美国国家公共电台 NPR--The Smithsonian shines a light on designer and sculptor Maya Lin

The Smithsonian shines a light on designer and sculptor¹ Maya Lin

Transcript²

STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:

When the Smithsonian's National Portrait Gallery gives an exhibition on some famous person's life, it's usually a posthumous³ honor. That's how it was for Sylvia Plath, Frederick Douglass and Martin Luther King. The museum's latest subject is alive to see it. NPR's Chloe Veltman explores the show on Maya Lin.

CHLOE VELTMAN, BYLINE⁴: Maya Lin doesn't much like being under the spotlight⁵.

MAYA LIN: I've always sort of felt my works are public, but I'm not.

VELTMAN: Her works include the Civil Rights Memorial in Alabama, the Langston Hughes Library in Tennessee, and "What Is Missing?," the massive ongoing⁶ environmental activism project she launched in 2009. Lin is 63 now, but her desire to keep her private life to herself dates back at least to her early 20s. She was still an undergraduate at Yale in 1981 when her sleek⁷, understated design in black granite⁸ for the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial beat out more than 1,400 other submissions¹⁰ and sparked a pitiless backlash. Footage from a U.S. Fine Arts Commission meeting in 1981 shows Vietnam vet⁹ Tom Carhart sounding off from the podium.

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TOM CARHART: One needs no artistic¹¹ education to see this memorial design for what it is - a black scar.

VELTMAN: When the camera pans to close-ups of Lin, you can see the then-21-year-old daughter of Chinese immigrants trying to maintain a brave face.

LIN: Part of the controversy¹² was my age, my race, my gender¹³. It's like - it was really unpleasant.

VELTMAN: So it took quite a bit of persuading to get the artist to agree to this first-ever exhibition focusing on her life. Curator Dorothy Moss¹⁴ made the case.

DOROTHY MOSS: And I said, this is the Smithsonian. We have a lot of school groups who come through. And the story of your persistence¹⁵ and resilience is one that would inspire young people. And so she agreed.

VELTMAN: The exhibition traces Lin's life from her idyllic¹⁶ Ohio childhood through her work on the many buildings and public art projects she's designed all over the world, to accolades¹⁷ like earning the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2016.

(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTSTEPS)

VELTMAN: It also offers visitors a glimpse into that private life. There's the gray brimmed wool hat Lin wore when she was going through the Vietnam Veterans' Memorial mess.

MOSS: And the reason why she liked to wear it around was to hide her eyes from the press.

VELTMAN: Then there's the glass case with a pair of tiny, frolicking deer crafted by the artist out of silver. They reflect her lifelong love of the natural world.

MOSS: They're so animated¹⁸. She made these when she was a high school student.

VELTMAN: On a recent morning, students visiting the National Portrait Gallery's "One Life: Maya Lin" show jot¹⁹ down memories of favorite places now lost to environmental destruction. They attach them to a large vinyl map on the wall, which is part of "What Is Missing?," Lin's multifaceted climate change project

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #1: In New Hampshire, there's a lake called Forest Lake. And currently, a major landfill company is trying to build a landfill right next to it.

UNIDENTIFIED PERSON #2: In my grandfather's town in Spain, there was a fire this summer that led to a lot of the wildlife and farms to be lost.

VELTMAN: Maya Lin says the best way to inspire people to action is through this kind of empathy.

LIN: We hear, we read, we understand - it's a little abstract. How do we make it personal? Because I think you have to, in the end, communicate not just the facts, but you have to get people to feel.

VELTMAN: Lin says she likes what the National Portrait Gallery has done with this biographical show, though she's still a bit squeamish about being the center of attention.

LIN: I was happy with the show. I mean, I was embarrassed. I mean, I was a little, like, mortified²⁰ by it.

VELTMAN: Maya Lin might never get truly used to living in the public eye, but her works continue to grab the public's attention and, she hopes, the public's activism, too.

Chloe Veltman, NPR News.

