WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:18.663 ♪ethereal ambient music♪ 00:00:18.663 --> 00:00:19.960 [interpreter VO] I've just been noticing 00:00:19.960 --> 00:00:25.813 that my life is just one big echo. 00:00:25.813 --> 00:00:27.200 ♪sparse ethereal music♪ Or, rather, maybe just small 00:00:27.200 --> 00:00:29.240 echoes that become one big echo, 00:00:29.240 --> 00:00:30.840 and that's something that's been a part of my life 00:00:30.840 --> 00:00:34.560 since I was born. 00:00:34.560 --> 00:00:38.880 And it has to deal with repetition, 00:00:38.880 --> 00:00:40.660 ♪♪♪ 00:00:40.660 --> 00:00:42.440 patterns, 00:00:42.440 --> 00:00:47.560 something that constantly comes up. 00:00:47.560 --> 00:00:48.680 When I work with interpreters, 00:00:48.680 --> 00:00:52.160 I experience repetition. 00:00:52.160 --> 00:00:54.800 Like, whatever I sign, Beth repeats. 00:00:54.800 --> 00:00:58.040 She's echoing me. 00:00:58.040 --> 00:01:00.200 And sign language is full of echoes. 00:01:00.200 --> 00:01:02.640 You can use one hand shape, 00:01:02.640 --> 00:01:04.720 and echo that, repeat that, 00:01:04.720 --> 00:01:06.920 and it just changes the entire 00:01:06.920 --> 00:01:08.960 sign or the entire word based on 00:01:08.960 --> 00:01:11.580 where you put it on your body. 00:01:11.580 --> 00:01:13.400 ♪♪♪ 00:01:13.400 --> 00:01:15.440 The shape of the sign for "future," 00:01:15.440 --> 00:01:17.800 which is two semicircles away from your face, 00:01:17.800 --> 00:01:19.640 that's the sign for "future," 00:01:19.640 --> 00:01:22.520 it has a line that you can follow, 00:01:22.520 --> 00:01:26.240 so I drew that line. 00:01:26.240 --> 00:01:29.840 And it's an echo in and of itself. 00:01:29.840 --> 00:01:30.340 ♪♪♪ 00:01:35.800 --> 00:01:37.360 And so since it's my ideas, 00:01:37.360 --> 00:01:39.600 it's my work that's being presented, 00:01:39.600 --> 00:01:40.920 and a lot of it does have to do 00:01:40.920 --> 00:01:42.520 with repetition and a lot of it 00:01:42.520 --> 00:01:44.560 is full of echoes, 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:46.200 I think that is why I want to be 00:01:46.200 --> 00:01:59.818 as clear as possible. [chuckles] 00:01:59.818 --> 00:02:05.280 ♪pulsating ethereal music♪ - [Interpreter] I'm DJ Kurs of Deaf West Theater. 00:02:05.280 --> 00:02:06.160 At Deaf West Theater, 00:02:06.160 --> 00:02:09.320 we bridge deaf and hearing worlds through theater. 00:02:09.320 --> 00:02:12.920 We're advancing visibility and representation. 00:02:12.920 --> 00:02:16.520 But I'm jealous of Christine Sun Kim, 00:02:16.520 --> 00:02:19.880 because she does the same thing, 00:02:19.880 --> 00:02:20.880 but on her own. 00:02:20.880 --> 00:02:22.560 She can draw a pie chart on paper 00:02:22.560 --> 00:02:25.640 and have a similar impact. 