VOA标准英语2010年-Kenyan Carver Elkana Ong'esa to Unveil

Kenyan soapstone carver Elkana Ong'esa has earned an international reputation for his carvings¹. His sculptures adorn² the entrances of the United Nations building in New York and UNESCO's headquarters in Paris. Now a new work will be unveiled soon at the United States' embassy in Nairobi, inspired by Kenya's recent post-election violence.

Scenes of destruction, devastation³ and despair following the disputed Kenyan elections in late 2007, forever captured in a wooden sculpture.

The violence left a profound impression on Kenyan carver Elkana Ong'esa.

"This is the face," said Elkana Ong'esa. "There is a big crack there. That crack was left there deliberately⁴ to show the way we were split into pieces. But this same head, that same head, now we are looking at it from here, it has been cut."

Ong'esa chiseled⁵ that same passion into his 10-ton sculpture that graces the entrance to the U.S. Embassy in Kenya's capital. Ong'esa says the statue, titled "Dancing Birds," acknowledges efforts by the United States and other countries to end the post-election violence. He says the statue also immortalizes peace.

"The birds had to run away," he said. "People were running away, animals were running away. So, when I am talking about peace and I am using the birds as a symbol, it is really to show that when happiness is there, when peace is there, everybody will be dancing."

Many of Ong'esa's works incorporate bird themes.

"Birds have got many different shapes which are so interesting - I enjoy those," said Ong'esa. "Then, the music - fantastic. They make me dream about shapes in sculpture when I'm listening to their sounds and looking at them."

Ong'esa explains that birds are central to his Kisii culture and that many songs have been written about them.

Ong'esa's Kisii area in southwestern Kenya is known for its soapstone carvings. He was born there in 1944.

The high school he attended did not offer fine art as a subject, but one teacher recognized his talent and trained him.

He later studied fine art at Uganda's Makerere University, and worked for many years as an art teacher in Kisii in addition to being a sculptor⁶.

 Ong'esa's retired⁷ from teaching in 1990, but has kept busy with his sculpting⁸ and mentoring⁹ young artists. He is also president of the Pan African Association of Visual Artists.

"We want to see how African art can be appreciated all over the world," he said. "We are in the process of creating a website, a website that will portray¹⁰ the real values of African art, bring the old, the present and the future in terms of art. We are trying to see how museums in Africa can enhance the collection of African art. Can they support African artists, can they support young artists?"

Ong'esa says one of his passions is to raise the profile of Africa artists at home and in the world.
 

1 carvings   

n.雕刻( carving的名词复数 )；雕刻术；雕刻品；雕刻物

参考例句：

• The desk was ornamented with many carvings. 这桌子装饰有很多雕刻物。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Shell carvings are a specialty of the town. 贝雕是该城的特产。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 adorn   

vt.使美化，装饰

参考例句：

• She loved to adorn herself with finery.她喜欢穿戴华丽的服饰。
• His watercolour designs adorn a wide range of books.他的水彩设计使许多图书大为生色。

3 devastation   

n.毁坏；荒废；极度震惊或悲伤

参考例句：

• The bomb caused widespread devastation. 炸弹造成大面积破坏。
• There was devastation on every side. 到处都是破坏的创伤。 来自《简明英汉词典》

4 deliberately   

adv.审慎地；蓄意地；故意地

参考例句：

• The girl gave the show away deliberately.女孩故意泄露秘密。
• They deliberately shifted off the argument.他们故意回避这个论点。

5 chiseled   

adj.凿刻的，轮廓分明的v.凿，雕，镌( chisel的过去式 )

参考例句：

• Woltz had chiseled the guy, given him peanuts for the book. 乌尔茨敲了这个作家的竹杠，用了他的书，却只给微不足道的一点点钱。 来自教父部分
• He chiseled the piece of wood into the shape of a head. 他把这块木头凿刻成人头的形状。 来自辞典例句

6 sculptor   

n.雕刻家，雕刻家

参考例句：

• A sculptor forms her material.雕塑家把材料塑造成雕塑品。
• The sculptor rounded the clay into a sphere.那位雕塑家把黏土做成了一个球状。

7 retired   

adj.隐退的，退休的，退役的

参考例句：

• The old man retired to the country for rest.这位老人下乡休息去了。
• Many retired people take up gardening as a hobby.许多退休的人都以从事园艺为嗜好。

8 sculpting   

雕刻( sculpt的现在分词 )； 雕塑； 做（头发）； 梳（发式）

参考例句：

• The quality of the result is determined by a Craft( sculpting) check. 由手艺（刻）定决定结果质量如何。
• Another difficulty in the process of ice sculpting is time control. 冰雕过程中的另一项困难是时间的掌控。

9 mentoring   

n.mentoring是一种工作关系。mentor通常是处在比mentee更高工作职位上的有影响力的人。他/她有比‘mentee’更丰富的工作经验和知识，并用心支持mentee的职业（发展）。v.（无经验之人的）有经验可信赖的顾问( mentor的现在分词 )

参考例句：

• One of the most effective instruments for coaching and mentoring is the "role rehearsal" . 辅导和教学的最有效的手段之一是“角色排练。” 来自辞典例句
• Bell Canada called their mentoring system a buddy-buddy system. 加拿大贝尔公司称他们的训导系统是伙伴—伙伴系统。 来自互联网

10 portray   

v.描写，描述；画(人物、景象等)

参考例句：

• It is difficult to portray feelings in words.感情很难用言语来描写。
• Can you portray the best and worst aspects of this job?您能描述一下这份工作最好与最坏的方面吗？