Lesson 2. Painting as poetry

A) Match the captions with the pictures in ex. 1b.

a) Ossip Zadkine, Head of a woman, 1931; b) Sean Kenney, Monkeys, 2010; c) Norman Foster, 30 St Mary Axe, 2003 d) Philippe Halsman, Dali Atomicus, 1948; e) Paul Hennings- en, PH5-Lamp, 1958; f) Marc Chagall, Above Vitebsk, 1914; g) Penelope Thompson, Rantrees, 2010; h) Kazimir Malevich, Reservist of the First Division, 1914; i) Ossip Zadkine, Person- nage, ac. 1880-1945.

b) What types of visual art do the pictures illustrate?

c) Answer more questions about the pictures. Which piece(s) of art:

a) is a design of Baron Foster of Thames Bank? b) is a classic icon of mid century modern Scandinavian design? c) is created to make people feel what the summer rainy season in Korea is like? d) is made of Lego bricks? e) pictures a famous artist? f) is worth $1 million and was stolen from a museum in New York
in 2001, and found a year later in a Kansas post office? g) were on display at The Philadelphia Zoo? h) is known as always styl­ish, elegant and beautiful? i) is made from lava stone? j) is in­formally known as "The Gherkin" (a small cucumber, usually pickled)? k) is a part of an ecological project? 1) took 6 hours, 28 jumps, and a roomful of assistants throwing angry cats and buckets of water into the air to make? m) is designed with oil, printed paper, a postage stamp, and a thermometer? n) is in London's main financial district, the City of London? o) were created by Belarusian artists?

Choose the odd one out and explain why.

sculpture, model, statue, monument

graffiti, illustration, painting, architecture

abstract, visual, literary, performing

installation, statue, photography, architecture

designer, audience, artist, architect

Discuss the questions in small groups.

LESSON 2. PAINTING AS POETRY

Communicative area: inferring meaning from context, describing a painting

Active vocabulary: exhibition, to portray, influence, to exhibit, background, foreground

I and the village, 1911

View of Paris, 1969

The three candles, 1938-1940

1. Look at the paintings below. Discuss in pairs what information the paintings give about the artist.

2. Read Marc Chagall's biography. Were your ideas right?

If we are to learn about Mark Chagall JiT

and his art we must look to his relationship MMP^K... with his childhood home town. Marc '

Chagall entered this world on July 7, 1887 in a poor Jewish family in Vitebsk. He was JjJm^S^ the eldest of ten children. Despite the pov- erty, the boy never went hungry and his ^^//g^miM! ^ childhood was happily filled with rich expe- ^BpBf fpjnpl' jfl riences of the rural countryside, suburban; ^pECr ^

blocks with small wooden houses and back­yards filled with children and animals. He learned the violin and was given singing lessons, and from an early age he drew and wrote poetry. Chagall began to display his talent while studying at school and against his parent's wishes the boy de­cided that he wanted to be an artist. After a furious argument with his father, he left in 1906 for St. Petersburg with nothing but a few roubles.

In 1907, he began studying art with Leon Bakst. It was at this time that his distinct style began to develop. Life was dif­ficult in the Russian capital during such unsettled times. After two years, he was able to find a friendlier environment at the Zventseva School where he shared a studio with Tolstoy's daughter Vera and the dancer Nijinsky. In 1910, Chagall found a patron, who agreed to pay for his studies in Paris. It was dur­ing this four-year period in Paris that he painted some of his most famous paintings of the Jewish village, and developed the unique style of his art. Strong and bright colours began to por­tray the world in a dreamlike state. Fantasy, nostalgia, and re­ligion began to mix together to create otherworldly images. Robert Delauney's use of Cubist technique and his lyrical sense of colour was a strong influence on Chagall's ideas.

In 1914, before the outbreak of World War I, Chagall sent a few paintings to the avant-garde exhibitions in Russia but he sold very few. During the war, he resided in Belarus and mar­ried his fiancee Bella. Their first child, a daughter named Ida, was born in 1916. In 1917, he was appointed director of the Free Academy of Art in Vitebsk. He became a founder, direc­tor, and the most popular teacher at the Academy.

In 1922, Chagall left Vitebsk, settling in France one year later. Many of the paintings he had left there years before had disappeared from his studio. Finally after a period of hardship his work began to pay off and by 1930 his name was known worldwide.

In addition to images of the Jewish world, Chagall created a series of over 100 etchings illustrating the Bible, many of which include elements from folklore and from religious life in his homeland.

During the World War II years Chagall was kept busy with a series of works for theatrical and ballet designs.

In 1985, Marc Chagall died just as his first major exhibition was closing in Russia. Throughout his artistic life he assimi­lated many of the modern developments in art into his own per­sonal style. Chagall was also one of very few artists to exhibit work at the Louvre in their lifetime.

3. Are the statements below True or False? Correct the False sta­tements.

1. Chagall's childhood was poor and unhappy. 2. Chagall's parents didn't support his dream to become an artist. 3. He painted all his famous works in Paris. 4. Chagall had to stop working during the two wars. 5. The style of Chagall's artwork is Cubism. 6. Chagall was great at different types of art. 7. Un­fortunately, Chagall's paintings didn't see many exhibitions during his lifetime.

4. Q) a) Listen to an expert talking about one of Chagall's pain­tings. Which painting is it?

b) Check your memory. What didn't the expert talk about?

influence, colours, style, facts from biography, symbols, back­ground, foreground, the viewer's emotions, the authors' ideas

c) Listen again. Take notes to continue and complete the fol­lowing phrases.

1. Influenced by... 2. The painting is a... representation of... 3. The whole could be viewed as... 4. Clearly exhibiting... 5. The colours are... 6. The painting is full of... 7. In the foreground of the painting... 8. In the background... 9.... catch the viewer's attention... 10.... illustrates...

5. Try to reproduce the expert's description of the painting in pairs.

6. a) Prepare to describe another painting by Marc Chagall. Use ex. 4b and the tips below for help.

Remember:

• name of artist and picture, year of origin (if known)

• short description of the scene (e.g. place, event)

• details (who / what can you see)

• impression on the viewer

• artist's intention

• colours, forms, proportions, etc.

b) Write a short description of a Marc Chagall's painting.

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