美国国家公共电台 NPR At Design Miami, The Future Isn't So Bright

 

KELLY MCEVERS, HOST:

Art lovers are in Miami Beach this week because it's Art Basel, the world-class art fair. Just a short walk away, there's also Design Miami, which begins today. As NPR's Mandalit del Barco reports, Design Miami has become the place to admire and buy the hottest collectible objects.

MANDALIT DEL BARCO, BYLINE¹: A chair is just a chair unless it was designed as a sound-insulated isolation² sphere, a space-age pod shaped like an egg that was created by a French architect in 1971. It's a kind of unique object you can find at this year's Design Miami. The fair features everything from vintage furniture to contemporary ceramics⁴ to handcrafted jewelry⁵ - collectible objects from the 20th and 21st century.

RODMAN PRIMAK: Everything that you can consider for the home in many cases has been put through this lens by a designer. And if it's something special, then it might end up at Design Miami.

DEL BARCO: Rodman Primak is chief creative officer of the fair that's a marketplace for unique, limited-edition pieces or prototypes commissioned by 34 galleries from around the world. He expects as many as 40,000 people this year - many of them are also in town for Art Basel. As the market for contemporary art is increasingly expensive, many collectors are attracted to designer tables, chairs and light fixtures⁶, says Zoe Ryan. She's the chair and curator of architecture and design at the Art Institute of Chicago.

ZOE RYAN: Because it is more affordable⁷, of course it's a great entry point, especially for younger collectors or first-time collectors that feel that they can get a really fantastic example of modern or contemporary design for much less than, you know, modern or contemporary art.

DEL BARCO: Ryan says Design Miami also offers a chance for people to see experimental objects. For example, there's an interactive⁸ installation at the fair called a wild thing. Belgian artists Fien Muller and Hannes Van Severen have created a replica⁹ of their own living room complete with sounds from their family dinner table.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL #1: (Foreign language spoken).

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: (Foreign language spoken).

DEL BARCO: Hidden speakers in the walls and furniture play recordings¹⁰ of their family members talking about their lives and objects.

(SOUNDBITE OF ARCHIVED RECORDING)

UNIDENTIFIED GIRL #2: I made this small black chair when I was only 7 years old. It is strong and wild.

DEL BARCO: The artists partnered with Airbnb to offer their real home for $244 a night during Design Miami. Rodman Primak says design tends to reflect cultural shifts. A few years ago, designers worked with more synthetic¹¹ materials - plastics, for example. But over the past few years, Primak says he's seen more interest in collecting handmade, perhaps imperfect ceramics that may seem more authentic¹² and things made from traditional materials - leather, bronze, copper¹³, marble.

PRIMAK: It speaks to a kind of shift away from, like, an optimism that thinks about the future as being really shiny and happy and polished and bright to something that's more about burrowing¹⁴ and needing a kind of comfort and coziness. Over the last couple of years, I think we are kind of barraged¹⁵ every day with bad news about the environment, bad news about, this, bad news about that. So suddenly, it feels so important, I think, to have your home be a place where you can go and feel safe.

DEL BARCO: That's where designers like Christy Matson fit in. On a rare loom¹⁶ in her backyard studio in LA's Highland¹⁷ Park neighborhood, Matson weaves painted paper yarn¹⁸ to make framed artworks. Two of her hand weavings are being shown at Design Miami.

CHRISTY MATSON: They're both very subtle - it's like a white-on-white, kind of tone-on-tone thing. You really have to see them in person to understand sort of the subtlety¹⁹ or the complexity²⁰ of them.

DEL BARCO: For the past 20 years, Matson has been making her art with a Jacquard loom - invented in the early 1800s - as a way to produce textiles with complex patterns. The original loom used punch cards to control the patterns - an early precursor²¹ to the computer. These days, she uses a laptop to connect her hand-painted designs to the loom.

MATSON: It's really my drawing tool, if you will.

DEL BARCO: So Matson's wall hangings still have that handmade quality collectors are seeking these days.

MATSON: It's kind of a reaction against maybe all the things that are mass produced that we're surrounded by on a daily basis. So I think there's an attraction to things that come from the natural environment. You know, people want to be knitting, making their own ceramic³ mugs. There's a return to wanting to use our hands.

DEL BARCO: The lines between craft, art and design are blurred²² these days, Matson says, adding that most collectors are looking for things they can enjoy living with for many years.

MATSON: I mean, I don't know who the people are that can, you know, spend $20,000 on a chair, but it's not me (laughter). But they're out there - right? - (laughter) and they do.

DEL BARCO: At Design Miami, Christy Matson's hand weavings are selling for $10,000 to $20,000 each. But that's still less expensive than buying, say, a Michel Basquiat painting. Mandalit del Barco, NPR News.

