美国国家公共电台 NPR Even In 'The War To End All Wars,' There Was Art Coming From The Trenches

 

AILSA CHANG, HOST:

A hundred years ago, this country entered the first global war, World War I. That ugly, dirty, agonizing¹ conflict cost millions of lives and changed the world. The Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum is observing the centennial with an exhibit called "Artist Soldiers." NPR special correspondent Susan Stamberg reports.

(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "OVER THERE")

BILLY MURRAY: (Singing) Over there, over there. Send the word, send the word, over there. That the Yanks are coming, the Yanks are coming.

SUSAN STAMBERG, BYLINE²: The Yanks didn't come until three years into the war and fought for less than a year. They joined French, Russian, British, other troops fighting Germany, Austria, Hungary and the Ottoman Empire. World War I was the first modern industrial war - large numbers of tanks, heavy artillery³, planes. And most tragically⁴, it was a war of trenches⁶.

PETER JAKAB: Hundreds of thousands of people died just to advance a few yards.

STAMBERG: Peter Jakab, chief curator at Air and Space, says troops dug those trenches along the western front, from Belgium through France to Switzerland, to dodge⁷ the constant shelling and machine-gun fire, and then waited in those trenches until orders came to move - with the troops, waiting, professional artists sent to war by the U.S. government.

JAKAB: These eight illustrators were the first true combat artists who were really capturing war in the moment, in a first-hand-experience sort of way.

STAMBERG: With pens, pencils, charcoal⁸, watercolors, even oil paints, men known for their magazine illustrations showed Yanks in the field, huddling⁹ against gunfire, entering enemy-held villages, standing¹⁰ guard. In Harvey Dunn's 1918 oil "The Sentry," a young soldier pops up from the trench⁵, exhaustion¹¹ muddying his face, his eyes almost blank.

JAKAB: You see in his eyes what would later become known as the thousand-yard stare.

STAMBERG: Alone with his rifle, some grenades and his thoughts. Before World War I, war art was created long after the conflict itself and focused on generals, nobles, Napoleon. Here, you see the grunts¹², the injured, the mud. The Air and Space exhibit also has objects from the war - a kitchen chair outfitted¹³ with bicycle wheels into a primitive¹⁴ French wheelchair. There's barbed wire, a shovel¹⁵, a periscope¹⁶.

JAKAB: You know, it was very dangerous to pop your head up above the trenches.

STAMBERG: "Artist Soldiers" is also about art made by soldiers themselves - trench art fashioned from spent casings. There's a miniature table set for guests.

JAKAB: The table top is the bottom of a large artillery shell. And then the legs and the cups and pitcher¹⁷ on the table are made from bullets.

(SOUNDBITE OF VIDEO)

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: All around you, you see objects of daily life...

STAMBERG: A monitor shows what may be the most dramatic part of the exhibit, recent pictures by National Geographic¹⁸ photographer Jeff Gusky, taken in near darkness in parts of a vast network of underground cities, carved by World War I troops inside ancient stone quarries¹⁹ that run deep within the French countryside. Gusky says the spaces go back centuries before the war.

JEFF GUSKY: They were created by quarrymen getting stone for castles, cathedrals, fortresses²¹.

STAMBERG: The World War I trenches had been dug just near the quarries. Armies on both sides turned the quarries into shelters.

GUSKY: They brought modern technology underground and created cities - rail, telecommunications, electricity, hospitals, food systems, theaters and amazing artwork. They're so big that you even see street signs.

STAMBERG: One of the spaces Gusky photographed is over 25 miles long. In addition to providing logistical support underground, soldiers made places for worship.

GUSKY: An underground chapel²² where soldiers would pray and then go up the stairs and fight.

STAMBERG: Into the quarry²⁰ walls, soldiers from New England carved notes to their loved ones, scores of a Red Sox victory - they beat the Yankees 7 to 4. French soldiers chiseled²³ images of their prime minister, George Clemenceau. Germans honored their military chief of staff, Paul Von Hindenburg. Fighting men also carved their dreams and desires.

