Take a look at this work of art. What is it that you see? At first glance, it looks to be a grandfather clock with a sheet thrown over it and a rope tied around the center. But a first look always warrants a second. Look again. What do you see now? If you look more closely, you'll realize that this entire work of art is made from one piece of sculpture. There is no clock, there is no rope, and there is no sheet. It is one piece of bleached Honduras mahogany.
看看這件藝術作品。 你看到的是什麼? 第一眼,看起來是祖父時代的鐘, 上面蓋著一塊布, 中間用一條繩子綁住。 但,有第一眼就有第二眼。 再看一次。 現在你看到什麼? 如果你更近距離看, 你會發現,這整件藝術作品 其實完全是一件雕塑。 沒有鐘, 沒有繩子, 沒有布。 它是用一塊漂白的 宏都拉斯桃花心木做成。
Now let me be clear: this exercise was not about looking at sculpture. It's about looking and understanding that looking closely can save a life, change your company and even help you understand why your children behave the way they do. It's a skill that I call visual intelligence, and I use works of art to teach everybody, from everyday people to those for whom looking is the job, like Navy SEALs and homicide detectives and trauma nurses.
讓我說清楚: 這個練習的重點不是要看雕塑。 重點是「看」, 以及了解到,靠近一點看 可能可以拯救生命、 改變你的公司, 甚至協助你了解為什麼你的孩子 會做出他們做出的行為。 我把這項技能稱為視覺智慧, 我用藝術作品來教大家, 從一般人到以「看」 為職業的人都有, 比如海豹部隊、調查凶殺案的 警探,以及外傷科護士。
The fact is that no matter how skilled you might be at looking, you still have so much to learn about seeing. Because we all think we get it in a first glance and a sudden flash, but the real skill is in understanding how to look slowly and how to look more carefully. The talent is in remembering -- in the crush of the daily urgencies that demand our attention -- to step back and look through those lenses to help us see what we've been missing all along.
不論你多麼擅長「看」, 對於「看」, 你仍然有很多要學的。 因為,我們都認為只要 看第一眼或驚鴻一瞥就可以了解, 但真正的技巧在於 要了解如何緩慢地看, 以及如何更仔細地看。 這項才能是在於記得—— 在每天日常需要我們注意的 急事不斷壓榨中—— 要退後一步,透過那些能幫助 我們看清楚的透鏡來看見 我們一直忽略的東西。
So how can looking at painting and sculpture help? Because art is a powerful tool. It's a powerful tool that engages both sight and insight and reframes our understanding of where we are and what we see.
所以,看畫作和雕塑 能有什麼幫助? 因為藝術是非常強大的工具。 這種強大的工具 會用到視力以及洞察, 且會重新構造我們對自己 身處何處及所見為何的理解。
Here's an example of a work of art that reminded me that visual intelligence -- it's an ongoing learning process and one that really is never mastered. I came across this quiet, seemingly abstract painting, and I had to step up to it twice, even three times, to understand why it resonated so deeply. Now, I've seen the Washington Monument in person thousands of times, well aware of the change in the color of marble a third of the way up, but I had never really looked at it out of context or truly as a work of art. And here, Georgia O'Keeffe's painting of this architectural icon made me realize that if we put our mind to it, it's possible to see everyday things in a wholly new and eye-opening perspective.
