【启点字幕组】
Light up the world
喷满颜料的地铁
Spray-painted subway cars,
写满文字的桥梁
tagged bridges,
绘满图案的墙壁
mural-covered walls.
涂鸦在我们的城市中陡然盛行
Graffiti pops up boldly throughout our cities.
它可以宣示人们对身份 艺术 权利 政治的看法
It can make statements about identity, art, empowerment, and politics,
而同时又被认为是一种破坏活动
while simultaneously being associated with destruction.
这其实并不是什么新鲜事
And, it turns out, it’s nothing new.
涂鸦 这种在公共财产上写字刻画的行为
Graffiti, or the act of writing or scribbling on public property,
已经存在了数千年
has been around for thousands of years.
在这么长的时间里
And across that span of time,
它一直都引发着和当今一样的争议
it’s raised the same questions we debate now:
这算是艺术吗
Is it art?
还是蓄意破坏公物
Is it vandalism?
公元前1世纪 罗马人就常常在公共墙壁上刻写信息
In the 1st century BCE, Romans regularly inscribed messages on public walls,
而在大洋彼岸
while oceans away,
玛雅人也经常在墙面上画画
Mayans were prolifically scratching drawings onto their surfaces.
涂鸦并不总是一种破坏行为
And it wasn’t always a subversive act.
庞培古城里的普通民众也常在公共墙面上刻写咒语
In Pompeii, ordinary citizens regularly marked public walls with magic spells,
单相思的情诗
prose about unrequited love,
政治运动口号
political campaign slogans,
甚至是留言支持他们喜欢的角斗士
and even messages to champion their favorite gladiators.
一些人 包括希腊哲学家普鲁塔卡 反对涂鸦
Some, including the Greek philosopher Plutarch, pushed back,
认为这是荒谬且毫无意义的
deeming graffiti ridiculous and pointless.
不过 直到公元5世纪
But it wasn’t until the 5th century
才出现了蓄意破坏公物这一现代概念
that the roots of the modern concept of vandalism were planted.
那时 一个叫做汪达尔的野蛮部落侵袭了罗马
At that time, a barbaric tribe known as the Vandals swept through Rome,
一路劫掠 破坏罗马城
pillaging and destroying the city.
几个世纪后 蓄意破坏公物一词【字面义: 汪达尔式】才正式出现
But it wasn’t until centuries later that the term vandalism was actually coined
最初用于反对法国文艺复兴时期毁坏艺术品的行为
in an outcry against the defacing of art during the French Revolution.
而随着涂鸦 和蓄意反叛与挑衅
And as graffiti became increasingly associated
之间的联系愈发紧密
with deliberate rebellion and provocativeness,
它也被贴上了蓄意破坏的标签
it took on its vandalist label.
这也在一定程度上造成许多涂鸦艺术家至今仍在暗中行动
That’s part of the reason why, today, many graffiti artists stay underground.
涂鸦者们改名换姓 有的是为了逃避责罚
Some assume alternate identities to avoid retribution,
有的则是为了联立同盟 划分活动范围
while others do so to establish comradery and make claim to territory.
从20世纪60年代开始
Beginning with the tags of the 1960s,
一种既张扬又隐秘的新形式
a novel overlap of celebrity and anonymity
盛行于纽约 费城等地的街头
hit the streets of New York City and Philadelphia.
涂鸦者在城市各处的作品上留下独有的标签
Taggers used coded labels to trace their movements around cities
来暗示自己的身份
while often alluding to their origins.
正是这种非法性既迫使涂鸦不得不藏于暗处
And the very illegality of graffiti-making that forced it into the shadows
又以其神秘魅力吸引着愈发壮大的追随者群体
also added to its intrigue and growing base of followers.
空间和所有权问题是涂鸦史上的核心问题
The question of space and ownership is central to graffiti’s history.
涂鸦的当代发展进程与反主流文化潮流相伴而行
Its contemporary evolution has gone hand in hand with counterculture scenes.
后者吹响了反建制的号角
While these movements raised their anti-establishment voices,
涂鸦者同样也挑战了公共财产的传统底线
graffiti artists likewise challenged established boundaries of public property.
他们的画布扩展到地铁
They reclaimed subway cars,
和公告牌
billboards,
甚至动物园里的大象
and even once went so far as to paint an elephant in the city zoo.
同样 政治活动
Political movements, too,
也通过墙壁标语的方式 借助视觉 增强信息传递的效果
have used wall writing to visually spread their messages.
二战期间 纳粹党和抵抗组织
During World War II, both the Nazi Party and resistance groups
都借助墙壁标语进行宣传
covered walls with propaganda.
而柏林墙的单边涂鸦
And the Berlin Wall’s one-sided graffiti
使其鲜明区别于自由开放的普通出入口
can be seen as a striking symbol of repression
成为了压迫的象征
versus relatively unrestricted public access.
随着借用涂鸦作为手段的
As the counterculture movements
反主流文化运动成为主流
associated with graffiti become mainstream,
涂鸦也会一同被人们接受吗
does graffiti, too, become accepted?
20世纪70年代所谓的涂鸦团体开始出现
Since the creation of so-called graffiti unions in the 1970s
10年后 一些涂鸦作品被选入传统画廊展览
and the admission of select graffiti artists into art galleries a decade later,
一直以来 涂鸦徘徊于主流的边缘
graffiti has straddled the line between being outside and inside the mainstream.
而市场营销和印刷厂商对涂鸦风格的擅用
And the appropriation of graffiti styles by marketers and typographers
则使得涂鸦的定位更加模糊
has made this definition even more unclear.
曾经看似遥不可及的传统博物馆和品牌
The once unlikely partnerships of graffiti artists
也开始向涂鸦艺术家敞开大门 寻求合作
with traditional museums and brands,
这也将涂鸦艺术家带离暗处
have brought these artists out of the underground
领到聚光灯下
and into the spotlight.
尽管涂鸦常常与破坏相联
Although graffiti is linked to destruction,
但它也是一种不受拘束的艺术表达形式
it’s also a medium of unrestricted artistic expression.
破坏和美化之间的边界究竟在哪
Today, the debate about the boundary
时至今日 人们也仍争论不休
between defacing and beautifying continues.
同时 涂鸦者也在挑战着人们
Meanwhile, graffiti artists challenge common consensus about the value of art
对艺术价值和空间所有权的通常共识
and the degree to which any space can be owned.
涂鸦者们涂着 抹着 画着
Whether spraying, scrawling, or scratching,
将关于所有权 艺术 和可接受性的问题
graffiti brings these questions of ownership, art, and acceptability
呈现在公众眼前
to the surface.