EZCNN 易英网

The Explosive Art of Cai Guo-Qiang 爆破艺术大师──蔡国强

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

繁體中文譯本

 

A multi-prize-winning member of the global art community, Cai Guo-Qiang has managed to strike the difficult balance between being simultaneously respected by critics and admired by the public. As well as having fashion designers, architects, and scientists watching his every move, Cai can also lay claim to the second-most popular exhibit ever to hit New York’s Guggenheim Museum. His 2008 retrospective attracted over 300,000 visitors. Add to this the growing number of collectors willing to splash out big money – as much as US$9.5 million – to get their hands on Cai’s work, and it’s easy to see that this artist is hot property.

身为国际艺术界中屡屡获奖的成员，蔡国强同时受评论家尊敬也受到大众的钦佩景仰，成功地达到两者间不易取得的平衡点。除了有时尚设计师、建筑师及科学家注视着他的一举一动之外，蔡国强也拿下纽约古根汉美术馆史上第二受欢迎展览的殊荣。他2008年在该美术馆举办的个人回顾展吸引了超过30万的参观人次。此外还有越来越多的收藏家愿意花大把钞票（多达950万美金）入手蔡国强的作品显而易见地，这位当红的艺术家可是身价非凡。

 

Cai doesn’t do things by halves. The jaw-droppingly beautiful Transient Rainbow, for example, is – or was – a sublime demonstration of the fleeting side of beauty’s nature. With gunpowder the paint and the night sky the canvas, hundreds of colored explosions were launched over New York’s East River one evening in 2002. Fireworks burst across the river, reflecting off the water below, as the popping gunpowder echoed out like a military march. Post-9/11, Cai said he wanted the rainbow to be “a symbol that comes after the storm.”

蔡国强做事尽心尽力、丝毫不马虎。举例来说，《移动彩虹》这项的作品是（或曾经是）对于自然之美的稍纵即逝所做的壮丽展示，美得令人瞠目结舌。在2002年的某日傍晚，以火药做为颜料而夜空就是画布，几百次五彩缤纷的爆破在纽约的东河上方启动。烟火横跨东河施放，投映在下方的水面上，砰砰作响的火药爆破声有如军事游行般回荡。在911事件后，蔡国强表示他希望这道彩虹能成为「风暴过后的象征」。

 

It is hard to pigeonhole Cai. Other works range from his Projects for Extraterrestrials – outdoor gunpowder art which is intended to be visible from space, such as his exploring helium balloons over Hiroshima– to unbelievably extravagant fireworks displays for events like the 2008 Beijing Olympics. On a smaller scale, he exhibits drawings created from burned traces of gunpowder and installations like Head On, in which 99 life-size wolves storm towards a transparent gallery wall.

要将蔡国强归类是件棘手的事。他其他的作品范围广泛，从户外的火药艺术到令人不可思议的奢华烟火秀都有。《为外星人作的计划》目的是要让作品从外层空间就能被看见，像是在广岛点燃氦气球引爆；而他也为2008北京奥运等重大节目设计烟火秀。至于规模较小的作品，他也展出以火药燃烧痕迹所创作的火药草图，以及如《撞墙》的装置艺术作品──99只真实大小的狼朝着展览馆里一堵透明墙面冲撞过去。

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

community [kəˋmjunətɪ] n. 群落；社会

strike a balance (between something) 取得平衡 to find a satisfactory compromise between two extremes

simultaneously [saɪməlˋtenɪəslɪ] adv. 同时地

critic [ˋkrɪtɪk] n. 批评家，评论家

exhibit [ɪgˋzɪbɪt] n. 展览

collector [kəˋlɛktɚ] n. 收藏家

fleeting [ˋflitɪŋ] adj. 转瞬间的；短暂的

explosion [ɪkˋsploʒən] n. 爆发；爆炸

launch [lɔntʃ] v. 发射; 发动

reflect [rɪˋflɛkt] v. 反射；映出

range from .... to 范围从...到...

