Following the provocative and hard-hitting article by
Louise Trench
Do you believe in Art
?, we thought you
should have your say. So this week’s question is …
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF ART?
Dan
For me, it is all about the skill of the artists. I can’t draw or
paint, so I like to see how they can recreate reality just by
using shapes and colour. It’s a real skill. I tried at school, but
I just had no talent for it. It’s amazing what they can do.
I just like naturalistic art, I suppose. I think it’s called realism.
Karen
I feel art should be thought-provoking and get people
talking, you know, stimulate debate. New ideas have
always been controversial. That's why I like modern art.
It provokes strong emotions, both negative and positive.
It takes time for people to understand and appreciate
new styles of art. When Monet painted Impression
Sunrise, which was the first example of impressionist
painting, many people disapproved of this new style. It
seems hard to believe now.
Kylie
I’m really not sure. I mean, I’ve read books about art,
but at the end of the day, I think it’s about your
emotional reaction to a piece of art. Some art you
respond to and like – other art you don’t. Some
people like more traditional art, like portrait painting,
or sculpture. Other people prefer more modern and
contemporary art, which can be very unusual. Some
people feel this is not art and they just can’t stand it.
Taco
It’s just a business really, isn’t it? Some of these so-
called masterpieces – they can fetch millions. It seems
criminal when people are starving in the world.
Museums make too much money, particularly from
these big retrospectives of famous artists. They’ve
usually all been dead for years, so what’s the point
of looking at their work? I don’t go to art galleries or
museums for that reason. Anyway, I don’t think they
want people like me there who don’t understand art.
Rina
The purpose of art, for me, is to represent the world
– to show things around us. Paintings can show the
natural beauty of the world. Even those really early
cave paintings show the world of the people
who painted them. I love landscape painting. I’m
not interested in groundbreaking modern and
contemporary art, or all that abstract art which people
like. I’m not interested in what critics and collectors say.
I don’t want to think about what it means. I just want it
to look nice and to make me feel good.
Matt F
There’s no point to art at all. It’s ridiculous. I mean, it’s
a stupid question. The fact that you need to ask means
that it doesn’t have a point. You don’t need to ask what
the purpose of engineering or science is, do you? Art
is rubbish – there’s nothing useful about it at all. And
being an artist isn’t a real job anyway. I think a lot of
so-called art is a con. You know when ‘artists’ put a pile
of leaves in a corner of an art gallery and claim it’s a
work of art? Well, it’s not. Any fool can do that.
WHAT IS ART?
9.1
87
VOCABULARY
ART AND ARTISTS
6
Find nouns or adjectives in the article which mean
the following.
1
causing people to think
2
art which is done on a wall
3
causing a lot of disagreement
4
a very good piece of art
5
involving new methods or ideas
6
a show of the past work of an artist
7
List all the types of art and artworks mentioned in
the article.
painting, naturalistic art, …
LISTENING
8
9.1
Listen to three people talking about art. Make
notes on each person’s attitude.
9
Match the three speakers to the types of art they
like from the box below.
landscape portraits sculpture ceramics
video art performance art abstract art classical art
contemporary art modern art
10
a
Listen again and complete the expressions.
1
I’m really
of thing.
2
It was so impressive –
of
.
3
It really took
.
4
It really
my expectations.
5
It was
and the cost.
6
This was a
-
-
-
opportunity.
10
b
Choose three of the expressions from Exercise 10a
and write sentences which are true for you.
SPEAKING
11
Describe a well-known painting or piece of
art you have seen or know about. Talk about the
following topics.
•
what it looks like
•
what is interesting about it
•
why it is well-known
•
if you like or dislike it, and why
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