這件藝術作品就是一個例子, 它提醒我視覺智慧—— 它是一個持續不斷的學習過程, 且我們永遠無法精通它。 我偶然看到這幅 似乎很抽象的畫作, 我得要朝它走近兩次, 甚至三次, 才能了解為什麼 它的回響這麼深刻。 我親自去看華盛頓 紀念碑不下數千次, 非常清楚在上方三分之一的地方, 大理石的顏色有所改變, 但我從來沒有把它 跟背景分離來看, 或是真正當成藝術作品來看。 喬治亞歐姬芙針對這個建築地標 所創作的這幅畫讓我了解到: 如果我們專心致力, 是有可能用一種全新 且讓人開眼界的觀點 來看待日常事物的。
Now, there are some skeptics that believe that art just belongs in an art museum. They believe that it has no practical use beyond its aesthetic value. I know who they are in every audience I teach. Their arms are crossed, their legs are crossed, their body language is saying, "What am I going to learn from this lady who talks fast about painting and sculpture?" So how do I make it relevant for them? I ask them to look at this work of art, like this portrait by Kumi Yamashita. And I ask them to step in close, and even closer still, and while they're looking at the work of art, they need to be asking questions about what they see. And if they ask the right questions, like, "What is this work of art? Is it a painting? Is it a sculpture? What is it made of?" ... they will find out that this entire work of art is made of a wooden board, 10,000 nails and one unbroken piece of sewing thread.
有些懷疑論者相信 藝術只屬於藝術博物館。 他們相信,藝術只有美學價值, 沒有實際用途。 在我教導的每批觀眾中, 我都知道誰是這種人。 他們會雙手抱胸,翹著二郎腿, 他們的肢體語言在說: 「我能從這位用很快的 說話速度在談論畫作 和雕塑的女士身上學到什麼?」 我要如何讓這些人 感受到藝術的重要性? 我請他們看這件藝術作品, 比如山下工美的這幅畫像。 我請他們靠近一些, 甚至再更靠近, 當他們在看著這件藝術作品時, 他們需要問一些關於 他們看到什麼的問題。 如果他們問對了問題, 如「這件藝術作品 是什麼?是一幅畫嗎? 它是一座雕塑嗎? 它是什麼做的?」…… 他們會發現, 這件藝術作品完完全全 是由木板、 一萬個釘子, 和一條沒有斷的縫紉紗線所做成的。
Now that might be interesting to some of you, but what does it have to do with the work that these people do? And the answer is everything. Because we all interact with people multiple times on a daily basis, and we need to get better at asking questions about what it is that we see.
有些人可能會覺得有趣, 但這和這些人所做的 工作有什麼關係? 答案是,通通都有關。 因為我們每天都要 和人互動很多次, 我們需要更擅長 針對我們的所見來問問題。
Learning to frame the question in such a way as to elicit the information that we need to do our jobs, is a critical life skill. Like the radiologist who told me that looking at the negative spaces in a painting helped her discern more discreet abnormalities in an MRI. Or the police officer who said that understanding the emotional dynamic between people in a painting helped him to read body language at a domestic violence crime scene, and it enabled him to think twice before drawing and firing his weapon. And even parents can look to see absences of color in paintings to understand that what their children say to them is as important as what they don't say.
學習用這種方式來構想問題, 以引導出我們工作時 所需要的資訊, 這是一種很重要的人生技能。 就像有位放射學家告訴我, 去看一幅畫中的負空間 能協助她辨別出磁共振造影中 不引人注意的異常之處。 或是有位警員說, 了解一幅畫中 人與人的情緒動態, 能幫助他在家庭暴力 犯罪現場解讀肢體語言, 並讓他能多想一下 再拔槍、開槍。 連父母都能透過看著 畫作中缺少的顏色, 來了解到,他們的孩子 想對他們說的話, 和他們不想說的話是同樣重要的。
So how do I -- how do I train to be more visually intelligent? It comes down to four As. Every new situation, every new problem -- we practice four As. First, we assess our situation. We ask, "What do we have in front of us?" Then, we analyze it. We say, "What's important? What do I need? What don't I need?" Then, we articulate it in a conversation, in a memo, in a text, in an email. And then, we act: we make a decision. We all do this multiple times a day, but we don't realize what a role seeing and looking plays in all of those actions, and how visual intelligence can really improve everything.
