Two weeks ago I was in my studio in Paris, and the phone rang and I heard, "Hey, JR, you won the TED Prize 2011. You have to make a wish to save the world." I was lost. I mean, I can't save the world. Nobody can. The world is fucked up. Come on, you have dictators ruling the world, population is growing by millions, there's no more fish in the sea, the North Pole is melting and as the last TED Prize winner said, we're all becoming fat. (Laughter) Except maybe French people. Whatever. So I called back and I told her, "Look, Amy, tell the TED guys I just won't show up. I can't do anything to save the world." She said, "Hey, JR, your wish is not to save the world, but to change the world." "Oh, all right." (Laughter) "That's cool." I mean, technology, politics, business do change the world -- not always in a good way, but they do. What about art? Could art change the world?
Hai dúas semanas estaba no meu estudio en París cando chamaron o teléfono e me dixeron "Eh, JR, gañaches o Premio TED 2011. Tes que pedir un desexo para salvar o mundo." Estaba perdido. Non podía salvar o mundo; ninguén pode. O mundo está fodido. Veña oh, tes ditadores gobernando o mundo, a poboación medra en millóns, non hai peixe no mar, o Polo Norte estase a derreter, e o último gañador do Premio TED di: Cada vez estamos máis gordos. (Risas) Agás, quizais, os franceses. O que sexa. Chameina de volta e díxenlle. "Olla, Amy, dille aos tipos de TED que non vou ir. Non podo facer nada para salvar o mundo." Ela dixo "Eh, JR, o teu desexo non é salvar o mundo, senón cambiar o mundo." "Ah, está ben." (Risas) "Iso está ben." Quero dicir a tecnoloxía, a política, os negocios cambian de verdade o mundo, non sempre para ben, pero cámbiano. Que hai da arte? Podería a arte cambiar o mundo?
I started when I was 15 years old. And at that time, I was not thinking about changing the world. I was doing graffiti -- writing my name everywhere, using the city as a canvas. I was going in the tunnels of Paris, on the rooftops with my friends. Each trip was an excursion, was an adventure. It was like leaving our mark on society, to say, "I was here," on the top of a building.
Eu comecei cando tiña 15 anos. E naquel tempo non estaba pensando en cambiar o mundo. Facía graffiti, escribía o meu nome por todas partes usaba a cidade coma un lenzo. Ía polos túneles de Paris, polos tellados cos meus amigos. Cada saída era unha excursión, unha aventura. Era como se deixásemos a nosa marca na sociedade e dixéramos "Estiven aquí" na azotea dun edificio.
So when I found a cheap camera on the subway, I started documenting those adventures with my friends and gave them back as photocopies -- really small photos just that size. That's how, at 17 years old, I started pasting them. And I did my first "expo de rue," which means sidewalk gallery. And I framed it with color so you would not confuse it with advertising. I mean, the city's the best gallery I could imagine. I would never have to make a book and then present it to a gallery and let them decide if my work was nice enough to show it to people. I would control it directly with the public in the streets.
Así que cando atopei unha cámara barata no metro, comecei a documentar aquelas aventuras cos meus amigos e dáballe as fotos en fotocopias, fotos pequenas, xusto desde tamaño. Así foi como, con 17 anos, comecei a pegalas. E fixen a miña primeira "expo de rue", que significa galería na beirarrúa. E enmarqueinas con cor para que non foran confundidas con anuncios. Quero dicir, a cidade é a mellor galería de arte que podo imaxinar. Nunca tiven que facer un book e presentalo a unha galería e deixalos decidir se o meu traballo era suficientemente bo para ensinarllo á xente. Tiña o control sobre el co público de forma directa nas rúas.
So that's Paris. I would change -- depending on the places I would go -- the title of the exhibition. That's on the Champs-Elysees. I was quite proud of that one. Because I was just 18 and I was just up there on the top of the Champs-Elysees. Then when the photo left, the frame was still there.
Así que iso é París. Eu cambiaba, segundo os lugares aos que fose, o título da exposición. Eses son os Campos Elisios. Estaba bastante orgulloso desta. Porque só tiña 18 e estaba xusto alí arriba, na cima dos Campos Elisios. E cando a foto desapareceu, o marco seguía alí.
