| Recorded at | April 15, 2019 |
|---|---|
| Event | TED2019 |
| Duration (min:sec) | 09:05 |
| Video Type | TED Stage Talk |
| Words per minute | 171.15 medium |
| Readability (FK) | 66.9 very easy |
| Speaker | Daniel Lismore |
Official TED page for this talk
Synopsis
Daniel Lismore's closet is probably a bit different than yours -- his clothes are constructed out of materials ranging from beer cans and plastic crystals to diamonds, royal silks and 2,000-year-old Roman rings. In this striking talk, Lismore shares the vision behind his elaborate ensembles and explores what it's like to live life as a work of art. "Everyone is capable of creating their own masterpiece," he says. "You should try it sometime."
| 1 | 00:13 | My day starts just like yours. | ||
| 2 | 00:17 | (Laughter) | ||
| 3 | 00:22 | When I wake up in the morning, | ||
| 4 | 00:24 | I check my phone, | ||
| 5 | 00:26 | and then I have a cup of coffee. | ||
| 6 | 00:29 | But then my day truly starts. | ||
| 7 | 00:33 | It may not be like yours, because I live my life as an artwork. | ||
| 8 | 00:40 | Picture yourself in a giant jewelry box | ||
| 9 | 00:44 | with all the beautiful things that you have ever seen in your life. | ||
| 10 | 00:49 | Then imagine that your body is a canvas. | ||
| 11 | 00:54 | And on that canvas, | ||
| 12 | 00:56 | you have a mission to create a masterpiece | ||
| 13 | 01:01 | using the contents of your giant jewelry box. | ||
| 14 | 01:05 | Once you've created your masterpiece, | ||
| 15 | 01:08 | you might think, "Wow, I created that. | ||
| 16 | 01:12 | This is who I am today." | ||
| 17 | 01:14 | Then you would pick up your house keys, | ||
| 18 | 01:16 | walk out the door into the real world, | ||
| 19 | 01:18 | maybe take public transport to the center of the town ... | ||
| 20 | 01:23 | Possibly walk along the streets or even go shopping. | ||
| 21 | 01:27 | That's my life, every day. | ||
| 22 | 01:30 | When I walk out the door, | ||
| 23 | 01:32 | these artworks are me. | ||
| 24 | 01:34 | I am art. | ||
| 25 | 01:38 | I have lived as art my entire adult life. | ||
| 26 | 01:42 | Living as art is how I became myself. | ||
| 27 | 01:46 | I was brought up in a small village called Fillongley, in England, | ||
| 28 | 01:50 | and it was last mentioned in the "Domesday Book," | ||
| 29 | 01:52 | so that's the mentality. | ||
| 30 | 01:54 | (Laughter) | ||
| 31 | 01:55 | I was raised by my grandparents, | ||
| 32 | 01:58 | and they were antiques dealers, | ||
| 33 | 01:59 | so I grew up surrounded by history and beautiful things. | ||
| 34 | 02:04 | I had the most amazing dress-up box. | ||
| 35 | 02:07 | So as you can imagine, it started then. | ||
| 36 | 02:13 | I moved to London when I was 17 to become a model. | ||
| 37 | 02:17 | And then I went to study photography. | ||
| 38 | 02:20 | I wasn't really happy with myself at the time, | ||
| 39 | 02:23 | so I was always looking for escapism. | ||
| 40 | 02:25 | I studied the works of David LaChapelle | ||
| 41 | 02:28 | and Steven Arnold, | ||
| 42 | 02:29 | photographers who both curated and created worlds | ||
| 43 | 02:33 | that were mind-blowing to me. | ||
| 44 | 02:36 | So I decided one day to cross over from the superficial fashion world | ||
| 45 | 02:41 | to the superficial art world. | ||
| 46 | 02:43 | (Laughter) | ||
| 47 | 02:44 | I decided to live my life as a work of art. | ||
| 48 | 02:50 | I spend hours, sometimes months, making things. | ||
| 49 | 02:53 | My go-to tool is a safety pin, like this -- | ||
| 50 | 02:57 | (Laughter) | ||
| 51 | 02:58 | They're never big enough. | ||
| 52 | 02:59 | (Laughter) | ||
| 53 | 03:00 | And I use my fabrics time and time again, | ||
| 54 | 03:03 | so I recycle everything that I use. | ||
| 55 | 03:06 | When I get dressed I'm guided by color, texture and shape. | ||
| 56 | 03:10 | I rarely have a theme. | ||
