VOA常速英语2014--Deal Emerges to Save Detroit Institute of Arts Collection 拯救底特律艺术学院博物馆（在线收听）

Deal Emerges to Save Detroit Institute of Arts Collection 拯救底特律艺术学院博物馆

DETROIT — The Detroit Institute of Arts Museum houses one of the top art collections in the world.  So when Detroit went bankrupt, that collection - owned by the city - became one of the most controversial issues in the largest municipal bankruptcy in U.S. history.  An emerging deal with several national foundations offers city officials a way out of the crisis, and could ultimately save the museum and its valuable collection.

The art collection housed in the Detroit Institute of Arts Museum, or DIA, draws throngs of visitors from around the world each year.

底特律艺术学院博物馆(DIA)的艺术藏品每年吸引了全世界的游客前来欣赏。

“You can tell the story of Western art through this collection," said Mark Stryker.

“你能在这里看到西方艺术的历史。”

Which makes it hard to put a price tag on it, says Detroit Free Press Art Reporter Mark Stryker.

底特律自由媒体艺术记者马克·斯特瑞克说这就是这些藏品难以标价的原因。

“It’s invaluable, irreplaceable," he said.

“太珍贵了，无可替代。”

But a price is the very thing Detroit’s emergency manager Kevyn Orr seeks as he takes the city through bankruptcy, says Wayne State University Law Professor Laura Bartell.

但是韦恩州立大学法学教授劳拉·巴特尔说，价格正是底特律紧急管理人凯文·奥尔在使该市破产的努力中追求的东西。

“At the very beginning of this bankruptcy, Kevyn Orr made it clear that the city of Detroit owned the assets of the DIA," said Bartell.

“在破产开始时，凯文·奥尔就明确表示底特律市拥有DIA的资产。”

“It is a city owned collection, and that makes it different from almost every other museum in America, which operate as independent, private nonprofits," said Stryker.

“这是一批为该市所有的藏品，所以就与美国其他独立、非盈利的私人博物馆不同。”

As the complex bankruptcy case winds through federal court, Orr enlisted Christie's auction house to value the collection, with one important caveat.

随着这宗复杂的破产案进入联邦法院，奥尔让佳士得拍卖公司给这批藏品估价，并附上重要的货物出门概不退换警告。

“He asked Christie's to specifically evaluate only the works in the collection that were bought by the city directly," said Stryker.

“他让佳士得专门为那些直接由底特律购买的藏品。”

That translates into about 2,000 items, roughly five percent of the DIA’s 66,000 works.  But it does include some of the premiere pieces, including Vincent Van Gogh’s “Self Portrait with Hat.”

这些藏品共2000多件，占DIA总收藏量6.6万件的5%左右。但也包括一些顶级藏品，包括文森特·梵高的《戴帽子的自画像》。

"Christie's evaluated those works to be worth somewhere between $450 million up to about $870 million," said Mark Stryker.

“佳士得估计这些藏品价值在4.5到8.7亿美元之间。”

In 2012, voters in three surrounding counties supported a property tax hike to fund the museum in exchange for free admission.  Stryker says any sale of the DIA’s assets could inflict more damage than simply losing its important pieces.

2012年，周围三个郡的选民支持了一项财产税上涨来为博物馆提供资金，交换条件是获得免费门票。斯特瑞克说出售DIA资产会带来更多损失，而不仅仅是失去一些重要的藏品。

“They would rescind the tax if any of the art was sold, so that means that any sale would quite quickly lead to the closure of the museum," he said.

“如果有藏品出售，他们就会取消该税，这就意味着出售任何东西都会很快导致博物馆关门。”

Which means emergency manager Kevyn Orr was stuck between a rock and hard place.

这就意味着紧急管理人凯文·奥尔处境艰难。

“Would you want to be the man who went down in history as the man who destroyed the Detroit Institute of Arts?  I don’t think anybody wants to be in that position.  If he can craft a plan of adjustment without selling the DIA’s assets, he’s going to do it," said Laura Bartell.

“你想让这个被载入史册的人成为毁掉DIA的人吗？我认为没有人想成为这样的人，如果他能想出一个调整计划而不用出售DIA的资产，他会这么做的。”

That plan got a boost in January from several national foundations, including the Ford Foundation and the John S. and James. L Knight Foundation.  Together, they’ve pledged about $330 million to keep the DIA’s assets off the auction block.

一月份这个计划得到几个国家基金会的支持，包括福特基金会和约翰和詹姆斯·L·奈特基金会，他们承诺提供3.3亿美元来帮助DIA免于拍卖任何资产。

“The DIA would be spun off from the city to create a separate nonprofit, separate from city control so this kind of situation, the city would never find itself in this situation again," said Stryker.

“DIA将被从底特律剥离开，成立一个独立的非盈利博物馆，免受该市的控制，这样底特律就再也不会面对这种处境了。”

The amount pledged does fall below Christie’s appraisal of the items, and creditors could seek more money.  But the proposed deal offers Orr a way out of the crisis, and Stryker says it is the most promising option on the table to keep the DIA’s art in Detroit.

这一数额低于佳士得对藏品的估价，债权人得寻找更多资金。但这一提议给奥尔解决危机的办法，斯特瑞克说这是帮助DIA的艺术品仍留在底特律的最好办法。