美国国家公共电台 NPR--Myrlande Constant exhibition honors the labor of working-class artists

Myrlande Constant exhibition honors the labor¹ of working-class artists

Transcript²

Portrait of Myrlande Constant.

Courtesy of Faena Art.

The work of Haitian artist Myrlande Constant is getting attention at the top of the contemporary art world. Her meticulously³ embroidered⁴ flags, known as drapos, were featured at the Venice Biennale last year, and she just wrapped up a New York gallery exhibition.

Now with a new show at UCLA's Fowler Museum, Constant becomes the first Haitian woman to have a solo show in a major U.S. Museum. Her work challenges the dominant⁵ narrative⁶ that Haiti is a place of chaos⁷ and despair.

Jerry Philogene, an Associate Professor of American Studies at Dickinson College, co-curated the show. She says she when she first saw it, she was mesmerized⁸ by the work.

"I saw each bead⁹ individually sewn to create an image, to outline a shape, to create eyes, create lips, create even colored nails. And I thought of the labor it takes to do that, intense labor. The intense hand and eye coordination¹⁰ was amazing."

Constant covers every inch of fabric¹¹ with thousands of glass beads¹² and sequins to create glittering scenes using symbols and imagery from her vodou faith. Many of the pieces are almost sculptural in texture¹³ and depth. Constant's art is the work of many hands, with as many as ten people working on a single drapo together.

"To provide a space where people can actually come together and work on a project collectively is providing a safe haven¹⁴ for the difficulties that are existing right now in Haiti," says Philogene. "That sense of knowing that you're creating something that is in a way bigger than yourself and goes beyond who you are in Haiti."

Constant left a Haitian wedding dress factory more than 30 years ago and began to apply her skills to sewing drapos, which had been a male-dominated craft. She changed tradition by adding glass beads and sequins. She also hired other women who had left the dress factory and taught them to create their own vodou drapo.

Constant considers her artistic¹⁵ practice to be a gift that comes from her ancestral spirits.

"There are some people who think we are in the business of selling the image of the lwa (spirits)," Constant says in a film that accompanies the Fowler Museum show. "But we don't sell their image. We work with them, because the spirits are always with us. We don't see them but they are all around us. All over the world."

As Constant's art is gaining international recognition, Haiti is sinking deeper into political instability and violence. There are no elected leaders in Haiti's parliament. Schools and hospitals are closing, and the national police are outgunned by gangs which control much of the capital, Port-au-Prince. Hunger is widespread throughout the country.

In fact, Constant was unable to get a visa to attend the opening of her show due to this instability. Still, Constant is dedicated¹⁶ to depicting¹⁷ Haiti as more than a country in despair, as in her piece about the catastrophic 2010 earthquake.

"She does not show us dead, disposable black bodies," says Jerry Philogene. "She shows us in this particular piece people burying their dead people trying to get folks out of burnt buildings, out of destroyed buildings, people kneeling and crying and asking for help. Families feeding each other."

She sees hope in the work.

"There is also the possibility of a different type of future, and her work is helping¹⁸ us imagine what that future might look like. A future that is both honoring the sacred and the secular¹⁹."

Katherine Smith, a lecturer in the Department of World Arts and Cultures at UCLA and co-curator of the show, said that Constant does not allow her life or her art to be defined by the structural²⁰ violence around her.

"She is well aware of these things, but she also works on another plane. Like, that's not the whole existence for her, and maybe that's where liberation is in her work."

1 labor   

n.劳动，努力，工作，劳工；分娩；vi.劳动，努力，苦干；vt.详细分析；麻烦

参考例句：

• We are never late in satisfying him for his labor.我们从不延误付给他劳动报酬。
• He was completely spent after two weeks of hard labor.艰苦劳动两周后，他已经疲惫不堪了。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 meticulously   

adv.过细地，异常细致地；无微不至；精心

参考例句：

• The hammer's silvery head was etched with holy runs and its haft was meticulously wrapped in blue leather. 锤子头是纯银制成的，雕刻着神圣符文，而握柄则被精心地包裹在蓝色的皮革中。 来自辞典例句
• She is always meticulously accurate in punctuation and spelling. 她的标点和拼写总是非常精确。 来自辞典例句

4 embroidered   

adj．绣花的

参考例句：

• She embroidered flowers on the cushion covers. 她在这些靠垫套上绣了花。
• She embroidered flowers on the front of the dress. 她在连衣裙的正面绣花。

5 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

6 narrative   

n.叙述，故事；adj.叙事的，故事体的

参考例句：

• He was a writer of great narrative power.他是一位颇有记述能力的作家。
• Neither author was very strong on narrative.两个作者都不是很善于讲故事。

7 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。

8 mesmerized   

v.使入迷( mesmerize的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• The country girl stood by the road, mesmerized at the speed of cars racing past. 村姑站在路旁被疾驶而过的一辆辆车迷住了。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• My 14-year-old daughter was mesmerized by the movie Titanic. 我14岁的女儿完全被电影《泰坦尼克号》迷住了。 来自互联网

9 bead   

n.念珠；(pl.)珠子项链；水珠

参考例句：

• She accidentally swallowed a glass bead.她不小心吞下了一颗玻璃珠。
• She has a beautiful glass bead and a bracelet in the box.盒子里有一颗美丽的玻璃珠和手镯。

10 coordination   

n.协调，协作

参考例句：

• Gymnastics is a sport that requires a considerable level of coordination.体操是一项需要高协调性的运动。
• The perfect coordination of the dancers and singers added a rhythmic charm to the performance.舞蹈演员和歌手们配合得很好，使演出更具魅力。

11 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。

12 beads   

n.（空心）小珠子( bead的名词复数 )；水珠；珠子项链

参考例句：

• a necklace of wooden beads 一条木珠项链
• Beads of perspiration stood out on his forehead. 他的前额上挂着汗珠。

13 texture   

n.(织物)质地；(材料)构造；结构；肌理

参考例句：

• We could feel the smooth texture of silk.我们能感觉出丝绸的光滑质地。
• Her skin has a fine texture.她的皮肤细腻。

14 haven   

n.安全的地方，避难所，庇护所

参考例句：

• It's a real haven at the end of a busy working day.忙碌了一整天后，这真是一个安乐窝。
• The school library is a little haven of peace and quiet.学校的图书馆是一个和平且安静的小避风港。

15 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。

16 dedicated   

adj.一心一意的；献身的；热诚的

参考例句：

• He dedicated his life to the cause of education.他献身于教育事业。
• His whole energies are dedicated to improve the design.他的全部精力都放在改进这项设计上了。

17 depicting   

描绘，描画( depict的现在分词 )； 描述

参考例句：

• a painting depicting the Virgin and Child 一幅描绘童贞马利亚和圣子耶稣的画
• The movie depicting the battles and bloodshed is bound to strike home. 这部描写战斗和流血牺牲的影片一定会取得预期效果。

18 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

19 secular   

n.牧师，凡人；adj.世俗的，现世的，不朽的

参考例句：

• We live in an increasingly secular society.我们生活在一个日益非宗教的社会。
• Britain is a plural society in which the secular predominates.英国是个世俗主导的多元社会。

20 structural   

adj.构造的，组织的，建筑（用）的

参考例句：

• The storm caused no structural damage.风暴没有造成建筑结构方面的破坏。
• The North American continent is made up of three great structural entities.北美大陆是由三个构造单元组成的。