[Script Info]
Title: 
[Events]
Format: Layer, Start, End, Style, Name, MarginL, MarginR, MarginV, Effect, Text
Dialogue: 0,0:00:01.02,0:00:05.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On my desk in my office, I keep a small clay pot
Dialogue: 0,0:00:05.32,0:00:09.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that I made in college. It's raku, which is a kind of pottery
Dialogue: 0,0:00:09.78,0:00:14.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that began in Japan centuries ago as a way of
Dialogue: 0,0:00:14.29,0:00:18.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,making bowls for the Japanese tea ceremony.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:18.34,0:00:21.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This one is more than 400 years old.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:21.60,0:00:26.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Each one was pinched or carved out of a ball of clay,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:26.07,0:00:30.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it was the imperfections that people cherished.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:30.36,0:00:38.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Everyday pots like this cup take eight to 10 hours to fire.
Dialogue: 0,0:00:38.44,0:00:41.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I just took this out of the kiln last week, and the kiln itself
Dialogue: 0,0:00:41.54,0:00:46.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,takes another day or two to cool down, but raku
Dialogue: 0,0:00:46.03,0:00:50.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is really fast. You do it outside, and you take the kiln
Dialogue: 0,0:00:50.83,0:00:55.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,up to temperature. In 15 minutes, it goes to 1,500 degrees,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:55.39,0:00:59.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and as soon as you see that the glaze has melted inside,
Dialogue: 0,0:00:59.04,0:01:01.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you can see that faint sheen, you turn the kiln off,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:01.86,0:01:04.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you reach in with these long metal tongs,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:04.45,0:01:08.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you grab the pot, and in Japan, this red-hot pot
Dialogue: 0,0:01:08.94,0:01:13.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,would be immediately immersed in a solution of green tea,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:13.85,0:01:17.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you can imagine what that steam would smell like.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:17.08,0:01:20.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But here in the United States, we ramp up the drama
Dialogue: 0,0:01:20.25,0:01:23.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a little bit, and we drop our pots into sawdust,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:23.91,0:01:26.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which catches on fire, and you take a garbage pail,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:26.94,0:01:31.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you put it on top, and smoke starts pouring out.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:31.85,0:01:36.73,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I would come home with my clothes reeking of woodsmoke.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:36.73,0:01:41.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I love raku because it allows me to play with the elements.
Dialogue: 0,0:01:41.82,0:01:46.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I can shape a pot out of clay and choose a glaze,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:46.32,0:01:50.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but then I have to let it go to the fire and the smoke,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:50.62,0:01:53.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and what's wonderful is the surprises that happen,
Dialogue: 0,0:01:53.09,0:01:56.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,like this crackle pattern, because it's really stressful
Dialogue: 0,0:01:56.36,0:01:58.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on these pots. They go from 1,500 degrees
Dialogue: 0,0:01:58.97,0:02:03.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to room temperature in the space of just a minute.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:03.05,0:02:09.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Raku is a wonderful metaphor for the process of creativity.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:09.00,0:02:12.77,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I find in so many things that tension between
Dialogue: 0,0:02:12.77,0:02:16.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what I can control and what I have to let go
Dialogue: 0,0:02:16.20,0:02:19.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,happens all the time, whether I'm creating a new radio show
Dialogue: 0,0:02:19.100,0:02:25.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,or just at home negotiating with my teenage sons.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:25.08,0:02:29.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I sat down to write a book about creativity,
Dialogue: 0,0:02:29.06,0:02:31.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I realized that the steps were reversed.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:31.54,0:02:35.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I had to let go at the very beginning, and I had to
Dialogue: 0,0:02:35.19,0:02:39.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,immerse myself in the stories of hundreds of artists
Dialogue: 0,0:02:39.79,0:02:44.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and writers and musicians and filmmakers, and as I listened
Dialogue: 0,0:02:44.27,0:02:49.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to these stories, I realized that creativity
Dialogue: 0,0:02:49.58,0:02:52.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,grows out of everyday experiences
Dialogue: 0,0:02:52.91,0:02:56.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more often than you might think, including
Dialogue: 0,0:02:56.61,0:02:59.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,letting go.
Dialogue: 0,0:02:59.53,0:03:03.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It was supposed to break, but that's okay. (Laughter) (Laughs)
Dialogue: 0,0:03:03.32,0:03:06.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's part of the letting go, is sometimes it happens
Dialogue: 0,0:03:06.27,0:03:09.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and sometimes it doesn't, because creativity also grows
Dialogue: 0,0:03:09.68,0:03:12.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,from the broken places.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:12.45,0:03:15.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The best way to learn about anything
Dialogue: 0,0:03:15.10,0:03:19.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is through stories, and so I want to tell you a story
Dialogue: 0,0:03:19.14,0:03:24.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,about work and play and about four aspects of life
Dialogue: 0,0:03:24.32,0:03:26.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that we need to embrace
Dialogue: 0,0:03:26.71,0:03:30.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in order for our own creativity to flourish.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:30.78,0:03:32.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first embrace is something that we think,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:32.80,0:03:37.00,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Oh, this is very easy," but it's actually getting harder,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:37.00,0:03:40.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and that's paying attention to the world around us.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:40.100,0:03:45.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So many artists speak about needing to be open,
Dialogue: 0,0:03:45.45,0:03:48.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to embrace experience, and that's hard to do when
Dialogue: 0,0:03:48.89,0:03:52.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you have a lighted rectangle in your pocket that
Dialogue: 0,0:03:52.51,0:03:56.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,takes all of your focus.
Dialogue: 0,0:03:56.10,0:04:00.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The filmmaker Mira Nair speaks about growing up
Dialogue: 0,0:04:00.24,0:04:04.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a small town in India. Its name is Bhubaneswar,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:04.84,0:04:08.54,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and here's a picture of one of the temples in her town.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:08.54,0:04:11.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Mira Nair: In this little town, there were like 2,000 temples.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:11.41,0:04:14.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,We played cricket all the time. We kind of grew up
Dialogue: 0,0:04:14.26,0:04:17.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the rubble. The major thing that inspired me,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:17.52,0:04:21.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that led me on this path, that made me a filmmaker eventually,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:21.17,0:04:24.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was traveling folk theater that would come through the town
Dialogue: 0,0:04:24.72,0:04:28.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I would go off and see these great battles
Dialogue: 0,0:04:28.03,0:04:31.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of good and evil by two people in a school field
Dialogue: 0,0:04:31.45,0:04:33.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with no props but with a lot of, you know,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:33.98,0:04:37.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,passion, and hashish as well, and it was amazing.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:37.68,0:04:40.47,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know, the folk tales of Mahabharata and Ramayana,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:40.47,0:04:43.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the two holy books, the epics that everything comes out of
Dialogue: 0,0:04:43.97,0:04:47.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in India, they say. After seeing that Jatra, the folk theater,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:47.50,0:04:52.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I knew I wanted to get on, you know, and perform.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:52.49,0:04:54.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Julie Burstein: Isn't that a wonderful story?
Dialogue: 0,0:04:54.40,0:04:56.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You can see the sort of break in the everyday.
Dialogue: 0,0:04:56.82,0:04:59.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There they are in the school fields, but it's good and evil,
Dialogue: 0,0:04:59.53,0:05:05.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and passion and hashish. And Mira Nair was a young girl
Dialogue: 0,0:05:05.07,0:05:08.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with thousands of other people watching this performance,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:08.66,0:05:11.62,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but she was ready. She was ready to open up
Dialogue: 0,0:05:11.62,0:05:14.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to what it sparked in her, and it led her,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:14.74,0:05:17.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as she said, down this path to become
Dialogue: 0,0:05:17.36,0:05:20.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,an award-winning filmmaker.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:20.16,0:05:22.98,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So being open for that experience that might change you
Dialogue: 0,0:05:22.98,0:05:25.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is the first thing we need to embrace.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:25.92,0:05:31.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Artists also speak about how some of their most powerful work
Dialogue: 0,0:05:31.70,0:05:36.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,comes out of the parts of life that are most difficult.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:36.57,0:05:40.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The novelist Richard Ford speaks about
Dialogue: 0,0:05:40.22,0:05:44.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,a childhood challenge that continues to be something
Dialogue: 0,0:05:44.26,0:05:49.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he wrestles with today. He's severely dyslexic.
