VOA标准英语2011--New York Gallery Displays Modern Middle Eastern Calligraphy

New York Gallery Displays Modern Middle Eastern Calligraphy¹

Middle Eastern calligraphy on display at a New York City art gallery is being touted² as a vehicle for dialogue between the Middle East, including Iran, and the West. The works of art are recent creations that roughly coincide with the Arab uprisings in the Middle East.

An ornate painting on linen³ entitled “Astrolabe” by Tunisian artist Nja Mahdaoui greets visitors to the Sundaram Tagore Gallery. The work is saturated⁴ with what appears to be stylized Arabic writing, called calligraphy, but it's actually pure design without specific meaning. Tunisian diplomat⁵ Tarek Amri says the viewer determines what it means.

“We have the earth with the center. And from the center we are spreading through countries, through population, through different cultures. But all of them - this is of course my own meaning - they join in the center,” Amri explained.

Arabic calligraphy is traditionally associated with Quranic texts. But most of the calligraphy on display in New York is without literary or religious meaning. One untitled canvas by Qatari artist Ali Hassan is a study in black featuring a single Arabic letter.

In "Apocalypse III" by Chaouki Chamoun of Lebanon, abstract calligraphy separates people from the chaos⁶ hovering⁷ above.

Calligraphy is woven into an untitled piece by another Qatari artist, Youssef Ahmad.

“The word, the calligraphic quality is completely left behind," Gallery owner Sundaram Tagore explained. "It becomes this graffiti-like form, and the surface pattern that he creates is evocative of the desert of the Middle East."

Islamic societies generally prohibit depictions of humans and animals. Middle Eastern artists instead perfected representations of words. Tagore says they are now drawn⁸ to modernism, not unlike Western artists who derived⁹ abstract art from depictions of people and nature.

“Middle Eastern art went from the word to the image; word to image and abstraction. The image is these forms. These are the visual forms. So they are trying to abstract further and further,” Tagore said.

Works by Golnaz Fathi, the show’s only Iranian artist, arrived at the exhibit hours before its scheduled opening on November 10. Tagore says they were held for three weeks in U.S. customs. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement did not return VOA's request for comment.

All of the pieces, both Arabic and Persian, are recent. They were created just prior to or during the recent uprisings in the Middle East. Yousef Zada, Egypt's Consul¹⁰ General in New York, says the work of his countryman, Ahmed Moustafa, reflects the Arab drive for democracy and individual rights.

“This signifies somebody who is shouting, saying, ‘I’m here, and this is my heritage; this is my Islamic heritage,’ to be more clear of this,” Zada explained.

The gallery says the exhibit, entitled “Written Images: Contemporary Calligraphy from the Middle East” offers people in the Middle East and Americans an opportunity to understand one another through culture.

The art work will be on display in New York through early December. "Written Images" moves to Los Angeles next year and then on to Hong Kong.

1 calligraphy   

n.书法

参考例句：

• At the calligraphy competition,people asked him to write a few characters.书法比赛会上，人们请他留字。
• His calligraphy is vigorous and forceful.他的书法苍劲有力。

2 touted   

v.兜售( tout的过去式和过去分词 )；招揽；侦查；探听赛马情报

参考例句：

• She's being touted as the next leader of the party. 她被吹捧为该党的下一任领导人。
• People said that he touted for his mother and sister. 据说，他给母亲和姐姐拉生意。 来自辞典例句

3 linen   

n.亚麻布，亚麻线，亚麻制品；adj.亚麻布制的，亚麻的

参考例句：

• The worker is starching the linen.这名工人正在给亚麻布上浆。
• Fine linen and cotton fabrics were known as well as wool.精细的亚麻织品和棉织品像羊毛一样闻名遐迩。

4 saturated   

a.饱和的，充满的

参考例句：

• The continuous rain had saturated the soil. 连绵不断的雨把土地淋了个透。
• a saturated solution of sodium chloride 氯化钠饱和溶液

5 diplomat   

n.外交官，外交家；能交际的人，圆滑的人

参考例句：

• The diplomat threw in a joke, and the tension was instantly relieved.那位外交官插进一个笑话，紧张的气氛顿时缓和下来。
• He served as a diplomat in Russia before the war.战前他在俄罗斯当外交官。

6 chaos   

n.混乱，无秩序

参考例句：

• After the failure of electricity supply the city was in chaos.停电后，城市一片混乱。
• The typhoon left chaos behind it.台风后一片混乱。

7 hovering   

鸟( hover的现在分词 )； 靠近（某事物）； （人）徘徊； 犹豫

参考例句：

• The helicopter was hovering about 100 metres above the pad. 直升机在离发射台一百米的上空盘旋。
• I'm hovering between the concert and the play tonight. 我犹豫不决今晚是听音乐会还是看戏。

8 drawn   

v.拖，拉，拔出；adj.憔悴的，紧张的

参考例句：

• All the characters in the story are drawn from life.故事中的所有人物都取材于生活。
• Her gaze was drawn irresistibly to the scene outside.她的目光禁不住被外面的风景所吸引。

9 derived   

vi.起源；由来；衍生；导出v.得到( derive的过去式和过去分词 )；（从…中）得到获得；源于；（从…中）提取

参考例句：

• Many English words are derived from Latin and Greek. 英语很多词源出于拉丁文和希腊文。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• He derived his enthusiasm for literature from his father. 他对文学的爱好是受他父亲的影响。 来自《简明英汉词典》

10 consul   

n.领事；执政官

参考例句：

• A consul's duty is to help his own nationals.领事的职责是帮助自己的同胞。
• He'll hold the post of consul general for the United States at Shanghai.他将就任美国驻上海总领事(的职务)。