Inspiration

A new collection of artwork is going on show to the public. The exhibition will include many different types of art, over 100 different pieces, by 58 artists from the local area. It’s being held at the Royal Museum. The exhibition will run for 9 weeks and will begin on the 6th October and continue until the 10th December. Amongst the items on display there will be some exciting pieces of jewellery, furniture, ceramics, metal work and sculpture. Local artist Kate Maine will be there to show her collection of pots and bowls that she has made to resemble garden vegetables. They’re the sort of thing that would brighten up any dining table, and range from things like yellow cabbage-shaped bowls to round tomato-shaped teapots.

Prize-winner Cynthia Course will also be there to show her silver jewellery, all of which she produced using ideas from the rural setting of her country home. Some of her rings are quite extraordinary and have beautiful coloured stones in them. Or if you prefer sculpture, there’s plenty of that too. Take, for example, Susan Cup’s sculpture of 25 pairs of white paper shoes. It sounds easy, but believe me it looks incredible. All of these items along with many others will be on sale throughout the exhibition period. Fees are very reasonable. The exhibition offers excellent opportunity to relax in a delightful rural setting.

35. Read the text below and think of the word which best fits each space. Use only one word in each space. (from Mann R. First Certificate Expert Student’s resource Book / Richard Mann, Nick Kenny, Jan Bell, Roger Gower – Pearson Longman, 2008. – P. 59.)

I was never very interested (1) _____ art when a teenager. The famous paintings by classical artists of the past were obviously quite good, but the subject matter didn’t appeal (2) _____ me. In our local art gallery, (3)_____ 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 (4) ____ attention. There were other pictures: (5) ____ 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 (6) ____ it was, however, because I didn’t know the stories in (7) _____ 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 (8) ____ any child could do. We couldn’t make any sense of them at (9) _____. So when I started going out with a girl (10) _____ was studying at art college, it came as quite a pleasant surprise (11) _____ she told me that she didn’t like the stuff in our art gallery either. Her idea of art was things known (12) _____ “installations”. These are sculptures made out (13) _____ 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!

36. Read the sentences below and fill in the gaps with the necessary preposition.

1) The range of entertainment _____ offer is going to be extended next month.

2) The forthcoming exhibition will concentrate _____ young artists who work in painting, graphics, and sculpture.

3) The exhibition survey will begin _____ the big section devoted to the Venetian school of painting of XVI century.

4) The curator was convinced that the museum should appeal ____ people from the surrounding area.

5) In total 70 pictures will enter _____ the exposition.

6) Amongst the items ______ display there will be some exciting pieces of jewellery, furniture, ceramics, metal work and sculpture.

7) All of these items along with many others will be _____ sale throughout the exhibition period.

8) We laughed _____ the paintings because they seemed to be ridiculous.

37. a) Listen to a man talking about an art exhibition. What does he criticize about it? Choose the answer A, B, C which fits best according to what you hear. (from Kenny N. FCE Practice Tests Plus. / Nick Kenny, Lucrecia Luque-Mortimer – Pearson Education Limited, 2008 – P. 58.)

A the way the paintings were displayed;

B the number of paintings in the exhibition;

C the lack of information about the paintings.

b) Read the sentences below and tick four sentences which are true about your last visit to the art exhibition.

1) The working hours of the art exhibition were 11am – 5pm.

2) The entrance fee was 50 hrivnyas.

3) There was no discount for students.

4) The exhibited paintings had something to do with abstract art only.

5) The exhibition included works by famous artists and leading masters of modern and contemporary Ukrainian art – participants of prestigious national and foreign exhibitions only.

6) The current exhibition wasn’t advertised.

7) The range of entertainment on offer left much to be desired.

8) The paintings were exhibited in small halls insufficiently lighted.

9) There was no gift shop.

10) There was not enough space for exhibits.

c) In pairs discuss what was wrong about the standard of the art exhibition you visited recently.

38. EXAM LINK. Work in pairs to speak about the art exhibition you visited recently.

You should say:

Where and when the exhibition was held

What the theme of the exhibition was

What paintings were exhibited

What you particularly liked / disliked

And give some suggestions what might be done to further improve the standard of the exhibition.

