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VOA慢速英语2010年-THIS IS AMERICA - Two Art Exhibits in

时间:2010-04-01 06:21来源:互联网 提供网友:beiju   字体: [ ]
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VOICE ONE:

Welcome to THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English. I'm Steve Ember.

VOICE TWO:

And I'm Barbara Klein. Today we visit two art exhibits in Washington, D.C. that tell about life in America during two different periods. "1934: A New Deal for Artists" tells about a government- supported art program started during the economic period known as the Great Depression. The exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum shows paintings made during this period.

At the National Gallery of Art, visitors can see black and white photographs taken by Robert Frank during the nineteen fifties. All eighty-three photographs from his famous book "The Americans" have been grouped together for the exhibit.

(MUSIC)

VOICE ONE:

"Baseball at Night" by Morris Kantor

In nineteen thirty-four, Americans were living through a severe economic crisis1. The administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt created a federal arts program as part of an effort to improve the economy. The Public Works of Art Program was the first national effort by the United States government to support artists.

The program was important because it helped provide work for more than three thousand seven hundred professional artists who were unemployed2. They created more than fifteen thousand paintings and sculptures designed to lift the spirits of Americans during a difficult time. The art was placed in schools, libraries, museums, post offices and government offices around the country.

VOICE TWO:

Artists taking part in this program were asked to create works that showed "the American Scene."

A detail of Ray Strong's painting "Golden Gate Bridge"

The Smithsonian's show includes fifty-six public works paintings. They are organized by different subjects such as Nature, Leisure, Industry, and the City. They show natural beauty, city life and Americans at work and play.

For example, an artist named Ray Strong created a large painting called the "Golden Gate Bridge." It shows this huge bridge in San Francisco while it was being built. President Roosevelt had this painting hung in the White House as a celebration of American art and engineering. Mister Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor chose a total of thirty-two Public Works of Art Project paintings to be displayed in the presidential home.

VOICE ONE:

Some paintings show how Americans had fun. For example, Morris Kantor painted "Baseball at Night." You might guess from the title that the painting shows people enjoying a baseball game at night. In nineteen thirty-four it was still rare to have lighting3 in a baseball field.

In Julia Eckel's painting "Radio Broadcast" a group of actors and musicians gather around a large radio microphone. You can almost hear the lively radio theater program they were broadcasting.

VOICE TWO:

"Coal Tower" by Max Arthur Cohn

Several paintings in the exhibit show Americans working. Max Arthur Cohn's painting "Coal Tower" shows the dark form of a coal tower against a light sky. Under the building, a boat is delivering coal that will help power the city of New York.

"Gold is Where you Find It" by Tyrone Comfort shows a man deep inside a gold mine. The muscular4 man is working hard to control a powerful drill that is cutting through the rock that surrounds him.

VOICE ONE:

The Public Works of Art Program only lasted six months. But it led to the development of another art program called the Works Progress Administration's Federal Art Project. The paintings in this exhibit tell an important story about American life during the nineteen thirties. And, the exhibit is especially meaningful during today's economic crisis. It shows the results of a creative government program.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

In nineteen fifty-eight, the Swiss-born photographer Robert Frank published a book of eighty-three photographs called "The Americans."

It was first published in France. A year later, the book was published in the United States. This book is widely considered one of the most important books of photographs published since World War Two.

"The Americans" shows the country and its people in a boldly honest way. Robert Frank showed the effects of racism5, social inequality and poverty. But he also showed a beautiful side of America's people and places. The book was revolutionary for the inventive style of taking photographs that show immediacy and emotional honesty. "The Americans" was also different from other photography books because Frank organized the images according to similar emotions, forms or subjects.

VOICE ONE:

''Parade-Hoboken, New Jersey,'' by Robert Frank, the first photograph in ''The Americans.''

To create his book, Frank traveled across more than thirty American states for nine months starting in nineteen fifty-six. He took more than twenty-seven thousand pictures. He spent another year choosing the best pictures and placing them in a meaningful order.

