美国国家公共电台 NPR Christopher Marley's Dead Things

 

SCOTT SIMON, HOST:

You can forget what you thought you knew about taxidermy. Oregon artist Christopher Marley transforms poisonous snakes, tropical fish and exotic insects into works of art. Now 400 of his creatures are on display in a major exhibition outside Miami. Aaron Scott of Oregon Public Broadcasting takes us into Marley's studio.

AARON SCOTT, BYLINE¹: Christopher Marley is packing up the last few creatures for his big exhibition...

CHRISTOPHER MARLEY: I think we're good.

SCOTT: ...When he realizes that he forgot to frame a foot-long isopod that's still in the freezer.

MARLEY: It's like a giant pill bug² or potato bug or roly-poly, depending on where you're from.

SCOTT: Calling it a giant pill bug is a gross understatement. It looks right out of "Starship Troopers" or some other movie starring monster bugs³ that eat people.

MARLEY: Exactly. Yeah, they do. And they are able to do some damage. There have been fish caught that were, you know, living. And they've found giant isopods in their throats or in their guts⁴, eating them from the inside out. So they're the stuff of nightmares. That's for sure.

SCOTT: In Marley's hands, they are also the stuff of beauty. He preserves all sorts of beasts, imposes them in frames against white backgrounds. Chromatic⁵ beetles⁷ cluster like mandalas. Snakes coil like intricate pendant necklaces. Macaws spread their rainbow wings. And octopuses⁸ twist and curl so voluptuous⁹, they seem to be alive.

KENNETH FILCHAK: I don't see anybody doing those sorts of things.

SCOTT: Kenneth Filchak is a biology professor at Notre Dame¹⁰. And he uses Marley's work to inspire students.

FILCHAK: He might just be sort of the Michelangelo of this sort of presentation and preservation¹¹.

SCOTT: Marley grew up wanting to be an artist. But gifted with a square jaw¹² and biceps like boa constrictors, he became a model. As he hopscotched the globe for photo shoots, he collected insects and arranged them into iridescent¹³ kaleidoscopes. When Marley's fiance convinced him to show them to several stores in LA, the orders came flying in. So he quit modeling and started backtracking through the countries he'd visited, sourcing sustainable insect collectors. But his interest goes much deeper than that.

MARLEY: Throughout my whole life, we'd always had dead birds in our freezers all the time.

SCOTT: Marley's dad just so happens to be a breeder of rare color mutations of Australian parrots.

MARLEY: My dad just could not bear to throw these beautiful birds away. That's when I realized, you know, if my dad does this with birds, I'll bet you (laughter) that most people that deal with any type of organism that they're in love with - that they probably do the same thing.

SCOTT: So Marley built a network of breeders, zoos, aquariums¹⁴ and importers that sent him their dead. He's very clear that he only uses reclaimed¹⁵ specimens¹⁶ that have died from natural causes or been caught as fishing bycatch. He doesn't buy from hunters.

MARLEY: This is a green mamba.

SCOTT: The specimens end up crowded in freezers in his warehouse¹⁷ in Salem, Ore., in various stages of decay.

MARLEY: This is all pythons and venomous reptiles¹⁸ and baby alligators¹⁹, apparently²⁰.

SCOTT: To preserve them, Marley has pioneered a way to freeze-dry animals that scientists generally keep in liquid, which is how they seem so alive in the frames. He sells the creations in high-end stores and has shown them in natural history and art museums alike. His work has also appeared on the covers of biology textbooks and in Marley's own best-selling art books.

MARK PARKER: "Pheromone" and Chris's next book, "Biophilia," are both tremendous references for design.

SCOTT: Mark Parker is the CEO of Nike and a collector of Marley's art.

PARKER: Chris's subject matter and imagery have inspired Nike's design work on color and texture²¹, on high-performance track spikes²² for Olympic athletes and even new interpretations²³ of classic styles like the Nike Air Max.

