VOA标准英语2013--音乐家大卫·鲍伊的南北巡演

 

 

David Bowie Exhibit Visits North, South America 音乐家大卫·鲍伊的南北巡演

There’s a new exhibit making its way through North and South America that tracks the work of David Bowie.  It’s a collection of 300 items out of Bowie’s 70,000- piece archive and it tries to nail down an essential question about this constantly changing artist.

The exhibit is called “David Bowie Is…” And there’s a reason for that.  Over the course of the iconoclastic¹ performer’s 46-year career, defining just who David  Bowie is has been an endless game in the media and popular culture.  Singer, dancer, actor, provocateur, gender-bender - the exhibit tries to capture all of it.  Co- Curator Geoffrey Marsh² said it has plenty for fans of Bowie and even for those who aren’t exactly fans, but who are intrigued³ by how he shaped his times.  There are  the costumes he used to adopt different personas.

“There are original Ziggy Stardust costumes, there is the Pierrot costume from ‘Ashes to Ashes’", explained Marsh. " There's the white duke costumes, the Union Jack⁴  frock coat design that David worked up with Alexander McQueen in 96-97 which is on the front cover of ‘Earthling’.”

“I suppose the next category of material which are particularly interesting is the original lyrics⁵ of - he's written hundreds of songs and in the exhibition there's  lyrics for about 17 of them," he added. " ‘Five Years,’ ‘Life on Mars,’ - lots and lots of the classics.”

On top of all that, the exhibit contains Bowie's drawings, sketches⁶, summary sheets with his ideas for his records, his costume designs and other materials that shows  the amount of work that went into creating not only the various identities he took on over the years. As Marsh pointed⁷ out, “David Bowie” has always been an  invention.  

“Lots and lots of people say ‘I've met David Bowie/I've interviewed David Bowie.’  The source of David Bowie doesn’t exist.  The person who was born on the 8th of  January 1947 is someone called David Robert Jones.  David Bowie is a sort of construction,” Marsh noted⁸.

That construction has inspired supporters, antagonized critics, and long baffled the media. Who was this strangely costumed person in elaborate makeup⁹?  And how to  describe his music - was it rock 'n' roll or disco or something else entirely¹⁰?  All this confusion, Marsh said, was in service to Bowie’s overall philosophy.

“I think his key message to people is ‘Don't follow me.  Look at what you want to be and go and do it, because that's the one thing you can go uniquely in life,’ ”  Marsh said.

 Exhibit visitors are given headphones fitted with a GPS system that tracks them through the museum.  

“So there is a soundtrack to the exhibition," explained Marsh. "You're in this sonic landscape as you walk through the exhibition so for example when you get to the  case that's talking about ‘Space Oddity,’ ‘Space Oddity’ comes on and plays and you don't need to do anything and then when you walk away, it fades out.

“What we really wanted to do was to try and show how an artist works," he continued, "where they get their ideas from, how they realize those imaginatively and then  practically how do they make them.”

“David Bowie Is…” remains¹¹ in Toronto until November 27.  Then it travels to Chicago and elsewhere in the United States, to Sao Paulo, Brazil and then back to  Europe.

 

1 iconoclastic   

adj.偶像破坏的，打破旧习的

参考例句：

• His iconoclastic tendencies can get him into trouble. 他与传统信仰相悖的思想倾向可能会给他带来麻烦。 来自辞典例句
• The film is an iconoclastic allegory. 电影是一个关于破坏的寓言。 来自互联网

2 marsh   

n.沼泽，湿地

参考例句：

• There are a lot of frogs in the marsh.沼泽里有许多青蛙。
• I made my way slowly out of the marsh.我缓慢地走出这片沼泽地。

3 intrigued   

adj.好奇的，被迷住了的v.搞阴谋诡计(intrigue的过去式)；激起…的兴趣或好奇心；“intrigue”的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• You've really intrigued me—tell me more! 你说的真有意思—再给我讲一些吧！
• He was intrigued by her story. 他被她的故事迷住了。

4 jack   

n.插座，千斤顶，男人；v.抬起，提醒，扛举；n.（Jake）杰克

参考例句：

• I am looking for the headphone jack.我正在找寻头戴式耳机插孔。
• He lifted the car with a jack to change the flat tyre.他用千斤顶把车顶起来换下瘪轮胎。

5 lyrics   

n.歌词

参考例句：

• music and lyrics by Rodgers and Hart 由罗杰斯和哈特作词作曲
• The book contains lyrics and guitar tablatures for over 100 songs. 这本书有100多首歌的歌词和吉他奏法谱。

6 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

7 pointed   

adj.尖的，直截了当的

参考例句：

• He gave me a very sharp pointed pencil.他给我一支削得非常尖的铅笔。
• She wished to show Mrs.John Dashwood by this pointed invitation to her brother.她想通过对达茨伍德夫人提出直截了当的邀请向她的哥哥表示出来。

8 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。

9 makeup   

n.组织；性格；化装品

参考例句：

• Those who failed the exam take a makeup exam.这次考试不及格的人必须参加补考。
• Do you think her beauty could makeup for her stupidity?你认为她的美丽能弥补她的愚蠢吗？

10 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

11 remains   

n.剩余物，残留物；遗体，遗迹

参考例句：

• He ate the remains of food hungrily.他狼吞虎咽地吃剩余的食物。
• The remains of the meal were fed to the dog.残羹剩饭喂狗了。