1 . Throughout history, many of the world’s greatest artists never achieved tremendous fame until after their death. That’s the case of Vivian Maier, who’s now considered to be one of the most important American street photographers of the last century, alongside famous names like Diane Arbus and Henri Cartier-Bresson. But she remained unknown for much of her life, and it was only a chance encounter with a box of negatives that put her in the spotlight.
Details of her life are unclear, but she was born in New York City in the 1920s to European parents. Maier grew up in France before returning to the U. S., where she spent several decades working as a nanny in Chicago to wealthy families. During her days off Maier is thought to have taken more than 100, 000 photographs of people and city scenes in Chicago, yet she kept the photos to herself-many of them never developed.
Skip ahead to 2007, a Chicago historian and collector, John Maloof, came across Maier’s work by accident after purchasing a box of tens of thousands of undeveloped negatives for $380 Sat an auction (拍卖) . As he developed them, Maloof realized they were more than just photos. He was looking at evocative (唤起) art illustrating a Chicago of the mid-20-century that nobody had never seen. Maloof worked to uncover who the photographer was, acquiring more and more of her work. But before he could locate her, Maier had already passed away in 2009, having slipped on ice and never recovering from her head injury.
While Maloof researched Maier’s work, more details emerged. She kept to herself, her employers said, and she would spend her free days taking photos on the streets of Chicago with a Rolleiflex camera. According to Maloof, the children Maier took care of knew she was constantly taking photos, yet she never showed her photos to anyone. Maier also traveled around the world, as indicated by some of her photos.
Other collectors began to acquire Maier’s photos, but Maloof owns much of her work. He released a book, Vivian Maier: Street Photographer, in 2011, and his documentary, Finding Vivian Maier, came out in 2013.
1. Which word can be used to describe Vivian’s life?| A．Risky. | B．Wealthy. | C．Mysterious. | D．Miserable. |
| A．She was born in France. |
| B．She never developed her photos. |
| C．She enjoyed great fame in her life. |
| D．She took photos of Chicago and other cities. |
| A．He approached Maier’s former employers. |
| B．He managed to meet the artist in the flesh. |
| C．He released a collection of Maier’s work. |
| D．He purchased more developed negatives. |
| A．They were presented to her employers. |
| B．They were meant to earn her a fortune. |
| C．They were taken by a professional artist. |
| D．They were of artistic and historical value. |
2 . “In the future, everybody will be famous for 15 minutes,” said US artist Andy Warhol (1928—1987). And he is quite right. Now it seems that anybody can become an instant online celebrity.
Warhol is best noted for his paintings that represent celebrity faces and US consumer goods, like Coca-Cola bottles or Campbel’s soup cans. As a great influence on the twentieth century pop art movement, Andy Warhol rose to become a cornerstone in the contemporary art world, devoted to bringing his views on materialism, politics and economics to the art. Actually, the visual world Warhol created is directly connected to his background.
In the mid-1950s, the working class gathered a great deal of fortune. They wanted to achieve a higher status in society. The consumer goods and Hollywood faces are a “working-class-coded iconography (肖像；意象) that is often misinterpreted as generally ‘American’.” Anthony E. Grudin, author of Warhol’s Working Class commented. Reproducing these themes in his work meant that people outside of the art world could immediately connect with Warhol’s pictures. Considered “a creature of transformation”, Warhol constantly explored with different forms of media to evoke resonance among people.
For example, in addition to being a painter, Warhol was, in the words of UK writer Peter Wollen: “A filmmaker, a writer, a photographer, a TV soap opera producer.” Warhol, in short, was what we might call a ‘Renaissance (文艺复兴) man’, even though he was a leader in pop or perhaps post-modern art.”
In his later years, he founded Interview Magazine and wrote several books, including The Philosophy of Andy Warhol. But UK artist Gillian Wearing said, “Warhol left his mark in many more ways than his actual work.” Warhol’s works are all about “America, money, fame and death”, UK writer Jon Savage remarked. “He summed up, defined and in many ways symbolized the world in which we now live.
1. What’s Andy Warhol’s purpose of creating his paintings?| A．To highlight Renaissance style. | B．To attain fame and higher status. |
| C．To combine art with materialism. | D．To challenge traditional art forms. |
| A．Popular drinks. | B．Average people. |
| C．Commercial products. | D．Living scenes of working class. |
| A．Inspire connection. | B．Receive recognition. |
| C．Raise inspiration. | D．Gain sympathy. |
| A．Creative and critical. | B．Conservative and realistic. |
| C．Optimistic and encouraging. | D．Constructive and multi-talented. |
