美国国家公共电台 NPR How Does Christoph Niemann Make Art Look Effortless? With A Lot Of Work

How Does Christoph Niemann Make Art Look Effortless? With A Lot Of Work 

play pause stop mute unmute max volume 00:0006:11repeat repeat off Update Required To play the media you will need to either update your browser¹ to a recent version or update your Flash plugin. ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: 

A couple years ago, Christoph Niemann felt like he needed to shake things up.

CHRISTOPH NIEMANN: When you do any kind of creative job for a while you become better, you become more routine. But I think you always become a little bit more predictable.

SHAPIRO: Neimann was already very good at his creative job. He is an artist and illustrator whose work appears in places like The New Yorker. He had a regular Sunday column in The New York Times magazine. To get out of his routine, he decided² to start a project called Sunday Sketching⁴.

Each week he took a random⁵ object - a paper clip, some bananas. He set that physical object on a sheet of paper and incorporated it into a sketch³. So he drew around a pair of socks to make them a dinosaur's head and neck. Half an avocado became a baseball glove at the end of an outstretched arm. The pit lands in the center as the ball. These drawings are whimsical and surprising. And Christoph Niemann has collected them, along with more of his work in a new book called "Sunday Sketching."

NIEMANN: The first one where I really sat down and say, OK, let's see if I can make this work was when I took the crumpled⁶ up headphones of, like, the regular iPod. And they're nothing. They're just like weird⁷, random white wires. And they mean nothing, they looked like nothing. And then eventually I saw a mosquito in there.

SHAPIRO: I'm looking at the sketch right now and there's a photograph of this crumpled up set of earbuds. And the two earphones are eyes. And then the jack⁸ is the nose. You've drawn⁹ on six legs and two wings in black. And then at the tip of the nose there are a few red drips, like blood.

NIEMANN: And it kind of worked. And usually when I draw, I know exactly what's happening. So by default I cannot ever laugh at my own jokes or be entertained or emotionally touched. In this case, it was like, oh, wow, this actually looks like a mosquito. And that moment was fun.

SHAPIRO: One of the images that I just love - partly because it is so recognizable and so unexpected - is you've taken the idea of the famous "Jaws¹⁰" movie poster, where somebody is swimming at the top of the water and the shark is coming up from underneath¹¹. But instead of the shark, it is a white woman's shoe. And the opening where the foot goes is sort of that perfect semicircular mouth of the shark coming up towards the swimmer at the top.

NIEMANN: Yeah. Well, this is actually the wedding shoe of my wife. The way I've been doing these is I always started with an object with absolutely no idea of what the outcome would be. And so in retrospect¹², I hope the drawing makes sense and might even look somewhat inevitable¹³. But the actual genesis of an image like that is I stare at a shoe and hope that something happens.

SHAPIRO: So what I get from you is that this kind of work - to do it well - requires a combination of training, practice, craft and also the bolt of inspiration from out of the blue.

NIEMANN: The bolt of inspiration is what the reader is supposed to feel when they look at the drawing. What creates that moment is a hundred very boring, unsexy steps. You know, move the line a little further to the left, draw a dog instead of a cat, you know, like, draw a chair instead of a table. I sometimes get from clients, oh, can we just see sketches¹⁴? We just want to follow your process. This implies you start at zero. And let's say an idea is a hundred. This implies that halfway¹⁵ through you would be at 50. In reality, you go from zero to -250, and then you go to 17,000, and then you go to R and then you end at a hundred.

SHAPIRO: (Laughter).

NIEMANN: If you would share that with people, they would be utterly¹⁶ confused. I think it's very important to accept that this is not a linear process.

SHAPIRO: You describe the discomforts¹⁸ that you have to go through to get to a great sketch, even after you've been doing these illustrations for years. Is that just an essential quality of the field that you've chosen, that you will always have that moment of ugh before you get to the moment of oh?

NIEMANN: Often I find to get to an interesting point with the work, you need friction¹⁹. You need this moment of unease, of, like, emotional dissatisfaction. By default this is a moment of discomfort¹⁷.

SHAPIRO: And so this job you've chosen will inevitably²⁰ just make you feel bad pretty much every day? Is that the takeaway?

