VOA文化艺术2023--Baseball Player’s Vision Brings Partnership with Artist

Baseball Player’s Vision¹ Brings Partnership² with Artist

Ian Happ is a professional baseball player for the Chicago Cubs³ of Major Leagues Baseball in the United States. When he first started playing with the team in 2017, he was looking for pictures to hang in his home.

From that simple desire came an idea and an unlikely⁴ partnership with a British artist.

Happ wanted art that showed Wrigley Field, the Cubs ballpark, from a different viewpoint⁵.

Happ said that many fans have been to Wrigley but have never seen what the ballpark looks like from the field. He thought looking up from the field was "such a cool experience" that he wanted to "bring that to more Cubs fans."

He hired the British artist Patrick Vale to create three large drawings of Wrigley from his point of view five years ago.

Instead of having pictures to hang in his home, the partnership led to something quite different.

Happ's view of Wrigley Field became the Through My Eyes project, in which fans can purchase prints. The money goes toward⁶ Happ's charity. The drawings by Vale became See What I See, an exhibit⁷ at Chicago's Gallery Victor. The show is open through August 26.

All this started with Happ simply looking for artwork.

A college teammate at the University of Cincinnati had become an architect in New York. That teammate gave Happ the names of several artists. One was Vale.

Happ noticed the level of detail in Vale's drawings of cities. After talking with Vale, Happ got the idea to bring Vale to Chicago and draw Wrigley Field from a viewpoint few fans get to experience. The drawings would be from a player's point of view looking out onto the field and into the stands of the famous ballpark.

Happ brought Vale to Chicago in September of 2018 and showed him around Wrigley. Vale knew little about the sport of baseball. But he understood the connection fans have with Wrigley.

"I understand when people talk about baseball and their connections to family and family stories and childhood," said Vale, who lives in New York. "It's the same for me with cricket⁸. I can remember summers in the garden with grandpa and listening to the radio."

Happ had to explain to Vale the importance of the 400 feet sign in center field and the famous manual⁹ scoreboard and ivy¹⁰. He had to teach him the correct positioning of the players. Happ also explained what it feels like standing¹¹ in the field under the bright lights with a loud crowd.

Vale took pictures and used them to help him create drawings in great detail. He would send rough drawings to Happ, who would mark them up in red ink, like a teacher, with suggestions.

The drawings are mostly in black and white. They show everything from the faces of the fans and the people selling drinks to the numbers and pictures on the video screen. They show a celebration from the view of someone looking down the left-field line. And there is the view from the dugout looking toward third base and right field as the pitcher¹² throws with the bright lights shining.

"He was talking about very specific moments," Vale said of Happ. "The scoreboard needs to feel like the scoreboard, right? I had to respect it and the place."

Words in This Story

cool — adj. very fashionable, stylish¹³, or appealing in a way that is generally approved of especially by young people

charity — n. the act of giving money, food, or other kinds of help to people who are poor, sick, etc.

exhibit — n. to make available for people to see

teammate — n. a person who is on the same team as someone else

architect — n. a person who designs buildings

stands — n. the rows of seats in a stadium that people sit in when they are watching a sports event, concert, etc.

manual — adj. doing or involving hard physical work

ivy — n. a plant that has long stems¹⁴ and that often grows on the outsides of buildings

dugout — n. a low shelter that faces a baseball field and contains the bench where the players and coaches of a team sit

1 vision   

n.视觉，先见之明，光景，视力，眼力，幻想，影像；vt.幻想

参考例句：

• The wall cuts across our line of vision.那面墙挡住了我们的视线。
• Much reading has impaired his vision.大量读书损害了他的视力。

2 partnership   

n.合作关系，伙伴关系

参考例句：

• The company has gone into partnership with Swiss Bank Corporation.这家公司已经和瑞士银行公司建立合作关系。
• Martin has taken him into general partnership in his company.马丁已让他成为公司的普通合伙人。

3 cubs   

n.幼小的兽，不懂规矩的年轻人( cub的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• a lioness guarding her cubs 守护幼崽的母狮
• Lion cubs depend on their mother to feed them. 狮子的幼仔依靠母狮喂养。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 unlikely   

adj.未必的，多半不可能的；不大可能发生的

参考例句：

• It was very unlikely that he would do that.他不见得会做那种事。
• It is unlikely that she will come. 她不大可能来了。

5 viewpoint   

n.观点，看法，见解

参考例句：

• He explained his viewpoint that taxes should be increased.他解释了他认为应该增加税收的观点。
• My viewpoint is in coincidence with you.我的观点与你的一致。

6 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

7 exhibit   

vt.展览，展出，陈列；n.展览品；陈列品

参考例句：

• Next week those goods will exhibit in that shop. 下个星期，这些货物将在那家商店展出。
• The economy continued to exhibit signs of decline in September.9月份，经济继续呈现出衰退的迹象。

8 cricket   

n.蟋蟀，板球运动；adj.公平的

参考例句：

• The England cricket team scored quite a useful total.英格兰板球队得分总数令人满意。
• We could hear the shrill of the midsummer cricket.我们可以听到仲夏时节蟋蟀的尖叫声。
• Your behaviour isn't cricket.你的行为不光彩。

9 manual   

adj.手工的，体力的；n.手册，指南，键盘

参考例句：

• The majority of men there earn their living by manual labour.那里绝大多数人靠体力劳动谋生。
• The school offers manual training to the pupils.该校为学生开设手工课。

10 ivy   

n.常青藤，常春藤

参考例句：

• Her wedding bouquet consisted of roses and ivy.她的婚礼花篮包括玫瑰和长春藤。
• The wall is covered all over with ivy.墙上爬满了常春藤。

11 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

12 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

13 stylish   

adj.流行的，时髦的；漂亮的，气派的

参考例句：

• He's a stylish dresser.他是个穿着很有格调的人。
• What stylish women are wearing in Paris will be worn by women all over the world.巴黎女性时装往往会引导世界时装潮流。

14 stems   

n.（花草的）茎( stem的名词复数 )；词干；（高脚酒杯的）脚；烟斗柄v.遏制[阻止]（液体的流动等）( stem的第三人称单数 )；封堵；遏止

参考例句：

• The present wave of strikes stems from discontent among the lower-paid. 当前的罢工浪潮起因于低工资雇员们的不满情绪。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Her interest in flowers stems from her childhood in the country. 她对花卉的兴趣产生于她在乡下度过的童年时代。 来自《简明英汉词典》