SCOTT: That's right. U.S. athletes at the 2016 Summer Olympics wore shoes inspired by Marley's image of a Sagra buqueti beetle⁶. By isolating²⁴ these organisms from their natural environments, Marley hopes you'll see them anew.

MARLEY: I think that kind of the greatest power of the work itself is helping²⁵ people to open their eyes to the varieties that exist in the natural world. Kind of once you get this sense of, oh, my gosh, there's so much more I didn't know about - I've never been able to experience in this fashion - it just feeds this desire to see more and more and more.

SCOTT: As for Christopher Marley's next project, he's heading deep into a Malaysian jungle to hunt for a never-before-preserved species of corpse²⁶ flower. For NPR News, I'm Aaron Scott.

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 bug   

n.虫子；故障；窃听器；vt.纠缠；装窃听器

参考例句：

• There is a bug in the system.系统出了故障。
• The bird caught a bug on the fly.那鸟在飞行中捉住了一只昆虫。

3 bugs   

adj.疯狂的，发疯的n.窃听器( bug的名词复数 )；病菌；虫子；[计算机]（制作软件程序所产生的意料不到的）错误

参考例句：

• All programs have bugs and need endless refinement. 所有的程序都有漏洞，都需要不断改进。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The sacks of rice were swarming with bugs. 一袋袋的米里长满了虫子。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 guts   

v.狼吞虎咽，贪婪地吃，飞碟游戏（比赛双方每组5人，相距15码，互相掷接飞碟）；毁坏（建筑物等）的内部( gut的第三人称单数 )；取出…的内脏n.勇气( gut的名词复数 )；内脏；消化道的下段；肠

参考例句：

• I'll only cook fish if the guts have been removed. 鱼若已收拾干净，我只需烧一下即可。
• Barbara hasn't got the guts to leave her mother. 巴巴拉没有勇气离开她妈妈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 chromatic   

adj.色彩的，颜色的

参考例句：

• The removal of the chromatic aberration is then of primary importance.这时消除色差具有头等重要性。
• In lampblack many kitchens easy to present the chromatic aberration.油烟较多的厨房中易出现色差。

6 beetle   

n.甲虫，近视眼的人

参考例句：

• A firefly is a type of beetle.萤火虫是一种甲虫。
• He saw a shiny green beetle on a leaf.我看见树叶上有一只闪闪发光的绿色甲虫。

7 beetles   

n.甲虫( beetle的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Beetles bury pellets of dung and lay their eggs within them. 甲壳虫把粪粒埋起来，然后在里面产卵。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• This kind of beetles have hard shell. 这类甲虫有坚硬的外壳。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

8 octopuses   

章鱼( octopus的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snails and octopuses are molluscs. 蜗牛和章鱼是软体动物。
• Limpets, snails and octopuses are mollusks. 帽贝、蜗牛和章鱼都是软体动物。

9 voluptuous   

adj.肉欲的，骄奢淫逸的

参考例句：

• The nobility led voluptuous lives.贵族阶层过着骄奢淫逸的生活。
• The dancer's movements were slow and voluptuous.舞女的动作缓慢而富挑逗性。

10 dame   

n.女士

参考例句：

• The dame tell of her experience as a wife and mother.这位年长妇女讲了她作妻子和母亲的经验。
• If you stick around,you'll have to marry that dame.如果再逗留多一会，你就要跟那个夫人结婚。

11 preservation   

n.保护，维护，保存，保留，保持

参考例句：

• The police are responsible for the preservation of law and order.警察负责维持法律与秩序。
• The picture is in an excellent state of preservation.这幅画保存得极为完好。

12 jaw   

n.颚，颌，说教，流言蜚语；v.喋喋不休，教训

参考例句：

• He delivered a right hook to his opponent's jaw.他给了对方下巴一记右钩拳。
• A strong square jaw is a sign of firm character.强健的方下巴是刚毅性格的标志。

