagery -- made it grainy, shot through doorways and so on and so forth -- to titillate the public or the viewer further in terms of trying to make the viewer more aware of their own voyeurism. So, this is an image of Diana looking at Camilla kissing her husband, and this was a sequence of images. And this gets shown in art galleries like this, as a sequence. And similarly with the Di-Dodian baby imagery -- this is another art gallery installation.
Am continuat sa comentez despre media si imaginatia presei. Am inceput sa apelez la plasticiatea media -- am facut imginile granulate, am pozat printre usi intredeschise, si asa mai departe, pentru a starni si mai mult publicul si spectatorii, in sensul ca am vrut sa fac privitorii mai constienti de propriul lor voyeurism. Aceaste este o poza cu Diana privind-o pe Camilla in timp ce isi saruta sotul. Este o secventa de imagini. Este expusa in galerii de arta precum aceasta, ca o secventa, si in mod similar, cea cu copilul Di-Dodi. Aceasta este o alta expunere pentru galeria de arta.
I'm particularly interested in how you can't rely on your own perception. This is Jane Smith and Jo Bloggs, for instance, but you think it's Camilla and the Queen, and I'm fascinated how what you think is real isn't necessarily real. And the camera can lie, and it makes it very, very easy with the mass bombardment of imagery to tell untruths. So, I continued to work on this project of how photography seduces us and is more interesting to look at than the actual real subject matter. And at the same time, it removes us from the real subject matter,
Ma intereseaza in mod particular cum se poate baza cineva pe propriile perceptii. Aceasta este Jane Smith cu Jo Bloggs, de exemplu, dar te poti gandi ca sunt Camilla si Regina. Si sunt fascinata cum poate cineva sa creada ca ceva este real chiar daca nu este neaparat real, iar camera poate sa minta. Acest lucru devine foarte, foarte usor de realizat cu bombardamentul de imagini care spun ne-adevaruri. Am continuat sa lucrez la acest proiect despre cum fotografia ne seduce, si este mult mai interesant de privit decat subiectul in sine. In acelasi timp, ne disociaza de adevaratul subiect.
and this acts as a sort of titillating thing. So, the photograph becomes this teaser and incites desire and voyeurism; what you can't have, you want more. In the photograph, the real subject doesn't exist so it makes you want that person more. And that is the way, I think, that celebrity magazines work now: the more pictures you see of these celebrities, the more you feel you know them, but you don't know them and you want to know them further.
Acest lucru are rolul de a incita. Astfel, fotografia devine un hartuitor care incita dorinta si voyeurismul. Ce nu poti avea, iti doresti mai mult. In fotografie, adevaratul subiect nu exista. Astfel te face sa iti doresti mai mult acea persoana. Cred ca astfel functioneaza ziarele de scandal. Cu cat vezi mai multe poze cu aceste celebritati, cu atat simti ca le cunosti mai bine, dar nu le cunosti, si vrei sa afli mai multe.
Of course, the Queen goes to her stud often to watch her horses ... watch her horses. (Laughter). And then I was sort of making imagery. In England there's an expression: "you can't imagine the Queen on the loo." So I'm trying to penetrate that. Well, here is the image.
Bineinteles ca Regina merge la herghelia ei pentru a-si admira caii... a-si admira caii. (Rasete). Apoi am inceput sa plasticizez. In Anglia este o expresie: "Nu-ti poti imagina Regina pe 'tron' ". Incerc sa sparg aceste bariere. Ei bine, iata imaginea.
All this imagery was creating a lot of fuss and I was cited as a disgusting artist. The press were writing about this, giving full pages about how terrible this was. Which I found very interesting that it was going full cycle: I was making comments about the press and about how we know facts and information only by media -- because we don't know the real people; very few of us know the real people -- but it was going back into the press and they were publicizing, effectively, my filthy work. So, these are broadsheets, tabloids, debates were being had all about this work, films were being banned before people had actually had the look at the work, politicians were getting involved -- all sorts of things -- great headlines.
