Mount Rushmore: The Biggest Work of Art in the World 拉什莫爾山 ——世界上最大的藝術(shù)作品

侯冬意

There couldnt be a better way to pay a mark of respect to those who changed the course of history than by building a monument1 that was to become a hallmark2 for the country. On the Black Hills of South Dakota， Mount Rushmore is certainly one such feat3 that stands out in terms of design and skillfulness involved in its construction4. Whats more， the presence of extremely well known figures makes it even more attractive for the visitors. That is why nearly three million people flock toward this very site every year. The mastermind behind its making was Doane Robinson， a state historian. But the one who gave real life to his plan was a sculptor5 named Gutzon Borglum who built something with no precedent6 in its making. During the first 150 years of the countrys history， four US Presidents demand higher respect than others are Washington， Jefferson， Lincoln and Roosevelt. Borglum rightly picked out these four for his carving.

對于那些改變歷史進(jìn)程的人來說，沒有比建造一座成為整個國家標(biāo)志的紀(jì)念碑更好的方式來表達(dá)敬意了。拉什莫爾山位于南達(dá)科他州的黑山地區(qū)，尤其從建筑設(shè)計和技巧上來說，它無疑是這樣一個壯舉。更重要的是，杰出人物的存在使它更吸引游客，這就是為什么每年有近300萬人涌向這個地方的原因。它的幕后策劃者是歷史學(xué)家多恩·羅賓遜，但真正賦予該計劃生命力的是一位名叫格曾·博格勒姆的雕塑家，他建造了一座史無前例的作品。在美國歷史的前150年里，有四位美國總統(tǒng)比其他人更受人尊重，他們分別是：華盛頓、杰斐遜、林肯和羅斯福。博格勒姆挑選了這四位來雕刻是正確的。

A Brief History

It all began in 1923 when Robinson came up with an idea of turning one of the South Dakotas hills into something that has never been attempted before. He therefore sought the help of Peter Norbeck （a US senator7） who liked his idea so much that he told him to find a sculptor that would turn his dream into reality. In 1924， Robinson sent a proposal8 to Gutzon Borglum. Borglum agreed to his proposal right away. After passing through few bumpy9 rides on its way due to lack of money as well as environmentalists fear， the plan was eventually passed. However， the arrival of President Calvin Coolidge in 1927 put the project on a somewhat faster track. He formally announced Mount Rushmore as a “National Shrine10”.

簡要歷史? ☉☉☉☉

這一切始于1923年，當(dāng)時羅賓遜提出了一個想法，要對南達(dá)科他州的一座山進(jìn)行以前從未嘗試過的改造。因此，他尋求彼得·諾貝克（一位美國參議員）的幫助，諾貝克非常喜歡他的想法，他告訴羅賓遜要找一位能把他的夢想變成現(xiàn)實的雕塑家。1924年，羅賓遜向格曾·博格勒姆送去了一份提議。博格勒姆立刻同意了他的提議。由于缺乏資金以及環(huán)境保護(hù)主義者的擔(dān)心，該計劃幾經(jīng)波折，終于獲得通過。不過，1927年卡爾文·柯立芝總統(tǒng)的到來加快了這項計劃的進(jìn)程。他正式宣布拉什莫爾山為“國家圣地”。

Fascinating Mount Rushmore Facts

The carving of this mountain is indeed the biggest artistic11 work across the globe so far.

The mountain was named in 1885 after Charles E. Rushmore， a New York attorney12.

The four Presidents on Mount Rushmore are George Washington， Thomas Jefferson， Abraham Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt.

The project took 14 long years to complete.

Nearly 400 workers were involved in its making.

Luckily， no worker passed away during construction.

Borglum was 60 years old when he started carving Mount Rushmore.

450，000 tons of hard rocks were actually taken out from the hill.

關(guān)于拉什莫爾山的有趣事實 ☉☉☉☉

這座山的雕刻確實是迄今為止全球最大的藝術(shù)作品。

這座山是1885年以紐約的律師查爾斯·E·拉什莫爾的名字命名的。

拉什莫爾山上的四位總統(tǒng)是：喬治·華盛頓、托馬斯·杰斐遜、亞伯拉罕·林肯和西奧多·羅斯福。

整個項目花了14年時間才完成。

將近400名工人參與了這項工程。

幸運的是，沒有工人在建筑過程中死亡。

開始雕刻拉什莫爾山時，博格勒姆已經(jīng)60歲了。

實際上從山上挖去了45萬噸堅硬的巖石。

Other Mount Rushmore Facts

One of the reasons why Borglum chose Mount Rushmore is the fact that the hill is positioned in such a way that it receives maximum13 sunlight and thus the sunlight shines Presidents faces for most of the daytime.

