Unit5Forthesakeofart

Experiencetheworld

Listening1

Presenter: Withmeisfilmcomposer,RichardCampbell,talkingaboutfilmmusic.Richard,howmuchinfluencedoesasoundtrackreallyhaveontheaudience?

Richard: Oh,alot!Afilm’ssoundtrackcanmakethemfear,hateorlovethecharactersaswellassharetheirfeelings.Itcanalsopreparethemforsomethingthat’sabouttohappen.

Presenter: Canyougiveusanexampleofafilmsoundtrackthatyouthinkwasparticularlysuccessful?

Richard: Well,anyonewhohaswatchedCrouchingTiger,HiddenDragonwillrememberthemusic,andtheatmosphereofthefilmreliesonitveryheavily.Withoutit,thefilmwouldfeelcompletelydifferent!

Presenter: Goodexample.TanDunwasthecomposer,wasn’the?

Richard: That’sright,andhewonanOscarforthatscore,too!

Presenter: Yes!Well-deserved.So,whatisthefirstthingacomposerthinksaboutwhenstartingtowriteasoundtrack?

Richard: Well,forme,Iliketounderstandtheemotionaljourneyofthecharactersfirst.Then,thenextmostimportantpartismatchingthemusictowhenandwherethestoryhappens.

Presenter: So,canyouletusknowanysecrettricksofthetrade?

Richard: Ican’tgivetoomuchaway!Buttherearesomecommontechniques.Forexample,usinglow,poundingbeatstocreatetensionandusingsoftviolinswithsomenicepianooverthetopforromance.

Listening2

TodayIwanttotalkaboutmyfavoriteartist,the19thcenturyDutchpainter,VincentvanGogh.

Youknow,vanGoghhadlittlecommercialsuccessinhislifetime.Andyet,nowadays,almosteveryoneintheworldknowshispaintings.Inparticular,thebrightyellowSunflowers,andthemysteriousbutromanticStarryNight.

VanGoghlivedhiswholelifesopoorthathecouldn’tevenaffordtopayformodels!Thisiswhyhepaintedsomanypaintingsofhimself.Healsopaintedmanyportraitsofnormalpeopleintheirdailylives.Oneofhismostfamouspaintingsfeaturestwofarmworkershavingarestfromthemiddaysun.Youcanalsoseemanylandscapesandordinaryscenesinhispaintings.

VanGoghpaintedinawaythatwasverydifferenttootherartistsatthetime.However,manypeopledidnotlikehisstyle.Hewouldusethickpaintwithheavybrushstrokes,andhepreferredbright,vividcolors,suchasyellow,orange,green,redandblue.Hetriedtoexpressthefeelingofthescenemorethanjustshowexactlywhatitlookedlike.

ThethingIlikethemostaboutvanGoghisthestrongemotionscontainedinhisworks.EverytimeIlookathispaintings,Ifeeldeeplymoved.

Understandtheworld

Listening1

RomeoandJuliet,KingLear,AMidsummerNight’sDream…thesearethenamesofjustafewoftheplaysbytheEnglishwriterWilliamShakespeare.Eventhoughtheywerewrittenmorethanfourcenturiesago,theyarestillaspopularaseverandareoftenperformedattheatersaroundtheworld.

ButwhydoestheworldloveShakespeare?Firstofall,heislovedforhisstories.Shakespearetellsexciting,dramaticstorieswithinterestingcharacters.Eventoday,peoplecanstillunderstandthemandidentifywiththem.

Healsounderstandshumannature.Nomatterifit’sahistoricaldrama,comedyortragedy,eachShakespeareplayhasbigthemesthataffectordinarypeople’slives:love,friendship,hate,etc.ThesebasichumanemotionsandproblemsgiveShakespeare’splaysauniversalpsychologythatallcivilizationsandculturescanunderstand.

Butit’snotjustShakespeare’sdeephumanthemesthatmakehimpopular.It’salsothebeautyofthelanguageheuses.Hiswordscanbringtolifefeelingsoflove,joyandpainfortheaudience.

