美国国家公共电台 NPR As Boy Peers Curiously Over Border Wall, His Artist Asks: 'What Is He Thinking?'

 

ARI SHAPIRO, HOST:

There is a giant baby towering over part of the barrier wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. It's a cutout of a black-and-white image of a 1-year-old Mexican boy - his face and hands. He has thick, dark hair and looks as though he's about to smile. This enormous image is supported by wooden scaffolding. It's made to look as though the boy is holding onto the top of the wall and peering over it. He's on the Mexico side in Tecate, peering over at California.

The installation went up this week. It's by the French street artist who goes only by JR. He's known for pasting large portraits on walls and facades¹ all over the world. We reached him in Los Angeles today to talk about his new project on the Mexico border.

JR: The wall is 21 feet high, and we've built the piece to be 64 feet high. So basically we had to build a bigger wall to make this wall look ridiculous.

SHAPIRO: Why did you want to make this wall look ridiculous? Was that the ultimate goal?

JR: No, actually, you know how it started? I dream about walls. I - that's, you know - I'm sure you maybe dream about radio stations and microphones.

SHAPIRO: (Laughter).

JR: I have no idea. I dream about walls because that's what I paste all day. Now, not necessarily wall that divides people, but I dream about walls I can paste maybe because we hear about this wall constantly in the media recently because of some guy wanted to make it bigger. I don't know.

SHAPIRO: Some guy - the president of the United States, you mean.

JR: I woke up, and I was like, wow, I think I imagine a little kid looking over. And in my head, I remember the first thing I thought was, what is he thinking? What a kid that's 1-year-old is actually thinking because he's looking over the wall, but he have no idea that's a wall that divides people. He have no idea of the political context.

So anyway, that sight started. And I went there with some friends, and we started scouting². And we knocked at the first house that was living right by the wall on the Mexican side. And the woman come out, and you know, she followed me on Facebook, which is crazy. It's like, are you sure...

SHAPIRO: Really?

JR: 'Cause I'm doing wallpaper - you sure that's me? And she said, no, no, I follow you. And I was like, OK, look; I'm doing this art project, and I would, you know - we're looking for location. You can use my house. You can use, you know, the side of the - of my house, too. And I was like, thank you. It's actually, you know, too close from the wall. I need a bit more distance. But we'll come back if we do it in the region. We'll let you know. Then we left.

But when we were driving away, I remember there was a little kid looking at us the whole time in his little, you know, crib and with the two hands on the side of the crib looking at us. And I was like, damn, he looked exactly like that kid I dreamed of.

SHAPIRO: Wow.

JR: He could be perfect for the project. So we drove back there, asked the mom and said, look; I know we don't even have a rendering³ or anything of how the project would look, but can I photograph your kid? And when I have the idea ready, I will come back to you and show it to you. Let me know if you agree. And she said of course. And that's how it basically happened.

SHAPIRO: So this child actually is a 1-year-old child who lives right next to the wall.

JR: Oh, yeah. He actually looks over the wall every day.

SHAPIRO: This went up the same week that President Trump⁴ announced he is winding⁵ down the program called DACA that protects undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children. You've obviously been planning this piece for much longer than that. What do you make of the timing⁶?

JR: You know, for me as an artist, I raise questions. I don't give answers. So I came there to learn more. And to, you know, create a public discussion and to talk with the locals and - on both sides. And yeah, when that came up, we were actually pasting. And we were like, wow. And then suddenly a lot of people started writing me on Instagram and say, hey, you know, I'm a DACA; this means so much for me.

But what I was the most touch of is that most of the people - if you read the comments, they were not talking politics, or they didn't mention the name of the president. It was about people. The mother of the kid told me, I hope this piece will make people realize that we are not animals. We are not criminals. We are not all, like, rapists.

SHAPIRO: I was going to ask you, what did this mother say when she saw her child peering over the wall that she lives right next to?

JR: The mother of the kid told me - she said, look; you know, it's my son. I can recognize him. But I hope for the others, you know, it represents any kid, any person, anyone that have dreams and dreams that are not alienated⁷ by any political vision or any prejudice. And you know, I couldn't wish better for the start of a discussion.

SHAPIRO: JR, I know this image has given a lot of delight to people during a week when we could all use it, so thank you for that. And thank you for talking with us.

JR: Thank you so much.

(SOUNDBITE OF SAN FERMIN'S "RECKONING")

1 facades   

n.（房屋的）正面( facade的名词复数 )；假象，外观

参考例句：

• Terraces of asphalt are placed by the building's south and west facades. 沥青露台位于建筑的南面和西面。 来自互联网
• Preserving historic buildings or keeping only their facades (or fronts) grew common. 保存历史建筑或是保持它们普通的正面增长。 来自互联网

2 scouting   

守候活动，童子军的活动

参考例句：

• I have people scouting the hills already. 我已经让人搜过那些山了。
• Perhaps also from the Gospel it passed into the tradition of scouting. 也许又从《福音书》传入守望的传统。 来自演讲部分

3 rendering   

n.表现，描写

参考例句：

• She gave a splendid rendering of Beethoven's piano sonata.她精彩地演奏了贝多芬的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• His narrative is a super rendering of dialect speech and idiom.他的叙述是方言和土语最成功的运用。

4 trump   

n.王牌，法宝；v.打出王牌，吹喇叭

参考例句：

• He was never able to trump up the courage to have a showdown.他始终鼓不起勇气摊牌。
• The coach saved his star player for a trump card.教练保留他的明星选手，作为他的王牌。

5 winding   

n.绕，缠，绕组，线圈

参考例句：

• A winding lane led down towards the river.一条弯弯曲曲的小路通向河边。
• The winding trail caused us to lose our orientation.迂回曲折的小道使我们迷失了方向。

6 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

7 alienated   

adj.感到孤独的，不合群的v.使疏远( alienate的过去式和过去分词 )；使不友好；转让；让渡（财产等）

参考例句：

• His comments have alienated a lot of young voters. 他的言论使许多年轻选民离他而去。
• The Prime Minister's policy alienated many of her followers. 首相的政策使很多拥护她的人疏远了她。 来自《简明英汉词典》