GUSKY: You see the soldiers' inner lives - the things they value. This is a beautiful abstract nude²⁴ that could be in an art museum.

STAMBERG: Could be by Matisse that someone has carved into that wall.

GUSKY: He's thinking about beauty in a time of mass destruction.

(SOUNDBITE OF MICK SOFTLEY'S "AFTER THE THIRD WORLD WAR IS OVER")

STAMBERG: Whether saluting²⁵ their leaders or tapping their fantasies, on these ancient quarry walls burrowed²⁶ beneath the French fields, a century ago, the troops of World War I left messages for the future.

GUSKY: They expressed their inner lives on the walls of the spaces when the world on the surface was turning to hell.

STAMBERG: "Artist Soldiers," at the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum until November, is filled with little-known artifacts of World War I. That war ended in 1918. In its day, it was called the war to end all wars.

1 agonizing   

adj.痛苦难忍的；使人苦恼的v.使极度痛苦；折磨(agonize的ing形式)

参考例句：

• I spent days agonizing over whether to take the job or not. 我用了好些天苦苦思考是否接受这个工作。
• his father's agonizing death 他父亲极度痛苦的死

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 artillery   

n.(军)火炮，大炮；炮兵(部队)

参考例句：

• This is a heavy artillery piece.这是一门重炮。
• The artillery has more firepower than the infantry.炮兵火力比步兵大。

4 tragically   

adv. 悲剧地，悲惨地

参考例句：

• Their daughter was tragically killed in a road accident. 他们的女儿不幸死于车祸。
• Her father died tragically in a car crash. 她父亲在一场车祸中惨死。

5 trench   

n./v.(挖)沟，(挖)战壕

参考例句：

• The soldiers recaptured their trench.兵士夺回了战壕。
• The troops received orders to trench the outpost.部队接到命令在前哨周围筑壕加强防卫。

6 trenches   

深沟，地沟( trench的名词复数 )； 战壕

参考例句：

• life in the trenches 第一次世界大战期间的战壕生活
• The troops stormed the enemy's trenches and fanned out across the fields. 部队猛攻敌人的战壕，并在田野上呈扇形散开。

7 dodge   

v.闪开，躲开，避开；n.妙计，诡计

参考例句：

• A dodge behind a tree kept her from being run over.她向树后一闪，才没被车从身上辗过。
• The dodge was coopered by the police.诡计被警察粉碎了。

8 charcoal   

n.炭，木炭，生物炭

参考例句：

• We need to get some more charcoal for the barbecue.我们烧烤需要更多的碳。
• Charcoal is used to filter water.木炭是用来过滤水的。

9 huddling   

n. 杂乱一团, 混乱, 拥挤 v. 推挤, 乱堆, 草率了事

参考例句：

• Twenty or thirty monkeys are huddling along the thick branch. 三十只猴子挤在粗大的树枝上。
• The defenders are huddling down for cover. 捍卫者为了掩护缩成一团。

10 standing   

n.持续，地位；adj.永久的，不动的，直立的，不流动的

参考例句：

• After the earthquake only a few houses were left standing.地震过后只有几幢房屋还立着。
• They're standing out against any change in the law.他们坚决反对对法律做任何修改。

11 exhaustion   

n.耗尽枯竭，疲惫，筋疲力尽，竭尽，详尽无遗的论述

参考例句：

• She slept the sleep of exhaustion.她因疲劳而酣睡。
• His exhaustion was obvious when he fell asleep standing.他站着睡着了，显然是太累了。

12 grunts   

（猪等）作呼噜声( grunt的第三人称单数 )； （指人）发出类似的哼声； 咕哝着说； 石鲈

参考例句：

• With grunts of anguish Ogilvie eased his bulk to a sitting position. 奥格尔维苦恼地哼着，伸个懒腰坐了起来。
• Linda fired twice A trio of Grunts assembling one mortar fell. 琳达击发两次。三个正在组装迫击炮的咕噜人倒下了。

