but in fact, modern art is a style that originated over 150 years ago,

但事實上，現代藝術是一種藝術風格， 開始於 150 多年前，

and includes artists that by now have attained classic status,

至今包括許多 已獲得一流藝術家地位的人，

such as Picasso, Matisse, and Gauguin.

例如：畢卡索、馬蒂斯、高更。

And what's even more ironic is that the movement they pioneered,

更諷刺的是他們提倡的運動 ──

considered revolutionary and even scandalous at the time,

在當時被視為一種革命 甚至是不成體統 ──

was inspired largely by an object of a traditional and ancient design.

主要是受到 古代傳統圖案的物品所啟發。

As far back as the Renaissance,

遠在文藝復興時期，

the primary European art movements emphasized conventional representation

早期的歐洲藝術運動強調傳統表現

and adherence to classical forms.

以及遵守古典形式。

But that began to change in the late 19th century

但在十九世紀末開始有了改變，

as artists like Van Gogh and Cézanne expanded the boundaries of painting.

一些藝術家例如 文森•梵谷 及 保羅•塞尚 擴展了繪畫的範圍。

Soon, a movement arose that sought to create an entirely new style of art,

很快地，興起一股追尋 創作全新風格藝術的運動，

and one way of doing so was to look beyond Western civilization.

其中一個做法 就是將視野超越西方文化。

For example, Paul Gauguin moved to the island of Tahiti in the 1890s.

例如 保羅•高更 在 1890 年代 搬到大溪地島，

There, he found inspiration in the island's inhabitants, landscape, and culture

在那裡，他從島上居民、 景觀及文化得到啟發，

to create artwork that intertwined European themes and Polynesian lore.

創作了交織著歐洲主題 與波利尼西亞的傳說的藝術作品。

Others looked the cultures of the Islamic world,

其他人則在伊斯蘭文化中探尋，

but the most influential inspiration would come from Sub-Saharan Africa.

但最具影響的啟發 則是來自撒哈拉以南的非洲。

As European empires expanded deeper into the African continent,

當歐洲帝國擴展深入到非洲大陸，

its artifacts and artworks made their way into the hands of museums and collectors.

那裡的文物及藝術品 落入了博物館及收藏家手中。

One such collector was Henri Matisse,

一位這樣的收藏家 亨利•馬諦斯

who showed his friend Picasso a mask he had acquired

將他獲得的面具 給他的朋友畢卡索看，

made by the Dan tribe of the Ivory Coast.

那是象牙海岸的丹族製做的。

The mask awoke Picasso's curiosity,

這面具喚起畢卡索的好奇心，

leading him to visit the Trocadéro Ethnographic Museum in Paris in 1907.

促使他在 1907 年到巴黎 夏樂宮人種博物館參觀。

Founded to house acquisitions from colonial conquests,

博物館是因收藏許多 征服殖民地的戰利品而建立，

the museum boasted a collection of African art,

擁有一系列非洲藝術品，

with stylized figures and masks made of wood

有獨特風格塑像及木製面具

and decorated with simple colors and materials.

以簡單色調及原料雕飾。

The visit was a revelation for Picasso,

此次參觀對畢卡索是個啟示，

who proclaimed that African masks were what painting was all about.

他讚揚非洲面具正是繪畫精神所在。

At this time, Picasso had been working on a painting of five nude women

此時，畢卡索一直在繪製 一幅五個裸體少女圖，

in a style that would later come to be known as Cubism.

其風格是後來眾所周知的立體主義。

And while three of these ladies show facial features

雖然少女中三位 有遠古伊伯利亞藝術的面部特徵

found in ancient Iberian art,

──這是反映畢卡索的西班牙血統，

a nod to Picasso's Spanish heritage,

但右邊兩位少女的面孔 則與非洲面具極為相似。

the faces of the two on the right closely resemble African masks.

經過數百張草圖試畫， 完成於 1907 年，

Created in 1907 after hundreds of sketches and studies,

《亞維農的少女》

"Les Demoiselles d'Avignon"

被認為是二十世紀第一件真正傑作，

has been considered the first truly 20th century masterpiece,

改變了許多藝術上先前既有的想法。

breaking with many previously held notions in art.

它既激進又抽象、

It was at once aggressive and abstract,

扭曲但具原始的幾何造型、

distorted yet primal in its raw geometry,

一種新形式、色彩及意義的 新藝術語言。

a new artistic language with new forms, colors, and meanings.

這些前衛性特質

And these avant-garde qualities caused a sensation

在約十年後首次展出時造成轟動。

when the painting was first exhibited almost ten years later.

民眾感到震驚，

The public was shocked,

評論家譴責它敗壞道德

critics denounced it as immoral,

就連畢卡索的朋友也為他魯莽行為 感到驚訝、生氣與迷惑。

and even Picasso's own friends were simultaneously surprised,

不久，更多藝術家追隨畢卡索的腳步，

offended,

巴黎的 康斯坦丁•布朗庫西 和 亞美迪歐•莫迪里安尼

and mesmerized at his audacity.

以及德國表現主義者

More artists soon followed in Picasso's footsteps.

都在他們作品中 採用非洲雕塑的美學。

Constantin Brâncuși and Amedeo Modigliani in Paris,

其他人則從遠洲異國尋找靈感，

as well as the German Expressionists,

英國雕塑家 亨利•摩爾 的許多半抽象鑄銅雕塑

all drew on the aesthetics of African sculptures in their work.

是根據 查克穆爾 的複製品，

Others looked to a different continent for their inspiration.

這是一種來自 托爾特克─瑪雅 文化 獨特的斜倚雕像。

British sculptor Henry Moore based many of his semi-abstract bronze sculptures

前哥倫布時期的藝術 也對 約瑟夫•亞伯斯 有重大影響，

on a replica of a chacmool,

他創作一系列的作品，

a distinctive reclining statue from the Toltec-Maya culture.

例如幾何系列 ─ 《向正方形致敬》系列，

Pre-Columbian art was also a major influence for Josef Albers.

其靈感來自他多次拜訪墨西哥時 所遇到的金字塔及當地藝術。

He created a series of compositions,

從古老文化獲得靈感

such as the geometrical series Homage to the Square,

開啟了藝術史上 最具革命性的運動之一，

that were inspired by pyramids and local art

但是否這些藝術家 扮演探索者或征服者的角色

he encountered on his frequent visits to Mexico.

從自認為的原始文化中 掠奪其想法並受益呢？

Inspiration from ancient cultures

當藝術家不斷重訂標準時， 這類問題值得去探索。

initiated one of the most revolutionary movements in art history,

也許不久之後，

but were these artists playing the role of explorers or conquistadors,

現代藝術大膽的創新 會變成了無生氣的正統，

appropriating ideas and profiting from cultures they considered primitive?

準備被一群新的激進開拓者推翻，

Questions like this deserve scrutiny, as artists continue to redefine standards.

而他們是從另一個不太可能的來源 汲取靈感。

Perhaps not too long from now,

翻譯：Helen Lin

the bold innovations of modern art will seem like stale orthodoxies,

ready to be overturned by a new set of radical trailblazers

drawing inspiration from another unlikely source.