(Laughter)
(Risas)
November 2005: the streets are burning. A large wave of riots had broken into the first projects of Paris. Everyone was glued to the TV, watching disturbing, frightening images taken from the edge of the neighborhood. I mean, these kids, without control, throwing Molotov cocktails, attacking the cops and the firemen, looting everything they could in the shops. These were criminals, thugs, dangerous, destroying their own environment.
Novembro de 2005: as rúas están ardendo. A gran ola de disturbios estouraran nos primeiros proxectos de París. Todo o mundo estaba pegado ao televisor, vendo os disturbios, as aterradoras imaxes tomadas no centro do barrio. Quero dicir, estes rapaces estaban fóra de control, lanzaban cócteis molotov, atacaban aos policías e aos bombeiros, roubaban todo o que podían das tendas. Eran criminais, desgraciados e perigosos destruíndo o seu propio entorno.
And then I saw it -- could it be possible? -- my photo on a wall revealed by a burning car -- a pasting I'd done a year earlier -- an illegal one -- still there. I mean, these were the faces of my friends. I know those guys. All of them are not angels, but they're not monsters either. So it was kind of weird to see those images and those eyes stare back at me through a television.
E entón a vin: era posíbel? unha foto miña nunha parede revelada por un coche ardendo, pegada alí un ano antes, de forma ilegal e aínda estaba alí. Quero dicir, estas eran as caras dos meus amigos. Coñezo a eses tipos. Non son anxos pero tampouco monstros. Así que era unha cosa rara de ver aquelas imaxes e aqueles ollos que me devolvían a mirada a través da televisión.
So I went back there with a 28 mm lens. It was the only one I had at that time. But with that lens, you have to be as close as 10 inches from the person. So you can do it only with their trust. So I took full portraits of people from Le Bosquet. They were making scary faces to play the caricature of themselves. And then I pasted huge posters everywhere in the bourgeois area of Paris with the name, age, even building number of these guys. A year later, the exhibition was displayed in front of the city hall of Paris. And we go from thug images, who've been stolen and distorted by the media, who's now proudly taking over his own image. That's where I realized the power of paper and glue. So could art change the world?
Así que volvín alí co meu obxectivo de 28 milímetros. Era o único que tiña naquel momento. Pero con aquel obxectivo, tiña que acercarme a menos de 25 cm da persoa. Así que só o podía facer coa súa confianza. Fixen catro retratos da xente de Le Bosquet. Puñan caras aterradoras para interpretar unha caricatura de si mesmos. E despois colguei pósters enormes por todas partes na zona burguesa de París. Puxen o nome, a idade e mesmo o número de edificio destes tipos. Un ano despois a exposición estaba fronte o concello de París. E pasamos das imaxes roubadas e distorsionadas polos medios de comunicación a que se fixeran cargo da súa propia imaxe con orgullo. Foi entón cando me din conta do poder do papel e a cola. Así podía a arte cambiar o mundo?
A year later, I was listening to all the noise about the Middle East conflict. I mean, at that time, trust me, they were only referring to the Israeli and Palestinian conflict. So with my friend Marco, we decided to go there and see who are the real Palestinians and who are the real Israelis. Are they so different? When we got there, we just went in the street, started talking with people everywhere, and we realized that things were a bit different from the rhetoric we heard in the media. So we decided to take portraits of Palestinians and Israelis doing the same jobs -- taxi-driver, lawyer, cooks. Asked them to make a face as a sign of commitment. Not a smile -- that really doesn't tell about who you are and what you feel. They all accepted to be pasted next to the other. I decided to paste in eight Israeli and Palestinian cities and on both sides of the wall. We launched the biggest illegal art exhibition ever. We called the project Face 2 Face.
