(单词翻译:单击)
听力文本
I'm Faith Lapidus. And I'm Bob Doughty with PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English. Today, we tell about the famous artist Jackson Pollock who helped redefine modern art in the United States. Pollock invented a new kind of painting that changed the way the world looked at art.
Until the twentieth century, most paintings were representational. This means that artists "represented" their subjects in a way that was realistic and recognizable. However, during the first half of the twentieth century, artists like Jackson Pollock started to explore other methods of representation.
When he first began painting, Jackson Pollock painted representational objects such as people and animals. However, he is famous for helping to create a whole new art movement called Abstract Expressionism. An "abstract" image is one where the subject is not represented realistically. Instead, the artist uses color and shapes to suggest the most general qualities of the subject. "Expressionism" is a kind of art that expresses feelings and thoughts. Abstract Expressionism is art that shows emotions and ideas through non-representational forms.
In Pollock's most famous works, there is no recognizable subject. His art works are large surfaces of canvas completely covered in different colors of paint. However, Pollock did not start out as a revolutionary painter. He developed the artistic process he became famous for over many years.
Jackson Pollock was born in Cody, Wyoming in nineteen twelve. He grew up in the states of Arizona and California. Pollock later said that the wide-open land of these western areas greatly influenced his expansive artwork. In nineteen thirty he moved east to New York City where he studied at the Art Students League. There, Pollock spent a few years studying with the artist Thomas Hart Benton who painted images of every day American life. Pollock's early works are similar to his teacher's kind of painting. However, Pollock slowly left this traditional art education behind.
Pollock's work had many other influences. For example, he liked a group of Mexican painters who made murals. Murals are large images that the artists paint directly onto a wall. Some of these painters were working in New York City in the nineteen thirties, so Pollock was able to see them work. Pollock borrowed several methods and ideas from these artists. They included the use of large canvases, the method of freely applying paint and honoring old and new traditions.
Pollock was also influenced by the Spanish artist Miro. Miro was part of a movement of surrealist painters. Surrealist artists thought that true art comes from a part of the mind called the unconscious. The unconscious controls the area of the mind that produces dreams. Pollock agreed with these artists that the unconscious mind was an important force in creating art.
Also, when he was in his late twenties, Pollock suffered a mental breakdown. It was caused in part by depression and dependence on alcohol. As a result, he was treated by a Jungian psychoanalyst. This is a special kind of expert in emotional health who works to understand the unconscious mind, dreams, and emotions. Pollock was influenced by this kind of investigation of human relations and emotions. This "inside world" would become the subject of his paintings.
In nineteen forty-four, Pollock married Lee Krasner who was also a skilled Abstract Expressionist painter. The next year they moved to East Hampton, a small town on Long Island in the state of New York. The couple wanted to get away from the busy life of New York City. In this country environment they could enjoy nature and have more time to work on their art.
Next to their house Pollock set up a studio building where he could create his artwork. In this large studio Pollock created the paintings that would make him famous.
During these years Jackson Pollock started to paint in a completely new way. He created art that was very physical. In fact, his method is sometimes called "action painting". Most artists painted on a surface that stood upright or vertical. But Pollock put his large canvases on the floor so that he could move around all four sides of his work. He also used very liquid paints so that he could easily drop the paint onto his canvases. This "dripping" method allowed him to make energetic works.
His paintings are explosions of curving lines, shapes and colors. In his art you can see every movement that his arm made. You can see how he had to move his body around the canvas. Videos of Pollock painting show this process, which looks like a painterly dance.
Unlike other artists, Jackson Pollock did not plan the way he wanted his paintings to look. Many artists plan their works by making small drawings before painting. Pollock developed what he called a "direct method," applying the paint directly onto an empty canvas. He painted by following his immediate thoughts and emotions. Pollock combined careful movement with exact color and line. Though his paintings appear accidental, they required careful control.
Here is a recording of Pollock describing his way of painting. It was taken from a movie the British Broadcasting Corporation made about the artist in nineteen ninety-nine.
"Sometimes I use a brush but often prefer using a stick. Sometimes I pour the paint straight out of the can. I like to use a dripping, fluid paint. A method of painting is a natural growth out of a need. I want to express my feelings rather than illustrate them."
As Pollock said, he wanted to create art that was a visual representation of the motion and energy of his "inside world." He was once asked why he did not paint pictures of objects people could identify. He answered that if you wanted to see a flower, you could go look at a real one. He said that what interested him was not outside objects.
