Hi everyone. I'm an artist and a dad -- second time around. Thank you. And I want to share with you my latest art project. It's a children's book for the iPad. It's a little quirky and silly. It's called "Pop-It," And it's about the things little kids do with their parents.
大家好! 我是個藝術家,也是第二次當爹了。 謝謝! 我想跟大家分享我最新的藝術計劃。 那是在iPad上看的一部童書。 它有一點搞怪、不太正經。 名字叫做“爆爆勁書”, 是關於小孩子們跟爸媽做的事。
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So this is about potty training -- as most of you, I hope, know. You can tickle the rug. You can make the baby poop. You can do all those fun things. You can burst bubbles. You can draw, as everyone should.
是關於上廁所的訓練 - 我想大家都應該曉得的吧? 你可以摸摸地墊。 你可以讓小貝比便便。 那些有趣的事你都可以去做。 你可以刺破泡泡。 你可以畫畫,大家都該畫畫畫。
But you know, I have a problem with children's books: I think they're full of propaganda. At least an Indian trying to get one of these American books in Park Slope, forget it. It's not the way I was brought up. So I said, "I'm going to counter this with my own propaganda." If you notice carefully, it's a homosexual couple bringing up a child. You don't like it? Shake it, and you have a lesbian couple. (Laughter) Shake it, and you have a heterosexual couple. You know, I don't even believe in the concept of an ideal family.
但是你知嗎?我對童書有些意見: 我覺得它們的宣導性太強了。 至少別要我這個印度人去買上流白人的童書。 我可不是這樣被帶大的。 所以我說,"我要用我自己的宣導來跟它抗衡。 如果你細心看的話, 這是一對男同性戀伴侶養育小孩的故事。 你不喜歡的話。 搖它一搖,就變成了一對女同性戀者。 (笑聲) 再搖它一搖,就變成一對異性戀夫婦。 你知道嗎?我根本不相信理想家庭的觀念。
I have to tell you about my childhood. I went to this very proper Christian school taught by nuns, fathers, brothers, sisters. Basically, I was brought up to be a good Samaritan, and I am. And I'd go at the end of the day to a traditional Hindu house, which was probably the only Hindu house in a predominantly Islamic neighborhood. Basically, I celebrated every religious function. In fact, when there was a wedding in our neighborhood, all of us would paint our houses for the wedding. I remember we cried profusely when the little goats we played with in the summer became biriani. (Laughter) We all had to fast during Ramadan. It was a very beautiful time.
我必須告訴你我的童年。 我上的是這所知名的基督教學校 受修女、神父、弟兄、姊妹教導。 基本上,他們要把我教導成爲一個善人, 我也的確是個善人。 每天傍晚我都會去一間傳統印度教的會館, 這大概是在回教徒群居區裏 唯一的一間印度教會館。 基本上,我會慶祝每個宗教慶典。 事實上,當我們有鄰居舉行婚禮時, 所有的人都會粉刷房子一同慶祝。 我還記得,當那些夏天和我們一起玩的小山羊 被做成了羊肉飯時 我們哭得死去活來。 (笑聲) 回教齋戒月時我們都要一同禁食。 那些真是很美好的日子。
But I must say, I'll never forget, when I was 13 years old, this happened. Babri Masjid -- one of the most beautiful mosques in India, built by King Babur, I think, in the 16th century -- was demolished by Hindu activists. This caused major riots in my city. And for the first time, I was affected by this communal unrest. My little five-year-old kid neighbor comes running in, and he says, "Rags, Rags. You know the Hindus are killing us Muslims. Be careful." I'm like, "Dude, I'm Hindu." (Laughter) He's like, "Huh!"
但我要說, 我永遠忘不了我13歲時發生的這一件事。 Babri Masjid 印度最漂亮的清真寺之一, 我想是由Babur王在16世紀建成 - 被印度教活躍激進分子摧毀掉。 這在我的城市裏掀起了暴動。 這也是我第一次 受到族群暴動 的影響。 我那個5歲大的小鄰居 跑進來我家 邊跑邊喊 “ Rags, Rags 你知道印度教徒正屠殺我們穆斯林嗎?小心吖!” 我當下的反應是,"老弟,我是印度教徒啊!" (笑聲) 而他的反應則是 “什麽!”
You know, my work is inspired by events such as this. Even in my gallery shows, I try and revisit historic events like Babri Masjid, distill only its emotional residue and image my own life. Imagine history being taught differently.
你知嗎?我的作品 都是受類似這些事件的啓發的。 甚至在我的畫展裡, 我嘗試去回顧像Babri Masjid清真寺 等歷史事件, 只濾清它情感方面的沉澱 和自己生命的印象。 想像著用不同的角度來教授歷史。
Remember that children's book where you shake and the sexuality of the parents change? I have another idea. It's a children's book about Indian independence -- very patriotic. But when you shake it, you get Pakistan's perspective. Shake it again, and you get the British perspective.
還記得那本 搖一搖父母的性取向便會改變的童書嗎? 我還有另一個主意。 一本有關印度獨立的童書 - 一本十分愛國的書。 但是當你搖它一搖,你會看到巴基斯坦的觀點。 再搖它一下,就看到英國的觀點。
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You have to separate fact from bias, right. Even my books on children have cute, fuzzy animals. But they're playing geopolitics. They're playing out Israel-Palestine, India-Pakistan. You know, I'm making a very important argument. And my argument [is] that the only way for us to teach creativity is by teaching children perspectives at the earliest stage. After all, children's books are manuals on parenting, so you better give them children's books that teach them perspectives. And conversely, only when you teach perspectives will a child be able to imagine and put themselves in the shoes of someone who is different from them.
你必須分辨事實和偏見,對吧? 即使在我的童書裏 也有可愛的、毛茸茸的動物。 但他們是在玩地沿政治。 他們正演出以色列與巴基斯坦, 印度與巴基斯坦的衝突。 你知嗎?我正提出一個很重要的論點。 我的論點就是 培養創意的唯一方法 是在最早階段 教導小孩看事物的不同觀點。 畢竟,童書都是子女教育手冊, 所以你最好給他們看教導不同觀點的童書。 反過來說, 只有當你教導他們不同的觀點 他們才能想像 和設身處地地 為與自己不同的人設想。
I'm making an argument that art and creativity are very essential tools in empathy. You know, I can't promise my child a life without bias -- we're all biased -- but I promise to bias my child with multiple perspectives.
我的結論是藝術和創意 是培養同理心的必要工具。 你知嗎?我不能允諾我的小孩 毫無偏見的一生 - 我們都有一些偏見 - 但我允諾給我的孩子有不同觀點的偏見。
Thank you very much.
非常多謝大家!
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