纽约时报 卡罗琳·卡洛威 成也流行艺术 败也流行艺术(2)

“Creative” is a fixture¹ of the self-help industry,

“创意”是自助行业的固定模式，

touted² as a secret to success and a key to enlightenment on podcasts and websites

并在播客上，网站上，以及《创造性信心：释放我们所有人的创造性潜能》这样的书中

and in books like “Creative Confidence: Unleashing³ the Creative Potential Within Us All.”

反复被吹捧为成功的秘诀和开悟的关键。

And in recent years, creative has made a grammatical migration⁴, crossing over from adjective to noun.

近年来，“creative”这个词已经经过了语法上的迁移，从形容词变成了名词。

A creative is a kind of worker, or rather many kinds of workers —

指的是某种工作者，或者更确切地说，是各种各样的工作者——

a catchall that takes in web coders, graphic⁵ designers, copywriters, actors, painters, D.J.s, cocktail⁶ mixologists, Instagram influencers

这是一个包罗万象的总称，包括网络程序员，平面设计师，文案，演员，画家，DJ，鸡尾酒调酒师，Ins名人,

and all the rest of the culture-and-information-industry professionals that the sociologist⁸ Richard Florida famously called “the creative class.”

以及其他文化信息行业的，被社会学家理查德·弗罗里达称之为“创意阶层”的所有专业人士。

Creative is not just an attribute. It is an identity.

“创意人士”不仅仅是一种属性。还是一种身份。

“Creative” can be traced to the Latin creare, meaning to beget⁹ or to bring forth¹⁰.

“Creative”这个词的词源可以追溯到拉丁语里的“creare”一词，意思是“产生”或“使产生”。

In philosophical¹¹ classical Latin, the verb was sometimes used in reference to the ultimate creative act, divine creation.

在充满哲学的古典拉丁语中，这个动词有时指的是终极创造行为或者神圣的创造。

The English adjective “creative” dates to the 17th century;

英语里作形容词的“creative”一词可以追溯到17世纪；

it was likely during the Enlightenment that it gained wide use as a descriptor for human endeavors, often artistic¹² or literary, that have qualities of originality¹³ and excellence¹⁴.

很可能就是在启蒙运动期间，作为形容具有独创性和卓越品质的人类活动，通常指艺术或文学活动，的词得到了广泛的运用。

Today, in any case, we deploy¹⁵ the term far more promiscuously¹⁶.

今天，我们对这个词的使用，无论是用在什么情况下，都要混乱得多。

A label once reserved for the grandest artistic undertakings¹⁷ and the most exalted¹⁸ creators,

一个过去专门用来形容最伟大的艺术事业和最崇高的创造者，

from God to da Vinci to the mother who birthed you,

即上帝，达芬奇以及给你生命的母亲之辈的标签，

is now applied¹⁹ willy-nilly to such activities as scrapbooking and bicycle-frame building,

如今却被人们随意地贴到了美编、自行车框架组装之类的活动，

to the person who pulled your morning latte or designed the logo for your calorie-counting app.

以及早上给你打拿铁或者为你的卡路里计算软件设计商标的人身上。

This democratization can feel absurd, but it strikes at a deep truth.

这种民主化或许会让人觉得颇为荒谬，但它也触及了一个深刻的真理。

Humans derive²⁰ meaning and pleasure from making stuff.

人类会从制造物品的过程中寻找意义和乐趣。

To engage in even the smallest acts of creation — molding a clay bowl in our hands or shaping an idea in our minds — is to perform a conjuring²¹ trick,

从事哪怕是最微不足道的创造行为——比如手工制作一个陶碗或者在脑海里构思一个想法——都相当于在表演一场魔术，

to experience the mysterious and sublime²² power of bringing a new thing into existence.

相当于在体验将新事物带入现实那种神秘而崇高的力量。

There was a time, not long ago, when the pursuit of that kind of satisfaction was considered morally dubious²³.

