The problem of understanding art. Composition of the exam
What proportion of free time do people devote to self-education? Hundredth, thousandth? The human mind becomes stale over the years and becomes less receptive to new knowledge. Why does this happen, where does the former activity disappear? Internal baggage is something that is replenished by us throughout our lives, we “put some things out” from the chest of knowledge and take them with us, and some things remain there “until better times,” sit and are forgotten. But why do people always put off going to a museum, gallery, theater? Art. Has it really lost its influence? In the 18th and 19th centuries, it was fashionable in noble society to speak French. Many say this is one of the dumbest trends. Wait. But it’s wonderful to be on the same wavelength with those who strive for personal development. Is not it so? So, let's look at the problems of art in the arguments confirming their existence.
What is real art?
What is art? Are these paintings majestically displayed in the gallery or the immortal “Seasons” by Antonio Vivaldi? For some, art is a bouquet of wildflowers collected with love; it is a modest master who gives his masterpiece not to auction, but to the one whose heartbeat awakened a genius, allowed the feeling to become the source of something eternal. People imagine that everything spiritual is subject to knowledge, they read a countless number of books that can make them experts in a special society, in a society where not understanding the depth of Malevich’s square is a real crime, a sign of ignorance.
Let us remember the famous story of Mozart and Salieri. Salieri, “...he destroyed music like a corpse,” but the guiding star illuminated the path for Mozart. Art is subject only to the heart, living with dreams, love, and hope. Fall in love, then you will undoubtedly become part of the art called love. The problem is sincerity. The arguments below confirm this.
What is it, the crisis of art? The problem of art. Arguments
Some people think that art today is no longer what it was in the times of Buonarroti and Leonardo da Vinci. What changed? Time. But the people are the same. And in the Renaissance, creators were not always understood, not even because the population did not have a high level of literacy, but because the womb of everyday life greedily absorbs feelings, youthful freshness and good beginnings. What about literature? Pushkin. Was his talent really worthy only of intrigue, slander and 37 years of life? The problem with art is that it is not appreciated until the creator, who is the embodiment of heaven's gift, stops breathing. We allowed fate to judge art. Well, here's what we have. The names of composers are alien to hearing, books gather dust on the shelves. This fact most clearly represents the problem of art in arguments from literature.
"How difficult it is to be happy these days,
Laugh loudly, out of place;
Don't give in to false feelings
And living without a plan is at random.
To be with someone whose crying can be heard for miles,
Try to avoid enemies;
Don’t repeat that I’m offended by life,
For those worthy, open your heart wide."
Literature is the only art form that talks about problems in such a way that you immediately want to fix everything
The problem of art, arguments from literature... Why do authors raise it so often in their works? Only a creative nature is able to trace the path of the spiritual fall of humanity. Let us take as an argument the famous novel by Hugo “Notre Dame de Paris”. The story was generated by one word “ANA”GKN (from Greek “rock”). It not only symbolizes the doom of the heroes’ destinies, but also the cyclical destruction of the inviolable: “This is exactly what they have been doing to the wonderful churches of the Middle Ages for two hundred years now... The priest repaints them, the architect scrapes them; then the people come and destroy them.” In the same work, the young playwright Pierre Gringoire appears before us. What a low fall was destined for him at the very beginning of his journey! Lack of recognition, vagrancy. And death seemed like a way out for him, but in the end he was one of the few who expected a happy ending. He thought a lot, dreamed a lot. Mental tragedy led to public triumph. His goal is recognition. It turned out to be more realistic than Quasimodo’s desire to be with Esmeralda, than Esmeralda’s dream of becoming the only one for Phoebus.
Is packaging important in art?
Probably everyone has heard the combination “art form”. What is your idea of its meaning? The issue of art itself is ambiguous and requires a special approach. Form is a peculiar state in which an object resides, its material manifestation in the environment. Art - how do we experience it? Art is music and literature, architecture and painting. This is something that is perceived by us on a special spiritual level. Music - the sound of keys, strings; literature is a book whose smell is comparable only to the aroma of freshly baked bread; architecture - rough surface of walls, centuries-old spirit of the times; painting is wrinkles, folds, veins, all the beautiful imperfect features of a living thing. All of these are forms of art. Some of them are visual (material), while others are perceived in a special way, and in order to feel them, it is not at all necessary to touch them. Being sensitive is a talent. And then it will not matter at all in what frame the “Mona Lisa” is, and from what device Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” is played. The problem of the art form and the arguments are complex and need attention.
