Lesson 16 – Discussing art

December 20, 2017

Discussing art

Summary

In the lesson, we had time to share our opinions about the need for art in society

The topic of the lesson is art. We could:

debate the value of art
learn adjectives to describe art
develop your vocabulary to describe feelings and emotions
practise using syllable stress in adjectives.

While I am doing the review of the lesson, in a chilly afternoon at home after work, I think of a person, who like art. She is pretty good at art. However, I have no chance to listen to her anymore. Or it is our fate! Well, let me start my revision and then go to bed since I am going to have to go to work at night and work all night again.

A guide for discussing art

When we are bring it up, we could talk sth like –

What do you think about … (these pieces of art)?
What is the point of them?
How do they make you feel?
Who should fund for it?

In the lesson, I saw some photos of public art, including:

Mosaic – is art made of pieces of small stones, glass or other materials like the Acrylic (亞加力)
Mural – is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large surface (e.g graffiti)
Sculpture – is art made in stone, metal, ceramics, wood and other materials, these are three-dimensional (3-D) and can be by any size.
Statue – is any art typically made of bronze, these are as close to life size as possible. Quite often, they present people or animals.
Fountain – is a decorative structure in a pool or lake in which one or more jets of water are pumped into the air.

p.s – We have several ways to express or describe the composition of artwork:

sth. is art made of …
sth. is any artwork applied on …
sth. is a decorative structure in … in which ….

Well, to share our opinion on artwork, we could use language like:

sth. is very accessible because viewers could see it from all over (/ see them left right and center – everywhere) and it is free of charge.
I am really into an original idea because it is unique and nobody has thought of before.
This is the iconic food which is well known for its association with this fascinating city.
Generally, statues are easy to be found in prime city park showcasing certain cultural importance.
Compare to the idea of bold or dramatic, I am a fan of simple or minimalist sometimes. Although it is just the opposite idea, but can still have impact. It is way better, isn’t it?

Here are more examples of language for discussing art:

This is an iconic example of … (e.g Renaissance art). Don’t you know this?
I must say that with so many street artists nowadays, it’d be difficult to identify an original or authentic one from the imitators.
I feel that there are too many imitations of that painting, it’d be difficult for a layman to spot the difference between an original or authentic work and the replica.
I crazy about abstract art. It make me really think. One person can have a totally different understanding of it from another.

More, we could use some language like these to express our feeling about art:

It really evokes a sense of …(peace).
I think this a move in a positive/negative direction.
It has a positive/negative impact on … (society).
(This topic) is very close to my heart – I’m really into it.
I’m really moved by it (because …)
p.S – move + to + noun. = 表示影響心情
# I’m so moved to (tears/touched/impressed/noun…)
# The sight(view/scene) move me to (tears/touched/impressed/noun…)

[To show our opinion]

I feel that…
I believe… because…
The way I see it …
From my point of view… (p.s – DON’T use it with “I think..”)
In my opinion… (p.s – DON’T use it with “I think..”)
I must say that …
My position (on this topic) is …
To me, it’s …

(p.s – for more, click here)

[To agree with others]

Yes, I think so too …because…
I agree with him/her … because…
That’s exactly what I … (think/ want to say/am considering)
That makes sense to me … because/considering that…
I fully support his/her point… because
I’ll say yes to that because…

[To disagree others]

I don’t agree …because…
I don’t think so, given that …
Yes, but have you thought of/about…?
Okay, but what if…?
I see, but one the other hand…
That sounds unreasonable…because…
I see things differently, in that…