100 years ago, there were 2,000 varieties of peaches, nearly 2,000 different varieties of plums and almost 800 named varieties of apples growing in the United States. Today, only a fraction of those remain, and what is left is threatened by industrialization of agriculture, disease and climate change.
一百多年前, 曾經有二千種桃子, 將近二千種不同的李子, 及差不多八百種不同名字的 蘋果在美國生長。 今天,只有一小部分留下, 所剩無幾的那幾種還被工業化的農業、 病害及氣候變遷威脅著。
Those varieties that are threatened include the Blood Cling, a red-flesh peach brought by Spanish missionaries to the Americas, then cultivated by Native Americans for centuries; an apricot that was brought by Chinese immigrants who came to work on the Transcontinental Railroad; and countless varieties of plums that originated in the Middle East and were then brought by Italian, French and German immigrants. None of these varieties are indigenous. In fact, almost all of our fruit trees were brought here, including apples and peaches and cherries. So more than just food, embedded within these fruit is our culture. It's the people who cared for and cultivated them, who valued them so much that they brought them here with them as a connection to their home, and it's the way that they've passed them on and shared them. In many ways, these fruit are our story. And I was fortunate enough to learn about it through an artwork that I created entitled the "Tree of 40 Fruit."
這些受威脅的品種包括鮮紅血桃, 這是一種紅肉的桃子, 由西班牙傳道士引進美洲, 然後由美洲原著民栽種數百年之久; 還有一種杏子,由中國移民引進, 他們來建造橫貫大陸鐵路; 還有數不清的李子品種, 原產於中東, 然後由義大利、 法國及德國的移民引進。 這些都不是原生種。 事實上,我們的果樹 幾乎都是從外地引進的, 包括蘋果、桃子及櫻桃。 所以它們不僅是食物, 深植於這些水果中的 還有我們的文化。 就是因為照料及栽種這些水果的人 太喜歡它們了,才把它們帶到這裡, 當作思鄉之物, 也因為它們代代相傳,不斷分享。 從很多方面來看, 這些水果就是我們的故事。 我有幸能透過我創造的藝術品 來學習這個故事, 這個藝術品的標題為《四十果樹》。
The Tree of 40 Fruit is a single tree that grows 40 different varieties of stone fruit. So that's peaches, plums, apricots, nectarines and cherries all growing on one tree. It's designed to be a normal-looking tree throughout the majority of the year, until spring, when it blossoms in pink and white and then in summer, bears a multitude of different fruit. I began the project for purely artistic reasons: I wanted to change the reality of the everyday, and to be honest, create this startling moment when people would see this tree blossom in all these different colors and bear all of these different fruit.
《四十果樹》是一棵樹, 上面結四十種不同種的核果。 所以就是桃子、李子、 杏子、油桃、櫻桃 通通長在一棵樹上。 它被設計成在一年的大部分時間裡, 看起來都像棵正常的樹, 直到春天,會開粉紅及白色的花, 然後到夏天,會結出許多不同的果子。 我會開始做這個作品, 純粹是出於藝術原因: 我想改變日常的現實, 而且老實說, 也想創造出令人目瞪口呆的時刻—— 當大家看到這棵樹 開這些不同顏色的花, 還結這些不同的果實。
I created the Tree of 40 Fruit through the process of grafting. I'll collect cuttings in winter, store them, and then graft them onto the ends of branches in spring. In fact, almost all fruit trees are grafted, because the seed of a fruit tree is a genetic variant of the parent. So when we find a variety that we really like, the way that we propagate it is by taking a cutting off of one tree and putting it onto another -- which is kind of crazy to think that every single Macintosh apple came from one tree that's been grafted over and over from generation to generation. But it also means that fruit trees can't be preserved by seed. I've known about grafting as long as I can remember. My great-grandfather made a living grafting peach orchards in Southeastern Pennsylvania. And although I never met him, any time anyone would mention his name, they were quick to note that he knew how to graft as if he had a magical or mystical capability.
