20100303 The Art of Appeciating Art (1)

The Art of Appreciating Art

How can one really appreciate art?

Perhaps you're planning a trip to France or Italy. Besides admiring the fantastic architecture and eating outstanding food, you plan to see some fine art. But how do you really appreciate it and understand what you're seeing?

Before you go
Do your homework. Find out the stories behind some of the great paintings you plan to see. Learn about some of the details the artist inserted to make the painting unique or special. Find out about the artist and what the culture was like during that period of time.

Maybe even read about some of the painting techniques used. All this will help you appreciate what you're seeing.

When you're there
Enjoy the piece of art. Stand in awe in front of it. Don't just take a photo and move on to the next painting, drawing or sculpture. Really look at it; study it from different angles. What emotions do you see? What colors are used? How do those colors create the mood of the picture?





outstanding adj. 傑出的/卓越的
=> unusual excellent or uniquely excellent
eg: The actress' outstanding performance won her much praise from the critics.
eg: The outstanding research team won the Nobel Prize.

insert v. 放進/添加/增添
=> put something into/inside something else
eg: The writer decided to insert an extra chapter at the end of the novel to make it more complete.
eg: The illustrator(插畫家) inserted a rainbow in the background of the page.

move on v. 前進/往前走
=> leave the place where you have been
eg: The security guard instructed the crowd to move on without stopping at the exit.

move on v. 做新的事情/做新的改變
eg: After working as an assistant for 2 years, Susan thinks it's time to move on to somthing more challenging.
=> Susan擔任助理已經2年了，她覺得應該是去做更加富挑戰性的事。


fine art 藝術(指繪畫、雕塑、建築、詩歌、音樂等)/(總稱)美術作品

awe n. 敬畏/畏怯
=> a feeling of wonder or amazement



//== Chat room ==//

technique n. 專門技巧/專門技術

medium 素材
=> 用於美術，指的是畫家用的素材，像是水彩、油畫、蠟筆

genre n. 藝術的類型

abstract art 抽象藝術
=> 抽象藝術即是藝術中的genre

beret n. (法國)貝雷帽(畫家戴的帽子)



//== Grammar on the Go ==//

Stand in awe in front of it.

in awe 肅然起敬
=> have strong feelings of respect and wonder
=> because you have just seen or experienced something really amazing, beautiful or great

eg: I was in awe after watching my friend eat eighty dumplings within 30 minutes.
eg: The pianist left the audience in awe of his outstanding performance.