纽约时报 卡罗琳·卡洛威 成也流行艺术 败也流行艺术(3)

"But there is an airy spiritual component¹, too: a belief that anyone can be an artist and, ideally, everyone should be. "

但也出现了一种不切实际的思想成分：一种相信任何人都可以成为艺术家，并且理想情况下也应该成为艺术家的信念。”

This is the principle behind much of the self-help “creativity” industry —

许多自助“创意”行业背后的原则就是：

the notion, promulgated² in best-selling books like Elizabeth Gilbert’s “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear,”

伊丽莎白·吉尔伯特的《大魔法:超越恐惧的创造性生活》等畅销书大力宣扬的那种，

that every person contains vast reservoirs of creative potential.

认为每个人都蕴藏着巨大的创造潜能的信念。

To access your creativity, Gilbert maintains, is to self-actualize.

吉尔伯特认为，发挥创造力就等于实现自我。

This, she writes, is “the central question upon which all creative living hinges:

她写道，“所有创意生活依赖的核心问题都是:

Do you have the courage to bring forth³ the treasures that are hidden within you?”

你是否有勇气把藏在你内心深处的宝藏发挥出来?”

It’s hard not to be skeptical⁴ of a sentence like that.

不对这样的话表示怀疑是很难的。

In fact, the sickly odor of snake oil hovers⁵ over much of the “creative living” enterprise.

事实上，许多专注“创意生活”的企业上方都笼罩着一股“万灵油”般令人生厌的味道。

It may be no accident that one of the most forceful formulations of this thesis arrived in Jonah Lehrer’s “Imagine: How Creativity Works,”

她的这本著作中最具说服力的公式会出现在乔纳·莱勒的著作《想象:创造力是如何运作的》一书里或许并非偶然——

the 2012 pop-neuroscience book that was recalled by its publisher, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt,

该书是出版于2012年的一本流行神经科学书籍，在被发现含有鲍勃·迪伦引用莱勒自己的发明之后，

after it was discovered to contain Bob Dylan quotes of Lehrer’s own invention.

该书被其出版商霍顿·米夫林·哈考特召回。

The prosyletizers for creative living proffer⁶ a slippery hard sell:

创意生活的布道者们提供的其实是一种狡猾的硬性推销：

You can tap into your creative side if you just learn how, preferably by buying this book or attending this workshop.

只要你购买这本书或参加这个研讨会，你就能激发出你的创造力。

Of course, this egalitarian theory of creativity ignores everything we know about the apportionment of artistic⁷ gifts,

当然，这种平等主义的创造性理论忽略了我们了解的关于艺术天赋分配的一切，

the fact that some people are simply better at making things than others.

也就是有些人就是比其他人更擅长制造东西这一事实。

It also elides the structural⁸ impediments — the lack of free time and ample resources and good education —

也排除了阻止了数百万人追求折纸爱好，更不用说在创意领域找工作了的结构性障碍：

that prohibit millions from pursuing an origami hobby, let alone finding a career in a creative field.

缺乏空闲时间，充足的资源以及良好的教育。

Faith in creativity can be especially robust⁹ among those blessed with talent.

相信自己有创造力的信念在那些有天赋的人身上尤其强烈。

Consider Kanye West.

坎耶·维斯特就是个例子。

There’s no doubting his creativity:

毫无疑问，他是有创造力的：

He makes great records, designs strange shoes, summons outrages¹⁰ from thin air.

他不仅创造了伟大的记录，设计出了奇怪的鞋子，还能凭空激起人们的义愤。

He also maintains one of the world’s most arresting Twitter feeds,

他的推特也一直是世界上最引人注目的推特账号之一，

where he boasts about his sneaker enterprise (“the creative make the final decisions here”)

他就是在那个账号上吹嘘他的运动鞋事业(“我的品牌最后都是有创意的人说了算”)，

and offers homilies to his peers: “As a creative your ideas are your strongest form of currency.”

向同行们布道：“作为一个创意品牌，想法就是你最有力的货币。”

In October, he took to Twitter to renounce¹¹ his high-profile flirtation¹² with Trumpism:

去年10月，他在推特上宣布放弃与特朗普主义的高调暧昧关系:

“I am distancing myself from politics and completely focusing on being creative!!”

“我正在远离政治，将注意力全部集中在创新上!!”

1 component   

n.组成部分，成分，元件；adj.组成的，合成的

参考例句：

• Each component is carefully checked before assembly.每个零件在装配前都经过仔细检查。
• Blade and handle are the component parts of a knife.刀身和刀柄是一把刀的组成部分。

2 promulgated   

v.宣扬（某事物）( promulgate的过去式和过去分词 )；传播；公布；颁布（法令、新法律等）

参考例句：

• Hence China has promulgated more than 30 relevant laws, statutes and regulations. 中国为此颁布的法律、法规和规章多达３０余项。 来自汉英非文学 - 白皮书
• The shipping industry promulgated a voluntary code. 航运业对自律守则进行了宣传。 来自辞典例句

3 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。

4 skeptical   

adj.怀疑的，多疑的

参考例句：

• Others here are more skeptical about the chances for justice being done.这里的其他人更为怀疑正义能否得到伸张。
• Her look was skeptical and resigned.她的表情是将信将疑而又无可奈何。

5 hovers   

鸟( hover的第三人称单数 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• A hawk hovers in the sky. 一只老鹰在天空盘旋。
• A hen hovers her chicks. 一只母鸡在孵小鸡。

6 proffer   

v.献出，赠送；n.提议，建议

参考例句：

• He rose and proffered a silver box full of cigarettes.他站起身，伸手递过一个装满香烟的银盒子。
• I proffer to lend him one.我表示愿意借他一个。

7 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。

8 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。

9 robust   

adj.强壮的，强健的，粗野的，需要体力的，浓的

参考例句：

• She is too tall and robust.她个子太高，身体太壮。
• China wants to keep growth robust to reduce poverty and avoid job losses,AP commented.美联社评论道，中国希望保持经济强势增长，以减少贫困和失业状况。

10 outrages   

引起…的义愤，激怒( outrage的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• People are seeking retribution for the latest terrorist outrages. 人们在设法对恐怖分子最近的暴行进行严惩。
• He [She] is not allowed to commit any outrages. 不能任其胡作非为。

11 renounce   

v.放弃；拒绝承认，宣布与…断绝关系

参考例句：

• She decided to renounce the world and enter a convent.她决定弃绝尘世去当修女。
• It was painful for him to renounce his son.宣布与儿子脱离关系对他来说是很痛苦的。

12 flirtation   

n.调情，调戏，挑逗

参考例句：

• a brief and unsuccessful flirtation with the property market 对房地产市场一时兴起、并不成功的介入
• At recess Tom continued his flirtation with Amy with jubilant self-satisfaction. 课间休息的时候，汤姆继续和艾美逗乐，一副得意洋洋、心满意足的样子。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险