Out of all of America's symbols, none has proved more enduring or evocative than the Statue of Liberty. This giant figure, torch in hand and clutching a stone tablet, has for a century acted as a figurehead for the American Dream; indeed there is probably no more immediately recognizable profile in existence. It's worth remembering that the statue is - for Americans at least - a potent reminder that the USA is a land of immigrants: it was New York Harbor where the first big waves of European immigrants arrived, their ships entering through the Verrazano Narrows to round the bend of the bay and catch a first glimpse of "Liberty Enlightening the World" - an end of their journey into the unknown, and the symbolic beginning of a new life.
These days, although only the very wealthy can afford to arrive here by sea, and a would-be immigrant's first (and possibly last) view of the States is more likely to be the customs check at JFK Airport, Liberty remains a stirring sight, with Emma Lazarus's poem, The New Colossus, written originally to raise funds for the statue's base, no less quotable than when it was written……
Here at our sea-washed, sunset gates shall stand A mighty woman with a torch, whose flame Is the imprisoned lightning, and her name Mother of Exiles. From her beacon-hand Glows world-wide welcome; her mild eyes command The air-bridged harbor that twin cities frame. "Keep ancient lands, your storied pomp!" cries she With silent lips."Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse to your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door."
The statue, which depicts Liberty throwing off her shackles and holding a beacon to light the world, was the creation of the French sculptor Frédéric Auguste Bartholdi, who crafted it a hundred years after the American Revolution in recognition of solidarity between the French and American people (though it's fair to add that Bartholdi originally intended the statue for Alexandria in Egypt). Bartholdi built Liberty in Paris between 1874 and 1884, starting with a terracotta model and enlarging it through four successive versions to its present size, a construction of thin copper sheets bolted together and supported by an iron framework designed by Gustave Eiffel. The arm carrying the torch was exhibited in Madison Square Park for
seven years, but the whole statue wasn't officially accepted on behalf of the American
people until 1884, after which it was taken apart, crated up and shipped to New York.
It was to be another two years before it could be properly unveiled: money had to be collected to fund the construction of the base, and for some reason Americans were unwilling - or unable - to dip into their pockets. Only through the campaigning efforts of newspaper magnate Joseph Pulitzer, a keen supporter of the statue, did it all come together in the end. Richard Morris Hunt built a pedestal around the existing star-shaped Fort Wood, and Liberty was formally dedicated by President Cleveland on October 28, 1886, in a flag-waving shindig that has never really stopped. The statue was closed for a few years in the mid-1980s for extensive renovation and, in 1986, fifteen million people descended on Manhattan for the statue's centennial celebrations.
Today you can climb steps up to the crown, but the cramped stairway though the torch sadly remains closed to the public. Don't be surprised if there's an hour-long wait to ascend. Even if there is, Liberty Park's views of the lower Manhattan skyline, the twin towers of the World Trade Center lording it over the jutting teeth of New York's financial quarter, are spectacular enough.
自由神像重45万磅，高46米，底座高45米，是当时世界上最高的纪念性建筑，其全称为“自由女神铜像国家纪念碑”，正式名称是“照耀世界的自由女 神”。整座铜像以120吨钢铁为骨架，80吨铜片为外皮，30万只铆钉装配固定在支架上，总重量达225吨。铜像内部的钢铁支架是由建筑师约维雷勃杜克和 以建造巴黎艾菲
女神双唇紧闭，头戴光芒四射的冠冕，身着罗马古代长袍，右手高擎长达12米的火炬，左手紧抱一部象征《美国独立宣言》的书板，上面刻着《宣言》发表的 日期“1776.7.4”字样。脚上残留着被挣断了的锁链，象征暴政统治已被推翻。花岗岩构筑的神像基座上，镌刻着美国女诗人埃玛·娜莎罗其的一首脍炙人 口的诗：
送给我
你那些疲乏的和贫困的挤在一起渴望自由呼吸的大众
你那熙熙攘攘的岸上被遗弃的可怜的人群
你那无家可归饱经风波的人们
一齐送给我
我站在金门口
高举自由的灯火
女神身体微微前倾，气宇轩昂、神态刚毅，给人以凛然不可侵犯之感。而其端庄丰盈的体态又似一位古希腊美女，使人感到亲切、自然，是一件不可多得的艺术 珍品。晨光熹微时远眺女神，在朝霞的映衬下，显得雄伟、优雅；夜幕四合时，神像基座的灯光向上照射，将女神映照得宛若一座淡青色的玉雕。从女神冠冕的窗孔 中射出的灯光，又好像在女神头上缀
有一串闪着金黄色光芒的珍珠。女神右手高举的火炬在夜空中发出橙黄色的光辉，给热闹、
喧嚣的大都会平添了一处颇为壮观的夜景。
观光的游人从铜像底部乘电梯直达基座顶端，然后沿着女神像内部的171级盘旋式阶梯登上顶部的冠冕 处。为了方便游人，每隔三节旋梯就设置一些休息座，供不能一口气登顶的游客小憩。冠冕处可同时容纳40人观览，四周开有25个小铁窗，每个窗口高约1米。 通过窗口向外远眺，东边可见有“钢铁巴比伦”之称的曼哈顿岛上高楼大厦林立；南边的纽约湾一望无际，波光船影相映；北边的哈得逊河逶迤伸向远方。从冠冕处 向右还可登上铜像右臂高处的火炬底部，这里可容纳12人凭窗远望，因顾及安全因素，此处已不再对外开放了。塑像的基座是一个大厅，1972年美国联邦政府 将其辟为移民博物馆。馆内设有电影院，为游客放映美国早期移民生活的影片。从市区到自由岛之间，每隔半小时有一班轮渡，来往非常方便。
纽约自由女神像简介
1884年7月6日，自由女神像正式赠送给美国。8月5日，神像底座奠基工程开始，基座高约27米，由花岗石混凝土制成。基座下面是打入弗特伍德古堡中心部位6米深处的混凝
土巨柱。该古堡是一座军用炮台，呈八角星状，于1808-1811年为加强纽约港的防卫而建，
1840年翻新。1885年6月，整个塑像被分成200多块装箱，用拖轮从法国里昂运到了纽约。 1886年10月中旬，75名工人在脚手架上将30只铆钉和约100块零件，组合一处。28日，美国总统克利夫兰亲自主持了万人参加的自由女神像的揭幕典 礼。1916年，威尔逊总统为女神像安装了昼夜不灭的照明系统并主持了竣工仪式。1942年美国政府做出决定，将自由女神像列为美国国家级文物。
没有评论:
发表评论