CAMBRIDGE
ENGLISH VOCABULARY IN USE ADVANCED
UNIT 21
The visual arts
A
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Changing
tastes
1, 3, 4, 6, 8 types of artist and schools of art of the last 150 years
2
someone who paints quickly and carelessly (disapproving)
5
considered; formal
7
content
9
art movement
10 educated with regard to art
11 not affected by
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B
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Words for commenting on art
original: new in a special and interesting way (opp. = predictable)
highbrow: intended for educated, intelligent people (often
disapproving) (opp. = lowbrow)
impenetrable: extremely difficult to understand (opp. = transparent)
sophisticated: showing advanced skills and understanding (opp. =
primitive)
challenging: demanding considerable effort to be understood (opp.
= undemanding)
dazzling: inspiring great admiration because it is brilliant in
some way (opp. = pedestrian)
evocative: calling up images and memories (opp. = uninspiring)
thought-provoking: making people think (opp. = unstimulating)
exquisite: having rare beauty or delicacy (opp. = clumsy)
intriguing: interesting because it is strange or mysterious (opp.
= dreary)
peerless: better than any other (opp. = run-of-the-mill)
tongue-in-cheek: not intended to be taken seriously, despite appearing
serious (opp. = earnest)
priceless: extremely valuable (opp. = worthless)
skilful: clever, masterly, done well (opp. = poorly
done)
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C
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Art and metaphor
Notice
how words connected with art can be used when talking about literature.
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EXERCISES
21.1
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Choose
a word from the text in A opposite to answer the questions.
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21.2
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Read
the sentences and answer the questions.
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21.3
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Look
at the adjectives in B opposite. Divide them into these categories:
usually positive
associations
usually negative
associations
negative or positive
associations
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21.4
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Choose
one of the words from each pair of opposites in B and think of a work of art
(of any kind) that you could apply it to. Write a sentence explaining why it
applies.
example
I think that the paintings by Salvador Dali could be called intriguing,
because he uses such curious and surprising images.
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21.5
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Choose
the correct word to complete these sentences.
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21.6
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Make
a verb–noun–adjective word formation table with these words from C opposite.
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21.7
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Over to you
Visit
the websites of well-known museums and art galleries and look at some of the
works of art in them. Use words from this unit to describe the works you see.
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ANSWER KEY
21.1
1 Surrealism
2 Op-art
3 Cubism
4 Impressionism
5 subject matter
6 visually literate
21.2
1 Low – as is made clear by the use
of the word dauber, which suggests speed and lack of care.
2 Formal – because deem is typical of more formal speech or writing. 3 Not affected at all – the use of the word inured suggests that the sculptor has developed a hard skin when it comes to criticism. 4 An art school is a place where students study art, while a school of art is an artistic movement.
21.3
usually positive associations: dazzling, evocative, exquisite, intriguing, original,
peerless, priceless,
skilful, thought-provoking usually negative associations: predictable, highbrow, lowbrow, impenetrable, undemanding, pedestrian, uninspiring, unstimulating, clumsy, dreary, run-of-the-mill, worthless, poorly done negative or positive associations: transparent, challenging, tongue-in-cheek, earnest, sophisticated, primitive
21.4
Possible answers:
I think Picasso’s painting called Guernica is very original because he treated his subject matter in such an unusual and powerful way. I think the pictures on chocolate boxes could be called rather lowbrow as they are intended to appeal to a mass audience. I find some modern sculpture rather impenetrable as I don’t know what it is meant to represent and I don’t find it beautiful in any way. I think you could call some classical paintings sophisticated in that you appreciate them more if you have had some artistic education. I find paintings by the surrealist artist Salvador Dali rather challenging as they contain so many curious and unexpected images. I went to an exhibition of a new art school graduate which I thought was rather pedestrian because it contained nothing original. I find paintings by Toulouse-Lautrec very evocative because they make me feel as if I am there myself. I find the sculptures by Anish Kapoor very thought-provoking in that you want to look at them for a long time to work out what he intended to convey. In my opinion, the designs on ancient Chinese porcelain are often exquisite as they are so delicate and so carefully executed. I found a recent work that won a prestigious art prize – an unmade, rather grubby bed – extraordinarily dreary as it made me feel miserable rather than uplifted, as I believe art should. I believe that Turner’s paintings of the sea are peerless as no other painter seems to capture the colour and light of the sea so effectively. Most political cartoons in newspapers are tongue-in-cheek as they do not take anything too seriously. The beautiful paintings of Leonardo da Vinci are, of course, priceless. I can see that the works of the modern British painter Tracey Emin are skilful, but personally I don’t like them very much.
21.5
1 lowbrow
2 tongue-in-cheek 3 primitive 4 dreary 5 exquisite 6 challenging
21.6
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