The problem of the influence of art on a person. Arguments
I wonder what the essence of the problem is? Art... It would seem, what impact, other than positive, can it have?! What if the problem is that it has irrevocably lost control of the human mind and is no longer capable of making a strong impression?
Let's consider all possible options. As for the negative impact, let us remember such paintings as “The Scream”, “Portrait of Maria Lopukhina” and many others. It is not known why such mystical stories are attached to them, but it is believed that they can have a negative impact on people who look at the paintings. Injuries caused to people who offended the painting by E. Munch, the crippled fates of barren girls who looked at the unfortunate beauty with a tragic story, depicted by Borovikovsky shortly before her death. What is much worse is that art today is soulless. It cannot even awaken a negative emotion. We marvel, admire, but after a minute, or even earlier, we forget what we saw. Indifference and lack of any interest is a real misfortune. We humans are created for something great. Everyone, without exception. The choice is only ours: to be the same or not. The problem of art and the arguments are now understood, and from now on everyone will promise themselves to live from the heart.
In the “Trivial Question” section we ask questions that are stupid or ridiculous at first glance to experts and cultural figures, but always because of this “childish” curiosity we manage to get fresh, interesting and non-trivial philosophical thoughts for our readers that can destroy existing stereotypes about modern life. culture and help better understand art.
This issue is devoted to the problem of misunderstanding of the meanings embedded in works of contemporary art, which the viewer often faces. One of the founders of Moscow conceptualism, Andrei Monastyrsky, believed that if the artist’s work is immediately understandable, then the viewer “does not have any aesthetic work in his mind or feelings.”
Ekaterina Frolova spoke with such famous and influential artists as Olga Sviblova, Alexandra Obukhova and Vasily Tsereteli to find out whether misunderstanding really affects the viewer no less than understanding.
Michael Landy, installation Doubting Thomas (saints alive)"
Olga Sviblova, founder and director of the Multimedia Art Museum of Moscow
Misunderstanding generally has a bad effect on people. But misunderstanding is the basis for the development of communication, as Yuri Lotman (famous Russian culturologist - Note “365”) said. Contemporary art is a language that changes extremely quickly. Therefore, if I try to talk to the Chinese and do not understand them, this is not a reason to be angry with the Chinese. Not understanding the Chinese language can also complicate our orientation in Beijing or lead to us ordering the wrong thing on the menu. But this is not the fault of the Chinese or the Chinese language, but our ignorance of the Chinese language. Therefore, if we do not understand a language, we either try to learn it or choose situations where we can do without it. That is, relatively speaking, we don’t go to China and don’t order Chinese dishes in a Chinese restaurant there. The viewer has a choice: either try to understand the language and make certain efforts associated with this, or simply not go to contemporary art exhibitions, because he is not obliged to go to them. Misunderstanding of modern art does not affect the viewer in any way, because art itself is a symbolic object, and it does not affect anyone if safety precautions are observed in a museum or any other exhibition space.
Installation "Artist's Explosion" by Ai Weiwei at the 55th Venice Biennale
Alexandra Obukhova, head of the scientific department of the Museum of Modern Art"Garage"
Misunderstanding is the most powerful driver of understanding the meaning of a work of art. As soon as an open, sincere person says: “I don’t understand what’s in front of me,” he thereby announces his intention to figure it out and understand the subject. And then art is revealed to him in all its fullness. As for people who are not ready for the new, closed, intolerant people, a lack of understanding of what they see, in particular, a lack of understanding of the foundations and essence of modern art, simply closes the topic for them once and for all. The opacity for understanding, the hermetic nature of a work of modern art, is in fact one of its most important qualities. To a large extent, current Russian artists perceived misunderstanding as one of the positive properties of work. Andrei Monastyrsky, a classic of Moscow conceptualism, said, commenting on his objects: “If when handling them the question arises: “What is this? I don’t quite understand what’s going on here,” or best of all, “Finally, I don’t understand what this is” - then good, then they work as they should.” This is the effect of “positive misunderstanding” that should be inherent in any good work of modern art. If the viewer is ready for something new, ready to think about what looks like something alien, unfamiliar, and feel something about what is beyond the ordinary, then he has a chance to break through to a higher level of understanding of reality, not just modern art.
Contemporary art is not created to be admired. His things are not objects of joyful recognition. There is nothing further from simple pleasures than contemporary art. It is in order to use as many human resources as possible, that is, not only the eye (that is, feeling), but also the mind. It is designed to make the viewer think. On the other hand, does the viewer understand everything when he looks at Rublev’s “Trinity” or Dürer’s “Melancholia”? I admit that I myself do not always understand what I see at contemporary art exhibitions. And when everything is clear to me, then I’m not interested.
