Section B Reading and Matching
Read the following passage with ten statements attached to it．Each statement contains information given in one of the paragraphs．Identify the paragraph from which the information is derived．You may choose a paragraph more than once．
What Does Art Mean？
［A］How best to define art is still regularly debated．Many books and journal articles have argued over even the basics of what we mean by calling something art．Theodor Adorno claimed，in 1969：“It is self-evident that nothing concerning art is self-evident．”Artists，philosophers，anthropologists（人类学家），psychologists，and programmers all use the notion of art in their respective fields，yet give it considerably different operational definitions．Furthermore，it is clear that even the basic meaning of the term“art”has changed several times over the centuries，and is continuing to evolve during the 20th century as well．Most people would not have considered the depiction（描写、叙述）of a Brillo Box or a store-bought urinal（小便壶）to be art until Andy Warhol and Marcel Duchamp，respectively，placed those objects in the context of art（i．e．an art gallery），which then associated these objects with a way that art could be defined．
［B］Art can refer to anything made by someone considered an artist，yet the definition of an artist has evolved over time and varies based on context．In Ancient Greece，the term for art was“techne”，though that word did not denote art in the modern sense and was instead applied to human activities，especially handicrafts and technical work．The most esteemed ancient art forms were music and poetry，and those were regarded as divinely inspired．Eventually，the idea of art expanded in scope to include literature，visual art，performing art，and decorative art．But what exactly does art mean？
［C］The nature of art has been described by philosopher Richard Wollheim as“one of the most elusive（难以捉摸的）of the traditional problems of human culture”．Art has been defined as a vehicle for the expression or communication of emotions and ideas，a means for exploring and appreciating formal elements for their own sake，and as mimesis or representation．Leo Tolstoy identified art as the use of indirect means to communicate from one person to another．Benedetto Croce and R．G．Collingwood advanced the idealist view that art expresses emotions，and that the work of art therefore essentially exists in the mind of the creator．More recently，thinkers influenced by Martin Heidegger have interpreted art as the means by which a community develops for itself a medium for self-expression and interpretation．
［D］These are all ways of beginning to define a work of art，to narrow it down．Robertson and McDaniel discuss the evaluation of meaning behind art in their book，Themes of Contemporary Art：
［E］“Imagine you are an art critic whose mission is to compare the meanings you find in a wide range of individual artworks．How would you proceed with your task？One way to begin is to examine the materials each artist selected in making an object，image video，or event．The decision to cast a sculpture in bronze，for instance，inevitably affects its meaning；the work becomes something different from how it might be if it had been cast in gold or plastic or chocolate，even if everything else about the artwork remains the same．Next，you might examine how the materials in each artwork have become an arrangement of shapes，colors，textures，and lines．These，in turn，are organized into various patterns and compositional（组合的）structures．In your interpretation，you would comment on how salient（突出的）features of the form contribute to the overall meaning of the finished artwork…the meaning of most artworks…is not exhausted by a discussion of materials，techniques，and form．Most interpretations also include a discussion of the ideas and feelings the artwork engenders．”
［F］Art，at its simplest，is a form of communication．It means whatever it is intended to mean by the artist himself／herself，and this meaning is shaped by the materials，techniques，and forms of the art，as well as the ideas and feelings it creates．Art can also simply refer to the developed and efficient use of a language to convey meaning with immediacy and／or depth．Art is an act of expressing feelings，thoughts，and observations．There is an understanding that is reached with the material as a result of handling it，which facilitates one’s thought processes．
［G］What makes art beautiful is a complicated concept，since beauty is subjective and can change based on context．But，there is a basic human instinct，an internal appreciation，for harmony，balance，and rhythm—this can be defined as beauty．Beauty in terms of art usually refers to an interaction between line，color，texture，sound，shape，motion，and size that is pleasing to the senses．
［H］Aesthetics（审美学）is the branch of philosophy that deals with the nature and appreciation of art，beauty，and taste；aesthetics is central to any exploration of art．The word“aesthetic”is derived from the Greek“aisthetikos”，meaning“esthetic，sensitive，or sentient”．In practice，aesthetic judgment refers to the sensory contemplation or appreciation of an object（not necessarily a work of art），while artistic judgment refers to the recognition，appreciation，or criticism of a work of art．
［I］Numerous philosophers have attempted to tackle the concept of beauty and art．For Immanuel Kant，the aesthetic experience of beauty is a judgment of a subjective，but common，human truth．He argued that all people should agree that a rose is beautiful if it indeed is．There are many common conceptions of beauty；For example，Michelangelo’s paintings in the Sistine Chapel are widely recognized as beautiful works of art．However，Kant believes beauty cannot be reduced to any more basic set of characteristics or features．For Arthur Schopenhauer，aesthetic contemplation of beauty is the freest and most pure that intellect can be．He believes that only in terms of aesthetics do we contemplate perfection of form without any kind of worldly agenda．
［J］Beauty in the art can be difficult to put into words due to a seeming lack of accurate language．An aesthetic judgment cannot be an empirical judgment but must instead be processed on a more intuitive（直观的）level．
［K］However，sometimes beauty is not the artist’s ultimate goal．Art is often intended to appeal to and connect with human emotion．Artists may express something so that their audience is stimulated in some way—creating feelings，religious faith，curiosity，interest，identification with a group，memories，thoughts，or creativity．For example，performance art often does not aim to please the audience but instead evokes feelings，reactions，conversations，or questions from the people observing．In these cases，aesthetics may be an irrelevant measure of“beautiful”art．Art may be considered an exploration of the human condition—what it means to be human．
________1．It is a natural tendency for human beings to define beauty as harmony，balance and rhythm．
________2．Handicrafts and technical work are regarded as human activities but not art in the modern．
________3．Art can be compared to a language which is used to convey meaning efficiently．
________4．Performance art often aims to produce strong feelings，responses，and talks in the audience sense．
________5．It is noticed that some works of art are commonly recognized to be beautiful though aesthetic experience is based on personal opinions and feelings．
________6．An art critic would comment not only on the materials，techniques and form of an artwork，but also on the ideas and feelings the artwork expresses．
________7．The meaning of an artwork can be affected by both its materials and the way in which the materials are used．
________8．The targets of aesthetics judgment and artistic judgment are not the same．
________9．The description of such objects as a store-bought urinal can be considered as art．
________10．Richard Wollheim thinks the nature of art is very difficult to find and describe．