2007年VOA标准英语-Art Exhibit Challenges Societal Notion of Beaut

By Wang Yiru
New York City
24 April 2007
 

Western culture is fascinated with celebrity¹ and beauty, where being thin is often equated² with being attractive.  The mass media and fashion industry often perpetuate³ this myth. But a controversial ban on underweight models during Madrid's Fashion Week has led many to wonder when is thin too thin? A recent art exhibit in New York City entitled "Dangerous Beauty" took a reflective look at society's ideal of beauty.  For producer Wang Yiru, Elaine Lu has the story.

Dangerous Beauty, an exhibition at the Chelsea Art Museum in New York, set out to challenge society's notion of beauty. Visitors were confronted with Jacob Dahlgren's bathroom scale as they walked into the exhibition.

Curator Manon Slome says the purpose of the exhibit was to create a little anxiety for the audience. "People are scared to be weighed in public and that's why I want to have this at the beginning of the show to create a sense of anxiety which I feel is the result of the beauty industry."

Manon Slome, curator, describes straightjacket

The works on display come from a variety of media: painting, sculpture, photography, and video and were intended to provoke, shock and ultimately challenge visitors.

Tom Sanford's oil and acrylic on wood captures the celebrity anorexia⁴ phenomenon.

Joshua Neustein's video records the extreme diet of one very thin model.

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Documentation of a forehead implant

Orlan's photographs chronicle her famous 40 days of forehead implant surgery. 

Daniella Dooling's video, "Whirling," played while the straitjacket she wore – covered in artificial fingernails – was displayed. 

"What you see is a straight jacket in an institution that a person is bound with, and it's covered with 10,00 acrylic fingernails,” explains Slome. “It's interesting because the piece is called Camisole.  And a camisole is a Victorian age feminine undergarment. Sort of a disconnection between the title of the piece and the reality of the piece creates this underpinning⁶ of different constraints⁷ of what binds⁸ women."

Curator Slome says the exhibit tried to shatter those perceptions. "Dangerous Beauty was about, because I think people hurt themselves both emotionally and physically⁹ trying to attain¹⁰ to this unrealistic standard of beauty, particularly in this post-feminist era, why have we backslided into this very stereotypical¹¹ notion of beauty. "

Many visitors, like Elizabeth Beahm, appreciate that message..

"What this exhibit has done, for me, is make me feel much more comfortable with who I am and how my body looks,” she says. “It's OK to be older, to have lines in your face, to have a little belly¹². I don't want to look like any of these women or manikins."

Not all models starve themselves in their pursuit of beauty.

"I've always been very active, I go to the gym, take kick-boxing two nights a week,” says Hadis, a model. “I love to run on the weekends. I have a house on Pennsylvania, I usually do [run] six miles a day, and stay very active. Dieting is not for me. I can't do it."

"There are always certain clients for certain types of girls,” adds another model, Schilling. “You will find your clients and who you can work with, being however you look. If not, maybe you need to do something else because I don't think it's important to harm yourself for anything."

1 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

2 equated   

adj.换算的v.认为某事物（与另一事物）相等或相仿( equate的过去式和过去分词 )；相当于；等于；把（一事物） 和（另一事物）等同看待

参考例句：

• Production costs for the movie equated to around 30% of income. 这部电影的制作成本相当于收益的30%。
• Politics cannot be equated with art. 政治不能同艺术等同起来。

3 perpetuate   

v.使永存，使永记不忘

参考例句：

• This monument was built to perpetuate the memory of the national hero.这个纪念碑建造的意义在于纪念民族英雄永垂不朽。
• We must perpetuate the system.我们必须将此制度永久保持。

4 anorexia   

n.厌食症

参考例句：

• Anorexia can creep up on young girls when they least expect it.年轻女子可能在最没有防备的情況下患上厌食症。
• Anorexia is a common eating disorder.厌食是一种常见的饮食紊乱症。

5 implant   

vt.注入，植入，灌输

参考例句：

• A good teacher should implant high ideals in children.好教师应该把高尚理想灌输给孩子们。
• The operation to implant the artificial heart took two hours.人工心脏植入手术花费了两小时。

6 underpinning   

n.基础材料；基础结构；（学说、理论等的）基础；（人的）腿v.用砖石结构等从下面支撑（墙等）( underpin的现在分词 )；加固（墙等）的基础；为（论据、主张等）打下基础；加强

参考例句：

• Underpinning this success has been an exemplary record of innovation. 具有典范性的创新确保了这次成功。 来自辞典例句
• But underpinning Mr Armstrong's technology changes is a human touch. 但阿姆斯特朗技术变革的支柱是人情味。 来自互联网

7 constraints   

强制( constraint的名词复数 )； 限制； 约束

参考例句：

• Data and constraints can easily be changed to test theories. 信息库中的数据和限制条件可以轻易地改变以检验假设。 来自英汉非文学 - 科学史
• What are the constraints that each of these imply for any design? 这每种产品的要求和约束对于设计意味着什么？ 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓

8 binds   

v.约束( bind的第三人称单数 )；装订；捆绑；（用长布条）缠绕

参考例句：

• Frost binds the soil. 霜使土壤凝结。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Stones and cement binds strongly. 石头和水泥凝固得很牢。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

10 attain   

vt.达到，获得，完成

参考例句：

• I used the scientific method to attain this end. 我用科学的方法来达到这一目的。
• His painstaking to attain his goal in life is praiseworthy. 他为实现人生目标所下的苦功是值得称赞的。

11 stereotypical   

n.常规

参考例句：

• Personas should be typical and believable, but not stereotypical. 人物角色应该是典型和可信赖的，但不是一成不变的。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Anything could be stereotypical, so I guess it could be criticism. 任何东西都可以变的老套，所以我猜那就是一种批评。 来自互联网

12 belly   

n.肚子，腹部；(像肚子一样)鼓起的部分，膛

参考例句：

• The boss has a large belly.老板大腹便便。
• His eyes are bigger than his belly.他眼馋肚饱。