UNIT 6. Art Today

1.Pupils from 10th form explained what art is for them.Does art mean the same to all of you?

1.Art in my life

Art is an integral part of the life of every state, city and person. The word "art" has many definitions, characteristics and features, but each person represents it in their own way.

To my mind, art is an important part of our lives, as it stimulates our mind. It gives us the opportunity to explore our creative side, the meaning of everything we see around us. It’s an excellent way to express ourselves, show our feelings and emotions. Art changes and enriches our mind, educates, entertains, inspires, expands our outlook. You can bring happiness to thousands of people you’ll never meet and regenerate old memories.

For me art is like another world. You can just relax, think about important things, take a break from the problems of the surrounding world.

There are many kinds of art, such as painting, sculpture, photography, architecture, music, dancing, poetry. So, as you can see, you can develop a lot of different talents.

My favourite kind of art is music. Because when you’re listening to music, you dive into another world, get away from problems, remember different moments and people. My favorite genres are pop and rock. My favorite bands are Imagine Dragons and Twenty One Pilots.

Today many people try to create something remarkable and mesmerising. But don’t forget that «Every artist was first an amateur» (Ralph Waldo Emerson). The most important thing is to have a real wish, aim, develop your talents in a right direction and not to give up!

With the help of art you can find out many new things. For example, did you know that Van Gogh sold only one picture in his lifetime? Or that Kazimir Malevich wasn’t the first to paint Black Square. It is really fantastic.

Every day we connect with different kinds of art. Art keeps us young. Not physically, but mentally. Art keeps you open to new things and helps you see the universal things that matter. Art unites people. For some people it is a therapy, for others it is a relaxation and for others it’s an inspiration.

Our life without art would be boring, colourless, lifeless, dull and uninspiring. «You use a glass mirror to see your face, you use works of art to see your soul» (George Bernard Shaw).

By Dasha Dedushkina, 10 «A»

2.Art means a lot to me

Actually art is everywhere! You did not notice that just books, houses, dishes, in other words everything that surrounds us is art. Moreover lots of people think that art is only paintings or sculptures and therefore art is useless. But they are wrong.

I can not imagine my life without art, because it is an integral part. Almost every day I listen to music, watch films, read books.  All in all our lives would simply become plain, boring and lifeless.

Furthermore I found out one more reason about the importance of art. It is improving yourself. Often art is a way to assert, to say something to the whole world. Art implies the spiritual and cultural development of man. It plays a significant role in the formation of man as a person.

Art plays a huge role in our life, as long as it makes us think about important problems and things happening around us, while art excites the mind of a person and does not leave us indifferent.

George Bernard Shaw once said : “You use a glass mirror to see your face; you use works of art to see your soul”. And I fully agree with him. Works of art is a reflection of human’s soul. All details are significant. We are trying to understand what was created by the masters, we are approaching their vision of the world. Is not this the main purpose of art? It is for the perfection of man. More often we become contemplators of paintings, architectural masterpieces, listeners of spectacular music,  better for us and others.

 Art influences people by inspiring them.  Art changes people.  Inspiration affects everyone in different ways, but hearing a specific song or seeing a specific carving may regenerate an old memory and encourage someone to reach out to an old friend or lover. Seeing a mesmerising  film may send a man to the right path, help to understand himself. Art is a magical thing!

It is said that nowadays almost people ceased to be interested in art. I personally think that it is wrong opinion. For many millennia art has been and remains relevant, despite of the change of generations.

We must not forget  art, because it plays an important role in our life.

By Borisevich Elizaveta 10 ”A”

3.What is art? 

To start with, art is the expression of the profoundest thoughts in the simplest ways. That's true, people make art to explain the unknown, to increase our global understanding, to express personal thoughts and feelings, to communicate with others. To put it a different way, art has to be understandable. However, it can be understandable only for artist. 
Why is art important in my life? 
Art is everywhere (for instance,  almost everyone has any form of art in their home—a painting, a framed photograph and even design of a house is art), influencing me on a daily basis, whether I realize it or not. And this is the mere reason why art is important in my life. 
With the art that I am  surrounded by, whether it’s a theatre, music or even videos can have a huge impact on my mood and emotions. Listening a song I like may inspire me to do impossible things. Seeing a painting of a distant place once visited may inspire me to revisit that destination. 
Music
Every day, subconsciously, I hear music through television shows, commercials and through other media. Sounds, songs and music can make my life extremely joyful and can have a huge effect on my mood. Moreover,   music boosts productivity and boosts up motivation.
All in all
To sum up, I want to say that the magical thing about art - everyone experiences it differently, and therefore, it influences everyone differently. So role art plays in my life may differ from the role that art plays in your life. 