Toate aceste poze au creat o mare agitatie. Si am fost numita o artista dezgustatoare. Presa a scris despre asta, stiti, pagini intregi despre cat de groaznic este ceea ce fac, lucru pe care l-am considerat interesant pentru ca lucrurile mergeau in cerc. Eu faceam comentarii despre presa, si despre cum aflam lucruri si informatii doar din presa pentru ca noi nu cunoastem acele persoane. Foarte putini dintre noi cunosc acele persoane. Dar aceste lucruri ajungeau din nou in presa, iar ei promovau, in esenta, munca mea murdara. Astfel, aceste ziare, tabloide, discutii se axau pe aceasta munca. Au fost interzise filme chiar inainte ca oamenii sa aiba sansa sa le vada. Au fost implicati politicieni. Tot felul de lucruri, mari titluri de afis.
Then suddenly, it started to get on front pages. I was being asked and paid to do front covers. Suddenly I was becoming sort of acceptable, which I found also fascinating. How one moment -- it was disgusting -- journalists would lie to me to get a story or a photograph of me, saying my work was wonderful, and the next minute there were terrible headlines about me. But then this changed suddenly.
Apoi brusc a inceput sa apara pe primele pagini ale ziarelor. Mi s-a cerut si am fost platita sa creez coperte. Dintr-o data am devenit intr-un fel acceptabila, lucru pe care l-am considerat, de asemenea, fascinant. Cum la un moment dat era dezgustator -- jurnalistii ma minteau pentru a pune mana pe o poveste sau o fotografie a mea, spunand ca munca mea era minunata, pentru ca in secunda urmatoare sa apara titluri groaznice despre mine. Dar dintr-o data acest lucru s-a schimbat.
I then started to work for magazines and newspapers. This was, for example, an image that went into Tatler. This was another newspaper image. It was an April fool actually, and to this day some people think it's real. I was sitting next to someone at dinner the other day, and they were saying there's this great image of the Queen sitting outside William Hill. They thought it was real.
Am inceput apoi sa lucrez pentru reviste si ziare. Aceasta este, de exemplu, o imagine care a aparut in Tatler. Aceasta este o alta imagine aparuta intr-un ziar. De fapt, era Ziua Pacalelilor, si pana in ziua de azi sunt persoane care cred ca e real. Stateam langa cineva la o cina zilele trecute, si spuneau ca exista o imagine grozava a Reginei in fata la William Hill. Au crezut ca este real.
I was exploring, at the time, the hyperbole of icons -- and Diana and Marilyn -- and the importance of celebrity in our lives. How they wheedle their way into the collective psyche without us even knowing, and how that should happen. I explored with actually dressing up as the celebrities myself. There's me as Diana -- I look like the mass murderer Myra Hindley, I think, in this one. (Laughter). And me as the Queen. I then continued on to make a whole body of work about Marilyn -- the biggest icon of all -- and trying to titillate by shooting through doorways and shutters and so on and so forth, and only showing certain angles to create a reality that, obviously, is completely constructed. This is the look-alike, so the crafting elements of this is completely enormous. She looks nothing like Marilyn, but by the time we've made her up and put wigs and makeup on, she looks exactly like Marilyn, to the extent that her husband couldn't recognize her -- or recognize this look-alike -- in these photographs, which I find quite interesting. So, all this work is getting shown in art galleries. Then I made a book. I was also making a TV series for the BBC at the time. Stills from the TV series went into this book.
Am explorat la momentul respectiv hiperbola persoanelor emblematice, cum ar fi Diana sau Marilyn, si importanta celebritatii in viata noastra. Cum se strecoara in mentalitatea publica fara sa ne dam seama, si cum ar trebui sa se intample asta. Eu insami am explorat acest lucru deghizandu-ma intr-o celebritate. Aici sunt eu imbracata precum Diana. Cred ca arat precum criminala in serie Myra Henley in aceasta poza. (Rasete). Eu in rolul Reginei. Am continuat cu numeroase lucrari despre Marilyn, cea mai mare imagine dintre toate. Incerc sa starnesc interesul pozand printre usi intre-deschise si draperii si asa mai departe. Si doar aratand anumite unghiuri pentru a crea o realitate care in mod evident este complet construita. Aceasta este sosia, deci elementele necesare transformarii sunt imense. Nu seamana deloc cu Marilyn. Dar dupa ce am schimbat-o, i-am pus peruca si am machiat-o, arata exact ca Marilyn, intr-o asemenea masura ca propriul ei sot nu a putut-o recunoaste, sau s-o recunoasca in aceste fotografii, lucru pe care il gasesc foarte interesant. Toate aceste lucrari se gasesc in galerii de arta. Am scos si o carte. Realizam si o serie TV pentru BBC la momentul respectiv. Cadre din aceste serii TV se regasesc in carte.
