Art and architecture Part 1 Do you enjoy drawing and painting? Why or why not? I don’t really sure about what feelings I have for them To be honest, almost all forms of art, especially painting, are too abstract for me to fully understand However, sometimes I was moved by several masterpieces, MonaLisa drawn by Leonardo DaVinci for example I have always thought about her mysterious smile since I saw a copy of this painting on a website What things you like to draw? Many things honestly The subjects of my paintings are often picked randomly, for example, people, patterns, household facilities, etc, but my main inspiration is landscape as only this topic seems to show great potency for my level It is also because I cannot take my eyes off the marvellous sceneries of nature and was inspired by them immediately Are you good at art? Art is a really vast subject, I believe that if it is about drawing things here and there, I would say I am pretty fine at it But, I am surely not one of those who can make some masterpieces You know, the paintings of mine are just some scrawls which were created in my spare time Did you enjoy drawing and painting when you were a child? Why? Well I believe every kid on Earth does have a passion for drawing and I am no exception When I was a child, in primary school I think, I actually had a crack at painting and insisted on joining a training class My mom was so annoyed that she eventually allowed me to this, but then I realised I don't have any talent in art so I quitted Now I also spend some of my free time drawing, but just for fun, you know What kind of things did you in Art lesson at school? It is so embarrassing to confess that since I was a high school student, I have never paid any attention to what the Art teacher said in the lessons Art is actually not my cup of tea and Art is not a mandatory subject in high school But as I remember having participated in one in secondary school, all the students had to stand for ages just to measure the proportion of a flower vase Can you believe that? It’s so dull!!! Therefore, rather than using my valuable time for such an exhausting activity, I often go outside and some sports At least it is useful, right? Do you have any art in your home? Well, I am actually not a culture vulture or sth, so of course I don’t have any interest in collecting pieces of Art But I sometimes hang out with my friends and go to art galleries to see some paintings of local artists How often you often visit art galleries? Quite often I think Despite the fact that art is not my cup of tea, I enjoy the time being with my friends or family at art galleries 8 Do you like taking pictures? Absolutely yes Taking photos is one of my favorite activities whenever I have the opportunity to travel to different places I consider it as a way to mark every memorable moment in my life, for example, when my family gathers for an anniversary What you with the pictures you take? Well, unlike the majority of modern people who constantly post the taken photos on social media like Facebook or Instagram, I always put them in an album as a keepsake If I feel down and discouraged, I will gaze at it immediately and my spirits will be lifted right away 10 Do you think art is an important part of life? Yes, if there was no art, everyone and everything would be the same There would be no entertainment Life would be dull; we would all just work and go crazy If we didn’t have art, we would all be robots 11 Do you think art classes are necessary? Yes, definitely Learning art, especially at a young age, can help stimulate children’s cognitive development and encourage them to think outside the box Because they’re still little, their ideas are very fresh and lovely, which is worth appreciating 12 Is art popular in your country? Art is truly respected in my country People who can draw well are surely in demand in fields like army, police and country development Recently, our prime minister hired twenty great artists from our country to create designs that will be painted on the walls of rural areas which are not very developed He has a vision to ensure that everyone lives in a nice livelihood 13 Do schools in Vietnam have field trips to museums? Not all schools in Vietnam have field trips to museums, which I think is a shame In my viewpoint, every educational institution should launch such kinds of schemes Many children get bored of the everyday routine of school Field trips give children a chance to learn outside of traditional classroom settings and can spark new interests in 14 Do you think going to museums and galleries is beneficial for children? Yes, museums and galleries are a great educational tool since they act as windows into the past better than any text books Having said that, I believe children can learn more about history and culture Art can broaden their minds and their outlooks on life It can also inspire them to be more creative, to have original ideas, and to be inventive 15 What kinds of paintings people like? In my opinion, people love hanging landscape paintings at home Bringing in the beauty of Mother Nature somehow eases people’s mind after a long day at work Another style of drawing that most people also like is portrait It could be portraits of someone important