Thomas Hirschhorn, "Cut"
Vasily Tsereteli, executive director of the Moscow Museum of Modern Art (MMOMA)
In my opinion, an educated person must understand the environment that surrounds him, the situation and reality. Art today is what modern artists breathe, what permeates the reality that surrounds each of us. A person who strives to be free, educated and intelligent, wants to achieve success in his career and in his personal life, does not necessarily have to understand and be a professional in art. He just has to visit museums, read a lot, be interested in art in general, modern music, and literature. Of course, you can ignore everything and not go anywhere, not work on yourself, but this is simply an indicator of a person’s level, his development. Therefore, it is very important that children develop from childhood; schools and educational institutions create courses on integration into contemporary art and culture, in principle, into the history of art in general, so that a person knows and understands culture. Awareness and experience of such things makes us kinder, smarter, more adaptable to any situation in life. Otherwise, we see many examples where people become easily motivated to take wrong actions, and how people do not appreciate what was created before and what is being created now, and do not appreciate the work and talent that surrounds them. Such a society will inevitably turn into barbaric and cultureless.
Yulia Grachikova, curator and deputy head of the educational programs department of the Museum of Moscow
In recent years, institutions have gone through several phases of audience engagement strategies. Speaking about the Russian context, it is worth recalling that for a long time the audience for art projects were professionals and the artistic community. In the 2010s and even a little earlier, Moscow institutions experienced an increase in interest in contemporary art as a leisure format, a necessary fashionable attribute of the life of the “secular” public. This process launched “popularization” tools, including those related to simplifying the “language” of interaction: armies of mediators and guides, the most accessible concepts, star names, “places for selfies” at exhibitions, etc. Whether contemporary art has become clearer and more accessible due to this is a controversial issue. Simplification in this case works not “for”, but “against” artistic projects. Contemporary art uses a large number of information sources, appeals to philosophy, art history and history in general, to political, social and economic processes. For the viewer, interaction with art is no less work than for the artist. Misunderstanding in this case provokes a desire for analysis, formulation of a position, attitude not only to a specific artistic work or statement, but also to certain problems or ideas affected by this work. The elitism of art does not lie in its “closedness” from the general public, but in its demands for intellectual preparation, in its demands for working with consciousness and cognition. And in this case, misunderstanding gives more than understanding. Modern culture suffers from a “popcorn politics” in which people make no effort in intellectual consumption. Refusal from the “incomprehensible” and complex becomes the cause of degradation. The other side of this issue is that “misunderstanding” leads to rejection, refusal to interact and harsh criticism of contemporary art. But I have already said more than once that traditional classical art also requires preparation and in the same way can provoke misunderstanding. And the effect that this “misunderstanding” causes directly depends on the “quality” of the viewer and audience. So I am entirely in favor of “misunderstanding” as an effective tool for stimulating consciousness and cognition.
Ai Weiwei, FOUNTAIN OF LIGHT
Natalya Litvinskaya (Grigorieva), founder and curator of the Lumiere Brothers Center for Photography
Probably, we can only be responsible for the misunderstanding of specific exhibition projects by our viewers and visitors. Misunderstanding of art in general, I hope, does not happen in this world. An exhibition is not just a group of works hung like a museum. Any exhibition, like any work, has an idea that we are trying to convey, and this is exactly why we are doing this exhibition. Misunderstanding or misunderstanding can only arise when the exhibition simply did not realize the very idea it dreamed of. The curator either created an exhibition for himself and his close audience, or was simply incapable of realizing it. As a result, the viewer was left hostage to expectations with a purchased ticket to the exhibition in his hands and with the feeling that he had wasted his time, and sometimes with more sorrowful feelings. I don’t really agree with any rigid gradations between non-contemporary and contemporary art, especially when we are talking about a pronounced misunderstanding of the latter. I cannot remember a period in my childhood when everyone understood the art that the Tretyakov Gallery showed in its main halls or the beloved Pushkin Museum. In addition, at that time museums were not so open to their visitors in the field of their education, but today everything that happens around the museum space is a colossal positive stage in Moscow life. Art doesn’t even walk, but runs to the Moscow visitor, bringing him something that won’t be said or written about, trying to be honest and relevant. The artist becomes in demand, his ideas and statements are the building material that the curator brings to the visitor who is open to him. It is the curator who should make the visit to the exhibition harmonious, and I would leave the artist alone and give him the opportunity to do what he cannot do, otherwise the art will disappear, and only beautiful and funny pictures will remain, although understandable to everyone, but no one needs .
