Imaginative sculptures that explore how we perceive reality
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0:02 - 0:04If you happened to be
in the town of Lubec, Maine -
0:04 - 0:07in July of 2016,
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0:07 - 0:10you may have seen something
a little curious on the horizon -
0:10 - 0:12when you looked out across the bay.
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0:12 - 0:14In the distance,
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0:14 - 0:16on an otherwise uninhabited island,
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0:16 - 0:20loomed large black letters
that spelled the word "FOREVER." -
0:20 - 0:24The sign was 15 feet tall
and 50 feet wide, -
0:24 - 0:28large enough so that on a clear day,
you really could see "FOREVER," -
0:28 - 0:32the word perfectly visible
and legible in the distance. -
0:32 - 0:33But on some days,
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0:33 - 0:37a thick white fog
would roll in off the ocean, -
0:37 - 0:40erasing the word and the view altogether.
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0:41 - 0:44And sometimes, like in this video,
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0:44 - 0:48you could barely see "FOREVER"
peeking out of the shifting fog, -
0:48 - 0:53accompanied only by the rhythmic
warning sounds of fog horns. -
0:53 - 0:55(Sound of fog horn)
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0:58 - 1:01(Sound of fog horn)
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1:02 - 1:04It started out as a fairly simple idea,
-
1:04 - 1:06albeit a little strange,
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1:06 - 1:08to put the word "FOREVER" in the landscape
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1:08 - 1:11so it could appear
and disappear in the fog. -
1:12 - 1:15But it took over a year
to plan and execute, -
1:15 - 1:17and it required the help
of so many people, -
1:17 - 1:20like the lobster boat captain,
-
1:20 - 1:23who helped transport
all of the materials to the island. -
1:23 - 1:27And the volunteers, who helped carry
thousands of pounds of wood and steel -
1:27 - 1:31to the top of the hill
through waist-high shrubs. -
1:32 - 1:33And in the end,
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1:33 - 1:36"FOREVER" only lasted for three weeks.
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1:36 - 1:39(Laughter)
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1:39 - 1:42So if you're wondering
why I did it at all, -
1:42 - 1:45as I often did during that process,
-
1:45 - 1:48it might help for you to know
a little bit more about me -
1:48 - 1:49and my upbringing.
-
1:50 - 1:54I grew up in an evangelical
Christian family. -
1:54 - 1:56And although I'm an atheist today,
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1:56 - 1:59I've realized that my religious upbringing
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1:59 - 2:03has played a really important role
in shaping the person that I've become. -
2:04 - 2:08In 1986, when I was five years old,
-
2:08 - 2:11my parents became missionaries
to South Africa. -
2:11 - 2:14And that was during
the last few years of the apartheid, -
2:14 - 2:17so we lived in an all-white neighborhood,
-
2:17 - 2:21and I attended an all-white public school,
-
2:21 - 2:23while my parents helped found
a multiracial church -
2:23 - 2:25in downtown Cape Town.
-
2:26 - 2:28Because I was so young,
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2:28 - 2:30it was impossible for me to understand
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2:30 - 2:34the magnitude of what was happening
in South Africa at that time. -
2:36 - 2:41I witnessed the racism and oppression
of people of color I knew and loved -
2:41 - 2:42on a daily basis,
-
2:42 - 2:45but because of my own skin color,
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2:45 - 2:48there was no way
I could fully comprehend it. -
2:48 - 2:52But I had the privilege
to experience, firsthand, -
2:52 - 2:57one of the most influential
social movements of the 20th century. -
2:57 - 3:01And the thing that left
a long-lasting impression on me -
3:01 - 3:04was how the people I met in South Africa
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3:04 - 3:08could envision a better future
for themselves and their country. -
3:08 - 3:11A future they really
believed was possible. -
3:12 - 3:16And then they worked together,
relentlessly, for decades, -
3:16 - 3:20until they achieved
that extraordinary historic change. -
3:21 - 3:24I was there to see Nelson Mandela
released from prison, -
3:24 - 3:29and I watched an entire country
begin a major transformation. -
3:30 - 3:32And that transformed me as a person.
