Why is this painting of a black square famous? - Allison Leigh

翻译人员: Jacky He 校对人员: suya f.

On December 19th, 1915, an exhibition of radical artworks

在 1915 年 12 月 19 日， 一场激进派艺术的展览

opened in what’s known today as St. Petersburg, Russia.

在今天的俄罗斯圣彼得堡举办。

Many of these pieces pushed the boundaries of form and style,

其中许多作品跨越了 形式与风格的边界，

but one was particularly controversial.

但单独一件倍具争议。

Hanging in the room’s corner— symbolically occupying a space

在房间的一角，显眼地放在

traditionally reserved for religious icons—

长期为宗教名作预留的位置，

was Kazimir Malevich’s “Black Square.”

是卡齐米尔·马列维奇 (Kazimir Malevich) 的“黑色方块”。

One attendee scoffed at the painting’s simplicity,

一位参与者嘲笑着画作的简单本质，

claiming that even a child could have done it.

称即使一个小孩也能完成类似作品。

Another went further, writing that the “Black Square”

另一位更进一步，写道“黑色方块”

would “lead us all to our doom.”

会将我们“引向灭亡”。

Such critiques have plagued paintings like Malevich’s ever since,

这些批评从此围绕着类似 卡齐米尔·马列维奇的画作，

their outward simplicity inspiring outrage and confusion.

它们展现的简单性 引起愤怒与疑惑。

But a closer look reveals that not only is Malevich’s work

但更细的观察发现 不仅卡齐米尔·马列维奇的作品

more complicated than it first appears—

比看上去更加复杂，

it may not even be a painting of a black square at all.

它甚至也许不是个黑色方块。

Despite its name, you’ll find the painting’s central form

和名字相反，它的样子

is neither perfectly black nor perfectly square.

并不完全乌黑， 也不是完美的方形。

Its sides aren't parallel or equal in length,

它的边界并不平行， 长度也不相等，

and the shape isn't quite centered on the canvas.

而图画也并非在画布正中央。

Instead, Malevich placed the form slightly off-kilter,

事实上，卡齐米尔·马列维奇 给图画带来偏差，

giving it the appearance of movement

显得好似动态一般，

and the white surrounding it a living, vibrating quality.

而周围的白色是生机、活力的象征。

Technical analysis has revealed that Malevich already used the canvas

技术分析发现马列维奇已经把画布

for two other paintings.

用于其他两幅图画。

Today, cracks in the aging paint— known as craquelure—

今天，陈旧颜料的缝隙， 又称裂纹 (craquelure)，

reveal fragments of dusty yellows, vibrant reds, and faded emeralds,

展现出零星的土黄、鲜红与暗绿，

hinting at all the stages Malevich went through

指向马列维奇在最终成果前

before arriving at the painting’s final form.

所经历的阶段。

His creative process is also evident in the vigorous brushstrokes,

他的创意思维也在 大胆呈现，向四面八方延伸去的

which are displayed proudly and move in a multitude of directions.

灵动笔画中所体现。

Fragments of hair and Malevich’s fingerprints

散落头发和马列维奇的指印

are also ingrained in the paint,

也嵌在颜料中，

adding both metaphorical and literal texture to the work.

为作品添加意寓和实际的质感。

In many ways, Malevich’s whole history is embedded in the “Black Square.”

在很多方面，马列维奇的人生故事也 囊括在“黑色方块”之中。

Born to Polish-speaking parents in Ukraine,

出生在乌克兰的波兰家庭中，

he lived there until he finally saved enough money to afford the trip to Moscow.

他待在那里， 直到攒够钱前去莫斯科。

Upon arrival in 1904, he plunged into all the avant-garde styles

在 1904 年到达时， 他转向城市中

swirling around the city.

无处不在的“前卫派”。

He painted in the style of Impressionism and absorbed Post-Impressionism.

他画过印象派和 深刻后现代主义的作品。

He passed through a Futurist phase and then became influenced by the Cubists.

他经历了一个“未来派”的时期， 之后被“立体派”所启发。

And by 1913, he was on the verge of a breakthrough.

到 1913 年，他站在突破的边缘。

Malevich realized that even the most cutting-edge artists

马列维奇意识到即便 最为先进的艺术家

were still just painting objects from everyday life.

也在描绘着平常生活中的物品、

But he was irresistibly drawn to what he called

但他不可抗拒地被他所谓

the “desert, where nothing is real except feeling.”

“荒漠，情绪之外即 空白”所吸引。

And so, feeling became the substance of his work.

于是，情绪成为了他作品的主体。

The result was the “Black Square” and a new style he named “Suprematism,”

最终结果便是“黑色方块”，和他命名的 “超脱主义 (Suprematism)”，

where feeling alone was made supreme.

孤独的感受被格外重视。

This would be achieved through what he called non-objectivity—

这将通过他所称的 “非主观性”实现——

a departure from the world of objects so extreme it went beyond abstraction.

超乎抽象法，从实体世界的极限脱离。

Malevich believed the simplification and distortion that characterized abstract art

马列维奇相信 抽象艺术的简化与置换

was ultimately meaningless,

终归是无意义的，

since these styles were still focused on depicting real world objects.

因为这些风格仍然着重于 描绘实际的物体。

To him, only the completely non-representational would truly be new.

对他而言，彻底的 “无法代表性”才是真正革新的。

While this radical approach alarmed critics,

虽然这个激进的看法 引来批评者，

Malevich was undeterred.

马列维奇从未停止。

He spent the next decade explaining his Suprematist works in essays,

他的后十年用来 在论文中阐述他的“超脱主义”，

and teaching his ideas to a new generation of artists.

并将他的认识传授给 新一代的艺术家。

But after Stalin's rise to power in the 1920s,

不过，在 1920 年代 斯大林出现后，

avant-garde approaches like Suprematism were deemed unproductive

例如“超脱主义”的前卫方式 被认为缺乏对于

to the Communist state.

共产体制的用处。

And eventually, it became dangerous to produce any art outside Socialist Realism—

最终，创作社会体制现实主义 以外的画作意味着危险——

an enforced artistic style celebrating Soviet leaders and heroic workers.

这是规定的艺术风格， 赞扬着苏联领导与英雄劳动者。

In 1930, Malevich was arrested by Soviet authorities

在 1930 年，马列维奇因为 支持分裂思想

for spreading subversive ideas.

被苏联政府逮捕。

Under severe pressure, he returned to figuration,

在巨大压力下， 他重回人物塑造，

painting peasants standing robotically in barren spaces.

画着在荒凉土地上 僵硬直立着的农民。

But even these later paintings retained glimmers of his earlier ideas.

但即便这些后期作品 也保留着他先前画法的残影。

Gradually, the figures lost their arms and faces—

逐渐地，这些人物失去了 手臂与面孔，

disintegrating as mechanization gripped the countryside.

在机械化占领田野时 慢慢化解、消散。

During this time, Malevich also painted a self-portrait

在这个时期，马列维奇 还创作了一幅自画像，

that seemed to have abandoned Suprematism completely.

似乎彻底与“超脱主义”诀别。

But his open hand formed a quadrilateral,

但他的张开手掌形成一个直角边，

and in the painting's corner was a tiny black square.

而在画作的边界 是个微小的黑色方块。

This was the symbol of a man who suffered through wars and revolutions,

这个标志属于一位 饱经战争与革命的人；

but never stopped pushing to create a new art—

他从未停止开发一种新的风格——

a refuge of pure feeling that lay beyond the burden of objects

超越事物之外残余的真切感触，

and the suffering of a divided world.

也映射着分隔世界的苦难。