My Kid Can Paint Better Than That! - Unit 6

C1 Advanced · Multiple Choice Reading · Ready for C1 Advanced 4th Edition, Macmillan Education

You are going to read an article about art. For questions 1–6, choose the answer (A, B, C or D) which you think fits best according to the text.

A few years ago I found myself admiring Jean Arp’s sculpture Metamorphosis in the Guggenheim Museum. It seemed impossible that cold, white plaster could be shaped into such sleek curves, but I resisted the urge to reach out and touch it. Suddenly I was aware of sandals slapping up the staircase behind me. I saw the man reach the top step, and slowly take in the extent of the sculpture gallery while he regained his breath. Then his face fell. ‘Where’s the art?’ Dismayed, he adjusted the load of his backpack, and headed back down to the ground floor. What had he been expecting? Was he now feeling aggrieved that after duly ticking off nine of the Top Ten Things to do in NYC he was unable to strike through the last? Had the art suddenly been withdrawn from display and the public not notified? So what is art? For some it means oils and long-dead aristocracy gazing down from gilt frames. For others it’s the simple lines and stylised features of anime. But there’s nothing like conceptual art to unsettle people in conversation. Objections fly about along the lines of – ‘That’s not art. It’s just a doll’s head with a tape stuck to it. My eight-year-old could do better!’ People who dismiss conceptual art usually do so because they perceive no craftsmanship and assume the artist is conveying something commonplace. Art, they say, should be about grand themes. Worse, there’s an underlying fear that conceptual artists are having a laugh at the public’s expense. It’s hilarious. These people are trying to see this rubbish?! But it’s absurd to think any artist would waste effort and energy for the sake of a prank. It’s worth remembering that Impressionist artists like Monet, Renoir, Cezanne and Degas were just as controversial in the late 1800s. Indeed, the very term ‘Impressionist’ – now often associated with ineffective, chocolate-box art – was first coined by a critic as a derogatory term to describe Monet’s landscape Impression, Sunrise. For centuries, the Royal Academy of Art in France had dictated the way that artists were trained and what subject matter was fitting. When the ‘Impressionists’ turned their backs on convention and started painting landscapes rather than historical scenes, it caused uproar in the art world – both within the establishment and amongst appalled fellow artists. Little did these revolutionaries envision just how their works would sit with modern gallery-goers. No less an iconic figure is Vincent Van Gogh. Say his name and it conjures up visions of glorious wheatfields, a bandaged ear, and the artist’s own brooding self-doubt. And it’s Van Gogh that reminds me where I draw the line when it comes to art. Today there are workshops where painters produce hundreds of flawless copies of his still-life Sunflowers series for global export. But however remarkable these knock-offs may be, what is missing here is the original intention. We must know with art that there is purpose behind it and a passion to communicate. Some day soon I expect we’ll see the same series generated through artificial intelligence. The technical precision will be something to marvel at, but what will those mechanical dots evoke besides that? That Van Gogh lived in poverty and died in obscurity is tragic. Would things have turned out differently if he’d been able to exploit the high-tech marketing techniques we have at our disposal today? We’ll never know. But artists in our time no longer subscribe to the solitary genius model – dependent on a benevolent patron to keep them from starvation. Instead they must curate their own work, or rather product, since art has increasingly become a commodity to be acquired rather than treasured. In the digital age, young artists must vie for attention via social media or whatever networking opportunity might present itself. In terms of self-promotion, the street artist Banksy is a master. His high-profile publicity stunts have brought him global recognition, yet he’s managed to preserve his anonymity. But his Central Park stunt, more than any other, takes us back to What is art? and leads to another question, What is art worth? When he set up a stall in Central Park, and got an elderly man to sell his signed canvases, the day’s takings ($420) were telling. Few passersby had been willing to part with $60, assuming that the canvases were imitations. For those that did, they got themselves a bargain. In 2010, Banksy’s Show Me The Monet sold for £7,551,600. What Monet would have thought of a road cone and two supermarket trolleys bobbing amongst the waterlilies in his famous pond is anyone’s guess.

He may have been hoping to see classical rather than contemporary sculpture.

He had possibly felt obliged in some way to visit the Guggenheim Museum.

He was probably not the sort of person who appreciated art in general.

He was likely to give a negative view of the experience he had had there.

What does the writer imply about the man she observed in the gallery?

elements of conceptual art can be found in earlier art styles.

it is impossible to compare conceptual and traditional forms of art.

the motives of conceptual artists are likely to be misunderstood.

conceptual artists have as much talent as other creative individuals.

In the second paragraph, the writer makes the point that

Art has to offend in some way in order to receive serious attention.

It is normal for the majority of people to have a narrow view of art.

Art which is rejected as eccentric may eventually become mainstream.

It is pointless trying to define and limit art through an academic lens.

What point is exemplified by the reference to Impressionist artists?

It is curious that the work of Van Gogh still enjoys such widespread popularity.

It is not necessarily true that fake paintings are always inferior to the original.

It is unlikely that anyone would think a painting done by computer was real.

It is important to have a sense of connection to an artist through their work.

Which of the following best sums up the writer’s argument in the fourth paragraph?

Available as a free printable PDF worksheet with an optional answer key.

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