Annie Leibovitz is as famous as the people she photographs. The stylized, hyper-realistic portraits she produced, had a long line of celebrities beating a path to Leibovitz’s door. But now the genius behind the lens is close to financial ruin -- a victim, some say, of her own relentless artistic ambition.
安妮萊波維茨的名氣和她拍攝對象一樣大,她拍出的別具風格、超現實肖像,吸引一大堆名人爭相上門。但是現在這位鏡頭後操刀的天才正面臨財務破產,有些人說,她是被她自己無盡的藝術野心所害。
Among the qualities making Leibovitz, 59, the most sought after portrait photographer in the world are legendary perfectionism and the pouring of resources into lavish sets. Yet behind a facade of unlimited financial means, Leibovitz was spending her way into nightmare.
造就現年59歲的萊波維茨成為當今全球最炙手可熱肖像攝影師地位的特質,是她出了名的完美主義和斥資投入豪華場景。然而這種毫無限制的花錢法,其實已經為她帶來惡夢。
Despite moving in such glamorous circles, Leibovitz has never been known for having a knack for finance. In what now appears as a disastrous decision to raise funds, Leibovitz took a 24-million-dollar loan from Art Capital Group (ACG) in December 2008 using her own photographs as collateral.
儘管遊走如此光鮮亮麗的圈子,萊波維茨向來就不善理財。在一項現在看來顯然是災難性的募資決定中,萊波維茨2008年12月以她的照片當抵押品,向「藝術資本集團」貸款2400萬美元。
That debt is due September 8 and if she can’t pay up, the over-leveraged photographer could lose her life’s work.
這筆債務將在9月8日到期,如果屆時她無法償還,這名過度借貸的攝影師可能失去她的畢生心血。
新聞辭典
beat a path to someone’s door:片語,蜂擁前往造訪。例句:Filmmakers will beat a path to your door after you made a name.(你闖出名號後,製片家就會爭相上門。)
over- leveraged:形容詞,過度借貸的、財務槓桿操作過頭的。例句:Some over-leveraged enterprisers went broke during this economic crisis.(有些財務槓桿操作過頭的企業家在這波經濟危機中破產。)
have a knack for:片語,擅長某項技能,特別是指能輕而易舉完成某種難以學習的事情。例句:Since when did you have a knack for picking up girls?(你什麼時候開始懂得把妹了?)