VOA常速英语2008年-New York's Whitney Museum Presents 74th Biennia

By Mona Ghuneim
New York
02 April 2008

One of the art world's most controversial exhibits takes place every two years at the Whitney Museum of American Art in New York City. The Whitney Biennial¹ showcases the visions of contemporary artists working in the United States today. From VOA's New York Bureau, Mona Ghuneim has the story.

Long known as the most controversial art exhibit in the United States, often scandalizing audiences and enraging² critics, the Biennial has been called the "bad boy of the art world" and "the show everyone loves to hate." But this year's show is not so much provocative³ as it is in need of contemplation, says the director of the Whitney.

Adam Weinberg says a lot of the works in this year's show feel like they're in the process of being constructed, or even deconstructed, and the exhibition reveals itself slowly.

"There are a lot of things that say, 'Spend a little time with me. Sit down in this room. Look at all of the objects in this room where you see hundreds of objects assembled, or even thousands of objects assembled. Walk into this space. Listen to the sounds that are in this room,'" he says.

Indeed, most of the works in the Biennial are site specific and some rooms in the museum are devoted⁴ to one artist or artwork. There is very little painting. The majority of work is installation art with a lot of large collage-like structures, non-traditional sculptures and many videos and short films.

One video installation features a stand-up comedy routine. Artist Edgar Arceneaux enlisted⁵ a famous African-American actor and comedian⁶ for his piece, titled "The Alchemy of Comedy… Stupid." Upon entering a dark room, the visitor sees David Alan Grier in multiple views on several screens at different times in his performance at a small comedy club.

"I ran into my ex-girlfriend's best friends. They flagged me down. I tried to run a mile away," he says. "'David! Oh my God, David!' Set off a flare⁷. 'David!' I was like, 'Oh hi guys. How you doin'?' We're talking and there's that big pause, and I was not going to ask. I know what you're thinking… 'She's doing so well. She lost 10 pounds. She's dating a new guy - he's like a billionaire.'"

Eighty-one artists are included in the show, down from 106 two years ago, with the bulk of the artists selected working in New York. In fact, 43 of the artists are currently New York based and 29 of them are from either Los Angeles or the San Francisco Bay area in California.

This year the Biennial spills out of the Whitney and into a second location at the Park Avenue Armory⁹, a few minutes' walk from the museum. The grand period rooms of this historic building are being used to host some of the artwork.

Armory president Rebecca Robertson says the Whitney's decision to use the armory as a second venue⁸ for the show makes sense.

"Our objective is to become a new alternative art space," she explains, "filling a niche¹⁰ in New York City and for artists at a time when artists are searching for unconventional spaces that allow new forms of expression and allow a different relationship between the audience and the art itself."

Robertson says that in addition to the art installations, the armory will host performances and events, which are actually artworks in the Biennial exhibition. Some of these include a 24-hour dance marathon, therapy sessions inside a big white box, and a sleepover in a room filled with ambient sound compositions.

Ambient noise figures prominently in the pieces on view at the armory. In one exhibit, artist Bozidar Brazda has hung a metal chair upside down in a room so that it resembles a radio antenna¹¹. He records ambient sound and plays it back to the visitors, reprocessing the audio in a rapid discordant¹² way.

Whitney director Adam Weinberg says the Biennial is a chance to contemplate¹³ contemporary art's originality¹⁴, immediacy, spontaneity, intensity¹⁵, and impenetrability. Certainly this year's show has elements of all those and more.

1 biennial   

adj.两年一次的

参考例句：

• The workers were strongly against the biennial election.工人们强烈反对两年一次的选举。
• His is a biennial,and one of the most useful pasture plants we have.这是两年生植物，也是我们最有用的牧草之一。

2 enraging   

使暴怒( enrage的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• The effrontery of his deceptions inside and outside the conference room could be enraging. 他在会议室内外放肆的欺骗手段简直令人怒火中烧。
• It buffeted the beasts, enraging them. 它打击着那些野兽，激怒着它们。

3 provocative   

adj.挑衅的，煽动的，刺激的，挑逗的

参考例句：

• She wore a very provocative dress.她穿了一件非常性感的裙子。
• His provocative words only fueled the argument further.他的挑衅性讲话只能使争论进一步激化。

4 devoted   

adj.忠诚的，忠实的，热心的，献身于...的

参考例句：

• He devoted his life to the educational cause of the motherland.他为祖国的教育事业贡献了一生。
• We devoted a lengthy and full discussion to this topic.我们对这个题目进行了长时间的充分讨论。

5 enlisted   

adj.应募入伍的v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的过去式和过去分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• enlisted men and women 男兵和女兵
• He enlisted with the air force to fight against the enemy. 他应募加入空军对敌作战。 来自《现代汉英综合大词典》

6 comedian   

n.喜剧演员；滑稽演员

参考例句：

• The comedian tickled the crowd with his jokes.喜剧演员的笑话把人们逗乐了。
• The comedian enjoyed great popularity during the 30's.那位喜剧演员在三十年代非常走红。

7 flare   

v.闪耀，闪烁；n.潮红；突发

参考例句：

• The match gave a flare.火柴发出闪光。
• You need not flare up merely because I mentioned your work.你大可不必因为我提到你的工作就动怒。

8 venue   

n.犯罪地点，审判地，管辖地，发生地点，集合地点

参考例句：

• The hall provided a venue for weddings and other functions.大厅给婚礼和其他社会活动提供了场所。
• The chosen venue caused great controversy among the people.人们就审判地点的问题产生了极大的争议。

9 armory   

n.纹章，兵工厂，军械库

参考例句：

• Nuclear weapons will play a less prominent part in NATO's armory in the future.核武器将来在北约的军械中会起较次要的作用。
• Every March the Armory Show sets up shop in New York.每年三月，军械博览会都会在纽约设置展场。

10 niche   

n.壁龛；合适的职务(环境、位置等)

参考例句：

• Madeleine placed it carefully in the rocky niche. 玛德琳小心翼翼地把它放在岩石壁龛里。
• The really talented among women would always make their own niche.妇女中真正有才能的人总是各得其所。

11 antenna   

n.触角，触须；天线

参考例句：

• The workman fixed the antenna to the roof of the house.工人把天线固定在房顶上。
• In our village, there is an antenna on every roof for receiving TV signals.在我们村里，每家房顶上都有天线接收电视信号。

12 discordant   

adj.不调和的

参考例句：

• Leonato thought they would make a discordant pair.里奥那托认为他们不适宜作夫妻。
• For when we are deeply mournful discordant above all others is the voice of mirth.因为当我们极度悲伤的时候，欢乐的声音会比其他一切声音都更显得不谐调。

13 contemplate   

vt.盘算，计议；周密考虑；注视，凝视

参考例句：

• The possibility of war is too horrifying to contemplate.战争的可能性太可怕了，真不堪细想。
• The consequences would be too ghastly to contemplate.后果不堪设想。

14 originality   

n.创造力，独创性；新颖

参考例句：

• The name of the game in pop music is originality.流行音乐的本质是独创性。
• He displayed an originality amounting almost to genius.他显示出近乎天才的创造性。

15 intensity   

n.强烈，剧烈；强度；烈度

参考例句：

• I didn't realize the intensity of people's feelings on this issue.我没有意识到这一问题能引起群情激奋。
• The strike is growing in intensity.罢工日益加剧。