VOA标准英语2014--Arab American Museum Shows Arab Spring Protest Art 阿拉伯博物馆展出阿拉伯之春抗议艺术

Arab American Museum Shows Arab Spring Protest Art 阿拉伯博物馆展出阿拉伯之春抗议艺术

DEARBORN, MICH. — In many countries throughout the Middle East and North Africa, walls and buildings became the canvas for street art during the Arab Spring uprisings that began in 2011 and gave protestors a platform. A collection of protest artwork is just one part of the exhibit called “Creative Dissent¹” at the Arab American Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. The exhibit also explores how digital technology has changed the way some expressions of protest are created and disseminated².

When the Arab uprisings began, they took Islamic art professor Christiane Gruber by surprise. But as she watched events unfold, especially in Egypt, she began to focus on one aspect.

“I was fascinated as I was following it online, especially what was happening in Tahrir, by the extent to which the demonstrations³ were being articulated through all of this creative media, particularly through arts and through humor,” said Gruber.

Expressions of protest have fascinated Gruber for decades.  

“The arts play a really critical role in expressions of politics, and oftentimes when humans communicate with one another, especially in large public settings, like the streets or squares. They don’t just use language. They use art forms, they use very poignant⁴ images, they use repeated slogans,” said Gruber.

Gruber said that many of the slogans chanted in the streets from Tunis to Tahrir Square and beyond are themselves artistic⁵ expression.

“When you chant them over and over again, it’s almost like you are mimicking⁶ a heartbeat, so I’ve seen this quite a bit in the streets of Istanbul as well. So I can personally attest⁷ to the emotive resonance⁸ some of these might have,” said Gruber. 

That poetic⁹ rhythm weaves itself through the Creative Dissent exhibit Gruber curated at the Arab American Museum in Dearborn, Michigan. The slogans join photographs of key moments during the uprisings, and stand next to carefully crafted images that take aim at leaders accused of oppression.

Gruber said her biggest challenge was the lack of original material.

"Curators tend to work with art objects so there are more traditional methods of exhibiting materials. These are not art objects.  Most of the materials, as I’m sure you noticed, are large scale reproductions of digital images,” explained Gruber.

Gruber points out that technology has changed the audience for many protest artists. Before the availability of digital technology and instant dissemination¹⁰, some of this artwork might never have been seen beyond their original location.

“And I think without these other media, we wouldn’t have a show, because we’re bringing together a Facebook platform, puppet shows which are really in theaters, the chants which are in the streets, so we’re trying to give an idea of the really complex intersection¹¹ of what’s happening out in the public, what’s happening online, what’s happening through livestream media, so it was a bit challenging to capture that chaos¹² in a structured environment,” said Gruber.

 

That structured environment began as a symposium¹³ and grew into the exhibit now on display at the Arab American Museum. Gruber is working with the museum to take the exhibit on the road after it ends here in late February.

1 dissent   

n./v.不同意，持异议

参考例句：

• It is too late now to make any dissent.现在提出异议太晚了。
• He felt her shoulders gave a wriggle of dissent.他感到她的肩膀因为不同意而动了一下。

2 disseminated   

散布，传播( disseminate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Their findings have been widely disseminated . 他们的研究成果已经广为传播。
• Berkovitz had contracted polio after ingesting a vaccine disseminated under federal supervision. 伯考维茨在接种了在联邦监督下分发的牛痘疫苗后传染上脊髓灰质炎。

3 demonstrations   

证明( demonstration的名词复数 )； 表明； 表达； 游行示威

参考例句：

• Lectures will be interspersed with practical demonstrations. 讲课中将不时插入实际示范。
• The new military government has banned strikes and demonstrations. 新的军人政府禁止罢工和示威活动。

4 poignant   

adj.令人痛苦的，辛酸的，惨痛的

参考例句：

• His lyrics are as acerbic and poignant as they ever have been.他的歌词一如既往的犀利辛辣。
• It is especially poignant that he died on the day before his wedding.他在婚礼前一天去世了，这尤其令人悲恸。

5 artistic   

adj.艺术(家)的，美术(家)的；善于艺术创作的

参考例句：

• The picture on this screen is a good artistic work.这屏风上的画是件很好的艺术品。
• These artistic handicrafts are very popular with foreign friends.外国朋友很喜欢这些美术工艺品。

6 mimicking   

v.（尤指为了逗乐而）模仿( mimic的现在分词 )；酷似

参考例句：

• She's always mimicking the teachers. 她总喜欢模仿老师的言谈举止。
• The boy made us all laugh by mimicking the teacher's voice. 这男孩模仿老师的声音，逗得我们大家都笑了。 来自辞典例句

7 attest   

vt.证明，证实；表明

参考例句：

• I can attest to the absolute truth of his statement. 我可以证实他的话是千真万确的。
• These ruins sufficiently attest the former grandeur of the place. 这些遗迹充分证明此处昔日的宏伟。

8 resonance   

n.洪亮；共鸣；共振

参考例句：

• Playing the piano sets up resonance in those glass ornaments.一弹钢琴那些玻璃饰物就会产生共振。
• The areas under the two resonance envelopes are unequal.两个共振峰下面的面积是不相等的。

9 poetic   

adj.富有诗意的，有诗人气质的，善于抒情的

参考例句：

• His poetic idiom is stamped with expressions describing group feeling and thought.他的诗中的措辞往往带有描写群体感情和思想的印记。
• His poetic novels have gone through three different historical stages.他的诗情小说创作经历了三个不同的历史阶段。

10 dissemination   

传播,宣传,传染(病毒)

参考例句：

• The dissemination of error does people great harm. 谬种流传，误人不浅。
• He was fully bent upon the dissemination of Chinese culture all over the world. 他一心致力于向全世界传播中国文化。

11 intersection   

n.交集，十字路口，交叉点；[计算机] 交集

参考例句：

• There is a stop sign at an intersection.在交叉路口处有停车标志。
• Bridges are used to avoid the intersection of a railway and a highway.桥用来避免铁路和公路直接交叉。

12 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。

13 symposium   

n.讨论会，专题报告会；专题论文集

参考例句：

• What have you learned from the symposium?你参加了这次科学讨论会有什么体会？
• The specialists and scholars present at the symposium come from all corners of the country.出席研讨会的专家学者们来自全国各地。