Aristarkh Chernyshev and Alexey Shulgin, installation “Big Talking Cross”
Anatoly Osmolovsky, laureate of the 2007 Kandinsky Prize in the category “Artist of the Year”, one of the most prominent representatives of Moscow actionism, rector of the Moscow Institute of Contemporary Art “Baza”»
Contemporary art, like all fine arts, differs from all other forms such as literature, theater, music and cinema in that it deals with the creation of unique objects. This gives him greater independence from the public. For an artist to live and work, he must have one or three wealthy fans who will buy his works of art and give him the opportunity to work. Independence from the public is the main reason that contemporary art is the most experimental of all other types that exist at the moment. Naturally, experimentation and the creation of unusual objects entails the creation of a complex scientific language to describe them. Many viewers, faced with incomprehensible objects of contemporary art, hope to receive explanations in various texts, which also turn out to be “hermetically sealed” from understanding. Contemporary art is a very strict discipline, it is impossible to practice here, as they say, “what you want, do it.” In modern art, as in science, physics or mathematics, there are certain solution algorithms, but in art there is more freedom and space for solutions. If people want to look into it, they can. I believe this will take about two years. Firstly, an analytical understanding of the history of art is necessary, and secondly, observation. There is no strong difference between modern art and classical art. These are interconnected things - modern art emerged from classical art and is its integral part. Therefore, observation is very important in classical art. You need to know classical art well, understand the principles of its development and historical transformation. Art has a very high rate of return if you invest in promising artists. Their work may be cheap at first, but after 10 years, it may cost 1000 or 10,000 times more. “Closedness” and “obscurity” play a very important role in screening out various speculators, people who want to make easy money on art.
Yin Xiuzhen, installation Temperature
Konstantin Grouss, artistic director, director of the international cultural project "Art-Residence" and the projectZERODanceGallery
I would like to answer this: the viewer runs to the library or to his teacher with the question “What was that?” However, not everyone runs. Personal experience and cultural background determine the reaction to misunderstanding. It is possible to understand everything and everyone - it depends on the artist whether he can arouse this “I want to understand” in the minds of the audience from the consonance of cultural codes. Art is the language of the artist, so it is not the What and How, but the Who that determines the power of the medium that the artist is, connecting various fields of knowledge. The viewer differs from the viewer in terms of visual and hearing acuity, the totality of life experience and mood in the moment. Many attempts to predict the viewer's unambiguous reaction have failed, even among the most impeccable artists. Both in the field of visual art and in the fields of theater, dance, music. Therefore, the reaction to art depends on the reaction to the medium (the total cultural code of the artist and his work. - Grouss's note), including the personality of the artist himself, who in art, especially modern art, is more important than his language. The best response, in my opinion, would be for the viewer to try to convey the artist's message in his own words. Therefore, the statement “I can do this too!” I consider it a completely worthy consequence of misunderstanding, because it raises a counter question inside - “Can I?”
Russian Pavilion of the XIII Venice Biennale
According to A.P. Chekhov. During Holy Week, the Laptevs were at the art school at an art exhibition... The problem of perception of art
Original text
(1) During Holy Week, the Laptevs were at the art school at an art exhibition.
(2) Laptev knew the names of all famous artists and did not miss a single exhibition. (3) Sometimes in the summer at the dacha he himself painted landscapes with paints, and it seemed to him that he had wonderful taste and that if he had studied, he would probably have turned out to be a good artist. (4) At home he had paintings of ever larger sizes, but bad ones; the good ones are hanged badly. (3) It happened to him more than once to pay dearly for things that later turned out to be crude fakes. (6) And it is remarkable that, timid in general in life, he was extremely bold and self-confident at art exhibitions. (7) Why?
(8) Yulia Sergeevna looked at the paintings, like her husband, through her fist or through binoculars and was surprised that the people in the paintings looked like they were alive, and the trees looked like real ones; but she didn’t understand, it seemed to her that there were many identical paintings at the exhibition and that the whole purpose of art was precisely so that in the paintings, when you look at them with your fist, people and objects stand out as if they were real.
(9) “This is Shishkin’s forest,” her husband explained to her. (10) - He always writes the same thing... (11) But pay attention: such purple snow never happens... (12) And this boy’s left arm is shorter than his right.
(13) When everyone was tired and Laptev went to look for Kostya to go home, Yulia stopped in front of a small landscape and looked at him indifferently. (14) In the foreground is a river, behind it is a log bridge, on the other side is a path disappearing into the dark grass, a field, then on the right is a piece of forest, near it there is a fire: they must be guarding it at night. (15) And in the distance the evening dawn is burning out.
