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安大略艺术馆(4)Art Gallery of Ontario

(2016-10-05 15:56:57) 下一个

(蓝色部分附有中文注释。Chinese notes are added for the parts highlighted in blue)

4

 
In AGO, some exhibition chambers are a little noisy when a whole bunch of kids and students come in, and some are extremely quiet. Each and every piece of artwork carries a soul of the painter, the drawer, the sculptor, or the creator. In those quiet chambers, when you are alone there and are totally intoxicated with the artwork, you will hear the artists murmuring by your ears. What will they tell you? The gaseline price will go up tomorrow and it's better to pump up your car's tank full today? Yes, this is one. Tassimo coffee will be on sale in Loblaw Supermarket next week, so hold until then? Yes, this is another. Your boss will have an operation in the hospital for his long-suffering piles on Monday, so you won't be bothered for your unfinished project for quite a while? Yes, you will also hear this. But to hear all these, you have to be intoxicated with the artwork and have to stay focused. So, try.
 
Somehow my feet began to be itchy when we came out from another sculpture exhibition. I wondered if it was my persistent ailment Athlete's foot attack. It had been quite a period since I hadn't played soccer often. If any opportunity served, should I manage to pass it to Miss Vaughan because it used to make me suffer a lot? Basically, when it flared up, I couldn't use my hand to scratch my itchy feet, because my hand would otherwise become an Athlete's foot.
Crap! I stumbled, but luckily I didn't fall. Miss Vaughan and Mama Vaughan didn't see because they were ahead of me. I looked back down. Nothing was on the floor, no water, no oil, no grease. Nothing. But what did I stumble on? It wasn't a reminder from God that I should keep my patent only with me instead of passing to Miss Vaughan, was it? God, I had to behave, and I would.
When we entered a big door, a large hall with high ceiling appeared in front of us. Hanging on the walls around were the paints from renowned artists. Right beside the door was Cézanne's work Interior of a Forest. I knew that comparing to National Museum of Art in Beijing, AGO had more collections on those world famous artists' works in different periods, schools, and art movements ranging from Renaissance ClassicismNeoclassicism,RomanticismImpressionism to RealismSurrealismModernismPostmordernismStructuralismPoststructuralismExpressionismAbstract Expressionism, as well as BaroqueMetaphysical Art, and Fauvism, just everything except my stuff. But currently, the government of China is the richest government in the world, so Beijing is super ambitious to catch up.
Instead of being amazed, Mama Vaughan and Miss Vaughan directly headed to a bench lying in the centre of the exhibition hall. Finally, Miss Vaughan and her mother found something to sit on. The daughter looked quite tired. I wasn't sure about the mother. But for Miss Vaughan, she could walk and stand for a whole day without being seated even a second when shopping.
"Very big." Mama Vaughan said to me standing beside the bench.
"Yes." I agreed though I didn't know what actually I agreed on, whether she was referring to the hall or to the paints on the wall.
"So, I pick one and you can explain to me." Mama Vaughan seemed to have gathered new energy and demanded.
I pulled out two introduction leaflets from the ear box to the bench and handed over to Mama Vaughan and her daughter.
"Which one?" I asked.
"That one." She pointed at a medium-sized paint on the lower middle of the wall.
I collected the leaflet she passed back and opened it. I felt so lucky when I located the one Mama Vaughan was asking about although the leaflet only indicated the paint name, painter name, paint size, and paint material, for example, oil on canvas, etc. 
Being lucky might need a few conditions here - A. good in art knowledge; B. good in languages; C. good in observation and analysis; D. good memory. Also, many thanks for my family, my aunt, my uncle, my cousins, and especially my father who was an amateur painter good at both English and French.
It was de ChavannesThe Bathers. I had come to know about de Chavannes long before I came to Canada though I had never got a chance to witness this paint. In China, this French artist went as Xia Fan Na into which Chavannes was transliterated. He was Romanticism and Realism master Delacroix' student. De Chavannes' style also greatly influenced famous Impressionism artist Gauguin. But de Chavannes didn't belong to Impressionism school. Another good thing was, I even found Redon in the leaflet and his paint was Vase de fleurs
. Many thanks for Mama Vaughan indeed as well although she hadn't asked me about James Tissot's The Shop Girl or The Convalescent.
In mildness, I spoke slowly after studying the paint.
"See, two figures, one stands, one sits; one shows the front, one shows the back. Structurally very pretty. The color in the paint is very mild. The contrast is not given sharp although the figures are relatively bright while the background scene stays relatively dark. The painter didn't use strong colors to interpret the figures and didn't give detailed processing as Realism school does. The profile is not that sharp or that clear, but still different from Impressionism style. In the paint, tranquility prevails and the contours of the two women look elegant, regardless the painter used neither realism nor impressionism to interpret his work, and..." just when I was about to further explain to Mama Vaughan the school of Symbolism de Chavannes belonged to, she cut in.
"But isn't that a man?"
"What? Which one?"
"The left one."
I gaped and froze there instantly. The tits of the woman on the left in the paint were virtually as big as her daughter's.
"Just now I thought they're a man and a woman." She added.
I felt as though I was on the verge of falling in love with my girl friend's mom. Whose mom else could be as cute as Mama Vaughan? I murmured in English, "if any man had that pair of big tits on his chest, dare you marry your daughter off to him?" And then I switched back to speak Mandarin in a normal voice, "yes, the distance is too big and the paint is kind of vague, people would complain it's a work inclining to Impressionism."
"Anyway," Mama Vaughan took out the camera again, "I'm going to remember all your words and take a picture on the paint so that I can go back home to check if you are lying to me."
What a wonder!
 
