Culture and Art

What do we mean by ‘art’? The sense of the word changes from generation to generation. We use the word a great deal and in many different contexts. As a general definition art is a creation of something that is ‘aesthetically pleasing’, something that people like and admire. Unfortunately, not everybody was born with the ability to create art or to perform it. Those lucky ones who are gifted enough can make a living as painters, sculptors, writers, musicians, conductors and actors. All around the world we know really a lot of kinds of art. By the way, things which generally come under the heading of ‘arts’ are called artworks. So we can divide this huge numbers of artworks to some categories.

The first is fine art. I think fine art is everywhere around us. Everybody have some pictures or a small statue at home. Fine arts refer to painting and sculpture. So painters and sculptors try to explain their emotions and ideas only with a brush, a canvas or a chisel and they know to make an unique artwork. When we see buildings such as castles, palaces, we must admire the art of architecture and its beauty. Of course, something what is beautiful must be displayed in some special place that are museums and art galleries, which present pictures and statues or oil paintings, watercolour paintings, masterpieces etc. Names like Picasso, Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Claude Monet or Michelangelo are immortal. These people I think were genius because they made something that will be beautiful many next years.

The second is music. Music exists since we can remember. The first people imitated music from nature. When they began to talk they started to sing, too. When they were happy or sad all the time helped music. Music became the art because it provides people with a satisfaction and an enjoyment. Now we can listen music everywhere and all the time. If you like opera, classical music, orchestral music, choirs and philharmonic or chamber music you can visit theatres or concert halls. An orchester consists of many musicians like pianists, violinists, cellists, flutists, percussionists, guitarists etc. Young people who are fans of pop and rock prefer open-air concerts. But if you aren’t demanding you can listen to radio or mp3. In the entertainment industry exist a lot of kinds of music. We can divide this numbers to two groups. The first group is where human voice is necessary, for example opera.

Further, we know other kinds of music pop, rock, country, blues, folk, reggae and classical music. Classical music is one of European treasures. Names like Beethoven, Mozart or Bach sounds familiar to every European. The second group is more popular nowadays. It is music where artist use more sounds than singing. It is called ‘techno’ and ‘house’. Music is mixed by computer or special equipments. So music art is an art consumed by the most people all over the world.

The third category is literature. Literature is a part of art which includes novels, short stories, biographies, drama and poetry. Writers have a gift to put their ideas on paper and brilliantly create a story. When a book is well-written, it is a joy to read and hard to put down. We know books for a very long time. At the beginning, books were used mainly for variety of historical records. Later we began to use them for entertainment, relaxation and learning or education. In our life, there appear many various kinds of literature. In my point of view, young people are not interested in reading books in comparison with the consumption of TV culture. They rather prefer modern technologies, such as internet, television and mobile phones, which are more interesting for the young generation. Many books have been created into films.

And the last group is dramatic art. To make a film is an art as well. Producers and directors are in some way artists too, because it is not easy to make something that is enjoyable to watch. We cannot forget to mention the actors and actresses who represent the performing arts. They are acting (performing) on a stage or in a film. We can go to see them in a theatre, cinema or at home by watching them on TV. So Theatre exists for many years and it became the first success of actors. Especially in the past acting was a part of culture in France or in England. However, theatres changed. Nowadays people prefer rather cinemas than theatre.

But I am sure culture is our national heritage, so we should help our culture and when it is possible we should spend only a moment with our culture. It is very important because without culture country doesn’t exist!!!