书城艺术美国学生艺术史(英汉双语版)
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第70章 SCULPTURE雕塑(25)

The man who made the huge statue was a Frenchman named Bartholdi (Bar-tól-dee).A Frenchman made it as a gift from the people of France to the people of the United States.Bartholdi chose the place for Liberty to be put and then went back to France and made a model.Then the model was used to make the huge bronze pieces of the statue itself.These pieces were brought,in a ship,to the United States and put together on theisland.It was like fitting together a gigantic picture puzzle,for of course each piece ofbronze was a different shape.

I think it was a very effective and friendly present for the Republic of France to give to the Republic of the United States,don’t you?

【中文阅读】

你进过雕像里边吗?大部分青铜雕像都是空的,所以如果有办法进到雕像里边的话,里面通常能容纳一个人。但是,世界上只有一座雕像里边能容纳几百,甚至几千人。当然,这几千人是不能同时进去的,不过雕像的头部一次能容纳四十人。你可能已经猜到我说的是哪座雕像了,它就是《自由女神像》。

《自由女神像》立在一座石基上,位于纽约港入口处的一个小岛上。每艘从纽约驶进驶出的船都要旁经这座雕像。即使到了夜晚,船上的乘客们也能看见雕像,因为射灯将它照得通亮。从国外归回的游子们只要看见自由女神像就感觉这下真的到家了。

《自由女神像》是世界上最大的青铜像。如果你看见一个有十层楼那么高的女子,你会怎么想呢?这女子的手有16英尺长。(打蚊子多方便啊!)眼睛有2.5英尺宽。

(太容易吸煤灰了!)那只没有抬起的胳膊有42英尺长。(打棒球多棒啊!)她手指的长度等于大象的高度!如果要给这女子戴戒指,那这戒指得有铁环那么大;如果要给她戴手套,那做手套的材料能覆盖一个网球场还不止!

这女子就是自由女神。有时候也把她叫做“自由照耀世界之神”,因为她右手高举一个点亮的火炬。这火炬很大,人可以顺着梯子爬进右手臂,在火炬里走动,就像在走廊里一样。有首打油诗是这样写的:

将自由女神的火炬,当作长廊。

自由女神的左胳膊夹着一块铜板(比餐厅的餐桌还要大好多)。上面写着这些字:

JULY IV MDCCLXXVI

你知道是这些字的意思吗?如果不知道,我也不打算说了,因此,就把它当作谜语猜吧。

人们从很远处就能看见自由女神像。但要想近看的话,就得乘船才行。下船后,往上走几步到达雕像基座。然后,登楼梯到达像顶。雕像里的楼梯迂回曲折,好像蜗牛壳。爬得越高,觉得越慢——自己也像一只蜗牛。在攀爬的过程中,可以看到雕像内部的钢铁支架。还可以看到整个雕像是靠许多单独的青铜片完美地拼接的。

当你最终爬到头部时,可以从自由女神皇冠上的窗户向外眺望。这座巨像是一个名叫巴托尔迪的法国人制作的。这法国人制作它是把它当作法国人民送给美国人民的一份礼物。巴托尔迪先到美国选址,再回法国制作模型。然后根据模型来制作巨像的铜片。这些铜片用船运往美国,在小岛上组装。这就像拼凑一幅巨大的拼图,因为每块铜片的形状各不相同。

我认为,自由女神像是法兰西共和国送给美利坚合众国的一份非凡的礼物,展示了两国之间深厚的友谊。你觉得呢?

THOUGHTS FOR THINKERS

思想者的思想

SUPPOSE you were a sculptor and wanted to make a statue meaning thought.Thought is an idea.In grammar we would call it an abstract noun.How,then,could a sculptor make as solid a material as bronze or marble represent an abstract idea like thought?

Of course a sculptor could make a statue of a person sitting as one sits when thinking.He could label this statue “Thought,”but without the label it might just as well be “Sleep”or “Rest”or “Fatigue.”

The Greeks solved the problem in their way by imagining a goddess of thought or wisdom and then making a statue of the goddess.The statue would look wise,but still it would be just a likeness of a goddess,not of thought.Any thoughtful or wise-looking woman might serve for the model.

Let’s try another way.A person who does much thinking is generally able to think easily.Often,if he is a very wise and thoughtful person,you may not see him thinking at all.Probably he would not look as if he were thinking,because he could think so easily.He thinks with his brain and not with his muscles.