Morethanfourcenturieslater,wearestillusingShakespeare’slanguage.ManyexpressionsinEnglish,suchas“allthatglittersisn’tgold”and“heartofgold”,areoriginallyfromhisplays.Realizingthis,youcanseejusthowmuchinfluenceShakespeare’sworkhashad.

Viewing

MynameisDavidZinn,andIhavebeenaprofessionalillustratorforabout25years.I’vealwaysfeltreallyluckythatIgettopaytherentdoingsomethingI’dbedoingonmydaysoffanyway.And…awkwardlyIthinkmyinnerbossisalsogoodfriendswithmyinnerchild.Eitherthatormyinnerchildismuchstronger.

So,adaycamealong,asrarelycomesalonginthepartofMichiganwhereIlive,wheretheweatherwassoperfectthatitseemedintolerabletoignoreit–likethiswasoneofthosedeathbedregretsituations.Andmyinnerchildhelpfullyspokeup.So,IfeellikeIfoundsomepleasantlyuniqueterritoryindrawingonthesidewalk,foravarietyofreasons.

Foronething,youhaveabriefwindowofopportunitytocreatesomethingwhichisnotgoingtostickaround.So,youhavetojumpwhentheopportunityarises.AndbecauseIstarteddrawingthesecharacters,Iworkedharderandhardertolearnhowtodrawthemsothattheywouldlookabsolutelyrealfromonespecificangle.It’scalledanamorphicart.Andifyoustandinjusttherightplace,thesedrawingslooklikethey’reactuallystandingonthesidewalkorlookingoverthesideofawallorpeekingaroundacorner,andinteractingwiththerealworld,whichisanamazingnewexperienceformewithartthatdoesn’tsitquietlyinsideaframeforyoutonoticeit.It’srightthere.

WhenIstarteddrawinginpublic,(the)questionIgotmostoftenfrompeoplewas:Whendidyoustartdrawing?Theonlyresponsetothatquestionistosay,“Well,Istarteddrawingthesametimeyoustarteddrawing.”Andthelogicalquestionformetoaskthemis:Whendidyoustop?

Weallknewhowtoholdacrayonbeforeweknewhowtowrite.Sowealldrew.Ithinkalotofpeoplemakethemistakeofthinkingthatartissomethingonlyafewpeopleareequippedtodo,andtheyhavetodoitwithreallyexpensivetoolsinprivate,exotic,youknow,atticsandstudios,forcarefulconsumptioninappropriateplaces,likegalleries,museums.AndIthinkthat’sashame.Becauseitmakesitseemlikeartandcreativityaresomethingthatonlyafewpeopleareallowedtodo.Butbeingcreativeissomethingthatiseverybody’srighttobe.AndIthinkthemorepeoplegetcomfortablewithwhateverkindofcreativityworksforthem,thebetterofftheworld’sgonnabe.

Thankyouforlistening.Andfrommyimaginaryfriendstoyours,haveagoodday.

Listening2

ThisweekendtheUffiziGalleryseestheopeningofanewexhibitionfromartistCaiGuoqiang.TheChineseartistisfamousforusinggunpowdertomakehugeartworksthatfillthesky.Hisworkshavebeenexhibitedallovertheworld,andhavechangedpeople’sideasofwhatartcanbe.

Caifirstbeganexperimentingwithgunpowderinthe1980s.Hespentyearsdevelopinghisideaswiththeunusualmaterial,andin1991hehadhisfirstmajorexhibitioninJapan.Thismadehimwell-knownasa“gunpowderartist”andstartedhisartisticcareer.

Caiismostfamousforhisfireworksdisplaysatthe2008BeijingOlympicGames,includingFiveOlympicRings,FootprintsofHistoryandClosingRainbow.Hehasalsoproducedfireworksforthe60thand70thanniversariesofthefoundingofthePeople’sRepublicofChina.However,hedoesn’tonlyusegunpowdertomakebeautifulexplosions.InhisSeasonsofLifeseries,forexample,heusesittocreatebeautifulpaintings.

ManypeopleloveCai’sworksbecausetheybelieveitconnectsancientChinesetraditiontoWesternmodernart.Manypeoplelikehisexplosiveworksbecausetheyshowaninterestingcontrastbetweencreationanddestruction.Additionally,theydoitinafun,noisyandcolorfulway!

