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Skim the text and say what the main function of museums is.The Changing Role of Museums in Society (an extract from Glenn Lowry’s [1]speech)
There are those who believe that art museums are nothing more than an attractive facade for society – a thing that can be sacrificed when times get rough. My goal today is to illustrate the vital role museums play in shaping society's vision of itself. The relationship between society and museums is not a one-way street. While both public and private sectors are responsible for the continued existence of art museums, these institutions also have a duty to fulfill. Art museums cannot be isolated in their own world, with their own language and their own priorities. Art must be made accessible to people. Our goal is to make art museums bring art and people together. Museums provide a central arena where individuals can meet in order to look, examine, and wonder at art and learn in the process that when we judge a work of art we are also judging ourselves. Museums around the world are taking a long look at the ways in which they exhibit and interpret the most challenging works of art, and are examining ways to make art more understandable and enjoyable for a wider audience. Our goal is to create an environment in which all visitors feel challenged by installations and exhibitions, I believe that museums must be intellectual and cultural forces for the communities they serve, but they must also be open and accessible to all people. Visiting a museum should not simply be an exercise in looking at art. Rather it should be a unique experience where visitors enter into a dialogue with the objects displayed as well as the thoughts of the people who have developed the installations or exhibitions. Experiencing art is an emotional and intellectual rather than a passive activity, and it is a museum's responsibility to encourage this. Museums also have a responsibility to display art that reflects and represents society. Our society is composed of rich and different cultures. The achievements that we present must reveal a broad image of society, not one that reflects only a part of the whole. However, this presents a real challenge to art museums. Countries, such as England, are incorporating the art of more recent immigrant populations to reflect the awareness of the complexity of its society. Besides, museums are about quality. The mark of a great museum is the quality of its collections and programs. One need only think of the Louvre in Paris or the Hermitage in St. Petersburg to see this. Great works of art no matter where they come from, or who made them, are those that can go beyond everyday life to reveal fundamental truths about life. Thus, museums provide the bridge between art and society. Museums help us express and evaluate cultural issues, and through this help us realize what is of real value to us as well as create new values, which is important for our understanding of who we are and what we would like to be. /http://speeches.empireclub.org/details.asp?SpeechID=1572&FT=yes /
3. Read the text again and answer the following questions:
1. How many functions do museums perform in society? 2. How seriously do people take museums if they see them as “an attractive facade for society”? 3. What does the speaker mean by saying that “the relationship between society and museums is not a one-way street”? 4. What can public sectors do to keep art museums working? How can private sectors contribute to it? 5. Why is there a need to bring art and people together? What is the role of museums in it? 6. When will works of art be called challenging? Give examples of such works. Have you ever been challenged by a work of art (an installation, an exhibition etc.)? What was it? 7. What do museums need to do to make art more understandable and enjoyable? 8. Does a visit to an art museum require much effort? What kind of effort is it? 9. What do people learn when looking at the objects displayed? 10. How do museums reflect the composition of society? 11. What did British museums authorities decide to include in displays? Would you approve of their decision? 12. What makes a work of art a great one? 13. Give examples of great works of art. Where are they displayed? How accessible are they to people? 14. What museums are mentioned in the text? What other world-known museums do you know?
Language work 1. Fill in the table with derivatives:
2. Complete the sentences using the words from the table. In some sentences more than one word can be used. 1. The Art of the Brick museum show is now touring the U.S. It is the first major ______________ to focus exclusively on the use of the popular LEGO® building block as an art medium. 2. The $42-million expansion of the University of Michigan Museum of Art has doubled its space, allowing more of the museum's collection to be _____________. 3. Students in this class will deepen their ___________________ of the masters' painting techniques by copying works of art in the Museum's galleries. 4. Minneapolis Institute of the Arts membership gives a free pass to their ticketed exhibitions and _____________ to members-only events and publications. 5. The Denver Art Museum is interested in making art meaningful and ____________ to people of all ages and backgrounds. 6. Museums enable people to explore their____________ for inspiration, learning and ___________. They are institutions that collect, safeguard and make ____________ artifacts, which they store for society. 7. Modelled on the protests and celebrations on the National Mall, Jean Shin’s latest ____________ — a crowd in miniature — will be ______________ at the Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington beginning May 1.
3. Match the verb from the left column with the noun or nouns from the right: to create to exhibit to judge to present to bring to experience to fulfill to develop installations works of art art and people together a duty a work of art art an environment a real challenge
Speaking 1 1. Do you think a museum should: · be educative or entertaining? · be big or small? · be specific or wide-ranging? · be quiet or noisy? · be outdoors or indoors? · be full of visitors or empty? · have exhibits behind glass or exhibits you can touch and operate?
2. Work with your partner(s). Plan a museum of your own. It should be an unusual museum (e.g. for the blind, or for students or children only) and either in your home town or your university. Here are some possible subjects: Home town – clothes worn in summer and winter/ places where young people can go to eat on their own/different surfaces you walk on in your town/ tops of buildings School – contents of students’ bags/ sounds and smells/ clothes in fashion one year ago and those in fashion today Decide, giving your reasons: · what your museum will be about · how big it will be · how you will present your exhibits · what admission fee you will charge, if any · what services you will provide for your visitors
Listening Museums 1. Answer the following questions: 1) Are museums in your country free or do you have to pay to go there? 2) Do you think museums should be free, or that people should have to pay to get in?
2. Listen to someone's opinion on the subject.
Which words does the speaker use to introduce his opinion? What other words and expressions can be used to give opinion?
