Prime Time 7, Coursebook plus Semester Self-checks

Abstract art Pieces of art and their creators Look at the three paintings below and match them with the artists mentioned in the fact file. Which of these paintings is by a human being? Explain your decision. 3 1 2 Interpreting abstract art Choose two of the pictures, look at them carefully and then compare them in various ways using expressions from the word bank on the right. The tips below might help you. •• Look at the picture, but do not search for meaning. Great abstract art evokes feelings or objects within the viewer. •• Ask yourself if the piece uses colours, shadows and textures well. Determine if these elements are complementing each other or contra- dicting each other. •• Find out the feelings this form of art evokes. These feelings are created by colours and shapes. Elements that complement each other create happy, calm feelings. Elements that contradict each other create feelings of fear, anxiety, hate or sadness. •• Allow yourself enough time to enjoy and connect with the piece to understand it and to find out what you feel when looking at it. Fact file Abstract art There are two lines of thought in abstract art: • • art that uses forms that do not represent reality (also called “nonfigurative”) • • art that depicts real forms, but in a simplified or reduced way, keeping only an allusion of the original natural subject Apart from renowned artists like Jackson Pollock, a US abstract expressionist painter (1912–1956), abstract paintings have recently been exhibited by Marla Olm­ stead, a fouryearold girl from Binghamton, New York, or Congo, a threeyearold chimpanzee from the London Zoo. F 1  2  Word bank Talking about art background • brush strokes • canvas • cityscape • collage • composition • contour line • depth • focal point • foreground • geometric • landscape • motion • medium • palette • perspective • portrait • proportion • seascape • shadow • shape • still life • symbol • texture • theme • watercolour W 113 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv