LM1002LM1002Lab Session – Chapter 6

Reading & GrammarWHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM ART?WHAT CAN WE LEARN FROM ART?

Instructions1. Listen to the track (played by your professor)

and do the reading in this document, which is on pp. 138-141 of your textbook.

2. Then, look at the underlined parts of each paragraph and write questions that answer them. Work in pairs or individually.

What Can We Learn from Art?The study of Art History

A study of art history might be a good way to learn more about a culture than is possible to learn in general history classes. Most typical history courses concentrate (1) on politics, economics, and war. But art history focuses on much more than this (2) because art reflects not only the political values of a people, but also religious beliefs, emotions, and psychology. In addition, information about the daily activities of our ancestors—or of people very different from our own—can be provided by art. In short, art expresses (3) the essential qualities of a time and a place, and a study of it clearly offer us a deeper understanding than can be found in most history books.

Cave Art

Art even provides us with limited access to the world of prehistoric people. In over 100 countries, Stone-Age people created amazing paintings in caves deep (4) in the earth or under rocky mountain cliffs. This astonishing art is usually discovered by spelunkers – people whose hobby is exploring caves – who come upon it by chance. (5) They may be crawling on hands and knees through low, narrow tunnels when suddenly the space opens and they are able to stand upright. They have the thrill of discovering exquisite paintings of startling beauty.

The most famous of these cave paints are in Lascaux, France, and Altamira, Spain. They most often depict animals that were prey ((6) deer, woolly mammoths, horses, and so on) that Stone-Age people hunted 15,000-30,000 years ago. The reason for the creation of this art is a mystery. However, archaeologists who specialize in the Paleolithic (Stone Age) believe that the art was part of religious ceremonies - perhaps (7) to assure success in hunting or to worship some animal “god”, such as a bear. It is primarily a study of art history that sheds light on these prehistoric people.

Art as an Expression of Political Views

In history books, (8) objective information about the political life of a country is presented; that is, facts about politics are given, but opinions are not expressed. Art, on the other hand is subjective: (9) it reflects emotions and opinions. The great Spanish painter Francisco Goya was perhaps the first truly “political” artist. In his well-known painting The Third of May, 1808, he depicted soldiers shooting a group of simple people. This depiction of faceless soldiers and their victims has become (10) a symbol of the enormous power – and the misuse of this power --- that a government can have over its people.

(11) Over a hundred years later, symbolic images were used in Pablo Picasso’s Guernica to express the horror of war. Meanwhile, on another continent, the powerful paintings of (12) Diego Rivera, José Clemente Orozco and David Alfaro Siqueiros – as well as the works of Alfredo Ramos Martínez – depicted these Mexican artists’ deep anger and sadness about social problems. In summary, a personal and emotional view of history can be present through art.

Art as a Reflection of Religious Beliefs

In the same way, art can reflect a culture’s religious beliefs. (13) For hundreds of years in Europe, religious art was almost the only type of art that existed. Churches and other religious buildings were filled with paintings (14) that depicted people and stories from the Bible, the Jewish and Christian holy book. Although most people couldn’t read, they could still understand biblical stories in the pictures on church walls. By contrast, one of the main characteristics of art in the Middle East was (and still is) (15) its absence of human and animal images.

This reflects the Islamic belief (16) (from the Koran, the book of Islam) that statues are unholy. By Islamic law, artists are not allowed to copy human or animal figures except on small items for daily use (for example, rugs and bowls). Thus, (17) on palaces, mosques, and other buildings, Islamic artists have created unique decoration of great beauty with images of flowers and geometric forms (for example, circles, squares, and triangles). They have also shown (18) great creativity and discipline in their use of Arabic writing as an art form.

Traditional Art in Africa and the Pacific Islands

Art also reflects the religious beliefs of traditional cultures in Africa and the Pacific Islands. In fact, (19) religion is the purpose for this art and is, therefore, absolutely essential to it. However, unlike Christian Art – which influences people to have religious feelings – the goal of traditional art in Africa and the Pacific is (20) to influence spiritual powers – gods – to enter people’s lives.

Each tribe or village has special ceremonies with (21) songs and dances to make sure that crops , animals and tribal members are healthy and increase in number. The dancers in these ceremonies wear unique masks, headdresses, and costumes that (22) they believe are necessary to influence the gods. These masks and headdresses are a very significant part of the art.

In traditional tribal cultures, art objects – (23) masks, headdresses, statues, etc. –are not created simply for beauty. They are also essential to both religion and daily life. It is impossible to separate art and religion from everyday activities: (24) hunting, war, travel, farming, childbirth, and so on. In the Solomon Islands of Melanesia, for example, the artistic characteristics of common everyday objects are considered to be essential to be successful use of the items. A small figure on a hunter’s or soldier’s spear is believed to help the spear reach its target (that is, the hunted animal or the enemy in war); a small statue on the front of a boat is supposed to help the boat reach its destination.

Another example of the function of traditional art is the use of headdresses in ceremonies of the Bambara people of Mali, in Africa. These headdresses are certainly decorative, but beauty is not the reason they are made. Their purpose is (25) to help the crops grow: They were worn by the Bambara at planting time in dances to celebrate the birth of agriculture. Likewise, among the Bakongo people, there is a rich variety of functional wooden figures: Small statues of ancestors foretell the future, and images (26) of a mother and child give protection to a woman as she gives birth to a baby. To sum up, art in many cultures is believed to serve essential, practical functions.

The Way People View Art

As we’ve seen, art depends (27) on culture. Similarly, the way that people view art also depends on their cultural background. For most Europeans and Americans, art serves mainly as decoration. It is something on a museum wall or in a glass case. It makes homes more attractive. People look at it and admire it: (28) “Oh, what a beautiful painting!” they might say. “I love the lines and colors.” In addition to decoration, ideas are often expressed in this art. “This is a wonderful statue,” an admirer might say. “It makes such a strong anti-war statement.”

However, (29) in much of the rest of the world, art is not considered to be separate form everyday existence. It has a function. A person in a tribal society might look at a mask and say, “Oh, this is a good mask. It will keep my house safe.” In brief, the way in which people enjoy art depends on their culture.

Art as a Reflection of Change in Society

In conclusion, art is a reflection of various cultures. But art also reflects the changes in society that take place when different cultures influence one another. As people from tribal societies move to urban areas, their values and beliefs change, and their ancient art forms begin to lose their function. For example, (30) when most Bambara people turned to Islam, they gave up their ceremonies to make the crops grow; their new religion taught them that their headdresses were unholy, so they stopped using them.

Now Bambara artists make these headdresses only for foreign tourists; the headdresses have no function. On the other hand, urban artists learn a lot from traditional art: (31) African masks and figures had a great effect on Pablo Picasso, and Paul Gauguin was deeply influenced by South Pacific culture; many American and Canadian artists study the simplicity of Japanese painting. The result is that as the world gets “smaller,” the art of each culture becomes more international.