I felt guilty and ignorant because I had not paid enough attention to AGO before. There were many works from great artists such as van GoghMonet, Cézanne, Rodin, Gauguin, MatisseJames TissotPissaroAlfred Sisley, and many other famous ones.
When we moved to the paint Woman at Her Bath, I found Mama Vaughan no longer stayed in-between Miss Vaughan and myself and we three formed a triangle instead. So I pointed at the painter name and asked Miss Vaughan if she was familiar with Edgar Degas. Seeing no affirmative reply, I gave her a tip.
"The letter 's' in the last name is silent. He's one of the masters for Impressionism school."
She nodded, but her eyes moved to Renoir's paint The Concert.
Mama Vaughan wanted to move to check other exhibitions again. I resignedly followed the mother and the daughter, but I looked back again. Something hit my mind about the woman in the paint.
"Hey, the girl in Renoir's The Concert looks like you. Don't you think so?" I asked from behind, "but it's true."
 
How nice it would be if I could stay here alone for a few days! Mama Vaughan's check on the art works was nice and quick. I wondered what PicassoGoyavan Dyck, and Frans Hals meant to Mama Vaughan would be as same as what Marx-Leninism, Mao Tse-Tung Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, or Three Represents meant to me. There was no visual conversation between those people and her just like there was no mind interflow between me and Karl Marx. What would interest this communist mama though?
 
When we came to the handicraft exhibition of Thomson Collection, I found a bathroom just nearby and asked them if they had a mood to use. They both decided to go there. Mama Vaughan took everything back from me while I stopped Miss Vaughan, asking, "are you sure you wanna use the bathroom in person?"
 
My Athlete's foot flared up again and I couldn't take off my shoes and scratch my feet to ease the itch. So I walked back and forth, and didn't even notice I was actually following, all the time, a security, who must think what a weird guy I was. I stopped as I heard them out.
"These are from China." I said to Mama Vaughan, pointing at the exquisitely designed and made snuff bottles.

"How delicate!" Mama Vaughan stepped closer. She seemed to be interested.
My attention was caused by a snuff bottle with the photo image of a history figure and something grew in my mind again. In this world, the only thing I was gifted in was to make trouble though I tried hard not to. That's what I was in my parents' eyes. I became their constant headache since I had had memory.
"Lo and behold!" I tilted my head to spot that snuff bottle with the image of Zhang Zhidong, Huguang Viceroy governing the provinces of Hubei and Hunan in Qing Dynasty.