不久以前，追求那种满足感还会受到道德上的质疑。

Historically, bourgeois²⁴ society regarded artists as disreputable and deviant, eccentrics doomed²⁵ to the social margins²⁶.

在历史上，资产阶级都视艺术家为声名狼藉、离经叛道、注定要被社会边缘化的怪人。

Our 21st-century cult⁷ of the creative reflects a shift in this attitude.

我们21世纪的人对创造性的崇拜反映这种态度已经发生了转变。

Today, many haute-bourgeois people cultivate personas as artists and bohemians — even when they are marketing²⁷ executives.

如今，很多高级资产阶级人士都会塑造自己艺术家和波西米亚式放荡不羁的一面——就算身为营销主管的人也不例外。

This change reflects a broader transformation²⁸ of the economy:

这种变化反映了整个经济发生的更广泛的转型：

the information-technology revolution and the reorientation of cities from manufacturing hubs to centers of knowledge work and cultural production.

信息技术发生的革命以及城市从制造业中心转向脑力工作和文化生产中心的重新定位。

1 fixture   

n.固定设备；预定日期；比赛时间；定期存款

参考例句：

• Lighting fixture must be installed at once.必须立即安装照明设备。
• The cordless kettle may now be a fixture in most kitchens.无绳电热水壶现在可能是多数厨房的固定设备。

2 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

3 unleashing   

v.把（感情、力量等）释放出来，发泄( unleash的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• Company logos: making people's life better by unleashing Cummins power. 公司理念：以康明斯动力建设更美好的生活！ 来自互联网
• Sooner or later the dam will burst, unleashing catastrophic destruction. 否则堤坝将崩溃，酿成灾难。 来自互联网

4 migration   

n.迁移，移居，（鸟类等的）迁徙

参考例句：

• Swallows begin their migration south in autumn.燕子在秋季开始向南方迁移。
• He described the vernal migration of birds in detail.他详细地描述了鸟的春季移居。

5 graphic   

adj.生动的，形象的，绘画的，文字的，图表的

参考例句：

• The book gave a graphic description of the war.这本书生动地描述了战争的情况。
• Distinguish important text items in lists with graphic icons.用图标来区分重要的文本项。

6 cocktail   

n.鸡尾酒；餐前开胃小吃；混合物

参考例句：

• We invited some foreign friends for a cocktail party.我们邀请了一些外国朋友参加鸡尾酒会。
• At a cocktail party in Hollywood,I was introduced to Charlie Chaplin.在好莱坞的一次鸡尾酒会上，人家把我介绍给查理·卓别林。

7 cult   

n.异教，邪教；时尚，狂热的崇拜

参考例句：

• Her books aren't bestsellers,but they have a certain cult following.她的书算不上畅销书，但有一定的崇拜者。
• The cult of sun worship is probably the most primitive one.太阳崇拜仪式或许是最为原始的一种。

8 sociologist   

n.研究社会学的人，社会学家

参考例句：

• His mother was a sociologist,researching socialism.他的母亲是个社会学家，研究社会主义。
• Max Weber is a great and outstanding sociologist.马克斯·韦伯是一位伟大的、杰出的社会学家。

9 beget   

v.引起；产生

参考例句：

• Dragons beget dragons,phoenixes beget phoenixes.龙生龙，凤生凤。
• Economic tensions beget political ones.经济紧张导致政治紧张。

10 forth   

adv.向前；向外，往外

参考例句：

• The wind moved the trees gently back and forth.风吹得树轻轻地来回摇晃。
• He gave forth a series of works in rapid succession.他很快连续发表了一系列的作品。

11 philosophical   

adj.哲学家的，哲学上的，达观的

参考例句：

• The teacher couldn't answer the philosophical problem.老师不能解答这个哲学问题。
• She is very philosophical about her bad luck.她对自己的不幸看得很开。

12 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

13 originality   

n.创造力，独创性；新颖

参考例句：

• The name of the game in pop music is originality.流行音乐的本质是独创性。
• He displayed an originality amounting almost to genius.他显示出近乎天才的创造性。