(1b) Julia imagined how she herself was walking along the bridge, then along the path, further and further, and all around was quiet, sleepy twitchers were screaming, a fire was blinking in the distance. (17) And for some reason it suddenly began to seem to her that she had seen these very clouds that stretched across the red part of the sky, and the forest, and the field many times a long time ago, she felt lonely, and she wanted to go and walk along the path ; and where the evening dawn was, rested the reflection of something unearthly, eternal.
(18) - How well it is written! - she said, surprised that the picture suddenly became clear to her. (19) - Look, Alyosha! (20)Do you notice how quiet it is here?
(21) She tried to explain why she liked this landscape so much, but neither her husband nor Kostya understood her. (22) She kept looking at the landscape with a sad smile, and the fact that others did not find anything special in it worried her. (23) Then she again began to walk through the halls and examine the paintings, she wanted to understand them, and it no longer seemed to her that there were many identical paintings at the exhibition. (24) When she, returning home, for the first time in all the time drew attention to the large picture hanging in the hall above the piano, she felt enmity towards her and said:
(25) - I would love to have such pictures!
(26) And after that, golden cornices, Venetian mirrors with flowers and paintings like the one that hung above the piano, as well as her husband’s and Kostya’s discussions about art aroused in her a feeling of boredom, annoyance and sometimes even hatred.
(According to A.P. Chekhov)
Text Information
Composition
Have you noticed that it happens that one picture leaves you indifferent, and in front of another you freeze in reverent silence, some melody sounds without hurting your feelings at all, while another makes you sad or happy. Why is this happening? How does a person perceive art? Why do some people immerse themselves in the world created by the artist, while others remain deaf to the world of beauty? An excerpt from A.P. Chekhov’s story “Three Years” made me think about the problem of perceiving art.
A.P. Chekhov talks about how the Laptev family visits an art exhibition. The head knows the names of all famous artists, does not miss a single exhibition, and sometimes paints landscapes himself. His wife at the beginning of the passage “looked at the paintings like her husband,” it seemed to her that the purpose of art was to “make people and objects stand out as if they were real.” The husband notices only negative things in the paintings: either “such purple snow never happens,” or the boy’s left arm is shorter than his right. And only once did Yulia Sergeevna discover the true essence of art. In front of her was an ordinary landscape with a river, a log bridge, a path, a forest and a fire, but suddenly she saw that “where the evening dawn lay, a reflection of something unearthly, eternal.” For a minute, the true purpose of art was revealed to her: to awaken special feelings, thoughts, and experiences in us.
A.P. Chekhov is one of those writers who does not give us ready-made solutions, he forces us to look for them. So, reflecting on the passage, I understood, it seems to me, his position on the problem of the purpose of art, its perception. Art can tell a sensitive person a lot, makes him think about the most mysterious and intimate, awakens the best feelings in him.
I agree with this interpretation of the impact of art on a person. Unfortunately, I have not yet had the opportunity to visit large museums or classical music concerts, so I will allow myself to refer to the opinion of writers, because there are many works in which the authors try to unravel the mystery of human perception of art.
One of the chapters of D. S. Likhachev’s book “Letters about the Good and the Beautiful” is titled “Understanding Art.” In it, the author talks about the great role of art in human life, that art is “amazing magic.” In his opinion, art plays a great role in the life of all humanity. Likhachev argues that we must learn to understand art. Awarded with the gift of understanding art, a person becomes morally better, and therefore happier, because rewarded through art with the gift of a good understanding of the world, the people around him, the past and the distant, a person is easier to make friends with other people, with other cultures, with other nationalities, he life is easier.
A. I. Kuprin writes in “The Garnet Bracelet” about how art can influence the human soul. Princess Vera Sheina, returning after saying goodbye to Zheltkov, who committed suicide, so as not to disturb the one he loved so much, asks her pianist friend to play something for her, having no doubt that she will hear Beethoven’s
a piece that Zheltkov bequeathed to her to listen to. She listens to music and feels that her soul is rejoicing. She thought that a great love had passed her by, which is repeated only once in a thousand years, words were composed in her mind, and they coincided in her thoughts with music. “Hallowed be thy name,” the music seemed to say to her. The amazing melody seemed to obey her grief, but it also consoled her, just as Zheltkov would console her.
Yes, great is the power of real art, the power of its impact. It can influence a person’s soul, ennobles it, elevates thoughts.
More arguments.