我用嫁接法創作《四十果樹》。 我在冬天時收集插條,保存好, 然後在春天把它們嫁接到分枝的末端。 事實上,幾乎所有的果樹都靠嫁接, 因為果樹的種子是親本的遺傳變異。 所以當我們發現某種非常喜歡的品種, 我們繁殖它的方法就是把某棵樹砍下來 接到另一棵上—— 想起來就覺得有點瘋狂, 每一個旭蘋果都來自 一棵被嫁接無數次無數代的樹。 但是這也意味著果樹 不能靠種子保留。 我從有記憶起就知道嫁接了。 我的曾祖父以嫁接桃子果園為生, 他住在賓州東南部。 雖然我從未見過他, 每當有人提到他的名字, 他們很快就會注意到 他對於嫁接的了解, 就好像他有什麼神奇超能力一樣。
I decided on the number 40 for the Tree of 40 Fruit because it's found throughout Western religion as not the quantifiable dozen and not the infinite but a number that's beyond counting. It's a bounty or a multitude. But the problem was that when I started, I couldn't find 40 different varieties of these fruit, and this is despite the fact that I live in New York state, which, a century ago, was one of the leading producers of these fruit. So as they were tearing out research orchards and old, vintage orchards, I would collect branches off them and graft them onto trees in my nursery.
我決定用四十這個數字 在我的《四十果樹》上, 因為我發現整個西方宗教 既不把它當作可量化的「打」, 也不是無限, 而是一個代表數不清的數字。 它代表大量或很多。 問題是在我開始創作時, 我找不到四十種不同的核果, 儘管我其實是住在紐約州, 這裡在一世紀前 可是這些水果的領先生產者。 所以當他們拆掉研究園 以及古老的果園, 我可以從那邊收集插枝, 並嫁接到我的苗圃裡的樹木上。
So this is what the Tree of 40 Fruit look like when they were first planted, and this is what they look like six years later. This is definitely not a sport of immediate gratification --
這就是《四十果樹》 一開始種植的樣子, 而這是六年後的樣子。 這絕對不是會給你立即滿足的娛樂,
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
It takes a year to know if a graft has succeeded; it takes two to three years to know if it produces fruit; and it takes up to eight years to create just one of the trees.
你要花一年才知道嫁接是否成功; 要花兩到三年才知道它會不會結果; 還要花長達八年的時間 才能創造出一棵像這樣的樹。
Each of the varieties grafted to the Tree of 40 Fruit has a slightly different form and a slightly different color. And I realized that by creating a timeline of when all these blossomed in relationship to each other, I can essentially shape or design how the tree appears during spring. And this is how they appear during summer. They produce fruit from June through September. First is cherries, then apricots, Asian plums, nectarines and peaches, and I think I forgot one in there, somewhere ...
嫁接到《四十果樹》的每個品種, 形狀和顏色都略有不同。 我意識到藉著建立這些品種 何時開花的時間表, 顯示彼此之間的關係, 我基本上可以塑造或設計 這棵樹在春天的樣子。 這是它們夏天的樣子。 它們在六月到九月間結果。 首先是櫻桃,然後杏子, 亞洲李、油桃、桃子, 我想我忘了一個什麼,哪裡……
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
Although it's an artwork that exists outside of the gallery, as the project continues, it's been conservation by way of the art world. As I've been asked to create these in different locations, what I'll do is I'll research varieties that originated or were historically grown in that area, I'll source them locally and graft them to the tree so that it becomes an agricultural history of the area where they're located.
雖然這不是 展示在藝廊內的傳統作品, 隨著這個作品持續下去, 它還是以藝術作品的形式保存著。 當我受邀在不同的地方 創作同樣的樹作品時, 我就會去研究 當地的原生種, 或原本在當地種植的品種, 我會就地取材,並嫁接到那棵樹上, 所以那棵樹就變成當地的 農業歷史展。
And then the project got picked up online, which was horrifying and humbling. The horrifying part was all of the tattoos that I saw of images of the Tree of 40 Fruit.
然後這個計畫變成網紅, 這讓我又驚恐又謙卑。 令人驚恐的部分是我看到 照著《四十果樹》刺的刺青圖。 (笑聲)
(Laughter)
我就想,你為什麼 要這樣折磨你的身體?
Which I was like, "Why would you do that to your body?"
(笑聲)
(Laughter)
And the humbling part was all of the requests that I received from pastors, from rabbis and priests who asked to use the tree as a central part within their service. And then it became a meme -- and the answer to that question is "I hope not?"
令人謙卑的部分是我收到 從牧師、拉比和祭司寄來的邀請函, 他們要用這棵樹當宗教儀式的中心。 然後它還變成網路迷因—— 那個問題的答案是「但願不會?」
[Is your marriage like the Tree of 40 Fruit?]