13 iridescent   

adj.彩虹色的，闪色的

参考例句：

• The iridescent bubbles were beautiful.这些闪着彩虹般颜色的大气泡很美。
• Male peacocks display their iridescent feathers for prospective female mates.雄性孔雀为了吸引雌性伴侣而展现了他们彩虹色的羽毛。

14 aquariums   

n.养鱼缸，水族馆( aquarium的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Biotope aquariums represent the natural environments of ornamental fish. 生态鱼缸表现出观赏鱼的自然生活环境。 来自互联网
• There are aquariums in many cities in the world. 世界上好多城市有水族馆。 来自互联网

15 reclaimed   

adj.再生的；翻造的；收复的；回收的v.开拓( reclaim的过去式和过去分词 )；要求收回；从废料中回收（有用的材料）；挽救

参考例句：

• Many sufferers have been reclaimed from a dependence on alcohol. 许多嗜酒成癖的受害者已经被挽救过来。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They reclaimed him from his evil ways. 他们把他从邪恶中挽救出来。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》

16 specimens   

n.样品( specimen的名词复数 )；范例；（化验的）抽样；某种类型的人

参考例句：

• Astronauts have brought back specimens of rock from the moon. 宇航员从月球带回了岩石标本。
• The traveler brought back some specimens of the rocks from the mountains. 那位旅行者从山上带回了一些岩石标本。 来自《简明英汉词典》

17 warehouse   

n.仓库；vt.存入仓库

参考例句：

• We freighted the goods to the warehouse by truck.我们用卡车把货物运到仓库。
• The manager wants to clear off the old stocks in the warehouse.经理想把仓库里积压的存货处理掉。

18 reptiles   

n.爬行动物，爬虫( reptile的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Snakes and crocodiles are both reptiles. 蛇和鳄鱼都是爬行动物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Birds, reptiles and insects come from eggs. 鸟类、爬虫及昆虫是卵生的。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

19 alligators   

n.短吻鳄( alligator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Two alligators rest their snouts on the water's surface. 两只鳄鱼的大嘴栖息在水面上。 来自辞典例句
• In the movement of logs by water the lumber industry was greatly helped by alligators. 木材工业过去在水上运输木料时所十分倚重的就是鳄鱼。 来自辞典例句

20 apparently   

adv.显然地；表面上，似乎

参考例句：

• An apparently blind alley leads suddenly into an open space.山穷水尽，豁然开朗。
• He was apparently much surprised at the news.他对那个消息显然感到十分惊异。

21 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

22 spikes   

n.穗( spike的名词复数 )；跑鞋；（防滑）鞋钉；尖状物v.加烈酒于( spike的第三人称单数 )；偷偷地给某人的饮料加入（更多）酒精（ 或药物）；把尖状物钉入；打乱某人的计划

参考例句：

• a row of iron spikes on a wall 墙头的一排尖铁
• There is a row of spikes on top of the prison wall to prevent the prisoners escaping. 监狱墙头装有一排尖钉，以防犯人逃跑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

23 interpretations   

n.解释( interpretation的名词复数 )；表演；演绎；理解

参考例句：

• This passage is open to a variety of interpretations. 这篇文章可以有各种不同的解释。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The involved and abstruse passage makes several interpretations possible. 这段艰涩的文字可以作出好几种解释。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

24 isolating   

adj.孤立的，绝缘的v.使隔离( isolate的现在分词 )；将…剔出（以便看清和单独处理）；使（某物质、细胞等）分离；使离析

参考例句：

• Colour filters are not very effective in isolating narrow spectral bands. 一些滤色片不能很有效地分离狭窄的光谱带。 来自辞典例句
• This became known as the streak method for isolating bacteria. 这个方法以后就称为分离细菌的划线法。 来自辞典例句

25 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。

26 corpse   

n.尸体，死尸

参考例句：

• What she saw was just an unfeeling corpse.她见到的只是一具全无感觉的尸体。
• The corpse was preserved from decay by embalming.尸体用香料涂抹以防腐烂。