名人轶事:Diane Arbus: Revolutionary Photographer of Unusu

Diane Arbus: Revolutionary Photographer of Unusual People

Written by Dana Demange

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VOICE ONE:

I’m Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember with People in America in VOA Special English. Today, we tell about Diane Arbus, a revolutionary modern photographer.

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VOICE ONE:

Diane Arbus is known for creating intense black and white photographs of very unusual people. She used a special camera that produced square shaped images. Often her subjects look sad, conflicted or physically¹ abnormal. But they do not try to hide their insecurities. They openly stare at the camera. One art expert said Diane Arbus turned photography inside out. Instead of looking at her subjects, she made them look at her.  

"Identical Twins" by Diane Arbus, 1967   

Arbus learned to mix the realistic nature of photography with its expressive² possibilities. She explored how people live with sameness and difference as well as acceptance and rejection³. These combinations created very interesting art that was often disputed.

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VOICE TWO:

Diane Arbus was born in nineteen twenty-three to a wealthy family in New York City. Her father David Nemerov, owned a large clothing store in a costly⁴ area near Fifth Avenue. Her parents collected art and were part of the “high society” of New York. The family traveled often to Europe. They helped their children express their artistic⁵ goals. Diane’s brother was the famous poet, Howard Nemerov. Her sister became a sculptor⁶. 

After finishing high school at the age of eighteen, Diane married Allan Arbus. Mister Arbus worked in the advertising⁷ department of her father’s store.

VOICE ONE:

It was Mister Arbus who gave Diane her first camera. Diane soon decided⁸ to take a class with the famous photographer Berenice Abbott. The Arbuses eventually started taking photographs of clothing. These images were used as advertisements for Diane’s father’s store. After the birth of their daughter, Doon, the Arbuses started a business together. Their purpose was to photograph clothing fashions. Diane Arbus was the stylist. She would prepare the hair and faces of the fashion models who wore the clothing being photographed. Allan Arbus took the pictures.

VOICE TWO:

The couple soon had jobs from important fashion magazines such as “Vogue” and “Harper’s Bazaar”. Their work was very successful during the nineteen fifties. They became part of a group of artists that were helping⁹ to redefine visual culture.  They were breaking with past traditions to create a new look for a new decade, the sixties.

VOICE ONE:

But Diane was not satisfied with her secondary role. She wanted a more active part in making photographs. She wanted to explore her own artistic expression and freedom. To do this, she stopped working with her husband. Then she started taking photography classes at the New School in New York City.

Arbus’ teacher, Lisette Model, influenced her in many ways. She showed Diane how to use a camera like an expert. She also taught Diane to use her art to face her doubts and fears. Miz Model once said that Diane soon started “not listening to me but suddenly listening to herself.”

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VOICE TWO:

Diane Arbus chose her subjects very carefully. She photographed many of these people in or near New York City. She often chose to photograph unusual people living on the edge of acceptable society. But she showed the common and recognizable side of such unusual people. For example, she took pictures of extremely short and extremely tall people. She photographed men dressed as women, circus performers, and even patients with severe mental limitations. She once said: “My favorite thing is to go where I’ve never been.”

VOICE ONE:

One of her famous photographs was taken in nineteen sixty- six. It is of a young transvestite. A transvestite is a man who dresses and acts like a woman. This man is wearing plastic objects in his hair to curl and shape it. He is also wearing makeup¹⁰ on his face to make it look more like a woman. The picture is taken from close up with severe lighting¹¹ effects. In the dark centers of his eyes you can see the light from Arbus’ camera. You can see every detail and imperfection of his pale skin. He looks directly at you as though he has nothing to hide. His look is one of interest and acceptance.

VOICE TWO:

Another photograph like this is called “Mexican Dwarf¹² in His Hotel Room in N.Y.C.” It was taken in nineteen seventy. Here, Arbus uses similar dramatic lighting. She shows a close-up view of the upper body and face of this extremely small man. He looks directly at the camera with the suggestion of a smile. You can see all the lines on his small short fingers. The hair on his chest and face seems very close. You can almost smell the alcohol on the table beside him. You can almost feel the smooth cloth sheets on his bed. It is as though you have entered the personal world of this small stranger.

The expressions of these men are so honest that it is almost unpleasant to observe. Diane Arbus explored this tension in her work. She caught her subjects in positions where they show themselves completely. They do not seem afraid to show their imperfections and strangeness. They do not hide the parts of themselves that are not beautiful. They openly show their bodies and souls. Seeing the pictures, you sometimes feel you are interfering¹³ in the private lives of these strange people. You feel like maybe you are not supposed to be looking.

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VOICE ONE:

Some art critics believe Diane Arbus photographed such unusual people as a result of her background. She grew up in a safe and wealthy environment. In photographing the strange and imperfect people in society, she rejected her own social group. She revolted against her upbringing to prove that she was artistically¹⁴ independent. She chose to explore the unusual sides of society instead of accepting common subjects to photograph.