But there was a real legal problem because it looks real, but how do you get over that? Because obviously it's making a comment about our culture right now: that we can't tell what's real. How do we know when we're looking at something whether it's real or not? So, from my point of view, it's important to publish it, but at the same time it does cause a confusion -- intentional on my behalf, but problematic for any outlet that I'm working with. So a big disclaimer is put on everything that I do, and I made narratives about all the European or Brit celebrities and comments about our public figures. You know, what does Tony Blair get up to in private with his fashion guru? And also dealing with the perceptions that are put about Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, the links that were put about pre-Iraq war. And what is going to happen to the monarchy? Because obviously the British public, I think, would prefer William to Charles on the throne.
Dar era o problema legala reala pentru ca totul pare adevarat, dar cum depasesti acest lucru? Pentru ca in mod evident exprima o parere despre cultura noastra actuala, ca nu putem distinge ce este real. Cum stim, cand ne uitam la ceva, daca este real sau nu? Din punctul meu de vedere, este important sa fie publicate, dar in acelasi timp creeaza confuzie -- intentionata din partea mea -- dar problematica pentru orice nisa cu care lucrez. Astfel, un mare disclaimer este pus pe fiecare lucrare, si am facut un fel de poveste pentru fiecare celebritate europeana sau britanica si comentarii despre persoanele noastre publice. Ce nazbatii face Tony Blair in particular cu gurul modei al sau? De asemenea, abordarea perceptiilor create despre Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, si legaturile care au fost facute inainte de razboiul din Iraq. Si ce se va intampla cu monarhia pentru ca in mod evident publicul britanic, cred, l-ar prefera pe William in locul lui Charles la tron.
And it's that wish, or that desire, that I suppose I'm dealing with in my work. I'm not really interested in the celebrity themselves. I'm interested in the perception of the celebrity. And with some look-alikes, they are so good you don't know whether they're real or not.
Iar in lucrarile mele cu aceasta dorinta ma confrunt. Nu ma intereseaza neaparat celebritatile. Ma intereseaza perceptia asupra celebritatii. Si cu ajutorul unor sosii, rezultatele sunt atat de bune. Nu sti daca sunt reale sau nu.
I did an advertising campaign for Schweppes, which is Coca-Cola, and so that was very interesting in terms of the legalities. It's highly commercial. But it was a difficulty for me -- because this is my artwork; should I do advertising? -- at the time. So I made sure the work was not compromised in any way and that the integrity of the work remained the same. But the meanings changed in the sense that with the logo on, you're closing all the lines of interpretation down to selling a product and that's all you're doing. When you take the logo off, you're opening up the interpretations and making the work inconclusive, opposed to conclusive when you are advertising.
Am facut o campanie publicitara pentru Schweppes, care este Coca-Cola, ceea ce este interesant in ceea ce priveste aspectele legale. Este pur comercial. Dar a fost dificil pentru mine pentru ca este arta mea. Sa fac publicitate, la momentul respectiv? M-am asigurat ca munca nu a fost compromisa in nici un fel, si ca integritatea lucrarii a ramas aceeasi. Dar sensul s-a schimbat, in sensul ca impreuna cu logo-ul toate posibilitatile de intepretare converg spre un produs destinat vanzarii -- si doar asta faci. Cand se inlatura logo-ul, se deschid posibilitatile de interpretare iar lucrarea devine nefinisata. Nu finita, cand se face publicitate.