14 excellence   

n.优秀，杰出，(pl.)优点，美德

参考例句：

• His art has reached a high degree of excellence.他的艺术已达到炉火纯青的地步。
• My performance is far below excellence.我的表演离优秀还差得远呢。

15 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。

16 promiscuously   

adv.杂乱地，混杂地

参考例句：

• It promiscuously plunders other languages and delights in neologisms. 它杂乱地掠夺其它语言，并以增加新词为乐。 来自互联网
• It's like biology: an ecosystem where microbes are promiscuously swapping genes and traits, evolution speeds up. 就像生物学：一个一群微生物混杂地交换基因和特性的生态系统，进化加速了。 来自互联网

17 undertakings   

企业( undertaking的名词复数 )； 保证； 殡仪业； 任务

参考例句：

• The principle of diligence and frugality applies to all undertakings. 勤俭节约的原则适用于一切事业。
• Such undertakings require the precise planning and foresight of military operations. 此举要求军事上战役中所需要的准确布置和预见。

18 exalted   

adj.(地位等)高的，崇高的；尊贵的，高尚的

参考例句：

• Their loveliness and holiness in accordance with their exalted station.他们的美丽和圣洁也与他们的崇高地位相称。
• He received respect because he was a person of exalted rank.他因为是个地位崇高的人而受到尊敬。

19 applied   

adj.应用的；v.应用，适用

参考例句：

• She plans to take a course in applied linguistics.她打算学习应用语言学课程。
• This cream is best applied to the face at night.这种乳霜最好晚上擦脸用。

20 derive   

v.取得；导出；引申；来自；源自；出自

参考例句：

• We derive our sustenance from the land.我们从土地获取食物。
• We shall derive much benefit from reading good novels.我们将从优秀小说中获得很大好处。

21 conjuring   

n.魔术

参考例句：

• Paul's very good at conjuring. 保罗很会变戏法。
• The entertainer didn't fool us with his conjuring. 那个艺人变的戏法没有骗到我们。

22 sublime   

adj.崇高的，伟大的；极度的，不顾后果的

参考例句：

• We should take some time to enjoy the sublime beauty of nature.我们应该花些时间去欣赏大自然的壮丽景象。
• Olympic games play as an important arena to exhibit the sublime idea.奥运会，就是展示此崇高理念的重要舞台。

23 dubious   

adj.怀疑的，无把握的；有问题的，靠不住的

参考例句：

• What he said yesterday was dubious.他昨天说的话很含糊。
• He uses some dubious shifts to get money.他用一些可疑的手段去赚钱。

24 bourgeois   

adj./n.追求物质享受的(人)；中产阶级分子

参考例句：

• He's accusing them of having a bourgeois and limited vision.他指责他们像中产阶级一样目光狭隘。
• The French Revolution was inspired by the bourgeois.法国革命受到中产阶级的鼓励。

25 doomed   

命定的

参考例句：

• The court doomed the accused to a long term of imprisonment. 法庭判处被告长期监禁。
• A country ruled by an iron hand is doomed to suffer. 被铁腕人物统治的国家定会遭受不幸的。

26 margins   

边( margin的名词复数 )； 利润； 页边空白； 差数

参考例句：

• They have always had to make do with relatively small profit margins. 他们不得不经常设法应付较少的利润额。
• To create more space between the navigation items, add left and right margins to the links. 在每个项目间留更多的空隙，加左或者右的margins来定义链接。

27 marketing   

n.行销，在市场的买卖，买东西

参考例句：

• They are developing marketing network.他们正在发展销售网络。
• He often goes marketing.他经常去市场做生意。

28 transformation   

n.变化；改造；转变

参考例句：

• Going to college brought about a dramatic transformation in her outlook.上大学使她的观念发生了巨大的变化。
• He was struggling to make the transformation from single man to responsible husband.他正在努力使自己由单身汉变为可靠的丈夫。