◎Master of art and pop culture
流行文化及藝術大師
1.
Takashi Murakami has long been a 1)shining star among artists. Now he’s also a rising star in pop culture, thanks to his work with Louis Vuitton, the 2)designer-clothes 3)brand. The LV brand name is hot among young Japanese women – they wear it like 4)Christians wear their 5)crosses. Murakami is now the 6)chief 7)designer 8)responsible for 9)reshaping the LV look.
村上隆在藝術家群中早已是一個閃亮的明星。現在，因為他與設計師服飾品牌路易威登（LV）的合作，他也是流行文化中的明日之星。對日本年輕女性而言LV的品牌名氣正熱，她們穿戴LV就像基督徒配戴十字架一樣。村上目前是負責重塑LV新風貌的主要設計師。
1) shining (a.) 閃亮的
2) designer clothes (n.) 設計師服飾，名牌服飾
3) brand (n.) 品牌
4) Christian (n.) 基督徒
5) cross (n.) 十字架
6) chief (a.) 主要的
7) designer (n.) 設計師
8) responsible (a.) 要負責的
9) reshape (v.) 重塑
2.
This is a big change for LV. LV has been known mainly as a brand for middle-aged women and 1)mature 2)shoppers. But the new 3)line of products under Murakami will 4)feature his 5)signature 6)bright colors and smiling eyes. He is giving LV a younger, more 7)cartoon-like feel.
這對LV是個重大的改變。LV過去主要是中年女性和成年顧客的品牌。但是現在在村上領導下的產品系列將以他著名的明亮色彩和笑眼為主題。他正賦予LV一個更年輕，更卡通的情調。
1) mature (a.) 成熟的
2) shopper (n.) 購物者
3) line of products (n.) 產品系列
4) feature (v.) 以……為號召
5) signature (a.) 註冊商標的，典型的
6) bright (a.) 鮮艷的
7) cartoon (n.) 卡通
3.
This might be an even bigger change for Murakami, who did not use to have kind words to say about the culture of shopping. However, Murakami working with LV 1)makes sense in one way. He has a 2)passion for 3)blending popular 4)images with high art. Much like Andy Warhol before him, Murakami turns pop-culture 5)symbols into 6)fine art.
這對村上甚至可能是更大的改變，他過去對於商品文化沒什麼好評。可是，村上和LV的合作從一個角度來看也頗有道理。他對融合流行形象和精緻藝術有股熱情。就像在他之前的安迪沃荷，村上將流行文化的象徵轉變成精緻藝術。
1) make sense (phr.) 有道理
2) passion (n.) 熱情
3) blend (v.) 調和
4) image (n.) 影像，形象
5) symbol (n.) 象徵
6) fine art (n.) 精緻藝術
參考單字
Andy Warhol (n.) 安迪沃荷，美國當代藝術家，普普藝術代表人之一，著名作品是將名星瑪莉蓮夢露肖像重複拼貼
4.
Murakami is not just a designer. He is a modern artist with a Ph.D. in the 1)classical Japanese painting,Murakami mixes old with new in his cartoon art. In doing so, he 3)creates 4)characters that seem frightening and cute at the same time. According to Murakami, his art shows 5)hopelessness in a 6)consumer world. Now that's an interesting 7)comment from someone 8)in charge of redesigning LV's image.
村上不只是個設計師，他還是擁有傳統日本浮世繪風格博士學位的藝術家。他同時受到傳統日本繪畫和現代卡通藝術的影響。由於他的背景，村上創造了看似嚇人卻又迷人的角色。根據村上所說，他的藝術表現出消費者世界的絕望。出自這位負責重塑LV形象的人之口，這倒是很有趣的評語。
1) classical (a.) 傳統的，古典的
2) create (v.) 創造 (重覆，Burning Man)
3) character (n.) 人物，角色
4) hopelessness (n.) 絕望，無望
5) consumer (n.) 消費者
6) comment (n.) 評論
7) in charge of (phr.) 負責……
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