密歇根新闻广播 底特律商业成了当地地标

 

It seems every new restaurant, bar, or national retail¹ chain opening in Detroit generates excitement in the wake of the city's bankruptcy². Most are owned or operated by white people.

But Detroit has many black-owned businesses that survived the worst of the city's struggles. One of them has even become something of a landmark³ in the city.

Driving the length of Grand River Avenue in Detroit is an experience in itself. It's a mix of mega-churches, schools, abandoned buildings, some of the most interesting murals and graffiti you'll find anywhere. And then there's a block that catches your eye and is hard to explain. It's been around 14 years and it's the brainchild of Olayami Dabls.

The Mbad/Dabls African Bead⁴ Museum is spread across two buildings, with a number of art installations in a grassy⁵ field that seem to defy reason. So why all this Africa-themed art here?

It came down to economics.

"I had a bead gallery, downtown Detroit. Moved here in 1994. Started trying to sell beads⁶ here and open and African bead museum," Dabls explained.

But it was tough economic times. Beads weren't selling. Dabls decided⁷ he couldn't worry about things he couldn't change and instead started working on art installations in the open field behind the business.

The art is wood, mirrors, steel, vibrant⁸ paint colors, and rock. It's intentionally⁹ primitive¹⁰, a departure for a man trained in precision work.

"I was a painter and pen and ink drawings. Plus, I worked as a detailed¹¹ draftsman for about ten years and that's more of a precise type of art and this is on the opposite end of that totally. No kind of precise drawing. Just do what you want to do."

I noted¹² there was a lot of chaos¹³ in his work.

"Yeah. Chaos is good. You need something to get the attention of the viewer. And if it's too structured, they can be bored real quick," he responded. Dabls says he wanted to tell the story of the energy between Africans and Europeans for the last 500 years in America in a way that doesn't blame people for our history.

One installation is a pile of twisted metal in the center surrounded by folding chairs, classroom-style. In each chair is a chunk¹⁴ of concrete with an abstract black silhouette¹⁵ of a head.

"Yeah, the students are made out of rocks. The exhibit is Iron Teaching Rocks How to Rust¹⁶. And, of course, rocks cannot rust, but you can teach people to believe pretty much anything you want them to believe. And they will."

The largest of the art projects is a two-story building. It's called the Nkisi House, with symbols from some central-African cultures. It's believed Nkisi is an object which holds spiritual powers. Dabl says he asked for three protections from the Nkisi House.

"First, that the vandals would not vandalize this instillation¹⁷, the graffiti artists wouldn't tag it, and the city wouldn't see it, because 14 year ago the city was not too receptive to installations like this. Now they've grown accustomed to this kind of art work."

Even during Detroit's crackdowns on mural art and graffiti art, the Mbad Museum and Dabls' African Bead Gallery have survived. They just might be a symbol of African-American entrepreneurs and residents who have lived through some of Detroit's worst days, and hope to share in the city's new prosperity.

Support for the Detroit Journalism¹⁸ Cooperative on Michigan Radio comes from the John S. and James L. Knight¹⁹ Foundation, Renaissance²⁰ Journalism's Michigan Reporting Initiative, and the Ford²¹ Foundation.

1 retail   

v./n.零售；adv.以零售价格

参考例句：

• In this shop they retail tobacco and sweets.这家铺子零售香烟和糖果。
• These shoes retail at 10 yuan a pair.这些鞋子零卖10元一双。

2 bankruptcy   

n.破产；无偿付能力

参考例句：

• You will have to pull in if you want to escape bankruptcy.如果你想避免破产，就必须节省开支。
• His firm is just on thin ice of bankruptcy.他的商号正面临破产的危险。

3 landmark   

n.陆标，划时代的事，地界标

参考例句：

• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history.俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。
• The tower was once a landmark for ships.这座塔曾是船只的陆标。

4 bead   

n.念珠；(pl.)珠子项链；水珠

参考例句：

• She accidentally swallowed a glass bead.她不小心吞下了一颗玻璃珠。
• She has a beautiful glass bead and a bracelet in the box.盒子里有一颗美丽的玻璃珠和手镯。

5 grassy   

adj.盖满草的；长满草的

参考例句：

• They sat and had their lunch on a grassy hillside.他们坐在长满草的山坡上吃午饭。
• Cattle move freely across the grassy plain.牛群自由自在地走过草原。

6 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

7 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。

8 vibrant   

adj.震颤的，响亮的，充满活力的，精力充沛的，(色彩)鲜明的

参考例句：

• He always uses vibrant colours in his paintings. 他在画中总是使用鲜明的色彩。
• She gave a vibrant performance in the leading role in the school play.她在学校表演中生气盎然地扮演了主角。

9 intentionally   

ad.故意地，有意地

参考例句：

• I didn't say it intentionally. 我是无心说的。
• The local authority ruled that he had made himself intentionally homeless and was therefore not entitled to be rehoused. 当地政府裁定他是有意居无定所，因此没有资格再获得提供住房。

10 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

11 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

12 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。

13 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

14 chunk   

n.厚片，大块，相当大的部分（数量）

参考例句：

• They had to be careful of floating chunks of ice.他们必须当心大块浮冰。
• The company owns a chunk of farmland near Gatwick Airport.该公司拥有盖特威克机场周边的大片农田。

15 silhouette   

n.黑色半身侧面影，影子，轮廓；v.描绘成侧面影，照出影子来，仅仅显出轮廓

参考例句：

• I could see its black silhouette against the evening sky.我能看到夜幕下它黑色的轮廓。
• I could see the silhouette of the woman in the pickup.我可以见到小卡车的女人黑色半身侧面影。

16 rust   

n.锈；v.生锈；(脑子)衰退

参考例句：

• She scraped the rust off the kitchen knife.她擦掉了菜刀上的锈。
• The rain will rust the iron roof.雨水会使铁皮屋顶生锈。

17 instillation   

n.灌输，滴，滴下

参考例句：

• The graphical instillation system will then be downloaded from your mirror. 然后，从您的镜像中下载图形安装系统。 来自互联网
• The basic principle of ideological and political education is instillation theory. “灌输原理”是思想政治教育的基本原理。 来自互联网

18 journalism   

n.新闻工作，报业

参考例句：

• He's a teacher but he does some journalism on the side.他是教师，可还兼职做一些新闻工作。
• He had an aptitude for journalism.他有从事新闻工作的才能。

19 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

20 renaissance   

n.复活，复兴，文艺复兴

参考例句：

• The Renaissance was an epoch of unparalleled cultural achievement.文艺复兴是一个文化上取得空前成就的时代。
• The theme of the conference is renaissance Europe.大会的主题是文艺复兴时期的欧洲。

21 Ford   

n.浅滩，水浅可涉处；v.涉水，涉过

参考例句：

• They were guarding the bridge,so we forded the river.他们驻守在那座桥上，所以我们只能涉水过河。
• If you decide to ford a stream,be extremely careful.如果已决定要涉过小溪，必须极度小心。