The rocks on Mount Rushmore are really smooth and also hard so that even after 10，000 years it may wear away by only one inch. Thats why Borglum chose this very site.

George Washington rightly earned the first place in Mount Rushmore （he was the first to be carved out） as he represents14 the birth of the nation.

Gutzon Borglum died in March 1941 and his son， Lincoln Borglum took over the ongoing work of his father.

Lincoln spent only seven months on the project and ended it on October 31， 1941.

Had the project was carried out according to the original plan （which included the face as well as body and down to the toes）， the height of each President wouldve been 465 feet high.

其他有趣的事實 ☉☉☉☉

博格勒姆選擇拉什莫爾山的原因之一是山的位置。它能最大限度地接收到陽光的照射，白天的大部分時間里，太陽光都照射在總統(tǒng)們的臉上。

拉什莫爾山的巖石真的很光滑，也很堅硬，因此即使在一萬年后，估計也只會磨損一英寸（2.54厘米）。這就是博格勒姆選擇這個地方的原因。

喬治·華盛頓在拉什莫爾山贏得了第一名（他是第一個被雕刻出來的），因為他代表了美國的誕生。

格曾·博格勒姆于1941年3月去世，他的兒子林肯·博格勒姆接手了他父親正在進(jìn)行的工作。

林肯·博格勒姆在這個項目上只工作了7個月，并于1941年10月31日結(jié)束了這個項目。

如果這個項目是按照最初的計劃進(jìn)行的（雕塑包括面部、身體到腳趾頭），每一位總統(tǒng)的身高將達(dá)到465英尺（141.7米）。

Quick Guide to Mount Rushmore Facts

Name of sculptor： Gutzon Borglum

Person who conceived the idea： Doane Robinson

Starting date of construction： October 4， 1927

Ending date of construction： October 31， 1941

Total cost of project： nearly $1 million

Height of Mount Rushmore： 5，725 feet

Height of each face： 60 feet

Length of each nose： 20 feet

Width of each mouth： 18 feet

Span of each eye： 11 feet

Completion years of four Presidents：

George Washington： 1930

Thomas Jefferson： 1936

Abraham Lincoln： 1937

Theodore Roosevelt： 1939

拉什莫爾山快速指南 ☉☉☉☉

雕塑家姓名：格曾·博格勒姆

構(gòu)思這個想法的人：多恩·羅賓遜

開工日期：1927年10月4日

竣工日期：1941年10月31日

項目總成本：近100萬美元

拉什莫爾山高度：5725英尺（約1745米）

每張臉的高度：60英尺（約18米）

每個鼻子的長度：20英尺（約6米）

每張嘴的寬度：18英尺（約5.5米）

每只眼睛的跨度：11英尺（約3.4米）

四位總統(tǒng)雕像的建成時間：

喬治·華盛頓：1930年

托馬斯·杰斐遜：1936年

亞伯拉罕·林肯：1937年

西奧多·羅斯福：1939年

【Notes】

1. monument [? ? ?] n. 紀(jì)念碑;歷史遺跡;不朽的作品

2. hallmark [? ? ?] n. 標(biāo)志;特征

3. feat [? ? ?] n. 功績，壯舉

4. construction [? ? ?] n. 建設(shè);建筑物

5. sculptor [? ? ?] n. 雕刻家

6. precedent [? ? ? ] n. 先例;前例

7. senator [? ? ?] n. 參議員

8. proposal [? ? ?] n. 提議，建議

9. bumpy [? ? ?] adj. 顛簸的;崎嶇不平的

10. shrine [? ? ?] n. 圣地;神殿

11. artistic [? ? ] adj. 藝術(shù)的

12. attorney [? ? ?] n. 律師

13. maximum [? ? ?] adj. 最高的;最多的;最大極限的

14. represent [? ? ? ] vt. 代表;表現(xiàn)