01 01 art u1a

Module

1A

Mission Impossible

Art is defined according to different
ideological views along history. In modern
society, art is a symbolic form, a cultural
product shaped by different languages. It
informs and communicates about human
beings, their existence, their world and
their realities and wishes.
Art is conceived from its own codes and
its correspondence with the codes of a
group or society at a certain moment.
In this way, a series of relationships is
established between those who produce
a piece of art and send a message, the
senders, and those who consume it, the
receivers, and get aesthetic readings as
well as formal and semantic feedback.
Visual arts are messages in the
form of images and / or texts. They
become meaningful in a social context.

These forms of art contain a social
discourse and reality. There is a close
correspondence between art and
communication. Artistic expressions,
visual prompts and images are ways of

communication between members of a
given community.
Communication involves different people
exchanging information and taking part
in a social network. It implies a message,
which not only carries factual meaning but
also transmits feelings.
Television news, publicity, the press,
family photographs, drawings and
posters, all inform us about the world and
create all sorts of impressions on us.
Images are produced using different
materials and, among others, graphic,
photographic and multimedia techniques.

Activities
1Answer the following questions.
aWhich elements of the communication process are mentioned in the text?
Tick (3) them.
sender
receiver
medium or channel

message
code
context

bHow is art defined?
cWhat materials or visual forms are mentioned?

English Toolkit 1 - Art

Photocopiable © Ediciones Santillana S.A. / Richmond 2011

What are Visual Arts?


Module

1A
2Match the following words to their definitions.
acommunication
breceiver
csender
dvisual arts
ecode
fvisual communication

1ways of expression through different kinds of images
2exchange of sense and information
3exchange of messages through images
4producer or author of a message or visual product
5spectator, reader or interpreter of the message
6set of signs that organise a message; rules or
conventions of the message

3Compare and answer.
aWhat’s the relationship between comics,
graffiti and paintings?

Photocopiable © Ediciones Santillana S.A. / Richmond 2011

bWhich picture offers the most gestural
images?
cHow does the text of a comic
influence upon the image?
dAre these images common or recurrent?
Do they convey / transmit violence?
Are they provocative or shocking?
Do they make you laugh or cry?
eWhat characters in comics do you know?

4Choose a painting from a book or a magazine and
make an observation chart.
aList all the details you can see in the painting.
bDescribe all the details.
cWrite how each detail makes you feel.
Name of painting:
Painter:
Detail

Some information on painter:
Description

English Toolkit 1 - Art

Feeling