00:02:25.640 --> 00:02:29.760 Please welcome artist Christine Sun Kim. 00:02:29.760 --> 00:02:30.260 [applause] 00:02:30.260 --> 00:02:38.400 - [Christine] So this tweet here that says, 00:02:38.400 --> 00:02:41.480 "I can 100 percent promise that you 00:02:41.480 --> 00:02:43.200 "learning sign language is easier 00:02:43.200 --> 00:02:45.680 "than a deaf person learning to hear" 00:02:45.680 --> 00:02:48.200 is a tweet from a deaf writer, 00:02:48.200 --> 00:02:51.800 and I think that this framing ...is it. [chuckles] 00:02:51.800 --> 00:02:52.880 This is how I want you 00:02:52.880 --> 00:02:54.960 to think about who I am. 00:02:54.960 --> 00:02:56.480 This is my deaf identity, 00:02:56.480 --> 00:02:59.760 and this is where I'm coming from. 00:02:59.760 --> 00:03:01.320 ♪sparse piano music♪ 00:03:01.320 --> 00:03:02.280 People love to always 00:03:02.280 --> 00:03:04.320 ask why I don't read lips, 00:03:04.320 --> 00:03:05.360 so this is a question I've 00:03:05.360 --> 00:03:09.860 gotten over and over again. 00:03:09.860 --> 00:03:12.880 ♪♪♪ 00:03:12.880 --> 00:03:16.200 I love the use of infographics. 00:03:16.200 --> 00:03:19.280 It's this idea, shown visually, 00:03:19.280 --> 00:03:21.200 that can be communicated without barriers. 00:03:21.200 --> 00:03:22.360 It can cross languages, 00:03:22.360 --> 00:03:24.640 it can cross cultures. 00:03:24.640 --> 00:03:26.520 So this is the same old [bleep] 00:03:26.520 --> 00:03:28.080 hearing people say to me. 00:03:28.080 --> 00:03:29.240 And as you can see, 00:03:29.240 --> 00:03:31.280 this is equally distributed because 00:03:31.280 --> 00:03:48.348 people say a lot of [bleep] to me. 00:03:48.348 --> 00:03:48.384 [laughter] ♪ethereal synth music♪ 00:03:48.384 --> 00:03:56.112 - [Interpreter] They look so good! 00:03:56.112 --> 00:03:56.546 - [Man] Cute! -[interpreter] [laughs] 00:03:56.546 --> 00:03:58.120 - [Christine] Can you lift yours up more, 00:03:58.120 --> 00:03:59.680 just a smidgen? 00:04:01.440 --> 00:04:03.680 Yes. 00:04:03.680 --> 00:04:07.720 Okay, that's what we want. 00:04:07.720 --> 00:04:09.664 -That one up. - [Man] This might be low. 00:04:09.664 --> 00:04:12.888 - [Interpreter] She hasn't mentioned yours. 00:04:12.888 --> 00:04:12.901 - [Man] Okay. 00:04:12.901 --> 00:04:15.220 - [interpreter VO] I am very comfortable with collaboration. 00:04:15.220 --> 00:04:18.063 [interpreter] I think that looks good. 00:04:18.063 --> 00:04:20.160 [interpreter VO] I usually work with people, 00:04:20.160 --> 00:04:21.360 whether that's interpreters that 00:04:21.360 --> 00:04:23.320 I'm working with or people who 00:04:23.320 --> 00:04:25.120 are speaking on my behalf. 00:04:25.120 --> 00:04:29.600 I'm used to that. 00:04:29.600 --> 00:04:30.040 ♪♪♪ 00:04:30.040 --> 00:04:33.120 I collaborate with my partner, Tom Mader, a lot 00:04:33.120 --> 00:04:34.000 and this has been really 00:04:34.000 --> 00:04:35.760 nice because I've been able 00:04:35.760 --> 00:04:43.829 to kind of increase who I collaborate with. 00:04:43.829 --> 00:04:46.400 ♪♪♪ - So, we've all grown as artists, 00:04:46.400 --> 00:04:48.240 and lecturers and performers, 00:04:48.240 --> 00:04:49.880 so let's not do that, 00:04:49.880 --> 00:04:51.080 but it's still very easy 00:04:51.080 --> 00:04:52.061 to find online. 00:04:52.061 --> 00:04:55.520 - [interpreter VO] Motherhood has really impacted my practice. 00:04:55.520 --> 00:04:57.600 It's impacted the way I envision 00:04:57.600 --> 00:04:59.560 and the way I approach art. 00:04:59.560 --> 00:05:00.060 ♪♪♪ 00:05:01.960 --> 00:05:04.720 I allow my child to be a part of the process at times. 00:05:04.720 --> 00:05:08.580 Sometimes we collaborate on a project. 00:05:08.580 --> 00:05:10.640 ♪♪♪ 00:05:10.640 --> 00:05:15.040 Often, I work with musical notation. 