Dialogue: 0,0:05:49.02,0:05:51.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Richard Ford: I was slow to learn to read, went all the way
Dialogue: 0,0:05:51.93,0:05:55.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,through school not really reading more than the minimum,
Dialogue: 0,0:05:55.76,0:05:58.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and still to this day can't read silently
Dialogue: 0,0:05:58.29,0:06:01.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,much faster than I can read aloud,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:01.14,0:06:04.91,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but there were a lot of benefits to being dyslexic for me
Dialogue: 0,0:06:04.91,0:06:08.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,because when I finally did reconcile myself to how slow
Dialogue: 0,0:06:08.06,0:06:12.55,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was going to have to do it, then I think I came very slowly
Dialogue: 0,0:06:12.55,0:06:16.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into an appreciation of all of those qualities of language
Dialogue: 0,0:06:16.09,0:06:18.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and of sentences that are not just the cognitive
Dialogue: 0,0:06:18.90,0:06:22.01,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,aspects of language: the syncopations, the sounds of words,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:22.01,0:06:23.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,what words look like, where paragraphs break,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:23.85,0:06:26.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where lines break. I mean, I wasn't so badly dyslexic that
Dialogue: 0,0:06:26.88,0:06:29.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was disabled from reading. I just had to do it
Dialogue: 0,0:06:29.82,0:06:34.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,really slowly, and as I did, lingering on those sentences
Dialogue: 0,0:06:34.36,0:06:38.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as I had to linger, I fell heir to language's other qualities,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:38.72,0:06:41.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,which I think has helped me write sentences.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:41.99,0:06:46.07,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,JB: It's so powerful. Richard Ford, who's won the Pulitzer Prize,
Dialogue: 0,0:06:46.07,0:06:51.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,says that dyslexia helped him write sentences.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:51.22,0:06:53.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He had to embrace this challenge, and I use that word
Dialogue: 0,0:06:53.99,0:06:58.10,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,intentionally. He didn't have to overcome dyslexia.
Dialogue: 0,0:06:58.10,0:07:01.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He had to learn from it. He had to learn to hear the music
Dialogue: 0,0:07:01.61,0:07:04.67,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in language.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:04.67,0:07:09.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Artists also speak about how pushing up against
Dialogue: 0,0:07:09.24,0:07:12.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the limits of what they can do, sometimes pushing
Dialogue: 0,0:07:12.64,0:07:15.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,into what they can't do, helps them focus
Dialogue: 0,0:07:15.99,0:07:19.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on finding their own voice.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:19.22,0:07:23.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The sculptor Richard Serra talks about how,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:23.37,0:07:26.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,as a young artist, he thought he was a painter,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:26.29,0:07:30.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he lived in Florence after graduate school.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:30.57,0:07:33.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,While he was there, he traveled to Madrid,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:33.14,0:07:35.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where he went to the Prado to see this picture
Dialogue: 0,0:07:35.85,0:07:39.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,by the Spanish painter Diego Velázquez.
Dialogue: 0,0:07:39.61,0:07:44.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's from 1656, and it's called "Las Meninas,"
Dialogue: 0,0:07:44.72,0:07:46.92,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's the picture of a little princess
Dialogue: 0,0:07:46.92,0:07:50.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and her ladies-in-waiting, and if you look over
Dialogue: 0,0:07:50.61,0:07:53.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that little blonde princess's shoulder, you'll see a mirror,
Dialogue: 0,0:07:53.99,0:07:57.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and reflected in it are her parents, the King and Queen
Dialogue: 0,0:07:57.28,0:08:00.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of Spain, who would be standing where you might stand
Dialogue: 0,0:08:00.69,0:08:02.46,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to look at the picture.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:02.46,0:08:07.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,As he often did, Velázquez put himself in this painting too.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:07.53,0:08:12.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He's standing on the left with his paintbrush in one hand
Dialogue: 0,0:08:12.22,0:08:14.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and his palette in the other.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:14.63,0:08:16.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Richard Serra: I was standing there looking at it,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:16.66,0:08:19.27,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I realized that Velázquez was looking at me,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:19.27,0:08:23.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I thought, "Oh. I'm the subject of the painting."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:23.26,0:08:25.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I thought, "I'm not going to be able to do that painting."
Dialogue: 0,0:08:25.51,0:08:28.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I was to the point where I was using a stopwatch
Dialogue: 0,0:08:28.72,0:08:33.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and painting squares out of randomness,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:33.15,0:08:35.17,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I wasn't getting anywhere. So I went back and dumped
Dialogue: 0,0:08:35.17,0:08:38.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,all my paintings in the Arno, and I thought, I'm going to just start playing around.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:38.40,0:08:41.23,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,JB: Richard Serra says that so nonchalantly, you might
Dialogue: 0,0:08:41.23,0:08:44.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,have missed it. He went and saw this painting by a guy
Dialogue: 0,0:08:44.84,0:08:48.61,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,who'd been dead for 300 years, and realized,
Dialogue: 0,0:08:48.61,0:08:52.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"I can't do that," and so Richard Serra went back
Dialogue: 0,0:08:52.48,0:08:55.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to his studio in Florence, picked up all of his work
Dialogue: 0,0:08:55.31,0:08:59.12,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,up to that point, and threw it in a river.
