木雕艺术家大卫·埃斯特利

木雕艺术家大卫·埃斯特利

master(n.大师&主人v.精通) and apprentice(n.学徒&新手 v.当学徒）
David Esterly, wood-carver(n.雕刻者&切肉者)[木雕工], died on June 15th, aged 75
It might happen at any time of day. David Esterly(大卫·埃斯特利) would be at his workbench（n.工作台&手工台）, gouge(n.圆凿 v.挖掘&欺骗)in hand, when he felt the breath(n.呼吸&气息) on his shoulder(n.肩膀&双肩 v.承担&肩扛). The voice would say: I wouldn't do it like that, or I've made a leaf(n.金箔&叶子) curl(v.n.卷曲&弯曲)that way before. Why are you bothering(v.费心&担心 n.麻烦&不变)? He did not need to ask who it was. The man's portraits(n.肖像&画像) at three different stages(n.阶段&舞台&计划&表演) of his life, the last plump（adj.丰满的&胖的 v.使-丰满 adv.突然&重重地）, bewigged（adj.戴假发的） and comfortable(adj.舒适的&惬意的), hung(v.悬挂&垂落) round(prep/adv/v.环绕&围绕 adj.圆形的&丰满的)[悬挂&无法释放] his workshop(n.作坊&研讨会) in a converted(adj.修改过的 v.转变信仰） barn（n.谷仓&牲畜棚） at Barneveld（格兰德尔省）, in upstate(adj.北部的&偏僻的adv.n.州的北部）New York. Grinling Gibbons[吉本斯.吉朋斯], England's 17th-century genius(n.天赋&天才 adj.天才的) of wood carving(n.雕刻 v.雕刻&切割&侵蚀), was the god of the place. For ten years his admirer(n.爱慕者&钦佩者) had been labouring(v.苦干&耕地 adj.劳动的&费力的) to emulate(v.模仿&仿效） his astonishingly(adv.令人惊讶地) meticulous(adj.一丝不苟的&小心翼翼的）chains（n.链条 v.束缚） and cascades（n.瀑布 v.像瀑布一样落下）of foliage（n.枝叶&叶子), fruit, flowers, feathers（n.羽毛&翅膀 v.装&长羽毛）and shells（n.贝壳 v.脱壳）in the same white lime(n.石灰&酸橙 v.洒石灰)[熟石灰] or linden(n.菩提树 adj.段科植物的） wood. The tradition of such carving(n.雕刻 v.雕刻&切割&侵蚀) was long-lost(adj.早已逝去的&杳无音信）. Mr Esterly(凯文,埃斯特里), whose studies(n.研究&学业) as a Fulbright scholar（富布莱特学者） at Cambridge had been in Yeats(叶芝）and the philosopher(n.哲学家) Plotinus（柏罗丁）, hoped he had found a way to combine(v.结合&合并) intellectual(adj.理智的&智力的), moral(adj.道德的&道义的) and sensory(adj.感觉的&感官的) experience（感官经验） into what Yeats(叶芝） called unity(n.团结&整体性) of being[存在的统一]. There were many satisfactions(n.满意&满足) in working as Gibbons(n.吉本斯) had done.@ Standing at his workbench(n.工作台&手工台)-not sitting, for carving(n.雕刻 v.雕刻&切割&侵蚀) involved the whole body-he would take up[拿起&开始从事], with a quick flip(n.v.浏览&轻抛&翻转）of the hand, one of the dozens(n.大量&许多) of tools spread(adj.延申的 v.传播&扩散&蔓延) before him. He could have done it blindfolded(adj.蒙住眼睛的 v.蒙住眼睛）, knowing just where each one was. The multiplicity（n.