Un ano máis tarde estaba escoitando todo o ruído arredor do conflito en Oriente Próximo. Quero dicir, naquel momento, crédeme, só falaban do conflito palestino-israelí. Así que co meu amigo Marco, decidimos ir aló e ver como eran de verdade os palestinos e os israelís. Son tan diferentes? Cando chegamos fomos directos ás rúas, comezamos a falar con xente de todas partes e démonos conta de que as cousas eran un pouco distintas da retórica que tiñamos oído nos medios de comunicación. E decidimos facer retratos de palestinos e israelís que facían os mesmos traballos: taxista, avogado, cociñeiro. Pedímoslles que fixeran xestos como sinal de compromiso. Non un sorriso, iso en realidade non di nada sobre quen es e o que sentes. Todos aceptaron ser pegados ao lado dos outros. Decidín pegalos en oito cidades israelís e palestinas de ambos lados do muro. Inauguramos a maior exposición ilegal de arte de todas os tempos. Chamamos ao proxecto "Cara a Cara".
The experts said, "No way. The people will not accept. The army will shoot you, and Hamas will kidnap you." We said, "Okay, let's try and push as far as we can." I love the way that people will ask me, "How big will my photo be?" "It will be as big as your house." When we did the wall, we did the Palestinian side. So we arrived with just our ladders and we realized that they were not high enough. And so Palestinians guys say, "Calm down. No wait. I'm going to find you a solution." So he went to the Church of Nativity and brought back an old ladder that was so old that it could have seen Jesus being born. (Laughter) We did Face 2 Face with only six friends, two ladders, two brushes, a rented car, a camera and 20,000 square feet of paper. We had all sorts of help from all walks of life.
Os expertos dixeron, "De ningunha maneira. A xente non o vai aceptar. O exercito vaivos disparar, e Hamas vaivos secuestrar." Nós dixemos, "Ben, vámolo intentar e ver até onde podemos chegar." Encántame a forma na que a xente me pregunta, "Como de grande será a miña foto?" "Será tan grande como a túa casa." Cando fixemos o muro, fixemos o lado palestino. Chegamos coas nosas escadas e démonos conta de que non eran suficientemente altas. E os palestinos dixeron, "Tranquilos. Esperade. Vouvos atopar unha solución." Foi á Igrexa da Natividade e volveu cunha vella escada, que eran tan vella que podía ter visto a Xesús nacer. (Risas) Fixemos o proxecto "Cara a Cara" con só seis amigos, dúas escadas de man, dous pinceis, un coche alugado, unha cámara e 6000 metros cadrados de papel. Tivemos todo tipo de axuda de todos os ámbitos.
Okay, for example, that's Palestine. We're in Ramallah right now. We're pasting portraits -- so both portraits in the streets in a crowded market. People come around us and start asking, "What are you doing here?" "Oh, we're actually doing an art project and we are pasting an Israeli and a Palestinian doing the same job. And those ones are actually two taxi-drivers." And then there was always a silence. "You mean you're pasting an Israeli face -- doing a face -- right here?" "Well, yeah, yeah, that's part of the project." And I would always leave that moment, and we would ask them, "So can you tell me who is who?" And most of them couldn't say.
Ben, por exemplo, isto é Palestina. Agora estamos en Ramallah. Estamos pegando retratos - ambos os dous retratos nas ateigadas rúas dun mercado. A xente pasa e comeza a preguntar, "Que facedes aquí?" "Oh, estamos facendo un proxecto artístico: colocamos un israelí e un palestino que fan o mesmo traballo. Estes dous son taxistas." E entón sempre había un silencio. "Queres dicir que estás pegando unha cara israelí facendo xestos xusto aquí?" "Ben, si, si, iso é parte do proxecto." E sempre deixaba un intre e lles preguntaba: Podes dicirme quen é quen? E a meirande parte non podía.
(Applause)
(Aplausos)
We even pasted on Israeli military towers, and nothing happened. When you paste an image, it's just paper and glue. People can tear it, tag on it, or even pee on it -- some are a bit high for that, I agree -- but the people in the street, they are the curator. The rain and the wind will take them off anyway. They are not meant to stay. But exactly four years after, the photos, most of them are still there. Face 2 Face demonstrated that what we thought impossible was possible -- and, you know what, even easy. We didn't push the limit; we just showed that they were further than anyone thought.