NIEMANN: Well, you know, I guess once you accept certain facts it becomes a little easier. When you run, you know that you'll be sweating and you'll be exhausted²¹. And once you accept that, there's other parts that you can enjoy. And what I found with these drawings is when you accept them, when you give up control and you really throw yourself into the uncertainty²², there's actually another level of work that can be very satisfying.

SHAPIRO: You're very popular on social media. Your Instagram account and your Facebook page have lots of followers²³. And you talk in the book about the difference between getting likes on social media and actually doing work that is of value.

SHAPIRO: Well, the whole algorithm is really geared to a certain kind of quick (laughter). It's like an endless two-second joke. It's kind of like the default taste, like a bag of Pringles which taste great and then after...

SHAPIRO: Salty, crunchy. Yeah.

NIEMANN: ...You've eaten two packs, you just feel terrible.

SHAPIRO: (Laughter).

NIEMANN: And then, of course, you have the vanity. You want people to like something. And I think it's so important to fight that impulse and to not let the number of likes and followers dictate²⁴ where you're going.

SHAPIRO: Does it bother you that somebody looks at a witty²⁵ visual pun and they laugh and they turn the page and they don't see the hours and hours and hours that went into coming up with that little bit of wit?

NIEMANN: You can't have people like the work that you create and also be in awe²⁶ of how hard it is to do it. The one thing that I sometimes take somewhat offense²⁷ to - and I know it's a figure of speech - but this idea of talent. That when people say, oh, you're so talented, I could never do that. I always feel like, no, like when you listen to a pianist playing a Beethoven sonata²⁸ wonderful you would never say, oh, I couldn't do that because, well, you didn't sit down for 10,000 hours and practice.

SHAPIRO: Yeah.

NIEMANN: It's all about sitting down and the time you spend on your desk.

SHAPIRO: Well, Christoph Niemann, it's been a pleasure talking with you. Thank you so much for joining us.

NIEMANN: It's been my pleasure. Thank you.

SHAPIRO: Christoph Neimann's new book is called "Sunday Sketching." And he has another book out this month as well called "Words," a visual dictionary for kids.

1 browser   

n.浏览者

参考例句：

• View edits in a web browser.在浏览器中看编辑的效果。
• I think my browser has a list of shareware links.我想在浏览器中会有一系列的共享软件链接。

2 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。

3 sketch   

n.草图；梗概；素描；v.素描；概述

参考例句：

• My sister often goes into the country to sketch. 我姐姐常到乡间去写生。
• I will send you a slight sketch of the house.我将给你寄去房屋的草图。

4 sketching   

n.草图

参考例句：

• They are sketching out proposals for a new road. 他们正在草拟修建新路的计划。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• "Imagination is busy sketching rose-tinted pictures of joy. “飞舞驰骋的想象描绘出一幅幅玫瑰色欢乐的场景。 来自英汉文学 - 汤姆历险

5 random   

adj.随机的；任意的；n.偶然的(或随便的)行动

参考例句：

• The list is arranged in a random order.名单排列不分先后。
• On random inspection the meat was found to be bad.经抽查，发现肉变质了。

6 crumpled   

adj. 弯扭的, 变皱的 动词crumple的过去式和过去分词形式

参考例句：

• She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it on the fire. 她把那封信揉成一团扔进了火里。
• She flattened out the crumpled letter on the desk. 她在写字台上把皱巴巴的信展平。

7 weird   

adj.古怪的，离奇的；怪诞的，神秘而可怕的

参考例句：

• From his weird behaviour,he seems a bit of an oddity.从他不寻常的行为看来，他好像有点怪。
• His weird clothes really gas me.他的怪衣裳简直笑死人。

8 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。

9 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

10 jaws   

n.口部；嘴

参考例句：

• The antelope could not escape the crocodile's gaping jaws. 那只羚羊无法从鱷鱼张开的大口中逃脱。
• The scored jaws of a vise help it bite the work. 台钳上有刻痕的虎钳牙帮助它紧咬住工件。

11 underneath   

adj.在...下面，在...底下；adv.在下面

参考例句：

• Working underneath the car is always a messy job.在汽车底下工作是件脏活。
• She wore a coat with a dress underneath.她穿着一件大衣，里面套着一条连衣裙。