Mama Vaughan came and observed.
"It's Li Hongzhang," said I, worrying if my trick would work, because, obviously it was not that Zhili Viceroy who was assigned to govern the provinces of Hebei, Henan, Shandong, and Shanxi during the reign of Manchurian's dynasty.
"Oh yah, that's him. It's Li Hongzhang." Mama Vaughan confirmed in great joy as if she had discovered a new relic site of Maya Culture. "Yes, I saw this drawing before, I saw it before."
Subconsciously I touched my nose. First, that was not Li Hongzhang. Second, that was not the image from a drawing, but from a photo. Heart and soul, I succumbed to Mama Vaughan's cuteness.
Miss Vaughan came and took a close look. I held my breath, wondering what if my trick would be seen through. She seemed to choose silence this time and held her mother's arm to walk into the paints and drawings exhibition of Thomson Collection located right beside.
The collection was very Flemish, very Dutch, and very Baroque. AGO hid Rembrandt's works here. But another one seemed to be the host here when we three came to Massacre of the Innocents.
 Rubens was one of those who accompanied me for many evenings during my teenage. Back in China, there were a lot of finery arts books and magazines at home. But I was pretty sure, none of them contained any photo image for the one I was looking at right now.
When I was reading the brief note on the wall, Mama Vaughan uttered beside, "the chamber is poor light here."
"Well," I turned to her, "the interior illumination was set so. It was purposely designed. The material of many items are very sensitive to the extent of light although some of them are allowed for camera's flash light, but not for constant exposure under strong illumination. Yes, you are right. Sometimes I can't even read what is indicated on the note plaques."
The 1.82 by 1.42 metre-sized paint was worth $117,000,000 and no doubt, it was the backbone of Thomson Collection. No wonder there was a security patrolling around. In the front in the paint, there were four soldiers, among which one was armour-clad and three were virtually naked. There were another group of armoured soldiers in the distance. But armoured or naked, near or distant, they were all in action, one action - slaying babies whom the mothers were straining every nerve to fight fiercely to save. The three naked soldiers' bodies silhouetted by the light source from the left were so strong that you could clearly see their conspicuous pectoral muscle, biceps, and six-pack which would make you wonder how possibly these mothers got a chance. In the centre was a top half-naked woman in red dress losing her balance and falling backwards under the weight of an older woman falling and trying with the last energy to grab with one hand the sword from the soldier piercing towards herself though the older woman was too weak to make it as her face, neck, and arms had already lost blood color and turned greenish grey very likely because of certain injury, on her back, resulting into plenty blood loss. In the course of the red dress woman's falling, she was doing her utmost to hold the baby with her left hand and reaching to scratch with her right the face of another soldier who was grasping at her baby's cloths. Under his robust bottom was a desperate woman holding with one hand her head and with the other her baby whose face had turned dead green. Dead babies' bodies were scattered everywhere on the ground. Some were still with certain blood color in skin. Little legs, little arms, little feet, little palms, and little fingers would first make you feel how adorable they were, then in a second, you would realize they were all dead, those were corpses, and the whole feeling turned heart-rending.
"It's horrible." Mama Vaughan commented, "especially when I saw that green face of the baby."
"Oh yah? Well, the paint triggered an echo from you. Rubens is one of the two greatest..." I got stuck there.
I wanted to say one of the two greatest Dutch painters, but German people thought Rubens belonged to them and Dutch people confirmed Rubens was Dutch while Belgian people also had their footing to argue with the other two nations. But I wondered none of them was correct. Because, there's a hearsay that according to the latest studies by Koreans, Rubens was somehow reasoned to be Korean. I was not surprised. Because in Korean's eyes, those great and famous people in this world were Koreans, or directly and indirectly related to Korean. Meanwhile, according to Rubens himself, he once had told the public, "everywhere is my hometown." So, Korea was right, Rubens could be a Korean. Certain Koreans believed Shakespear was Korean, Beethoven was Korean, da Vinci was Korean, Einstein was Korean, so I was not surprised if they believed Rubens was Korean too. Just any great one and anything good was Korean? It was totally fine with me. They never claimed Saddam Hussein was Korean, al-Qadhafi was Korean, or Pol Pot was Korean. So that's ok, because it meant Korea was a nation anxious for progress, for civilization, and for culture. Meanwhile, Rubens also reminded me of TitianCaravaggio, and Dürer whom we might have missed during the past two hours' tour. Or maybe AGO forgot to have invited them.
Miss Vaughan and Mama Vaughan wanted to find somewhere to sit down again after visiting the great Korean artist. I felt much better as my feet were not that itchy any more after we came out of the paints and drawings exhibition of Thomson Collection. I kind of missed Miconazole Nitrate Cream which had been used out a few years before. It's non-prescription and it used to function well on me.
Suddenly, I heard Mama Vaughan's voice. "Who is this guy?"
I looked back over. She was pointing at a small shining statue - a strong man carrying a relatively big sphere.
"Heracles."
"No," Miss Vaughan denied, "it's someone with the name starting with the letter 'A'. Let me take a look."
I stopped and waited for them there, but I didn't expect any other result from their double-check.
 