to them or even their lovely pets 16 Is it easy to learn to draw? I think I must say it’s even challenging for a lot of people I absolutely failed when it comes to drawing still life paintings like fruit and flowers I think for those who succeed in drawing or arts in general, they first must have God-gifted talent, then come to the long-term commitment to arts that requires extreme practice and high patience Part Describe a photograph that you like You should say: ● When and where the photo was taken ● What can you see from the photo ● How you keep this photo and explain why you like this photo I’ve probably seen and taken thousands of pictures in my whole life However, my favorite one is the 12-year-old photo of me where I was sitting in the middle of my parents and grandparents It was an old back-and-white photograph and the corners of it were faded I don't have a clear memory regarding the event when this picture was taken, but I have seen it many times and still look at it in a bittersweet mood I look with amazement into the picture and cannot believe I was so small and different looking at that time Also, it gives me a gloomy feeling as my grandfather is no longer with us In the photo, I was wearing a full sleeve shirt, full pants and a pair of white shoes and obviously I am the focal point of this picture Other family members were standing around me, with my parents on the right and my grandparents on the left I can vividly remember that my dad was very stylish and high-fashion when he was young, so he put on jeans and a jacket which had a great vogue at that time My grandfather had spectacles on his eyes and got his hair backbrushed Both my mom and grandma were wearing Ao dai, which is our Vietnamese traditional clothes They looked so fresh and elegant in the photo My family kept it in a wooden frame and it in the living room I use it as my phone’s background image so that I can see it whenever I check the device I love this picture so much as it conveys my grandparents’ memory and depicts a happy family I gaze at it almost every single day That’s because it gives me positive energy when I’m feeling blue and discouraged Just by looking at it, my spirits are lifted right away Describe a work of art You should say: ● What it is ● Where you saw it ● What is it about and explain why you like it Honestly, I’m not very keen on painting or sculpture, so this is really a tough topic for me But if you ask me to talk about an art masterpiece, the one that comes to my mind first is the MonaLisa, an oil painting by the famous Italian Renaissance artist Leonardo da Vinci You’ve possibly heard of this work of art Well, actually, I’ve never seen the original painting, which is said to be on display in the French Louvre Museum I remember the first time I saw it was when I was in primary school It was a reproduction in the official textbook on art history The picture is really amazing The painting shows a woman looking out at the viewer with an ‘enigmatic smile’ When you look at MonaLisa, no matter where you stand, you’ll find her looking and smiling at you My art teacher told us that the MonaLisa is perhaps the most famous piece in art history and is probably the most widely known portrait in the Western world My teacher also told us that people could learn a lot about other cultures through their paintings, which I believe is quite true Having heard of this masterpiece’s significance, I have nurtured the dream of leaving my footprints in Paris to have a look at the original painting Part What benefits can you get from painting as a hobby? I think the mediation efficiency is worth mentioning first Colors in some ways reflect our thoughts and emotions very well and somehow stimulate our body to defend against our negativity inside For me, in particular, I think what’s so interesting about painting is that you have no idea how harmonized colors can become until you actually try Moreover, painting allows us to be creative, to make choices and helps in healing So, it is not just about painting the perfect portrait but about letting your thoughts on the paper When people it , it really affects their psychology making them happier and more content with life Why people enjoy art? We, humans, are “unique” in our existence and experience Therefore, it is only natural that we have our needs and expectations that are unique as well But among those unique needs and expectations that separates us from animals, enjoying art seems to be something that makes us “truly” unique as humans So, what is the general purpose of art? Well, the answer is, art helps us to look at ourselves a little “closer” in a different light by explaining our desire and expectation in more details which otherwise wouldn’t be possible With the help of art, we are able to communicate our social, political, cultural and spiritual ideas in a much more organized manner so that we feel “challenged” to rethink the issues and the subjects that are affecting us and our surroundings on a daily basis We enjoy art because it stimulates our hearts and minds to appreciate our lives in a more positive light We enjoy art also because it makes us feel different by combining our “unusual motifs” that weave their way into our “subconscious” (or the “hidden” us) and alter