Frank asked his new friend, the American writer Jack6 Kerouac, to write the introduction to his book of photographs. Kerouac had just published his own book, "On the Road." Kerouac correctly predicted that Frank would be praised as a great artist.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

At the National Gallery exhibit, "The Americans" is divided into four parts. Each part shows a different side of American culture. Each begins with a photograph that includes an American flag.

A detail from "Charleston, South Carolina" in Robert Frank's "The Americans"

In one photograph called "Charleston, South Carolina," an African-American woman holds a white baby. Frank shows the woman's dark skin next to the baby's light skin. You can see the wisdom and experience in her face, which is very different from the baby's wondering expression. Here Frank plays with contrasts, or opposing elements, as he does in many photographs.

The next photograph in the series shows a diner restaurant in Hollywood, California. Frank captures the tired and unhappy face of a server. Above her head is an advertisement with the smiling face of Santa Claus.

VOICE ONE:

"Trolley7-New Orleans" shows a close-up image of people on a public transportation vehicle. Frank frames the photograph so that you mainly see the people looking out the windows of the trolley. There are white people in the front and black people in the back. This is a powerful image about racial separation in society at that time.

Robert Frank took the picture a few days after he was arrested and detained8 in the southern state of Arkansas. A policeman detained and threatened him because he was a foreigner driving a car from another state. Frank experienced for himself the discrimination that was present in his picture of New Orleans.

VOICE TWO:

National Gallery curator Sarah Greenough organized this show. Here she talks about a different section of the exhibit.

SARAH GREENOUGH: "Frank shifts his focus slightly from the American people to the physical character of the spaces they have constructed for themselves. In his photographs of gas stations, diners and cemeteries9 he found a beauty so simple but commonplace10 it was often overlooked11, so unspeakably true but poignant12 it was rarely acknowledged13."

VOICE ONE:

In "U.S. 285, New Mexico" Frank photographed the dividing mark on a highway. The road seems to go on forever into the far horizon. Jack Kerouac described the image as a "long shot of night road arrowing forlorn into immensities."

Two images are all the more striking14 because they are placed next to each other. "Covered Car -- Long Beach, California" shows a car covered with a large cloth for protection. It sits under two large palm trees. The next photo, "Car Accident -- U.S. 66, Between Winslow and Flagstaff, Arizona," shows a body on the side of the road that is also covered with a cloth. Four people stand sadly near the body.

VOICE TWO:

"Rodeo-New York City" in Robert Frank's "The Americans"

In "Rodeo -- New York City" Robert Frank pictures a thin cowboy bending his head to light his cigarette. Because of his clothing, you might expect the cowboy to be in a rural environment with a horse nearby. But the image is surprising because he is standing15 on a crowded street in New York City.

VOICE ONE:

The last photograph in "The Americans" is one Robert Frank took of his car. His family members sit inside the car looking very tired. The image reminds us about the man behind this extraordinary collection of images and the effort required of him, his wife and two young children to make this project.

VOICE TWO:

Robert Frank once made this comment about his work: "I am always looking outside, trying to look inside, trying to say something that is true. But maybe nothing is really true. Except what is out there. And what's out there is constantly changing."

VOICE ONE:

The truth and energy Robert Frank captured in "The Americans" make the photographs as fresh today as they were fifty years ago.

(MUSIC)

VOICE TWO:

This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I'm Barbara Klein.

VOICE ONE:

And I'm Steve Ember. You can see pictures of art from these two exhibits on our Web site, voaspecialenglish.com. Join us again next week for THIS IS AMERICA in VOA Special English.