1 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

2 isolation   

n.隔离，孤立，分解，分离

参考例句：

• The millionaire lived in complete isolation from the outside world.这位富翁过着与世隔绝的生活。
• He retired and lived in relative isolation.他退休后，生活比较孤寂。

3 ceramic   

n.制陶业，陶器，陶瓷工艺

参考例句：

• The order for ceramic tiles has been booked in.瓷砖的订单已登记下来了。
• Some ceramic works of art are shown in this exhibition.这次展览会上展出了一些陶瓷艺术品。

4 ceramics   

n.制陶业；陶器

参考例句：

• an exhibition of ceramics by Picasso 毕加索陶瓷作品展
• The ceramics bore the imprint of Luca della Robbia. 陶器上印有卢卡·德拉·罗比亚的字样。

5 jewelry   

n.（jewllery）（总称）珠宝

参考例句：

• The burglars walked off with all my jewelry.夜盗偷走了我的全部珠宝。
• Jewelry and lace are mostly feminine belongings.珠宝和花边多数是女性用品。

6 fixtures   

（房屋等的）固定装置( fixture的名词复数 )； 如（浴盆、抽水马桶）； 固定在某位置的人或物； （定期定点举行的）体育活动

参考例句：

• The insurance policy covers the building and any fixtures contained therein. 保险单为这座大楼及其中所有的设施保了险。
• The fixtures had already been sold and the sum divided. 固定设备已经卖了，钱也分了。 来自英汉文学 - 嘉莉妹妹

7 affordable   

adj.支付得起的，不太昂贵的

参考例句：

• The rent for the four-roomed house is affordable.四居室房屋的房租付得起。
• There are few affordable apartments in big cities.在大城市中没有几所公寓是便宜的。

8 interactive   

adj.相互作用的，互相影响的，（电脑）交互的

参考例句：

• The psychotherapy is carried out in small interactive groups.这种心理治疗是在互动的小组之间进行的。
• This will make videogames more interactive than ever.这将使电子游戏的互动性更胜以往。

9 replica   

n.复制品

参考例句：

• The original conservatory has been rebuilt in replica.温室已按原样重建。
• The young artist made a replica of the famous painting.这位年轻的画家临摹了这幅著名的作品。

10 recordings   

n.记录( recording的名词复数 )；录音；录像；唱片

参考例句：

• a boxed set of original recordings 一套盒装原声录音带
• old jazz recordings reissued on CD 以激光唱片重新发行的老爵士乐

11 synthetic   

adj.合成的，人工的；综合的；n.人工制品

参考例句：

• We felt the salesman's synthetic friendliness.我们感觉到那位销售员的虚情假意。
• It's a synthetic diamond.这是人造钻石。

12 authentic   

a.真的，真正的；可靠的，可信的，有根据的

参考例句：

• This is an authentic news report. We can depend on it. 这是篇可靠的新闻报道, 我们相信它。
• Autumn is also the authentic season of renewal. 秋天才是真正的除旧布新的季节。

13 copper   

n.铜；铜币；铜器；adj.铜(制)的；(紫)铜色的

参考例句：

• The students are asked to prove the purity of copper.要求学生们检验铜的纯度。
• Copper is a good medium for the conduction of heat and electricity.铜是热和电的良导体。

14 burrowing   

v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的现在分词 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• What are you burrowing around in my drawer for? 你在我抽屉里乱翻什么？ 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The forepaws are also used for burrowing and for dragging heavier logs. 它们的前爪还可以用来打洞和拖拽较重的树干。 来自辞典例句

15 barraged   

v.火力攻击（或阻击）( barrage的过去式和过去分词 )；以密集火力攻击（或阻击）

参考例句：

• We immediately barraged the enemy stronghold with a torrent of rifle fire. 我们立刻用密集的步枪火力攻击敌人据点。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• Our troops barraged against the enemy with a torrent of rifle fire. 我军以密集的步枪火力向敌人开火。 来自互联网

16 loom   

n.织布机，织机；v.隐现，(危险、忧虑等)迫近

参考例句：

• The old woman was weaving on her loom.那位老太太正在织布机上织布。
• The shuttle flies back and forth on the loom.织布机上梭子来回飞动。

17 highland   

n.(pl.)高地，山地

参考例句：

• The highland game is part of Scotland's cultural heritage.苏格兰高地游戏是苏格兰文化遗产的一部分。
• The highland forests where few hunters venture have long been the bear's sanctuary.这片只有少数猎人涉险的高山森林，一直都是黑熊的避难所。

18 yarn   

n.纱，纱线，纺线；奇闻漫谈，旅行轶事

参考例句：

• I stopped to have a yarn with him.我停下来跟他聊天。
• The basic structural unit of yarn is the fiber.纤维是纱的基本结构单元。

19 subtlety   

n.微妙，敏锐，精巧；微妙之处，细微的区别

参考例句：

• He has shown enormous strength,great intelligence and great subtlety.他表现出充沛的精力、极大的智慧和高度的灵活性。
• The subtlety of his remarks was unnoticed by most of his audience.大多数听众都没有觉察到他讲话的微妙之处。

20 complexity   

n.复杂(性)，复杂的事物

参考例句：

• Only now did he understand the full complexity of the problem.直到现在他才明白这一问题的全部复杂性。
• The complexity of the road map puzzled me.错综复杂的公路图把我搞糊涂了。

21 precursor   

n.先驱者；前辈；前任；预兆；先兆

参考例句：

• Error is often the precursor of what is correct.错误常常是正确的先导。
• He said that the deal should not be seen as a precursor to a merger.他说该笔交易不应该被看作是合并的前兆。

22 blurred   

v.（使）变模糊( blur的过去式和过去分词 )；（使）难以区分；模模糊糊；迷离

参考例句：

• She suffered from dizziness and blurred vision. 她饱受头晕目眩之苦。
• Their lazy, blurred voices fell pleasantly on his ears. 他们那种慢吞吞、含糊不清的声音在他听起来却很悦耳。 来自《简明英汉词典》