Pollock's works were both praised and criticized. His paintings were in several shows in galleries in the middle nineteen forties. However, Pollock did not produce his fully abstract "drip" paintings until later. In nineteen-fifty, the public saw these works at Betty Parson's Gallery in New York. Some art critics said this was one of the best shows of the year and that Pollock was one of the greatest painters in America. Others did not understand his work. One critic said that Pollock's art showed chaos -- complete disorder without any method.
Today, Pollock's works sell for millions of dollars. But only one painting sold at this show. It was a famous work called "Lavender Mist". This painting now hangs in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. "Lavender Mist" represents perfectly what was so interesting about Pollock's work. The canvas is more than two meters tall and almost three meters long. The entire surface is covered in small rivers of white, black, grey, yellow, brown and pink paint. These colors and lines create a painting that is full of visual energy.
Interestingly, there is no lavender, or light purple, color paint in this work. One of Pollock's friends suggested the name because the many other colors of paint created an atmospheric effect that looked like lavender mist. Usually, Pollock would simply name his paintings with a number and a date. He did not want the titles to explain to viewers what to see when they looked at his work.
With paintings like "Lavender Mist" Jackson Pollock helped introduce the world to a whole new way of painting and thinking about art. But he did not live very long. He died in a car accident in nineteen fifty-six at the age of forty-four.
The home in East Hampton, New York where Jackson Pollock lived with his wife Lee Krasner is now a museum. At this special place you can see the rooms where these artists lived. Most importantly, you can see the studio where Pollock and Krasner created their work. On the floor of the studio is the evidence of years and years of Pollock's thrown paint. The floor looks just like one of Pollock's paintings.
Experts say this museum is a cultural treasure. It is the place where Jackson Pollock helped introduce the world to Abstract Expressionism. Pollock helped break the traditional rules of representation and established America as an important center for modern art.
重点解析
1.start out开始；出发
We were about to start out when the headmaster stopped us.
我们正要出发，就在这时校长拦住了我们。
2.similar to与...相似
In this respect or many others, they are similar to doctors or lawyers.
在这方面和许多其它方面，他们与医生和律师很相似。
