INDEX:
1. art and culture
2. something that an artist has produced
3. relating to art or culture
4. someone who produces art
5. good at producing art
6. someone who is very interested in the arts
7. someone who does not like art
8. a place where art is shown
RELATED WORDS
see also
↑ DRAW
↑ PAINT
↑ PICTURE
↑ DESIGN
↑ DANCE
↑ MUSIC
↑ PERFORM/PERFORMANCE
↑ ACTOR/ACTRESS
↑ FILM/MOVIE
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1. art and culture
▷ art /ɑːʳt/ [uncountable noun]
a way of representing things or expressing ideas, using pictures, sculpture, and other objects that people can look at :
▪ I studied art at school.
▪ The statue is a fine example of early Christian art.
▪ Is a pile of bricks in a museum really art?
modern art
▪ There was an exhibition of Adams’ paintings at the Museum of Modern Art.
abstract art
art that does not show people or objects as they really look, but represents ideas or feelings in other ways
▪ Many people find it difficult to understand abstract art.
art critic
someone who’s job is to write about how good or bad a piece of art is
▪ Art critics were not impressed by the collection.
▷ the arts /ði ˈɑːʳts/ [plural noun]
art, music, theatre, film, literature etc, all considered together :
▪ The government should provide more money for the arts.
▪ They have drama classes at the arts centre every Thursday night.
▪ I’ve always been interested in the arts even though I didn’t have much talent myself.
(the) performing arts
music, dance, and theatre considered as a group
▪ Under the new government much of the funding for the performing arts would be cut.
(the) visual arts
painting, drawing, sculpture, photography etc considered as a group
▪ Granston is a graphic artist who now teaches visual arts and journalism at the college.
▷ fine art also the fine arts /ˌfaɪn ˈɑːʳt, ðə ˌfaɪn ˈɑːʳts/ []
art, especially painting, sculpture, drawing etc that is concerned with making beautiful things or expressing important ideas rather than with making useful objects :
▪ Pitt worked as a medical illustrator before turning to fine art.
▪ Sales of fine art on the Internet are not booming, but many experts feel that the net will play a significant role in the market.
▪ Morris and other artists sought to close the chasm between the decorative or ‘minor’ arts and the fine arts.
▷ culture /ˈkʌltʃəʳ/ [countable/uncountable noun]
art, music, theatre, film, literature etc especially produced by a particular society or a particular group in society :
▪ The magazine is devoted to rock music, fashion, and other aspects of youth culture.
▪ Johnson’s mother stressed intellectual and artistic achievement, while his father considered intellect and culture to be unmanly.
▷ art form /ˈɑːʳt fɔːʳm/ [countable noun]
one of the ways that people express themselves through art :
▪ Ballet is a 400-year-old art form, born in the courts of Europe.
▪ Lehr tries to help her students understand that theater is an expressive art form.
2. something that an artist has produced
▷ work /wɜːʳk/ [countable noun]
a picture, sculpture, piece of music etc :
▪ The collection contains works by Kahlo and Picasso.
▪ Her later works reflected her growing depression.
▪ Some of the director’s best works were created during his neo-realist period.
▷ work of art /ˌwɜːʳk əv ˈɑːʳt/ [countable noun]
something produced by an artist, especially something that most people agree is of very high quality :
▪ From a single lump of clay, Torrence had produced a work of art.
▪ The sketches were never meant to be works of art but are beautiful nonetheless.
▪ The best works of art deal with man’s struggle with the human condition.
▷ masterpiece /ˈmɑːstəʳpiːsǁˈmæs-/ [countable noun]
a picture, sculpture, film etc that is of extremely high quality, especially one that is believed to be the best work of a particular artist :
▪ Adam Smith’s masterpiece ‘The Wealth of Nations’ was written in the 18th century.
▪ Thirteen people helped Michelangelo create his masterpiece on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
▪ The Davis-Evans recording of ‘Porgy and Bess’ has been rightly called a jazz masterpiece.
3. relating to art or culture
▷ artistic /ɑːʳˈtɪstɪk/ [adjective only before noun]
relating to art :
▪ The Czech Republic has a long artistic tradition.
▪ In 1881 when the first moving pictures were shown to the public, it was hailed as an ‘artistic revolution’.
▪ The director feared that business decisions would affect the film’s artistic quality.
