Every artist knows in his heart that he is saying something to the public. Not only does he want to say it well， but he wants it to be something which has not been said before. He hopes the public will listen and understand—he wants to teach them， and he wants them to learn from him.
What visual① artists like painters want to teach is easy to make out but difficult to explain， because painters translate their experiences into shapes and colors， not words. They seem to feel that a certain selection of shapes and colors， out of the countless billions possible， is exceptionally interesting for them and worth showing to us. Without their work we should never have noticed these particular shapes and colors， or have felt the delight which they brought to the artist.
Most artists take their shapes and colors from the world of nature and from human bodies in motion and repose；their choices indicate② that these aspects of the world are worth looking at， that they contain beautiful sights. Contemporary③ artists might say that they merely choose subjects that provide an interesting pattern， that there is nothing more in it. Yet even they do not choose entirely without reference to the character of their subjects.
If one painter chooses to paint a gangrenous④ leg and another a lake in moonlight， each of them is directing our attention to a certain aspect of the world. Each painter is telling us something， showing us something， emphasizing⑤ something—all of which means that， consciously or unconsciously he is trying to teach us.
① visualadj. 形象化的；栩栩如生的
② indicaten. 表明；象征；暗示\[+(that)\]\[+wh-\]
③ contemporaryadj. 当代的
④ gangrenousadj. 生坏疽的
⑤ emphasizev. 强调，着重\[+that\]\[+wh-\]
一个艺术家想让我们知道什么
每一位艺术家心里都清楚，他是向公众讲话。他不仅想把话讲好，而且还想讲别人以前没有说过的话。他希望公众会聆听，会理解——他想教育他们，并且要他们向他学习。
像画家这样的视觉艺术家，他们想教给别人的东西，意会起来是容易的，可要解释清楚却很难了，因为画家们把他们的感受化成形象和颜色，而不是形之于文字。他们似乎觉得，从数不清的千千万万可选的东西中精选出来的某些形象和色彩，对他们来说是异常有趣的，值得拿给我们一看。没有他们的作品，我们便永远不会注意到这些特别的形象和色彩，也永远不会感受到它们带给美术家的欢乐。
大多数美术家从自然界和动与静的人体选取形象和色彩。他们所选的东西表明，世界的这些方面值得一看，它们包含了美的景观。当代的美术家们也许会说，他们只是选取提供某种有趣图案的题材而已，并没有什么其他东西。然而，甚至就连他们，在做出选择时，也不是全然不考虑他们题材的特点的。
假如一位画家决定画一只生了坏疽的腿，而另一位画家却愿意去画月光下的湖泊，他们中的每一位都是把我们的注意力引向世界的某一方面。每位画家都在向我们叙说着什么，展示着什么，强调着什么——所有这一切都意味着，他自觉或不自觉地试图教育我们。