[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:07.96,0:00:12.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Kara Walker: "A Subtlety, or the Marvelous\NSugar Baby"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:49.56,0:00:51.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[WALKER] "Kara Walker's work deals with history..."
Dialogue: 0,0:00:51.96,0:00:54.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Domino Sugar Factory, Brooklyn, NY]
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.52,0:00:56.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Embedded in that statement,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:56.81,0:00:58.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Kara Walker is dealing with history,"
Dialogue: 0,0:00:58.46,0:01:00.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is this kind of desire for
Dialogue: 0,0:01:00.71,0:01:03.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a hero who can fix this problem
Dialogue: 0,0:01:03.82,0:01:06.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of our history and racism.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:06.03,0:01:08.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I don't think that my work is actually
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.00,0:01:10.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,effectively dealing with history.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:11.84,0:01:14.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think of my work as kind of
Dialogue: 0,0:01:14.46,0:01:16.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,subsumed by history [LAUGHS]
Dialogue: 0,0:01:16.23,0:01:17.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or consumed by history.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.10,0:01:24.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[MAN #1] Alright, what we want...
Dialogue: 0,0:01:24.04,0:01:25.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,we want to work from the back, forward.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:25.61,0:01:27.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[MAN #2] Go the back...
Dialogue: 0,0:01:27.49,0:01:28.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the layout...
Dialogue: 0,0:01:28.86,0:01:30.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,14, 24, 34, 44.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:30.76,0:01:31.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[MAN #1] Okay.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:34.26,0:01:35.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[WALKER] Nato Thompson from Creative Time,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:35.96,0:01:37.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he said, "You have to see this."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:37.52,0:01:40.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"This place is totally filled with molasses."
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.10,0:01:42.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Molasses on the walls,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:42.61,0:01:44.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,molasses on the rafters,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:44.22,0:01:46.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,globs of sugar fifty feet up in the air,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.71,0:01:50.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,just left over from this refining process.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:51.84,0:01:54.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was such a cathedral to industry,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:54.61,0:01:57.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and such a cathedral to this one commodity.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:59.42,0:02:01.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The whole project is predicated on
Dialogue: 0,0:02:01.44,0:02:03.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,this space being demolished
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.44,0:02:06.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at the end of the run of the show.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:11.22,0:02:12.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had to learn more about sugar
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.70,0:02:16.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the process of trying to understand this\Nbuilding.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:17.22,0:02:18.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sugar comes from sugar cane.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:18.95,0:02:23.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sugar cane is grown in tropical climates.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:23.50,0:02:29.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Sugar cane is, and has been, harvested by\Nslaves,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.25,0:02:32.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,underpaid workers, and children possibly.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:32.39,0:02:36.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's a fascinating and very long history.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:38.88,0:02:42.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I started putting down all of my free association\Nideas,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:42.39,0:02:44.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,starting with sugar and molasses.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.42,0:02:46.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And molasses is a by-product
Dialogue: 0,0:02:46.88,0:02:48.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the sugar processing.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:48.70,0:02:51.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,What other by-products are there?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.70,0:02:54.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I got to the end, and I was like,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:54.26,0:02:55.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Ruins!" You know?
Dialogue: 0,0:02:55.32,0:02:56.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was just like, "Ruins,"
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.47,0:02:57.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,everything was just in ruins.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:57.62,0:02:59.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I couldn't just produce ruins.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:00.40,0:03:01.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In this book I was reading
Dialogue: 0,0:03:01.54,0:03:03.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about the history of sugar,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.21,0:03:05.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,contemporaries described something called
Dialogue: 0,0:03:05.44,0:03:07.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a "sugar subtlety".
