纽约时报 卡罗琳·卡洛威 成也流行艺术 败也流行艺术(4)

Many people would love to do the same.

许多人都乐意如此。

For millions, “creative” has talismanic¹ allure².

对无数人来说，“创意人士”这一标签都具有护身符般的吸引力。

It holds the possibility of a more meaningful and exciting existence than what was available to previous generations.

有着让当下的“创意人士”比前几代同行活得更有意义，更激动人心的可能。

It points to a new kind of middle-class dream,

它指向的是一种新型的中产阶级梦想，

one free from wearying manual labor⁴ or the white-collar drudgery⁵ of cubicles⁶ and spreadsheets.

一种摆脱令人厌倦的体力劳动，或白领那种在狭小的工位上整天和表格打交道的单调工作的梦想。

It promises a career, a life, that makes room for self-expression, imagination, even beauty.

它许下的是能为自我表达，想象力，甚至是美丽腾出空间的事业和生活。

But “creative” is often a red flag, a signpost marking an insidious⁷ trade-off.

不过，“创意人士”这个词通常也是种危险信号，一种提示有权衡得失问题潜伏的路标。

A “creative” job listing may lure³ you to pursue your destiny, freed from old social strictures — but also freed from traditional benefits and security.

一份招募“创意人士”的招聘启事可能会诱使你去追求自己的命运，摆脱了传统社会束缚——同时也失去了传统的好处和安全——的命运。

For the privilege of doing “creative” work,

为了获得从事“创造性”工作这一荣耀，

we are asked to accept conditions of financial anxiety and precariousness⁸ that in previous times were unthinkable to the gainfully employed.

我们被要求接受经济上焦虑和不稳定等问题，而从前，这些问题在有收入的就业者眼里是无法想象的。

“Creative” puts lipstick⁹ — or, more precisely¹⁰, a pair of Warby Parker eyeglasses and a sleeve tattoo¹¹ — on a pig.

现在的“创意人士”做的都是往猪嘴上抹口红，或者更准确地说，往猪身上戴沃比·帕克的眼镜，给猪纹花臂这种事。

It dresses up a ruptured¹² social compact, the raw deal of the gig economy, as bohemian freedom.

将破裂的社会契约——零工经济的不公平待遇——装扮成波西米亚式的自由。

The struggle to make ends meet while making good work has long defined the existence of those who choose to live as artists.

长期以来，那些选择以艺术家的身份生活的人，他们的生活一直都被打上了明明创作出了好的作品，却还是要为生计发愁的烙印。

Today, countless¹³ freelancing creatives are tasting that desperation, often while doing “creative” grunt¹⁴ work for big corporations.

如今，不计其数的自由职业“创意人士”也尝到了这种绝望的滋味，他们大多又是在为大公司做繁重的“出创意”工作时尝到的。

The repercussions¹⁵ ripple¹⁶ through the economy and through personal lives, and, yes, sometimes they pop up on the internet.

其影响波及到了整个经济，也波及到了“创意人士”们的个人生活，没错，有时，这种影响还会出现在互联网上。

Caroline Calloway has been cast as a villainous “scammer,” but the truth may be more complicated.

卡洛琳·卡洛韦被塑造成了一个邪恶的“骗子”，但真相可能并没有这么简单。

Like so many young people — like, for that matter, so many middle-aged¹⁷ people and senior citizens —

和许许多多的年轻人一样——而且，就这件事而言，还和许多中年人和老年人也一样——

she is navigating¹⁸ a system that promises rewards it cannot deliver to people with entrepreneurial spirits and artistic¹⁹ inclinations²⁰.

她带领了一个对具有创业精神和艺术倾向的人承诺了它根本兑现不了的回报的体系。

The message we are sending to creatives is clear:

我们想向创意人士们传达的信息很明确：

It may not do much for your bank account, but your work will enrich you emotionally.

你的工作或许对你的银行账户并没有多大帮助，但它能丰富你的情感。

Besides, shouldn’t you be grateful to earn any money at all for doing something you love — something creative?

除此之外，你难道不应该为做自己喜欢的事情——有创意的事情——的时候还能赚到钱，无论多少，而心存感激吗?