intend [ɪnˋtɛnd] v. 想要；打算

visible [ˋvɪzəb!] adj. 可看见的

scale [skel] n. 规模

transparent [trænsˋpɛrənt] adj. 透明的

 

More Information

单词发音

 

admire [ədˋmaɪr] v. 钦佩; 称赞

retrospective [͵rɛtrəˋspɛktɪv] n.〔一个艺术家各种作品的〕回顾展

lay claim to 声称是, 称得上…to assert one's right to or ownership of

splash out 挥霍; 随意花钱 to spend (money) freely or extravagantly

hot property 身价高的人，红人；抢手货 person or thing highly valued for its commercial potential

by halves 不完全地, 半心半意地, 半途而废地 in a reluctant manner; unenthusiastically

jaw-dropping [dʒɔ ˈdrɑpɪŋ] adj. 令人瞠目结舌；令人吃惊的 amazing

transient [ˈtrænziənt] adj. 短暂的；一时的；瞬间的

sublime [səˋblaɪm] adj. 壮丽的，宏伟的

pigeonhole [ˋpɪdʒən͵hol] v. 把〔某人或某活动等〕简单分类; 把…归档 sort by type, classification

extraterrestrial [ˏɛkstrətə`restrɪəl] n. 外星生物

helium [ˋhilɪəm] n. 氦

extravagant [ɪkˋstrævəgənt] adj. 奢侈的；浪费的

 

 

 

课文朗读

 

课文讲解

 

A child of the Cultural Revolution, Cai grew up at a time when artists had very little freedom of expression in China. Now reveling in his artistic liberation, he has called art “supranational,” in that it transcends cultural differences and divides. Newsweek went further when they labeled him “an intergalactic artist.”

蔡国强童年正值文化大革命时期，成长之际中国艺术家没有什么言论自由。如今他纵情于自己的艺术解放，称艺术为「超国家」，为它跨越了文化的差异与分野。《新闻周刊》更是进一步称他为「跨银河的艺术家」。

 

So, why does Cai reject conventional media for unpredictable, burning gunpowder? As legend has it, the Chinese alchemists who invented gunpowder were trying to discover the secret to immortality, hence the Chinese word translates as “fire medicine.” Cai speaks of his art as healing, with gunpowder symbolizing a chaos placed into order, and creation after destruction, as witnessed in the Transient Rainbow.

那么，蔡国强为什么舍弃传统的艺术创作材料，而选用难以捉摸的燃烧火药呢？据传，发明火药的中国炼金术士当时是想揭露长生不老的秘密，因此中文才称其为「药」。蔡国强称自己的艺术为疗伤、治愈的过程，火药象征的是混乱之后秩序重整、破坏之后创作再生，《移动彩虹》这项作品即可见证。

 

Cai has always had a close bond with Taiwan, not least because the island lies not far from his hometown in Fujian Province. The artist shares more in common with the country, such as speaking Hoklo and worshipping Mazu. Furthermore, in the aftermath of the 921 earthquake, he designed The Mark of 921 to raise money for disaster relief.

蔡国强一直都和台湾有密切的关连，尤其是因为他的家乡福建省就在我们的岛屿不远处。这位艺术家还跟台湾有其他相同处，像是他说闽南语也拜妈祖。除此之外，在921地震浩劫之后，他设计了《九二一的烙印》来为赈灾募款。

 

Now, Taipei Fine Arts Museum welcomes a Cai retrospective, “Cai Guo-Qiang: Hanging Out in the Museum,” featuring some of the artist’s best-loved works. Of particular note is Inopportune: Stage One, a car bombing represented by suspended vehicles that seem to be falling through rays of neon light. Cultural Melting Bath: Project for the 20th Century is a fascinating, interactive installation – a(n) herbal Jacuzzi in which art lovers may literally “hang out.”

