VOA慢速英语2014 艺术家将塑料袋变成艺术品

 

Artist Turns Plastic Bags Into Art 艺术家将塑料袋变成艺术品

Welcome to American Mosaic¹ from VOA Learning English.  I’m Caty Weaver².

Making art with found materials is not a new idea.  Recycled paper, cloth and metal goods can become important pictures and sculptures.  An artist near Washington, D.C. just had her recycled art on exhibit at the Prince George’s African American Museum and Cultural Center in Maryland.  She uses a material found in every American home.

June Simms reports.

Plastic bags are not costly³ to produce. They are also strong and easy to carry.  This is why they are a popular container in much of the world.  

But they are also a major source of pollution. It can take hundreds of years for plastic bags to break down. As they do, tiny pieces can poison soil, lakes, rivers, and oceans. So, environmental experts urge people to reuse and recycle plastic bags.

Maryland artist Allita Irby does just that.  It starts with the morning newspaper.

Ms. Irby will read it later in the day. What is more important is getting that plastic bag the paper comes in.

The mixed media artist recognized its rich possibilities about three years ago.

“As I was taking the newspaper out.  I felt the texture⁴ of these bags, they were soft. I just looked down and realized it takes three to make a braid. I'll just put a few staples⁵ in here just to keep it from unraveling. "

Since then, Irby has been using plastic bags to create abstract lines in her art works.

Before incorporating plastic bags in her pieces, Irby used natural materials like feathers, leather and dried plants.

All those elements represent her Native American ancestry⁶ and identity, like her piece called “Navaho Bundles.”

“I was replicating⁷ a hair style, a Navaho hair style when the hair is heavy and it’s looped back on itself. I took the piece and looped it back onto itself and secured it with a tie.”

Ms. Irby’s neighbors praise her ability to turn trash into treasure. Some, like Charlotte Hogan, asked the artist to teach them how to create art from used plastic bags.

“I think it’s fascinating, it's wonderful. I do plan to share with my seniors at my church.”

Neighbor Aleta Meyer expressed surprise.

“I’ve never given any more thought to what to do with a plastic bag. This is definitely different.”

Shirley Watts⁸ also lives in the neighborhood.  She plans to show others her art.

“I want to make a masterpiece that I can put in a frame and put it up on my wall and then I know that I did it.”

Allita Irby says anyone can do it.

“I think we’re all artists really, and there is beauty all around us."

The artist says all you have to do is open your eyes and bring the outside in.

1 mosaic   

n./adj.镶嵌细工的，镶嵌工艺品的，嵌花式的

参考例句：

• The sky this morning is a mosaic of blue and white.今天早上的天空是幅蓝白相间的画面。
• The image mosaic is a troublesome work.图象镶嵌是个麻烦的工作。

2 weaver   

n.织布工；编织者

参考例句：

• She was a fast weaver and the cloth was very good.她织布织得很快，而且布的质量很好。
• The eager weaver did not notice my confusion.热心的纺织工人没有注意到我的狼狈相。

3 costly   

adj.昂贵的，价值高的，豪华的

参考例句：

• It must be very costly to keep up a house like this.维修这么一幢房子一定很昂贵。
• This dictionary is very useful,only it is a bit costly.这本词典很有用，左不过贵了些。

4 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

5 staples   

n.（某国的）主要产品( staple的名词复数 )；钉书钉；U 形钉；主要部份v.用钉书钉钉住( staple的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• The anvil onto which the staples are pressed was not assemble correctly. 订书机上的铁砧安装错位。 来自辞典例句
• I'm trying to make an analysis of the staples of his talk. 我在试行分析他的谈话的要旨。 来自辞典例句

6 ancestry   

n.祖先，家世

参考例句：

• Their ancestry settled the land in 1856.他们的祖辈1856年在这块土地上定居下来。
• He is an American of French ancestry.他是法国血统的美国人。

7 replicating   

复制( replicate的现在分词 )； 重复； 再造； 再生

参考例句：

• Applications create these partitions for storing and replicating data. 应用程序创建这些分区用来储存和复制数据。
• The closest real things to these creatures were bits of self-replicating RNA. 最贴近这些造物的实物是能做一点微不足道的自复制的核糖核酸。

8 watts   

（电力计量单位）瓦，瓦特( watt的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• My lamp uses 60 watts; my toaster uses 600 watts. 我的灯用60瓦，我的烤面包器用600瓦。
• My lamp uses 40 watts. 我的灯40瓦。