 


点击收听单词发音收听单词发音  

1 crisis pzJxT     
n.危机,危急关头,决定性时刻,关键阶段
参考例句:
  • He had proved that he could be relied on in a crisis.他已表明,在紧要关头他是可以信赖的。
  • The topic today centers about the crisis in the Middle East.今天课题的中心是中东危机。
2 unemployed lfIz5Q     
adj.失业的,没有工作的;未动用的,闲置的
参考例句:
  • There are now over four million unemployed workers in this country.这个国家现有四百万失业人员。
  • The unemployed hunger for jobs.失业者渴望得到工作。
3 lighting CpszPL     
n.照明,光线的明暗,舞台灯光
参考例句:
  • The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
  • The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。
4 muscular l1qyK     
adj.肌肉发达的,强壮的,(有关)肌(肉)的
参考例句:
  • He is a muscular young man.他是个健壮的年轻人。
  • The player is tall and muscular.那名运动员身高力大。
5 racism pSIxZ     
n.民族主义;种族歧视(意识)
参考例句:
  • He said that racism is endemic in this country.他说种族主义在该国很普遍。
  • Racism causes political instability and violence.种族主义道致政治动荡和暴力事件。
6 jack 53Hxp     
n.插座,千斤顶,男人;v.抬起,提醒,扛举;n.(Jake)杰克
参考例句:
  • I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
  • He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。
7 trolley YUjzG     
n.手推车,台车;无轨电车;有轨电车
参考例句:
  • The waiter had brought the sweet trolley.侍者已经推来了甜食推车。
  • In a library,books are moved on a trolley.在图书馆,书籍是放在台车上搬动的。
8 detained 089dd94a2e55e791cd991d463a5a5ffc     
留住( detain的过去式和过去分词 ); 耽搁; 拘留; 扣留
参考例句:
  • One man has been detained for questioning. 一个男人被拘留审问。
  • He was kidnapped and briefly detained by a terrorist group. 他被一个恐怖组织绑架并短暂拘禁。
9 cemeteries 4418ae69fd74a98b3e6957ca2df1f686     
n.(非教堂的)墓地,公墓( cemetery的名词复数 )
参考例句:
  • It's morbid to dwell on cemeteries and such like. 不厌其烦地谈论墓地以及诸如此类的事是一种病态。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • In other districts the proximity of cemeteries seemed to aggravate the disease. 在其它地区里,邻近墓地的地方,时疫大概都要严重些。 来自辞典例句
10 commonplace RXfyq     
adj.平凡的,普通的;n.寻常的事物,常见的事
参考例句:
  • Soon it will be commonplace for men to travel to the moon.人们去月球旅行很快就会成为常事。
  • What he has said is a mere commonplace view.他所说的不过是尘俗之见而已。
11 overlooked 65e0991d3d278eaae9d2c15d7b01c40a     
v.忽视( overlook的过去式和过去分词 );监督;俯视;(对不良现象等)不予理会
参考例句:
  • He seems to have overlooked one important fact. 他好像忽略了一个重要的事实。
  • This is a minor point, but it must not be overlooked. 此事虽小,然亦不可忽视。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》
12 poignant FB1yu     
adj.令人痛苦的,辛酸的,惨痛的
参考例句:
  • His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
  • It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了,这尤其令人悲恸。
13 acknowledged acknowledged     
adj.公认的v.承认( acknowledge的过去式和过去分词 );鸣谢;对…打招呼;告知已收到
参考例句:
  • He acknowledged publicly that he might have made a mistake. 他当众承认自己可能犯了个错误。 来自《简明英汉词典》
  • The police acknowledged that three police vehicles were damaged. 警方承认有三辆警车被毁。 来自《简明英汉词典》
14 striking PhbzAL     
adj.显著的,惹人注目的,容貌出众的
参考例句:
  • There is a striking difference between Jane and Mary.简和玛丽之间有显著的差异。
  • What is immediately striking is how resourceful the children are.最令人注目的是孩子们的机智聪明。
15 standing 2hCzgo     
n.持续,地位;adj.永久的,不动的,直立的,不流动的
参考例句:
  • After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
  • They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。
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TAG标签:   VOA慢速英语  photograph  photograph
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