00:05:15.040 --> 00:05:19.680 I've really thought about the emptiness of the staff lines. 00:05:19.680 --> 00:05:22.040 It's not about the notes, necessarily, 00:05:22.040 --> 00:05:26.560 but it's about the foundation that's being laid. 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:29.600 And I decided to incorporate our family. 00:05:29.600 --> 00:05:30.480 I've done one, 00:05:30.480 --> 00:05:31.880 Tom has done one, 00:05:31.880 --> 00:05:35.880 and Roux has done one. 00:05:35.880 --> 00:05:36.920 When I sat down with Roux 00:05:36.920 --> 00:05:38.400 and I explained the work, 00:05:38.400 --> 00:05:39.880 she created this drawing, 00:05:39.880 --> 00:05:46.600 and then she did another one with notes on it. 00:05:46.600 --> 00:05:48.480 And I asked her what it was, 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:49.880 and she said to me 00:05:49.880 --> 00:05:54.920 it was a song about family. 00:05:54.920 --> 00:05:59.040 [laughter] 00:05:59.040 --> 00:05:59.960 I've lived in Berlin 00:05:59.960 --> 00:06:02.480 now for almost 10 years. 00:06:02.480 --> 00:06:05.920 As an artist, I'm having a great life there, 00:06:05.920 --> 00:06:07.440 because I feel like 00:06:07.440 --> 00:06:16.736 there's so much less pressure. 00:06:16.736 --> 00:06:18.240 ♪bubbly synth music♪ What I've noticed is that being 00:06:18.240 --> 00:06:19.880 a parent doesn't have a dent 00:06:19.880 --> 00:06:21.080 or an impact on my bank 00:06:21.080 --> 00:06:22.720 account almost at all. 00:06:22.720 --> 00:06:25.400 Daycare is free. 00:06:25.400 --> 00:06:27.200 Everything in the city is affordable, 00:06:27.200 --> 00:06:30.520 [chuckles] especially compared to a place like New York 00:06:30.520 --> 00:06:32.280 or Los Angeles. 00:06:32.280 --> 00:06:35.640 And I also have space to create work. 00:06:35.640 --> 00:06:37.160 ♪♪♪ 00:06:37.160 --> 00:06:38.480 So, with all of that, 00:06:38.480 --> 00:06:41.280 I've just found myself recognizing more 00:06:41.280 --> 00:06:43.480 and more the benefits of a government 00:06:43.480 --> 00:06:45.080 that supports their citizens. 00:06:45.080 --> 00:06:49.040 Like, actually supports their people. 00:06:49.040 --> 00:06:51.960 People in Germany aren't in debt. 00:06:51.960 --> 00:06:52.920 But here in the US, 00:06:52.920 --> 00:06:57.000 I see friends living here who have more than one job 00:06:57.000 --> 00:06:59.280 just to make ends meet, 00:06:59.280 --> 00:07:01.680 and I realize that I'm angry about debt, 00:07:01.680 --> 00:07:03.080 I'm angry that people are living 00:07:03.080 --> 00:07:06.040 like this because I'm not. 00:07:06.040 --> 00:07:07.680 I think about my family, my friends, 00:07:07.680 --> 00:07:26.018 my future, and I'm worried. 00:07:26.018 --> 00:07:26.038 [indistinct chatter] 00:07:26.038 --> 00:07:27.840 - I was so happy to hear from you. 00:07:27.840 --> 00:07:29.040 Of course I had to call. 00:07:29.040 --> 00:07:30.600 And I think all my friends 00:07:30.600 --> 00:07:35.381 are coming in next week to see your work. 00:07:35.381 --> 00:07:36.520 - [interpreter VO] A perk of being a member 00:07:36.520 --> 00:07:37.920 of the deaf community is that you 00:07:37.920 --> 00:07:39.040 have this shared culture, 00:07:39.040 --> 00:07:40.560 this shared language. 