A short story by V. P. Astafiev, “A Far and Near Fairy Tale,” tells how music is born and what impact it can have on a person. As a little boy, the narrator heard a violin. The violinist played Oginsky’s composition, and this music shocked the young listener. The violinist told him how the melody was born. The composer Oginsky wrote it, saying goodbye to his homeland, managed to convey his sadness in sounds, and now it awakens the best feelings in people. The composer himself is no longer there, the violinist, who gave the listener wonderful moments of comprehending beauty, died, the boy grew up... One day at the front he heard the sounds of an organ. The same music sounded, the same Oginsky polonaise, but in childhood it evoked tears, shock, and now the melody sounded like an ancient battle cry, calling somewhere, forcing someone to do something, so that the fires of war would go out, so that people would not huddle close to the burning ruins , so that they go into their home, under the roof, to their relatives and loved ones, so that the sky, our eternal sky, does not throw up explosions and burn with hellish fire.
K. G. Paustovsky tells in the story “Basket with Fir Cones” about the composer Grieg and his chance meeting with the little girl Dagny. The sweet little girl surprised Grieg with her spontaneity. “I will give you one thing,” the composer promises the girl, “but it will be in ten years.” Ten years passed, Dagny grew up and one day at a symphonic music concert she heard her name. The great composer kept his word: he dedicated a musical play to the girl, which became famous. After the concert, Dagny, shocked by the music, exclaims: “Listen, life, I love you.” And here are the last words of the story: “...her life will not be in vain.”
6. Gogol “Portrait”. The artist Chartkov in his youth had quite a talent, but he wanted to get everything from life at once. One day he comes across a portrait of an old man with surprisingly lively and scary eyes. He has a dream in which he finds 1000 ducats. The next day this dream comes true. But the money did not bring happiness to the artist: he bought a name for himself by bribing the publisher, began to paint portraits of the powerful, but he had nothing left of the spark of talent. Another artist, his friend, gave everything to art, he is constantly learning. He lives in Italy for a long time, spending hours standing by the paintings of great artists, trying to comprehend the secret of creativity. The painting of this artist, seen by Chartkov at the exhibition, is beautiful, it shocked Chartkov. He tries to paint real pictures, but his talent is wasted. Now he buys up masterpieces of painting and, in a fit of madness, destroys them. And only death stops this destructive madness.
According to I. Bunin. Based on the story Book. Lying on the threshing floor in the sweeper, I read for a long time... About the purpose of art
(1) Lying on the threshing floor in a sieve, I read for a long time - and suddenly I was outraged. (2) I’ve been reading again since early morning, again with a book in my hands! (3) And so day after day, since childhood! (4) He lived half his life in some kind of non-existent world, among people who never existed, made up, worried about their destinies, their joys and sorrows, as if he were his own, until the grave connecting himself with Abraham and Isaac, with the Pelasgians and Etruscans, with Socrates and Julius Caesar, Hamlet and Dante, Gretchen and Chatsky, Sobakevich and Ophelia, Pechorin and Natasha Rostova! (5) And how can I now sort out among the real and fictitious companions of my earthly existence? (6) How to separate them, how to determine the extent of their influence on me?
(7) I read, lived with other people’s inventions, but the field, the estate, the village, men, horses, flies, bumblebees, birds, clouds - everything lived its own, real life. (8) And so I suddenly felt this and woke up from my book obsession, threw the book into the straw and with surprise and joy, with some new eyes, I look around, I keenly see, hear, smell, - most importantly, I feel something unusually simple and at the same time unusually complex, that deep, wonderful, inexpressible thing that exists in life and in myself and which is never properly written about in books.
(9) While I was reading, changes were secretly taking place in nature. (10) It was sunny and festive; now everything is dark and quiet. (11) Little by little, clouds and clouds gathered in the sky, in some places, especially to the south, still bright and beautiful, but to the west, behind the village, behind its vines, rainy, bluish, boring. (12) Warm, soft smell of distant field rain. (13) One oriole is singing in the garden.
(14) A man is returning from the graveyard along the dry purple road that runs between the threshing floor and the garden. (15) On his shoulder is a white iron shovel with blue black soil stuck to it. (16) The face is younger, clear. (17) The hat is pushed off the sweaty forehead.
(18) - I planted a jasmine bush on my girl! - he says cheerfully. - Good health. (19) Do you read everything, make up all the books?
(20) He is happy. (21) What? (22) Only because he lives in the world, that is, he does something most incomprehensible in the world.