[你的婚姻像《四十果樹》嗎?]
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
Like all good memes, this has led to an interview on NPR's "Weekend Edition," and as a college professor, I thought I peaked -- like, that was the pinnacle of my career -- but you never know who's listening to NPR. And several weeks after the NPR interview, I received an email from the Department of Defense. The Defense Advanced Research Project Administration invited me to come talk about innovation and creativity, and it's a conversation that quickly shifted to a discussion of food security. You see, our national security is dependent upon our food security. Now that we've created these monocultures that only grow a few varieties of each crop, if something happens to just one of those varieties, it can have a dramatic impact upon our food supply. And the key to maintaining our food security is preserving our biodiversity. 100 years ago, this was done by everybody that had a garden or a small stand of trees in their backyard, and grew varieties that were passed down through their family.
就像所有的好迷因一樣, 這讓我上了 全國公共廣播電台的《周末新聞》, 我身為一名大學教授, 我以為我已經爬到頂了—— 我是說,這是我事業的高峰—— 不過你真的不知道 誰在聽公共廣播電台。 廣播訪問幾週後, 我收到國防部寄來的一封電郵。 國防高等研究計劃署的人邀請我 去談談創新和創造力, 這場對談的話題 很快就轉成糧食安全。 你知道,我們的國家安全 與糧食安全息息相關。 現在我們已經造成單一耕作, 每種作物只種幾種品種, 只要有一種品種發生什麼意外, 就會嚴重影響我們的糧食供應。 維持糧食安全的關鍵, 就是保存我們的生物多樣化。 一百年前,這可以靠 每一個有花園的人 或在後院有幾棵樹的人 種幾種家傳品種來做。
These are plums from just one Tree of 40 Fruit in one week in August. Several years into the project, I was told that I have one of the largest collections of these fruit in the Eastern United States, which, as an artist, is absolutely terrifying.
這些是一棵《四十果樹》 在八月某星期內結的李子。 創作開始幾年後, 有人對我說我收藏 這些水果的品種數量 是美東數一數二的。 這從藝術家的眼光看,真的很恐怖。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
But in many ways, I didn't know what I had. I discovered that the majority of the varieties I had were heirloom varieties, so those that were grown before 1945, which is seen as the dawn of the industrialization of agriculture. Several of the varieties dated back thousands and thousands of years. And finding out how rare they were, I became obsessed with trying to preserve them, and the vehicle for this became art. I would go into old, vintage orchards before they were torn out and I would save the bowl or the trunk section that possessed the original graft union. I started doing pressings of flowers and the leaves to create herbarium specimens. I started to sequence the DNA. But ultimately, I set out to preserve the story through these copper-plate etchings and letterpress descriptions. To tell the story of the George IV peach, which took root between two buildings in New York City -- someone walks by, tastes it, it becomes a major commercial variety in the 19th century because it tastes just that good. Then all but vanishes, because it doesn't ship well and it doesn't conform to modern agriculture.
不過從很多方面來看, 我真的不懂我有什麼。 我發現絕大宗我手上的品種, 都是祖傳品種, 也就是在 1945 年以前種植的, 那一年被視為農業工業化的開始。 有幾種品種可以追溯到數萬年前。 我知道它們有多罕見後, 就沉迷於要試圖保存它們, 而保存的工具就成了藝術。 我會去拆毀前的古老果園, 我會保存樹幹上面 有最初的移植聯合體的部分。 我開始壓花及葉子 做植物標本。 我開始定序 DNA。 但是最後,我還是踏上保存故事之旅, 用這些銅板蝕刻及凸版印刷說明。 來說說喬治四世桃子的故事, 這桃樹根源於紐約市 兩棟建築物之間, 有人走過嘗了一下, 就此它就變成 十九世紀最大的商業品種, 因為它就是那麼好吃! 然後幾乎消失殆盡, 因為它不易運送, 不適合現代農業。
But I realize that as a story, it needs to be told. And in the telling of that story, it has to include the experience of being able to touch, to smell and to taste those varieties. So I set out to create an orchard to make these fruit available to the public, and have the aim of placing them in the highest density of people that I could possibly find. Naturally, I started looking for an acre of land in New York City --
但是我明白這是個該被傳誦的故事。 而且要訴說這個故事, 必須包括能夠觸摸、 聞到、嘗到這些品種的經驗。 所以我開始栽種果園, 開放這些水果給大眾, 並打算將它們種在 我所知道人口密度最高的地方。 所以我很自然地 開始在紐約市找一畝地。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
which, in retrospect, seemed, like, rather ambitious, and probably the reason why nobody was returning my phone calls or emails --
這件事回過頭來看, 似乎還挺有雄心的, 或許這就是為什麼 都沒有人回我的電話或電郵。
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
until eventually, four years later, I heard back from Governors Island.