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:43.160 And so people like to stay there. 00:07:43.160 --> 00:07:44.280 They don't want to be oppressed 00:07:44.280 --> 00:07:46.880 in the way that they are in the hearing community. 00:07:46.880 --> 00:07:48.680 But you kind of get trapped. 00:07:48.680 --> 00:07:49.120 Sometimes you get 00:07:49.120 --> 00:07:50.720 stuck in that echo, 00:07:50.720 --> 00:07:52.160 and I was there for a while. 00:07:52.160 --> 00:07:53.720 But then, I became an artist, 00:07:53.720 --> 00:07:54.720 and I had to go into 00:07:54.720 --> 00:07:59.320 the hearing world. 00:07:59.320 --> 00:08:03.080 ♪uplifting synth music♪ 00:08:03.080 --> 00:08:04.200 I'm always a little bit 00:08:04.200 --> 00:08:05.640 jealous of artists who have 00:08:05.640 --> 00:08:10.520 the privilege to be misunderstood. 00:08:10.520 --> 00:08:12.440 For me, I automatically feel 00:08:12.440 --> 00:08:14.760 like I need to explain what things mean. 00:08:14.760 --> 00:08:19.480 I have to say, "No, it's not this, it's that." 00:08:19.480 --> 00:08:20.360 And I think that stems 00:08:20.360 --> 00:08:21.840 from a place of how misunderstandings 00:08:21.840 --> 00:08:23.600 can affect my rights, 00:08:23.600 --> 00:08:25.920 all these little things in my daily life, 00:08:25.920 --> 00:08:28.440 as well as navigating access, 00:08:28.440 --> 00:08:34.800 education, entertainment, family. 00:08:34.800 --> 00:08:39.000 Growing up, I loved art, 00:08:39.000 --> 00:08:40.040 but I didn't really take 00:08:40.040 --> 00:08:41.000 classes 'cause there weren't 00:08:41.000 --> 00:08:45.342 interpreters available. 00:08:45.342 --> 00:08:46.800 ♪tender music♪ I remember when I was in high school, 00:08:46.800 --> 00:08:47.920 there was a sculpture class that 00:08:47.920 --> 00:08:50.040 I wanted to take that I thought was perfect. 00:08:50.040 --> 00:08:51.760 I wanted to work with my hands. 00:08:51.760 --> 00:08:54.160 They said no. 00:08:54.160 --> 00:08:55.200 Then, as an undergrad 00:08:55.200 --> 00:08:56.640 majoring in graphic design, 00:08:56.640 --> 00:08:57.520 they had a night class 00:08:57.520 --> 00:08:59.240 that I wanted to take. 00:08:59.240 --> 00:09:00.680 They said no. 00:09:00.680 --> 00:09:02.680 So it was interesting. 00:09:02.680 --> 00:09:07.680 At that time, I kept getting told no. 00:09:07.680 --> 00:09:08.560 And then when I grew up 00:09:08.560 --> 00:09:09.400 and moved to New York, 00:09:09.400 --> 00:09:11.080 it was super crowded, 00:09:11.080 --> 00:09:12.680 and there was hearing people everywhere, 00:09:12.680 --> 00:09:13.880 which wasn't my experience 00:09:13.880 --> 00:09:16.680 growing up in California. 00:09:16.680 --> 00:09:17.880 And so I had to figure out how 00:09:17.880 --> 00:09:19.560 to constantly communicate with 00:09:19.560 --> 00:09:20.920 these hearing people. 00:09:20.920 --> 00:09:22.720 And people were just in my face, 00:09:22.720 --> 00:09:24.880 and I was in people's faces. 00:09:24.880 --> 00:09:29.120 Because of that, I just had less fear around it. 00:09:29.120 --> 00:09:31.000 ♪uplifting music♪ 00:09:31.000 --> 00:09:32.480 And what I've realized is that 00:09:32.480 --> 00:09:34.840 New York gave me the skills to navigate through 00:09:34.840 --> 00:09:58.299 the world fearlessly. 