Artists make things not because the things they make are special but because making is
艺术家创造东西不是因为这些东西有多特殊，而是创造
special for us. We are makers. We are as human beings manufacturers. If you go back 30,000
对我们来说很特殊。我们是制造者。我们扮演着人类制造商。如果你回到3，0000年
years to the dawn of the psychologically modern human being what seems to inaugurate that
前，那个心理上已经处于现代人类的初期，差不多就是
beginning is precisely this explosion of making practices of tool making and tool using practices
制造和使用工具的实践、
and pictorial practices and linguistic practices and clothing. We are makers and I think that
绘画和语言的实践以及衣物制造活动激增的开始。我们是创造者，我想

artists make things to unveil that fact about ourselves. So I say that works of art are
艺术家创造这些东西是为了揭示关于我们自己的真相。所以我觉得艺术品是
strange tools. They’re not just more tools with this or that function or application.
一种独特的工具。它们不只是具有这样或那样功能或用途的工具
They’re tools that in their strangeness are meant to exhibit the place that tools and technology have in our lives.
它们是用其独特性去展示工具和技术在我们生活中的地位的一种工具
Too often I think when we come to thinking about art if we’re scientists or cognative
我经常想，如果当我们以科学家、认知学家或是哲学家的身份去思考艺术
scientists or philosophers is we think of art as if it were a phenomenon, something
我们会不会把它当成是一种现象，
that we can put under glass and explain. The view that I’ve come to is that actually
一种可以放在玻璃镜下研究的现象。我想，
art is itself it’s own research practice. It’s itself a way of trying to understand
艺术本身就是一种自我研究的实践活动，它本身就是一种试图去理解
the world and ourselves. And that better strategies for trying to really get a handle on the questions
这个世界和我们自己的东西。要想更有效地吸引我们自己，
that interest us what is art? Why does art matter so much? What does the fact that it
利用艺术则是一种更好的策略。艺术为什么那么重要呢？艺术如此重要的这个事实又能
matters so much tell us about ourselves? Is actually to look at art as our collaborator
让我们了解我们自己什么呢？把艺术看作是我们的伙伴，还是只是把它们看成是我们
rather than the object of our investigation. The art situation becomes an opportunity to
创造的东西要更好呢？艺术给我们提供了一个机会，一个
really put one’s own perceptual consciousness or other aspects of what’s consciousness
检视我们自己的知觉意识或其他层面的理解和意识的机会
and understanding sort of interview for oneself. And that’s one of the reasons why I like
这是我为什么
to say that art is something like a philosophical practice.
倾向于把艺术说成是一种哲学的实践的一个原因。
Because what I’ve just said about art really is paradigmatically philosophical.
因为我刚刚说了艺术其实就是一种特殊形式的哲学
This idea that art or philosophy are somehow in the business of
艺术和哲学在一定程度上是为了向我们揭示我们自己
unveiling us to ourselves and in doing that it’s supplying us with resources to change.
同时它也为我们提供了变革和进步的资源