经济学人:涂鸦 墙上文化

 　　Graffiti

　　涂鸦

　　The writing's on the wall

　　墙上文化

　　Having turned respectable, graffiti culture is dying

　　涂鸦文化获得体面，然濒临灭绝

　　LONDON'S fastest-changing art gallery is hidden in a sunken ball court on a housing estate in Stockwell, southLondon. On a sunny Sunday afternoon six or seven men, mostly in their 30s, are busy painting the walls with new designs. They have put up cartoons, names written in elaborate, multicoloured lettering and clever perspective tricks. Tins of spray paint and beer stand on the ground; ladders lean against the paintings. The atmosphere is not unlike that of a golf course: a mix of concentration and blokey relaxation¹.

　　伦敦的艺术展瞬息万变，这次则在伦敦南部斯托克维尔住宅区的一个地下球场举行。一个阳光明媚的周日午后，六七个30多岁的男子把自己的新设计画在墙壁上。他们在上面画了卡通图，精心设计的名字、色彩缤纷的字母和巧妙的错觉图。地上摆着一瓶瓶喷漆和啤酒，扶梯靠在墙上。这场景和高尔夫球场一样：是一种专注力和娱乐休闲的并存体。

　　墙上文化.jpg

　　Graffiti painting is traditionally a daredevil pursuit. Teenagers dodge² security guards to put their names on trains and buses. But over the past decade that has all but disappeared fromBritain's cities. Between 2007 and 2012 the number of incidents of graffiti recorded by the British Transport Police fell by 63%. A survey by the environment ministry³ shows that fewer places are blighted⁴ by tags than ever. Graffiti are increasingly confined to sanctioned walls, such as the Stockwell ball courts. In time the practice may die out entirely⁵.

　　一般来讲，涂鸦画可谓是一种不计后果的活动。年轻人们会避开保安，把它们的名字画上火车和巴士。但在过去的十年，这种现象在英国的城市已经消失了。从2007到2012年，违反英国交通法规的涂鸦案件下降了63%。环境部的调查显示，比起以前，受到标语破坏的地方越来越少。现在，涂鸦画日益局限在那些允许被涂画的墙上，比如斯托克维尔的球场。假以时日，这种行为可能会完全消亡。

　　The most obvious reason for the decline in tagging and train-painting is better policing, says Keegan Webb, who runs The London Vandal, a graffiti blog. Numerous CCTV cameras mean it is harder to get away with painting illegally. And punishments are more severe. Once-prolific taggers such as Daniel Halpin, who painted his pseudonym⁶ “Tox” all overLondon, have been given long prison sentences. British graffiti artists who want to paint trains usually go abroad to do it these days, says Mr Webb.

　　Keegan Webb，一个经营名叫“伦敦文化艺术破坏者”的涂鸦博客的博主说，绘名和铁皮车涂鸦风靡程度下降最主要的原因是政策法规更加完备。非法在墙上绘图越来越难以逃离无处不在的中央电视台摄像头，相应的惩罚也更加严重了。多产的绘名艺人Daniel Halpin把他的笔名“Tox”涂遍了整个伦敦，因此被判长期监禁。Mr Webb说近来想去涂画铁皮火车的英国的涂鸦艺人通常都会选择出国。

　　A generational shift is apparent, too. Fewer teenagers are getting into painting walls. They prefer to play with iPads and video games, reckons Boyd Hill, an artist known as Solo One, who in effect runs the Stockwell ball courts. Those who do get involved tend to prefer street art to graffiti proper (which purists define as letters and names, however elaborately drawn). Some have gone to art school and want to make money from their paintings. The internet means that painters can win far more attention by posting pictures online than they can by breaking into a railway yard.

　　一代人心态的转变也很明显。现在越来越少的年轻人想参与墙上涂鸦活动。经营斯托克维尔球场的Boyd Hill（被称为艺术家独一人）承认，相较而言，年轻人们更愿意玩儿IPad和电脑游戏。就算对这方面感兴趣的年轻人也比较喜欢街头艺术，而非正宗的涂鸦（不管画得多么仔细，纯粹主义者们都只称其为字母和名字）。他们中有一些人已经去了艺术学校，并想从他们的绘画作品中获利。网络的普及意味着这些人可以把自己的绘图在线上传，相较把它们画在铁路调车场，这样更能提高他们的知名度。

　　Taggers and graffiti artists mostly grew up in the 1980s and 1990s. Those men—and almost all are men—are now older and less willing to take risks. “We can't run away from the police any more,” says Ben Eine, who turned from tagging to street art. The hip-hop culture that inspired graffiti in the first place has faded. Video games and comic books provide more inspiration than music.

