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Underwater Art 驻足海底的雕塑艺术

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When most artists complete a masterpiece, they are eager to put it on display for all the world to see. But after Englishman Jason DeCaires Taylor puts the finishing touches on one of his sculptures, he puts it in a more unusual location. Taylor is making a splash in the art world by exhibiting his best work at the bottom of the sea.

多数艺术家完成他们的大作后，为了让全世界看到，总是迫不及待地展出他们的作品。但英国艺术家杰森．泰勒为他的雕像刻下最后一笔之后，他却将之放置于一处较为奇特的地点。泰勒在海底展出他最出色的作品，引起艺术界一阵轰动。

Taylor fell in love with the ocean as a boy, when he spent hours scuba diving and exploring the coral reefs of Malaysia. So it’s no surprise that underwater naturalism and conservation became key themes in his work as an artist. In May 2006, Taylor created the world’s first underwater sculpture park in Grenada. In addition to carving all of the 65 cement sculptures, Taylor also supervised their placement, as cranes lowered them into the Caribbean Sea.

泰勒还是个小男孩时，便花许多时间去水肺潜水、探索马来西亚的珊瑚礁，爱上了海洋。因此，水底世界的自然主义和保护成为他艺术品的主题并不令人意外。2006年5月，泰勒在格瑞那达创建了世界第一座水中雕像公园。除了亲手雕刻全部的65座水泥雕像之外，泰勒更监督了放置作业，看着起重机将一座座雕像置入加勒比海中。

Many of Taylor’s sculptures are of people striking casual poses. He chose humans as his subject because he wants to show that “…. human intervention or interaction with nature can be positive and sustainable.” To ensure that he doesn’t disturb any fish or pollute the ecosystem, Taylor makes his sculptures from sand, micro-silica, and marine-grade cement.

泰勒有许了雕像都是人们自然摆出的姿势。他选择人类作为创作题材是希望能告诉大众「人类介入自然或与其互动能够是正向且永续发展的。」为了确保他不会影响到鱼群生活或污染生态系统，泰勒使用沙粒、硅灰和海洋工程用水泥作为他的创作材料。

Taylor’s latest project, an underwater museum called MUSA, was completed in 2009 in the waters surrounding Cancun, Mexico. It features 403 life-sized sculptures which are placed to draw visitors away from natural reefs, thereby, aiding their recovery. Although Taylor’s attempt to bring humans and nature closer together is just a drop in the ocean, his work is undeniably making waves.

泰勒的最新作品是名为MUSA的海底博物馆，于2009年完成，座落于墨西哥的坎昆周遭海域。该博物馆以403座仿真人大小的雕像为特色，目的是引开前往自然珊瑚礁群的游客，藉此帮助珊瑚礁的复原。尽管泰勒为拉近人们与自然之间的距离所做的努力仅是沧海一粟，但无庸置疑地，他的作品正掀起波澜。

－by Jamie Blackler

Vocabulary

单词发音

sculpture [ˋskʌlptʃɚ] n. 塑像；雕刻品

location [loˋkeʃən] n. 位置，场所

theme [θim] n. 主题

supervise [ˋsupɚvaɪz] v. 监督；管理

interaction [͵ɪntəˋrækʃən] n. 互动

sustainable [səˋstenəb!] adj. 永续；可持续的

disturb [dɪsˋtɝb] v. 打扰，妨碍

pollute [pəˋlut] v. 污染

More information

单词发音

naturalism [ˋnætʃərəlɪzəm] n. 自然主义 the goal of artists who attempt to represent a subject without stylization or interpretation, and to create a mirror for natural beauty

conservation [͵kɑnsɚˋveʃən] n. 对自然环境的保护

Grenada [grəˋnedə]  n. 格林纳达（拉丁美洲岛国）

cement [sɪˋmɛnt] n. 水泥

crane [kren] n. 吊车，起重机

intervention [͵ɪntɚˋvɛnʃən] n. 介入，干涉，干预；

ecosystem [ˋɛko͵sɪstəm] n. <生>生态系统

silica [ˋsɪlɪkə] n. 硅石，二氧化硅

Cancun [kæn'kun] n. 坎昆（城市名）位于墨西哥

life-sized [ˋlaɪfˋsaɪzd] adj. (= life-size) 与原物一样大小的 being of the same size as an original

undeniably [͵ʌndɪˋnaɪəb!ɪ] adv. 不可否认地，无可辩争地

idiom

片语发音

put the finishing touches on 做最后的程序、调整 add the final improvements to something so that you are satisfied with it or certain that it is complete

make a splash 引起轰动 to get a lot of public attention

strike a pose 摆姿势 to position oneself in a certain posture

a drop in the ocean 数量很少的某物 a very small amount in comparison to the amount that is needed

make waves 造成骚动  to shock or upset people with something new or different

Reading Questions

1.   What makes Taylor different from most other sculptors?

(A)  He is one of the few artists who love scuba diving.

(B)  He chooses to show his work in a unique location.

(C)  He is the only artist who handles his own marketing.

(D)  He creates his work using many unusual techniques.

2.    Which of the following statements about Taylor’s work is NOT true?

(A)  Taylor first became interested in the sea as a child.

(B)  Many of his sculptures are of people doing ordinary things.

(C)  Taylor makes his sculptures using environmentally-friendly materials.

(D)  Taylor created the first underwater museum in Cancun, Mexico.

3.    What does the last sentence in the final paragraph suggest?

(A)  Taylor will be more influential in the future.

(B)  Taylor’s work has been copied many times.

(C)  Taylor’s work is best appreciated from above the ocean.

(D)  Taylor’s career has already reached its peak.

Human Nature by Jason deCaires Taylor Official Channel 

Cancun MUSA Underwater Museum

Answer