VOA标准英语2010年-Exhibit Explores Modern Native America

The National Museum of the American Indian in Washington, DC,  is devoted¹ to the history and culture of native peoples of the Western Hemisphere. Since opening in 2004, the museum has put a strong emphasis on contemporary Native American life. Its latest exhibit, "Vantage Point" is a perfect example. Brightly colored abstract paintings, a bronze sculpture and a digital video are among the 31 works of art that make up the new exhibit. The works here are probably not what most visitors expect to see at the National Museum of the American Indian, says curator Rebecca Head Trautmann. "I think that people are often surprised when they come to this museum and see an exhibition of modern or contemporary Native art."She hopes "Vantage Point" will surprise and challenge people's notions of what Native American art is and what Native American artists do.
Sewing circleMarie Watt², a Seneca, is one of those Native artists challenging the notion of what American Indian art is. She sews together recycled fabric³, something like piecing a quilt. Watt creates most of her pieces in a sewing circle and says, "many hands make light work." She spent a Sunday at the museum enlisting⁴ the help of visitors to create a new work. VOA - S. Logue KosterMarie Watt's In the Garden (Corn, Beans, and Squash) pays homage⁵ to three traditional American Indian foods. More than half a dozen women sat around a large table on which several pairs of blue jeans had been pinned together in a circle. Participants were told they could come and go as they pleased and that no sewing experience was necessary. Watt says any age can participate, from as young as two to as old as 100. "I never take out anybody's stitches in the sewing circle," she says, "but if there are any weak links I'll reinforce them. Everybody's stitches are important." They are, she says, "unique like a thumbprint or signature."You can see the variety of stitches used to assemble an earlier work in the Vantage Point exhibit. In the Garden: Corn, Beans and Squash represents three traditional foods of the Seneca people. The material it is made from -- recycled wool blankets -- also has meaning.
"I started collecting these blankets, wanting to use this kind of ordinary everyday object," Watt says. "But I was also interested in how blankets are these objects in the native community and in the Seneca community that we give away to honor people for being witness to important life events."Personal landscapeAll of the works in the exhibit explore identity, history, culture or landscape from a Native American perspective. That point of view is evident in some works, but not all. James Lavadour's Blanket is composed of 15 small panels painted in bold colors. Trautmann says it is a landscape of the Umatilla Indian Reservation. But it's a personal impression of the land where the Walla Walla artist grew up. The work doesn't represent the physical appearance of the landscape, "but rather the forces, the geological and meteorological forces that have shaped the landscape." VOA - A. GreenbaumIn this detail of Marie Watt's In the Garden (Corn, Beans, and Squash), you can see the variety of stitches people have contributed to her work. It doesn't have to look IndianJames Luna, a Puyoukichum (Luiseno), from Southern California, almost always creates works with a distinctly Indian viewpoint. But he says, "I do believe it doesn't have to look Indian to be Indian. It's the very fact that I am an Indian making art that it becomes Indian art."His piece, "Chapel⁶ for Pablo Tac," was created for the 2005 Biennale and is the largest work in the exhibition. The work is an installation resembling a Spanish mission in California, complete with bench seats and an altar. It explores the impact of Christianity on Native Americans, juxtaposing objects used during traditional native worship alongside those used during a Catholic mass. For example, a bundle of dried sage⁷ next to an incense⁸ burner, and a rattle⁹ made from a gourd¹⁰ beside bells. VOA - A. GreenbaumAmong the objects on the altar in 'Temple for Pablo Tac' are a chalice¹¹, a medicine pouch¹², and eagle feathers.
The piece pays homage to a member of Luna's tribe who traveled to Rome nearly 200 years ago to study for the Catholic priesthood. "He never returned home," Trautmann says, "but he wrote a history of the missionization of the Luiseno people. He also began the first dictionary and grammar of the Luiseno language."Luna says he chose Pablo Tac as the subject of this work, because Tac challenges the public's preconception of Native Americans. "If you look at the cultures of native California, we were primarily hunters and gatherers, so people walk away with that concept of us being less than," the artist says. "The inclusion of Pablo Tac elevates us to a whole other level. It elevates us from spear-chuckers to linguist¹³."Known primarily as a performance artist, Luna seeks to educate the public through his art.
"Given the opportunity the most I can wish for would be that people reconsider the native experience as they see it, that once seeing a work of mine or [a] performance, they will reconsider what they know."Although other artists in the Vantage Point exhibit may not share Luna's mission, their works are a reminder¹⁴ that American Indian cultures are not frozen in the 19th century, but continue to evolve today.