Dialogue: 0,0:08:59.12,0:09:03.05,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Richard Serra let go of painting at that moment,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:03.05,0:09:06.58,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but he didn't let go of art. He moved to New York City,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:06.58,0:09:09.49,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he put together a list of verbs
Dialogue: 0,0:09:09.49,0:09:12.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,— to roll, to crease, to fold —
Dialogue: 0,0:09:12.78,0:09:15.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,more than a hundred of them, and as he said,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:15.48,0:09:17.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he just started playing around. He did these things
Dialogue: 0,0:09:17.51,0:09:20.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to all kinds of material. He would take a huge sheet of lead
Dialogue: 0,0:09:20.83,0:09:24.63,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and roll it up and unroll it. He would do the same thing
Dialogue: 0,0:09:24.63,0:09:29.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to rubber, and when he got to the direction "to lift,"
Dialogue: 0,0:09:29.80,0:09:34.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,he created this, which is in the Museum of Modern Art.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:34.90,0:09:37.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Richard Serra had to let go of painting
Dialogue: 0,0:09:37.86,0:09:41.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in order to embark on this playful exploration
Dialogue: 0,0:09:41.30,0:09:44.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that led him to the work that he's known for today:
Dialogue: 0,0:09:44.57,0:09:50.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,huge curves of steel that require our time and motion
Dialogue: 0,0:09:50.15,0:09:53.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to experience. In sculpture,
Dialogue: 0,0:09:53.89,0:09:57.16,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Richard Serra is able to do what he couldn't do in painting.
Dialogue: 0,0:09:57.16,0:10:01.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,He makes us the subject of his art.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:01.65,0:10:05.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,So experience and challenge
Dialogue: 0,0:10:05.59,0:10:09.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and limitations are all things we need to embrace
Dialogue: 0,0:10:09.25,0:10:11.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,for creativity to flourish.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:11.84,0:10:15.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,There's a fourth embrace, and it's the hardest.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:15.40,0:10:17.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's the embrace of loss,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:17.76,0:10:22.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the oldest and most constant of human experiences.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:22.06,0:10:24.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,In order to create, we have to stand in that space
Dialogue: 0,0:10:24.88,0:10:28.68,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,between what we see in the world and what we hope for,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:28.68,0:10:33.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,looking squarely at rejection, at heartbreak,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:33.48,0:10:36.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at war, at death.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:36.06,0:10:38.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That's a tough space to stand in.
Dialogue: 0,0:10:38.45,0:10:43.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The educator Parker Palmer calls it "the tragic gap,"
Dialogue: 0,0:10:43.84,0:10:47.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tragic not because it's sad but because it's inevitable,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:47.80,0:10:50.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and my friend Dick Nodel likes to say,
Dialogue: 0,0:10:50.84,0:10:53.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"You can hold that tension like a violin string
Dialogue: 0,0:10:53.79,0:10:57.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and make something beautiful."
Dialogue: 0,0:10:57.22,0:11:00.36,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,That tension resonates in the work of the photographer
Dialogue: 0,0:11:00.36,0:11:03.57,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Joel Meyerowitz, who at the beginning of his career was
Dialogue: 0,0:11:03.57,0:11:06.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,known for his street photography, for capturing a moment
Dialogue: 0,0:11:06.81,0:11:10.50,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,on the street, and also for his beautiful photographs
Dialogue: 0,0:11:10.50,0:11:14.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of landscapes -- of Tuscany, of Cape Cod,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:14.18,0:11:16.86,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of light.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:16.86,0:11:20.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Joel is a New Yorker, and his studio for many years
Dialogue: 0,0:11:20.13,0:11:24.13,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,was in Chelsea, with a straight view downtown
Dialogue: 0,0:11:24.13,0:11:27.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to the World Trade Center, and he photographed
Dialogue: 0,0:11:27.04,0:11:31.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,those buildings in every sort of light.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:31.38,0:11:35.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,You know where this story goes.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:35.03,0:11:37.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,On 9/11, Joel wasn't in New York. He was out of town,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:37.51,0:11:42.11,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but he raced back to the city, and raced down to the site
Dialogue: 0,0:11:42.11,0:11:44.24,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the destruction.
