艰难时期的艺术 | Artistic Expressions in Uncertain Times
We’ve all heard of the notable saying that great art comes from great pain. Although not entirely true, some artists do stand by that mantra. Many instead channel their experiences to portray a state or feeling that may strike a chord with your current state.
我们都听说过这样一句名言:伟大的艺术源于巨大的痛苦。虽然不是完全正确，但一些艺术家确实坚信这一点。许多艺术家将他们的经历和感受转变成创作，与大众产生共鸣。
With the recent outbreak, we face another hurdle to overcome and people have been raising positive notions such as happiness and hope while also exploring their feelings of pain, fear, and sadness. Using the newfound time and passionate drive, many people are exploring such feelings through performance, writing, film, and painting. In this article, we will briefly explore some of the influences of menacing times for artists.
随着最近疫情的爆发，我们面临着另一个需要共度的难关。人们在这个关头提出了积极的概念，如幸福和希望，同时也探索了他们的痛苦、恐惧和悲伤的感受。利用空余时间和创作驱力，许多人通过表演、写作、电影和绘画来探索这种感受。在这篇文章中，我们将简要地探讨一些危机时代对艺术家的影响。
Black Death
黑死病
Triumph of Death by Pieter Bruegel the Elder \ 老彼得·勃鲁盖尔的《死亡的胜利》
Back in the 14th century, Europe was ravaged by the Black Death which had a profound effect on artists of the Medieval period. During these times, disease was rampant, invasions were less frequent while art and architecture began to flourish. This plague marked the triumph of death over the artists who once painted happy and religious artworks. They began focusing more on darker themes while struggling to create beauty in the gloomy aftermath.
早在14世纪，黑死病肆虐欧洲，对中世纪艺术家产生了深远的影响。在这些时期，疾病猖獗，侵略较少，艺术和建筑开始蓬勃发展。这场瘟疫标志着死亡战胜了那些曾经描绘过快乐和宗教的艺术作品的艺术家。他们开始更多地关注黑暗的主题，同时努力在黑暗的余波中创造美。
Danse Macabre by Brent Notke \ 布伦特·诺特克的《死亡的舞步》
The interaction between the dead and the living was a frequent motif of these times like the famous painting by Bernt Notke, Danse Macabre. Taken from a collection of poems about the encounters of the living and dead, these works functioned as a reminder that death is inevitable for all. Below the painting lay lines of text signifying a dialogue between the death and the living.
死者和生者之间的互动是这一时期的一个常见主题，就像伯恩特·诺克的名画《死亡的舞步》一样。这些作品选自一本关于生者与死者相遇的诗集，提醒人们死亡在所难免。在这幅画的下面是几行文字，象征着生死之间的对话。
Polio
小儿麻痹症
Fast forward to the 20th century, polio would disable and kill off an unthinkable amount of people every year. One artist who was afflicted with this disease at a young age was Frida Kahlo, who by unfortunate fate suffered many more pains that would largely impact her works. In some of her paintings, she would self-reflect and paint as if to reveal herself to the world in an honest way.
快进到20世纪，小儿麻痹症每年会使难以想象数量的人丧失生活能力和死亡。弗里达·卡罗(Frida Kahlo)就是一位年轻时就患有这种疾病的艺术家。不幸的是，她经历了更多的痛苦，这些痛苦很大程度上影响了她的作品。在她的一些绘画中，她会进行深刻的自我探索，仿佛在用一种诚实的方式向世界展示自己。
What the water gave me by Frida Kahlo \ 弗里达·卡罗《水给了我什么》
The surreal painting above was Frida’s memoir to her life, not only as a symbol of her birth, the body she once had, and her experiences but also as a symbol of self-discovery. The blood on her right foot and the twisted shape signifying the deformity caused by polio from childhood as well as her accident and the spina bifida which would all add up to become her lifelong battle with chronic neural pain.
上面这幅超现实主义的画作是弗里达对自己生活的回忆，不仅是她出生、曾经拥有的身体和经历的象征，也是自我发现的象征。她右脚上的血和扭曲的形状象征着从童年起小儿麻痹症带给她的畸形，以及她的事故和脊柱裂，所有这些加起来成为她与慢性神经疼痛的终身斗争。
SARS
Many artworks of the darker periods in life and environment were people’s reactions to their emotional, physical, and spiritual state. As 2003 came along, SARS caused wide-spread panic and fear worldwide. The constant state of separation and restrictions brought about a form of artistic movement in Asia giving birth to specialized exhibitions, films, comics, paintings, as well as literature. Some, exploring the realization of inner-thinking and growing fears, while others trying to show hope and humor to harmonize the public.