3.get away from摆脱；逃离
People went there to get away from the intolerance and constraints of life in Europe.
人们去那里，是为了摆脱欧洲的不容忍和对生活的种种限制。
4.As a result结果是
As a result of all this, their incomes are up and land values have risen.
这一切的结果是，他们的收入增加了，土地的价值也上升了。
5.set up建立；树立
Thirdly, if it is necessary, we should set up some new reserves for them.
第三，如果必要的话，我们应该为它们建立一些新保护区。
6.be able to会；能够
They should be able to read and understand everything on the printout.
他们应该能够阅读和理解打印输出上的所有内容。
参考译文
我是雪莉·格里菲斯，我是里奇·克林沸德，这里是VOA慢速英语栏目《美国人物志》。今天我们讲述托德·邓肯的故事。他是一位音乐会歌手和音乐老师。他打破了黑人古典音乐歌手的主要肤色界限。
那是1945年，地点是在纽约市。纽约市歌剧院刚刚完成意大利歌剧《丑角》的演出。
托德·邓肯在台上演出。他是首位在这个重要的歌剧院演出的非裔美国人。没人知道他会受到怎样的对待。但是剧院里的人们对他的表演给予了热烈的掌声。
邓肯没有扮演一位为黑人创作的角色。相反，他扮演了一个传统上由白人演出的角色。在纽约市歌剧院演出的其他歌手都是白人。
他的历史性表演发生在黑人歌手玛丽安·安德森在纽约大都会歌剧院演出前10年。
托德·邓肯出现在《丑角》中，为其他黑人音乐家打开了大门。在那天晚上之前，黑人古典音乐歌手几乎没有机会在美国的主要歌剧院和剧院演出。但是托德·邓肯开始了美国古典音乐表演的重大变革。
托德·邓肯活了很长时间。1998年3月，他在华盛顿特区去世，享年95岁。他一直教授歌唱直到生命结束。
罗伯特·托德·邓肯1903年出生在肯塔基州南部城市丹维尔。他的母亲妮蒂·库珀·邓肯是他的第一位音乐老师。
年轻时，他继续在印第安纳州的印第安纳波利斯学习音乐。他在这个中西部城市上了大学和一所特殊的音乐学院。
1930年，他在纽约市哥伦比亚大学完成了更多的音乐教育。然后他搬到了华盛顿。他在华盛顿的霍华德大学教了15年音乐。
非裔美国人因在流行音乐上的贡献而享誉全球，尤其是创造了爵士乐。但是创作或表演古典音乐的著名黑人音乐家并不多。
霍华德大学的教学让邓肯有机会与以黑人学生为主的学生群体分享他对欧洲古典音乐的知识。他教授表现音乐的特别的方式。这些特别的方式后来被称为邓肯技巧。
在这里，托德·邓肯演唱了库尔特·威尔创作的歌剧《迷失在星空下》中的“OTixo,Tixo,HelpMe”。
除了教学，邓肯也在几个歌剧中与全是黑人的表演者一块演唱。但他似乎总是以音乐会艺术家的身份为人所知。邓肯在25年的演艺生涯中，在50个国家至少演唱了5000场音乐会。
然而，在20世纪30年代中期，他的生活改变了方向。当时，美国著名的音乐作家乔治·格什温正在寻找一个人在他的新作品《波吉与贝丝》中担任主角。
格什温听了试图扮演这个角色的一百名男中音的演唱。他一个也没看上。然后，《纽约时报》的音乐评论家向他推荐了托德·邓肯。
邓肯几乎决定不演这个角色。但是他改变了主意。他为格什温演唱了一个意大利歌剧的一段歌曲。他只唱了几分钟，格什温就给了他这个角色。但是邓肯不知道他是否是扮演波吉的合适人选。
多年后，邓肯承认，他当时不知道乔治·格什温是一位如此成功的作曲家。而且他认为格什温不仅仅创作流行音乐。邓肯经常演唱像布拉姆斯和舒曼等作曲家的古典作品。
托德·邓肯表示他得先听听《波吉与贝丝》。他听了。然后他接受了波吉这个角色。但他说，他发现表演很困难，因为波吉的腿不好，不能走路。歌剧的大部分时间他都得跪着。
邓肯用他的特殊方法来进行充足的呼吸来发出美妙的声音。即使在角色要求的困难处境下，他也能做到这一点。
这里是托德·邓肯演唱格什温的歌剧《波吉与贝丝》中的《波吉的挽歌》。
托德·邓肯在1935年《波吉与贝丝》的首演中演唱。然后他在1937年和1942年再次以波吉这个角色亮相。他经常评论道，使他最出名的是他只演了三年的角色。
他扮演的波吉的名声帮助他在纽约歌剧院获得了《丑角》中的角色。他还在纽约歌剧院演唱了其他部分。
刚才，你听到的是他最喜欢的歌剧之一中的一首歌曲。这个角色是斯蒂芬·库马洛在《迷失在星空下》中的角色。这是关于非洲的由艾伦·帕顿创作的著名小说《哭吧，亲爱的祖国》的音乐剧版本。
美国作家马克斯韦尔·安德森为德国作曲家库尔特·威尔的作品写了歌词。听托德·邓肯演唱《迷失在星空下》的同名主打歌。
托德·邓肯以一位歌剧演唱者和音乐会艺术家而闻名。但是他对音乐最大的热爱是教学。当他停止在霍华德大学任教后，他继续在华盛顿的家中教授声乐课程，直到去世前一周。
多年来他教授了许许多多的学生。一些音乐家称，他们总是能认出托德·邓肯的学生。他们称他带出的学生展示出了他特别的演唱方法。
唐纳德·布斯曼是来自东部马萨诸塞州的一名歌手和歌唱教师。他在1950年代开始和托德·邓肯一起学习。
当时布斯曼22岁。他是美国空军官方歌唱团体的成员。他在大学学习过音乐。但是他和邓肯一块学习来提升他的演唱能力。
布斯曼连续13年每周都和邓肯一起上课，那之后，每次接受一个新的音乐项目，他都会回到邓肯身边。
布斯曼称邓肯是他一生的老师。很多邓肯的学生也是这样认为的。
托德·邓肯为他的学生感到骄傲。他对自己的古典音乐的演出感到骄傲。而且，他为自己是第一个在大型歌剧院打破肤色界限的非洲裔美国人而感到自豪。
他在1990年的一次电视广播中指出，全美国的歌剧院里都有黑人演唱。他表示，“我很开心，我是第一位打开这扇门的人，我让每个人知道我们可以做到这个。”
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