Art:Damien Hirst 艺术：英国当代艺术家赫斯特

Recession, What Recession? 衰退，什么衰退？

　　While many of the headlines this week have been about the turmoil¹ in the financial markets, one British artist has been bucking² the trend by turning a healthy profit.

　　In fact, Damien Hirst, a conceptual artist best-known for pickling sharks in formaldehyde, has broken records by taking an astonishing £111m (1,355m yuan) during a two-day auction³ of his work in London this week.

　　In total 223 of his creations were up for grabs in the groundbreaking sale at British auction house Sotheby's. Normally artists sell their work via galleries, but by cutting out the middleman, Hirst will happily pocket the difference.

　　Art expert Charles Dupplin said, It's another landmark⁴ and an astounding⁵ day for the art market in a year that has seen many long-standing records demolished⁶, despite the gloomy world economy.

　　Hirst's work has received mixed reactions from the press in the past but it has consistently sold for high prices. Last year his diamond-encrusted skull⁷ was valued at £50m (612m yuan), making it the costliest⁸ single work of art ever.

　　The most expensive item at this year's auction was The Golden Calf⁹: a real calf in a tank of formaldehyde with 18-carat hooves, horns and a gold disc on its head, which sold for £9.2m (112m yuan).

　　But while art collectors from around the world have been scrambling¹⁰ to pick up an original Damien Hirst piece in London this week, not everyone is so enamoured with his work.

　　A spokesperson for the Stuckist movement, which favours figurative over conceptual art, said, It's obvious the art world has gone stark¹¹ raving¹² bonkers.

　　Indeed, people frequently question the boundaries of what is and what isn't art. In a world where modern art has become increasingly conceptual, perhaps the most useful definition we can turn to is that of the late American artist Andy Warhol, who said, Art is what you can get away with.

　　However you define art, Hirst should be laughing all the way to the bank.

GLOSSARY 词汇表
turmoil
骚动， 混乱
turning a healthy profit
数目可观的盈利
pickling
浸泡（在…里）
auction
拍卖
cutting out the middleman
避开中间商，直接交易
gloomy world economy
低迷不振的世界经济
18-carat hooves
18k黄金牛蹄
enamoured
喜爱，沉迷于
stark raving bonkers
完全疯了
art is what you can get away with
只要有认同者你的作品就是艺术
 bucking the trend
反市场潮流
conceptual artist
概念派艺术家
formaldehyde
甲醛
up for grabs
出售；可得的
pocket the difference
赚差价
diamond-encrusted skull
镶嵌满钻石的骷髅
scrambling
抢着
figurative (art)
具象（艺术）
question the boundaries
对两事务间的界限提出疑问
laughing all the way to the bank
轻轻松松赚大钱

1 turmoil   

n.骚乱，混乱，动乱

参考例句：

• His mind was in such a turmoil that he couldn't get to sleep.内心的纷扰使他无法入睡。
• The robbery put the village in a turmoil.抢劫使全村陷入混乱。

2 bucking   

v.（马等）猛然弓背跃起( buck的现在分词 )；抵制；猛然震荡；马等尥起后蹄跳跃

参考例句：

• a bucking bronco in the rodeo 牛仔竞技表演中一匹弓背跳跃的野马
• That means we'll be bucking grain bags, bustin's gut. 那就是说咱们要背这一袋袋的谷子，得把五脏都累坏。 来自辞典例句

3 auction   

n.拍卖；拍卖会；vt.拍卖

参考例句：

• They've put the contents of their house up for auction.他们把房子里的东西全都拿去拍卖了。
• They bought a new minibus with the proceeds from the auction.他们用拍卖得来的钱买了一辆新面包车。

4 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

5 astounding   

adj.使人震惊的vt.使震惊，使大吃一惊astound的现在分词)

参考例句：

• There was an astounding 20% increase in sales. 销售量惊人地增加了20%。
• The Chairman's remarks were so astounding that the audience listened to him with bated breath. 主席说的话令人吃惊，所以听众都屏息听他说。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 demolished   

v.摧毁( demolish的过去式和过去分词 )；推翻；拆毁（尤指大建筑物）；吃光

参考例句：

• The factory is due to be demolished next year. 这个工厂定于明年拆除。
• They have been fighting a rearguard action for two years to stop their house being demolished. 两年来，为了不让拆除他们的房子，他们一直在进行最后的努力。

7 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

8 costliest   

adj.昂贵的( costly的最高级 )；代价高的；引起困难的；造成损失的

参考例句：

• At 81 billion dollars, Katrina is the costliest natural disaster in American history. “卡特里娜”飓风造成了近810亿美圆的损失，是美国历史上最严重的自然灾难之一。 来自互联网
• Senator John Kerry has proposed a tax on the costliest health plans sold by insurance companies. 参议员约翰？克里(JohnKerry)已经提议对保险公司销售的高价值的保险计划征税。 来自互联网

9 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

10 scrambling   

v.快速爬行( scramble的现在分词 )；攀登；争夺；（军事飞机）紧急起飞

参考例句：

• Scrambling up her hair, she darted out of the house. 她匆忙扎起头发，冲出房去。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• She is scrambling eggs. 她正在炒蛋。 来自《简明英汉词典》

11 stark   

adj.荒凉的；严酷的；完全的；adv.完全地

参考例句：

• The young man is faced with a stark choice.这位年轻人面临严峻的抉择。
• He gave a stark denial to the rumor.他对谣言加以完全的否认。

12 raving   

adj.说胡话的；疯狂的，怒吼的；非常漂亮的；令人醉心[痴心]的v.胡言乱语(rave的现在分词)n.胡话；疯话adv.胡言乱语地；疯狂地

参考例句：

• The man's a raving lunatic. 那个男子是个语无伦次的疯子。
• When I told her I'd crashed her car, she went stark raving bonkers. 我告诉她我把她的车撞坏了时，她暴跳如雷。