1 talismanic   

adj.护身符的，避邪的

参考例句：

• In fact, however, there is no talismanic significance to the word \"proposal\". 然而，事实上，“提案”一词本身并不具备护身符般的特殊意义。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法
• The talismanic captain scored twice yesterday afternoon as Roma beat Parma 3-0 at the Stadio Tardini. 罗马队长在昨天下午进行的罗马3：0战胜帕尔玛的比赛中梅开二度。 来自互联网

2 allure   

n.诱惑力，魅力；vt.诱惑，引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• The window displays allure customers to buy goods.橱窗陈列品吸引顾客购买货物。
• The book has a certain allure for which it is hard to find a reason.这本书有一种难以解释的魅力。

3 lure   

n.吸引人的东西，诱惑物；vt.引诱，吸引

参考例句：

• Life in big cities is a lure for many country boys.大城市的生活吸引着许多乡下小伙子。
• He couldn't resist the lure of money.他不能抵制金钱的诱惑。

4 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

5 drudgery   

n.苦工，重活，单调乏味的工作

参考例句：

• People want to get away from the drudgery of their everyday lives.人们想摆脱日常生活中单调乏味的工作。
• He spent his life in pointlessly tiresome drudgery.他的一生都在做毫无意义的烦人的苦差事。

6 cubicles   

n.小卧室，斗室( cubicle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Security guards, operating inside bullet-proof glass cubicles, and speaking through microphones, scrutinized every arrival and departure. 警卫们在装有防弹玻璃的小室里值勤，通过麦克风细致盘问每一个进出的人。 来自辞典例句
• I guess they thought me content to stay in cubicles. 我猜他们认为我愿意呆在小房间里。 来自互联网

7 insidious   

adj.阴险的，隐匿的，暗中为害的，（疾病）不知不觉之间加剧

参考例句：

• That insidious man bad-mouthed me to almost everyone else.那个阴险的家伙几乎见人便说我的坏话。
• Organized crime has an insidious influence on all who come into contact with it.所有和集团犯罪有关的人都会不知不觉地受坏影响。

8 precariousness   

参考例句：

• The precariousness is further increased by self-experiences in the aforementioned marginal situation. 在上述边际情况下自身经验会更进一步增加这种不确定感。 来自互联网
• These reports have revealed to the insurgents the precariousness of their position. 这些报导使叛乱士兵知道了他们的危险境地。 来自互联网

9 lipstick   

n.口红，唇膏

参考例句：

• Taking out her lipstick,she began to paint her lips.她拿出口红，开始往嘴唇上抹。
• Lipstick and hair conditioner are cosmetics.口红和护发素都是化妆品。

10 precisely   

adv.恰好，正好，精确地，细致地

参考例句：

• It's precisely that sort of slick sales-talk that I mistrust.我不相信的正是那种油腔滑调的推销宣传。
• The man adjusted very precisely.那个人调得很准。

11 tattoo   

n.纹身，(皮肤上的)刺花纹；vt.刺花纹于

参考例句：

• I've decided to get my tattoo removed.我已经决定去掉我身上的纹身。
• He had a tattoo on the back of his hand.他手背上刺有花纹。

12 ruptured   

v.（使）破裂( rupture的过去式和过去分词 )；（使体内组织等）断裂；使（友好关系）破裂；使绝交

参考例句：

• They reported that the pipeline had ruptured. 他们报告说管道已经破裂了。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The wall through Berlin was finally ruptured, prefiguring the reunification of Germany. 柏林墙终于倒塌了，预示着德国的重新统一。 来自辞典例句

13 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

14 grunt   

v.嘟哝；作呼噜声；n.呼噜声，嘟哝

参考例句：

• He lifted the heavy suitcase with a grunt.他咕噜着把沉重的提箱拎了起来。
• I ask him what he think,but he just grunt.我问他在想什麽，他只哼了一声。

15 repercussions   

n.后果，反响( repercussion的名词复数 )；余波

参考例句：

• The collapse of the company will have repercussions for the whole industry. 这家公司的垮台将会给整个行业造成间接的负面影响。
• Human acts have repercussions far beyond the frontiers of the human world. 人类行为所产生的影响远远超出人类世界的范围。 来自《简明英汉词典》

16 ripple   

n.涟波，涟漪，波纹，粗钢梳；vt.使...起涟漪，使起波纹； vi.呈波浪状，起伏前进

参考例句：

• The pebble made a ripple on the surface of the lake.石子在湖面上激起一个涟漪。
• The small ripple split upon the beach.小小的涟漪卷来，碎在沙滩上。

17 middle-aged   

adj.中年的

参考例句：

• I noticed two middle-aged passengers.我注意到两个中年乘客。
• The new skin balm was welcome by middle-aged women.这种新护肤香膏受到了中年妇女的欢迎。

18 navigating   

v.给（船舶、飞机等）引航，导航( navigate的现在分词 )；（从海上、空中等）横越；横渡；飞跃

参考例句：

• These can also be very useful when navigating time-based documents, such as video and audio. 它对于和时间有关的文档非常有用，比如视频和音频文档。 来自About Face 3交互设计精髓
• Vehicles slowed to a crawl on city roads, navigating slushy snow. 汽车在市区路上行驶缓慢，穿越泥泞的雪地。 来自互联网

19 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。

20 inclinations   

倾向( inclination的名词复数 )； 倾斜； 爱好； 斜坡

参考例句：

• She has artistic inclinations. 她有艺术爱好。
• I've no inclinations towards life as a doctor. 我的志趣不是行医。