欧美人文风情第80篇:走近"大黄鸭"之父

 Florentijn Hofman loves toys and he has lots of them. Florentijn Hofman热爱玩具，且他有很多玩具。

The artist from the Netherlands uses them as models for his works, such as this mini gorilla¹. 这个从荷兰来的艺术家使用它们当成作品的原型，像是这个迷你猩猩。

His latest project is a thousand times the size of the toy, and about fifty meters tall. 他最新的企划是这玩具大小的一千倍，大约五十公尺高。

So what I'm actually always searching for is the right skin on the right object at a right situation. 所以我实际上总在寻找的是那对的外皮、披在对的物体上、摆在对的场合。

And we copied all the designs on A4 paper, and we cover it on this inflatable, on this huge monkey, yeah. 我们将所有设计复印在A4纸上，接着我们将它覆盖在这个可充气的、在这只大猴子上，对。

His sculptures are above all enormous, like this gigantic penguin²; 他的雕塑品最重要的是很大，像这只巨大的企鹅；

or his best-known work, an enormous rubber duck. 或他最知名的作品，一只庞大的橡胶鸭子。

In 2009, he installed the ten-meter-tall figure in Japan, then sent it off around the world. 在2009年，他在日本设置了这十公尺高的塑像，接着送出到世界各地。

I thought, "Wow, if I enlarge this, and throw it in public space, it looks like this giant baby or child is flowing around with these toys." 我想：“喔，如果我把这变大，丢到公共空间里，它看起来会像这个巨大的婴儿或小孩和这些玩具漂来漂去。”

And to be honest, I am this baby, this child, who flows around his toys around the world. 老实说，我就是这个婴儿、这个小孩，在世界各地玩他的玩具。

I had this Japanese businessman, and he bought one rubber duck of this in Japan, in Osaka. 我有这么个日本商人，他在日本、在大坂买了这一只橡胶鸭子。

And he had a wish to fly on and above the rubber duck, a man that's sixty-five years old. 他有个愿望是要在橡胶小鸭上方飞翔，一个六十五岁的男人。

Hofman earns a good living from his works, even that the costs of producing them often add up to five-figure sums. Hofman因为他的作品赚了很多钱，即便制作它们的成本通常累计起来共要五位数。

I like this factor that this surprises people. You normally...you do your thing during the day; 我喜欢会使人惊喜的这个因素。你通常...你在白天做你的事；

you go to work; you have an appointment; you go to your family or friends. 你去工作；你有约；你去找家人或朋友。

And in between, I try to grasp you to get you out of your normal daily life, and, well, to let you stop and look. 其间，我试着逮住你，使你跳脱出日常生活，然后，嗯，让你停下来看看。

Hofman studied Arts at a small university in the Netherlands. Hofman在荷兰一间小型大学念艺术。

In 2002, he made his first over-sized work. 在2002年，他制作出他第一个超大尺寸作品。

Every model is the result of painstaking³ research and countless⁴ sketches⁵. 每个原型都是辛苦研究和无数份草稿的结果。

So it starts with the drawing and then modeling. 所以从画图开始然后塑形。

So before you start making it at the location in concrete, I know the sculpture from top to the bottom. 在你开始在现场用水泥制作之前，我从头到尾了解这个雕塑。

But funny enough, I made big sculptures, but it always starts with this small model. 但够好笑的是，我做出大型雕塑，但它总是从这个小模型开始。

Florentijn Hofman designs the pieces; technicians and craftsmen⁶ build them on site. Florentijn Hofman设计作品；技术人员和工匠在现场建造它们。

The Steel Man is ten meters tall. It's been standing⁷ in Amsterdam since 2011. 《钢铁男子》有十公尺高。自2011就一直矗立在阿姆斯特丹。

His sculptures dominate cityscapes often for just a short time. 他的雕塑通常只俯视都市景观一小段时间。

Many are just temporary like this inflatable bunny in Rotterdam. It's thirty meters tall. 许多只是暂时的，像这个在鹿特丹可充气的小兔子。它有三十公尺高。

Even though Hofman develops the ideas for his works on his own, he always assembles them with a team. 虽然Hofman自己发想出作品的点子，他总是和团队一起组装它们。

Four assistants are helping⁸ him with this latest project. 四个助手帮忙他这最新的企划。

It has more value if people work along with volunteers. 如果人们和志工们一起工作会更有价值。

People adopts the project, and it starts with this, you know... To bring a sculpture in public space, you need people to spread the words. 人们采用企划，它从这开始，你知道...要把一座雕塑带到公共空间，你需要人们来散布消息。

And if you have like really positive, and highly focused people around you that work along with you, 如果你身边有像是非常积极、高度专注的人和你一起工作，

the project becomes...it increases and then becomes better. 那企划会变得...它会增强，然后变得更好。

His big monkey is finished. It took four days to stick on all the sheets of paper. 他的大猴子完成了。花了四天把所有纸张贴上去。

It was unveiled in Rotterdam over the weekend. 它周末在鹿特丹揭幕展出。

But as is often the case with Florentijn Hofman, it will only be there for a limited time. 但这会像Florentijn Hofman常有的情况，它只会在那里一段有限的时间。

 

1 gorilla   

n.大猩猩，暴徒，打手

参考例句：

• I was awed by the huge gorilla.那只大猩猩使我惊惧。
• A gorilla is just a speechless animal.猩猩只不过是一种不会说话的动物。

2 penguin   

n.企鹅

参考例句：

• The penguin is a flightless bird.企鹅是一种不会飞的鸟。
• He walked with an awkward gait like a penguin.他走路的步子难看得就像企鹅。

3 painstaking   

adj.苦干的；艰苦的，费力的，刻苦的

参考例句：

• She is not very clever but she is painstaking.她并不很聪明，但肯下苦功夫。
• Through years of our painstaking efforts,we have at last achieved what we have today.大家经过多少年的努力，才取得今天的成绩。

4 countless   

adj.无数的，多得不计其数的

参考例句：

• In the war countless innocent people lost their lives.在这场战争中无数无辜的人丧失了性命。
• I've told you countless times.我已经告诉你无数遍了。

5 sketches   

n.草图( sketch的名词复数 )；素描；速写；梗概

参考例句：

• The artist is making sketches for his next painting. 画家正为他的下一幅作品画素描。
• You have to admit that these sketches are true to life. 你得承认这些素描很逼真。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 craftsmen   

n. 技工

参考例句：

• rugs handmade by local craftsmen 由当地工艺师手工制作的小地毯
• The craftsmen have ensured faithful reproduction of the original painting. 工匠保证要复制一幅最接近原作的画。

7 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。

8 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。