1 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。

2 watt   

n.瓦，瓦特

参考例句：

• The invention of the engine is creditable to Watt.发动机的发明归功于瓦特。
• The unit of power is watt.功率的单位是瓦特。

3 fabric   

n.织物，织品，布；构造，结构，组织

参考例句：

• The fabric will spot easily.这种织品很容易玷污。
• I don't like the pattern on the fabric.我不喜欢那块布料上的图案。

4 enlisting   

v.（使）入伍， （使）参军( enlist的现在分词 )；获得（帮助或支持）

参考例句：

• He thought about enlisting-about the Spanish legion-about a profession. 他想去打仗，想参加西班牙军团，想找个职业。 来自辞典例句
• They are not enlisting men over thirty-five. 他们不召超过35岁的人入伍。 来自辞典例句

5 homage   

n.尊敬，敬意，崇敬

参考例句：

• We pay homage to the genius of Shakespeare.我们对莎士比亚的天才表示敬仰。
• The soldiers swore to pay their homage to the Queen.士兵们宣誓效忠于女王陛下。

6 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

7 sage   

n.圣人，哲人；adj.贤明的，明智的

参考例句：

• I was grateful for the old man's sage advice.我很感激那位老人贤明的忠告。
• The sage is the instructor of a hundred ages.这位哲人是百代之师。

8 incense   

v.激怒；n.香，焚香时的烟，香气

参考例句：

• This proposal will incense conservation campaigners.这项提议会激怒环保人士。
• In summer,they usually burn some coil incense to keep away the mosquitoes.夏天他们通常点香驱蚊。

9 rattle   

v.飞奔，碰响；激怒；n.碰撞声；拨浪鼓

参考例句：

• The baby only shook the rattle and laughed and crowed.孩子只是摇着拨浪鼓，笑着叫着。
• She could hear the rattle of the teacups.她听见茶具叮当响。

10 gourd   

n.葫芦

参考例句：

• Are you going with him? You must be out of your gourd.你和他一块去？你一定是疯了。
• Give me a gourd so I can bail.把葫芦瓢给我，我好把水舀出去。

11 chalice   

n.圣餐杯；金杯毒酒

参考例句：

• He inherited a poisoned chalice when he took over the job as union leader.他接手工会领导职务，看似风光，实则会给他带来很多麻烦。
• She was essentially feminine,in other words,a parasite and a chalice.她在本质上是个女人，换句话说，是一个食客和一只酒杯。

12 pouch   

n.小袋，小包，囊状袋；vt.装...入袋中，用袋运输；vi.用袋送信件

参考例句：

• He was going to make a tobacco pouch out of them. 他要用它们缝制一个烟草袋。
• The old man is always carrying a tobacco pouch with him.这老汉总是随身带着烟袋。

13 linguist   

n.语言学家；精通数种外国语言者

参考例句：

• I used to be a linguist till I become a writer.过去我是个语言学家，后来成了作家。
• Professor Cui has a high reputation as a linguist.崔教授作为语言学家名声很高。

14 reminder   

n.提醒物，纪念品；暗示，提示

参考例句：

• I have had another reminder from the library.我又收到图书馆的催还单。
• It always took a final reminder to get her to pay her share of the rent.总是得发给她一份最后催缴通知，她才付应该交的房租。