Culture, art and famous people

CULTURE AND ART
Culture and art are important parts of our lives. They add aesthetic value, enrich our mind, entertain us and bring us a lot of pleasure. Culture may be used to speak about music, art and literature but this world is also used to speak about a group of people who share the same beliefs and attitudes. Culture and art are parts of  national herritage and all country does the best to develop and promote it.  For many people today, culture and cultural life is represented by fine arts, art exhibitions, museum exhibits, going to the cinema, theatre, concerts dance perfomances and circus.
 
Performing arts – music, dance and theatre ( opera, ballet,musical,drama,comedy,tragedy )
Decorative arts – painting,sculpture,architecture and photography
 
How rich our cultural life is depends on our interests and hobbies, as well as where we live. If we live in a large town, we have a better choice of cultural facilities than in small towns or villages. In a large city, we can go to:
-  a cinema – generally enjoys great popularity. Most films in Slovakia are American productions. They are often shown with subtitles or are dubbed. Many films are presented at film festivals or in special film clubs. The most famous international film festivals are held in Cannes, Venice and Berlin( in Slovakia- Trenčianske Teplice, BA...)
-  a theatre - in the theatre we can see different kinds of performances: 
 a drama, a comedy, an opera, a musical, a ballet .
Slovak theatre-goers can enjoy various types of theatre perfomances. Musicals are performed at the New Scene Theatre in BA. Other favourite theatres are Slovak National Theatre, the Hviezdoslav Theatre, the Arena Theatre and others.

If we want to see a performance in a theatre, we should buy or book the tickets in advance. Theatre performances take place in the evening and there is always special class atmosphere so people should wear nice clothes when they go to the theatre. After we come to the theatre, we leave our coat in a cloakroom and an attendant will show us our seat. When the performance ends, the audience applauds and the curtain falls. If the performance is excellent, the actors can get a standing ovation.

- an art gallery – in an art gallery, we can see exhibitions of classical or modern art. For example the exhibitions of: 
 photographs, paintings, sculptures or  book illustrations.
Paintings of famous painters and sculptors such as Picasso, Van Gogh or Michelangelo are immortal and their artworks can be see in a number of museums around the world ( The National Gallery, The Tate Gallery, in London) Visitors to Ba can admire the colour paintings, landscapes, portraits and other works of arts in the Slovak National Gallery or the Bratislava City Gallery)- (Ján Rojko- PB- He is a creator of many pictures of PB. He capture our town in different periods.)

- a museum – in the museum we can learn about the history of our country or the history of the whole world .We can see exhibitions of things which show us how people used to live in the past.
 
-a concert- Music has became a hobby, a profession and part of the lifestyle. Those who like classical music can enjoy a concert of philharmonic orchestra in a concert hall or attend a festival. Some of the festivals are held annually, such as Bratislava Music Festival. Composers like Mozart. Beethoven and Bach have became the most important figures of the European musical herritage. Part of Beethoven´s Ninth Symphony, Ode to Joy, became the anthem of European Union. Fans of different music styles such as pop, rock, jazz, blues or country can enjoy the music at music festivals of the different genres, go to see their favourite singers or groups live at concerts or simly listen to CDs or watch concerts on TV.
Slovakia is famous for its tradition of folklore music ,but nowadays young people prefer modern dance which includes many different types.
 
-architecture- is the art and science of designing buildings. It includes town planing,urban design,landscape architecture ( developing of gardens, parks and other green outdoor spaces) and interior design ( furniture ). Most famous architects are : Michelangelo, Leonardo Da Vinci, Friedensreich Hundertwasser.
 
In small towns and villages there are not as many opportunities for cultural life as there are in big cities. Some villages have a house of culture or a club where sometimes discos or balls are held on special occasions – for example on the Mothers’ day or during Christmas. 
If people who live in a village want to see a film or a theatre performance, they have to travel to the nearest town or a city. If they don’t want to travel, they can watch a film on TV or they can borrow a video and watch it at home.
 
I live in PB which is a small town. Cultural life in our town is not as rich as in large cities. In my hometown, we have got a cinema.When there isn´t any film, there are performed dancing perfomancies, concerts or theatre plays. Concerts are also performed at Hall of Sport.  In PB we have a House of Culture where there was a ball room and every year there were some balls. Unfortunately, we can today find there a Chinese shop.. In our town we also have an art gallery. In the art gallery we can see different kinds of exhibitions – for example paintings or photographs.
 
FAMOUS PEOPLE & CULTURE:

IN MUSIC:
- Louis Armstrong – he is a famous trumpeter (=trúbkar) in jazz history
- The Beatles – an English music group famous in 1960’s – it had 4 members: John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison, Ringo Starr
- Elvis Presley – the king of rock-and-roll 
- Madonna, Shania Twain …
 
IN THEATRE AND CINEMA:
- Charlie Chaplin – an American actor of the “Silent Era”
- Woody Allen – the American comedy film director, actor
- Walt Disney – a producer of animated cartoon films
- Alfred Hitchcock – a film director – he directs horrors and thrillers
- Dustin Hoffman, Marilyn Monroe, Julia Roberts, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bruce Willis…

In FINE ART:
- Andy Warhol – he is famous for his paintings – he is the son of Slovak immigrants