艺术家在史密森尼工艺展上表现出对环境的关注

Artists Show Concern for Environment at Smithsonian Craft Show

The United Nations says more than one million plant and animal species¹ are likely to die out because of human activity. That threat to the environment and concerns about climate change influenced people attending the Smithsonian Craft Show last month.

The show recognized artists who are creating environmentally sustainable work.

The Smithsonian Women’s Committee is made up of volunteers from the Washington, D.C. area. JoAnn Symons is the group’s president.

“In recent years, we've noticed that the artists in our shows have been working with more renewable materials and methods that are environmentally safe. So we’ve decided² that we would reward those efforts by offering a Sustainability Award every year at our show.”

At the show last month, 120 artists from across the United States presented works of art in 12 different media or materials. They included glass, wood and objects made from animal skin.

Twenty-one artists met the requirements for sustainability. By doing so, they won the right to compete for the Honoring the Future? Sustainability Award. The winner received a prize of $1,000.

Michigan woodworker John Guertin is one of the 21 artists. He makes birdhouses with wood he recovers from old barns, after the buildings have fallen into disrepair.

“If you can use recycled material from old sources to bring new generations of birds into the world -- and other creatures -- it makes a wonderful statement about our purpose in the world, that we don’t just exploit it, but rather we give something back.”

Guertin’s creations³ include birdhouses for owls⁴ and even bats. Some look like real buildings, including one created for the Mission San Luis Rey Museum in Oceanside, California. Guertin said he once made a birdhouse for the daughter of former United States president Gerald Ford⁵.

Nashville, Tennessee artist Tim Arnold creates wooden boxes similar to those made by a religious group: the Shakers. The group’s members were known for making simple, well-built chairs and other furniture.

Arnold says he tries to honor that centuries old tradition, but at the same time give his artwork a personal touch. He often adds interesting, often unusual objects to the tops of his boxes. For example, one box for needlework has a pair of magnetized scissors on top of it. He also uses unusual materials, such as copper⁶ and animal skins.

Mary Jaeger creates her works of art in a nearly 100-year-old factory building in Brooklyn, New York. She makes artwork that can be worn as clothing. It combines the time-honored qualities of Japanese textiles with modern Western designs.

Jaeger won the “Honoring the Future? Sustainability Award” for her silk creations. She makes them by hand, combining earlier projects with leftover⁷, repurposed materials.

The artist said, “When I look at these beautiful silks that I've acquired over the years of designing, I wanted to repurpose them into something that was truly beautiful, but completely different than the original product...”

Fran Dubrowski heads Honoring the Future, the nonprofit organization that provided the sustainability award. She said the group was set up “to harness the power of art to educate and engage the public on climate change.”

She added, “We’re trying to encourage the craft artist to really discuss sustainability with the visitors to their show, not just practice it at home.”

I’m Jonathan Evans.

Words in This Story

bat – n. an animal that has wings and a furry⁸ body like a mouse

exploit – v. to get value or use from something; to use someone or something in a way that helps you unfairly

harness – v. to use something for a particular purpose

practice – v. to do something again and again in order to become better at it

recycled – n. something that has been used before

silk – n. a smooth, soft, and shiny cloth that is made from thread produced by silkworms

sustainable – adj. able to be used without being completely used up or destroyed

textiles – n. fabric; cloth

1 species   

n.物种，种群

参考例句：

• Are we the only thinking species in the whole of creation?我们是万物中惟一有思想的物种吗？
• This species of bird now exists only in Africa.这种鸟现在只存在于非洲。

2 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

3 creations   

创造( creation的名词复数 )； 创造物； （尤指所述由上帝）创造天地； 宇宙

参考例句：

• This artist's creations are worth collecting. 这个艺术家的作品值得收藏。
• The intellectual creations of individual nations become common property. 各民族的精神产品成了公共的财产。 来自英汉非文学 - 共产党宣言

4 owls   

n.猫头鹰( owl的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• 'Clumsy fellows,'said I; 'they must still be drunk as owls.' “这些笨蛋，”我说，“他们大概还醉得像死猪一样。” 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• The great majority of barn owls are reared in captivity. 大多数仓鸮都是笼养的。 来自辞典例句

5 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。

6 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

7 leftover   

n.剩货，残留物，剩饭；adj.残余的

参考例句：

• These narrow roads are a leftover from the days of horse-drawn carriages.这些小道是从马车时代沿用下来的。
• Wonder if that bakery lets us take leftover home.不知道那家糕饼店会不会让我们把卖剩的带回家。

8 furry   

adj.毛皮的；似毛皮的；毛皮制的

参考例句：

• This furry material will make a warm coat for the winter.这件毛皮料在冬天会是一件保暖的大衣。
• Mugsy is a big furry brown dog,who wiggles when she is happy.马格斯是一只棕色大长毛狗，当她高兴得时候她会摇尾巴。