陪你读书外教陪读The Story Of Art

Today’s book is called “The Story of Art” by E.H. Gombrich The Story of Art, one of the most famous and popular books on art ever written, has been a world bestseller for over four decades. Attracted by the simplicity and clarity of his writing, readers of all ages and backgrounds have found in Professor Gombrich a true master, and one who combines knowledge and wisdom with a unique gift for communicating his deep love of the subject. The Story of Art has always been admired for two key qualities: it is a pleasure to read and a pleasure to handle. Gombrich was born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary. His father was a lawyer and his mother was a distinguished pianist. Gombrich loved classical music that he had learned from his mother. He studied art history and received a PhD from Vienna University. Today we are reading the Introduction to The Story of Art, by E.H. Gombrich There really is no such thing as Art. There are only artists. Once these were men who took coloured earth and roughed out the forms of a bison on the wall of a cave; today they buy their paints, and design posters for the underground; they did many things in between. There is no harm in calling all these activities art as long as we keep in mind that such a word may mean very different things in different times and places, and as long as we realize that Art with a capital A has no existence. For Art with a capital A has come to be something of a bogey and a fetish. You may crush an artist by telling him that what he has just done may be quite good in its own way, only it is not &`&Art&`&. And you may confound anyone enjoying a picture by declaring that what he liked in it was not the Art but something different. Actually I do not think that there are any wrong reasons for liking a statue or a picture. Someone may like a landscape painting because it reminds him of home, or a portrait because it reminds him of a friend. There is nothing wrong with that. All of us, when we see a painting, are bound to be reminded of a hundred-and-one things which influence our likes and dislikes. As long as these memories help us to enjoy what we see, we need not worry. It is only when some irrelevant memory makes us prejudiced, when we instinctively turn away from a magnificent picture of an alpine scene because we dislike climbing, that we should search our mind for the reason of the aversion which spoils a pleasure we might otherwise have had. There are wrong reasons for disliking a work of art. 实际上没有艺术这种东西，只有艺术家而已。所谓的艺术家，从前是用有色土在洞窟的石壁上大略画个野牛形状，现在则是购买颜料，为招贴板设计广告画；过去也好，现在也好｀艺术家还做其他许多工作 只是我们要牢牢记住，艺术这个名称用千不同时期和不同地方，所指的华物会大不相同．只要我们心中明白根本没有大写的艺术其物，那么把上述工作统统叫做艺术倒也无妨门 事实上 ，大写的艺术已经成为叫人害怕的怪物和为人膜拜的偶像了。要是你说一 个艺术家刚刚完成的作品可能 自有其妙处 ，然而却不是艺术．那就会把他挖苦得无地自容。如果一个人正在欣赏绘画、你说画面上他所喜爱的并非艺术，面是别的什么东西，那也会让他不知所措。 实际上．我认为喜爱一件雕塑或者宫爱一幅绘画都有正当的理由。有人会因为一幅风景画使他想起自己的家乡而欣赏它，有人会因为一 幅肖像 画使他想起一 位朋友而喜爱它。这都没有不当之处。我们看到一 幅画时 谁都难免回想起许许多多东西，牵动自己的爱憎之情。只要它们有助十我们欣赏眼前石到的东西，大可听之任之．不必多虑。只是由于我们想起—件不相干的事情而产生了偏见时、由于我们不喜欢爬山而对一幅壮丽巍峨的高山图下意识地掉头不顾时，我们才应该扣心自问，到底是什么原因引起了我们的厌恶，破坏了本来会在画面中亨受到的乐趣。确实有—些站不住脚的理由会使人厌恶一 件艺术品。