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1 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 posthumous   

adj.遗腹的；父亡后出生的；死后的，身后的

参考例句：

• He received a posthumous award for bravery.他表现勇敢，死后受到了嘉奖。
• The legendary actor received a posthumous achievement award.这位传奇男星在过世后获得终身成就奖的肯定。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

6 ongoing   

adj.进行中的，前进的

参考例句：

• The problem is ongoing.这个问题尚未解决。
• The issues raised in the report relate directly to Age Concern's ongoing work in this area.报告中提出的问题与“关心老人”组织在这方面正在做的工作有直接的关系。

7 sleek   

adj.光滑的，井然有序的；v.使光滑，梳拢

参考例句：

• Women preferred sleek,shiny hair with little decoration.女士们更喜欢略加修饰的光滑闪亮型秀发。
• The horse's coat was sleek and glossy.这匹马全身润泽有光。

8 granite   

adj.花岗岩，花岗石

参考例句：

• They squared a block of granite.他们把一块花岗岩加工成四方形。
• The granite overlies the older rocks.花岗岩躺在磨损的岩石上面。

9 vet   

n.兽医，退役军人；vt.检查

参考例句：

• I took my dog to the vet.我把狗带到兽医诊所看病。
• Someone should vet this report before it goes out.这篇报道发表之前应该有人对它进行详查。

10 submissions   

n.提交( submission的名词复数 )；屈从；归顺；向法官或陪审团提出的意见或论据

参考例句：

• The deadline for submissions to the competition will be Easter 1994. 递交参赛申请的截止时间为1994年的复活节。 来自辞典例句
• Section 556(d) allows the agency to substitute written submissions for oral direct testimony in rulemaking. 第五百五十六条第（四）款准允行政机关在规则制定中用书面提交材料替代口头的直接证言。 来自英汉非文学 - 行政法

11 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

12 controversy   

n.争论，辩论，争吵

参考例句：

• That is a fact beyond controversy.那是一个无可争论的事实。
• We ran the risk of becoming the butt of every controversy.我们要冒使自己在所有的纷争中都成为众矢之的的风险。

13 gender   

n.（生理上的）性，（名词、代词等的）性

参考例句：

• French differs from English in having gender for all nouns.法语不同于英语，所有的名词都有性。
• Women are sometimes denied opportunities solely because of their gender.妇女有时仅仅因为性别而无法获得种种机会。

14 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

15 persistence   

n.坚持，持续，存留

参考例句：

• The persistence of a cough in his daughter puzzled him.他女儿持续的咳嗽把他难住了。
• He achieved success through dogged persistence.他靠着坚持不懈取得了成功。

16 idyllic   

adj.质朴宜人的，田园风光的

参考例句：

• These scenes had an idyllic air.这种情景多少有点田园气氛。
• Many people living in big cities yearn for an idyllic country life.现在的很多都市人向往那种田园化的生活。

17 accolades   

n.（连结几行谱表的）连谱号( accolade的名词复数 )；嘉奖；（窗、门上方的）桃尖拱形线脚；册封爵士的仪式（用剑面在肩上轻拍一下）

参考例句：

• Unlike other accolades for literature which tend to value style or experimentation. 有别于其他偏重风格活实验性的文学奖项。 来自互联网
• Build your trophy room while amassing awards and accolades. 建立您的奖杯积累奖项和荣誉。 来自互联网

18 animated   

adj.生气勃勃的，活跃的，愉快的

参考例句：

• His observations gave rise to an animated and lively discussion.他的言论引起了一场气氛热烈而活跃的讨论。
• We had an animated discussion over current events last evening.昨天晚上我们热烈地讨论时事。

19 jot   

n.少量；vi.草草记下；vt.匆匆写下

参考例句：

• I'll jot down their address before I forget it.我得赶快把他们的地址写下来，免得忘了。
• There is not a jot of evidence to say it does them any good.没有丝毫的证据显示这对他们有任何好处。

20 mortified   

v.使受辱( mortify的过去式和过去分词 )；伤害（人的感情）；克制；抑制（肉体、情感等）

参考例句：

• She was mortified to realize he had heard every word she said. 她意识到自己的每句话都被他听到了，直羞得无地自容。
• The knowledge of future evils mortified the present felicities. 对未来苦难的了解压抑了目前的喜悦。 来自《简明英汉词典》