原文：
Julian Bames explores the questions posed by Life-Casts, an exhibition of plaster moulds of living people and objects which were originally used for scientific purposes
A
Art changes over time and our idea of what art is changes too. For example, objects originally intended for devotional, ritualistic or re-creational purposes may be recategorised as art by members of other later civilisations, such as our own, which no longer respond to these purposes.
B
What also happens is that techniques and crafts which would have been judged inartistic at the time they were used are reassessed. Life-casting is an interesting example of this. It involved making a plaster mould of a living person or thing. This was complex, technical work, as Benjamin Robert Haydon discovered when he poured 250 litres of plaster over his human model and nearly killed him. At the time, the casts were used for medical research and, consequently, in the nineteenth century life-casting was considered inferior to sculpture in the same way that, more recently, photography was thought to be a lesser art than painting. Both were viewed as unacceptable shortcuts by the 'senior 1 arts. Their virtues of speed and unwavering realism also implied their limitations; they left little or no room for the imagination.
C
For many, life-casting was an insult to the sculptor's creative genius. In an infamous lawsuit of 1834, a moulder whose mask of the dying French emperor Napoleon had been reproduced and sold without his permission was judged to have no rights to the image. In other words, he was specifically held not to be an artist. This judgement reflect the view of established members of the nineteenth-century art world such as Rodin, who commented that life-casting 'happens fast but it doesn't make Art'. Some even feared that 'if too much nature was allowed in, it would lead Art away from its proper course of the Ideal.
D
The painter Gauguin, at the end of the nineteenth century, worried about future developments in photography. If ever the process went into colour, what painter would labour away at a likeness with a brush made from squirrel-tail? But painting has proved robust. Photography has changed it, of course, just as the novel had to reassess narrative after the arrival of the cinema. But the gap between the senior and junior arts was always narrower than the traditionalists implied. Painters have always used technical back-up such as studio assistants to do the boring bits, while apparently lesser crafts involve great skill, thought, preparation and, depending on how we define it， imagination.
E
Time changes our view in another way, too. Each new movement implies a reassessment of what has gone before. What is done now alters what was done before. In some cases this is merely self-serving, with the new art using the old to justify itself. It seems to be saying, look at how all of that points to this! Aren't we clever to be the culmination of all that has gone before? But usually it is a matter of re-alerting the sensibility, reminding us not to take things for granted. Take, for example, the cast of the hand of a giant from a circus, made by an anonymous artist around 1889, an item that would now sit happily in any commercial or public gallery. The most significant impact of this piece is on the eye, in the contradiction between unexpected size and verisimilitude. Next, the human element kicks in. you note that the nails are dirt-encrusted, unless this is the caster's decorative addition, and the fingertips extend far beyond them. Then you take in the element of choice, arrangement, art if you like, in the neat, pleated, buttoned sleeve-end that gives the item balance and variation of texture. This is just a moulded hand, yet the part stands utterly for the whole. It reminds us slyly, poignantly, of the full-size original
F
But is it art? And, if so, why? These are old tediously repeated questions to which artists have often responded, 'It is art because I am an artist and therefore what I do is art. However, what doesn't work for literature works much better for art – works of art do float free of their creators' intentions. Over time the “reader” does become more powerful. Few of us can look at a medieval altarpiece as its painter intended. We believe too little and aesthetically know too much, so we recreate and find new fields of pleasure in the work. Equally, the lack of artistic intention of Paul Richer and other forgotten craftsmen who brushed oil onto flesh, who moulded, cast and decorated in the nineteenth century is now irrelevant. What counts is the surviving object and our response to it. The tests are simple: does it interest the eye, excite the brain, move the mind to reflection and involve the heart. It may, to use the old dichotomy, be beautiful but it is rarely true to any significant depth. One of the constant pleasures of art is its ability to come at us from an unexpected angle and stop us short in wonder.
Questions 14-18
Reading Passage has six paragraphs, A-F.
Which paragraph contains the following information?
Write the correct letter, A-F, in boxes 14-18 on your answer sheet.
14 an example of a craftsman's unsuccessful claim to ownership of his work
15 an example of how trends in art can change attitudes to an earlier work
16 the original function of a particular type of art
17 ways of assessing whether or not an object is art
18 how artists deal with the less interesting aspects of their work
Questions 19-24
Do the following statements agree with the claims of the writer in Reading Passage?
In boxes 6-11 on your answer sheet, write
YES - if the statement agrees with the information
NO - if the statement contradicts the information
NOT GIVEN - if there is no information on this
19 Nineteenth-century sculptors admired the speed and realism of life-casting
20 Rodin believed the quality of the life-casting would improve if a slower process were used
21 The importance of painting has decreased with the development of colour photography
22 Life-casting requires more skill than sculpture does
23 New art encourages us to look at earlier work in a fresh way
24 The intended meaning of a work of art can get lost over time
Questions 25-26
Choose the correct letter, A, B, C or D.