This image is quite interesting, actually, because I think we made it three years ago. And it's Camilla in her wedding dress, which, again, nearly got re-used now, recently prior to her wedding. Tony Blair and Cherie. And again, the legalities -- we had to be very careful. It's obviously a very big commercial company, and so this little, "Shh -- it's not really them," was put on the side of the imagery. And Margaret Thatcher visiting Jeffery Archer in jail.
Aceasta imagine este foarte interesanta, am facut-o acum 3 ani, o reprezinta pe Camilla in rochie de mireasa, care, din nou, aproape a fost refolosita, inainte de nunta. Tony Blair si Cherie. Si din nou, aspectele legale -- a trebuit sa fim extrem de atenti. Este evident o mare companie comerciala si am facut acest mic slogan: "Shh ... stii ca nu sunt ei cu adevarat", care a fost plasat langa imagine. Si Margaret Thatcher in vizita la Jeffery Archer la inchisoare.
I then was asked by Selfridges to do a series of windows for them, so I built a sauna bath in one of their windows and created little scenes -- live scenes with look-alikes inside the windows, and the windows were all steamed up. So, it's Tony Blair reading and practicing his speech; I've got them doing yoga inside there with Carole Caplin; Sven making out with Ulrika Jonsson, who he was having an affair with at that time. This was a huge success for them because the imagery got shown in the press the day after in every single newspaper, broadsheets and tabloids. It was a bit of a road stopper, which was problematic because the police kept on trying to clear away the crowds, but huge fun -- it was great for me to do a performance. Also, people were taking photographs of this, so it was being texted around the world extremely quickly, all this imagery. And the press were interviewing, and I was signing my book. (Laughter).
Apoi am fost rugata de Selfridges sa realizez o serie de vitrine pentru ei. Am construit o sauna pentru una dintre vitrine, si am creat un mic scenariu -- o scena reala cu sosii in vitrina, cu geamurile aburite. Aici este Tony Blair citindu-si si exersandu-si discursul. I-am pus sa faca yoga cu Carole Caplin, Sven giugiulindu-se cu Ulrika Jonsson, cu care avea o aventura la momentul respectiv. A fost un mare succes pentru ei pentru ca au aparut imagini a doua zi in presa in fiecare ziar, gazeta si tabloid. A creat un ambuteiaj, ceea ce a fost problematic pentru ca politia tot incerca sa elibereze zona de multime. Dar foarte amuzant -- a fost grozav pentru mine sa pun asa ceva in scena. De asemenea, lumea facea poze, au fost trimise in jurul lumii extrem de rapid aceste imagini. Presa lua interviuni, iar eu dadeam autografe. (Rasete).
Further imagery. I'm making a new book now with Taschen that I'm working on really for a sort of global market -- my previous book was only for the U.K. market -- that I suppose it could be called humorous. I suppose I come from a sort of non-humorous background with serious intent, and then suddenly my work is funny. And I think it doesn't really matter that my work is considered humorous, in a way; I think it's a way in for me to deal with the importance of imagery and how we read all our information through imagery. It's an extremely fast way of getting information. It's extremely difficult if it's constructed correctly, and there are techniques of constructing iconic imagery.
Un alt scenariu: in prezent scriu o carte cu Taschen, la care lucrez pentru piata globala. Cartea mea anterioara a fost numai pentru piata britanica. Dar presupun ca as putea fi numita hilara. Presupun ca provin dintr-un trecut ne-amuzant, stiti, cu intentii serioase. Apoi brusc munca mea este amuzanta. Si cred ca nu conteaza ca munca mea este considerata amuzanta, intr-un fel -- cred ca este o modalitate pentru mine de a trata importanta acestui tip de imagine, si despre cum primim informatii prin aceasta punere in scena. Este o metoda extrem de rapida de a obtine informatii. Este extrem de dificila daca este construita corect, si exista tehnici de contruire a imaginilor emblematice.