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3:33 - 3:38It instilled in me a sense
of wonder and optimism -
3:38 - 3:42and possibility that permeates
everything I create. -
3:43 - 3:45I make sculptures like "FOREVER"
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3:45 - 3:51as a way of giving physical,
tangible forms to language and time. -
3:51 - 3:54Those powerful but invisible forces
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3:54 - 3:58that shape the way we perceive
and experience our realities. -
3:59 - 4:03And in doing so, I try to give
other people the opportunity -
4:03 - 4:06to reflect on their own
perception of reality -
4:06 - 4:10and inspire them to wonder and imagine
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4:10 - 4:12what else might be possible.
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4:13 - 4:15I often use signs to do this,
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4:15 - 4:20because of how simply and effectively
they're able to grab our attention -
4:20 - 4:22and communicate information.
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4:23 - 4:26They often point out things
we would otherwise overlook, -
4:26 - 4:31like this sign on the side
of the highway in Texas. -
4:31 - 4:32[TEMPTATIONS]
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4:32 - 4:35They can often signify things
that we can't see at all, -
4:35 - 4:37like the distance to our destination.
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4:37 - 4:40Signs often help to orient us in the world
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4:40 - 4:41[You are on an island]
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4:41 - 4:43by telling us where we are now
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4:43 - 4:45and what's happening
in the present moment, -
4:45 - 4:48but they can also help us zoom out,
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4:48 - 4:50shift our perspective
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4:50 - 4:52and get a glimpse of the bigger picture.
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4:53 - 4:56Imagine, for example,
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4:56 - 4:59you're walking down
the street in Philadelphia. -
4:59 - 5:03A city in the US that contains
so much history, -
5:03 - 5:05the birthplace of our constitution.
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5:07 - 5:09But imagine you're walking down the street
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5:09 - 5:12in an area that's undergoing
a huge transformation -
5:12 - 5:13due to gentrification.
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5:14 - 5:16And as you walk down that street,
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5:16 - 5:19you notice something
flashing up above you. -
5:19 - 5:22So you look up and you see this.
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5:22 - 5:24A flashing neon sign that says
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5:24 - 5:27"All the light you see is from the past,"
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5:27 - 5:30and then "All you see is past,"
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5:30 - 5:33before turning off completely
for a brief moment. -
5:35 - 5:37It asks you to stop and notice
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5:37 - 5:40the history embedded
in everything that you see. -
5:41 - 5:43And it reminds you
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5:43 - 5:47that because light takes time
to travel across space, -
5:47 - 5:51even from just across the street
or across the room, -
5:51 - 5:53everything you're seeing
in the present moment -
5:53 - 5:56is technically an image of the past.
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5:59 - 6:02Signs influence the way
we all navigate the world, -
6:02 - 6:05which means they have
the ability to create -
6:05 - 6:08a collective experience or understanding.
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6:09 - 6:11My time in South Africa taught me
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6:11 - 6:14that when people are able
to find common ground -
6:14 - 6:18and work together towards a mutual goal,
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6:18 - 6:22powerful things can happen
and so much more becomes possible. -
6:22 - 6:25And I want to create more opportunities
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6:25 - 6:28for people to find
that kind of common ground. -
6:28 - 6:32I want people to feel
the power of collaboration, -
6:32 - 6:34sometimes quite literally.
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6:35 - 6:37A few years ago,
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6:37 - 6:38a friend of mine showed me
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6:38 - 6:43how our bodies can safely conduct
small amounts of electricity. -
6:43 - 6:46And if you hold hands with another person,
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6:46 - 6:49a small electrical current
can pass through your held hands -
6:49 - 6:53and become like a switch
that can trigger something else to happen. -
6:54 - 6:59So last year, I used
that form of human connection -
6:59 - 7:02to activate an inflatable sculpture.