Incluso pegamos nas torres militares israelís e non pasou nada. Cando pegas unha imaxe, só e papel e cola. A xente pode rompela, escribir nela, ou incluso mexar nela. Algunhas están un chisco demasiado altas para iso, estou de acordo, pero a xente nas rúas son os comisarios. A choiva e o vento levaranas de todos os xeitos. O seu fin non é prevalecer. Pero exactamente catro anos despois, a meirande parte das fotos seguen alí. "Cara a Cara" demostrou que o que pensabamos imposíbel era posíbel. E, sabedes que? Incluso fácil. Non tivemos que ir máis aló de onde podíamos, e demostramos que estamos máis aló do que ninguén pensaba.
In the Middle East, I experienced my work in places without [many] museums. So the reactions in the street were kind of interesting. So I decided to go further in this direction and go in places where there were zero museums. When you go in these developing societies, women are the pillars of their community, but the men are still the ones holding the streets. So we were inspired to create a project where men will pay tribute to women by posting their photos. I called that project Women Are Heroes. When I listened to all the stories everywhere I went on the continents, I couldn't always understand the complicated circumstances of their conflict. I just observed. Sometimes there was no words, no sentence, just tears. I just took their pictures and pasted them.
No Oriente Próximo tiven a experiencia de traballar en lugares onde non hai moitos museos. E esta dirección foi bastante interesante. Así que decidín seguir nela e ir a lugares onde non houbese ningún museo. Cando chegas a estas sociedades en desenrolo, as mulleres son os piares da súa comunidade, pero os homes seguen a ser os que controlan as rúas. Así nos inspiramos para crear un proxecto onde os homes rendiran homenaxe ás mulleres pegando as súas fotos. Chamei a este proxecto "As mulleres son heroínas". Cando escoitei todas estas historias dos sitios aos que fun, non sempre podía entender as complicadas circunstancias do seu conflito, e só observaba. Algunhas veces non había palabras, nin frases, só bágoas. Eu tomaba fotos e as pegaba.
Women Are Heroes took me around the world. Most of the places I went to, I decided to go there because I've heard about it through the media. So for example, in June 2008, I was watching TV in Paris, and then I heard about this terrible thing that happened in Rio de Janeiro -- the first favela of Brazil named Providencia. Three kids -- that was three students -- were [detained] by the army because they were not carrying their papers. And the army took them, and instead of bringing them to the police station, they brought them to an enemy favela where they get chopped into pieces. I was shocked. All Brazil was shocked. I heard it was one of the most violent favelas, because the largest drug cartel controls it. So I decided to go there.
"As mulleres son heroínas" levoume arredor do mundo. Á meirande parte dos lugares decidín ir porque oíra falar deles nos medios de comunicación. Así por exemplo, en xuño de 2008, estaba vendo a televisión en París, e entón escoitei una cousa horrible que pasou en Río de Xaneiro. A primeira favela chamada Providencia. Tres rapaces, tres estudantes, foron detidos polo exercito porque non levaban papeis. O exército colleunos, e no cando de levalos a estación de policía, leváronos a unha favela inimiga onde os cortaron en pedazos. Eu estaba en shock. Todo Brasil estaba en estado de shock. Oín que era unha das favelas máis violentas porque está controlada polo meirande cartel de droga. Así que decidín ir alí.
When I arrived -- I mean, I didn't have any contact with any NGO. There was none in place -- no association, no NGOs, nothing -- no eyewitnesses. So we just walked around, and we met a woman, and I showed her my book. And she said, "You know what? We're hungry for culture. We need culture out there." So I went out and I started with the kids. I just took a few photos of the kids, and the next day I came with the posters and we pasted them. The day after, I came back and they were already scratched. But that's okay. I wanted them to feel that this art belongs to them.
Cando cheguei non tiña ningún contacto con ONGs. Non había ningunha no lugar, ningunha axencia de turismo, ningunha ONG, ningunha testemuña. Así que dimos unha volta, e coñecemos a unha muller, ensineille o meu libro e dixo: Sabes que? Estamos famentos de cultura. Necesitamos a cultura." Así que saín e empecei cos nenos. Só tomei unhas poucas fotografías, e o día seguinte volvín cos pósters e pegueinos. O día despois, volvín e xa estaban raspuñados. Pero está ben. Quería que sentisen que esta arte lles pertencía.