直到四年後, 我終於聽到總督島的回音。
So Governors Island is a former naval base that was given to the City of New York in 2000. And it opened up all of this land just a five-minute ferry ride from New York. And they invited me to create a project that we're calling the "Open Orchard" that will bring back fruit varieties that haven't been grown in New York for over a century. Currently in progress, The Open Orchard will be 50 multigrafted trees that possess 200 heirloom and antique fruit varieties. So these are varieties that originated or were historically grown in the region. Varieties like the Early Strawberry apple, which originated on 13th Street and Third Avenue. Since a fruit tree can't be preserved by seed, The Open Orchard will act like a living gene bank, or an archive of these fruit. Like the Tree of 40 Fruit, it will be experiential; it will also be symbolic. Most importantly, it's going to invite people to participate in conservation and to learn more about their food.
總督島的前身是座海軍基地, 於 2000 年歸給紐約市管轄。 而且整座島都開放, 從紐約搭渡輪只要五分鐘。 他們邀請我去做一個計畫, 我們稱之為「開放果園」, 這個計畫要帶回 超過一世紀沒有在紐約市 種植的水果品種。 目前的進展是, 開放果園會有 50 棵多嫁接樹木, 上面有 200 種祖傳 及古董級的水果品種。 所以這些品種都是當地的原生種, 或原本就種在當地的品種。 像早生草莓蘋果這種品種, 原生於 13 街及第三大道。 因為果樹不靠種子保存, 開放果園就像一座活的基因庫, 或這些水果的存檔。 就像《四十果樹》, 它有經驗性, 它也有象徵意義。 最重要的是, 它會邀請民眾參與保育行動, 並更了解他們的食物。
Through the Tree of 40 Fruit, I've received thousands and thousands of emails from people, asking basic questions about "How do you plant a tree?" With less than three percent of the population having any direct tie to agriculture, the Open Orchard is going to invite people to come take part in public programming and to take part in workshops, to learn how to graft, to grow, to prune and to harvest a tree; to take part in fresh eating and blossom tours; to work with local chefs to learn how to use these fruit and to recreate centuries-old dishes that many of these varieties were grown specifically for. Extending beyond the physical site of the orchard, it will be a cookbook that compiles all of those recipes. It will be a field guide that talks about the characteristics and traits of those fruit, their origin and their story.
因為《四十果樹》的關係, 我收到成千上萬封電郵, 大家都問「你怎麼種樹?」 這種基本問題。 不到 3% 的人 跟農業有任何直接的關連, 開放果園將邀請大眾 來參加開放課程及工作坊, 學習如何嫁接、種植、 修剪樹木及收成; 參加嚐鮮及賞花之旅; 與當地廚師一同學習 如何使用這些水果, 並重現有數百年歷史的美味佳餚, 這些品種中有好多種 就是特別為這些佳餚而種的。 超越果園的物理所在, 它將成為這些美味食譜的大集合。 它將成為實地嚮導 訴說這些水果的特點及特質, 它們的起源及故事。
Growing up on a farm, I thought I understood agriculture, and I didn't want anything to do with it. So I became an artist --
我在農場長大, 我認為自己了解農業, 但我一點也不想沾上邊。 所以我成為藝術家——
(Laughter)
(笑聲)
But I have to admit that it's something within my own DNA. And I don't think that I'm the only one. 100 years ago, we were all much more closely tied to the culture, the cultivation and the story of our food, and we've been separated from that. The Open Orchard creates the opportunity not just to reconnect to this unknown past, but a way for us to consider what the future of our food could be.
但是我得承認這還在我的 DNA 裡。 我想我也不是唯一的一個。 一百年前,我們所有的人都與文化、 與耕作、與我們食物的故事 都有更密切的關係, 而我們漸行漸遠。 開放果園創造的機會 不只重新連結這未知的過去, 更是能讓我們思考 未來食物走向的一種方式。
Thank you.
謝謝。
(Applause)
(掌聲)