(23) An oriole is singing in the garden. (24) Everything else became quiet, silent, you couldn’t even hear the roosters. (25) She sings alone, slowly making playful trills. (26) Why, for whom? (27) Is the garden, the estate for oneself, for the life that has lived for a hundred years? (28) Or maybe this estate lives for her flute singing?
(29) “I planted a jasmine bush on my girl.” (30) Does the girl know about this? (31) The man thinks he knows, and maybe he’s right. (32) By evening the man will forget about this bush - for whom will it bloom? (33) But it will bloom, and it will seem that it is not in vain, but for someone and for something.
(34) “You read everything, you invent all the books.” (35) Why invent? (36) Why heroines and heroes? (37) Why a novel, a story, with a beginning and an ending? (38) The eternal fear of seeming not bookish enough, not similar enough to those who are famous! (39) And eternal torment is to remain silent forever, not to speak precisely about what is truly yours and the only real thing, which requires the most legitimate expression, that is, trace, embodiment and preservation, at least in words!
Composition
What an amazing story by A.P. Chekhov! As always with this writer, you don’t immediately understand what he wanted to say with his work, what questions he invites you to think about.
Summer day. The lyrical hero reads a book, which he suddenly throws away indignantly: “I lived half my life in some non-existent world, among people who never existed, made up, worried about their destinies, their joys and sorrows, as if it were my own...” It seems to him that he has woken up from the book obsession and looks with new eyes at “the deep, wonderful, inexpressible things that exist in life.” There is wonderful nature all around, an ever-changing landscape. A new face appears: a man with a clear, rejuvenated face. “I planted a jasmine bush on my girl,” he says. We understand that he planted this bush on his daughter’s grave. So why be happy? We are perplexed along with the hero. And then an understanding comes: the girl will not know about this bush, but it will bloom “not without reason, but for someone and for something.” And again a return to previous thoughts: why write novels and stories? And this is where the insight comes: the problem that worries both Chekhov’s hero and the writer himself so much is the problem of the purpose of art. Why does a person need to express himself in books, in poetry, in music, in a painting? This is how I would formulate the question arising from the thoughts of the lyrical hero.
And the answer to it is in the last sentence of the text: “And eternal torment is to remain silent forever, not to speak about what is truly yours and the only real thing, which requires the most legitimate expression, that is, trace, embodiment and preservation, at least in a word! » The author’s position, if expressed in other words, is this: the purpose of creativity, the purpose of art is to tell people what worries you, to express the feelings that you experience, to leave a “trace of embodiment” on earth.
The question of the purpose of art worried many writers. Let's remember
A. S. Pushkin. In the poem “Prophet”, “God’s voice” appealed to the poet:
“Rise up, prophet, and see and listen,
Be fulfilled by my will,
And, bypassing the seas and lands,
Burn the hearts of people with the verb."
“To burn the hearts of people with a verb” means to awaken in them a thirst for a better life, for struggle. And in the poem “I erected a monument to myself not made by hands...”, written shortly before his death, the poet asserts the greatness of a poetic monument in comparison with other ways to perpetuate merit.
A person to whom God has given the talent to say something of his own to people cannot remain silent. His soul demands to leave a mark on the earth, to embody and preserve his “I” in words, in sound, in paintings, in sculpture...
Our focus is on the text of the outstanding Soviet and Russian writer Viktor Petrovich Astafiev, which describes the moral problem of neglect of art, which is one of the main tragedies of modern society.
The relevance of this problem is very important, because the values of modern society are truly frightening. Lack of awareness, haste, the cycle of personal experiences and the daily pursuit of something more valuable have turned most of us into a society of “blind” people. But really, when was the last time you attended a theater production, symphony concert or ballet? Perhaps, on your way home from work, you stopped at some pleasant street concert and thereby lifted your spirits? Would each of us be able to answer these questions positively? I think the answer is obvious.
The author's position is clear: young people have lost touch with art and turned into egoists. Thus, using the example of a symphony concert in Essentuki, Viktor Petrovich narrates: “... already from the middle of the first part of the concert, the listeners, who had crowded into the hall for the musical event only because it was free, began to leave the hall.
Yes, if only they just left him, silently, cautiously, no, with indignation, shouting, abuse, as if they had been deceived in their best lusts and dreams.” When reading this passage, I felt a sense of shame and embarrassment for everyone who allowed themselves to leave so defiantly.
I understand and share the author’s position, because each of us has our own hobby, work, and we treat it painstakingly and with love. Who would not be offended by such an attitude towards work into which so much effort and soul was invested. Yes, classical music is not understandable to everyone; it is part of an elite culture and requires a certain degree of intellectual preparation. But we must not forget about education, respect and everything that should have stopped these spectators in time.
