Culture and art can enrich our minds, they add aesthetic values to our lives. We can spend our free time at various cultural events, it is a way of relaxation. Artists express their feelings through different forms of arts: music, literature, painting, architecture - they entertain, educate, influence people.
■ Music is a hobby, a profession, and a part of the lifestyle. It accompanies us our entire life. Mother sings to her baby some lullabies, on their way to school kids have their headphones on and listen to their favourite music, their parents sing along with the radio in their car...
There are different types of music: • classical music (Beethoven, Mozart)
■ Dramatic art: theatre - theatre goers can enjoy live performances (the Slovak National Theatre, the Hviezdoslav Theatre, the Arena Theatre...), they can watch drama, comedies, tragedies or a musical
cinema - films are shown on the screen, they can have subtitles or may be dubbed (You can watch war films, action, horror, thriller, romantic film, detective, disaster movie...)
- modern buildings use modern technologies to attract more people so these days multi-screen cinemas are often built as a part of a leisure complex together with restaurants and health clubs
- to improve the atmosphere of the films, the producers use variety of special effects (music, sound, light, voices, 3D effect, stunts)
- we can watch a movie trailer (short video consisting of selected shots from the advertised movie), read a review written by critics.
- many films are based on a real story, some of them are based on a novel
written by a writer.
- excellent films win an Oscar in a film festival (actors are often awarded an Oscar for an excellent performance, the opposite to the Oscar award is Golden Raspberry awards - Razzie for short, which is given to the worst actor in film)
My favourite film: description: The title is... it is a ..... (what kind of film), the film is set in (time and place)..., the plot is about (a young man from a poor background who fall in love with a rich girl...), the main characters are..., stars (actors)..., supporting actors...
Film/Book: comparison: afilm • is more real, you can feel the atmosphere better
your friends
a book • reading a book is time consuming (it takes sometimes weeks)
Architecture
In the past people used to build splendid buildings to show the importance and wealth of their owners. Some places are rich in castles, churches, cathedrals; the others show pyramids, towers and bridges. The modern age brings two extremes: extravagancy and simplicity. Architects try to combine both creativity and effectiveness.
Painting
They say that visiting galleries and museums is only for the older. Yes, it takes some time to go through the place and see all the paintings, sculptures. It requires patience and some knowledge too if you want to admire what is displayed. The paintings may vary from the abstract paintings through sceneries, portraits such as Mona Lisa. At present, body painting and tattoo are quite popular with young people.
Sculpture
An artist of this kind is called a sculptor; he usually displays his statues / busts in visible places – town centres, shopping malls etc. They are in important part of public art. Sculptures are made of wood, ceramics, stone, glass or metal. Those of metal survive longer. Sculptures used to be represented a lot in religious sphere (in churches and cathedrals) in the past. However, sculptures displayed outside can be easily damaged either by people (vandalism) or bad weather conditions (acid rain etc.)
Tattoo
Some people consider it as art; however, for the others it is just a self-destructing activity. People with tattoos all over their bodies occur more and more frequently. Their tattoos attract our attention. So at least, we have something to talk about. The reactions vary from the positive (independent, creative, trendy, tough) to the negative ones (crazy, absent-minded, easy).
- Tattoos have been around for more than 5,000 years
- Egyptians used tattoos to differentiate peasants from slaves
- Tattoos have been used as a social-branding sign
Graffiti
- writing or drawing that is scribbled, scratched or sprayed on a wall or other surface often in a public place
- from simple words to elaborated wall paintings
Places
In arts we distinguish various styles such as classical, romantic, impressionist, modern or abstract .
The most fabulous pieces of arts are called masterpieces. The authors are called artists – sculptors,
painters, photographers. Traditionally, they use places like museums, galleries for their exhibitions. However, modern artists use even bridges, train stations, town centres to display their art, to show the art to an ordinary person coming to or from work.
- a museum – in the museum we can learn about the history of our country or the history of the whole world. You can see exhibitions of things which show us how people used to live in the past.
YOUNG PEOPLE AND CULTURE:
Young people like going to:
- Famous painters: Picasso, Van Gogh, Monet
- Musicians: Louis Armstrong, Elvis Priestley, Beatles, Jimmy Hendrix, Michael Jackson, Madonna...
- Theatre and cinema: Charlie Chaplin, Woody Allan, Walt Disney, Alfred Hitchcock, Marilyn Monroe...
Slovak artists:
Cultural events in the countryside are not frequent - people from the villages prefer watching TV... if they want to enjoy the cultural life, they go to the city.
OUR TOWN:
- cinemas: we can get the tickets before the film at the box office, we can wear casual clothes, there are some people who eat or drink during the film, the tickets cost less
- theatres: (Spiš theatre): we should wear formal clothes, we leave the coats in the cloakroom, the attendant shows us the seats, there are some intermissions during the performances - we can have some refreshments at the buffet, we need to book the tickets in advance, because the best performances are often sold out, after the performance, the audience applauds, the actors can get a standing ovation
- concerts of classical music are held in the town halls, concert halls
- our town also has a gallery with different kinds of exhibitions (paining, sculptures, photography...)
- we can go to the museums - history, science, nature, weapons...
- we also have libraries where we can borrow some books
- we can go to several music festivals, open-air concerts (especially in the summer) / Fernet Stock Citrus party. /
In Slovakia there are several well known festivals of popular music: Orange Summer Domaša, Pohoda; festivals of traditional folk music: Východná; a festival of classical music: Bratislava Music Festival
- theatres in Slovakia: the New Scene Theatre (BA), the Slovak National Theatre (BA), the Hviezdoslav Theatre, the Arena Theatre, the Studio L+S, the J.G.Tajovský Theatre (ZV), the State Theatre (KE), the J. Záboský Theatre (PO)
- the Slovak National Gallery, the Bratislava City Gallery, the Andy Warhol Museum of Modern Art
- provide little opportunities to see the theatre performances / there is no permanent theatre building. Mostly in the past there were theatre companies who travelled to small towns to act on the stage of cultural houses. In the cultural houses dancing lessons, discos, balls are also held. Some villages have community centres or clubs.