Text 2 the concept of culture

Exercise 1. Read the text below and say if your views on the problem of popular culture are the same.

Culture can be defined as all the ways of life including arts, beliefs and institutions of a population that are passed down from generation to generation. Culture has been called "the way of life for an entire society." As such, it includes codes of manners, dress, language, religion, rituals, norms of behavior such as law and morality, and systems of belief as well as the art.

In practice, culture referred to elite activities such as museum-caliber art and classical music, and the word cultured described people who knew about, and took part in, these activities. These are often called "high culture", namely the culture of the ruling social group, to distinguish them from mass culture or popular culture.

Pop culture finds its expression in the mass circulation of items from areas such as fashion, music, design, sport and film. The world of pop culture has had a particular influence on art from the 1950s on through Pop Art, first in Britain and later in the United States. Today, most adults, their kids and grandchildren "participate" in pop culture directly or indirectly. Popular culture comes under heavy criticism from various sources.

Text 3 fine arts

Exercise 1. Read text 2 and answer the questions given after it.

Fine art is any art form developed primarily for aesthetics rather than utility. This type of art is often expressed in a limited number of visual and performing art forms, including painting, sculpture, dance, theatre, architecture and printmaking.

Drawing is a form of visual expression and is one of the major forms within the visual arts. There are a number of subcategories of drawing, including cartooning. Sculpture is three-dimensional artwork created by shaping hard or plastic material, commonly stone (either rock or marble), metal, or wood. Some sculptures are created directly by carving; others are assembled, built up and fired, welded, molded, or cast. As sculpture involves the use of materials that can be molded or modulated, it is considered one of the plastic arts. Dance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music.

Theatre has come to take on many forms, often utilizing elements such as speech, gesture, music, dance, and spectacle, combining the other performing arts, often as well as the visual arts, into a single artistic form.

Architectural works are perceived as cultural and political symbols and works of art. Historical civilizations are often known primarily through their architectural achievements. Such buildings as the pyramids of Egypt and the Roman Colossus are cultural symbols.

Exercise 2. Answer the following questions:

1. What is the purpose of fine art?

2. What types of fine art can you name?

3. What is the medium used in sculpture?

4. What forms are used in theatre?

5. What can you say about architecture?