13 outfitted   

v.装备，配置设备，供给服装( outfit的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• They outfitted for the long journey. 他们为远途旅行准备装束。 来自《现代英汉综合大词典》
• They outfitted him with artificial legs. 他们为他安了假腿。 来自辞典例句

14 primitive   

adj.原始的；简单的；n.原(始)人，原始事物

参考例句：

• It is a primitive instinct to flee a place of danger.逃离危险的地方是一种原始本能。
• His book describes the march of the civilization of a primitive society.他的著作描述了一个原始社会的开化过程。

15 shovel   

n.铁锨，铲子，一铲之量；v.铲，铲出

参考例句：

• He was working with a pick and shovel.他在用镐和铲干活。
• He seized a shovel and set to.他拿起一把铲就干上了。

16 periscope   

n. 潜望镜

参考例句：

• The captain aligned the periscope on the bearing.船长使潜望镜对准方位。
• Now,peering through the periscope he remarked in businesslike tones.现在，他一面从潜望镜里观察，一面用精干踏实的口吻说话。

17 pitcher   

n.(有嘴和柄的)大水罐；(棒球)投手

参考例句：

• He poured the milk out of the pitcher.他从大罐中倒出牛奶。
• Any pitcher is liable to crack during a tight game.任何投手在紧张的比赛中都可能会失常。

18 geographic   

adj.地理学的，地理的

参考例句：

• The city's success owes much to its geographic position. 这座城市的成功很大程度上归功于它的地理位置。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Environmental problems pay no heed to these geographic lines. 环境问题并不理会这些地理界限。 来自英汉非文学 - 环境法 - 环境法

19 quarries   

n.（采）石场( quarry的名词复数 )；猎物（指鸟，兽等）；方形石；（格窗等的）方形玻璃v.从采石场采得( quarry的第三人称单数 )；从（书本等中）努力发掘（资料等）；在采石场采石

参考例句：

• This window was filled with old painted glass in quarries. 这窗户是由旧日的彩色菱形玻璃装配的。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• They hewed out the stones for the building from nearby quarries. 他们从邻近的采石场开凿出石头供建造那栋房子用。 来自辞典例句

20 quarry   

n.采石场；v.采石；费力地找

参考例句：

• Michelangelo obtained his marble from a quarry.米开朗基罗从采石场获得他的大理石。
• This mountain was the site for a quarry.这座山曾经有一个采石场。

21 fortresses   

堡垒，要塞( fortress的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• They will establish impregnable fortresses. 他们将建造坚不可摧的城堡。
• Indra smashed through Vritra ninety-nine fortresses, and then came upon the dragon. 因陀罗摧毁了维他的九十九座城堡，然后与维他交手。 来自神话部分

22 chapel   

n.小教堂，殡仪馆

参考例句：

• The nimble hero,skipped into a chapel that stood near.敏捷的英雄跳进近旁的一座小教堂里。
• She was on the peak that Sunday afternoon when she played in chapel.那个星期天的下午，她在小教堂的演出，可以说是登峰造极。

23 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

24 nude   

adj.裸体的；n.裸体者，裸体艺术品

参考例句：

• It's a painting of the Duchess of Alba in the nude.这是一幅阿尔巴公爵夫人的裸体肖像画。
• She doesn't like nude swimming.她不喜欢裸泳。

25 saluting   

v.欢迎，致敬( salute的现在分词 )；赞扬，赞颂

参考例句：

• 'Thank you kindly, sir,' replied Long John, again saluting. “万分感谢，先生。”高个子约翰说着又行了个礼。 来自英汉文学 - 金银岛
• He approached the young woman and, without saluting, began at once to converse with her. 他走近那年青女郎，马上就和她攀谈起来了，连招呼都不打。 来自辞典例句

26 burrowed   

v.挖掘（洞穴），挖洞( burrow的过去式和过去分词 )；翻寻

参考例句：

• The rabbits burrowed into the hillside. 兔子在山腰上打洞。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• She burrowed her head into my shoulder. 她把头紧靠在我的肩膀上。 来自辞典例句