Dialogue: 0,0:03:07.25,0:03:09.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I loved this term.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:10.64,0:03:13.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,A "subtlety" is a sugar sculpture
Dialogue: 0,0:03:13.56,0:03:14.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,made out of sugar paste,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.32,0:03:16.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,marzipan,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:16.22,0:03:17.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,fruits and nuts,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:17.46,0:03:21.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that was sculpted to portray royalty,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:21.98,0:03:23.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and only could be consumed by
Dialogue: 0,0:03:23.66,0:03:26.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,royalty, nobility, clergy.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:27.62,0:03:30.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The subtlety presents this opportunity
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.15,0:03:32.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to make a figure that
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.12,0:03:33.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,can embrace many themes
Dialogue: 0,0:03:33.65,0:03:36.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that is representative of power
Dialogue: 0,0:03:36.65,0:03:38.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in and of itself.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.50,0:03:41.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[WALKER] Wow!
Dialogue: 0,0:03:43.68,0:03:46.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was sort of grasping at
Dialogue: 0,0:03:46.88,0:03:48.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,too many different ideas
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.24,0:03:50.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I wanted to bring into the piece.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:50.04,0:03:53.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[WOMAN] Like, what don't you want it to look\Nlike?
Dialogue: 0,0:03:54.50,0:03:56.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[WALKER] I don't know how to answer that.\N[LAUGHS]
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.34,0:03:58.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, I've never done anything like this\Nbefore [LAUGHS]
Dialogue: 0,0:03:58.76,0:04:00.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So I don't really have, like,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.22,0:04:01.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a really good opinion, you know?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:01.94,0:04:05.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,From ruins to the sugar subtlety
Dialogue: 0,0:04:05.28,0:04:06.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,lead me to think about the...
Dialogue: 0,0:04:06.43,0:04:07.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you know, what sort of figure,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:07.74,0:04:11.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what sort of position would she occupy.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.07,0:04:14.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think there was a moment of stepping back
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.12,0:04:16.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and...ding! You know?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:16.22,0:04:18.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Oh, what about a sphinx?"
Dialogue: 0,0:04:18.56,0:04:22.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know, it was very subtle, actually. [LAUGHS]
Dialogue: 0,0:04:25.38,0:04:26.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not a kind of
Dialogue: 0,0:04:26.59,0:04:28.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Egyptophile relic.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.33,0:04:31.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This is someone from the new world.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.56,0:04:36.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was not at all secure about doing sculpture.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:36.16,0:04:37.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This was one of those things that was
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.21,0:04:39.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so out of my league that I hung back
Dialogue: 0,0:04:39.43,0:04:41.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,during the sculpting process.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:46.22,0:04:48.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[MICHAEL FERRARI-FONTANA] We started with\Na clay model.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:48.29,0:04:51.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The model was scanned and digitized
Dialogue: 0,0:04:51.20,0:04:56.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and created into a file that could be read\Nby carving robots.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.14,0:04:59.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's simply one layer that goes on top of the other.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:00.68,0:05:02.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You always hear about sculptors
Dialogue: 0,0:05:02.44,0:05:03.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Michael Ferrari-Fontana, Sculptor]
Dialogue: 0,0:05:03.62,0:05:05.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,liberating the figure from the block.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.91,0:05:08.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We go back in with the bow wires
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.36,0:05:12.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and basically drag the bow wire across the\Nblocks at angles
Dialogue: 0,0:05:12.39,0:05:17.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in order to achieve the curvatures that we're\Nlooking for.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.74,0:05:20.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,No matter how incredible robotic carving is
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.96,0:05:23.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the hand is an element that you can't get\Naway from.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:23.77,0:05:24.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it's beyond the hand.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:24.99,0:05:26.56,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's not just the hand--
Dialogue: 0,0:05:26.56,0:05:28.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's what's driving the hand.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:32.46,0:05:34.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[ERIC HAGAN] We're in the process of doing\Nour first test,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:34.40,0:05:37.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,so we're still very much in the discovery\Nphase.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:37.38,0:05:39.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I've done a lot of smaller tests--
Dialogue: 0,0:05:39.75,0:05:40.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,some twelve-inch figures--
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.69,0:05:41.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[Eric Hagan, Sugar Artist]
Dialogue: 0,0:05:41.86,0:05:44.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but nothing five-feet tall.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:45.14,0:05:46.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So it's a mixture of
Dialogue: 0,0:05:46.100,0:05:48.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,corn syrup, sugar, and water.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:48.66,0:05:50.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Kind of like what you would use to make
Dialogue: 0,0:05:50.96,0:05:52.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,caramel, or lollipops.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:52.92,0:05:55.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So we're boiling it up to between
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.14,0:05:58.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,265 and 290 degrees Fahrenheit.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.03,0:05:59.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We're pouring them into a rubber mold
Dialogue: 0,0:05:59.67,0:06:00.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to let them set.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:00.74,0:06:01.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So when we de-mold them,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.68,0:06:04.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they will be covered in the sugar and water\Nmixture
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.34,0:06:06.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,similar to the sphinx.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:28.60,0:06:31.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,[WALKER] I highly recommend a fifty-pound\Nbag of sugar
Dialogue: 0,0:06:31.49,0:06:32.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for personal therapy.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:32.100,0:06:33.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But if you mix it with
Dialogue: 0,0:06:33.99,0:06:35.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a couple of gallons of water...
