What is abstract expressionism? - Sarah Rosenthal

翻译人员: Tianshu Wang 校对人员: Cindy Zhou

If you visit a museum with a collection of modern and contemporary art,

参观当代美术馆时

you're likely to see works that sometimes elicit the response,

你可能时常会想

"My cat could make that, so how is it art?"

“这也叫艺术？我家猫都会！”

A movement called Abstract Expressionism, also known as the New York School,

抽象表现主义，或称纽约画派

gets this reaction particularly often.

尤其容易给人这种感觉

Abstract Expressionism started in 1943

抽象表现主义始于1943年

and developed after the end of World War II.

在二战后继续发展

It's characterized by large, primarily abstract paintings,

其特征是大面积抽象画

all-over compositions without clear focal points,

全图布局， 没有明显的视觉重心

and sweeping swaths of paint embodying and eliciting emotions.

浓墨重彩地表现情绪

The group of artists who are considered Abstract Expressionists

抽象表现主义艺术家

includes Barnett Newman with his existential zips,

包括“拉链”风格的巴尼特·纽曼

Willem de Kooning, famous for his travestied women,

以女性漫画闻名的威廉·德·库宁

Helen Frankenthaler, who created soak-stains,

发明了“浸渍法”的海伦·弗兰肯塔尔

and others.

不胜枚举

But perhaps the most famous, influential, and head-scratching one

但最著名、有影响力，也最令人挠头的

was Jackson Pollock.

也许是杰克逊·波洛克

Most of his paintings are immediately recognizable.

他的作品大多很好辨识

They feature tangled messes of lines of paint

他的特点就是 交错的线条

bouncing around in every direction on the canvas.

在画布上四下发散

And sure, these fields of chaos are big and impressive,

当然，这样大片的混乱 令人印象深刻

but what's so great about them?

但它们的伟大之处在哪？

Didn't he just drip the paint at random?

他难道不是随便滴的颜料吗？

Can't anyone do that?

难道其他人不会吗？

Well, the answer to these questions is both yes and no.

对，也不对

While Pollock implemented a technique anyone is technically capable of

波洛克的画法， 技术上任何人都能模仿

regardless of artistic training,

并不需要专业培训

only he could have made his paintings.

但只有他的画成为了艺术

This paradox relates to his work's roots

这个悖论和他的师承有关

in the Surrealist automatic drawings of André Masson and others.

即安德烈·马森等人的超现实自动主义

These Surrealists supposedly drew directly from the unconscious

这些超现实主义者崇尚

to reveal truths hidden within their minds.

用直觉作画 来揭示隐藏的内心

Occasionally, instead of picturing something and then drawing it,

有时，他们不从实景取材

they let their hands move automatically

让双手自发挥动

and would later tease out familiar figures that appeared in the scribbles.

撕碎生活中常见的景象

And after Pollock moved away from representation,

波洛克离开这一画派后

he made drip, or action, paintings following a similar premise,

还是用类似宗旨作画

though he developed a signature technique

不过他发展出一门绝活

and never looked for images or messages hidden in the works.

不再寻找作品中的形象或信息

First, he took the canvas off of the easel and laid it on the floor,

首先，他将画布从画架取下， 铺在地上

a subversive act in itself.

这动作本身就很颠覆

Then, in a controlled dance, he stepped all around the canvas,

然后，他控制舞步，踏遍画布

dripping industrial paint onto it from stirrers and other tools,

用搅拌器之类的工具 把工业颜料滴到画布上

changing speed and direction

改变速度和方向

to control how the paint made contact with the surface.

以控制颜料与画布接触的角度

These movements, like the Surrealist scribbles,

这些动作和超现实主义涂鸦相似

were supposedly born out of Pollock's subconscious.

人们认为都出自波洛克的潜意识

But unlike the Surrealists,

不像超现实主义的画

whose pictures represented the mind's hidden contents,

表现了内心隐藏的想法

Pollock's supposedly made physical manifestations of his psyche.

而波洛克则应该是 用运动表现精神

His paintings are themselves signatures of his mind.

他的画就是他思考的化身

In theory, anyone could make a painting that is an imprint of their mind.

理论上，任何人都能 用画表现内心

So why is Pollock so special?

那波洛克为什么这么出名？

Well, it's important to remember that while anyone could have done what he did,

别忘了，虽然任何人 都可以做到

he and the rest of the New York School were the ones who actually did it.

他和纽约画派 真的身体力行

They destroyed conventions of painting that had stood for centuries,

他们推翻了几百年的绘画传统

forcing the art world to rethink them entirely.

迫使艺术圈彻底反思

But one last reason why Jackson Pollock's work has stayed prominent

波洛克的作品名闻遐迩的最后原因

stems from the specific objects he made, which embody fascinating contradictions.

是他创造的包含迷人对比的特殊形象

For instance, while Pollock's process

比如，波洛克的作法

resulted in radically flat painted surfaces,

带来了对比强烈的平面

the web of painted lines can create the illusion of an infinite layered depth

线条交织的网格 仔细看的话

能让人产生无限分层的深度的错觉

when examined up close.

And the chaos of this tangled mess seems to defy all control,

这片交织的混乱 似乎拒绝了所有控制

but it's actually the product of a deliberate,

不经精心策划

though not pre-planned, process.

却又匠心独具

These characteristics made Pollock into a celebrity,

这些特征使波洛克出了名

and within art history,

并在艺术史上

they also elevated him to the mythified status

被作为艺术天才

of the genius artist as hero.

提到了英雄的高度

So rather than evening the playing field for all creative minds,

很不幸，他的作品没怎么 给富有创意的人铺平舞台

his work unfortunately reinforced a long-standing elitist aspect of art.

更多加强了艺术圈中 长期存在的精英主义

Elitist,

精英

innovative,

革新家

whatever you choose to call it,

随你怎么称呼

the history embedded in Abstract Expressionism

植根于抽象表现主义的历史

is one that no cat, however talented, can claim.

你家猫再有才，也表现不出来