The relevance of this problem was also obvious to Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, who was always against the inhabitants of life who want to retire from the whole world and are not interested in anything. With the help of the heroes of the works “Man in a Case” and “Gooseberry” by Belikov and Himalayan, the author shows us how boring and empty a person is who is not interested in the beauty of the world around him, all its delights created by man and nature.
My mother told me that as a baby I fell asleep only to classical music, and in first grade I attended a concert at the Philharmonic for the first time and was so full of enthusiasm that the very next day I was enrolled in a piano club. I studied there until the eighth grade, and now I often play music and listen to the works of classics. Perhaps this makes me old-fashioned, but for me art, be it music, architecture or painting, is first and foremost spiritual food, in which, upon careful examination, you can see a reflection of the author or, with special luck, yourself...
Thus, you must not lose this thin thread in yourself, which will save you from many adversities. I think that any mental organization is a subtle matter that has its own weaknesses, which is why we must keep within ourselves such concepts as frugality, respect for other people’s work and a willingness to contemplate and create. Only by developing and rising spiritually can we consider ourselves full-fledged individuals.
Updated: 2017-03-18
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After reading a book, looking at a painting, listening to music, a person often remains perplexed. "Can not understand anything!" - the reader, viewer or listener exclaims in disappointment. However, did he try to comprehend the author’s intention or did he expect that everything in a work of art should be clear and precise? Here we are faced with the problem of understanding art, which is the subject of the text...
You should also pay attention to language tools, which can be used in the introductory part of an essay.
1. Question-answer unity. Rhetoric experts advise introducing elements of dialogue into public speaking. Dialogue will not hurt in the composition, it will make the performance more energetic. For example:
What is beauty? This is probably one of the most mysterious concepts in the history of culture. Many generations of people have struggled with this riddle. Artists, sculptors, poets sought to comprehend the secret of beauty and harmony. The text by V. Sukhomlinsky makes us think about what beauty is and what its role in human life is.
2. Chain of interrogative sentences. Several interrogative sentences at the beginning of the essay are designed to fix attention on the key concepts of the source text and highlight the main thing in it.
What is talent? How should a person live so as not to waste his gift? Such questions involuntarily arise after reading the text by Yu. Bashmet.
3. Nominative sentence (nominative topic).
The title sentence in the beginning must also contain the key concept or name of the person described in the source text.
Marina Tsvetaeva. This name is dear to everyone who appreciates real poetry. It seems to me that it is difficult to find a person whom Tsvetaeva’s poems would leave indifferent. Literary critic Evgeny Borisovich Tager is one of those who were lucky enough to know Marina Ivanovna personally. In his memoirs, he strives to reveal the inner world of this amazing poet.
4. A rhetorical question. Not every interrogative sentence is a rhetorical question. A rhetorical question is a sentence that is interrogative in form and affirmative in meaning.
Who among us has not heard that truth is born in a dispute? You've probably encountered avid debaters who are ready to argue until they are hoarse over any little thing. Of course, there are various ways of conducting a dispute, which L. Pavlova considers in her text.
5. A rhetorical exclamation expresses the writer’s emotions: joy, surprise, admiration... draws attention to the subject of speech.
How beautiful the Russian language is! There are so many words in it that can express the deepest thought or any shade of feeling! Why is it that sometimes, when a person takes a piece of paper or sits down at the computer, only boring, template phrases appear in his head? What is the reason for the appearance of cliches in our speech? This problem worries everyone who is truly demanding of themselves and their speech culture.
REMEMBER that there are no “universal” introductions that fit any text. As a rule, a formulaic opening does not look good against the backdrop of the main part that follows it.
How to finish?
As a rule, the conclusion is written at a time when there is little time left until the end of the exam. Often the writer begins to get nervous, fearing that he will not have time to rewrite the text completely, and breaks off the essay mid-sentence. Of course, such work is flawed from the point of view of compositional integrity, which means it will not receive the maximum score for this criterion.
The main requirement for the final part of the essay can be formulated as follows: the conclusion should be such that the reader understands that the most important thing has already been said and there is nothing more to say.
So what could it be the final part of the essay?
1. Summary, repetition in a generalized form of the main idea of the text, the position of the author. This is the most common type of conclusion: return to the author's main idea, expressing it in your own words, so that it does not seem like a simple repetition of the same thing.
...Thus, A. Likhanov raises an issue that is important for each of us, calls for preserving childhood in the soul, not leaving in the past a joyful, childlike, direct perception of life. But the world around us is truly beautiful. It's just that as people grow up, they often forget about this.