PBS高端访谈:艺术家推动社会前进的责任

JUDY WOODRUFF: Next, we turn to another episode of our weekly Brief But Spectacular series, where we ask people about their passions. Tonight, composer and artist Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes. He has performed everywhere, from the White House to Carnegie Hall. His latest project is called The Transformations¹ Suite².

SAMORA ABAYOMI PINDERHUGHES, Artist: Too often, for me, music ends up being about the show, and then people clap, and they might talk about it, and then they go home. That makes no sense to me. I want to make sure that, if somebody is moved by my music, that's going to make them live differently. Jazz is protest music, pure and simple. Jazz is music that came from the gutter³, from the hood⁴. Jazz is in and of itself as an improvisatory⁵ art form literally⁶ represents the idea of imagination in the moment. I believe that the artist's responsibility, like Nina Simone used to say, is to reflect the times. If we look at movements throughout history, there's always been music for the movement. And those are my favorite artists. Harry⁷ Belafonte, Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, they capture the essence of the moment. What we do as artists is, we move people. And so if we can move people in service of moving a nation, towards an idea like justice for something or someone, then that is my responsibility. Harry Belafonte talked to me about all the people in the civil rights movement being in their 20s and making all these incredible things happen, because that's their energy, their vitality⁸, their imagination. It's my generation's time to take responsibility, to take ownership of our world. It's very important for me, being African-American, mixed race artist and person, to illuminate⁹ the issues that are present in today's world around police brutality¹⁰, around incarceration¹¹, to hopefully be able to move forward in a way that is equitable¹² and just for all people. The Transformations Suite is a five-part tone poem combining music, theater and poetry to examine the history of African protest, both in the diaspora and specifically in America. Every time, we play The Transformations Suite, it's a different performance, because every city that we go, I ask the members of that community or the members of that school, what are the things that is -- that are going on here that you find problematic? What are the things you're fighting against or for, and then we put that in the music? And I think a lot of people feel like me as far as the urgency of the moment, that we don't have time to waste. So that's what I mean when I say, I don't have time for anything but urgency in my art. We really don't have time for it as a society. My name is Samora Abayomi Pinderhughes, and this my Brief But Spectacular take on my responsibility as an artist.

茱蒂·伍德瑞夫：接下来，我们转向每周的Brief But Spectacular系列，探寻人们的激情。今晚做客节目的是，作曲家与艺术家萨莫拉·阿巴约米·费德哈格斯。他的表演遍布各处，从白宫到卡耐基音乐厅。他的最新作品叫做The Transformations Suite。

萨莫拉·阿巴约米·费德哈格斯，艺术家：对我来说，音乐通常就是演出，然后人们鼓掌离去，他们可能会还谈论，然后回家。那对我来说毫无意义。我想确定，如果有人被我的音乐打动，那会改变他们的生活方式。爵士乐是一种反抗音乐，纯粹而简单。爵士乐是从贫民窟里传出的音乐。爵士乐本身是一种即兴艺术形式，实际上代表了人们在这一刻的想法。我相信艺术家的责任，就像妮娜·西蒙常说的，就是反映时代。如果我们观察整个社会运动的历史，它们总是伴随着音乐。那些是我最喜欢的艺术家。哈里·贝拉方特，鲍勃·马利，马文·盖伊，他们捕捉瞬间的本质。作为艺术家，我们会感动人们。如果我们能感动人们，因为一种思想而感动整个国家，比如对某事或某人产生了正义感，我觉得这是我的责任。哈里·贝拉方特告诉我说，所有参加民权运动的人都是在他们20多岁的时候，他们令所有这些不可思议的事情发生了。因为这是他们的能量，他们的活力，他们的想象力。该我们这一代来承担责任，掌控我们的世界了。作为一个非洲裔美国人，一个混血，说出这些问题是非常重要的，如今的世界充斥着这些问题，还有警察暴行和囚禁。希望社会能够以公平公正的方式向前迈进。The Transformations Suite是五部交响诗，结合音乐，戏剧和诗歌来审视非洲抗议史，包括移民群体和美国的抗议史。每一次，我们演奏The Transformations Suite，都是一次不同的体验，因为我们每到一座城市，我都会向社区居民或是学生询问，你们在当地发现了什么问题，这是什么东西，在这里你发现问题？你反对或支持什么，然后把它放进音乐里？我认为很多人觉得我一天到晚紧紧张张，我们没有时间浪费。这就是我所说的，我没有时间去做任何事情，除了我艺术中的紧迫感。对整个社会而言，我们真的没时间了。我叫萨莫拉·阿巴约米·费德哈格斯，这是我的Brief But Spectacular，作为艺术家的职责。