Then the next day, I held a meeting on the main square and some women came. They were all linked to the three kids that got killed. There was the mother, the grandmother, the best friend -- they all wanted to shout the story. After that day, everyone in the favela gave me the green light. I took more photos, and we started the project. The drug lords were kind of worried about us filming in the place, so I told them, "You know what? I'm not interested in filming the violence and the weapons. You see that enough in the media. What I want to show is the incredible life and energy. I've been seeing it around me the last few days." So that's a really symbolic pasting, because that's the first one we did that you couldn't see from the city. And that's where the three kids got arrested, and that's the grandmother of one of them. And on that stairs, that's where the traffickers always stand and there's a lot of exchange of fire. Everyone there understood the project. And then we pasted everywhere -- the whole hill.
Entón, ao día seguinte, fixen unha reunión na praza principal e viñeron algunhas mulleres. Todas estaban relacionadas con este tres rapaces que foran asasinados. Estaba a nai, a avoa e a mellor amiga. Todas querían contar a historia. Despois de ese día, a xente da favela deunos luz verde. Tomei más fotos e comezamos o proxecto. Os señores da guerra estaban un pouco preocupados porque estábamos a filmar alí, e lles dixen "Sabedes que?" Non estou interesado en gravar a violencia nin as armas. Pódese ver suficiente diso nos medios de comunicación. O que quero é mostrar o asombroso da vida. E o que levo vendo o meu arredor os últimos días." Esa é unha pegada moi simbólica, porque é a primeira que fixemos que non se podía ver dende a cidade e aí foi onde os tres rapaces foron arrestados. Esa é a avoa dun deles. E nas escaleiras, é onde sempre están os traficantes e hai moito fogo cruzado. Toda a xente de alí entendeu o proxecto. E entón pegamos por todas partes, todo o outeiro.
(Applause)
(Aplausos)
What was interesting is that the media couldn't get in. I mean, you should see that. They would have to film us from a really long distance by helicopter and then have a really long lens, and we would see ourselves, on TV, pasting. And they would put a number: "Please call this number if you know what's going on in Providencia." We just did a project and then left so the media wouldn't know. So how can we know about the project? So they had to go and find the women and get an explanation from them. So you create a bridge between the media and the anonymous women.
O interesante é que a prensa non podía entendelo. Quero dicir, tiñades que velo. Tiñan que filmarnos dende moi lonxe en helicóptero e usaba lentes de grandes distancias, e podíamos vernos na tele pegando. E eles puñan un número "Por favor, chamen a este número se saben que está a pasar en Providencia." E nos fixemos o proxecto e marchamos así que a prensa non o sabía. E como podemos saber do proxecto? Pois tiñan que ir e encontrar ás mulleres e conseguir que llo explicasen. Así creamos unha ponte entre a prensa e as mulleres anónimas.
We kept traveling. We went to Africa, Sudan, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Kenya. In war-torn places like Monrovia, people come straight to you. I mean, they want to know what you're up to. They kept asking me, "What is the purpose of your project? Are you an NGO? Are you the media?" Art. Just doing art. Some people question, "Why is it in black and white? Don't you have color in France?" (Laughter) Or they tell you, "Are these people all dead?" Some who understood the project would explain it to others. And to a man who did not understand, I heard someone say, "You know, you've been here for a few hours trying to understand, discussing with your fellows. During that time, you haven't thought about what you're going to eat tomorrow. This is art." I think it's people's curiosity that motivates them to come into the projects. And then it becomes more. It becomes a desire, a need, an armor. On this bridge that's in Monrovia, ex-rebel soldiers helped us pasting a portrait of a woman that might have been raped during the war. Women are always the first ones targeted during conflict.
