VOA文化艺术2024--France's 'Invader' Could Surprise Olympic Games Visitors

France's 'Invader¹' Could Surprise Olympic Games Visitors

　　When visitors come to Paris for the Olympic Games starting in July, they will be entering the territory of France's most famous street artist: "Invader." It will be one invasion coming face-to-face with another.

　　Like Banksy, the British street artist he is sometimes compared to, Invader does not want his identity to be publicly known.

　　Sometimes working close to the edge of illegality, Invader comes, does his art, and disappears into the night. He leaves behind mosaics³ made mostly with small ceramic⁴ and glass tiles.

　　Many of the mosaics look like the aliens from the Space Invaders⁵ video game. Others are very complex portrayals⁷ of fruit or, in New York, of Lou Reed and Andy Warhol.

　　Some of his artworks come from popular culture, including Spiderman, Star Wars, Bugs⁸ Bunny, Ninja Turtles, pizza and others. Some artworks suggest deep research, including a portrait of guitarist Django Reinhardt facing the house where he lived, south of Paris in Samois-sur-Seine.

　　Since the first recorded mosaic² of a blue Space Invader went up on a Paris street in 1998, numbered PA_01, Invader has taken over the world. There are now more than 4,000 of his mosaics in cities and towns on all continents except Antarctica.

　　London, Tokyo, Los Angeles and other cities were invaded in 1999; New York and Geneva and more in 2000; Hong Kong in 2001; Berlin, Bangkok, Melbourne. On and on.

　　The 4,000th mosaic was glued to a brick wall in Potosi, 4,000 meters up in the Bolivian Andes, in 2021. The European Space Agency installed Invader's Space2 mosaic aboard the International Space Station in 2015.

　　"‘Anytime, Anywhere' is the philosophy," Invader says on his website.

　　In Paris — by far his most invaded area — the artist's footprint is larger than ever as the Olympics draw closer.

　　A new public showing in a multi-story building has one of his works on its roof, visible via satellite on Google Maps. With a telescope, the show's visitors can also look across Paris to Invader's 1,500th mosaic in the city and surrounding areas.

　　Announced in February, PA_1500 is glued outside a chimney of the Pompidou Center. Unlike many of his other artworks, Invader got the center's permission to put the red-and-white Space Invader alien into place.

　　"It's a symbol. It's number 1,500. It's Paris," said Alexandre Aumis, the building's security director. He added, "It's got to be here."

　　Some of those who know Invader say they are expecting him to spring more surprises for the Olympics, perhaps installing new mosaics related to the Games.

　　Fabrice Bousteau is the editor of Beaux Arts Magazine. He said, "The invasion is the 15 million people who are going to arrive in Paris for the Olympic Games. It's a lot. Obviously, there will be Invader fans among them."

　　Bousteau, who also directed Invader's latest public showing, added, "So there will be this meeting between two cultures...He will doubtless invade the Games in a different way. I am almost certain."

　　Words in This Story

　　mosaic – n. a kind of art made by pressing small pieces of colored glass or stone into a soft material

　　tile – n. a flat piece of material that is used for covering walls, floors, etc.

　　portrayal⁶ -- n. the act of showing someone or something especially in a painting

　　glue -- v. to make (something) stick to something else by using glue

　　chimney – n. the part of a building that sticks up above the roof

　　symbol -- n. an object that expresses or represents a particular idea

　　editor -- n. a person whose job is to edit something

1 invader   

n.侵略者，侵犯者，入侵者

参考例句：

• They suffered a lot under the invader's heel.在侵略者的铁蹄下，他们受尽了奴役。
• A country must have the will to repel any invader.一个国家得有决心击退任何入侵者。

2 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

3 mosaics   

n.马赛克( mosaic的名词复数 )；镶嵌；镶嵌工艺；镶嵌图案

参考例句：

• The panel shows marked similarities with mosaics found elsewhere. 这块嵌板和在其他地方找到的镶嵌图案有明显的相似之处。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The unsullied and shining floor was paved with white mosaics. 干净明亮的地上镶嵌着白色图案。 来自辞典例句

4 ceramic   

n.制陶业，陶器，陶瓷工艺

参考例句：

• The order for ceramic tiles has been booked in.瓷砖的订单已登记下来了。
• Some ceramic works of art are shown in this exhibition.这次展览会上展出了一些陶瓷艺术品。

5 invaders   

入侵者，侵略者，侵入物( invader的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They prepared to repel the invaders. 他们准备赶走侵略军。
• The family has traced its ancestry to the Norman invaders. 这个家族将自己的世系追溯到诺曼征服者。

6 portrayal   

n.饰演；描画

参考例句：

• His novel is a vivid portrayal of life in a mining community.他的小说生动地描绘了矿区的生活。
• The portrayal of the characters in the novel is lifelike.该书中的人物写得有血有肉。

7 portrayals   

n.画像( portrayal的名词复数 )；描述；描写；描摹

参考例句：

• And painters alluded to her eroticism in their bare breasted portrayals of the dying queen. 画家们把她描绘为裸胸垂死的贪欲的女王。 来自互联网

8 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》