For a score of centuries, artists enriched Western society with their works of astonishing beauty.

好幾世紀以來，為數眾多的藝術家用令人驚豔的畫作豐富了西方世界。

"The Night Watch"...

林布蘭的〈夜巡〉。

"The Thinker"...

羅丹的〈沉思者〉。

"The Rocky Mountains."

比爾施塔特（德裔畫家）的〈洛磯山脈〉。

Master after master, from Leonardo, to Rembrandt, to Bierstadt, produced works that inspired, uplifted, and deepened us.

從達文西、林布蘭到比爾史塔特，藝術巨匠前仆後繼，創作出許多啟迪民智、鼓舞人心並教化社會的作品。

And they did this by demanding of themselves the highest standards of excellence,

他們用追求卓越的最高標準要求自己，

improving upon the work of each previous generation of masters, and continuing to aspire to the highest quality attainable.

在前輩大師的作品上精益求精，並且朝向窮一己之力能達的境界勇往直前。

But something happened on the way to the 20th Century.

但在進入 20 世紀之際，有件大事發生了。

The profound, the inspiring and the beautiful were replaced by the new, the different, and the ugly.

那些意味深遠、鼓舞人心以及美麗的標準，被新奇古怪、與眾不同以及毫無美感可言的標準取代。

Today the silly, the pointless, and the purely offensive are held up as the best of modern art.

如今，那些庸碌差勁、漫無目的且以及充滿惡意的作品被視為最出色的當代藝術。

Michelangelo carved his "David" out of a rock.

米開朗基羅用石頭雕刻出大衛像。

The Los Angeles County Museum of Art just offers us a rock, -- a rock -- all 340 tons of it.

洛杉磯郡藝術博物館則直接展出一塊大石頭。一塊石頭！一塊整整 340 噸的石頭！

That's how far standards have fallen.

這就是今昔標準的落差。

How did this happen?

這一切是怎麼發生的？

How did the thousand-year ascent towards artistic perfection and excellence die out?

這千年來對至臻完美藝術的追求是如何消亡的？

It didn't. It was pushed out.

它不是自己消失殆盡；而是人類對它趕盡殺絕。

Beginning in the late 19th century, a group dubbed "The Impressionists"

19 世紀末，有一群名叫印象派的笨蛋

rebelled against the French Academie des Beaux Arts and its demand for classical standards.

群起反對法蘭西藝術院及其對古典藝術的審美標準。

Whatever their intentions, the new modernists sowed the seeds of aesthetic relativism --

不論他們目的為何，現代主義者們的確為美學相對論播下種子，

the "beauty is in the eye of the beholder" mentality.

也就是所謂「情人眼裡出西施」的心態。

Today everybody loves the Impressionists.

如今，印象派畫家深受大眾喜愛。

And, as with most revolutions, the first generation or so produced work of genuine merit.

而且，與大多數的革命相仿，印象派初期的確創作出優秀的作品。

Monet, Renoir, and Degas still maintained elements of disciplined design and execution,

莫內、雷諾瓦及竇加等人仍保有縝密設計與高超技巧等美學元素；

but with each new generation, standards declined until there were no standards.

但隨著世代更迭，標準每況愈下，直至不復存在。

All that was left was personal expression.

僅存的只有個人的主觀意見而已。

The great art historian Jakob Rosenberg wrote that

偉大的藝術史家 Jakob Rosenberg 曾經寫道，

quality in art "is not merely a matter of personal opinion but to a high degree . . . objectively traceable."

藝術的品質「並不只是個人的意見，而是更高層次......以及客觀的可追溯性。」

But the idea of a universal standard of quality in art is now usually met with strong resistance if not open ridicule.

如今，「藝術品的普世標準」此一概念，不是遭受明嘲暗諷，就是被強烈抵制。

"How can art be objectively measured?" I'm challenged.

「藝術怎麼能被客觀衡量呢？」有人這樣質疑我。

In responding, I simply point to the artistic results produced by universal standards compared to what is produced by relativism.

作為回應，我將簡單地比較普世審美標準與美學相對論分別產生的藝術成果。

The former gave the world "The Birth of Venus" and "The Dying Gaul,"

前者為世界帶來〈維納斯的誕生〉與〈垂死的高盧人〉，

while the latter has given us "The Holy Virgin Mary," fashioned with cow dung and pornographic images,

而後者給了我們一幅充斥著牛糞與色情象徵的 "The Holy Virgin Mary"，

and "Petra," the prize-winning sculpture of a policewoman squatting and urinating -- complete with a puddle of synthetic urine.

以及 "Petra"，一個得獎的女警雕像，描繪她蹲下排尿，一旁還附上一盆合成尿液。

Without aesthetic standards, we have no way to determine quality or inferiority.