所以,我要如何—— 我要如何鍛鍊才能 變得更有視覺智慧? 可以整理成四個「A」。 在每個新情境、每個新問題中—— 我們要練習四個「A」。 首先,評估(assess) 我們的情況。 我們要問: 「我們面前的是什麼?」 接著,我們去 分析(analyze)它。 我們說:「重點是什麼? 我需要什麼?我不需要什麼?」 接著,我們在對話、備忘錄、 文字、信件中明確 表達(articulate )它。 接著,我們採取行動(act): 我們做決策。 這個過程我們每天都會做好多次, 但我們不知道, 在所有這些步驟當中, 「看」所扮演的角色, 也不知道視覺智慧 如何能改善一切。
So recently, I had a group of counterterrorism officials at a museum in front of this painting. El Greco's painting, "The Purification of the Temple," in which Christ, in the center, in a sweeping and violent gesture, is expelling the sinners from the temple of prayer. The group of counterterrorism officials had five minutes with that painting, and in that short amount of time, they had to assess the situation, analyze the details, articulate what, if anything, they would do if they were in that painting. As you can imagine, observations and insights differed. Who would they talk to? Who would be the best witness? Who was a good potential witness? Who was lurking? Who had the most information? But my favorite comment came from a seasoned cop who looked at the central figure and said, "You see that guy in the pink?" -- referring to Christ -- he said, "I'd collar him, he's causing all the trouble."
所以,最近,我讓一群 反恐怖主義的官員 到博物館來看這幅畫。 這是艾爾葛雷柯的 畫作《神殿淨化》, 在畫中,中間的是基督, 做出一種要趕人的暴力姿勢, 把罪人從禱告者的寺廟驅逐出去。 這群反恐怖主義的官員 有五分鐘能看這幅畫, 在那短短的時間中, 他們得要評估情況, 分析細節, 明確表達出—— 如果他們在那幅畫中, 他們會怎麼做。 不難想像,每個人的 觀察和洞察都不同。 他們會和誰說話? 誰會是最好的目擊證人? 誰是好的潛在證人? 誰在偷偷摸摸? 誰有最多資訊? 但我最喜歡的意見是一位 經驗豐富的警察所提的, 他看著中央的角色,說: 「有看到穿粉紅色的傢伙?」—— 指的是基督—— 他說:「我會抓住他的領口, 所有的問題都是他造成的。」
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
So looking at art gives us a perfect vehicle to rethink how we solve problems without the aid of technology. Looking at the work of Felix Gonzalez-Torres, you see two clocks in perfect synchronicity. The hour, minute and second hand perfectly aligned. They are installed side by side and they're touching, and they are entitled "'Untitled' (Perfect Lovers)." But closer analysis makes you realize that these are two battery-operated clocks, which in turn makes you understand -- "Hey, wait a minute ... One of those batteries is going to stop before the other. One of those clocks is going to slow down and die before the other and it's going to alter the symmetry of the artwork." Just articulating that thought process includes the necessity of a contingency plan. You need to have contingencies for the unforeseen, the unexpected and the unknown, whenever and however they may happen.
觀看藝術作品是一種很好的方法, 可以讓我們重新思考 要如何解決問題, 而不需要科技的協助。 看著菲利克斯·岡薩雷斯-托雷斯的 這件作品, 你會看見兩個時鐘完美地同步。 時針、分針、秒針都完美地對齊。 它們被緊連著並排放置, 它們被取名為「無題 (完美的愛人)」。 但,更仔細地分析會讓你發現, 這兩個時鐘都是靠電池來運轉的, 這就會讓你接著了解到—— 「嘿,等等…… 兩個電池之中有一個 會比另一個更早用盡。 其中一個鐘會比另一個 先慢下來並停止, 那將會改變這件作品的對稱性。」 光是明確表達出那個思想過程, 就會需要預防計畫。 你需要有所準備, 可能會有未預見的事、 未預期的事,和未知的事發生, 可能會在任何時候 以任何方式發生。
Now, using art to increase our visual intelligence involves planning for contingencies, understanding the big picture and the small details and noticing what's not there. So in this painting by Magritte, noticing that there are no tracks under the train, there is no fire in the fireplace and there are no candles in the candlesticks actually more accurately describes the painting than if you were to say, "Well, there's a train coming out of a fireplace, and there are candlesticks on the mantle."