　　绘名和涂鸦艺人大都是80或90后。这个群体—大多是男士—碍于年龄，不甚愿意冒险。Ben Eine说“无论如何我们再也不能像从前那样从警察眼皮子下溜走了。”，因而他从“绘名党”转向街头艺术。刚开始掀起涂鸦的嘻哈文化已渐渐销声匿迹。相比较而言，电子游戏和漫画书比音乐更能予人灵感。

　　Graffiti may eventually disappear. But for now the hobby is almost respectable. Mr Eine says he has lots of friends who used to paint trains. Now with wives and children, they paint abandoned warehouses⁷ at the weekend. It has become something to do on a Sunday afternoon—a slightly healthier alternative to sitting watching the football

　　涂鸦画可能最终会消失。但是直至现在，这种爱好仍然受到人们的尊敬。Ben Eine说他有很多朋友曾经痴迷于在火车车皮厢上作画。现在有了妻儿，他们只有周末去废弃的仓库墙上大展身手。这已经成了周日下午的惯例—一种比坐在电视机前看足球略微健康的消遣。

　　1.put up 提供

　　例句:The teacher training college put up a plaque⁸ to the college's founder⁹.

　　那所教师培训学院为该学院的创立者立了一块纪念牌匾。

　　2.such as 诸如

　　例句:And they tend to do so more dramatically in a dog-eat-dog sector¹⁰ such as the financial industry, says staw.

　　斯托教授认为，在像金融业这样弱肉强食的行当，这种现象尤为严重。

　　3.get away with 侥幸成功，逃脱处罚

　　例句:Few other mass-market manufacturers could get away with such predictability, but VW is making a virtue¹¹ of consistency¹².

　　很少有其它的汽车厂商可以做到这种地步，不过大众的表现却一直十分优秀。

　　4.go abroad 出国

　　例句:To go abroad was quite an adventure for me.

　　出国对我来说是个不寻常的经历。

1 relaxation   

n.松弛，放松；休息；消遣；娱乐

参考例句：

• The minister has consistently opposed any relaxation in the law.部长一向反对法律上的任何放宽。
• She listens to classical music for relaxation.她听古典音乐放松。

2 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

3 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

4 blighted   

adj.枯萎的，摧毁的

参考例句：

• Blighted stems often canker.有病的茎往往溃烂。
• She threw away a blighted rose.她把枯萎的玫瑰花扔掉了。

5 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

6 pseudonym   

n.假名，笔名

参考例句：

• Eric Blair wrote under the pseudonym of George Orwell.埃里克·布莱尔用乔治·奧威尔这个笔名写作。
• Both plays were published under the pseudonym of Philip Dayre.两个剧本都是以菲利普·戴尔的笔名出版的。

7 warehouses   

仓库，货栈( warehouse的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The whisky was taken to bonded warehouses at Port Dundee. 威士忌酒已送到邓迪港的保稅仓库。
• Row upon row of newly built warehouses line the waterfront. 江岸新建的仓库鳞次栉比。

8 plaque   

n.饰板，匾，(医)血小板

参考例句：

• There is a commemorative plaque to the artist in the village hall.村公所里有一块纪念该艺术家的牌匾。
• Some Latin words were engraved on the plaque. 牌匾上刻着些拉丁文。

9 Founder   

n.创始者，缔造者

参考例句：

• He was extolled as the founder of their Florentine school.他被称颂为佛罗伦萨画派的鼻祖。
• According to the old tradition,Romulus was the founder of Rome.按照古老的传说，罗穆卢斯是古罗马的建国者。

10 sector   

n.部门，部分；防御地段，防区；扇形

参考例句：

• The export sector will aid the economic recovery. 出口产业将促进经济复苏。
• The enemy have attacked the British sector.敌人已进攻英国防区。

11 virtue   

n.德行，美德；贞操；优点；功效，效力

参考例句：

• He was considered to be a paragon of virtue.他被认为是品德尽善尽美的典范。
• You need to decorate your mind with virtue.你应该用德行美化心灵。

12 consistency   

n.一贯性，前后一致，稳定性；(液体的)浓度

参考例句：

• Your behaviour lacks consistency.你的行为缺乏一贯性。
• We appreciate the consistency and stability in China and in Chinese politics.我们赞赏中国及其政策的连续性和稳定性。