Now, Mama Vaughan wanted to finish an apple in public and also asked me if I would like to try one. They sat on a cubic block near a stylish spiral staircase in a well-designed court. The staircase was the fulfilment of famous Canadian architect Frank Gehry's idea. I tried to persuade them not to eat things there as visitors were coming all around. But a moon was just a moon. So I asked them to give me a minute, then quickly I walked away to find somewhere more appropriate for them to eat and rest.
"There are sofas and couches at the end of the gallery, just on the other side of the partition." I got back and said to the mother and the daughter after checking around, "hardly any one."
"Mom, you wanna climb that spiral staircase?"
"No energy."
"Neither have I," replied the daughter.
"But I have something to enrich your energy. It's chocolate," I said.
She stared at me. No words.
"No, no, no," I further explained, "it's obesity chocolate, fat reducing."
"RIGHT! And take a look at yourself. What a successful example for that!"
 
Notes:
01. Cézanne - 塞尚,法国印象派画家
02. Interior of a Forest - 《森林之中》
03. Renaissance Classicism - 古典主义
04. Neoclassicism - 新古典主义
05. Romanticism - 浪漫主义
06. Impressionism - 印象派
07. Realism - 现实主义
08. Surrealism - 超现实主义
09. Modernism - 现代主义
10. Postmordernism - 后现代主义
11. Structuralism - 结构主义
12. Poststructuralism - 超结构主义
13. Expressionism - 表现主义
14. Abstract Expressionism - 抽象表现主义
15. Baroque - 巴洛克艺术
16. Metaphysical Art - 形而上画派
17. Fauvism - 野兽派
18. de Chavannes - 夏凡纳,法国象征主义画家
19. The Bathers - 夏凡纳画作《浴女》
20. Delacroix - 德拉克洛瓦,法国浪漫主义、现实主义画家
21. Gauguin - 高更,法国印象派画家、雕塑家、陶艺家及版画家
22. Redon - 雷东,法国象征主义画家
23. Vase de fleurs - 雷东画作《花瓶》
24. James Tissot - 雅姆·蒂索,英国新古典主义画家
25. The Shop Girl - 雅姆·蒂索画作《女店员》
26. The Convalescent - 雅姆·蒂索画作《恢复中的女患者》
27. Symbolism - 象征主义
28. What a wonder! - 好奇葩呀!
29. van Gogh - 凡·高,荷兰印象派画家
30. Monet - 莫奈,法国印象派画家
31. Matisse - 马蒂斯,法国野兽派画家
32. Pissaro - 毕沙罗,法国印象派画家
33. Alfred Sisley - 西斯莱,法国印象派画家
34. Woman at Her Bath - 德加画作《在洗浴的女人》
35. Edgar Degas - 德加,法国印象派画家
36. Renoir - 雷诺阿,法国印象派画家、雕刻家
37. The Concert - 雷诺阿画作《音乐会》
38. Picasso - 毕加索,西班牙立体主义、抽象派、现代画家
39. Goya - 戈雅,西班牙浪漫主义画家
40. van Dyck - 凡·戴克,佛兰德斯巴洛克派画家,鲁本斯的助手
41. Frans Hals - 弗朗斯·哈尔斯,荷兰现实主义画家
42. are you sure you wanna use the bathroom in person? - 你真的想亲自上厕所?
43. snuff bottle - 鼻烟壶
44. Zhang Zhidong - 张之洞,清朝名臣,任湖广总督期间,成为中国近代军工制造业奠基人
45. Li Hongzhang - 李鸿章,清朝名臣,任直隶总督期间,成为洋务运动领袖
46. Maya Culture - 玛雅文化
47. Flemish - 佛莱芒(或者佛兰德斯)地区的。佛莱芒地区(Flanders)包括比利时大部、荷兰南部以及一小片德国西部,传统意义上讲也包含了法国北部的一小片接壤地区
48. Rembrandt - 伦勃朗,荷兰巴洛克派画家
49. Massacre of the Innocents - 鲁本斯画作《屠杀无辜者》
50. Rubens - 鲁本斯,生于德国的佛莱芒巴洛克派画家
51. Saddam Hussein - 萨达姆,前伊拉克领导人
52. al-Qadhafi - 卡扎菲,前利比亚领导人
53. Pol Pot - 波尔布特,前柬埔寨红色高棉领导人
54. Titian - 提香,西方油画之父,影响鲁本斯的文艺复兴时期意大利画家
55. Caravaggio - 卡拉瓦乔,影响鲁本斯的意大利现实主义画家
56. Dürer - 丢勒,影响鲁本斯的文艺复兴时期德国画家、雕刻家、建筑家、艺术理论家
57. Miconazole Nitrate Cream - 达克宁
58. Heracles - 大力神,古希腊的称呼,即古罗马所称的Hercules
59. Frank Gehry - 弗兰克·盖里,生于加拿大多伦多的美国建筑大师
60. obesity chocolate, fat reducing - 减肥巧克力
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