VOA慢速英语2015 旧金山艺术家利用垃圾进行艺术创作

AS IT IS 2015-04-18 San Francisco Artists Make Art from Trash 旧金山艺术家利用垃圾进行艺术创作

Trash and garbage are other words for waste – things that people no longer want or need. In San Francisco, they are also words for art.

A local recycling company, called Recology, created a program to give artists the opportunity to re-use unwanted objects. Artists are paid to work for four months on transforming things like old tires, toys and paint.  

Ma Li is one of the artists at the center. She is working on a project that includes plastic bottles, cardboard¹ tubes and cloth. Ma Li is turning them into a moving sculpture with stars, flowing air and dancers.  

Ms. Li says she learned² recycling from her parents while growing up in China in the 1980s. It was a time when the country was poorer and more concerned about saving³ money than it is today.

San Francisco artist Michael Arcega works⁴ with recycled wood and old leather belts, all saved from the garbage.

“My project is based on pseudo-anthropological research on the people of the Nacirema.”

Michael Arcega explains that “Nacirema” is “American” spelled backwards⁵. His artwork shows what he says is the wasteful⁶ culture of the American people. Still, he says looking through the trash is not easy. It is hard to separate what is useful and what is really garbage.

A gallery in Los Angeles is displaying some of the art from the San Francisco project. The show includes pictures made from pieces of labels, sculptures from old metal, and saws that have been cut to look like trees.

Each year more than 5,000 children and adults visit shows created by the artists. They also attend educational tours that allow the public to talk to the artists and learn important lessons about recycling.

Los Angeles gallery owner Liz Gordon says artists have a history of recycling.

“People who didn’t have the resources to be able to go out and buy supplies found supplies and have been using found objects and assemblage for many, many years.”

Artist Ma Li says these art works have a message.

“So everyone can come together to actually make little change in their daily life and behavior to actually try to save the environment and resources.”

Mike Sangiacomo heads the recycling company. He says he hopes to see as much waste as possible reused.

“Along the way, if some of it is made into some fun pieces of art and draws people’s attention to the issue, we think it’s a great way to do something that’s good for our business, good for our community, good for society.”

And the project shows how a little imagination can change one person’s trash into another’s art work.

Words in This Story

recycling – adj. related⁷ to using something again

tubes – n. long hollow⁸ objects

labels – n. material attached to something to identify or describe it

saws – n. tools with sharp teeth used to cut wood

assemblage – n. a group of people or things

1 cardboard   

n.硬纸板，卡纸板

参考例句：

• She brought the shopping home in a cardboard box.她将买的东西放在纸箱里带回家。
• There is a sheet of stiff cardboard in the drawer.在那个抽屉里有块硬纸板。

2 learned   

adj.有学问的，博学的；learn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He went into a rage when he learned about it.他听到这事后勃然大怒。
• In this little village,he passed for a learned man.在这个小村子里，他被视为有学问的人。

3 saving   

n.节省，节约；[pl.]储蓄金，存款

参考例句：

• Energy saving is term strategic policy of our country.节约能源是我国长期的战略国策。
• Old-fashioned housewives were usually very saving.旧时的家庭主妇通常都很节俭。

4 works   

n.作品，著作；工厂，活动部件，机件

参考例句：

• We expect writers to produce more and better works.我们期望作家们写出更多更好的作品。
• The novel is regarded as one of the classic works.这篇小说被公认为是最优秀的作品之一。

5 backwards   

adv.往回地，向原处，倒，相反，前后倒置地

参考例句：

• He turned on the light and began to pace backwards and forwards.他打开电灯并开始走来走去。
• All the girls fell over backwards to get the party ready.姑娘们迫不及待地为聚会做准备。

6 wasteful   

adj.（造成）浪费的，挥霍的

参考例句：

• It is a shame to be so wasteful.这样浪费太可惜了。
• Duties have been reassigned to avoid wasteful duplication of work.为避免重复劳动浪费资源，任务已经重新分派。

7 related   

adj.有关系的，有关联的，叙述的，讲述的

参考例句：

• I am not related to him in any way.我和他无任何关系。
• We spent days going through all related reference material.我们花了好多天功夫查阅所有有关的参考资料。

8 hollow   

adj.空的，中空的，空心的；空洞的，无价值的

参考例句：

• The boys scraped out a hollow place for planting trees.那些孩子挖了个坑准备栽树。
• Bamboo is a sort of hollow plant.竹子是一种中空的植物。