VOA标准英语2012--Miro's Political Side on Display

 Miro's Political Side on Display

This is the kind of fantasy painting that Miro is known for. 

But for the first time, a museum in the United States is showing what's less known about Miro, that many of his paintings were a response to history - especially Spain's Civil War and the long rule of General Francisco Franco. 

Miro was born in the Catalan city of Barcelona in 1893. He spent summers on the family farm. One of his early masterpieces is called The Farm. 

"There are some artists who really are in the pantheon and Miro is one of them, and there are some works that are in the pantheon of his art and this is one of them," explained Curator Harry¹ Cooper.

Cooper adds that the painting was originally owned by the author Ernest Hemingway. The writer's widow donated it to the National Gallery. 

The exhibit is organized chronologically² to show the artist's evolution into abstraction starting in the 1920s. 

"It's a whole series of paintings he is doing of the Catalan peasants, just at a time when the Spanish government is saying to Catalonia, 'You cannot be so independent anymore, don't use your own language, don't use your own flag,'" Cooper noted³.

In 1936, Spain plunged⁴ into civil war. Miro moved to France, and his work turned dark. 

As World War II loomed⁵, he returned to Spain, now under Franco. These small paintings known as Constellations⁶ are seen as expressing his need to escape. 

"With these constellations, this really makes his name in America, because shortly after he made them he managed to send them in a diplomatic pouch⁷ to America where they were shown in New York in a private gallery," Cooper explained. 

A series done in 1940 called The Ladder of Escape became the name of this exhibit. 

"I think it has to do with this double movement of climbing up the ladder into rooms of imagination and fantasy and then he climbs down the ladder to become politically engaged at various times," Cooper said. 

Miro's work remained dark. àlex Susanna is deputy director of the Institute Ramon Llull, which promotes Catalan language and culture. 

"The first years of the dictatorship of Franco were really very hard because Catalan language and Catalan culture were completely forbidden, and I can suspect that for Miro that was showing the kind of deep darkness that was falling into that defeated society," Susanna noted.

The exhibit ends with the Burnt Canvas, done shortly before Franco's death, a sober close to a different take on Miro. 

1 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。

2 chronologically   

ad. 按年代的

参考例句：

• Manuscripts show cases arranged topically not chronologically. 从原稿看案例是按专题安排的而不是按年代次序安排的。
• Though the exhibition has been arranged chronologically, there are a few exceptions. 虽然展览的时间便已经安排好了，但是也有少数的例外。

3 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

4 plunged   

v.颠簸( plunge的过去式和过去分词 )；暴跌；骤降；突降

参考例句：

• The train derailed and plunged into the river. 火车脱轨栽进了河里。
• She lost her balance and plunged 100 feet to her death. 她没有站稳，从100英尺的高处跌下摔死了。

5 loomed   

v.隐约出现，阴森地逼近( loom的过去式和过去分词 )；隐约出现，阴森地逼近

参考例句：

• A dark shape loomed up ahead of us. 一个黑糊糊的影子隐隐出现在我们的前面。
• The prospect of war loomed large in everyone's mind. 战事将起的庞大阴影占据每个人的心。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 constellations   

n.星座( constellation的名词复数 )；一群杰出人物；一系列（相关的想法、事物）；一群（相关的人）

参考例句：

• The map of the heavens showed all the northern constellations. 这份天体图标明了北半部所有的星座。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• His time was coming, he would move in the constellations of power. 他时来运转，要进入权力中心了。 来自教父部分

7 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。