Play a game “If you had the chance”.

1. Sit on the chairs in a big circle

2. A teacher or a leader uses the construction “Would you …… if you had the chance?” to make up different statements, for example

“Anyone who’d try sculpture-making if they had the chance, move two the right”

All those who would, get up and move to the right and sit down on a seat or someone’s lap, if the seat is occupied. (As the game proceeds, several people may end up sitting stacked up on the top to each other.)

3. A teacher or a leader gives 4-5 sentences.

4. Those who have their own chair at the end of the game – win.

 

 

TASK

Do you agree with the statement “the emergence of photography could eliminate painting” Why? Why not?

Complete the table about your associations with painting and photography

	Painting	Photography
First appeared
colors
Time to complete the work
realism
Pleasure for the audience

 

Now watch or listen the program “Art review” part 1 and identify if sentences are correct or incorrect. (art review 2 part 1)

1) The exhibition is devoted to photography – correct/incorrect

2) Saule Suleimenova paints her works of art - correct/incorrect

3) According to artist’s opinion, absolutely ordinary people are full of poetry.- correct/incorrect

4) All eight artists who represent their works on exhibition are Kazakh.- correct/incorrect

5) The main criteria to choose works were actuality and modernity of the work. - correct/incorrect

6) The works show artists personal perception of history.- correct/incorrect

7) Saule Suleimenova uses stereotypical images of beauty.- correct/incorrect

 

What do you think of art development in Kazakhstan? What are the recent tendencies? Who is your favorite national artist?

Pre-reading

A. What is traditional art and contemporary art? Name painters who represent both types.

B. Read a short entry about contemporary art, check your ideas.

Contemporary art is art produced at the present period in time. Contemporary art includes, and develops from Postmodern art, which is itself a successor to Modern art. In vernacular English, "modern" and "contemporary" are synonyms, resulting in some conflation of the terms "modern art" and "contemporary art" by non-specialists.

Some define contemporary art as art produced within "our lifetime," recognizing that lifetimes and life spans vary. However, there is a recognition that this generic definition is subject to specialized limitations.

Reading

Gapped texts

You are going to read two articles about contemporary art. Eight sentences have been removed from the article. Choose from the sentences A-I the one which fits each gap (1-7). There is one extra sentence which you do not need to use.

It takes some orientation to appreciate Contemporary art When I am finishing a picture I told some object made by God up to it- a rock, a flower, the branch of a tree, or my hand as a kind of final test. If the painting stands up beside a thing man cannot make, the painting is authentic. 1)_____ — Marc Chagall Contemporary art is the trend that we see today. The art movement has come a long way from the 15th century renaissance to baroque, neo-classicism, romanticism, impressionism, expressionist, surreal and abstraction to the contemporary. "While modern art was a deliberate attempt at breaking away from the traditional line of thinking and forms, 2) ____ ", explains artist C F John. An artist's response goes beyond the issues reported in the media and is his interpretation of the topic. The mode of expression through art can be explicit or indirect depending on how the artist choose to depict it. Naturescapes or figureatives that are portrayed in an abstract genre or experimental works such as installations require deeper understanding of art to be able to appreciate the work.3)_____   According to John, "just as poems or any other art form requires an orientation to it, so does fine arts", Contemporary art could be at the conceptual level where it is oriented towards a thought and devoid of expressionistic, symbolic or realistic planes, explains John. 4)_____. One has to go through a process of orientation, such as exposure to art, reading, getting to know an artist's previous works, all of which help in appreciating the finer aspects of art. Nalini S Malaviya, TNN Dec 10, 2004

Contemporary art good for investors According to recent trends there has been a perceptible shift in the buying pattern and contemporary art has emerged strongly as a viable avenue for investments. And, although modern artists continue to do well, 5)_____. The serious art collector is more inclined to invest in contemporary artists. What makes this an attractive proposition is that contemporary art often combines unique concepts with innovation in execution and medium. 6)____. The buyer profile has also broadened and there is a greater number of people from a younger age group who are developing a passion for art. The younger profile brings fresh sensibilities and their buying patterns tend to be more accepting of newer concepts and media. With the buyers coming of age and changing mindsets, there is greater interest in art that is often unconventional.   Overall, the awareness about art, its intrinsic value and its investment potential, has increased dramatically over the last few years.7)___.   Artists too are in an experimental mode and one gets to view different kinds of art in small and big cities, especially the latter. With greater exposure to art, there are artists too from small towns who are not afraid to think big – they surprise the viewer with their innovative concepts.   8)____, there is greater appreciation for it now as compared to say, two years ago. In fact, many collectors, who are saturated with conventional art, are increasingly turning to new media and contemporary thought in art. On the other hand, conventional art which is more decorative in nature is still very popular with traditional mindsets. Nalini S Malaviya, ET Bureau Sep 7, 2008,

 

A. Although, there are limited takers for conceptual art

B. … contemporary art is a response to various concerns, current sensibilities and a certain line of thinking of our times.

C. While it was easy to evaluate or appreciate realistic art since deviations from photo-realism was easy to spot, contemporary art requires an initiation to the arts to be able to understand it better.

D. Viewers are now more open to all kinds of art

E. ….the focus on contemporary art has resulted in the remarkable growth of this sector.

F. ….If there's a clash between the two, it is bad art

G. Plus, as contemporary art is doing well at international auctions, it is a winwin situation for the artist and the collector.

H. The considerable controversy surrounding recent works of art raises the question whether or not it constitutes art

I. There are no easy short cuts to recognising original and good works of art