用藝術來增加我們的視覺智慧, 會涉及到應急計畫, 要了解大局以及小細節, 並注意到少了什麼。 在這幅馬格利特的畫作中, 注意到火車底下並沒有鐵軌, 火爐中沒有火, 蠟燭上也沒有燭火, 這樣是比較正確地描述這幅畫作, 而不是只說:「嗯, 有一列火車從火爐中駛出來, 且壁爐上有蠟燭。」
It may sound counterintuitive to say what isn't there, but it's really a very valuable tool. When a detective who had learned about visual intelligence in North Carolina was called to the crime scene, it was a boating fatality, and the eyewitness told this detective that the boat had flipped over and the occupant had drowned underneath. Now, instinctively, crime scene investigators look for what is apparent, but this detective did something different. He looked for what wasn't there, which is harder to do. And he raised the question: if the boat had really tipped flipped over -- as the eyewitness said that it did -- how come the papers that were kept at one end of the boat were completely dry? Based on that one small but critical observation, the investigation shifted from accidental death to homicide.
說出「沒有什麼」 似乎是反直覺的, 但它是一項非常有價值的工具。 在北卡羅萊納有位 曾學過視覺智慧的警探, 他被呼叫到犯罪現場, 那是一場船難, 目擊證人告訴 這位警探,船翻覆了, 船主淹死在下面。 就直覺上來說,犯罪現場的 調查人員會找明顯的線索, 但這位警探的做法不同。 他去尋找有什麼不在那裡, 這點是更困難的。 他提出了一個問題: 如果這艘船真的傾斜並翻覆—— 如目擊證人的說詞—— 為什麼放在船末端的紙 完全是乾的? 根據這個微小但重要的觀察, 調查方向從意外死亡轉變為謀殺。
Now, equally important to saying what isn't there is the ability to find visual connections where they may not be apparent. Like Marie Watt's totem pole of blankets. It illustrates that finding hidden connections in everyday objects can resonate so deeply. The artist collected blankets from all different people in her community, and she had the owners of the blankets write, on a tag, the significance of the blanket to the family. Some of the blankets had been used for baby blankets, some of them had been used as picnic blankets, some of them had been used for the dog. We all have blankets in our homes and understand the significance that they play. But similarly, I instruct new doctors: when they walk into a patient's room, before they pick up that medical chart, just look around the room. Are there balloons or cards, or that special blanket on the bed? That tells the doctor there's a connection to the outside world. If that patient has someone in the outside world to assist them and help them, the doctor can implement the best care with that connection in mind. In medicine, people are connected as humans before they're identified as doctor and patient.
和找出「什麼不在那裡」 同樣重要的, 是在視覺連結並不明顯的地方 找到視覺連結的能力。 就像馬里瓦特 用毯子做成的圖騰柱。 它說明了在日常的物件 當中找出隱藏連結 可以有很深刻的回響。 這位藝術家收集毯子, 來源是她所住的社區中 各式各樣的人, 她還請毯子的主人 在毯子的標籤上寫下 這張毯子對於他的家庭 有什麼重要性。 有些毯子是被用來當作寶寶毯, 有些則是用來當野餐毯, 還有些是給狗用的。 我們家裡都有毯子, 也了解它們所扮演的重要性。 但,同樣的,我指導新醫生: 當他們走進病人的房間時, 在他們拿起醫療圖表之前, 先看看房間環境。 房間中有沒有氣球或是卡片? 床上有沒有特別的毯子? 那樣的資訊能讓醫生看出 病人和外面世界的連結。 若病人在外面的世界,還有其他人 會協助他們、幫助他們, 醫生就可以在實施最佳照護時 把那連結納入考量。 在醫學上,大家是 以「人類」身分來連結的, 後來才被視為是醫生和病人。
But this method of enhancing perception -- it need not be disruptive, and it doesn't necessitate an overhaul in looking. Like Jorge Méndez Blake's sculpture of building a brick wall above Kafka's book "El Castillo" shows that more astute observation can be subtle and yet invaluable. You can discern the book, and you can see how it disrupted the symmetry of the bricks directly above it, but by the time you get to the end of the sculpture, you can no longer see the book. But looking at the work of art in its entirety, you see that the impact of the work's disruption on the bricks is nuanced and unmistakable. One thought, one idea, one innovation can alter an approach, change a process and even save lives.