00:09:58.299 --> 00:09:58.320 [mechanical whirring] 00:09:58.320 --> 00:10:01.000 When Hitomi, the curator here at Queens Museum, 00:10:01.000 --> 00:10:02.400 reached out to me and we were 00:10:02.400 --> 00:10:04.640 corresponding back and forth, 00:10:04.640 --> 00:10:05.960 I thought, "How could I come up 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:07.680 "with an idea without actually 00:10:07.680 --> 00:10:11.000 "physically visiting the Queens Museum?" 00:10:11.000 --> 00:10:13.880 [indistinct chatter] 00:10:13.880 --> 00:10:15.240 And in her correspondence, 00:10:15.240 --> 00:10:16.560 she mentioned that Queens 00:10:16.560 --> 00:10:19.480 was the epicenter of COVID for a while, 00:10:19.480 --> 00:10:26.464 and that really struck me and got me thinking. 00:10:26.464 --> 00:10:26.480 [honking] [siren] 00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:28.800 I thought about rest. 00:10:28.800 --> 00:10:30.320 I'm also seeing people being 00:10:30.320 --> 00:10:31.920 overworked during the pandemic, 00:10:31.920 --> 00:10:36.536 without maybe having health insurance. 00:10:36.536 --> 00:10:39.920 ♪soft pensive music♪ Lately, I've been into motion lines. 00:10:39.920 --> 00:10:41.520 ♪♪♪ 00:10:41.520 --> 00:10:42.280 You can find those in 00:10:42.280 --> 00:10:46.280 comic strips or comic books. 00:10:46.280 --> 00:10:48.080 And I thought they were a perfect reflection 00:10:48.080 --> 00:10:50.040 of sign language, and how it carries 00:10:50.040 --> 00:10:54.680 a lot of weight and emotion. 00:10:54.680 --> 00:10:57.160 For example, the sign for "time." 00:10:57.160 --> 00:10:59.040 I tap my wrist with my index finger. 00:10:59.880 --> 00:11:01.080 I looked at a bunch of different 00:11:01.080 --> 00:11:02.560 signs that come into contact 00:11:02.560 --> 00:11:03.320 with the body, 00:11:03.320 --> 00:11:05.600 and I came up with a one-line poem 00:11:05.600 --> 00:11:08.400 to fit the current climate 00:11:08.400 --> 00:11:13.480 and what was happening in this area. 00:11:13.480 --> 00:11:19.141 "Time owes me rest again." 00:11:19.141 --> 00:11:19.680 ♪♪♪ - [woman] Yeah, maybe you 00:11:19.680 --> 00:11:22.160 can shave a little bit. 00:11:22.160 --> 00:11:26.141 Yeah, bottom, bottom part. 00:11:26.141 --> 00:11:28.360 - [interpreter VO] This experience made me think I can 00:11:28.360 --> 00:11:30.680 work with such a large scale. 00:11:30.680 --> 00:11:32.840 I thought a lot about that. 00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:34.680 And it felt right that maybe 00:11:34.680 --> 00:11:37.200 this is the best way where we 00:11:37.200 --> 00:11:41.200 can shove or force our deafness 00:11:41.200 --> 00:11:42.840 or our existence 00:11:42.840 --> 00:11:45.000 or our deaf voice, 00:11:45.000 --> 00:11:47.240 and do that in their everyday lives, 00:11:47.240 --> 00:11:53.280 in their everyday space. 00:11:53.280 --> 00:11:56.360 And it happened that the Manchester International Festival 00:11:56.360 --> 00:11:58.600 reached out to me wanting to work together, 00:11:58.600 --> 00:11:59.320 saying that I could 00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:00.720 show any work I wanted. 