社会环境的黑暗时期，许多艺术作品正是人们对自己的情感、身体和精神状态的反应。随着2003年的到来，SARS在全世界引起了广泛的恐慌和恐惧。疾病带来不断的分离使得亚洲产生了一种艺术运动，产生了以此为主题的展览、电影、漫画、绘画以及文学。一些艺术家探索内心想法和不断增长的恐惧，而另一些人试图展示希望和幽默来调节氛围。
"Universe Emergency Call" - part of the 2019 "Contagious Cities: Far Away, Too Close" Exhibition which is about the impact of SARS and the 1890s plague in Hong Kong \ “宇宙紧急呼叫”- 2019年“传染病城市:远方，太近”展览的一部分，该展览是关于非典型肺炎和19世纪90年代鼠疫在香港的影响 (photo图片: Sutton Hong Kong)
The Shanghai Art Museum organized a special anti-SARS online exhibition featuring 65 pieces of artwork, followed by a special gathering of 20 artists in-person to create 120 pieces of artwork onto silk masks. The works and masks would be auctioned off by the Shanghai Charity Foundation. Of the featured works, Tang Shichu’s sculpture, Remember This Pair of Beautiful Eyes, shows the covered face of a medical worker which is complemented by a break in the middle, one dressed as a bride and the other as the medical worker. Using this imagery, the idea that every person behind the mask is someone’s beloved family or friend who risks their life to help society is cemented. Other works focus on different styles such as traditional Chinese painting, oil painting, calligraphy, and propaganda posters.
上海美术馆举办了一场特别的“抗非典”网上展览，展出了65件艺术作品。随后，20位艺术家齐聚一堂，在丝绸面具上创作了120件艺术作品。这些作品和面具将由上海慈善基金会拍卖。在这些特色作品中，唐世储的雕塑《记住这双美丽的眼睛》展示了一个医护人员的蒙住的脸，中间有一个裂缝，一个装扮成新娘，另一个装扮成医护人员。通过这种形象，说出了面具背后的每个人都是某人深爱的家人或朋友，他们冒着生命危险来帮助社会的故事。其他作品则集中在不同的风格，如中国传统绘画，油画，书法，宣传海报。
Remember This Pair of Beautiful Eyes by Tang Shichu \ 记住这对美丽的眼睛 唐世储
Over recent years, virtual interactions have become more commonplace with social media and the rise of faster connection speeds. With new technologies, information and misinformation roam the internet landscape causing unwarranted fear and confusion. In such heightened states, there is a mirrored sense of reality as a more futuristic version of SARS manifests, with artistic reactions touching on subjects that may be deeply personal yet fitting to many through more modern forms.
近年来，随着社交媒体和网速的提高，虚拟互动变得越来越普遍。随着新技术的发展，信息和谣言都在互联网上泛滥，造成了不必要的恐惧和困惑。在这种高度紧张的状态下，有一种反映现实的感觉，仿佛是未来版的SARS。与艺术反应触及的主题，可能是深刻的个人，但适合许多通过更现代的形式。
2020 COVID-19
In light of the current situation, Mark Montgomery remains unable to return to China from his trip to Vietnam. Stuck in an uncomfortable situation and far from home, he began inking down a comic on his tangled feelings and inner conflicts. This highly relatable reaction comic reflects the uncertainty that everyone has in their minds and the kind of impending fear that creeps up to them as they try to ground themselves with hope. Displaying moments of pure panic and momentary humor through self-reassurance, it shows the reality of his situation.
鉴于目前的情况，马克·蒙哥马利在越南之行后仍然无法返回中国。他被困在一个不舒服的环境里，远离家乡，开始写一本关于他复杂的感情和内心冲突的漫画。这部高度相关的漫画反映了每个人心中的不确定性，以及当他们试图用希望来折磨自己时，一种迫近的恐惧向他们逼近。通过自我安慰表现出纯粹的恐慌和瞬间的幽默，展现了他的真实处境。
A preview from Mark Montgomery's work in progress \ 马克·蒙哥马利作品预览
Looking back at some of these artists, despite their bleak outlook of the future, art was the hope that helped them to cope and understand a new perspective to life explored through creativity — Empowering them when they had nowhere to go.
回顾这些艺术家，尽管他们对未来的展望是暗淡的，但艺术是帮助他们通过创造力探索生活的新视角，以此带来希望，当他们无处可去的时候，赋予他们力量。
For more info on Mark's comic release and works:
想看更多马克的漫画:
(IG: chinamark / Wechat ID: markmup)
JOIN THE CAUSE, SUPPORT CHINA ｜加入我们，支持中国
With the recent outbreak, travel restrictions, racism, and discrimination against Asians have been increasing causing people around the world to become disconnected. In order to fight against this and raise a positive message that will unite people to support China, Shake to Win initiated a meaningful and impactful campaign last week within Europe and China, the #ItsaSmileBehindtheMask Campaign. The campaign aims at strengthening the cultural understanding and tolerance between China and the West while bringing the world closer together. You too can help by spreading the message on social media.
随着最近的疫情爆发，旅行限制、种族主义和对亚洲人的歧视越来越多，导致世界各地的人们比以往任何时候都更加孤立。为了对抗这种情况，并传递出一个积极的信息，让人们团结起来支持中国，赏游地在上周发动了一个有意义的企划，呼吁欧洲商家和国内的粉丝一起支持，让反歧视，支持中国的声音更强大，此企划名为“赏游微笑行动”。该活动旨在加强中国和西方之间的文化理解和包容，同时拉近世界的距离。你也可以通过在社交媒体上转发信息来帮助我们。
To find out more head on over to Shake to Win.
更多信息请移步赏游主页。
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