Ерус Е.С. All About Arts. Visual Art

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count on a steady stream of visitors – mostly tourists. But Brooklyn, one of

New York’s toughest districts, isn’t on the standard tourist route. When the

museum was built, it was in a wealthy suburb, but these days the surrounding

streets are home to recent immigrants, mostly poor folk from the Caribbean.

Two years ago, in an effort to revive itself, the museum appointed a new

director, Arnold Lehman, who was born in Brooklyn. Lehman was convinced

that the museum should forget about trying to attract visitors from the other side

of town and try to appeal instead to people from surrounding area. ‘The

neighbourhood’s changed’, he explains, ‘’but this is where the museum is, and

we can’t – and won’t – pretend we’re somewhere else’.

The free evening events, called ‘First Saturdays’, are Lehman’s way of

reaching out to people. They are certainly popular: the crush of visitors has

forced the museum to move the dance floor from the entrance hall to the car

park. Lehman is delighted with the result: ‘It’s remarkable to hear people say, ‘I

live four blocks away, and I’ve never been in this building before’. The great

thing for me is when you see teenage boys looking at art in the galleries without

being handcuffed to their parents’, he says. What’s more, the annual number of

visitors to the museum has roughly doubled, from 250,000 to half a million

since the scheme was introduced. Similar institutions across the country are

now calling, wanting to know how much it costs ‘to throw a good party’. The

answer, incidentally, is about $ 25,000 per event. ‘And worth every dime’, says

Lehman.

Tonight, a woman called Akesha, who seems to vindicate the new direction

the museum has taken, is standing on the edge of the dance floor. Akesha

walked to the museum from her home, but hasn’t been here since primary

school, when a teacher organised a trip to see an exhibition. ‘The free concert is

why I came’, she admits, ‘but I must come back and look round the museum’.

Other who come to dance find their way into the galleries almost by accident –

like Jean-Michel, who lost his friends in the crush of the dancers and thought he

might as well take a look at the art. The real achievement of First Saturdays is,

therefore, both more significant and more profound than the increased visitor

numbers suggest. Most people visit art museums because they want to have a

special ‘artistic’ experience. The Brooklyn Museum of Art has introduce

thousands of people to the idea that museum-going can be a perfectly ordinary

part of their lives.

VOCABULARY PRACTICE:

1. Read the extract and correct the nine mistakes. What kind of review is

that?

Organised be the National Gallery of Scotland on collaboration with the

Royal Academy of Arts, Rembrandt’s Women was first been acclaimed by the

critics at its opening this summer in Edinburgh. Do not expect the emotional

impact of his best-known masterpieces such like ‘The Nightwatch’ or ‘The

Anatomy Lesson of Dr Nicolaes Tulp’: rather, the exhibition is valued for

bringing under the spotlight the fascinating interwining of private life and

artistic matter in Rembrandt’s portrayals of women.

The exhibition is the first to focus in the subject of Rembrandt’s depiction

of womankind, and features entirely 141 drawings, etchings, and paintings,

ranging from mythological or biblical subjects up to intimate portrayals. At

chronological order, we see the development of Rembrandt’s sensitive and

perspective depiction of women with it’s unparalleled blend, his realism,

inspired by Caravaggio, shocked contemporaries because of the refusal of

classical standards of idealized beauty, in the other hand the influences from

Titian and Carracci’s classicism is clear.

2. Use these words to complete the text below:

exhibition critics gallery collectors paintings artist

My sister's an (1) ……….. . Her (2) are quite unusual but people seem to

like them. Until recently she just exhibited her work in local bars and

restaurants but last week a (3) ……. in London contacted her to say they

wanted to put on an (4) …………..of her work. The art (5) …………. from all

the national newspapers will be there, so she's hoping she might get some

publicity. There'll probably be quite a few private (6) …………. there too, so

she might make some money for a change!

3. Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space.

Use only one word in each space.

The Appeal of Art

I was never very interested 0) ____ art as a teenager. The famous paintings

by classical artists of the past were obviously quite good, but the subject matter

didn’t appeal 1) ____ me. In our local art gallery, 2) ____ instance, they had

lots of portraits of people looking very stiff and formal. I’d never heard of most

of these people, so they didn’t really hold 3) ____ attention. There were other

pictures” a 4) ____ pretty landscapes and some showing scenes from classical

myths and legends, which were more interesting because something was clearly

happening in them. I was never quite sure 5) ____ it was, however, because I

didn’t know the stories in 6) ____ first place.

There was also one room full of modern art. We used to laugh at the

paintings in there because they seemed to be things 7) ____ any child could do.