But watch a boy who is not very bright at his lessons trying to do an arithmetic problem.He does not think easily.He sticks out his tongue.He twists his legs about his chair.He bends his head on one side.He holds his pencil so tight his fingers hurt.You can see him thinking because it is hard for him to do it.

Now,instead of the boy,imagine a cave man.His muscles are big and powerful.He is more like an animal than a man.As he is a man,however,he has a soul and sooner or later he will wonder about his life and what is going to come of it.Why is he here in this world?What happens when he dies?Does he just go out like a dying fire or does part of him live on in some other world that he knows nothing about?He begins thinking,wondering,pondering with his brute-like mind.Even more than the schoolboy,you can see him thinking.The first thing you would say if you saw him would be,“How hard he is thinking!”

No.54THE THINKER(《思想者》)RODIN(罗丹制)A statue of such a cave man would show thinking much better than a goddess of thought or a brilliant thinker.A sculptor who used this idea of showing thinking by a statue of some one trying hard to think,was a Frenchman.This sculptor died in 1917.His name was Auguste Rodin (Ro-danh).His most famous statue is called “The Thinker.”It isn’t thinking—but a man thinking—a thinker.It is probably as near as any one can get to showing thinking or thought.

The statue is of a brute-like man.It isn’t smooth and pretty like Canova’s Mercury.It is roughly and strongly modeled.This rough modeling helps make the man look more brute-like and unused to thinking.He sits pondering,head in hand,pondering so intensely that even his toes are tightly clutching the ground.

Rodin loved contrasts.Often he carved delicate and beautiful forms as though they were just coming out of the uncarved marble block.The beauty is increased by the contrast of the finished part with the unfinished.

【中文阅读】

假设你是雕刻家,打算制作一尊意为“思想”的雕像。思想就是观念。语法上,我们称它抽象名词。那么,雕刻家怎样能使青铜或大理石这样具体的物质来表达像“思想”这样一个抽象观念呢?

雕刻家当然能制出一个人坐着思考时的塑像。他可以给这尊塑像贴上“思想”的标签。但要是不贴标签的话,它就可能代表“睡觉”、“休息”或“疲劳”。

古希腊人用自己的方法来想象智慧或思想女神的模样,然后再将女神像雕刻出来,以此来解决这个难题。雕像看上去是充满智慧,但它只是一座女神像,并不是“思想”。况且任何有思想或看上去有智慧的女人都可以成为这种雕像的模型。

让我们试试另一种方法吧。如果一个人经常思考,他的思维通常就很敏捷。如果一个人十分聪明且思维缜密,可能就看不出来他在思考。或许,由于他思维敏捷,所以他看上去根本就不在思考。他在用大脑思考,不是用肌肉。

看,一个不是很聪明的孩子正在绞尽脑汁地做一道算术题。他思考起来十分吃力。他伸出舌头,双腿盘坐在椅子上,头歪向一边。他紧握铅笔,握得手指发痛。因为他看起来十分地吃力,所以你能看出他在思考。

现在,不再想那男孩,想象一下某个穴居人。他肌肉厚实有力,看起来更像兽,不像人。然而,他有灵魂,所以迟早会思索人生与未来。譬如说,人为什么来到这个世界?人死后的情景怎样?会像将灭的火那样烧尽,还是身体的一部分将生活在某个未知的世界?于是,他愚钝的大脑开始思考、疑惑、深思。就连小学生也能看出他在思考。你一看见他,就会说:“他思考得多吃力啊!”

这样一尊穴居人像比思想女神像或聪明的思想者像更能体现“思想”这一寓意。借用这个想法来表现“思想”的雕刻家是法国人,名叫奥古斯特·罗丹。他死于1917年。他最著名的雕刻作品叫《思想者》。他表达的不是“思想”,而是一个人在思想——一个思想者。可能没有哪座雕像比这座雕像更能表达“思考”或“思想”的意思了。

这座雕像人物好像还未开化。它不像卡诺瓦的《墨丘利神》那样光滑、精致。粗糙的造型使雕像人物看起来更像不善思考的野人。他坐着沉思,手托着下颌。他沉浸在思考中,甚至脚趾都紧紧地抠着地。

罗丹喜欢对比。他经常雕刻一些外形精美的样式,这些样式又好像从未经雕琢的大理石块上自然形成。完成部分和未完成部分之间的鲜明对比增强了美感。

OUR OWN SCULPTURE

美国的雕刻