Prime Time 7, Coursebook plus Semester Self-checks

8 Listening: Marla Olmstead, child prodigy? a) You are going to listen to an interview with the art critic of an American newspaper. First you will have 45 seconds to study the task below, then you will hear the recording twice. While listening, answer the questions (1–6) using a maximum of four words. Write your answers in the spaces provided. The first one (0) has been done for you. 0 How has the art scene reacted to Marla Olmstead’s pictures? with lots of interest ✔ 1 How is Marla shown in the documentary My Kid Could Paint That ? 2 Why did Marla’s father provide her with artistic supplies? 3 What did the child psychologist in the show 60 Minutes accuse Marla of? 4 What people are sceptical about abstract art? 5 Why did artists turn to abstract art? 6 Why can’t you say Marla is a child prodigy in abstract art? b) List further details about Marla Olmstead and her fame. c) How does the art critic evaluate her work? d) Explain and comment on the quotations below. “In visual arts, prodigies don’t count. In music and literature, yes, but not in art.” (Clement Greenberg, 1909–1994, US art critic) “When I was the age of these children, I could draw like Raphael. It took me many years to learn how to draw like these children.” (Pablo Picasso, 1881–1973, painter and sculptor) Reading: Stage mothers – when parents want too much a) Read the TV review about Marla Olmstead’s appearance in the TV show 60 Minutes . b) While reading, highlight what the writer of the review thinks about Marla on the one hand and her parents on the other. 3  3.2 4  Watching 60 minutes featuring art wunderkind Marla Olmstead was a chilly experience for me. While Marla is shown as a charming, adorable little girl who enjoys splashing paint on canvas, the documentary suggests there are some issues with truthfulness on the part of her parents. At one point in the show, she clearly and definitely states to her father several times that she didn’t do one of the paintings – her brother did it. She says this repeatedly, and even stresses that she didn’t even do a bit of it, yet her dad ignores her and refuses to listen until she finally gives up. Marla is considered gifted because at such a young age, she can layer paint and covers the whole canvas instead of just leaving most of it blank like most kids her age would do. But in one scene when she paints in the garden, she does a little brushing, paints a sun 5 10 15 114 Art Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv