As a conceptual artist, I'm constantly looking for creative ways to spark challenging conversations.
作为一位概念派艺术家，我经常寻求创新的方式，去启发大家思考一些有挑战性的话题。
I do this though painting, sculpture, video and performance.
我会通过绘画、雕塑、视频和表演来这样做。
But regardless of the format, two of my favorite materials are history and dialogue.
但是抛开形式不谈，我最喜欢的材料是历史和对话。
In 2007, I created "Lotus," a seven-and-a-half-foot diameter, 600-pound glass depiction of a lotus blossom.
在2007年，我创造了“莲花”，一个直径约2.3米、重达600磅的莲花花瓣玻璃刻绘作品。
In Buddhism, the lotus is a symbol for transcendence and for purity of mind and spirit.
在佛教中，莲花是超然的象征，是纯净的意念和精神的象征。
But a closer look at this lotus reveals each petal to be the cross-section of a slave ship.
但是仔细看这个莲花，每一个花瓣都是贩卖奴隶的船只的横截面。
This iconic diagram was taken from a British slaving manual and later used by abolitionists to show the atrocities of slavery.
我所临摹的图像来自于英国的奴役手册，它后来被废奴主义者用来展示奴隶制的残忍。
In America, we don't like to talk about slavery, nor do we look at it as a global industry.
在美国，我们不愿意讨论奴隶制，我们也不把奴隶制当成全球的产业。
But by using this Buddhist symbol,
但是通过使用这个佛学象征，
I hope to universalize and transcend the history and trauma of black America and encourage discussions about our shared past.
我希望可以让大家意识到非裔美国人的历史，治愈他们的的创伤，并且鼓励有关我们共同的过去的讨论。
To create "Lotus," we carved over 6,000 figures.
为了创作“莲花”，我们雕刻了6000多个人物。
And this later led to a commission by the City of New York to create a 28-foot version in steel
之后，美国纽约议会在青年鹰学院制造了一个直径8.5米的钢铁版本。
as a permanent installation at the Eagle Academy for Young Men, a school for black and latino students,
青年鹰学院是一所为非裔和拉丁裔学生服务的学校。
the two groups most affected by this history.
这两类人是受历史影响最大的。
The same two groups are very affected by a more recent phenomenon, but let me digress.
同样是他们，近来又到了巨大的影响。我后面会继续讲这个话题。
I've been collecting wooden African figures from tourist shops and flea markets around the world.
我一直在全球的纪念品商店和跳蚤市场收集木质非洲人物雕塑。
The authenticity and origin of them is completely debatable, but people believe these to be imbued with power, or even magic.
他们的来源和真实性是很值得怀疑的，但是人们相信雕塑里蕴含能量，甚至魔法。
Only recently have I figured out how to use this in my own work.
直到最近我才找到把它们用在我的作品中的办法。
Since 2012, the world has witnessed the killings of Trayvon Martin, Michael Brown, Eric Garner, Sandra Bland, Tamir Rice
从2012年开始，世界见证了塔拉万·马丁、迈克尔·布朗、埃里克·加纳、桑德拉·布兰德、塔米尔·莱斯
and literally countless other unarmed black citizens at the hands of the police, who frequently walk away with no punishment at all.
等一系列手无寸铁的非裔公民被警察射杀，并且警察经常无罪开释。

In consideration of these victims and the several times that even I, a law-abiding, Ivy League professor,
想到这些受害者和很多次我自己的经历，作为一位守法的春藤盟校的教授，
have been targeted and harassed at gunpoint by the police.
我也曾经被警察袭击，被枪口直接指着。
I created this body of work simply entitled "BAM."
想到这些，我创作了这个艺术，并且简单的命名为“嘣”。
It was important to erase the identity of each of these figures, to make them all look the same and easier to disregard.
为了让他们看起来一样并且容易被忽视，抹去这些雕塑的身份是非常重要的。
To do this, I dip them in a thick, brown wax before taking them to a shooting range where I re-sculpted them using bullets.
我先把它们放在浓稠的棕色液体蜡之中，然后带到了射击场，在那里我用子弹进行重新雕塑。
And it was fun, playing with big guns and high-speed video cameras.
使用大型枪支配合高速摄影机是非常有趣的。
But my reverence for these figures kept me from actually pulling the trigger, somehow feeling as if I would be shooting myself.
但是我对于这些雕塑的尊敬，让我无法扣动扳机，突然我感觉我好像在对我自己射击。
Finally, my cameraman, Raul, fired the shots. I then took the fragments of these and created molds,
最后我的摄像师劳尔替我开了枪。我取回打碎的雕塑并制造模具，
and cast them first in wax, and finally in bronze like the image you see here,
在外表裹上一层蜡，最后镀上铜色，就像你们看到的这样。
which bears the marks of its violent creation like battle wounds or scars.
每一个雕塑都有着暴力制造的印记，就像战场上的伤痕。
When I showed this work recently in Miami, a woman told me she felt every gun shot to her soul.
当我最近在迈阿密展出我的作品时，一位女性告诉我，她感到每一枪都打在她的灵魂上。
But she also felt that these artworks memorialized the victims of these killings
同时她觉得这些艺术品纪念了这些死去的受害者，
as well as other victims of racial violence throughout US history.
也纪念了整个美国历史上因为种族犯罪而牺牲的所有人。
But "Lotus" and "BAM" are larger than just US history.
但是“莲花”和“嘣”的意义已经超越了美国历史。
While showing in Berlin last year, a philosophy student asked me what prompted these recent killings.
去年在柏林展出时，一位哲学学生问我，是什么引发了最近的杀戮。
I showed him a photo of a lynching postcard from the early 1900s and reminded him that these killings have been going on for over 500 years.
我向他展示了一张20世纪早期的一张画着处以私刑的明信片。我告诉他，这些杀戮已经持续了超过500年。
But it's only through questions like his and more thoughtful dialogue about history and race can we evolve as individuals and society.
但是只有通过像他所问的问题和对于历史和种族的更多深刻的对话，我们个人和社会才会进化。
I hope my artwork creates a safe space for this type of honest exchange
我希望我的艺术品可以为这样坦诚的交流提供一个安全的环境，
and an opportunity for people to engage one another in real and necessary conversation. Thank you.
也为那些投身于真实且必要的对话之中的人提供一个机会。谢谢。