I am a visual artist, and I make revolutionary art to propel history forward. I'm going to come right out and tell you something: I don't accept the economic foundation, the social relations or the governing ideas of America. My art contributes to fundamental change by encouraging an audience to address big questions from that perspective. Social change is hard, but ideas matter tremendously.
﻿我是一个视觉艺术家， 我创造革命性的艺术来推动历史前进。 我马上就会告诉你们一些事情： 我不接受美国的经济基础， 社交关系， 或执政理念等东西。 我的艺术通过鼓励观众从这个角度 来解决大问题，从而促成根本性的改变。 社交变革困难，但思想非常重要。
When I say I'm an artist, most people think, "Oh, he's a painter." Behind me, you can see some of the kind of work I do. "Imagine a World Without America" is a painting, but I work in a range of media, including photography, video and performance art. A current project, "Slave Rebellion Reenactment," is going to be reenacted on the outskirts of New Orleans this November.
当我说：“我是个艺术家”， 很多人会想，“哦，他是个画家”。
In 1989, I had an artwork that became the center of controversy over its transgressive use of the American flag. "What is the Proper Way to Display a US Flag?" is a conceptual work that encouraged audience participation. It consisted of a photo montage that had text that read, "What is the Proper Way to Display a US Flag?" Below that were books that people could write responses to that question in, and below that was a flag that people had the option of standing on. The photo montage consisted of images of South Korean students burning American flags, holding signs that said, "Yankee go home. Son of a bitch," and below that were flag-draped coffins coming back from Vietnam.
我身后的舞台布景展示了 我做的一些工作。 “想象一个没有美国的世界”是一幅画， 其制作过程包含了多种媒体， 包括图片，视频和行为艺术。 一个正在进行的项目， “奴隶起义的重现”， 9月将会在新奥尔良郊区 再次上演。
People wrote long and short answers. Thousands of people engaged with the work in a lot of different languages. Some of the people said, "I'm a German girl. If we Germans would admire our flag as you all do, we would be called Nazis again. I think you do have too much trouble about this flag." "I think that the artist should be returned to his heritage, i.e., the jungles of Africa, and then he can shovel manure in his artistic way." "This flag I'm standing on stands for everything oppressive in this system: the murder of the Indians and all the oppressed around the world, including my brother who was shot by a pig, who kicked over his body to 'make sure the nigger was dead.' That pig was wearing the flag. Thank you, Dread Scott, for this opportunity." "As a veteran defending the flag, I personally would never defend your stupid ass! You should be shot!" -- US Navy Seal Team.
在1989年，我有一件 艺术作品成为了关于 美国国旗过度使用的争论焦点。 “什么是展示美国国旗的正确方式？” 是一项鼓励观众参与的概念性工作。 它包含了一组照片，上面用文字写着： “什么是展示美国国旗的正确方式？” 下面是人们可以针对这个问题 进行回应的本子， 下方是一张人们可以选择 站在上面的旗帜。 这组照片包含了韩国学生 焚烧美国国旗的照片， 举着牌子，上面写着： “洋基回家。婊子养的。” 其下则是从越南运回来的 覆盖着国旗的棺材。
As you can see, people had very strong reactions about the flag then, as they do now. There were demonstrations of veterans in front of the Art Institute of Chicago. They chanted things like, "The flag and the artist, hang them both high," evoking images of lynching. I received numerous death threats, and bomb threats were phoned in to my school. It was a very dangerous situation. Later, President Bush called the work "disgraceful," which I viewed as a tremendous honor, and Congress outlawed the work.
人们写下了或长或短的答案。 成千上万的人用不同的语言 参与了这场活动。 有些人说， “我是个德国女孩， 如果德国人像你们那样 崇拜我们的国旗， 我们会被再次叫做纳粹。 我认为你这面国旗有太多的问题。” “我觉得这个艺术家应该回到他老家去， 比如，非洲丛林， 在那儿他可以用他的艺术来铲粪”。 “我所站的这面旗帜代表了 这个系统所有的压迫： 对印第安人的屠杀和对全球的压迫， 包括我那个被一只蠢猪枪击的兄弟， 蠢猪踢了他尸体一脚， 以“确保黑鬼已经死了。” 那头猪就披着这个国旗。 谢谢你给予的这个机会，斯科特。” “作为一名捍卫国旗的老兵， 我个人永远不会为你这头蠢驴辩护！ 你应该被枪杀！“ ——美国海军海豹突击队。
(Laughter)
如你所见，那时人们 对国旗有强烈的反应， 就如他们现在一样。 在芝加哥艺术学院的前面还有 一些退伍军人的示威游行。 他们高呼诸如这样的口号， “国旗和艺术家，把它们都吊起来” 这种唤起私刑的画面。 我收到了无数的死亡威胁， 炸弹威胁电话打到了我的学校。 境况已经极度危险了。 后来，布什总统说： “这个艺术作品是“可耻的”， 我却视之为无尽的荣耀， 国会还宣布这个艺术作品为非法。
I became part of a Supreme Court case when I and others defied that law, by burning flags on the steps of the Capitol. That action and the subsequent legal and political battle led to a landmark First Amendment decision that prevented the government from demanding patriotism be mandatory.
（笑声）
But let me back up a bit. These people literally wanted me dead. What I would do at this moment would make a difference. This is me at the exact same moment, eight stories above that crowd. It was supposed to be for a photo shoot that was going to take place on the steps where the veterans were at that time. It wouldn't have been safe for me to be there, to say the least. But it was really important to do that shoot, because while some wanted to kill me, it was also a situation where those who viewed the American flag as standing for everything oppressive in this system felt that they had a voice, and that voice needed to be amplified.
当我和其他人违反法律， 在国会大厦的台阶上焚烧国旗时， 我成为了最高法院案例中的一员。 这一行动以及随后的法律和政治斗争， 导致了一项具有里程碑意义的 涉及宪法第一修正案的决定， 该决定阻止了政府要求 爱国主义的强制性。
The point is this: changing anything -- whether it's conventional ideas about US national symbols, traditional thinking challenged by scientific breakthroughs or ousting an authoritarian president -- requires a lot of things. It requires courage, luck and also vision and boldness of action.
但让我退回去一点。 这些人是真希望我死。 我现在要做的事情会有所不同。 这是我在同一时刻， 在那群人所在位置附近的 八层楼的楼顶。 它应该是  在老兵们当时所在的台阶上拍的。 不夸张地说，我在那里是不安全的。 但是拍摄这组照片真的很重要， 因为虽然有人想杀我，但这也让那些 认为美国国旗象征着 这个系统一切压迫的 人觉得 他们有自己的声音， 而这种声音需要被放大。
But on luck -- I have to say, the photo shoot we did might not have worked out so well. We laughed after we were out of the area. But the thing is, it was worth the risk because of the stakes that were involved. And in this case, the luck led to a wonderful, profound and powerful situation that was also humorous.
我的观点是这样的： 改变任何事情—— 不管是关于美国国家象征的传统观点， 科学突破的传统思维挑战， 或者推翻独裁总统—— 需要很多东西。 它要求勇气， 运气， 还有远见和大胆的行动。
Thank you.
但关于运气—— 我不得不说，我们拍的 照片可能效果不太好。 离开这个地区后，我们都笑了。 但问题是，它值得冒这个险， 因为涉及到的利害关系。 在这种情况下，运气带来了一种奇妙、 深刻和强大的情境， 同时也很幽默。
(Applause)
谢谢。