12 retrospect   

n.回顾，追溯；v.回顾，回想，追溯

参考例句：

• One's school life seems happier in retrospect than in reality.学校生活回忆起来显得比实际上要快乐。
• In retrospect,it's easy to see why we were wrong.回顾过去就很容易明白我们的错处了。

13 inevitable   

adj.不可避免的，必然发生的

参考例句：

• Mary was wearing her inevitable large hat.玛丽戴着她总是戴的那顶大帽子。
• The defeat had inevitable consequences for British policy.战败对英国政策不可避免地产生了影响。

14 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》

15 halfway   

adj.中途的，不彻底的，部分的；adv.半路地，在中途，在半途

参考例句：

• We had got only halfway when it began to get dark.走到半路，天就黑了。
• In study the worst danger is give up halfway.在学习上，最忌讳的是有始无终。

16 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

17 discomfort   

n.不舒服，不安，难过，困难，不方便

参考例句：

• One has to bear a little discomfort while travelling.旅行中总要忍受一点不便。
• She turned red with discomfort when the teacher spoke.老师讲话时她不好意思地红着脸。

18 discomforts   

n.不舒适( discomfort的名词复数 )；不愉快，苦恼

参考例句：

• Travellers in space have to endure many discomforts in their rockets. 宇宙旅行家不得不在火箭中忍受许多不舒适的东西 来自《用法词典》
• On that particular morning even these discomforts added to my pleasure. 在那样一个特定的早晨，即使是这种种的不舒适也仿佛给我增添了满足感。 来自辞典例句

19 friction   

n.摩擦，摩擦力

参考例句：

• When Joan returned to work,the friction between them increased.琼回来工作后，他们之间的摩擦加剧了。
• Friction acts on moving bodies and brings them to a stop.摩擦力作用于运动着的物体，并使其停止。

20 inevitably   

adv.不可避免地；必然发生地

参考例句：

• In the way you go on,you are inevitably coming apart.照你们这样下去，毫无疑问是会散伙的。
• Technological changes will inevitably lead to unemployment.技术变革必然会导致失业。

21 exhausted   

adj.极其疲惫的，精疲力尽的

参考例句：

• It was a long haul home and we arrived exhausted.搬运回家的这段路程特别长，到家时我们已筋疲力尽。
• Jenny was exhausted by the hustle of city life.珍妮被城市生活的忙乱弄得筋疲力尽。

22 uncertainty   

n.易变，靠不住，不确知，不确定的事物

参考例句：

• Her comments will add to the uncertainty of the situation.她的批评将会使局势更加不稳定。
• After six weeks of uncertainty,the strain was beginning to take its toll.6个星期的忐忑不安后，压力开始产生影响了。

23 followers   

追随者( follower的名词复数 )； 用户； 契据的附面； 从动件

参考例句：

• the followers of Mahatma Gandhi 圣雄甘地的拥护者
• The reformer soon gathered a band of followers round him. 改革者很快就获得一群追随者支持他。

24 dictate   

v.口授；(使)听写；指令，指示，命令

参考例句：

• It took him a long time to dictate this letter.口述这封信花了他很长时间。
• What right have you to dictate to others?你有什么资格向别人发号施令？

25 witty   

adj.机智的，风趣的

参考例句：

• Her witty remarks added a little salt to the conversation.她的妙语使谈话增添了一些风趣。
• He scored a bull's-eye in their argument with that witty retort.在他们的辩论中他那一句机智的反驳击中了要害。

26 awe   

n.敬畏，惊惧；vt.使敬畏，使惊惧

参考例句：

• The sight filled us with awe.这景色使我们大为惊叹。
• The approaching tornado struck awe in our hearts.正在逼近的龙卷风使我们惊恐万分。

27 offense   

n.犯规，违法行为；冒犯，得罪

参考例句：

• I hope you will not take any offense at my words. 对我讲的话请别见怪。
• His words gave great offense to everybody present.他的发言冲犯了在场的所有人。

28 sonata   

n.奏鸣曲

参考例句：

• He played a piano sonata of his own composition.他弹奏了一首自作的钢琴奏鸣曲。
• The young boy played the violin sonata masterfully.那个小男孩的小提琴奏鸣曲拉得很熟练。