Dialogue: 0,0:11:44.24,0:11:46.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Joel Meyerowitz: And like all the other passersby,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:46.42,0:11:49.32,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I stood outside the chain link fence on Chambers
Dialogue: 0,0:11:49.32,0:11:51.52,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and Greenwich, and all I could see was the smoke
Dialogue: 0,0:11:51.52,0:11:55.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and a little bit of rubble, and I raised my camera
Dialogue: 0,0:11:55.18,0:11:58.18,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to take a peek, just to see if there was something to see,
Dialogue: 0,0:11:58.18,0:12:02.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and some cop, a lady cop, hit me on my shoulder,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:02.53,0:12:04.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and said, "Hey, no pictures!"
Dialogue: 0,0:12:04.97,0:12:08.19,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And it was such a blow that it woke me up,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:08.19,0:12:12.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in the way that it was meant to be, I guess.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:12.25,0:12:14.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And when I asked her why no pictures, she said,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:14.29,0:12:17.38,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"It's a crime scene. No photographs allowed."
Dialogue: 0,0:12:17.38,0:12:18.85,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I asked her, "What would happen if I was a member
Dialogue: 0,0:12:18.85,0:12:21.06,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the press?" And she told me,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:21.06,0:12:25.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,"Oh, look back there," and back a block was the press corps
Dialogue: 0,0:12:25.15,0:12:28.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,tied up in a little penned-in area,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:28.96,0:12:30.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I said, "Well, when do they go in?"
Dialogue: 0,0:12:30.48,0:12:32.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and she said, "Probably never."
Dialogue: 0,0:12:32.96,0:12:37.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And as I walked away from that, I had this crystallization,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:37.45,0:12:40.25,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,probably from the blow, because it was an insult in a way.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:40.25,0:12:42.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I thought, "Oh, if there's no pictures,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:42.42,0:12:45.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,then there'll be no record. We need a record."
Dialogue: 0,0:12:45.93,0:12:47.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,And I thought, "I'm gonna make that record.
Dialogue: 0,0:12:47.80,0:12:50.09,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I'll find a way to get in, because I don't want to
Dialogue: 0,0:12:50.09,0:12:51.95,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,see this history disappear."
Dialogue: 0,0:12:51.95,0:12:56.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,JB: He did. He pulled in every favor he could,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:56.20,0:12:58.71,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and got a pass into the World Trade Center site,
Dialogue: 0,0:12:58.71,0:13:02.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,where he photographed for nine months almost every day.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:02.94,0:13:05.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Looking at these photographs today brings back
Dialogue: 0,0:13:05.89,0:13:08.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the smell of smoke that lingered on my clothes
Dialogue: 0,0:13:08.79,0:13:10.79,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,when I went home to my family at night.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:10.79,0:13:14.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,My office was just a few blocks away.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:14.21,0:13:17.82,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But some of these photographs are beautiful,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:17.82,0:13:20.94,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we wondered, was it difficult for Joel Meyerowitz
Dialogue: 0,0:13:20.94,0:13:25.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to make such beauty out of such devastation?
Dialogue: 0,0:13:25.28,0:13:28.64,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,JM: Well, you know, ugly, I mean, powerful
Dialogue: 0,0:13:28.64,0:13:32.02,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and tragic and horrific and everything, but
Dialogue: 0,0:13:32.02,0:13:36.31,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,it was also as, in nature, an enormous event
Dialogue: 0,0:13:36.31,0:13:41.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,that was transformed after the fact into this residue,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:41.48,0:13:43.29,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and like many other ruins
Dialogue: 0,0:13:43.29,0:13:47.14,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,— you go to the ruins of the Colosseum or the ruins of a cathedral someplace —
Dialogue: 0,0:13:47.14,0:13:51.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and they take on a new meaning when you watch the weather.
