在紐約博物館體驗未完成的藝術
MARTIN R. ANDERSON, 65, squints to appreciate the geometry of paintings at the museum. Kate Davis, 24, says the sunlight that bounces off museum walls and onto the art can’t be reproduced.
65歲的馬丁•R•安德森(Martin R. Anderson)眯着眼睛觀賞博物館中油畫的幾何構圖。24歲的凱特•戴維斯(Kate Davis)說，從博物館牆壁反射到藝術品上的陽光是不可複製的。
Stan Kaplan, 65, flies across the country just to see a Leonardo da Vinci drawing “More beautiful” than the Mona Lisa. And an elderly woman posts to Facebook a selfie of herself beside a masterwork, presumably commencing an avalanche of social-media approval.
65歲的斯坦•卡普蘭(Stan Kaplan)坐飛機穿越整個國家，就爲了看一眼列奧納多•達•芬奇(Leonardo da Vinci)比《蒙娜•麗莎》“還要美”的一幅畫。一位年長的女人在Facebook主頁上貼出了一張她在一幅大師傑作旁邊的自拍，估計會得到社交媒體上的大量點贊。
As for those interviewed, they included students who said museums were like “eating your vegetables” and romantics who cherish their lunch breaks, when they can hop in a cab to go steal a few quiet minutes in front of a beloved painting they have already gazed at dozens of times before.
受訪者中有學生，他們說來博物館就像“吃蔬菜”，還有趁着午休時趕來的浪漫主義者，他們願意坐出租車趕來，在心愛的油畫面前享受安靜的幾分鐘時間，而這些畫他們之前其實已經看過幾十次了。
A handful of works in particular generated the most comment (a deathbed portrait of an artist’s mistress, a painting of someone being skinned alive) and common themes emerged over time (the ubiquity of technology, people’s short attention spans).
有幾幅作品獲得了特別多的評價（比如一位藝術家的情婦臨終時刻的油畫，一幅表現活剝人皮的油畫），隨着採訪進行，有一些共同的主題漸漸開始出現（技巧的普遍性，人們的注意力持續時間之短）。
Here’s what museumgoers said.
下面是一些來博物館的人說的話。
The artwork: “James Hunter Black Draftee” (1965) by Alice Neel
藝術品：《詹姆斯•亨特黑人新兵》(James Hunter Black Draftee，1965)，愛麗絲•尼爾(Alice Neel)
Mr. Anderson’s take: “He probably did get killed because his family would have heard about this painting and said something by now.”
安德森的觀點：“他可能已經被殺死了，否則他的家人肯定會聽說過這幅畫，時至今天，他們會出來說點什麼。”
Another perspective: “When I saw this image in the advertisements, I saw it as contemporary, like an album cover.” — Steve Wolkwitz, 25, a student
另一種角度：“當我看到這幅畫被用在廣告裏時，我覺得它是當代藝術，就像唱片封套一樣。”——史蒂夫•沃爾克維茨(Steve Wolkwitz)，25歲，學生
The artwork: “Self-Portrait With Wig” (1898-1900) by Pablo Picasso
藝術品：《戴假髮的自畫像》(Self-Portrait With Wig，1898-1900)，巴勃羅•畢加索
Ms. Kops’ take: “He was probably drunk.”
科普斯(Ms. Kops)的觀點：“他可能喝醉了。”
Another perspective: “I didn’t know it was a Picasso. And then like, whoa. It’s a Picasso.” — Normandie Syken, 20, an illustrator
另一種角度：“我一開始不知道這是畢加索的畫，知道了以後才覺得，哇。這是畢加索。”——諾曼迪•西肯(Normandie Syken)，20歲，插畫家
The artwork: “Untitled I-VI (Green Paintings)” (circa 1986) by Cy Twombly
藝術品：《無標題 I-VI（綠色油畫）》（Untitled I-VI [Green Paintings]，約1986），賽•通布利(Cy Twombly)
Mr. Meyerhofer’s take: “I want to hate it, but it’s so good.”
梅爾霍夫(Mr. Meyerhofer)的觀點：“我本想討厭它，但它實在太棒了。”
“It’s awful algae green. But you can’t deny it. It grabs you. But part of me thinks it is so crude.”
“它是一種可怕的水藻綠。但是你無法抗拒。它能吸引你的注意力。但是我也覺得它有點粗糙。”
The artwork: “The Flaying of Marsyas” (probably 1570s) by Titian
藝術品：《馬斯亞斯的剝皮》（The Flaying of Marsyas，可能是16世紀70年代），提香。
Mr. Meyerhofer’s take: “It’s so violent and awful. My husband would say, ‘I wouldn’t want this on the wall of my living room.’ This must have been the equivalent of a horror movie back in the day.”
梅爾霍夫先生的觀點：“它非常暴力，非常嚇人。我的丈夫會說，‘我可不想在起居室裏掛這麼一幅畫。’這在當年可能就相當於恐怖片吧。”
Another perspective: “You’re imagining what is he going to do with that knife. The bucket: Is it enough to hold? And his eyes — he can see the pain coming.” — Stan Kaplan, 65, Los Angeles
另一種角度：“你會想像他拿着這把刀要幹什麼。那個桶，足夠用來盛血嗎？還有他的眼睛——他可以看到痛苦正在到來。”——斯坦•卡普蘭，65歲，洛杉磯
The artwork: “The Vision of Saint John” (1609-14) by El Greco
藝術品：《聖約翰的形象》(The Vision of Saint John，1609-14)，埃爾•格列柯(El Greco)
Ms. Campbell’s take: “It could have been a blue sky, but maybe it was going to be dark and stormy.”