Seguimos viaxando. Fomos a África: Sudán, Serra Leoa, Liberia, Kenia. Lugares desfeitos pola guerra como Monrovia, a xente viña directa a ti. Quero dicir, querían saber que estabas a facer. Seguíanme a preguntar: "Cal é o propósito do teu proxecto?" "Estás nunha ONG? Na prensa?" Arte. Só fago arte. Algunha xente preguntaba: "Por que son en branco e negro? Non tedes cor na Francia?" (Risas) Ou dicíanche: "Están todos mortos?" Alguén que entendía o proxecto llo explicaba ao resto. Unha vez escoitei que alguén lle dicía a outro que non o entendera: "Sabes?, Levas aquí dúas horas tentando entender, falando cos teus amigos e durante ese tempo non pensaches no que vas comer mañá. Iso é arte." Creo que é a curiosidade o que motiva á xente a entrar nos proxectos. E logo convértese en algo máis. Convértese en desexo, necesidade... Nesta ponte, en Monrovia, Un ex-soldado rebelde axudounos a pegar o retrato dunha muller que quizais fora violada durante a guerra. As mulleres son sempre os primeiros obxectivos durante un conflito.
This is Kibera, Kenya, one of the largest slums of Africa. You might have seen images about the post-election violence that happened there in 2008. This time we covered the roofs of the houses, but we didn't use paper, because paper doesn't prevent the rain from leaking inside the house -- vinyl does. Then art becomes useful. So the people kept it. You know what I love is, for example, when you see the biggest eye there, there are so [many] houses inside. And I went there a few months ago -- photos are still there -- and it was missing a piece of the eye. So I asked the people what happened. "Oh, that guy just moved." (Laughter) When the roofs were covered, a woman said as a joke, "Now God can see me." When you look at Kibera now, they look back.
Isto é Kibera, Kenia, Un dos suburbios máis grandes de África. Pode que viran imaxes da violencia que houbo despois das eleccións de 2008. Esta vez cubrimos os tellados das casas, pero non usamos papel, porque o papel non evita que a choiva entre nas casas, pero o vinilo si. Entón a arte é útil. E a xente a conserva. Saben? o que me encanta é que por exemplo cando miras o ollo máis grande aí hai moitísímas casas dentro. Fun alí hai uns meses, e as fotos seguen alí, e faltaba un pedazo do ollo, así que preguntei que pasara. "Oh, o tipo mudouse." (Risas) Cando os tellados estaban cubertos, unha muller dixo de broma: "Agora Deus pode verme." Se agora miras a Kibera, devólveche a mirada.
Okay, India. Before I start that, just so you know, each time we go to a place, we don't have authorization, so we set up like commandos -- we're a group of friends who arrive there, and we try to paste on the walls. But there are places where you just can't paste on a wall. In India it was just impossible to paste. I heard culturally and because of the law, they would just arrest us at the first pasting. So we decided to paste white, white on the walls. So imagine white guys pasting white papers. So people would come to us and ask us, "Hey, what are you up to?" "Oh, you know, we're just doing art." "Art?" Of course, they were confused. But you know how India has a lot of dust in the streets, and the more dust you would have going up in the air, on the white paper you can almost see, but there is this sticky part like when you reverse a sticker. So the more dust you have, the more it will reveal the photo. So we could just walk in the street during the next days and the photos would get revealed by themselves. (Applause) Thank you. So we didn't get caught this time.
Ben, agora, India. Antes de empezar, só para que o saiban, non teño un axente de viaxes para cada lugar que visitamos, así que organizámonos en comandos. Somos un grupo de amigos que chega alí e ponse a intentar pegar cousas nas paredes. Pero hai lugares nos que simplemente non podes pegar. En India foi imposíbel pegar. Oíra que era por motivos culturais e pola lei, así que arrestáronos na primeira pegada. E decidimos pegar branco, branco nos muros. Imaxinen uns tipos brancos pegando papeis brancos. E a xente viña e preguntábanos: "Ei, que facedes?" "Oh, xa sabes, arte." "Arte?" Por suposto que estaban confusos. Pero, como saben, a India ten moreas de po nas rúas, e canto mais po houbese disperso no aire, o papel branco case non se podía ver, pero tiñan una parte pegañenta, como o reverso dunha calcomanía. Así que canto máis po houbese, mais se revelaba a foto. Os seguintes días simplemente camiñamos polas rúas e as fotos revelábanse soas. (Aplausos) Grazas. Así e como non nos colleron esta vez.