多样性&多重性）of blades(n.刀刃&刀片）reflected the fecundity(n.繁殖力&肥沃) of nature, which he would strive(v.努力&斗争) to reproduce(v.繁殖&复制) with ever-more-delicate(adj.精致的&微妙的&熟练的) gouging(v.凿 n.凿子）. He began each piece(n.一件作品&碎片 v.拼装&拼合)by stabbing（v.捅戳&刺伤） down the outline(n.外形&轮廓 v.勾勒&概述) on a sawn(v.锯开) board(n.木板&黑板 v.登上&寄宿)（钜板） a few inches(n.英寸) thick, then wasting(v.n.浪费&滥用 adj.荒芜的&废弃的) away[逐渐减少&日渐衰弱] the wood around(adv.prep 环绕&围绕) it and modelling(v.塑造&建模 ）the form. The rearward（adj.adv.向/在后面(的)） hand, and that half of his body, propelled(v.推动&驱使 adj.推进的) the tool; the forward(adj.adv.向前&前进(的)) hand, on the wood, resisted(v.反抗&经受抵抗). This opposition(n.反抗&对手）gave him exquisite(adj.精致的&剧烈的) control over the blade(n.刀刃&叶片) edge（叶片边缘）. It reminded(v.提醒&使想起 adj.被提醒的) him of the empowering（adj.v.授权&允许(的)） contrast(n.v对比&对照 n.差异) between Dionysian(adj.狂欢的) impulse(n.冲动&脉冲 adj.一时兴起的）and Apollonian(adj.高尚的) restraint(n.抑制&限制）; and of Hamlet(哈姆雷特), too, torn(adj.犹豫的 v.撕碎&撕破) between[在-之间左右为难] action and thought, whose tension(n.紧张&焦虑 v.拉紧) drove through[贯穿] the play师父
大卫·埃斯特里（David Esterly）是木雕师，于6月15日去世，享年75岁。这可能在一天中的任何时候发生。当大卫·埃斯特里（David Esterly）感到肩膀上的呼吸时，他将手扶在工作台上。声音会说：我不会那样做，或者我以前已经使叶子卷曲了。何须打搅，他不需要问是谁。该名男子在人生三个不同阶段的肖像，最后一个饱满，被束缚且舒适的肖像，挂在纽约州北部Barneveld改建后的谷仓里的工作室里。英格兰17世纪的木雕天才Grinling Gibbons是这个地方的神。十年来，他的仰慕者一直在努力模仿自己惊人而细致的链条和叶栅，水果，花朵，羽毛和贝壳在相同的白色石灰或木中的层叠。这种雕刻的传统已久违。埃斯特里先生曾在叶芝和哲学家普洛蒂纳斯（Plotinus）期间在剑桥担任富布赖特（Fulbright）学者，他的研究希望他找到了一种将知识，道德和感官经验结合到叶芝所谓的存在统一性的方法。像吉本斯所做的那样，工作有很多满足感。站在他的工作台上，而不是坐着，因为雕刻涉及整个身体，他会快速地握紧手，拿起摆在他面前的数十种工具之一。他本可以蒙住眼睛，知道每个人都在哪里。刀刃的多样性反映了自然的力量，他将努力通过更精致的刨削来再现。他通过在几英寸厚的锯板上刺入轮廓来开始每件作品，然后浪费掉周围的木头并对模型进行建模。向后的手和他的身体的一半推动了工具。向前的手在木头上抵抗。这种反对使他对刀片的边缘有了精妙的控制。它使他想起了酒神的冲动和阿波罗的克制之间的对比。哈姆雷特（Hamlet）也陷入了行动与思想之间，其紧张感驱使整个剧本.

For him, as for Gibbon(吉本斯), the lime-wood（n.椴木）responded beautifully(adv.漂亮滴&极好地), as only lime-wood（n.椴木）could. It was soft, almost oily(adj.含油的&油性的), with a nutty（adj.坚果的&古怪的）smell that filled the workshop(n.作坊&研讨会) and a crisp(adj.爽口的&易碎的&清脆的）zip（n.活力&拉链 v.迅速移动&拉拉链） under the gouge(n.圆凿 v.挖掘&欺骗); pliable(adj.柔软的&圆滑的）, kindly(adv.adj.温和&亲切）, magically(adv.如魔法般&用魔法）white and forgiving(n.宽恕&免除 adj.宽容的&慈悲的) of mistreatment（n.虐待）, such as his necessary cutting(n.切割) across the short grain（n.