| 57 | 03:12 | I find beautiful objects from all over the world, | ||
| 58 | 03:15 | and I curate them into 3-D tapestries | ||
| 59 | 03:18 | over a base layer that covers my whole body shape ... | ||
| 60 | 03:20 | because I'm not very happy with my body. | ||
| 61 | 03:22 | (Laughs) | ||
| 62 | 03:24 | I ask myself, "Should I take something off | ||
| 63 | 03:26 | or should I put something on? | ||
| 64 | 03:28 | 100 pieces, maybe?" | ||
| 65 | 03:29 | And sometimes, I do that. | ||
| 66 | 03:32 | I promise you it's not too uncomfortable -- | ||
| 67 | 03:35 | well, just a little -- | ||
| 68 | 03:37 | (Laughter) | ||
| 69 | 03:38 | I might have a safety pin poking at me sometimes | ||
| 70 | 03:40 | when I'm having a conversation with you, | ||
| 71 | 03:42 | so I'll kind of go off -- | ||
| 72 | 03:44 | (Laughter) | ||
| 73 | 03:47 | It usually takes me about 20 minutes to get ready, | ||
| 74 | 03:50 | which nobody ever believes. | ||
| 75 | 03:53 | It's true -- | ||
| 76 | 03:55 | sometimes. | ||
| 77 | 03:56 | So, it's my version of a t-shirt and jeans. | ||
| 78 | 03:59 | (Laughter) | ||
| 79 | 04:01 | When I get dressed, I build like an architect. | ||
| 80 | 04:04 | I carefully place things till I feel they belong. | ||
| 81 | 04:08 | Then, I get a lot of my ideas from lucid dreaming. | ||
| 82 | 04:11 | I actually go to sleep to come up with my ideas, | ||
| 83 | 04:13 | and I've taught myself to wake up to write them down. | ||
| 84 | 04:18 | I wear things till they fall apart, | ||
| 85 | 04:20 | and then, I give them a new life. | ||
| 86 | 04:22 | The gold outfit, for example -- | ||
| 87 | 04:24 | it was the outfit that I wore to the Houses of Parliament in London. | ||
| 88 | 04:29 | It's made of armor, sequins and broken jewelry, | ||
| 89 | 04:32 | and I was the first person to wear armor to Parliament | ||
| 90 | 04:35 | since Oliver Cromwell banned it in the 17th century. | ||
| 91 | 04:38 | Things don't need to be expensive to be beautiful. | ||
| 92 | 04:42 | Try making outfits out of bin liners or trash you found out on the streets. | ||
| 93 | 04:47 | You never know, | ||
| 94 | 04:48 | they might end up on the pages of "Vogue." | ||
| 95 | 04:51 | There's over 6,000 pieces in my collection, | ||
| 96 | 04:54 | ranging from 2,000-year-old Roman rings to ancient Buddhist artifacts. | ||
| 97 | 04:59 | I believe in sharing what I do and what I have with others, | ||
| 98 | 05:02 | so I decided to create an art exhibition, | ||
| 99 | 05:05 | which is currently traveling to museums around the world. | ||
| 100 | 05:09 | It contains an army of me -- | ||
| 101 | 05:11 | life-size sculptures as you can see behind me, | ||
| 102 | 05:13 | they're here -- | ||
| 103 | 05:14 | they are my life, really. | ||
| 104 | 05:15 | They're kind of like 3-D tapestries of my existence as living as art. | ||
| 105 | 05:19 | They contain plastic crystals mixed with diamonds, | ||
| 106 | 05:21 | beer cans and royal silks all in one look. | ||
| 107 | 05:24 | I like the fact that the viewer can never make the assumption | ||
| 108 | 05:27 | about what's real and what's fake. | ||
| 109 | 05:29 | I find it important to explore and share cultures through my works. | ||
| 110 | 05:35 | I use clothing as a means to investigate | ||
| 111 | 05:38 | and appreciate people from all over the world. | ||
| 112 | 05:41 | Sometimes, people think I'm a performer or a drag queen. | ||
| 113 | 05:47 | I'm not. | ||
| 114 | 05:49 | Although my life appears to be a performance, | ||
| 115 | 05:52 | it's not. | ||
| 116 | 05:54 | It's very real. | ||
| 117 | 05:56 | People respond to me as they would any other type of artwork. | ||
| 118 | 06:00 | Many people are fascinated and engaged. | ||
| 119 | 06:03 | Some people walk around me, staring, shy at first. | ||
| 120 | 06:07 | Then they come up to me and they say they love or absolutely hate what I do. | ||
