Stick to Yourself—The Avant-Grade Architect of I.M. Pei
坚持自我——前卫建筑大师贝聿铭
The Chinese-American architect Ieoh Ming Pei (I.M.) is known as one of the greatest world architects of the Twentieth Century. His long， brilliant career was highlighted by several internationally famous structures. While many of Pei's buildings were generally accepted by the public， some of them precipitated plenty amounts of controversy usually. The most notable of these controversial structures is his Glass Pyramid at the entrance of the Louvre in Paris. For these reasons， I.M. Pei seems to be an architect who exhibits interest in the avant-grade through both the creative design and aestheticism of his architecture.
When French President Francois Mitterand personally selected Mr. Pei in 1983 to design the Grand Louvre—one of the world's most congested museums， there were many critics. The press lambasted the idea of shattering the harmony of the Louvre's courtyard with a glass iceberg. But Pei proceeded as planned， that is， taking a major risk in creating a glass pyramid structure at the entrance. He did not focus on what the critics would say about his plans， but only hoped that the world would see， upon completion， that his vision of a contemporary， functional entrance would not clash with the Baroque style of the Louvre itself.
When the glass pyramid was completed in 1989， Pei's vision of avant-grade art was not entirely accepted. Many critics praised the aspiration with which the architect designed it， but ridiculed many aspects of its functionality： the practical problem is that the Pyramid， once you get inside， is noisy， hot， and disorienting. Fortunately， most critics consider it to be architecture made with passion， architecture as sculpture and as three-dimensional geometry. Anyway， it is impressive.
Many critics， along with the majority of the Parisian public， still had much more positive opinions of the pyramid after its completion. For tourists， the days of searching for the Louvre's entrance are over six million after its completion. It is hard to miss the 70-foot transparent pyramid rising gracefully between the museum's two main wings. Also， its functionality is extremely appreciated for reducing the distance that visitors once had to walk from one end of the U-shaped Louvre to the other.
Another of Pei's buildings that stirred up controversy is the Bank of China Building in Hong Kong. While the geometrically beautiful building stands out as the tallest in the area at 70 stories， its design has been criticized by many citizens of Hong Kong： the building's four right-angled triangular prisms， placed together to form a long， thin square column， have been condemned by many of the territory's superstitious residents all along. Though the citizens of Hong Kong may inhabit one of the highest-tech corners of the planet， they still believe great store by feng shui， the ancient art， part mysticism， and part architecture， of arranging buildings and other objects so that they are in harmony with nature and then bring luck. And the local residents just fear that many spirits have been offended by the skyscraper's bad feng shui.
It is interesting that I.M. Pei who is of Chinese origin yet chose as his motif —the triangle， which transforms the building as a whole into the very form that could bring bad feng shui. This shows that Pei is an artist who is not willing to sacrifice his innovative vision in order to conform to the society and culture's traditions.
The main point of debate among critics， which can be essentially pared down to individual taste， is Pei's prolific use and his partiality of geometric shapes. Some feel that he has a nearly fanatic devotion to geometry. Others have felt that he has diluted his art pursuit through service to the rich and powerful but there is no question that Pei has been approved as the most durably creative of architects in the world. Since creativity is one of the main components of the avant-grade art， it is evident that Pei's work just questions what architecture truly is.
Upon examining Pei's pyramidal entrance to the Louvre and design for the Bank of China building， some may argue that his work can be interpreted as good fodder for controversy. Perhaps this was Pei's intention. Many artists throughout the ages have shown that one of the greatest ways to achieve recognition is to stir up a controversy. However， it seems unlikely that Pei's plans for his future designs were greatly affected by public reaction. As one of the foremost and successful architectural geniuses of the Twentieth Century， I.M. Pei has pushed the movement of architecture： a uniquely personal vision of art physically manifested in a building.