Furtherlistening

Conversation

Teacher: So,didyouenjoythemuseumtriptoday?

Student: Verymuch!WhenIseesomanyamazingartworks,Ialwaysaskmyself“Wheredoesallthiscreativityactuallycomefrom?”

Teacher: Well,that’saninterestingquestion.Yousee,ancientGreeksandRomansbelievedthatcreativitywasanoutsideforce.Then,atcertainmoments,itwouldenterapersonsothattheycouldthenmakegreatart.

Student: Kindoflikeamagicspirit,visitingpeopleoccasionally?

Teacher: Exactly!Butthen,intheRenaissanceperiod,peoplestartedtobelievethatcreativitywasahumanforce,butthatitwasonlyinsidespecialpeople.

Student: Sonotjustanyonecouldbeanartist,right?

Teacher: Indeed.TheythoughtartistslikeLeonardodaVinciweregeniusesbornwithaspecialpower.

Student: It’seasytounderstandwhy!ButIdon’tthinkmanypeoplestillbelievethat,dothey?

Teacher: Well,actually,wedostillgivespecialstatustoartistsinsociety.Ofcourse,nowwehavedifferentideasaboutcreativity.Manybelievethateveryonehascreativity,andthatanyonecanbeanartist.

Student: So,doyouthinkthatartisamajorpartofbeinghuman?

Teacher: Ido,yes.Ithinkartandself-expressionisattheheartofhumanlife.

Student: Iagreewithyou!Ifeelinspiredtomakesomeart,now!

Passage1

TodayIwanttointroducethefieldofArtTherapy.

Inonecasestudy,aboywasaskedtodrawhisfamilymembersasdifferentanimals.Hedrewhisfatherasatiger,andhismotherasabird,flyinginthesky.Forhimself,hepaintedasmallfishinadeeppool.Fromthesepictures,anarttherapistwasabletounderstandtheboy’sfeelings.Theycouldtellthattheboyfeltunhappythathismotherwasalwaysbusy,andseemedoutofreach.Theboywasalsoscaredofhisstrictfather.Hedrewhimselfasafishbecausehefelthecouldneverrest,andalwaysfeltlikehewas“drowning”underpressure.

Arttherapyusestoolsfrombothartandpsychology.Itaimstohelppeoplecommunicatetheirworriesandunderstandtheirproblems,thoughtsandbehaviors.Peopleofallagescanbenefitfromthisformoftherapy.Byanalyzingthepicturesandpaintingsthatpeopleproduce,andhowitmakesthemfeel,arttherapistscanhelppeoplereducestressandlearnmoreaboutthemselves.

Youdon’tneedtohaveaspecialartisticabilitytogetsomethingoutofarttherapy.Itisactuallyjustaprocesstohelpyoudiscovertheworldinsideyouandimproveyourmentalhealth.

Passage2

AdaLovelacewastheworld’sfirstcomputerprogrammer.Inthe1840s,sheworkedwithmathematicianCharlesBabbageonhisinvention:theworld’sfirstmachinethatcoulddocalculationwithouthumanhelp.

Whileworkingonthemachine,Adarealizedthatthingslikemusicalnotesandletterscouldalsoberepresentedbynumbers,sowhycouldn’titalsowriteasong?

So,180yearslater,howclosearewetorealizingAda’sdream?

Inrecentyears,withtheintroductionof“machinelearning”,someamazingresultshavebeenachieved.Machinelearningiswhenacomputersystem“teaches”itselftodosomething.Tolearnhowtowritemusic,forexample,programmerswillfeedhundredsofsongsintoaprogram.Thatprogramwillthenusethemusictoteachitselfhowtowritemusic,andthenfinallyproduceitsownbasedonwhatithasbeengiven.Someoftheresultshavebeenremarkable.

Andit’snotjustmusicthatpeoplehavebeenfeedingintocomputers.Microsoft’sXiaoIceAIprograminChinahasevenwrittenabookofpoems!

Ofcourse,peoplehavehadmixedcommentsontheseworksproducedbycomputers.Somepeoplelovethem,a