2007年VOA标准英语-Art Imitates Life in NYC

By Joseph Mok
New York City
27 March 2007
 
watch Sleepwalkers report 

New York City is often described as "the city that never sleeps." But as day turns to night New Yorkers and their city take on a different rhythm, a different energy and a different interaction between people and their urban environment. A recent large-scale public art show in downtown Manhattan, "Sleepwalkers" set out to capture the city's unique nighttime experience.  For producer Joseph Mok, Elaine Lu has more on "Sleepwalkers."

 
Images are projected on the outside walls of the Museum of Modern Art
The Mayor of New York City, Michael Bloomberg officially opened the exhibit in January. "Sleepwalkers" is a joint¹ art project between the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) and Creative Time, a New York City-based public art organization.

Glen Lowry, the Director of MOMA, explains the timing² of the project. "This is a project about projecting images on the outside of the building. So it had to be done in the winter months when it gets dark early. We would disturb our neighbors unduly³ by projecting too late at night. So the timing was really dictated⁴ by needing it to be dark early in the evening."

"Sleepwalkers" consisted of eight large-scale moving images projected onto the exterior⁵ of the museum, making them accessible to audience from different vantage points. 

 
Apples in The Big Apple
Artist Doug Aiken, the project's creator, is known for his works exploring the interaction between people and the urban environment. "I think it is a meeting place for the city. It's the role of a museum to be a place of exchange. I think in many respects I want to see if it is possible to turn these buildings inside-outside. Open them up. Take private lives and make them very public, and very generous in a way."

The moving images of "Sleepwalkers" depict⁶ five New Yorkers: a businessman, a postal⁷ worker, an office worker, an electrician and a bicycle messenger.  The video narrates⁸ their different journeys to destinations throughout the city. Lowry says "Sleepwalkers" created a very different experience for museum patrons with the goal of inspiring them to think about art in relation to the city itself and the larger urban experience. 

One visitor to the exhibit said, "Sure, it can be seen as clips of everyday life. People sort of going through their daily routine and inadvertently overlapping⁹ with each other in some way. And we are just having a very fun night."

 
A New Yorker depicted¹⁰ in the Sleepwalkers exhibit
"I don't know if it related to my life specifically but it is great to have art out on the wall of the city where you can enjoy it and react to it and let it brighten your day," said someone else.

Another visitor remarked, "I am visiting here from Scotland. This location and the visual impact of the work is so different from anything that I'm used to. It's actually very unreal to me.”

"I think it completes MoMA in a way,” thought another patron. “They should have something like this all the time actually. I think it will make it more inspirational as a civic¹¹ space. And it's free!"

As dusk descends¹², the hustle¹³ and bustle¹⁴ of New York seems to mirror the moving images of "Sleepwalkers," and vice¹⁵ versa.

1 joint   

adj.联合的，共同的；n.关节，接合处；v.连接，贴合

参考例句：

• I had a bad fall,which put my shoulder out of joint.我重重地摔了一跤，肩膀脫臼了。
• We wrote a letter in joint names.我们联名写了封信。

2 timing   

n.时间安排，时间选择

参考例句：

• The timing of the meeting is not convenient.会议的时间安排不合适。
• The timing of our statement is very opportune.我们发表声明选择的时机很恰当。

3 unduly   

adv.过度地，不适当地

参考例句：

• He did not sound unduly worried at the prospect.他的口气听上去对前景并不十分担忧。
• He argued that the law was unduly restrictive.他辩称法律的约束性有些过分了。

4 dictated   

v.大声讲或读( dictate的过去式和过去分词 )；口授；支配；摆布

参考例句：

• He dictated a letter to his secretary. 他向秘书口授信稿。
• No person of a strong character likes to be dictated to. 没有一个个性强的人愿受人使唤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 exterior   

adj.外部的，外在的；表面的

参考例句：

• The seed has a hard exterior covering.这种子外壳很硬。
• We are painting the exterior wall of the house.我们正在给房子的外墙涂漆。

6 depict   

vt.描画，描绘；描写，描述

参考例句：

• I don't care to see plays or films that depict murders or violence.我不喜欢看描写谋杀或暴力的戏剧或电影。
• Children's books often depict farmyard animals as gentle,lovable creatures.儿童图书常常把农场的动物描写得温和而可爱。

7 postal   

adj.邮政的，邮局的

参考例句：

• A postal network now covers the whole country.邮路遍及全国。
• Remember to use postal code.勿忘使用邮政编码。

8 narrates   

v.故事( narrate的第三人称单数 )

参考例句：

• It narrates the unconstitutional acts of James II. 它历数了詹姆斯二世的违法行为。 来自辞典例句
• Chapter three narrates the economy activity which Jew return the Occident. 第三章讲述了犹太人重返西欧后的经济活动。 来自互联网

9 overlapping   

adj./n.交迭（的）

参考例句：

• There is no overlapping question between the two courses. 这两门课程之间不存在重叠的问题。
• A trimetrogon strip is composed of three rows of overlapping. 三镜头摄影航线为三排重迭的象片所组成。

10 depicted   

描绘，描画( depict的过去式和过去分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• Other animals were depicted on the periphery of the group. 其他动物在群像的外围加以修饰。
• They depicted the thrilling situation to us in great detail. 他们向我们详细地描述了那激动人心的场面。

11 civic   

adj.城市的，都市的，市民的，公民的

参考例句：

• I feel it is my civic duty to vote.我认为投票选举是我作为公民的义务。
• The civic leaders helped to forward the project.市政府领导者协助促进工程的进展。

12 descends   

v.下来( descend的第三人称单数 )；下去；下降；下斜

参考例句：

• This festival descends from a religious rite. 这个节日起源于宗教仪式。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The path descends steeply to the village. 小路陡直而下直到村子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

13 hustle   

v.推搡；竭力兜售或获取；催促；n.奔忙(碌)

参考例句：

• It seems that he enjoys the hustle and bustle of life in the big city.看起来他似乎很喜欢大城市的热闹繁忙的生活。
• I had to hustle through the crowded street.我不得不挤过拥挤的街道。

14 bustle   

v.喧扰地忙乱，匆忙，奔忙；n.忙碌；喧闹

参考例句：

• The bustle and din gradually faded to silence as night advanced.随着夜越来越深，喧闹声逐渐沉寂。
• There is a lot of hustle and bustle in the railway station.火车站里非常拥挤。

15 vice   

n.坏事；恶习；[pl.]台钳，老虎钳；adj.副的

参考例句：

• He guarded himself against vice.他避免染上坏习惯。
• They are sunk in the depth of vice.他们堕入了罪恶的深渊。