Each project -- that's a film from Women Are Heroes. (Music) Okay. For each project we do a film. And most of what you see -- that's a trailer from "Women Are Heroes" -- its images, photography, taken one after the other. And the photos kept traveling even without us. (Laughter) (Applause) Hopefully, you'll see the film, and you'll understand the scope of the project and what the people felt when they saw those photos. Because that's a big part of it. There's layers behind each photo. Behind each image is a story.
Cada proxecto... isto é unha película de "As mulleres son heroínas." (Música) Ben. Por cada proxecto fixemos unha película. E meirande parte do que ven é do tráiler de "As mulleres son heroínas", as súas imaxes, fotografía, tomadas unha tras outra. E a foto seguiu a viaxar incluso sen nós. (Risas) (Aplausos) Espero que poidan ver a película e entendan o alcance do proxecto e o que a xente sentiu cando viu esas fotos. Porque iso é unha gran parte de isto. Hai capas detrás de cada foto. Detrás de cada foto hai unha historia.
Women Are Heroes created a new dynamic in each of the communities, and the women kept that dynamic after we left. For example, we did books -- not for sale -- that all the community would get. But to get it, they would have to [get] it signed by one of the women. We did that in most of the places. We go back regularly. And so in Providencia, for example, in the favela, we have a cultural center running there. In Kibera, each year we cover more roofs. Because of course, when we left, the people who were just at the edge of the project said, "Hey, what about my roof?" So we decided to come the year after and keep doing the project.
"As mulleres son heroínas" creou unha nova dinámica en cada unha das comunidades, e as mulleres seguiron esa dinámica despois de que nós marcharamos. Por exemplo, fixemos libros -non á venda- que toda a comunidade podía coller. Pero para collelo necesitaba que o firmase unha muller. Fixemos isto na maioría dos sitios. Volvemos con frecuencia. E por exemplo, en Providencia, na favela, temos un centro controlado. En Kibera, cada ano cubrimos máis teitos. Porque por suposto, cando marchamos a xente que estaba nos bordes do proxecto di, "Ei, que hai do meu tellado?" Así que decidimos volver ao ano seguinte e seguir facendo o proxecto.
A really important point for me is that I don't use any brand or corporate sponsors. So I have no responsibility to anyone but myself and the subjects. (Applause) And that is for me one of the more important things in the work. I think, today, as important as the result is the way you do things. And that has always been a central part of the work. And what's interesting is that fine line that I have with images and advertising. We just did some pasting in Los Angeles on another project in the last weeks. And I was even invited to cover the MOCA museum. But yesterday the city called them and said, "Look, you're going to have to tear it down. Because this can be taken for advertising, and because of the law, it has to be taken down." But tell me, advertising for what?
Un punto realmente importante para min é que non uso ningunha marca nin empresas patrocinadoras. Así que no teño ningunha responsabilidade con ninguén máis que comigo mesmo e os temas. (Aplausos) E para min iso é unha das cousas máis importante no traballo. Hoxendía penso que o resultado é tan importante como a forma de facer as cousas. E que sempre foi unha parte do traballo. O interesante é esa delgada liña que hai entre imaxes e publicidade. Fixemos algunhas pegadas en Los Angeles para outro proxecto nas últimas semanas. E incluso fun invitado a cubrir o museo MOCA. Pero onte a cidade chamounos e dixo: "Olla, vamos a ter que quitalo porque pode ser tomado por publicidade, e por mor da lei, ten que ser quitado." Pero dime, publicidade de que?
The people I photograph were proud to participate in the project and to have their photo in the community. But they asked me for a promise basically. They asked me, "Please, make our story travel with you." So I did. That's Paris. That's Rio. In each place, we built exhibitions with a story, and the story traveled. You understand the full scope of the project. That's London. New York. And today, they are with you in Long Beach.
A xente que fotografo está orgullosa de participar no proxecto e de ter a súa foto na comunidade. Pero cando me piden unha promesa. Dinme "Por favor, fai que a nosa historia viaxe contigo." E así o fixen. Iso é París. Iso é Río. En cada lugar, construímos exposicións cunha historia, e a historia viaxou. Agora entenden o alcance completo do proxecto. Iso é Londres, Nova York. E hoxe, están convosco en Long Beach.
