Art installation shines light on US gun violence
星条旗下有枪“殇”
Alienable right to life is a public art installation at Freedom Plaza that features a huge American flag bearing the names of 1,039 people killed in mass shootings since the Columbine high school massacre 25 years ago.
“可剥夺的生命权”是自由广场的一个公共艺术装置,包含一面巨大的美国国旗,上面印着自1999年科伦拜因高中大规模枪击案以来的1039名在大规模枪击事件中丧生的人的名字。
“I, sadly, have left one panel blank on the north-east corner of this artwork in case there is yet another mass shooting while this art is on exhibition,” artist Suzanne Brennan Firstenberg said on Friday at a launch event.
5月10日,艺术家苏珊娜·布伦南·弗斯滕伯格在作品发布会上表示:“遗憾的是,我在这件艺术品的右上角留下了一块空白,以防在作品展出期间再次发生大规模枪击事件。”
Nestled behind the flag is a giant facsimile of the Declaration of Independence, which takes the assertion that all men are created equal with certain unalienable rights, magnifies the word “unalienable” and puts a red cross through “un”, leaving only “alienable”.
在美国国旗背后耸立着《独立宣言》的复制品,该宣言主张人人生而平等,享有若干不可剥夺的权利,而“不可剥夺(unalienable)”一词被放大,并在“不(un)”上画了红叉,只留下“可剥夺(alienable)”。
Nearby is an interactive circular mural, representing an upside down Stars and Stripes (a sign of imminent danger or distress) for visitors to share personal stories.
装置附近还设有一处圆弧形互动展板,倒置的星条旗图案代表着迫在眉睫的危险和苦难。公众可以在展板上分享他们与枪支暴力有关的个人经历。
“Kids shouldn’t be afraid to go to school!” one says.
“孩子们不应该害怕上学!”其中一条留言写道。
In her remarks on Friday, Firstenberg, 64, described her motives for creating alienable right to life, noting that gun violence has become the leading cause of death for American children.
64岁的弗斯滕伯格在发布会上说出了她创造这幅作品的动机,并指出枪支暴力已成为美国儿童死亡的主要原因。
“America has become a dangerous place,” she said. “It used to be a place where we talked about a chicken in every pot and now it’s a handgun in every nightstand.
她说:“美国已经成为一个危险的地方。过去我们谈论的是每口锅里都有鸡,现在谈论的是每个床头柜里都有手枪。”
“This art is meant to broaden the dialogue regarding gun access from a singular focus on the right to bear arms to the individual right to life that emanates from the Declaration of Independence.”
“这幅作品旨在扩大有关枪支使用权的讨论,从单一关注持枪权扩大到《独立宣言》中规定的个人生命权。”
The artist told how a friend named Andrea recently bought a 9mm handgun and used it to end her life. Firstenberg has added her name to the circular mural, where the public are invited to use black stickers to add their reflections or the names of loved ones lost.
弗斯滕伯格称,她的朋友安德里亚最近购买了一把9毫米口径手枪,并用它结束了自己的生命。弗斯滕伯格将她的名字写在了壁画上。她鼓励公众在黑色贴纸上写上他们的感想或失去的亲人的名字,并贴在此处。
“The image of our American flag will disappear under those stories of gun violence,” Firstenberg said.
弗斯滕伯格说:“美国国旗的形象将淹没在那些枪支暴力的故事中。”
Firstenberg added: “We must stop adding names to the flag.”
弗斯滕伯格补充道:“我们必须阻止在国旗上出现新的名字。”
英文来源:卫报
编辑:董静
审校:陈丹妮 齐磊
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