国家肖像画廊举办主题为“名人”的展览

Exhibit at National Portrait Gallery Expands Definition of 'Celebrity¹' 国家肖像画廊举办主题为“名人”的展览

The National Portrait Gallery holds more than 21,000 posters, paintings, and photographs in its collection. A new exhibition, “Eye Pop: Celebrity Gaze,” displays 53 of them. The theme is "Celebrity," but associate curator Dorothy Moss² said the celebrities³ are perhaps not the ones that first come to mind.

“We’re not just thinking about celebrity in terms of a People Magazine," she said. "We’re really looking at 'celebrity' across fields. There will be subjects in the exhibition who will be immediately recognizable to visitors, and others who might not be."

Walking past the portraits sparks questions, not only about who a celebrity is, but also about how celebrities are made.

“In this media age, where we are all using social media, the status of celebrity is changing rapidly," Moss said. "Almost anyone can become a celebrity right now. And we hope our visitors will think critically about that when walking through the exhibition.”

The newest portrait in the exhibition, and one that most people would recognize, is of American actor Brad Pitt, by Irish artist Collin Davidson. The two spent many hours together, since Pitt was interested in learning how to paint from Davidson.

In the next room are portraits of people who have less recognizable faces, but very well-known achievements — celebrities like the founders⁴ of Google, and architect Maya Lin, who designed the Vietnam Memorial.  

Video portrait

The portrait of young jazz musician Esperanza Spalding is done not on canvas, but on video. She is lying down and listening to her favorite song.

“That’s a very important part of the portrait because the artist, Bo Gehring, asks his subjects to choose a piece of music that has deep personal meaning, trying to capture the emotional response to music in time,” Moss said.

Other artists take a more critical view of celebrity. Mickalene Thomas’ signature technique is to encrust her prints with rhinestones⁵.

Moss noted⁶ a portrait of media personality and philanthropist Oprah Winfrey, "completely encrusted and almost shining. She’s larger than life. Mickalene Thomas wanted to capture her glamour⁷. It’s one of our portraits that is about 'celebrity' as a critique of celebrity. This is not a commissioned portrait.”

On the opposite wall is a print by Deb Cassis that seems utterly⁸ familiar. It references Andy Warhol’s famous portraits of celebrities such as Marilyn Monroe and Elizabeth Taylor.

Cassis “has put herself into the portrait to critique pop art, to insert a feminist⁹ voice into Warhol’s work," Moss said.

The National Portrait Gallery is known for displaying the portraits of famous Americans. Its "Celebrity" exhibition broadens that definition.

1 celebrity   

n.名人，名流；著名，名声，名望

参考例句：

• Tom found himself something of a celebrity. 汤姆意识到自己已小有名气了。
• He haunted famous men, hoping to get celebrity for himself. 他常和名人在一起, 希望借此使自己获得名气。

2 moss   

n.苔，藓，地衣

参考例句：

• Moss grows on a rock.苔藓生在石头上。
• He was found asleep on a pillow of leaves and moss.有人看见他枕着树叶和苔藓睡着了。

3 celebrities   

n.（尤指娱乐界的）名人( celebrity的名词复数 )；名流；名声；名誉

参考例句：

• He only invited A-list celebrities to his parties. 他只邀请头等名流参加他的聚会。
• a TV chat show full of B-list celebrities 由众多二流人物参加的电视访谈节目

4 founders   

n.创始人( founder的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• He was one of the founders of the university's medical faculty. 他是该大学医学院的创建人之一。 来自辞典例句
• The founders of our religion made this a cornerstone of morality. 我们宗教的创始人把这看作是道德的基石。 来自辞典例句

5 rhinestones   

n.莱茵石，人造钻石( rhinestone的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• It's got rhinestones and zebra stripes on it. 上面有人造钻石，还是斑马条的。 来自电影对白
• The final touch was a single white glove, studded with rhinestones. 最触动人的是一只白色手套，上面点缀着人造钻石。 来自互联网

6 noted   

adj.著名的，知名的

参考例句：

• The local hotel is noted for its good table.当地的那家酒店以餐食精美而著称。
• Jim is noted for arriving late for work.吉姆上班迟到出了名。

7 glamour   

n.魔力，魅力；vt.迷住

参考例句：

• Foreign travel has lost its glamour for her.到国外旅行对她已失去吸引力了。
• The moonlight cast a glamour over the scene.月光给景色增添了魅力。

8 utterly   

adv.完全地，绝对地

参考例句：

• Utterly devoted to the people,he gave his life in saving his patients.他忠于人民，把毕生精力用于挽救患者的生命。
• I was utterly ravished by the way she smiled.她的微笑使我完全陶醉了。

9 feminist   

adj.主张男女平等的，女权主义的

参考例句：

• She followed the feminist movement.她支持女权运动。
• From then on,feminist studies on literature boomed.从那时起，男女平等受教育的现象开始迅速兴起。