颗粒&质地 v.使粗糙&使成颗粒） to mould（v.浇筑&塑造 n.注模&类型） the shape of an apple or a grape(n.葡萄). He had tried other woods, but found ash（n.白蜡树） too hard(adj.硬的&困难的 adv.努力&用力), beech（山毛榉）and birch（桦树) thuggish（adj.粗野的&野蛮的）. Its tolerance(n.容忍&宽容) allowed it to be drastically（adv.彻底地&猛烈地）undercut(v.切除&根除 n.切口）in Gibbons's style(n.方式&样式), with a gouge(n.圆凿 v.挖掘&欺骗) held(v.握住&抬起) like a pencil, until the wood was scarcely（adv.勉强&几乎不）thicker(adj.更浓密的&更浑浊的）than a petal（n.花瓣色&花瓣） or a feather and the piece(n.一件作品&碎片 v.拼装&拼合) filled with shadow and air. At that point[在那时] he would add the selective(adj.认真挑选的&选择性的) exaggerations(n.夸张&夸张手法）, a curl(v.n.卷曲&弯曲) here, a bulge(n.v.鼓起&突出）there, that would make a leaf look real, even though[即便&即使] carved(v.雕刻&切割&侵蚀) in wood. And then, leaving the piece(n.一件作品&碎片 v.拼装&拼合) bare(adj.赤裸的&无遮盖的) except for[除了] gentle(adj.文静的&轻柔的） abrading(v.n.侵蚀&疲倦）with Dutch rush(n.v.冲&奔)(植物学&荷兰木贼）, as Gibbons would have done, he would set(v.放置 n.一组) it aside(adv.在旁边&在一边) to shine(v.发光&闪耀 n.光亮&光泽) like ghostly（adj.幽灵的&影子似的） marble（n.大理石 adj.大理石的 v.使-斑驳）with its own independent life. He never kept anything he made. Ever since[从那时起] he had sold a small mirror frame(n.框架&边框 v.勾勒&装框) for 100 pound at a village fair(n.集市&展览会 adj.adv.公平&公正)[农村集市], he had worked only to commission（v.委托制作&委任 n.委员会&佣金）. He could not afford to do otherwise（adv.否则&除此以外）, for though(conj.虽然&尽管 prep.不过&可是) his pieces(n.一件作品&碎片 v.拼装&拼合) eventually sold for six figures(n.数字&人物 v.描绘&认为) they were so time-consuming(adj.耗时的&旷日持久的) that he made only about 50 in his life. carvers(n.雕刻家) were starvers(绝食者), he often said: an existence(n.存在&生活方式&生存) his comfortably(adv.舒服地&安乐地) middle-class parents in Akron（阿克隆市）, Ohio would have struggled(v.n.奋斗&搏斗) to understand.
对他来说，就像对长臂猿一样，石灰木的反应非常优美，只有石灰木能做到。它柔软，几乎油腻，充满坚果味，充满了车间，凿子下有松脆的拉链。柔韧，友善，富有魔力的白色和宽容的宽恕，例如他必须切短粒以塑造苹果或葡萄的形状。他曾尝试过其他树林，但发现灰烬太硬，山毛榉和桦木发臭。它的耐受性使它可以像吉本斯一样彻底地被底切，用像铅笔一样的凿子将其凿开，直到木材的质地几乎不比花瓣或羽毛更加浑厚，并且碎片充满了阴影和空气。在那一点上，他将添加选择性的夸张效果，这里的卷发，那里的凸起，即使是用木头雕刻，也会使叶子看起来很真实。然后，除了像吉本斯本可以做的那样，用荷兰人的冲动轻轻打磨之外，再把那块裸露的东西裸露在外，他会把它放在一边，像有独立生活的幽灵般的大理石一样发光。他从不保存自己做的任何东西。自从他在一个乡村集市上以100磅的价格卖出一个小镜框以来，他就只是为了委托而工作。他无能为力，因为尽管他的作品最终以六位数的价格售出，但它们非常耗时，以至于他一生只赚了约50。他经常说，雕刻师是饥饿者。他在俄亥俄州阿克伦的中产阶级父母的舒适生活很难理解.