3. Do you agree with the person? Ask what your partner thinks of it and ask him/her to explain. Use the following Function File to get useful words and expressions. FUNCTION FILE
Writing Write an essay discussing the advantages and disadvantages of making museums free of charge.
Reading 3 Look at the information about five museums A-E in Seoul, South Korea. For which museum are the following statements true? Write the correct letter A-F next to Questions 1-8. NB You may write any letter more than once.
1. This museum also functions as an occasional venue for performing arts. _________ 2. You can learn about natural history in this museum. _________ 3. This museum is the only one of its kind in Korea. _________ 4. This is the most high-tech of the museums. _________ 5. A historical building once stood where this museum stands today. _________ 6. This museum contains something for the very distant future. _________ 7. The exhibits in this museum include objects from the distant past. _________ 8. You can take classes one day a week at this museum. _________
A Namsangol Traditional Folk Village Located just north of Namsan Park, this re-creation of a small village depicts the architecture and gardens of the Chosun Dynasty (1393-1910). There are five restored traditional houses from that era. A large pavilion overlooks a beautiful pond and an outdoor theatre hosts dance and drama performances on weekends. There is also a hall displaying traditional handicrafts and a kiosk selling souvenirs. Recently, a time capsule containing 600 items representing the lifestyle of modern-day people of Seoul was buried to celebrate the city's 600th anniversary In 2394, it will be opened!
B Eunan Museum This privately-owned museum displays rare specimens of animals, ores, and species of insects collected from around the world. The building comprises six floors, one under ground and five above. Among the fauna on exhibition are shellfish, insects, butterflies and birds.The collection is housed on the lower floors. On the third floor is a library and the fifth floor has a study room and an ocean exhibition hall. One aim of the museum is to bring animal extinction to the attention of the public.
C National Museum of Korea This is one of the most extensive museums in Seoul, housing art and archaeological relics from Korean prehistory through to the end of the Chosun Dynasty (1910). Throughout the three-floor museum, there are 4,500 artefacts on display in 18 permanent galleries. Audio guides, touch screens, and video rooms all help to bring the ancient world alive here. In addition to regular exhibitions, the museum offers special educational programs such as public lectures, arts and crafts classes, and special tours.
D Seoul Metropolitan Museum of Art Established in 1988, this museum is located on the former site of Kyonghee-gung palace. There are four floors with six exhibition halls. The collections include more than 170 Korean paintings, Western paintings and prints. Spend a peaceful and relaxing day amidst beautiful works of art. If you are an art enthusiast and would like to learn, the museum offers art courses every Friday.
E Korea Sports Museum This is the sole museum in Korea dedicated to sports. It displays about 2,500 items tracing back to 1920, when Korea's first sports organization was founded. You can browse through sports memorabilia such as badges, medals, photographs, trophies, and mascots related to national and international sports events. Make sure not to miss the taekwondo-related exhibits. /From Cambridge Grammar for IELTS, Diana Hopkins with Pauline Cullen/ Speaking 2 1. Look at the photographs and use some of these words to describe the works of art. sculpture / sculptor abstract/representational painting / still life / portrait / landscape oil painting / sketch / water colour / Old Master frame / canvas / brush / stroke / palette intense / brilliant / subtle colours depict / portray
3. Report your decision to the rest of the class. Say if you found it easy or difficult to make your choice.
4. Discuss these questions. 1 Do you like going to art galleries? 2 Do you think 'public art' is important? Should the state support art in the community? 3 Do you like abstract art? Do you think art should always be easy to understand? Why? 4 Do you have any favourite artists? Say why you like them.
/Fast Track to CAE. Student’s Book. Alan Stanton, Susan Morris/ Presentation 2 Obligation, necessity, permission and prohibition
1. Match the pictures to the rules given below. Note that there is one extra sign. A E
Museum Etiquette #1: When you go to a museum, you are not allowed to bring any food and/or drink. You can chew a gum or a small candy, but make sure that you do not blow your bubble gum close to the art pieces. Ask permission first if they will let you do these. Museum Etiquette #2: You must not smoke inside the museum. If you must have a smoke, do it outside of the building. Cigarette smoke can damage museum pieces, especially paintings and other rare artifacts. Museum Etiquette #3: Generally, you are not permitted to take photographs or videos of the permanent collection or changing exhibitions. Sometimes, you need to obtain permissions from the Curator for any photography or video recording. But you are not allowed to use flash photography as it can also damage rare paintings.
Museum Etiquette #5: In order to preserve the collections on display, you must not touch works of art or frames. Even if the item is encased in glass, you are not allowed to touch the case. This is important, as someone has to clean up all fingerprints, as museums have standards that need to be maintained.
Museum Etiquette #6: You must not make loud noises by talking or laughing loudly, singing, whistling, etc. You are allowed to use your iPod unless you get carried away and sing along.
http://www.helium.com/knowledge/103446-museum-etiquette-how-to-behave-when-visiting-an-art-museum/
2. Match the phrases, a) – g), taken from the text, to the descriptions, i) – iv). a) you are not allowed to bring any food i) a present obligation b) you can chew a gum ii) necessity c) you must not smoke iii) permission d) you are not permitted to take photographs iv) prohibition e) you need to obtain permissions f) someone has to clean up all fingerprints g) you are allowed to use your iPod
Practice Date: 2015-01-02; view: 2148
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2. Work with a partner or in groups of three. Your university has decided to buy a work of art — a painting or piece of sculpture — to display in the reception area. A committee has been set up to choose what to buy, and the four pieces in the photographs have been shortlisted. As members of the committee, you have been asked to make a final recommendation. Discuss which work of art you would like your school to buy. Give your reasons.
B 
C 
D 
F 
G 
H 