Arbus also photographed everyday people in a way that made them look very unusual. She was able to take the most recognizable people and environments and make them seem strange. For example, she took pictures of couples and families and even of female twins, sisters born at the same time.

VOICE TWO:

One of her most famous photographs is called “Identical Twins.” It was taken in nineteen sixty-seven in Roselle, New Jersey¹⁵. Two little girls take up the entire center of the photograph. Their faces and bodies are exactly alike. They are wearing the same dark dresses and white bands in their hair. The girls look calmly at the camera with large, pale eyes. Although they are young, they look very wise, like they are intense little adults.

VOICE ONE:

This image of the twins became the cover of an important book of photography titled “Diane Arbus.” The book was published in nineteen seventy-two. It became one of the best-selling photography books in history. The photograph of the twins was also part of a major exhibition of Arbus’ work at the Museum of Modern Art in New York City that same year.

This show set new records in attendance numbers. Sadly, Diane Arbus did not live to see this show. She had killed herself the year before. She was forty-eight years old. 

VOICE TWO:

The photographs of Diane Arbus remain very popular in America. In March of two thousand five, the Metropolitan¹⁶ Museum in New York had a major exhibit of her work. The museum curators gathered many of her important photographs for the show. They also exhibited many less well-known works. But they also tried to show the personal side of this famous woman. They showed her letters, cameras and books. The book “Diane Arbus Revelations” documents this special exhibition.

VOICE ONE:

Diane Arbus once said: “A photograph is a secret about a secret. The more it tells you the less you know.”  This comment helps explain what is so powerful about Diane Arbus’s work. The people in her photos show themselves, but a great deal about them remains¹⁷ hidden as well. Her images make you ask what you might show about yourself -- and what you might try to hide.

VOICE TWO:

Today, Diane Arbus’ images remain as fresh and intense as they were forty years ago. Experts say her revolutionary way of capturing people on film has produced some of the most important images in twentieth century photography.

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VOICE ONE:

This program was written and produced by Dana Demange. I’m Faith Lapidus.

VOICE TWO:

And I’m Steve Ember. Join us again next week for PEOPLE IN AMERICA in VOA Special English
 

1 physically   

adj.物质上，体格上，身体上，按自然规律

参考例句：

• He was out of sorts physically,as well as disordered mentally.他浑身不舒服，心绪也很乱。
• Every time I think about it I feel physically sick.一想起那件事我就感到极恶心。

2 expressive   

adj.表现的，表达…的，富于表情的

参考例句：

• Black English can be more expressive than standard English.黑人所使用的英语可能比正式英语更有表现力。
• He had a mobile,expressive,animated face.他有一张多变的，富于表情的，生动活泼的脸。

3 rejection   

n.拒绝，被拒，抛弃，被弃

参考例句：

• He decided not to approach her for fear of rejection.他因怕遭拒绝决定不再去找她。
• The rejection plunged her into the dark depths of despair.遭到拒绝使她陷入了绝望的深渊。

4 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。

5 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

6 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。

7 advertising   

n.广告业；广告活动 a.广告的；广告业务的

参考例句：

• Can you give me any advice on getting into advertising? 你能指点我如何涉足广告业吗?
• The advertising campaign is aimed primarily at young people. 这个广告宣传运动主要是针对年轻人的。

8 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

9 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

10 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？

11 lighting   

n.照明，光线的明暗，舞台灯光

参考例句：

• The gas lamp gradually lost ground to electric lighting.煤气灯逐渐为电灯所代替。
• The lighting in that restaurant is soft and romantic.那个餐馆照明柔和而且浪漫。

12 dwarf   

n.矮子，侏儒，矮小的动植物；vt.使…矮小

参考例句：

• The dwarf's long arms were not proportional to his height.那侏儒的长臂与他的身高不成比例。
• The dwarf shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. 矮子耸耸肩膀，摇摇头。

13 interfering   

adj. 妨碍的 动词interfere的现在分词

参考例句：

• He's an interfering old busybody! 他老爱管闲事！
• I wish my mother would stop interfering and let me make my own decisions. 我希望我母亲不再干预，让我自己拿主意。

14 artistically   

adv.艺术性地

参考例句：

• The book is beautifully printed and artistically bound. 这本书印刷精美，装帧高雅。
• The room is artistically decorated. 房间布置得很美观。

15 jersey   

n.运动衫

参考例句：

• He wears a cotton jersey when he plays football.他穿运动衫踢足球。
• They were dressed alike in blue jersey and knickers.他们穿着一致，都是蓝色的运动衫和灯笼短裤。

16 metropolitan   

adj.大城市的，大都会的

参考例句：

• Metropolitan buildings become taller than ever.大城市的建筑变得比以前更高。
• Metropolitan residents are used to fast rhythm.大都市的居民习惯于快节奏。

17 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。