VOA日常语法2023--Talking about Art

Talking about Art

Imagine a person asks you about your favorite piece of art. How do you answer?

In today's Everyday Grammar, we will explore how you can talk about art and the reasons that you like it.

Favorites

Let us begin with a question. A person asks you the following:

What is your favorite piece of art?

Pay special attention to the word "favorite." It means¹ a thing that is liked more than others.

You can answer the question in a couple of ways. One way is to use the following structure²:

My favorite piece of art is...

In general, we identify the artist and the name of the artwork after the verb³ BE. You can use the possessive form to identify the name of the artist and the artwork, as in:

My favorite piece of art is Vincent van Gogh's The Starry⁴ Night.

In this case, the possessive marker – ‘s - is of special importance. It shows that the artwork, The Starry Night, was made by the artist Vincent Van Gogh.

If you do not want to use the possessive marker – ‘s - you can use the name of the artwork followed by the word "by," as in:

My favorite piece of art is The Starry Night by Vincent Van Gogh.

And what if you do not have a favorite piece of art? Such an exchange might go like this:

What is your favorite piece of art?

I don't have a favorite piece of art.

Or

I don't really enjoy art.

Reasons

Now imagine that a person asks you the following during an English test.

What is your favorite piece of art? Why?

You should probably give your best, most detailed⁵ answer. Such an answer would clearly state the piece of art and explain the reasons you like it.

For example, you might say:

My favorite piece of art is Hokusai's The Great Wave. I love woodblock prints, and the Berlin blue color he uses is so lovely. In addition, I find the subject matter so powerful⁶ – the giant wave is such a danger to those fishermen!

Or you could say:

My favorite piece of art is The Great Wave by Hokusai. I love the print because I enjoy learning⁷ about Japanese history. For me, the wave represents⁸ a giant force of change crashing down on society.

In the first example, the reasons given for liking⁹ the artwork relate to the kind of art (the woodblock print), the color (Berlin blue), and the subject matter (Japanese history).

In the second example, the reasons given for liking the artwork connect to the possible meaning of the artwork and its connection to history.

So, when you give reasons for liking an artwork, there are many ways to do so. You can talk about colors or the lack of colors, point of view, the kind of art (painting, calligraphy¹⁰, sculpture¹¹), the artwork's connection with history and society, and so on.

Closing thoughts

Today, we have explored some ways to talk about your favorite piece of art. There are certainly more ways to do so!

Still, let us try to use some of what we have explored today. Write us a short message – three to five sentences – about your favorite piece of art. You can send your message to [email protected]

Your message does not have to be about a painting. It can be about a sculpture, writing such as calligraphy, or even photography¹².

Words in This Story

couple -- n. two or a few of something

woodblock – n. a piece of wood that has a design cut into it and that is used for printing

print – n. a picture made from pressing an inked surface on paper

society -- n. people in general thought of as living together in organized communities with shared laws, traditions, and values

calligraphy – n. the art of making beautiful handwriting

1 means   

n.方法，手段，折中点，物质财富

参考例句：

• That man used artful means to find out secrets.那人使用狡猾的手段获取机密。
• We must get it done by some means or other.我们总得想办法把它干完。

2 structure   

n.结构，构造，建筑物；v.构成；

参考例句：

• Doctors study the structure of the human body.医生研究人体构造。
• A flower has quite a complicated structure.一朵花的结构相当复杂。

3 verb   

n.[语]动词

参考例句：

• The sentence is formed from a verb and two nouns.这句子由一个动词和两个名词构成。
• These are the finite forms of a verb.这些是一个动词的限定形式。

4 starry   

adj.星光照耀的, 闪亮的

参考例句：

• He looked at the starry heavens.他瞧着布满星星的天空。
• I like the starry winter sky.我喜欢这满天星斗的冬夜。

5 detailed   

adj.详细的，详尽的，极注意细节的，完全的

参考例句：

• He had made a detailed study of the terrain.他对地形作了缜密的研究。
• A detailed list of our publications is available on request.我们的出版物有一份详细的目录备索。

6 powerful   

adj.有力的，有权力的，强大的

参考例句：

• The UN began to get more and more powerful.联合国开始变得越来越强大了。
• Such are the most powerful voices of our times!这些就是我们时代的最有力的声音！

7 learning   

n.学问，学识，学习；动词learn的现在分词

参考例句：

• When you are learning to ride a bicycle,you often fall off.初学骑自行车时，常会从车上掉下来。
• Learning languages isn't just a matter of remembering words.学习语言不仅仅是记些单词的事。

8 Represents   

v.表现( represent的第三人称单数 )；代表；体现；作为…的代表

参考例句：

• This represents a volte-face in government thinking. 这代表着政府观点的彻底转变。
• The Russian Revolution represents a landmark in world history. 俄国革命是世界历史上的一个里程碑。 来自《简明英汉词典》

9 liking   

n.爱好；嗜好；喜欢

参考例句：

• The word palate also means taste or liking.Palate这个词也有“口味”或“嗜好”的意思。
• I must admit I have no liking for exaggeration.我必须承认我不喜欢夸大其词。

10 calligraphy   

n.书法

参考例句：

• At the calligraphy competition,people asked him to write a few characters.书法比赛会上，人们请他留字。
• His calligraphy is vigorous and forceful.他的书法苍劲有力。

11 sculpture   

n.雕刻，雕塑；vt.雕刻，雕塑；vi.当雕刻师

参考例句：

• He is skilled in sculpture.他精于雕刻。
• His sculpture of a horse won first prize.他雕塑的一匹马获得一等奖。

12 photography   

n.摄影，摄影术

参考例句：

• He goes in for photography.他酷爱摄影。
• Photography is not taught in our school.我们学校不教摄影术。