Dialogue: 0,0:13:51.78,0:13:53.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I mean, there were afternoons I was down there,
Dialogue: 0,0:13:53.65,0:13:57.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the light goes pink and there's a mist in the air
Dialogue: 0,0:13:57.30,0:14:01.33,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and you're standing in the rubble, and I found myself
Dialogue: 0,0:14:01.33,0:14:05.22,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,recognizing both the inherent beauty of nature
Dialogue: 0,0:14:05.22,0:14:07.97,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the fact that nature, as time,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:07.97,0:14:11.37,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is erasing this wound.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:11.37,0:14:15.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Time is unstoppable, and it transforms the event.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:15.20,0:14:17.53,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It gets further and further away from the day,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:17.53,0:14:21.88,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and light and seasons temper it in some way,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:21.88,0:14:26.03,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and it's not that I'm a romantic. I'm really a realist.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:26.03,0:14:29.51,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The reality is, there's the Woolworth Building
Dialogue: 0,0:14:29.51,0:14:35.34,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,in a veil of smoke from the site, but it's now like a scrim
Dialogue: 0,0:14:35.34,0:14:39.28,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,across a theater, and it's turning pink,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:39.28,0:14:42.39,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you know, and down below there are hoses spraying,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:42.39,0:14:45.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and the lights have come on for the evening, and the water
Dialogue: 0,0:14:45.40,0:14:49.42,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is turning acid green because the sodium lamps are on,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:49.42,0:14:51.60,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I'm thinking, "My God, who could dream this up?"
Dialogue: 0,0:14:51.60,0:14:55.80,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the fact is, I'm there, it looks like that,
Dialogue: 0,0:14:55.80,0:14:57.70,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,you have to take a picture.
Dialogue: 0,0:14:57.70,0:15:00.89,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,JB: You have to take a picture. That sense of urgency,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:00.89,0:15:06.69,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the need to get to work, is so powerful in Joel's story.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:06.69,0:15:10.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,When I saw Joel Meyerowitz recently, I told him how much
Dialogue: 0,0:15:10.04,0:15:13.83,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I admired his passionate obstinacy, his determination
Dialogue: 0,0:15:13.83,0:15:18.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,to push through all the bureaucratic red tape to get to work,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:18.41,0:15:20.59,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and he laughed, and he said, "I'm stubborn,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:20.59,0:15:22.99,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,but I think what's more important
Dialogue: 0,0:15:22.99,0:15:26.45,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is my passionate optimism."
Dialogue: 0,0:15:26.45,0:15:29.26,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,The first time I told these stories, a man in the audience
Dialogue: 0,0:15:29.26,0:15:32.74,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,raised his hand and said, "All these artists talk about
Dialogue: 0,0:15:32.74,0:15:37.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,their work, not their art, which has got me thinking about
Dialogue: 0,0:15:37.48,0:15:40.15,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,my work and where the creativity is there,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:40.15,0:15:44.78,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and I'm not an artist." He's right. We all wrestle
Dialogue: 0,0:15:44.78,0:15:49.40,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,with experience and challenge, limits and loss.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:49.40,0:15:51.65,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Creativity is essential to all of us,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:51.65,0:15:54.30,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,whether we're scientists or teachers,
Dialogue: 0,0:15:54.30,0:15:58.66,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,parents or entrepreneurs.
Dialogue: 0,0:15:58.66,0:16:00.84,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,I want to leave you with another
Dialogue: 0,0:16:00.84,0:16:03.93,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,image of a Japanese tea bowl. This one
Dialogue: 0,0:16:03.93,0:16:06.90,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,is at the Freer Gallery in Washington, D.C.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:06.90,0:16:09.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,It's more than a hundred years old and you can still see
Dialogue: 0,0:16:09.44,0:16:13.08,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,the fingermarks where the potter pinched it.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:13.08,0:16:15.100,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But as you can also see, this one did break
Dialogue: 0,0:16:15.100,0:16:18.72,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,at some point in its hundred years.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:18.72,0:16:21.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,But the person who put it back together,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:21.48,0:16:24.04,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,instead of hiding the cracks,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:24.04,0:16:29.76,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,decided to emphasize them, using gold lacquer to repair it.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:29.76,0:16:34.20,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,This bowl is more beautiful now, having been broken,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:34.20,0:16:37.21,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,than it was when it was first made,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:37.21,0:16:39.44,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and we can look at those cracks, because
Dialogue: 0,0:16:39.44,0:16:41.81,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,they tell the story that we all live,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:41.81,0:16:45.48,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of the cycle of creation and destruction,
Dialogue: 0,0:16:45.48,0:16:50.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,of control and letting go, of picking up the pieces
Dialogue: 0,0:16:50.41,0:16:52.41,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,and making something new.
Dialogue: 0,0:16:52.41,0:16:56.96,Default,,0000,0000,0000,,Thank you. (Applause)