1 transformations   

n.变化( transformation的名词复数 )；转换；转换；变换

参考例句：

• Energy transformations go on constantly, all about us. 在我们周围，能量始终在不停地转换着。 来自辞典例句
• On the average, such transformations balance out. 平均起来，这种转化可以互相抵消。 来自辞典例句

2 suite   

n.一套(家具)；套房；随从人员

参考例句：

• She has a suite of rooms in the hotel.她在那家旅馆有一套房间。
• That is a nice suite of furniture.那套家具很不错。

3 gutter   

n.沟，街沟，水槽，檐槽，贫民窟

参考例句：

• There's a cigarette packet thrown into the gutter.阴沟里有个香烟盒。
• He picked her out of the gutter and made her a great lady.他使她脱离贫苦生活，并成为贵妇。

4 hood   

n.头巾，兜帽，覆盖；v.罩上，以头巾覆盖

参考例句：

• She is wearing a red cloak with a hood.她穿着一件红色带兜帽的披风。
• The car hood was dented in.汽车的发动机罩已凹了进去。

5 improvisatory   

即席的

参考例句：

• This piece is much improvisatory in its content. 作者写这首作品时，只是随心而写，比较即兴。
• In Omaha Nebraska, Randy's house evolved, by design, as an improvisatory collaboration with the architect's students. 内布拉斯加州的奥马哈，蓝迪布朗家的进化，由设计，作为一个乐队合作与设计师的学生。

6 literally   

adv.照字面意义，逐字地；确实

参考例句：

• He translated the passage literally.他逐字逐句地翻译这段文字。
• Sometimes she would not sit down till she was literally faint.有时候，她不走到真正要昏厥了，决不肯坐下来。

7 harry   

vt.掠夺，蹂躏，使苦恼

参考例句：

• Today,people feel more hurried and harried.今天，人们感到更加忙碌和苦恼。
• Obama harried business by Healthcare Reform plan.奥巴马用医改掠夺了商界。

8 vitality   

n.活力，生命力，效力

参考例句：

• He came back from his holiday bursting with vitality and good health.他度假归来之后，身强体壮，充满活力。
• He is an ambitious young man full of enthusiasm and vitality.他是个充满热情与活力的有远大抱负的青年。

9 illuminate   

vt.照亮，照明；用灯光装饰；说明，阐释

参考例句：

• Dreams kindle a flame to illuminate our dark roads.梦想点燃火炬照亮我们黑暗的道路。
• They use games and drawings to illuminate their subject.他们用游戏和图画来阐明他们的主题。

10 brutality   

n.野蛮的行为，残忍，野蛮

参考例句：

• The brutality of the crime has appalled the public. 罪行之残暴使公众大为震惊。
• a general who was infamous for his brutality 因残忍而恶名昭彰的将军

11 incarceration   

n.监禁，禁闭；钳闭

参考例句：

• He hadn't changed much in his nearly three years of incarceration. 在将近三年的监狱生活中，他变化不大。 来自辞典例句
• Please, please set it free before it bursts from its long incarceration! 请你，请你将这颗心释放出来吧！否则它会因长期的禁闭而爆裂。 来自辞典例句

12 equitable   

adj.公平的；公正的

参考例句：

• This is an equitable solution to the dispute. 这是对该项争议的公正解决。
• Paying a person what he has earned is equitable. 酬其应得,乃公平之事。