Example:

I can start off by saying that being busy I don’t often visit art galleries. But last year I happened to be in Kiev, a great cultural centre of Ukraine, so I couldn’t but visit The National Art Museum.

The first thing I should mention is that just at that time the exhibition of works of art brought from different museums of the world was being held. The exposition was entitled “In Search of True Painting”. It contained artworks of not only famous artists and leading masters of modern and contemporary art but of young artists who work in painting, graphics, sculpture, art photography, and participants of prestigious national and foreign exhibitions. The exhibition survey began with the big section devoted to Impressionism and Post-Impressionism. Visitors had a chance to enjoy Claude Monet’s, Renoir’s, Cézanne’s, Van Gogh’s and Gauguin’s masterpieces. The exposition also included masterpieces of the English school painting of XVII-XVIII centuries. There was also one hall where modern paintings were exhibited.

The next thing I should mention is that I was very glad to find the entry to the museum free of charge from nine o’clock to late evening. I was impressed by the number of paintings on display offered to the public. In fact, about 100 pictures entered into the exposition. I was pleased to see paintings of different kinds – formal portraits, pretty landscapes and seascapes, pictures showing scenes from classical myths and legends. I was amazed at the artists’ ability to find beauty in the most ordinary things, avoiding pomposity. The hall devoted to abstract paintings made me look at everyday things in a new way. At that point abstract art suddenly started to mean something to me. However, there were some paintings there that made me laugh at them because they looked like an accidental mess of paint. I couldn’t make any sense of them at all. Yet, it was a great pleasure to wander about the halls of the museum carefully observing the rich variety of colours and textures, forms and lines, coherent composition of paintings. But, unfortunately, from time to time my attention was distracted by the noise some visitors made using cameras to take a picture of a masterpiece. It was so annoying.

On top of that I could say that the curator of the museum was good at lighting the exhibits. Some masterpieces looked pretty good in natural sun light, others showed their luminosity in incandescent light bringing out the warm colours. But, unfortunately, there was something wrong with paintings which were executed in a colour scheme where cool colours dominated. It looked as if the blues, greens, and violets within the works of art were flattened out by incandescent lights.

Summing it up, I would like to submit one or two suggestions which, to my mind, could improve the standard of the exhibition. Firstly, it would be better to prohibit using cameras not to bother visitors. As a result, visitors could enjoy the exhibits without being annoyed by the noise of cameras. Secondly, it would be a good idea to display works of art by using different types of lighting properly. It would help to show paintings to their advantage and preserve them from damage.

	WRITING. A letter of suggestion. 39. a) Study the essay format. In pairs discuss how you can organize this type of essay.
INTRODUCTION Paragraph 1. State the reason for writing
MAIN BODY Paragraph 2- 3. Give opinion Paragraph 4-5. Suggestion 1 and its expected result Suggestion 2 and its expected result
CONCLUSION Paragraph 6. Closing remarks Full name

b) Read the text and divide it into six paragraphs.

Dear Sir / Madam, I am writing to commend you on the exceptional service the Art Gallery offers the community of Gorlovka. I recently visited the museum and viewed the exhibition entitled “Antico: The Golden Age of Renaissance” which was, to my mind, extremely interesting and informative. I was particularly impressed by how approachable and helpful the museum staff were. They showed themselves willing to help with any question or requests which arose during my visit. Moreover, I appreciated the fact that the guides were very knowledgeable about their subject. In my opinion, the subject of the exhibition was both fascinating and enlightening. It was obviously carefully researched and its excellent presentation made it interesting to people of all ages. I was equally impressed with the permanent exhibition and found your late closing time very considerate and convenient for working people such as myself. There is, however, one or two suggestions I would like to submit which I feel would further improve the standard of the museum. Firstly, a service offering guided tours in foreign languages would be useful for tourists visiting the museum. Additionally, installing ramps would make access easier for disabled people, making their visit more enjoyable. Finally, may I suggest that you publicize the museum’s forthcoming exhibit more widely? As a result, more people like myself who are interested in modern art would be made aware of the regular exhibitions you present. Once again, I would like to congratulate you on the very high standard of your museum, and assure you that I shall be a regular visitor from now on. Martin Jetkinson

c) Compare your answer with your partner and discuss how you decide when to begin a new paragraph. Define the idea of each paragraph.