00:12:00.720 --> 00:12:01.600 And I was like, "All right, 00:12:01.600 --> 00:12:04.880 "let me aim for the biggest thing I can do." 00:12:04.880 --> 00:12:09.600 I said, "Let's caption the city." 00:12:09.600 --> 00:12:13.000 ♪♪♪ 00:12:13.000 --> 00:12:14.560 I want people to see captions, 00:12:14.560 --> 00:12:15.880 to think about why they're there, 00:12:15.880 --> 00:12:17.640 to think about who might want them. 00:12:17.640 --> 00:12:18.120 "Oh, yeah! 00:12:18.120 --> 00:12:21.240 "Deaf people." 00:12:21.240 --> 00:12:22.120 My favorite one is this 00:12:22.120 --> 00:12:24.280 'cause I wanted it all, I wanted more. 00:12:24.280 --> 00:12:25.480 I was like, "Let's caption 00:12:25.480 --> 00:12:28.880 "the sky and get a plane." 00:12:28.880 --> 00:12:29.380 ♪♪♪ 00:12:30.640 --> 00:12:33.200 And doing all that work has 00:12:33.200 --> 00:12:34.600 given me the realization that 00:12:34.600 --> 00:12:36.680 scale equals visibility, 00:12:36.680 --> 00:12:39.560 and that has the ability 00:12:39.560 --> 00:12:41.920 to shape social norms. 00:12:41.920 --> 00:12:46.720 I want deaf lives to be in your mind, 00:12:46.720 --> 00:12:50.440 and be part of what we consider acceptable, 00:12:50.440 --> 00:12:55.259 what's normal. 00:12:55.259 --> 00:12:56.480 ♪uplifting music♪ If you don't see us, 00:12:56.480 --> 00:12:58.440 we have no place to be, 00:12:58.440 --> 00:12:59.360 and I think that's why 00:12:59.360 --> 00:13:00.880 I've gotten into scale, 00:13:00.880 --> 00:13:28.724 and also, I'm just greedy, too. 00:13:28.724 --> 00:13:28.800 [crowd laughing] ♪ethereal ambient music♪ 00:13:28.800 --> 00:13:40.480 ♪♪♪ 00:13:40.480 --> 00:13:43.440 Hello, my name is Azikiwe Mohammed. 00:13:43.440 --> 00:13:49.640 I am happy to have been featured by  Art21 in their series New York Close Up. 00:13:49.640 --> 00:13:54.280 As you may or may not have seen,  I do a lot of different stuff, 00:13:54.280 --> 00:13:59.880 and trying to explain it to people  can be a little chewy sometimes. 00:13:59.880 --> 00:14:03.200 Now, I can say I make a lot  of stuff and then point them 00:14:03.200 --> 00:14:03.954 somewhere. 00:14:03.954 --> 00:14:07.840 That is all thanks to Art21. 00:14:07.840 --> 00:14:10.560 If you like watching people make some stuff, 00:14:10.560 --> 00:14:18.160 Art21 is an unlimited 24/7 resource of all  kinds of stuff from all different people. 00:14:18.160 --> 00:14:22.240 There's educational resources,  engaging public programs, 00:14:22.240 --> 00:14:27.360 and workshops for teachers that can  help bring art into the classroom, 00:14:27.360 --> 00:14:28.160 which, very often, 00:14:28.160 --> 00:14:30.800 is a burden left on the teachers. 00:14:30.800 --> 00:14:34.920 But Art21 helps lift that burden by letting us, 00:14:34.920 --> 00:14:37.080 the people who make some of the stuff, 00:14:37.080 --> 00:14:40.280 bring some of the stuff into the classroom 00:14:40.280 --> 00:14:44.400 via the films and resources that Art21 provides 00:14:44.400 --> 00:14:46.120 free of charge. 00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:50.720 Art is limitless, and Art21 is for everyone. 00:14:50.720 --> 00:14:54.640 Please consider giving to Art21  to help make the stuff that 00:14:54.640 --> 00:14:57.280 we make through Art21 00:14:57.280 --> 00:15:02.600 available for free to everybody  for years and years to come. 00:15:02.600 --> 00:15:04.457 Thank you.