美籍华裔建筑师贝聿铭被誉为二十世纪世界最伟大的建筑师之一。几处世界级的著名建筑为他漫长而又华彩的职业生涯增色许多。尽管公众普遍接受了贝聿铭的多数建筑作品，但其中的一些设计常常会引发突如其来的诸多争议。这些备受争议的建筑中最为著名的便是巴黎卢浮宫入口处的玻璃金字塔了。正是由于这些因素，贝聿铭被视为一位有着前卫理念的建筑师，他的创造性设计和唯美主义的建筑风格则展现了其前卫的设计理念。
1983年，当法国总统佛朗西斯密特朗钦定贝聿铭为世界上最为拥挤的博物馆卢浮宫进行设计时，批评四起。新闻界抨击了贝聿铭的观点，认为在卢浮宫门前建造一个玻璃冰山破坏了广场的和谐。但是贝聿铭坚持己见，那便是，冒着极大的风险在卢浮宫的入口处修建一个玻璃金字塔。他并不关注评论家们如何评论他的方案，他所希望的是在竣工的那一刻，全世界能够看到一个有着当代特征的功能性入口的设计理念；而这个理念本身，也并不会与卢浮宫的巴特洛风格相违背。
玻璃金字塔于1989年竣工之时，贝聿铭前卫艺术的设计风格并未被所有人所接受。许多评论家们赞赏了建筑师在设计中倾注的热情，但却奚落玻璃金字塔的功能性：当你置身其中，既嘈杂又闷热，而且容易使人辨认不清方向。所幸的是，大多数的评论家们认为它充满了激情，如同雕塑，恰似三维的几何图形。总之，给人留下了深刻的印象。
许多评论家还有很多巴黎公众，在金字塔竣工之后仍旧给予了诸多赞誉。而且，金字塔竣工后，来这里游览的游客人数更是超过了六百万之多。这座七十英尺高的透明金字塔优雅地矗立在博物馆的两个主要侧厅之间，让人过目难忘。同时，人们还极其欣赏它的功能性。金字塔缩短了游客们的步行距离。在此之前，游人们不得不从U型卢浮宫的一侧步行到达另一侧。
贝聿铭另一个备受争议的建筑是香港的中银大厦。当这座七十层楼高，有着美丽几何外形的建筑拔地而起时，许多香港市民开始批评这一设计，还一度受到当地迷信市民的强烈指责：建筑物的四个呈直角的三角形棱柱交汇在一起，形成了一个细长形状的四方形的圆柱体。尽管香港人居住在这个星球上最为高科技的处所之一，他们仍旧十分相信风水。风水是建筑与神秘色彩合二为一的古代艺术，力求与自然和谐，好运连连。当地居民也正是害怕这座风水不祥的摩天大楼冒犯神灵。
有趣的是，贝聿铭虽是一位中国人，但他却选择了三角形作为建筑的基本图形。因而，这座建筑物从整体上就变成了风水不祥的形状。恰恰是这一点，表明了贝聿铭坚定的意志，他不愿放弃自己的创新视角而去顺应社会及文化的传统。
评论家们的讨论焦点在于贝聿铭过多地使用了几何图形，以及他对于几何图形的偏爱。一些人觉得贝聿铭对于几何图形有着近乎疯狂的热爱。其他的一些人则认为对于权贵的服务淡化了他的艺术追求。但无可争议的是，作为一位最经得起时间考验的创造性建筑师，贝聿铭已经被世界所认可。既然创造性是前卫艺术的主要构成因素之一，那么贝聿铭的作品则恰恰道出了建筑的真谛所在。
观赏了贝聿铭设计的卢浮宫入口处的金字塔及中银大厦之后，有人可能会认为贝聿铭的作品是争议的良好素材。这可能就是贝聿铭的用意所在。不同时代的艺术家们已经向世人展示出了一条被认可的最佳途径，那便是引发争议。然而，贝聿铭未来的设计并未受到公众舆论的影响。作为二十世纪一流的、最为成功的建筑天才之一，贝聿铭已经推动了建筑学的发展——独特的建筑视角和完美的建筑呈现。
译者感言
著名美籍华裔建筑大师贝聿铭老先生是二十世纪一位杰出的建筑奇才，他的作品遍及全球，而他前卫的设计理念同时使他成为一个备受世界广泛争议的人物。面对如“枪林弹雨”般的批评指责，贝老先生从未有过丝毫动摇，而是坚定地将自己的设计理念付诸实践。最终，老先生的作品经受住了时间的考验，博得了世人的赞誉。贝老先生的人生历程折射出了一个深刻的道理，那就是当我们面对人生抉择时，应该学会如何去面对外界的批评，要有扬弃地去取舍，保持一颗冷静而清醒的头脑，正如老先生无意间道出的人生真谛：“免不了旁人的批评，尤其看谁批评，有的人批评没价值，有的人的批评你应该想一想，也许他说话是对的，可是自己还是靠自己，自己要想这个批评是不是有价值。”此番没有用过多华丽辞藻来堆砌，再简洁不过的话语传递给了我们一个意味深长的道理，那便是：面对别人的批评，要懂得如何坚持自我。