our mood so that we feel free to travel into a different realm Do you think that art is as important as academic subjects when it comes to educating children? Pablo Picasso once said that “every child is an artist The problem is how to remain an artist once he grows up” Therefore, offering children the much-needed space to create, to explore and to express themselves through art is absolutely important so that a holistic approach to education can be ensured However, the purpose of art as academic subjects is not, and should not be, taught in a standardized way just to produce some produced artists, but to provide a means of exploring feelings and experiences This is something that every child can enjoy and benefit from In other words, the children should be able to find the true value of “art” in the process itself as well, not only in the “end product” What are the advantages and disadvantages of art education? There are a number of advantages that art education can bring In fact, many studies suggest that art education has many social and academic benefits to students as it promotes self-directed learning, sharpens creative problem-solving skills and critical thinking The arts provide challenges for learners at all levels by connecting them with their own culture as well as with the rest of the world Studies also suggest that integrating art education with other disciplines helps reach the students who otherwise would feel discouraged in class works However, there are some disadvantages to art education as well Learning art can be timeconsuming and sometimes can take decades to finish a piece of work Another major disadvantage of art is, by forcing people to learn it, in general, learners wouldn’t exactly understand the idea of art, and therefore, wouldn’t exactly learn to appreciate art I think whether it is drama, painting, or music, if this is the case, then it can be really depressing and de-motivating for the aspiring artists Why you think some people enjoy looking at paintings and sculptures and others not The fact that some people enjoy looking at paintings and sculptures while others don’t, can be attributed primarily, in my opinion, to how much art education one has received Besides, this is also an issue of sensibility and how emotionally we get triggered by certain artworks In fact, as I have read somewhere, there is a theory which explains that because colours, shapes, sounds and thoughts are all waves form, and the more we are sensitive to these kinds of waves, the better we can understand an emotional message, considering that a piece of painting or sculpture essentially is an expression of an emotion, or transmit it As a result, we will highly appreciate those works of art and enjoy looking at them What are the advantages and disadvantages of being an artist? On a metaphysical level, an advantage of being an artist is that he/she has a heightened sensitivity to the surroundings and being able to nurture it with a childlike playfulness towards experiences throughout the entire life This is because they have the satisfaction of creating something beautiful and special But on a practical level, being an artist allows one to work independently, and therefore mitigates many problems which arise in the workplace However, one of the major disadvantages of being an artist is that he/she is not financially solvent most of the time, and he/she has to rely on some other sources of income to survive And, as a result, an artist has no or a very limited social life Another disadvantage that is worth mentioning is public attitudes Most people don’t take art as an actual profession, which can be equally demoralizing and frustrating for an artist who has a high sense of self-respect Do you think that some people are naturally better artists than others? I’m not sure about this question but I think the answer would probably be yes: just like somebody is better in science and mathematics academically, primarily because of their genetic structure and disposition towards creativity In fact, it is my opinion that it is the genetic disposition when children spent much of their time in their childhood engaging in creative activity, whether it was drawing or singing, or whatever that they enjoyed Therefore, they can develop their essential skills through the process of play Of course, some people would choose to argue that it is the artists’ passion that drives them to become successful But, even if I agree with them to some extent just for the sake of debate, I would still argue that if it is not for their natural inclination or disposition, they wouldn’t be able to turn themselves into some better artists ... feel down and discouraged, I will gaze at it immediately and my spirits will be lifted right away 10 Do you think art is an important part of life? Yes, if there was no art, everyone and everything... seen and taken thousands of pictures in my whole life However, my favorite one is the 12-year-old photo of me where I was sitting in the middle of my parents and grandparents It was an old back -and- white... shirt, full pants and a pair of white shoes and obviously I am the focal point of this picture Other family members were standing around me, with my parents on the right and my grandparents on the