A ‣ Changing tastes

Throughout the centuries, people have tended to be suspicious of the new art movements of their period. At the end of the 19th century, for example, people were shocked by Impressionism¹, criticising its practitioners as careless daubers². Later, when faced with Cubist³ paintings, the public were puzzled by those too. The Surrealists⁴ were initially deemed⁵ crazy. Op-art⁶ was criticised because its subject matter⁷ was said to consist of nothing of significance. However, nowadays, liking Surrealism⁸ or Op-art is considered perfectly acceptable, and images from these schools of art⁹ appear everywhere, from posters to advertising campaigns. Perhaps because of the ubiquity of advertising, people tend to be more visually literate¹⁰ than they used to be, and so are perhaps inured to¹¹ surprises. Perhaps new movements in art will meet with less hostility in future.

^{1, 3, 4, 6, 8} types of artist and schools of art of the last 150 years
² someone who paints quickly and carelessly (disapproving)
⁵ considered; formal
⁷ content
⁹ art movement
¹⁰ educated with regard to art
¹¹ not affected by

B ‣ Words for commenting on art

original: new in a special and interesting way (opp. = predictable)

highbrow: intended for educated, intelligent people (often disapproving) (opp. = lowbrow)

impenetrable: extremely difficult to understand (opp. = transparent)

sophisticated: showing advanced skills and understanding (opp. = primitive)

challenging: demanding considerable effort to be understood (opp. = undemanding)

dazzling: inspiring great admiration because it is brilliant in some way (opp. = pedestrian)

evocative: calling up images and memories (opp. = uninspiring)

thought-provoking: making people think (opp. = unstimulating)

exquisite: having rare beauty or delicacy (opp. = clumsy)

intriguing: interesting because it is strange or mysterious (opp. = dreary)

peerless: better than any other (opp. = run-of-the-mill)

tongue-in-cheek: not intended to be taken seriously, despite appearing serious (opp. = earnest)

priceless: extremely valuable (opp. = worthless)

skilful: clever, masterly, done well (opp. = poorly done)

C ‣ Art and metaphor

Notice how words connected with art can be used when talking about literature.

The writer paints his hero in a fascinating light. Minor characters are more shadowy or sketchy but they are also depicted quite powerfully, even though the focus is, inevitably, on the two central characters. These are portrayed with great sensitivity. The heroine is particularly colourful and we see how her character is shaped and moulded by events. Some say the author illustrates his motifs in a black-and-white fashion, but the image he creates to illuminate the evils of slavery will remain with me for ever.