This image, for example, is sort of spot-on because it exactly sums up what Elton may be doing in private, and also what might be happening with Saddam Hussein, and George Bush reading the Koran upside-down. For example, George Bush target practice -- shooting at Bin Laden and Michael Moore. And then you change the photograph he's shooting at, and it suddenly becomes rather grim and maybe less accessible. (Laughter). Tony Blair being used as a mounting block, and Rumsfeld and Bush laughing with some Abu Ghraib photos behind, and the seriousness, or the intellect, of Bush. And also, commenting on the behind the scenes -- well, as we know now -- what goes on in prisons. And in fact, George Bush and Tony Blair are having great fun during all of this.
Aceasta imagine, de exemplu, tinteste direct la obiect pentru ca insumeaza exact ce ar putea face Elton in particular, si de asemenea ce s-ar putea intampla cu Saddam Hussein, si George Bush citind Coranul cu susul in jos. De exemplu, exersand trasul la tinta, tragand spre Bin Laden si Michael Moore. Apoi se schimba fotografia la care trage si devine dintr-o data aspru, si poate mai putin accesibil. (Rasete). Tony Blair folosit drept scara. Si Rumsfeld cu Bush razand, avand niste poze cu Abu Ghraib in spate, si seriozitatea si intelectul lui Bush. De asemenea comentariile din spatele scenei, si, dupa cum am aflat, ce se intampla in inchisori. Si de fapt, George Bush si Tony Blair se distreaza in acest timp.
And really commenting, you know, based on the perception we have of the celebrities. What Jack Nicholson might be up to in his celebrity life, and the fact that he tried to ... he had a bit of road rage and golf-clubbed a driver the other day. I mean, it's extremely difficult to find these look-alikes, so I'm constantly going up to people in the street and trying to ask people to come and be in one of my photographs or films. And sometimes asking the real celebrity, mistaking them for someone who just looks like the real person, which is highly embarrassing. (Laughter).
Si de fapt comentariile bazate pe perceptia pe care o avem asupra celebritatilor, ce face Jack Nicholson in viata de celebritate. Si faptul ca a incercat, a fost putin furios, si a lovit un sofer zilele trecute cu o crosa de golf. Ce vreau sa spun, este destul de dificil sa gasesti aceste sosii, asa ca mereu opresc lumea pe strada si incerc sa chem oamenii sa participe la fotografiile sau filmele mele. Cateodata intreb o celebritate adevarata, confundand-o cu cineva care arata ca persoana reala, lucru extrem de stanjenitor. (Rasete).
I've also been working with The Guardian on a topical basis -- a page a week in their newspaper -- which has been very interesting, working topically. So, Jamie Oliver and school dinners; Bush and Blair having difficulty getting alongside Muslim culture; the whole of the hunting issue, and the royal family refusing to stop hunting; and the tsunami issues; and obviously Harry; Blair's views on Gordon Brown, which I find very interesting; Condi and Bush. This image I've decided to show having a reservation about it. I made it a year ago. And just how meanings change, and there were a terrible thing that has happened, but the fear is lurking around in our minds prior to that. That's why this image was made one year ago, and what it means today. So, I'll leave you with these clips to have a look. (Music)
Am lucrat de asemenea cu 'Gardianul' pe baza de articole -- o pagina pe saptamana in ziarul lor -- lucru foarte interesant, sa lucrezi pe anumite teme. Jamie Oliver si pranzul in scoala, Bush si Blair avand dificultati in a se intelege pe tema culturii musulmane; problema vanatului, si refuzul familiei regale de a intrerupe vanatorile. Si problema tsunami-ului. Si in mod evident Harry. Parerea lui Blair in legatura cu Gordon Brown, care mi se pare foarte interesanta. Condi si Bush. Aceasta imagine am decis s-o prezint cu ceva rezerve. Am facut-o acum un an -- si cum semnificatiile se schimba, s-a intamplat un lucru ingrozitor. Dar frica sta la panda in mintea noastra inainte de asta. De aceea aceasta poza a fost facuta acum un an. Si ce inseamna azi. Va las sa vizionati aceste clipuri.
Chris Anderson: Thank you.
Chris Anderson: Multumesc.