And it had begun in a moment[立刻&立即]: that moment in 1974 when his girlfriend Marietta(n.玛丽埃塔), later his wife, took him to see the Gibbons carvings(n.雕刻 v.雕刻&切割&侵蚀) behind the altar(n.祭坛&圣坛) in St James's(n.圣詹姆斯) Church, Piccadilly（皮卡迪利大街）. He was thunderstruck（adj.惊愕的&吓坏了的）, and his reaction was physical(adj.身体的&肉体的): hairs rising on his neck（脖子）, his skin(n.皮肤&皮毛 v.剥皮&擦破) tingling（刺痛）, and his tongue(n.舌头&语言&说话风格) seeming to move over ivory's（n.象牙&adj.象牙的）coolness(n.凉爽&冷静) and smoothness(n.平滑&平坦). (The thinking of the body, Yeats(n.叶芝) would have called it. ) His first, academic, thought was to write a book about Gibbons; his second was just to pick up[捡起&拾起] tools and teach himself to carve(v.雕刻&切割&侵蚀). The minute[一--就--] his chisel（v.雕刻 n.凿子）struck(v.碰撞) the wood, he was enthralled(vt.使-迷惑&使-迷醉）. Ensconced（v.隐藏&安居 adj.隐藏好的&安居的） in a cottage(n.小屋&村舍）in Sussex(赛萨克斯郡) for eight years, then at Barneveld, he became a ghost's apprentice(n.学徒&新手 v.当学徒. But no, that put it too lightly(adv.轻松地&轻轻地)[不费吹灰之力]: by the end of a decade, he was a slave enslaved(v.奴役&征服）not only to his carvings(n.雕刻 v.雕刻&切割&侵蚀), which ,about halfway(n.中途 adj.adv.中间的&中途的) through(adj.直达的&对穿的&完成的）[完成一半],would start to impose(v.u强加于&施加) their own ideas on him, but also to the long-dead[逝去已久的] master(n.大师&主人v.精通) he so revered(v.崇敬&敬佩), beside(prep.除-之外 adv.此外) whose work he could only despair(v.n.绝望&丧失信心）about his own. There was a way out(摆脱困难的方法)[解脱]. That, too, was completely unexpected(adj.想不到的&意外的). In 1986 he was asked to replace(v.取代&替换) a seven-foot Gibbons drop(n.垂暮&v.掉落&减少) at Hampton Court(n.庭院&法院 v.讨好&追求) Palace[汉普顿宫], south-west of London, which had been destroyed by fire.He hesitated(v,犹豫) over it. Exact(adj.精确的&一丝不苟的) reproduction(n.复制品&繁殖), which he had never done, was surely the most slavish(adj.奴性的&卑屈的) tutelage(n.监督&指导）of all. @Yet the closer he got to Gibbons-first(adv.最初&起初) touching a single stem(n.茎干&主干 v.阻止&遏制）, then whole pieces(n.一件作品&碎片 v.拼装&拼合), scrutinizing(v.仔细查看&细致审查) his technique(n.技巧&工艺), following the movements of his gouges(n.圆凿 v.挖掘&欺骗) and his thought-the more his own workbench(n.工作台&手术台) seemed transported(v.运送&运输) to 1698, and the more he saw the larval(adj.潜在的&隐蔽的）forms of the half-modeled(v.模仿&效仿)[半成型的] wood with Gibbons's eyes. @When after a year the drop(n.垂暮&v.掉落/减少) was made, with its exhausting(v.adj.(使)筋疲力竭&疲惫不堪(的)) ropes(n.绳索&围绳) of crocuses(n.番红花) and trefoil(n.三叶草), he was no longer(adv.不再) a slave, but a colleague(n.同事&同僚). The spell(n.咒语&魔力 v.拼写&招致) was broken.
事情开始了：1974年，女友玛丽埃塔（Marietta）（后来是他的妻子）带他去看了皮卡迪利圣詹姆斯教堂的祭坛后面的吉本斯雕刻。他受到了心灵的震撼，他的反应是身体上的：头发在脖子上竖起，皮肤刺痛，舌头似乎在象牙的凉爽和光滑度上左右徘徊。（叶兹会这样称呼他。）他的第一个学术思想是写一本有关吉本斯的书。他的第二个任务就是拿起工具并自学雕刻。他的凿子撞到木头的那一刻，他的灵魂被唤醒。在苏塞克斯的一间小屋里呆了八年，然后在巴内维尔德（Barneveld）成为了鬼魂的徒弟。但是，不，这太过分了：到十年末，他已经成为木雕的奴隶。这种奴性不仅奴役了他的雕刻作品，大约过了一半就开始将自己的思想强加于他，而且奴役了他如此尊敬的死者，除了他的作品之外，他只能对自己的作品感到绝望。有一个出路。那也是完全出乎意料的。 1986年，他被要求更换在伦敦西南部汉普顿宫的七英尺长的雕塑吉本斯坠落，该坠毁被大火烧毁。他犹豫了一下。他从未做过的精确复制，无疑是所有复制品中最具诱惑性的。然而，他越接近吉本斯，首先触摸了单个躯干，然后触摸了整块，仔细检查了凿子的技术和思想，跟随他的凿子的移动，他的工作台似乎越多地递进1698年的时间，他越能看到最初的形式@。用吉本斯的眼睛装饰的半模样木头。一年后，跌落下来，满是番红花和三叶草的绳索，他不再是奴隶，而是同事。咒语被打破.