Diana Vezhnovets

4.Art

There are many definitions of the word "Art". There are numerous shapes which art can take. But there is no human who can live without art.

It is considered that some people create art, other people just admire it. But I think everyone is an artist of his own life. So it depends on you whether your life is creative or boring. And I try to fulfil my life with art.

I'm neither a great artist, nor a professional actress.But  art inspires me to develop myself. I know that every talented and outstanding person had to work hard to achieve results and develop his talent. I adore paintings of Vincent Van Gogh. And this love motivates  and inspires  me to work hard and to  become as great as Van Gogh.

When I have seen days, whether there is the reason for it or not, the best cure is music. This is my favourite kind of art. Music is not just a sequence of sounds. It expresses everything I feel and makes me stronger when I need it. To listen to rock music is one of my hobbies and I enjoy it. 

Also art plays an entertaining role in my life. To read books, listen to the music, draw and so on are just good ways to spend your spare time.

In addition to this, art helps us to express our feelings. So I think everyone should fulfil his life with art and try to make art by himself. ' Cause you'll never realise your possibilities until you try.

By Darina Radkevich, 10"A".

5.What is art to me?..

Nowadays, art becomes one of the most important parts of our life. Masterpiece or kitsch, made by genius or be an amateur, now it doesn't matter for us, because, like we all know, tastes are different, and nobody can guess, what art means concretly to you. Firstly, what does the word 'art' means? Art is painting, dancing, writing. Art is music and theatre. In this way, we could say this paragraph is also a kind of art. So, but what is art to people?..

As far as my personality is concerned, art is an expression of myself. Through art I can express my emotions, such as happiness, love, sadness or grief. It is a way to share my hidden talents, and for the world to know how creative I am. Art is my life itself. It is my own style how to live. Somebody is good at drawing or singing, and I'm good, for example, at dancing, playing the guitar and writing. I can express myself through letters, through a movement, through my own fingers. Maybe, my art hasn't got a lot of proponents, maybe, it doesn't take people's breath away and it is not recognisable now, but it is something, that gives me an opportunity to come up with myself.

Once, Anton Chekhov said: "The role of the artist is to ask questions, not answer them". I'm not confident with it. Why? Because art to me is something, that helps me to formulate my questions and, finally, to answer them. Art is my own way to find myself, and I strongly suggest you to try this way of self-examination, if you'll become entangled in yourself.

                                                                                                                                                                    By Yanina Missa

6.WHAT IS THE ART FOR YOU?

Art was born a very long time ago, and from ancient times till nowadays it has been changing. Everyone knows such famous ancient painters as Leonardo Da Vinci, Pablo Picasso and others. Everyone knows such famous modern musicians as Eminem, Nirvana. I just want to tell you about the diversity between types of art and their development and evolution. Nowadays painting art isn’t as popular as in ancient times, but there are new kinds of art replaced it, for example music, cinematography.

 But what is art? Have you ever asked yourself this question?

The word “Art” has very deep sense. As the proverb says, “Vision is the art of seeing the invisible”. I believe art isn’t merely paintings or songs, or sculptures. It’s something more. Art is our spiritual development. Thanks to art we can learn history, we can learn ourselves. There are a lot of knowledge, efforts and time behind, for example, simple picture. Art inspires people and motivates them. I’m convinced  people can’t exist without art.

Art is important part of our life. Reading books, listening to the music, painting, making sculptures, you increase your cultural level and begin to think wider.

I want to add, that all people are different, all of them have their own interests, that’s why everyone chooses the kind of art is interested to himself. No matter, if you prefer reading books or making photos or movies. It is art, and you live in right direction, because throughout the life you should enrich it, widen your outlook and not to waste time. And I believe art really helps to implement all these things. It definitely makes our life colorful. Moreover art is an expression of authors’ feelings. Making songs or pictures, they show their thoughts and come undone. Furthermore, art brings people all over the world together.