| 121 | 06:12 | I sometimes respond, and other times I let the art talk for itself. | ||
| 122 | 06:18 | The most annoying thing in the world is when people want to touch the artwork. | ||
| 123 | 06:22 | But I understand. | ||
| 124 | 06:24 | But like a lot of contemporary art, | ||
| 125 | 06:26 | many people are dismissive. | ||
| 126 | 06:28 | Some people are critical, | ||
| 127 | 06:29 | others are abusive. | ||
| 128 | 06:31 | I think it comes from the fear of the different -- | ||
| 129 | 06:34 | the unknown. | ||
| 130 | 06:36 | There are so many reactions to what I do, | ||
| 131 | 06:38 | and I've just learned not to take them personally. | ||
| 132 | 06:42 | I've never lived as Daniel Lismore, the person. | ||
| 133 | 06:45 | I've lived as Daniel Lismore, the artwork. | ||
| 134 | 06:48 | And I've faced every obstacle as an artwork. | ||
| 135 | 06:52 | It can be hard ... | ||
| 136 | 06:54 | especially if your wardrobe takes up a 40-foot container, | ||
| 137 | 06:58 | three storage units and 30 boxes from IKEA -- | ||
| 138 | 07:01 | (Laughter) | ||
| 139 | 07:02 | and sometimes, it can be very difficult, getting into cars, | ||
| 140 | 07:06 | and sometimes -- | ||
| 141 | 07:08 | well, this morning I didn't fit through my bathroom door, | ||
| 142 | 07:10 | so that was a problem. | ||
| 143 | 07:12 | (Laughter) | ||
| 144 | 07:13 | What does it mean to be yourself? | ||
| 145 | 07:16 | People say it all the time, | ||
| 146 | 07:18 | but what does it truly mean, | ||
| 147 | 07:19 | and why does it matter? | ||
| 148 | 07:22 | How does life change when you choose to be unapologetically yourself? | ||
| 149 | 07:28 | I've had to face struggles and triumphs whilst living my life as art. | ||
| 150 | 07:32 | I've been put on private jets | ||
| 151 | 07:34 | and flown around the world. | ||
| 152 | 07:36 | My work's been displayed in prestigious museums, | ||
| 153 | 07:38 | and I've had the opportunity -- | ||
| 154 | 07:40 | that is my grandparents, by the way, | ||
| 155 | 07:43 | they're the people that raised me, | ||
| 156 | 07:44 | and there I am -- | ||
| 157 | 07:46 | (Laughs) | ||
| 158 | 07:47 | (Applause) | ||
| 159 | 07:52 | So I've been put on private jets, flown around the world, | ||
| 160 | 07:55 | and yet, it's not been that easy | ||
| 161 | 07:57 | because at times, I've been homeless, | ||
| 162 | 08:00 | I've been spat at, | ||
| 163 | 08:02 | I've been abused, sometimes daily, | ||
| 164 | 08:04 | bullied my entire life, | ||
| 165 | 08:06 | rejected by countless individuals, | ||
| 166 | 08:08 | and I've been stabbed. | ||
| 167 | 08:10 | But what hurt the most | ||
| 168 | 08:12 | was being put on the "Worst Dressed" list. | ||
| 169 | 08:14 | (Laughter) | ||
| 170 | 08:17 | It can be hard, being yourself, | ||
| 171 | 08:20 | but I've found it's the best way. | ||
| 172 | 08:21 | There's the "Worst Dressed." | ||
| 173 | 08:23 | (Laughs) | ||
| 174 | 08:25 | As the quote goes, "Everyone else is already taken." | ||
| 175 | 08:29 | I've come to realize that confidence is a concept you can choose. | ||
| 176 | 08:32 | I've come to realize that authenticity is necessary, and it's powerful. | ||
| 177 | 08:38 | I've tried to spend time being like other people. | ||
| 178 | 08:41 | It didn't work. | ||
| 179 | 08:43 | It's a lot of hard work, not being yourself. | ||
| 180 | 08:47 | I have a few questions for you all. | ||
| 181 | 08:50 | Who are you? | ||
| 182 | 08:53 | How many versions of you are there? | ||
| 183 | 08:55 | And I have one final question: | ||
| 184 | 08:59 | Are you using them all to your advantage? | ||
| 185 | 09:03 | In reality, everyone is capable of creating their own masterpiece. | ||
| 186 | 09:07 | You should try it sometime. | ||
| 187 | 09:09 | It's quite fun. | ||
| 188 | 09:11 | Thank you. | ||
| 189 | 09:12 | (Applause and cheers) |