但這個加強感知的方法—— 它不必是顛覆性的, 它並不需要做完整全面地檢查。 就像門德斯布雷克的雕塑, 他在卡夫卡的書《城堡》上 建立了一座磚牆, 顯示出更敏銳的觀察也可以是 微妙但非常寶貴的。 你可以辨識出這本書, 且你能看到它如何破壞 它正上方磚塊的對稱性, 但當你看到雕塑的末端時, 你就無法再看到這本書了。 但從整體上來看這件藝術作品, 你們可以發現,這件作品 透過破壞磚塊所產生的影響 是微妙且確定無疑的。 一個想法、 一個點子、 一項創新,可以轉變一種方式、 改變一個流程, 甚至拯救人命。
I've been teaching visual intelligence for over 15 years, and to my great amazement and astonishment -- to my never-ending astonishment and amazement, I have seen that looking at art with a critical eye can help to anchor us in our world of uncharted waters, whether you are a paramilitary trooper, a caregiver, a doctor or a mother. Because let's face it, things go wrong.
我教視覺智慧 已經有十五年之久了, 讓我感到不可思議且吃驚的是—— 讓我總是感到 吃驚且不可思議的是—— 我曾經見過,用挑剔的眼光 去看藝術作品, 能夠協助我們在未知 水域的世界中下錨停泊, 不論你是準軍事部隊的士兵、 照護者、醫生,或是母親。 因為,咱們面對現實吧, 總會有事出錯。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
Things go wrong. And don't misunderstand me, I'd eat that doughnut in a minute.
總會有事出錯。 別誤會我的意思, 我很樂意吃那個甜甜圈。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
But we need to understand the consequences of what it is that we observe, and we need to convert observable details into actionable knowledge. Like Jennifer Odem's sculpture of tables standing sentinel on the banks of the Mississippi River in New Orleans, guarding against the threat of post-Katrina floodwaters and rising up against adversity, we too have the ability to act affirmatively and affect positive change.
但我們需要了解, 我們觀察到的是什麼 會引起什麼後果, 且我們需要將可觀察到的細節 轉換成為可付諸行動的知識。 就像珍妮佛歐登的雕塑, 是桌子在密西西比河河岸上站崗, 位在紐奧良, 對抗的是卡崔娜颶風過後的洪水威脅, 並站起來抵禦災禍, 我們也有能力可以 很肯定地採取行動, 帶來正面的改變。
I have been mining the world of art to help people across the professional spectrum to see the extraordinary in the everyday, to articulate what is absent and to be able to inspire creativity and innovation, no matter how small. And most importantly, to forge human connections where they may not be apparent, empowering us all to see our work and the world writ large with a new set of eyes.
我一直在藝術世界開採著, 協助各行各業的人, 在日常生活中看見不凡, 明確表達出少了什麼, 且要能夠鼓舞創意和創新, 不論多麼小。 最重要的, 要在人類連結不明顯的地方 打造人類連結, 讓我們都有能力可以用全新的視角 來看我們的藝術作品 和由此顯而易見的世界。
Thank you.
謝謝。
(Applause)
(掌聲)