The arts

Harry: Art is everywhere, influencing us on a daily basis, whether we realize it or not.

With the art that we are surrounded by, whether it’s a painting, music or even videos it can have a huge impact on our mood and emotions. Of course, some art is very dark and can cause disturbing emotions, anger or even depression but we can choose what kind of art we want to be surrounded by in our own environment at home to make you feel good.

I love music very much! I’m keen on playing the guitar!

One of my favourite bands is Coldplay.

I like them because they are awesome musicians and make songs with good lyrics and with only inspiring and amazing messages instead of talking about girls and money unlike most of the bands these days.

To my mind the best songs they did were Viva La Vida, Yellow and Adventure of a Lifetime, though they have a lot of other great songs.

I first heard them some years ago on the radio in my cousin Tom’s car.

These guys are legends. They've been so famous for so long.

Can you tell me about yourselves? What bands/ artists or singers do you like? Use these sentences.

One of my favourite singers/bands/artists is _______.

I like him/her/them because __________. The best thing he/she/they did was called _________. I first saw/heard it in __________. I like it because ___________.

Put the words in the box into the correct word web: music, art or theatre. Which words can go in more than one word web?

Now can you say:

1. Which of the words are people?

2. Which are places?

So, the people are: audience, band, actor, sculptor, singer, painter, songwriter, artist and composer.

The places are: art gallery and concert hall.

Look at these photos. Which words from the box can you see in them?

Possible answers are: painting, exhibition, art gallery, play, actor, sculpture, sculptor, audience, theatre, concert hall, performance, singer, concert, painter, artist.

Now I’ve got quite an interesting task for you. We’ll check how cultured you are.

The quiz is very light-hearted. You should guess the answers you are not sure of.

Anyway, you will be able to get the right answer then.

Ready? Here is the question 1:

1. Which artist spent four years on his back painting the Sistine Chapel?

a) Salvador Dali

b) Michelangelo

c) Leonardo da Vinci

Correct answer is b) Michelangelo. He painted Sistine Chapel.

2. Who became famous as a five-year-old singer in a band of five brothers and later married Elvis Presley’s daughter?

3. Who became famous for dropping and throwing paint to produce paintings?

a) Pablo Picasso

b) Edouard Manet

c) Jackson Pollock

Correct answer is c) Jackson Pollock.

4. Which song about Marilyn Monroe has sold over 35 million copies, and was played by Elton John at Princess Diana’s funeral?

a) Candle in the Wind

b) Thriller

c) Your Song

Correct answer is a) Candle in the Wind

5. Which painting was upside down for two months in New York’s Museum of Modern Art before anyone noticed?

a) Water Lilies by Claude Monet

b) Sunset on Rouen by J W Turner

c) The Boat by Henri Matisse

Correct answer is c) The Boat by Henri Matisse

6. Which concert in 2005 took place in ten cities at the same time (including Rome, Berlin, Paris, London and Moscow) and had over 1,000,000 people in the audience?

a) Band Aid

b) Live 8

c) Led Zeppelin

Correct answer is b) Live 8 was a string of benefit concerts that took place on 2 July, 2005, in the G8 states and in South Africa. They were timed to precede the G8 Conference and Summit held in Scotland; The concerts were run in support of the aims of the UK's Make Poverty History campaign and the Global Call for Action Against Poverty.

7. Which Beatles song title changed to become Yesterday?

a) Tomorrow

b) Heavenly

c) Scrambled Eggs

Correct answer is c) Scrambled Eggs. The working opening verse had these words. Later it was replaced by “Yesterday”.

8. Whose play, called Breath, lasts just thirty-five seconds and consists of no words?

a) George Bernard Shaw’s

b) William Shakespeare’s

c) Samuel Beckett’s

Correct answer is c) Samuel Beckett’s.

9. Which composer continued composing music after he became deaf?

a) Beethoven

b) Bach

c) Tchaikovsky

Correct answer is a) Beethoven

10. What is Fernando Botero’s art famous for?

Correct answer is a) for its fat people. Look at these funny fat people.

Well, now you know for sure who is the most or the least interested in culture.

Here is the final task for you. Choose the odd one out and explain your choice.

1. sculpture, model, statue, monument.

The odd word is model. Model is a representation, person or a good example, while

sculpture, statue and monument are forms of visual art.

2. designer, audience, artist, architect.

The odd word is audience. Audience is a group of people. The others are people.

3. composer, concert, band, exhibition.

The odd word is exhibition. The words composer, concert, band refer to music.

4. graffiti, painting, illustration, sculpture.

The odd word is sculpture. Sculpture is the art of creating objects out of material such as wood, clay, metal, or stone, while graffiti, painting and illustration are pictures made on surfaces.

Nowadays, it is known that art is a good therapy.

Sometimes people cannot express the way they feel, as it can be difficult to put into words, and art can help people express their experiences. All kinds of art can affect our mood in a positive way, making us feel happier, calmer, or even inspired to do something.

So, when you feel upset or have nobody to talk to, take a pencil and draw or … sing. Why not? As for me, I prefer listening to my favourite band Coldplay!