2021年经济学人 通往艺术之路——融合（在线收听）

Books & Arts

文学与艺术

Access to art -- The mixing pot

通往艺术之路——融合

A museum opens up its collection

一家博物馆开放了它的藏品

The new home for the collection of the Museum Boijmans van Beuningen, a gorgeous 40-metre-tall mirrored flowerpot that is set to become Rotterdam’s signature building, had its origins in an extremely Dutch emergency.

博伊曼斯·范伯宁恩博物馆藏品的新家——一个美丽绝伦的40米高的镜面花盆，即将成为鹿特丹的标志性建筑，它起源于一次极其荷兰式的紧急情况。

The basement that held the museum’s undisplayed art -- 151,000 objects, among the Netherlands’ most important collections -- was six metres below sea level, and kept flooding.

该建筑的地下室位于海平面以下6米的地方，一直有水流涌入，那里收藏着博物馆未展出的151000件艺术品，这些是荷兰最重要的部分藏品。

The city had constructed a garage under an adjacent park which interfered with drainage.

市政府之前在邻近的公园下面修建了一个车库，干扰了排水系统。

Sjarel Ex, the museum’s director, could have built a storage facility in a suburb, but wanted a way to keep the trove on site, and to open it to the public.

博物馆馆长Sjarel Ex本可以在郊区建一个贮藏设施，但他想找到一种让藏品留在原址的方法，并向公众开放参观。

Mr Ex asked for ideas from Winy Maas of MVRDV, a leading Dutch architecture firm.

Ex先生向荷兰头部建筑公司MVRDV的Winy Maas征求意见。

The first concept was a gigantic table perched above the park, from which artworks could be lowered for spectators.

第一种设想是在公园上方放置一个巨大的桌子，从上面降下艺术品供观众参观。

This proved impractical, but during a brainstorming session Mr Maas plopped a tea cup onto a model of the park, then noticed a mirrored kettle nearby.

结果证明这个设想无法付诸现实，但在一次头脑风暴会议上，Maas先生将一个茶杯碰倒在公园的模型上，随后注意到附近形成了一个镜像水壶。

The cup’s curve gave it a narrow base, which would leave more room for pedestrians; the reflective surface of the kettle melded with the surroundings.

杯身的曲线使它拥有较窄的底部，这将给行人留下了更多的空间；水壶的反光表面与周围的环境融为一体。

More than a decade after that epiphany, the building known simply as “Depot” opened to visitors on November 6th.

在那次灵光乍现十多年后，这座被简称为“Depot”的建筑于11月6日向参观者开放。

In Dutch “de pot” means “the pot” (as in the flowery kind), a lexical pun reinforced by the rooftop garden covered in birch trees.

在荷兰语中，“de pot”的意思是“花盆”（种花的那种），它的双关含义被另一个意思所加强，即覆盖着桦树的屋顶花园。

The mirrored exterior creates a fish-eye effect that reflects the city’s skyline, curving down to show the park and viewers themselves.

镜面外观创造了鱼眼效果，映出城市的天际线，向下弯曲，向公园和参观者展示着自己。

Mr Maas compares it to the drawings of Giovanni Piranesi.

Maas先生将它比作乔瓦尼·皮拉内西的画作。

Rotterdam was bombed flat during the second world war, and has since prided itself on its geometric modernity.

鹿特丹在第二次世界大战期间被夷为平地，此后一直以其现代化的几何造型而自豪。

Depot fits right in, but also provides the city with a focal point.

Depot完美融入其中，但也为这座城市提供了一个焦点。

Yet it is the inside that is most important.

然而，内部才是最重要的。

The six-floor-deep atrium is criss-crossed by suspended staircases reminiscent of M.C. Escher prints.

悬挂楼梯在六层楼高的中庭区域相互交错，让人想起M.C.埃舍尔的版画。

Glass etalages showcase eye-catching pieces: fluorescent dresses, inlaid furniture, abstract paintings by R.B. Kitaj.

玻璃橱窗中展示着引人注目的作品：荧光连衣裙、镶嵌家具、R.B. Kitaj的抽象派绘画。

Along the sides are the storage halls.

旁边是储藏室。

Canvases hang on rolling metal lattices in rows that can be pulled out for inspection.

油画挂在一排排滚动的金属格子上，可以被拉出来查看。

Sculptures and furniture are stacked on rolling motorised shelves.

雕塑和家具堆放在滚动的电动货架上。

Organisation is alphabetical, chronological or by size and material.

按字母顺序、时间顺序或大小和材料组织排列。

There are no labels; even with QR codes and the museum’s smartphone app, identification is rarely forthcoming.

没有标签；即使有二维码和博物馆的智能手机应用，作品标识也很少出现。

It is all a bit dazzling.

这一切都有点令人眼花缭乱。

A lattice-wall slides out: there is Breugel’s “Tower of Babel”.

一堵格子墙滑了出来：那是布鲁盖尔的“巴别塔”。

Another emerges with what looks like a Jan Toorop, but who knows?

另一堵墙出现了，带来一个看起来像简·托罗普作品的东西，但谁知道呢？

On other floors photographers and restorers work in open labs.

在其他楼层，摄影师和修复人员在开放式实验室工作。

Visitors are led through by guides, not left alone to sample at random.

参观者由导览者带领参观，而不是独自一人四处闲逛。

But Depot still has an immediacy different from a curated museum.

然而Depot仍有一种不同于策展博物馆的即时性。

Other institutions are also planning to open their collections: the Victoria and Albert Museum’s new facility is scheduled to open in London in 2024.

其他机构也计划开放他们的藏品：维多利亚和阿尔伯特博物馆的新馆计划于2024年在伦敦开放。

Meanwhile, for a few years Depot will be the only place to see the Boijmans van Beuningen’s treasures, as the main museum is closed.

与此同时，由于主博物馆关闭，在未来几年里，Depot将是唯一能看到博伊曼斯·范伯宁恩珍贵藏品的地方。

They have to fix the basement.

那个地下室必须得修了。