坎貝爾女士(Ms. Campbell)的觀點：“天本來應該是藍的，可能會陰沉下去，下起狂風驟雨。”
Another perspective: “It’s so modern. And what’s with these crazy babies floating around?” — William Meyerhofer
另一種觀點：“它很現代。這些瘋狂的嬰兒們飄來飄去是幹什麼的？”——威廉•梅耶霍夫(William Meyerhofer)
The artwork: “Head of a Woman (La Scapigliata)” (1500-5) by Leonardo da Vinci
藝術品：《女子頭像(La Scapigliata)》(Head of a Woman [La Scapigliata]，1500-5)，列奧納多•達芬奇
Mr. Miozzo’s take: “This is unfinished, but you can see the psychology of a character. It forces you to think what is in the mind of this young woman. It makes me think, Who was she? What was she thinking?”
米奧佐先生(Mr. Miozzo)的觀點：“這幅畫沒有完成，但是你可以看出人物的心理。它迫使你去思考，這個年輕女人的心裏在想什麼。它讓我去思考，她是誰？她在想什麼？”
Another perspective: “I think about how much more beautiful she is than the Mona Lisa.” — Stan Kaplan
另一種角度：“我覺得她比蒙娜•麗莎美多了。”——斯坦•卡普蘭
Another perspective: “You need to see this one with your own eyes. No reproduction I’ve seen comes close to this.” — Martin R. Anderson
另一種角度：“你應該親眼看看這幅畫。我見過的複製品都不能與它相比。”——馬丁•R•安德森
The artwork: “You or Me” (2005) by Maria Lassnig
藝術品：《你或我》(You or Me, 2005)，瑪麗亞•拉斯尼戈(Maria Lassnig)
Ms. Choi’s take: “It made me think about women in Korea, where I read that the suicide rate is [very high]. For some reason, I thought about that.”
崔女士(Ms. Choi)的觀點：“它讓我想起韓國的女人，我讀到那裏的自殺率（非常高）。出於某些原因，我就是想起這個。”
Another perspective: “This is brave. She’s old. She’s overweight. Think about how courageous this is.” — Michele Miozzo
另一種角度：“這很勇敢。她很老，她很胖。想想這有多麼勇敢吧。”——米歇爾•米奧佐(Michele Miozzo)
The artwork: “Cart Full of Action” (1986) by Cady Noland
藝術品：《裝滿物品的推車》(Cart Full of Action, 1986)，卡迪•諾蘭(Cady Noland)
Ms. Davis’ take: “I don’t like this. I think the question is not even if it is finished but is this even art? I could see this in a parking lot.”
戴維斯女士的觀點：“我不喜歡它。我覺得問題不是它有沒有完成，而是它究竟算不算藝術？我在停車場裏也能看見這樣的東西。”
Another perspective: “This is what the artist is putting into the world. Nothing is a waste of space.” — Tony White, 29, Louisville
另一種角度：“這就是藝術家帶給世界的東西。沒有什麼是對空間的浪費。”——託尼•懷特(Tony White)，29歲，路易斯維爾
The artwork: “Gardanne” (1885-86) by Paul Cézanne
藝術品：《賈達尼》(Gardanne, 1885-86)，保羅•塞尚(Paul Cézanne)
Michelle Oliveira’s take: “The curious thing to me is why are these unfinished. What better thing did Picasso or Cézanne feel they needed to go and do? Grab a coffee? Go kiss a girl?”
米歇爾•奧利維拉(Michelle Oliveira)的觀點：“讓我好奇的是，那些作品爲什麼沒能完成。畢加索和塞尚覺得他們最好還是做點別的什麼事嗎？去喝杯咖啡？去吻一個女孩？”
Nilza Oliveira’s take: “An artist is never finished so their art is never finished. When you finish it, you kill it. Leaving it unfinished, you keep it alive.”
尼爾扎•奧利維拉(Nilza Oliveira)的觀點：“藝術家永遠不會止步，所以他們的藝術也永遠不會完成。一旦完成就是殺死了它，讓它保持未完成的狀態，就是讓它活着。”
The artwork: “Bouquet of Peonies in a Green Jar” (1898) by Paul Cézanne
藝術品：《綠色花瓶中的牡丹花束》(Bouquet of Peonies in a Green Jar，1898)，保羅•塞尚
Mr. Scotch’s take: “Those empty spaces could be light. If you put more there, it’s almost too much information. Like this it is allowed to breathe.”
斯科奇先生(Mr. Scotch)的觀點：“這些留白應該是光。如果你再添加什麼東西，信息就幾乎太多了。像這樣，就有了呼吸的空間。”
Another perspective: “There are only a few strokes here. But I can tell the petals feel velvet.” — Michele Miozzo
另一種角度：“畫上只有寥寥幾筆，但我可以感覺到花瓣絲絨般的質感。”——米切爾•米奧佐