All right, recently I started a public art project where I don't use my artwork anymore. I use Man Ray, Helen Levitt, Giacomelli, other people's artwork. It doesn't matter today if it's your photo or not. The importance is what you do with the images, the statement it makes where it's pasted. So for example, I pasted the photo of the minaret in Switzerland a few weeks after they voted the law forbidding minarets in the country. (Applause) This image of three men wearing gas masks was taken in Chernobyl originally, and I pasted it in Southern Italy, where the mafia sometimes bury the garbage under the ground.
Ben, hai pouco comecei un proxecto de arte público onde xa non uso o miña obra. Uso a de Man Ray, Helen Levitt, Giacomelli, e a obra doutras persoas. Hoxendía non importa se é a túa foto ou non. O importante é o que fas coas imaxes, o que xeran cando son pegadas. Por exemplo, peguei esta foto dun minarete na Suiza poucas semanas despois de que votaran a prohibición de minaretes no país. (Aplausos) Esta imaxe de tres homes con máscaras de gas foi tomada orixinalmente en Chernobyl, e pegueina no Sur da Italia, onde as veces a mafia enterra o lixo baixo o chan.
In some ways, art can change the world. Art is not supposed to change the world, to change practical things, but to change perceptions. Art can change the way we see the world. Art can create an analogy. Actually the fact that art cannot change things makes it a neutral place for exchanges and discussions, and then enables you to change the world. When I do my work, I have two kinds of reactions. People say, "Oh, why don't you go in Iraq or Afghanistan. They would be really useful." Or, "How can we help?" I presume that you belong to the second category, and that's good, because for that project, I'm going to ask you to take the photos and paste them.
Dalgunhas maneiras, a arte pode cambiar o mundo. Non se supón que arte cambia o mundo, que cambia cousas prácticas, pero cambia percepcións. A arte pode cambiar a forma na que vemos o mundo. A arte pode crear unha analoxía. E o feito de que a arte non pode cambiar cousas faina un lugar neutro para o intercambio e o diálogo que posibilite cambiar o mundo. A miña obra soe ter dous tipos de reacción. A xente di "Oh, e por que non vas ao Iraq ou a Afganistán. Sería moi útil." Ou, "Como podemos axudar?" Supoño que vostedes pertencen á segunda categoría, e iso é bo, porque para este proxecto voulles pedir que tomen fotos e as peguen.
So now my wish is: (mock drum roll) (Laughter) I wish for you to stand up for what you care about by participating in a global art project, and together we'll turn the world inside out. And this starts right now. Yes, everyone in the room. Everyone watching. I wanted that wish to actually start now. So a subject you're passionate about, a person who you want to tell their story or even your own photos -- tell me what you stand for. Take the photos, the portraits, upload it -- I'll give you all the details -- and I'll send you back your poster. Join by groups and reveal things to the world. The full data is on the website -- insideoutproject.net -- that is launching today.
O meu desexo agora é: (simula redobre de batería) (Risas) Desexo que defendan o que lles importa participando nun proxecto de arte global e xuntos poñer o mundo do revés. E isto empeza agora mesmo. Si, todos na sala. Todos os que nos están a ver. Quero que este desexo comece agora mesmo. Calquera tema que vos interese, unha persoa que queira contar a súa historia, ou incluso as vosas propias fotos, dicídeme que defendedes. Tomade fotos, retratos, subídeos, dareivos todos os detalles, e vos enviarei de volta o voso póster. Facedes grupos e revelade cousas ao mundo. Todos os datos están nesta web: insideoutproject.net que será estreada hoxe.
What we see changes who we are. When we act together, the whole thing is much more than the sum of the parts. So I hope that, together, we'll create something that the world will remember. And this starts right now and depends on you.
O que vemos cambia quen somos. Cando actuamos xuntos é moito máis que a suma das partes. Así que espero que xuntos poidamos crear algo que o mundo recorde. E comeza agora mesmo e depende de vós.
Thank you.
Grazas.
(Applause)
(Aplausos)
Thank you.
Grazas.
(Applause)
(Aplausos)