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7:02 - 7:05I put two sensors on a platform
far enough apart -
7:06 - 7:09so that one person
can't make it work on their own. -
7:09 - 7:11But when two or more people work together
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7:11 - 7:14to complete that electrical circuit,
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7:14 - 7:16the inflatable comes to life.
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7:17 - 7:19And it begins to fill with air,
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7:19 - 7:23and the longer people hold hands,
the larger it becomes, -
7:23 - 7:26expanding into the words "You are magic."
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7:26 - 7:30(Music, birds chirping)
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7:30 - 7:32I always love to see
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7:32 - 7:35how each group of people
finds a different way -
7:35 - 7:39to bridge that physical
and metaphorical divide. -
7:40 - 7:45But as soon as they release their hands
and break that connection, -
7:45 - 7:49the words immediately begin
to slouch and fall over -
7:49 - 7:53and eventually return to a lifeless
pile of fabric on the ground. -
7:55 - 8:02(Applause)
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8:03 - 8:08At this moment in time,
I think we could all agree -
8:08 - 8:12that the future feels
pretty bleak and uncertain. -
8:14 - 8:15But maybe the hope
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8:15 - 8:21for a brighter, more sustainable,
more equitable future -
8:21 - 8:24depends first on our ability
to imagine it. -
8:26 - 8:28But after we imagine it,
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8:28 - 8:31we actually have to believe it's possible.
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8:32 - 8:35And then we have to find common ground
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8:35 - 8:39with people we would maybe
otherwise disagree with -
8:39 - 8:42and work together
towards that mutual goal. -
8:43 - 8:47And if we do that, I believe
we have the capacity for magic. -
8:49 - 8:52So if you can humor me
for one more minute, -
8:52 - 8:57I'm going to ask everyone
in this theater to hold hands. -
9:03 - 9:05When was the last time
you held hands with a stranger? -
9:05 - 9:07(Laughter)
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9:09 - 9:11And if you feel comfortable,
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9:11 - 9:14go ahead and make
that metaphorical gesture -
9:14 - 9:16of reaching across the aisle.
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9:16 - 9:20And after you've held hands
with people on either side of you, -
9:20 - 9:23if you feel comfortable,
please close your eyes. -
9:24 - 9:27Now take a minute to imagine
what you want, -
9:27 - 9:30what you want the future to look like.
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9:31 - 9:36And give yourself permission
to be at least a little bit idealistic. -
9:38 - 9:43What do you want to see change or happen
in your own life as an individual? -
9:45 - 9:51What do you want to see change or happen
for everyone, for the planet? -
9:52 - 9:54Can you picture it?
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9:55 - 9:59And can you start to see how,
if we all worked together, -
9:59 - 10:02it might actually be possible?
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10:04 - 10:05Now open your eyes,
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10:06 - 10:08and let's make it real.
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10:09 - 10:10Thank you.
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10:10 - 10:16(Applause)
- Title:
- Imaginative sculptures that explore how we perceive reality
- Speaker:
- Alicia Eggert
- Description:
-
TED Fellow Alicia Eggert takes us on a visual tour of her work -- from a giant sculpture on an uninhabited island in Maine to an interactive installation that inflates only when people hold hands, creating an electric current. Her work explores the power of art to inspire wonder and foster hope in dark times. As she puts it: "A brighter, more sustainable, more equitable future depends first on our ability to imagine it."
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDTalks
- Duration:
- 10:29
Oliver Friedman edited English subtitles for Imaginative sculptures that explore how we perceive reality | ||
Brian Greene edited English subtitles for Imaginative sculptures that explore how we perceive reality | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for Imaginative sculptures that explore how we perceive reality | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for Imaginative sculptures that explore how we perceive reality | ||
Erin Gregory edited English subtitles for Imaginative sculptures that explore how we perceive reality | ||
Krystian Aparta accepted English subtitles for Imaginative sculptures that explore how we perceive reality | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Imaginative sculptures that explore how we perceive reality | ||
Krystian Aparta edited English subtitles for Imaginative sculptures that explore how we perceive reality |