台北市立美术馆现在举办「蔡国强泡美术馆」的个人回顾展，展出这位艺术家最受喜爱的一些作品。特别值得注意的是《不合时宜：舞台一》，这项作品悬挂着的车辆看似通过霓虹灯束坠落，呈现出汽车爆炸。《文化大混浴：为二十世纪作的计划》则是件迷人的互动装置艺术作品，艺术同好者可以真正地「泡」在这草药浴缸里。

 

Three new works have also been created especially for the Taipei exhibit: The Straits, Taroko Gorge, and Day and Night. Don’t miss the chance to appreciate Cai’s vision firsthand. It’s sure to be explosive!

特地为这次台北展览所打造的有三件新作：《海峡》、《游走太鲁阁》及《昼夜》。别错过欣赏蔡国强卓越想象的第一手机会，这个经验肯定会是爆炸性地精彩！

 

−by Alice Davis

 

Vocabulary

单词发音

 

revolution [͵rɛvəˋluʃən] n. 革命；造反；大变革

expression [ɪkˋsprɛʃən] n. 表达；表示; 措辞

liberation [͵lɪbəˋreʃən] n. 解放

label [ˋleb!] v. 把……称为

conventional [kənˋvɛnʃən!] adj. 传统的

unpredictable [͵ʌnprɪˋdɪktəb!] adj.〔因改变太多而〕无法预测的

hence [hɛns] adv. 因此；由此

symbolize [ˋsɪmb!͵aɪz] v. 象征

chaos [ˋkeɑs] n. 混乱；杂乱的一团（或一堆等）

destruction [dɪˋstrʌkʃən] n. 破坏；毁灭

witness [ˋwɪtnɪs] v. 目击

not least 尤其是; 特别是 above all

worship [ˋwɝʃɪp] v. 敬神，拜神

suspend [səˋspɛnd] v. 悬挂

interactive [͵ɪntɚˋæktɪv] adj. 互动的; 相互影响的

 

More Information

单词发音

 

revel [ˋrɛv! ] in 沈迷于 enjoy, relish, indulge in, delight in

supranational [͵suprəˋnæʃən!] adj.  超国家（性）的 transcending national boundaries, authority, or interests

transcend [trænˋsɛnd] v. 超越

divide [dəˋvaɪd] n. 分歧，不和

intergalactic [͵ɪntɚgəˋlæktɪk] adj. 银河间的

media [`midɪə] n. 传播媒介

alchemist [ˋælkəmɪst] n. 炼金术士

inopportune [ɪn͵ɑpɚˋtjun] adj.〔时间等〕不合适的; 不适宜的

bombing [`bɑmɪŋ] n. 爆炸 to attack, damage, or destroy with or as if with bombs

Jacuzzi [dʒəˋkuzɪ] n.【商标】〔室内〕热水漩水式浴缸

hang out（呆在某处，或与某人呆在一起）闲逛 Slang to relax completely in an unassuming way

 

 

Reading Questions

 

1. What was true of Cai’s 2008 retrospective at New York’s Guggenheim Museum?

A. It had little impact on Cai’s career.

B. It drew a significant number of visitors.

C. It was largely avoided by people in the art scene.

D. It failed to meet the Guggenheim Museum’s standard.

 

2. Which of the following best describes Cai’s approach to art?

A. It is out of the ordinary.

B. It is highly offensive.

C. It is considered traditional.

D. It is similar to that of many other artists.

 

3. What is true of Cai’s exhibit in Taipei?

A. It features a lot of fireworks.

B. The exhibit is mainly of paintings for aliens.

C. Cai is creating some installations with the audience.

D. Three new works are on display especially for the show.

 

4. What is true of Cai Guo-Qiang?

A. He prefers drawings to other kinds of art.

B. He embraces different kinds of projects.

C. He sticks to a conventional artistic formula.

D. He has little in common with people in Taiwan.

 

Read more:

Cai Guo-Qiang Studio blog

 

Cai Guo-Qian

 

 

Cai Guo-Qiang at Guggenheim Museum New York

 

 

Transient Rainbow Fireworks

 

 

Head on, 2006

 

 

 

Cai Guo-Qiang, Head On, 2006,

 

 

 

Answer

1. ( B )

2. ( A )

3. ( D )

4. ( B )