Write the correct letter in boxes 25-26 on your answer sheet.
25. The most noticeable contrast in the cast of the giants hand is between the
A dirt and decoration
B size and realism
C choice and arrangement
D balance and texture
26. According to the writer, the importance of any artistic object lies in
A the artist's intentions
B the artist's beliefs
C the relevance it has to modem life
D the way we respond to it
试题解析
14 该题目信息出现在原文C段，第二句“In an infamous lawsuit of 1834,a moulder whose mask of the dying French emperor Napoleon had been reproduced and sold without his permission was judged to have no rights to the image.”moulder与题目中的“craftsman’s”同义替换，这个工匠他做了一个已故皇帝拿破仑的面具，并且这个面具在未经允许的情况下被复刻了，这个工匠就起诉了，但是判决失败。因此正确答案为C。
15 该题目信息出现在原文E段，第二句话“Each new movement implies a reassessment of what has gone before.What is done now alters what was done before.In some cases this is merely self-serving.原文说“每次新的艺术运动都意味着对过去的重新评估”后面举了几个例子，对应题目“change attitudes to an earlier work”因此，正确答案为E。
16该题目信息出现在原文B段,B段中间部分“the casts used for medical research and",题目中的“a particular type of art"说的就是原文中的casts，“medical research“对应题目中的”the original function "。因此，正确答案为B、
17 该题目信息出现在原文F段，F段的第一句话“But is it art?And,if so,why?These are old tediously repeated questions to which artists have often responded,“It is art because I am an artist and therefore what I do is art.”但这是艺术吗?如果是，为什么?这是艺术家们经常回答的一个周而复始的问题, “这就是艺术因为我就是艺术家，因此我做的任何都是艺术。”对应题目“assessing whether or not an object is art”.因此，正确答案为F。
18 该题目信息出现在原文D段，D段的末句“Painters have always used technical back-up such as studio assistants to do the boring bits,”原文中的“boring bits”与题目中的“less interesting”相对应，无聊的，艺术家在面对工作中无聊的部分怎样处理?会让助手去完成。对应题目，因此，正确答案为D。
19 利用题目细节信息“Nineteenth-century”定位于B段后半部分“in the nineteenth century life-casting was considered inferior to sculpture in the same way that,more recently,photography was thought to be a lesser art than painting…their virtues of speed and unwavering realism also implied their limitations;they left little or no room for the imagination.原文中讲到人体铸造是被认为不如雕刻的。因此，题目中说雕刻家羡慕人体铸造的快捷，也是不可能的。因此，正确答案为NO。
20利用题目细节信息“Rodin”定位于C段倒数第二行“happens fast but it doesn’t make Art”快捷但不能称之为艺术，题目中说：人体铸造的过程变慢的话，那么质量就会提高。”在原文中不能找到对应，因此，正确答案为NG。
21利用题目细节信息“color photography”定位于D段第二行“if ever the process went into color,what painter would labour away at a likeness with a brush made from squirrel-tail?”这句话说得是“如果摄影师能拍彩色照片的话,那么只用松鼠尾巴当画笔的画家如何与摄影师在现实还原度上进行竞争?但是绘画最终证明了它顽强的生命力”原文内容与题目信息相反，因此，正确答案为NO。
22 在原文中无法找到相对应，因此，正确答案为NG。
23 利用顺序原则定位于原文E段，第二句话“Each new movement implies a reassessment of what has gone before.What is done now alters what was done before.In some cases this is merely self-serving.原文说“每次新的艺术运动都意味着对过去的重新评估”reassessment”与题目“in a fresh way”相对应，因此，正确答案为YES。
24 利用顺序原则定位于原文F段第五行“ Over time the ‘reader’does become more powerful.Few of us can look at a medieval altarpiece as its painter intended”这句话说“随着时间的流逝，读者的想的越来越多，但慢慢的也不能体会出作者原本在作品中的含义。”与题目内容相符。因此，正确答案为YES。[在本文的第一句话也有定位，for example,objects originally intended for devotional,ritualistic or re-creational purposes....which no longer respond to these purposes,这里面也说艺术品本身具有的意义随着时间的推移不在由原来的目的]
25 利用题目细节信息 “cast of the giant’s hand”定位于E段后半部分“The most significant impact of this piece……the fingertips extend far beyond them.”这段话说艺术手的长度和逼真度，都与现实中的手产生了鲜明的对比。因此，正确答案为B。
26 该题信息出现于F段后半部分“What counts is the surviving object and our response to it.因此，正确答案为D。
|Archiver|手机版|小黑屋|雅思托福英语全球网
( 闽ICP备14014910号 )
|
闽公网安备 35020302034732号
发表于 2019-12-2 15:03:11
QQ好友和群
QQ空间
腾讯微博
腾讯朋友
收藏