We couldn’t make any sense of them at 8) ____. So when I started going out

with a girl 9) ____ was studying at art college, it came as quite a pleasant

surprise 10) ____ she told me that she didn’t like the stuff in our art gallery

either. Her idea of art was things known 11) ____ ‘installations’. These are

sculptures made out 12) ____ everyday objects like old bicycle frames and

saucepan lids. Now this may sound strange, but at that point art suddenly

started to mean something to me!

4. Translate the text into English:

Художественная галерея Славинского располагается в пяти камерных

залах на первом этаже бывшего дома скульптора Демут-Малиновского.

По логичному соседству с академией художеств. Два с половиной года

назад, при открытии, она была рассчитана на работы одного художника,

но с недавнего времени экспонирует картины и других современных

мастеров. В галерее проходиля выставка «Русские художники к 100-летию

балетных сезонов Сергея Дягилева в Париже», международный проект

«Ночь музеев», квартировали картины Олега Еремеева, Тумана

Жумабаева, джефа Дился, Рената Вериса, Уолтера Бремса, фотографии

Вячеслава Самодурова. Экспозиция обновляется раз в два месяца. С

марта галерея будет постоянно экспонировать и продавать картины

западноевропейских художников, которых в России ещё никто не

представлял: открывается выставка ‘Homo Sum/ Я человек!’, посвящённая

жанру обнажённой натуры. Кто есть женщина – предмет роскоши или

личность, достойная уважения наравне с мужчиной,

SPEAKING

1. Because of their special environment, museums and picture galleries

offer the kind of conditions that allow a student to experience the intrinsic

qualities of the art object. The atmosphere of museums evokes marvel.

When our emotions are roused, we are more sensitive, we openly explore,

make discoveries, and ultimately are more receptive to the learning

experience. Enlarge on the benefits of museums and picture galleries.

2. Study information for visitors of the National Gallery in London and

prepare the same kind of information about any museum you like.

INFORMATION FOR VISITORS

ADMISSION FREE.

SECURITY. For security reasons no large bags may be brought into the gallery.

Only coats and umbrellas may be left in the cloak-room and only small bags

will be allowed into the galleries. Visitors must keep these with them all the

time.

GUIDED TOURS OF THE COLLECTION. Tours begin at 11.30 a.m. and 2.30

p.m. Mondays to Fridays and 2 p.m. and 3.30 p.m. on Saturdays. These tours

aim to introduce some of the Gallery's major works, which represent all the

leading schools of European painting from the 13

to the early 20 centuries.

Meet in the Sainsbury Wing foyer.

LUNCHTIME LECTURES. ' Many lectures are given in galleries; slide

lectures and films are shown in the Sainsbury Wing Theatre. Talks and visits

for school may be arranged through the Education Department. Tel: 071-389

1744.

GALLERY OPEN. Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. to 6

p.m. See also extended hours for exhibitions.

SHOPS OPEN. Monday to Saturday 10 a.m. to 5.40 p.m., Sunday 2 p.m. to

5.40 p.m.

UNDERGROUND STATIONS. Charing Cross, Embankment, Leicester

Square, Piccadilly Circus.

Buses. 3, 6, 9, 11, 12, 13, 15, 23, 24, 29, 88,91.

Car Park. Public car park in Whitcomb Street.

The National Gallery, Trafalgar Square. London, WC2N 5DN.

Tel: 071-839 3321.

NOTE:

This website gives you a wealth of links to art galleries and museums

worldwide: www.museumspot.com.

Visit this site and follow up any links that interest you. Note any useful

vocabulary you come across.

www.artic.edu/

www.guggenheim.org/solomon

www.louvre.fr/

www.moma.org/

www.museoprado.mcu.es/

www.nationalgallery.org.uk/

www.uffizi.firenze.it

COMMUNICATION

a) Get your fellow-student to give you information about his/ her favourite

museum. Try to get as many details as you can.

b)You are a novice teacher getting ready to take your charges to the Tretyakov

Gallery/the Russian Museum/the Hermitage. Ask for advice and suggestions

from an expert.

c) Persuade your partner to agree with your opinion that life is made much more

colourful if you regularly visit art exhibitions.

d)One of you has recently returned from England. The other is questioning

him/her on the impressions of the National Gallery/ the Tate Gallery.

e) The great value of visiting a museum and studying works of art first-hand is

that one becomes aware of the qualitative difference between original art and

photographic reproductions. Work in pairs and enlarge on this statement.

UNIT 7

ART AND MONEY

Discuss the following questions:

1) Do you think works of art should cost a lot?

2) Why do people buy works of art?

3) Can art be considered as business? Doesn’t it lose its value?

4) Is it possible to become rich painting pictures? Why?

READING

GENUINE FAKES

1. Work in groups. You are going to read an article about John Myatt, an

artist with a difference, took at the title. Brainstorm what you think the

article will be about.

2. Read the article quickly and check if your predictions were correct.

The artist John Myatt was responsible for one of the biggest art frauds of the

last century and paid for it by spending time in prison. Over eight years he

turned out more than two hundred works by surrealists, cubists and

impressionists. He passed them off as originals with the aid of an accomplice.

This person, John Drewe, handled the business side, dealing with auction

houses and museums. 1 ________ Provenance, knowing who has owned a work

before, and in which catalogued it has appeared, is essential in providing the

authenticity of a work of art.

Myatt didn’t set out ti become a forger. As a student he had high hopes of

establishing his own style. 2 ________ Instead, he taught evening classes and

sold the occasional fake to friends and colleagues. Eventually he decided to put

an advertisement in the satirical magazine Private Eye, offering copies of 19

and 20

century paintings from £150. Myatt soon started getting commissions

from Drewe who passed himself off as an atomic scientist and art lover. At first,

he produces a Matisse and some Dutch-style portraits, but then Drewe asked

him to produce a painting in the style of a German cubist. He then received a

call from Drewe asking him how he would like £12,500 in a brown envelope. 3

_______ Hardly had Drewe made the offer than Myatt accepted it. He had been

going through family trouble and was looking after his two children on his own.

He wanted a job he could do from home, and the money was as much as he

made in a year from his teaching.

Before he tries to paint anything in the style of an artist, he tries to find out

as much as he can about the artist and their life. 4 ________ Even so, he is

amazed that his paintings managed to take in so many experts. Drwew, in the

meantime, dedicated himself to creating false provenances. Not only did he

collect old receipts from galleries but he also forged museums records. In the

end, the whole thing collapsed when Drewe’s wife went to the police. When

they turned up at Myatt’s house he at first denied everything. Then officers

made an important discovery: an un-posted letter to Drewe. 5 _______ No

sooner did the officers show him the letter than he made a full confession.

Myatt survived prison by doing portraits of fellow inmates, earning himself a

nickname ‘Picasso’. When he was released he said the last thing he wanted to

do was pick up another paintbrush. Soon after he left jail, he got a phone call

which made him change his mind. It was from the policeman who had arrested

him asking for a portrait of his family. 6 _______ Myatt was soon back painting

fakes in earnest. This time they are being sold from prestigious art galleries and

no longer does he try to pass them off as the real thing. Even though he still

takes off those painters he once forged – complete with the copied artist’s

signature – the back of each canvas carries a computer chip and the words

‘genuine fake’ written in indelible ink. 7 ______ Michael Douglas is playing

him in a Hollywood movie based on the painter’s life.

3. Now read the article again more carefully. Seven sentences have been

removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-H the one which

fills each gap 1-7. Remember, there is one extra sentence which you don't

need to use.

a) It said that Myatt had made up his mind to end their partnership.

b) Ironically, Myatt has been copied too.

c) But whenever he tried to produce portraits or landscapes the results were

invariably dull.

d) This was followed by a commission from a member of the prosecution team.

e) An eminent auction house had offered Drewe double the sum for the

painting.

f) Myatt has turned his back on a life of crime.

g) He immerses himself in books and tries to hypnotise himself with examples

of the artist's work.

h) He also produced the paperwork which supplied each work with a

convincing history.

COMPREHENSION

1. Do you think Myatt was a real criminal or a victim?

2. Many of Myatt's fakes are hanging in museums or other collections. Should

Myatt tell everyone which ones he painted?

3. Myatt's accomplice, Drewe, got a far longer prison sentence than Myatt.

Why do you think was the case?

4. Read the text below. Use the words given below to form a word that fits

in the gaps:

art relation remark famous discover likely recent

impress build history explain

In 2003 the Dutch (0) __________ Vermeer was the subject of the film

Girl with a Pearl Earring, which showed a fictional (1) __________ between

the painter and his maid. Since then, Vermeer’s work has become more and

more popular for his (2) __________ ability to capture light and colour.

However, Vermeer died in 1675 when he was only 43 and he left only 35

paintings behind. The fact that he painted so little has led to (3) __________

cases of fraudsters making counterfeit versions of his works. These have been

sold for huge prices, and only afterwards the (4) __________ was made that

they were fakes. The cost of a new exhibition means it is now (5) __________

that all of the real 35 pictures will ever appear together in one place. Because of

this, a new museum in Vermeer's home town has (6) __________ which aims to

show all of the artist's works - in the form of reproductions. The Vermeer

Center (VermeerCentrum) in the artist's home city of Delft has produced an (7)

__________ re-creation of Vermeer's world, including projections of all of his

works on the walls. Also in the (8) __________ there are models of the

houses where Vermeer worked and the equipment that he used. There is also

information on the (9) __________ background to his work and a 3D animation

which provides an (10) __________ of the complicated process used by

Vermeer in creating his small number of masterpieces.

1. Fill in the gaps with words from the ones below:

art relate religion signify consequence critic

assume open important high emerge argue

Art business, arising from the nation of the 0) __________ being seen as a

craftsman, can be traced to the 1) ____________ between art and society in the

century. Artwork in itself was not perceived to be enlightening or

empowering. Although it often carried 2) __________ connotations, art was not

the object of 3) ___________, but a way of seeing. As a result, those who

created it were regarded as geniuses, and 4) ___________ not iconised by

society. Rather, artists earned respect and money for their skills as craftsmen.

Not being subject to the 5) __________ of mixing ‘high art’ with money, artists

like Bellini and Algardi were able to run their workshops transparently.

Based on these 6) ________, it is possible to argue that Renaissance and

Baroque artists were able to consider business and marketing practices 7)

__________. However, it is also interesting to note that around this period the

notion of artist as icon begins to emerge, as growing workshops, the

professional dealer and art fairs gain 8 ) __________. Bellini’s workshop is a

good example of both notions of artist as craftsman and artist as icon. By the

1670s, at the 9) __________ of Bellini’s career, he was so famous and his

workshop so busy with commissions that he barely touched sculptures. It seems

that Bellini was able to use both notions of artistic identity to his advantage.

Further evidence of the 10) _________ of the artist as an icon can be quite aptly

seen in Rembrandt, an artist who, 11) ___________, was one of the first to

encounter the critics’ anger for mixing up with money.

DISCUSSION

1. Why did artists sell their works?

2. Why were most artists reproached by the society for dealing with money?

Read the text below and decide which answer best fits to each space.

Art online

At one 0) ____, only the largest, most powerful companies had real works

of art hanging in their bedrooms. They usually chose expensive paintings by

well-known artists whose work smaller companies couldn’t 1) ____. And when

a smaller company wanted to 2) ____ in a more modest work of art, this could

3) ____ up quite a lot of time. As an expensive consultant was 4) ____ out of

the question, a 5) ____ of staff had to visit various art galleries and choose

something in the 6) ____ that their colleagues would like it.

But things have changed because now art has 7) ____ online. There are

websites to help companies find the right picture or piece of sculpture. Most

employees who buy art for their workplaces do not know a great 8) ____ about

it. So one of the main aims of the website is to 9) ____ them in their choice.

They describe the type of work they want, for example traditional or modern,

and what budget is available. This information is then 10) ____ in a search

engine, and a selection of art 11) ____ up on the screen. Workers back at the

company can 12) ____ the selection and email their companies.

0. A time B day C date D age

1. A assist B appeal C achieve D afford

2. A bargain B purchase C invest D profit

3. A keep B take C hold D run

4. A accurately B likely C eventually D probably

5. A member B fellow C person D individual

6. A hope B trust C aim D wish

7. A joined B gained C turned D gone

8. A load B deal C lot D extent

9. A show B teach C guide D learn

10. A entered B presented C enrolled D introduced

11. A brings B comes C bears D lays

12. A regard B notice C view D spot

DISCUSSION

1. Why do people buy art?

2. Is that a sensible idea to buy art online?

3. Would you start your own online art shop? Why? Why not?

UNIT 8

DO YOU CALL THIS ART?

LEAD-IN

Discuss the questions:

1. What is art?

2. What’s your personal vision of art?

3. Can everything be called art?

4. Why are there people who don’t understand modern art?

5. Can these be called art: photography, graffiti, body painting? Why? Why

not?

LISTENING 1

You will hear five people talking about works of art that are important for

them. For questions 1-5, choose from the list (A-F) the work of art that

each person is talking about. Use the letters once only. There is one extra

letter which you do not need to use.

Which work of art?

a) was discovered underground? Speaker ____

b) was not by a famous artist? Speaker ____

c) was recently moved? Speaker ____

d) is an abstract work of art? Speaker ____

e) was based by the artist on his own body? Speaker ____

f) is not famous as it should be? Speaker ____

READING 1

1. What do you think makes good art? Do you like modern art? Why, why

not?

2. Comment on the following quote: ‘This is not a good work of art. It seems

to me to be on the edge of being a hoax and quite a good joke. I think the joke

wins.' (Richard Dorment, art critic of The Telegraph)

Students make an exhibition of themselves

By Nigel Reynolds, Arts Correspondent

Thirteen art students given a grant and sponsorship of £1,600 to put on an

exhibition spent the money on a week's holiday on the Costa del Sol and

returned home claiming that the trip was conceptual art.