He was now a master(n.大师&主人v.精通) in his own right(n.公正&版权) and one for his own age. Freed(v.解放&摆脱) from Gibbons's riotous(adj.丰富多彩的&狂欢的&暴乱的）acanthus(n.叶形装饰）, he let other influences crowd(v.聚集&塞满n.人群&百姓) boldly(adv.大胆地&冒失地) in(adv.进入&到达): the peonies(n.牡丹）, roses(n.玫瑰) and lilies(n.百合花）of Dutch Old masters (n.大师&主人v.精通), the vegetable heads(n.顶部&头脑 v.领导) of Arcimboldo（木波尔多） and a touch(n.触觉&少许) of modern cynicism(n.玩世不恭&愤世嫉俗） in insect-blighted(adj.枯萎的&摧残的 v.染上枯萎病) leaves. Letter-rack(n.架子&支架 v.折磨&使痛苦)[信架] trompe(n.水风筒)-loeils[透视效应]became a favourite theme(n.主题&主旋律), as they were for 17th-century painters, but his racks(n.架子&支架 v.折磨&使痛苦) contained cameras, car keys, film spools（n.卷轴&线轴 v.缠绕）and iPhones, as well as delicate(adj.精致的&微妙的&灵巧的) hibiscus(n.木槿&芙蓉花）, holly（n.冬青树） or sprays（n.喷雾&喷射）of oak（橡树）. He became Gibbons's confident ambassador(n.代表人物&大使), curating(v.操持&组织） an exhibition(n.展览&展示) and writing books. Strolling(v.散步&闲逛) into[漫步入] his workshop(n.作坊&研讨会) for a day of meditative（adj.冥想的&沉思的）carving(n.雕刻 v.雕刻&切割&侵蚀), still in his bathrobe（n.浴袍&睡衣）and carrying his tea, he would go straight(adj.adv.径直&坦率(的)) to Adobe[Adobe软件] Illustrator(n.插画画家&图解者） to map(v.绘制&映射 n.地图&映射) out[筹划] his designs in many overlapping(adj.相互重叠的)layers. As well as daylight(n.日光&拂晓), halogen(n.卤素) spotlights(n.聚光灯 v.聚光照明) illuminated(v.照亮&启发 adj.点亮的&启发的) his bench(n.长椅&壁架 v.展览&替换). Between defining(v.定义&规定) the edges of his peony(n.牡丹）leaves and excavating(v.开凿&挖掘）tiny florets(n.小花）of lilac（丁香花）, he would check his emails. The portraits(n.肖像&画像) of Gibbons(n.吉本斯) were still on the walls, but the voice no longer bothered(v.令-感到讨厌) him. He might have sensed(v.感觉&了解), from time to time[时常], an approving(adj.赞许的&认可的 v.赞许&认可) nod.
他现在已经是一位独立的大师，而且是自己年龄的大师。摆脱了吉本斯的暴乱的叶子装饰，他让其他影响力大胆地涌入：荷兰古典大师的牡丹，玫瑰和百合花，Arcimboldo的蔬菜目以及在枯萎的叶片上散发出的现代犬儒主义。像17世纪的画家一样，信架式错视画成为最受欢迎的主题，但他的书架上装有照相机，汽车钥匙，胶卷轴和iPhone，以及精致的芙蓉，冬青树或橡木喷雾。他成为吉本斯（Gibbons）的自信大使，策划了一次展览并撰写了书籍。走进他的工作室进行一天的冥想雕刻，仍然穿着浴袍，端着茶，他将直接去Adobe Illustrator，在许多重叠的图层上绘制出自己的设计。除了日光，卤素射灯还照亮了他的长凳。在定义牡丹叶的边缘与挖掘丁香的小花之间，他会检查他的电子邮件。吉本斯的画像仍然挂在墙上，但声音不再困扰他。他可能不时感觉到一个赞同的点头.