Dialogue: 0,0:06:35.38,0:06:36.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's very fun.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:36.92,0:06:39.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, it's the most fun I've had since kindergarten,\NI think,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:39.28,0:06:40.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,making art.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:54.98,0:06:56.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think it was very important to me to have
Dialogue: 0,0:06:56.98,0:07:00.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,figures made out of a substance that is so
Dialogue: 0,0:07:00.81,0:07:01.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,temporal--
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.55,0:07:05.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's so subject to change.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.16,0:07:21.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I really recognize what a privilege it is
Dialogue: 0,0:07:21.13,0:07:22.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to be working in that space,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:22.95,0:07:24.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because I can think of
Dialogue: 0,0:07:24.18,0:07:26.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a thousand other artists who could take on\Nthe challenge
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.55,0:07:28.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of that space.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.57,0:07:36.75,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I really love the fact
Dialogue: 0,0:07:36.75,0:07:41.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of these figures kind of melting and dripping.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:41.24,0:07:43.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And they're very much like the interior of
Dialogue: 0,0:07:43.54,0:07:45.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the Domino Sugar Factory
Dialogue: 0,0:07:45.22,0:07:47.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which is also still dripping,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:47.60,0:07:50.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,still producing molasses from its interior,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.37,0:07:54.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,still sort of weeping this substance.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:03.50,0:08:04.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The mammy,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:04.36,0:08:06.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,although she's bent over in this gesture of,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:06.85,0:08:08.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,sort of, supplication,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:08.11,0:08:10.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't feel like she's there to be taken,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:10.51,0:08:11.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or satisfied,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:11.97,0:08:14.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or abused in any way.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.41,0:08:17.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She's sort of withholding.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:18.55,0:08:20.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't want to make her into
Dialogue: 0,0:08:20.07,0:08:24.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a non-sexual caretaker of the city.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:27.60,0:08:30.43,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,She's powerful because she is so
Dialogue: 0,0:08:30.43,0:08:32.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,kind of iconic in a way.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:32.48,0:08:37.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And she is so monumental and so unexpected.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:37.07,0:08:38.35,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,If I've done the job well,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.35,0:08:40.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then she gains her power
Dialogue: 0,0:08:40.12,0:08:44.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by upsetting expectations one after the other.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:53.14,0:08:55.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think it's very important to look back.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:55.79,0:08:58.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I don't think we do it often enough.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:58.34,0:09:01.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I think sometimes looking back leads to, kind\Nof,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:01.41,0:09:03.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,depression and stasis,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.79,0:09:04.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which isn't good.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:04.92,0:09:07.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But, looking forward without any kind of
Dialogue: 0,0:09:07.33,0:09:10.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,deep, historical feeling of connectedness--
Dialogue: 0,0:09:10.52,0:09:13.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it's no good either.