如果沒有審美標準，我們將無從判斷藝術品的優劣。

Here's a test I give my graduate students, all talented and well educated.

接著是我給我的研究生的測驗，他們都有天分並受過良好教育。

Please analyze this Jackson Pollock painting and explain why it is good.

請分析這幅 Jackson Pollock （抽象主義畫家）的畫作，並說明它為何出色。

It is only after they give very eloquent answers

在他們都給了強而有力的論述後，

that I inform them that the painting is actually a close up of my studio apron.

我才告訴他們，這幅所謂的畫作，其實只是我畫室圍裙的特寫而已。

I don't blame them; I would probably have done the same since it's nearly impossible to differentiate between the two.

我並不苛責他們。我可能和他們做出類似的判斷，因為這兩者之間差異極小，幾乎無法分辨。

"And who will determine quality?" is another challenge I'm given.

「那該由誰來決定藝術品的品質呢？」這是我受到的另一個質疑。

If we are to be intellectually honest, we all know of situations where professional expertise is acknowledged and depended upon.

老實說，我們都知道在某些情況下，專業知識仍是被認可而且被依賴的標準。

Take figure skating in the Olympics, where artistic excellence is judged by experts in the field.

以奧運中的花式溜冰為例，競賽中的藝術優劣是由該領域的專家負責評斷。

Surely we would flinch at the contestant who indiscriminately threw himself across the ice

對於一個隨意躺平在冰上，並且要求評審

and demanded that his routine be accepted as being as worthy of value as that of the most disciplined skater.

自己一成不變的動作應該與那些優異選手的表現相提並論的參賽者，我們無疑會渾身冒冷汗。

Not only has the quality of art diminished, but also the subject matter has gone from the transcendent to the trashy.

藝術的品質不但消失殆盡，連藝術品的主體，也從那些卓越的物事降級成為無用的東西。

Where once artists applied their talents to scenes of substance and integrity from history, literature, religion, mythology, etc.,

藝術家們曾在歷史、文學、宗教或神話等領域上盡情施展才華，

many of today's artists merely use their art to make statements, often for nothing more than shock value.

如今，當代許多藝術家們只是用他們的作品發聲，而那充其量只有驚世駭俗的價值。

Artists of the past also made statements at times,

以往藝術家們有時也會藉作品表達立場，

but never at the expense of the visual excellence of their work.

但他們從不會犧牲作品的視覺卓越性。

It's not only artists who are at fault; it is equally the fault of the so-called art community:

有過錯的並不只是這些藝術家，所謂的「藝術社群」－

the museum heads, gallery owners, and the critics who encourage and financially enable the production of this rubbish.

也就是那些鼓勵並金援這些「垃圾」的美術館的決策者、畫廊的擁有者，以及藝術評論家們，都難辭其咎。

It is they who champion graffiti and call it genius, promote the scatological and call it meaningful.

是這些人擁護塗鴉並稱之為傑作；是這些人提倡這些不入流的東西，並謂其意義非凡。

It is they who, in reality, are the naked emperors of art,

這些人是藝術界真人版的「國王的新衣」，

for who else would spend $10 million dollars on a rock and think it is art.

除了他們，誰還會花上 1000 萬去買顆石頭，還認為它是藝術呢？

But why do we have to be victims of all this bad taste? We don't.

但為什麼我們一定要成為拙劣藝術品味的受害者？大可不必。

By the art we patronize at museums or purchase at galleries, we can make our opinions not only known but felt.

藉由贊助美術館或購買畫廊的作品，我們可以讓我們的意見不但被看見，還能令人感同身受。

An art gallery, after all, is a business like any other.

經營畫廊畢竟是門生意，和其他商業行為沒什麼兩樣。

If the product doesn't sell, it won't be made.

如果產品賣不好，就會停產。

We can also support organizations like The Art Renewal Center that work to restore objective standards to the art world.

我們也可以支持像 The Art Renewal Center 這樣致力於復興客觀審美標準的組織。

And we can advocate the teaching of classical art appreciation in our schools.

同時我們也可以提倡在學校進行古典藝術鑑賞的教學。

Let's celebrate what we know is good and ignore what we know is not.

讓我們來歌頌那些非凡的作品，並且忽略那些我們深不以為然的。

By the way, the white background you see behind me is not simply a white graphic backdrop.

順道一提，你們看見我身後的白色背景不僅僅是一個白色的帷幕。

It is a pure white painting by noted artist Robert Rauschenberg at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art.

它是舊金山當代美術館的館藏，出自知名畫家 Robert Rauschenberg 的一幅純白的畫作。

I'm Robert Florczak for Prager University.

我是 Prager University 的 Robert Florczak。