 Speaking about importance of art in my life, I want to say only one thing. I have a favorite band, Skillet, and I’m really grateful to it. Every track is a masterpiece for me. Seriously, I can’t even count, how many times their motivating and energetic, but sometimes also sad songs saved me from despair. When I feel depressed or I don’t know what to do, I just turn on their songs and good mood returns to me. They really gave me interest to music. This band maintains faith in me and plays a big role in my life.

 Nowadays, from day to day, art slowly dies. For example, today a lot of IT-technologies are developing. And in the end, when the robots replace people, technologies will replace the art. I hope I’m not right, but now everything looks so.

To sum up, the art plays for everyone some role in his life. In my life this role has really great value. In someone’s life – not. Everybody can ask himself: «What is art for me?» And then he should try to answer it.

Art is on the brink of disappearing, and people should do something to prevent it.

By Maxim Leshkovich

The Role of Art in My Life

Art enables us to find ourselves and lose ourselves at the same time.

                                                                                  Thomas Merton

I can not imagine my life without art. It helps me to enjoy life, to relax from problems, it inspires me and enriches my inner world. In addition, art helps me to feel like a part of the world. Because a picture that I like can be liked by millions of people around the world at the same time. Therefore, art is what unites nations. Also, common interests in art helped me to find friends.

Music came into my life first. I have no favorite genre in music, it depends on my mood. It helps me to calm down or cheer up, concentrate on work, music can make me laugh or cry. I think that music is one of the most popular art forms.

I really love to read. Often the characters of my books helped me to get out of difficult situations and make a decision. It’s part of my life, I can express my feelings when my own words are not enough. It educates me, enriches my intellect. Books help to mould character, form my moral values. Besides, books bring pleasure and delight. It's a wonderful way to spend your free time wisely. Thanks to books I learn how to express my thoughts and feelings more exactly. 

I can not say that painting takes in my life the same place as the two previous genres of art. Maybe because I rarely come across art in real life. But nevertheless, the pictures of many authors cause in me a lot of emotions. I have seen the paintings of great artists on the Internet. However, I was much more impressed with the real pictures of the National Art Museum. My dream is to visit other well-known museums in various countries. I want to start from the Hermitage in St. Petersburg.

I always liked beautiful buildings, but especially I was impressed by the architecture of the churches of Vilnius. Located at the distance of several tens of meters from each other, they fascinate and captivate with its variety and charisma. You seem to fall into another dimension and forget about fatigue and time. Having been here once, you will definitely come back again.

Art enriches my life, gives unforgettable emotions and impressions, allows me to dream and enjoy beauty. Preparing for my work, I came across some interesting facts. Scientists have established the beneficial effects of art on human health (It reduces stress hormones, normalizes your pulse , improves your immune system).

The task of art – to excite the heart

                                                                           Claude Adrien Helvetius.

By Angelina Naumovich.

WHAT DOES ART MEAN TO ME ?

                                          " There is no single definition of art. "

William Rubin

     Despite the fact that it took a long time to form art ,nowadays we can’t easily answer the simple question: “What is art for us ?” It’s just because art is divided into many species such as architecture, sculptures, painting, filmmaking, photography, music, printmaking, graffiti, design and so on and it means different things for different people.

     But I know that in general art means a lot for humanity. “Art is the signature of civilizations.” & I absolutely agree with that quotation by Beverly Sills. Art was creating for centuries and it’s an integral part of history of every nation. It gives us the meaning of everything we see around us, the opportunity to explore our creativity side. Also, art influences people by inspiring them that’s why life without art would be colorless, uninspiring and boring. Art keeps everyone open to new things and helps all of us to see other perspectives.

      At first it seemed to me that I’m not connected with art. And actually I had mistaken because I realized, art is everywhere. Seven days a week I charge myself and get life energy from the art. I listen to music, see a lot of sites of Minsk which  belong to the sculpture, watch movies. I read books about world-famous paintings. The most interesting fact is that it happens to me every day. I can’t live without art. It plays a great role in my life. Firstly, it’s a perfect way to take a little break or to relax totally after hard-working day. Secondly, it teaches me about world history and afford to be in the continuous communication. Thirdly, it develops all our sides and helps to define with our future. And finally, through art we are able to express our feelings, it’s not obligatory to share your mood or emotions with acquaintances. You can do that using different species of art.

     In conclusion I would like to say that art has a lot of definitions and just because of it humanity still lives. People must save art and again because if art dies, humanity will die too.

Alex Yastremski 10 «А»