▷ cultural /ˈkʌltʃərəl/ [adjective usually before noun]
relating to culture :
▪ The Principal feels that cultural education is very important.
▪ Baroque music was part of a broader cultural movement that affected all the arts.
4. someone who produces art
▷ artist /ˈɑːʳtɪst, ˈɑːʳtəst/ [countable noun]
someone who produces paintings, sculptures, or any kind of art :
▪ Leonardo was the greatest artist of his time.
▪ I bought some post cards of prints by Japanese artists.
▪ The obituary described Nureyev as ‘a great dancer and a true artist’.
5. good at producing art
▷ artistic /ɑːʳˈtɪstɪk/ [adjective]
someone who is artistic is very good at drawing, painting, or sculpture :
▪ She described her mother as ‘very intelligent and artistic’.
▪ That’s a lovely picture - I never realized you were so artistic.
▷ creative /kriˈeɪtɪv/ [adjective]
having a lot of imagination and able to think of new and original ideas in art, music, or literature :
▪ We encourage the children to use their creative abilities.
▪ Ed, you are so creative - where did you learn to draw like that?
▪ Davis was one of the most creative jazz musicians of our time.
6. someone who is very interested in the arts
▷ cultured /ˈkʌltʃəʳd/ [adjective]
knowing a lot about art, literature, music etc :
▪ Sempaio is a highly cultured lawyer with a love of classical music.
▪ The Art Nouveau Cafe is a popular meeting place for the city’s cultured classes.
▷ patron of the arts /ˌpeɪtrən əv ði ˈɑːʳts/ [countable noun]
someone who supports the arts, especially with money :
▪ A genuine culture lover, the Prime Minister was a patron of the arts on a grand scale.
▪ Performances are sponsored by fast food restaurants and other unlikely patrons of the arts.
▷ culture vulture /ˈkʌltʃəʳ ˌvʌltʃəʳ/ [countable noun] informal
someone who is very interested in all the arts - use this to talk about people like this :
▪ While the culture vultures looked round the ruined temples, the rest of us headed straight for the beach.
▪ He’s a bit of a culture vulture - he goes to the theatre just about every week.
▷ arty British /artsy American /ˈɑːʳti, ˈɑːʳtsi/ [adjective]
someone who is interested in or knows about art and culture - use this when you do not approve of people like this :
▪ Jake’s having a party for all his arty friends.
arty-farty/artsy-fartsy
▪ He thought of the band as just an artsy-fartsy bunch of students pretending to play rock ‘n’ roll.
7. someone who does not like art
▷ philistine /ˈfɪlɪstaɪn, ˈfɪləstaɪnǁ-stiːn/ [uncountable noun]
someone who does not like or understand art, literature, music etc - used by people who disapprove of people who do not have this knowledge :
▪ I wouldn’t expect a philistine like you to understand my paintings.
▪ The American desire for material goods caused Europeans to dismiss them as philistines.
8. a place where art is shown
▷ gallery /ˈgæləri/ [countable noun]
a building or room where you can go to look at paintings, sculptures etc :
▪ One of the rooms has been made into a small modern art gallery.
▪ We spent the afternoon looking at paintings in the National Gallery.
▪ Dale is showing some of his work in one of the galleries downtown.
▷ museum /mjuːˈziːəmǁmjʊ-/ [countable noun] American
a large building where you can go to look at paintings, sculptures etc :
▪ The museum has a few of Van Gogh’s early paintings.
museum of
▪ Baldesaro is in New York preparing a showing at the Museum of Modern Art.
▷ exhibition /ˌeksɪˈbɪʃ ə n, ˌeksəˈbɪʃ ə n/ [countable noun]
a collection of paintings, sculptures etc, often the work of one artist or a group of similar artists, which you can go to see - use this especially when they are only being shown for a limited period of time :
▪ Have you seen the O'Keefe exhibition yet?
exhibition of
▪ The exhibition of works by Hans Memling opens next week.
on exhibition
▪ Many of the photographs on exhibition were taken by artists who worked primarily in other media.
▷ show /ʃəʊ/ [countable noun]
an event at which the work of one artist or a group of artists is shown and is often for sale to the public :
▪ Tomorrow is the opening night of her show in Cork Street, London.
▪ a show of new work by young artists