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托福口语优秀范文：成为艺术家需要天赋对于很多正在准备托福考试的人们来说，不知道准备的怎么样了呢？今天就和店铺一起来了解一下托福口语优秀范文：成为艺术家需要天赋。
（图片来自百度）托福口语题目：Do you agree or disagree with the following statement？ A person needs talent to be an artist.托福口语参考范文：Well， I believe one can never be a real artist without some talents.The first one is the talent to be creative because artists cannot just copy others＇works but have to create their own ones. And this kind of ability cannot be taught by any teacher or be acquired through practicing.The second one is the talent to realize the mission of being an artist cause artists are not just interested in arts，but determined to devote themselves to this career. For example， a 4-year-old artist，Aelita，said she’s going to paint for 24 hours. This is not something her parents told her， but an innate desire.托福口语参考答案：Well， I believe one can never be a real artist without some talents.【观点】缺少某些天赋，一个人就不能成为一位真正的艺术家。
关于画画艺术家的英语阅读理解关于画画艺术家的英语阅读理解：An artist (画家) went to a beautiful part of the country for a holiday and stayed with a farmer.Every day he went out with his paints and brushes(颜料和画笔)and painted till evening.When it got dark he went back to the farm and had a good dinner before he went to bed.At the end of his holiday he wanted to pay the farmer,but the farmer said," No,I don`t want money.But give me one of your pictures.What`s money?In a week it will all be finished ,but your picture will still be here."The artists was very pleased and thanked the farmer for saying such kind things about his pictures.The farmer smiled and answered ,"It`s not that.I have a son in London.He wants to become an artist.When he comes home next month,I`ll show him your picture,and he will not want to be an artist any more,I think."1How did the artist spend his holiday?2Why did the farmer ask the artist for a picture?3.The art will be_____when he heard the farmer's last words.4What was the farmer's son interested in?答案：1.He went to a beautiful part of the country and lived in a farmer's home,painting all today.2.Because he wanted to show the artist's picture to his son.3.Angry.4.Paiting.。
托福阅读样题原文整理托福考试中，想让自己获得高分，除了基本知识的练习之外，阅读真题的也是关键的内容。
那么具体的哪些资料比较适合大家复习呢?下面小编为大家整理了托福阅读样题原文详细的内容，供大家参考!托福阅读样题原文整理The year 1850 may be considered the beginning of a new epoch in America art, with respect to the development of watercolor painting. In December of that year, a group of thirty artists gathered in the studio of John Falconer in New York City and drafted both a constitution and bylaws, establishing The Society for the Promotion of Painting in Water Color. In addition to securing an exhibition space in the Library Society building in lower Manhattan, the society founded a small school for the instruction of watercolor painting. Periodic exhibitions of the members' paintings also included works by noted English artists of the day, borrowed from embryonic private collections in the city. The society's activities also included organized sketching excursions along the Hudson River. Its major public exposure came in 1853, when the society presented works by its members in the "Industry of All Nations" section of the Crystal Palace Exposition in New York.The society did not prosper, however, and by the time of its annual meeting in 1854 membership had fallen to twenty-one. The group gave up its quarters in the Library Society building and returned to Falconer's studio, where it broke up amid dissension. No further attempt to formally organize the growing numbers of watercolor painters in New York City was made for more than a decade. During that decade, though, Henry Warren's Painting in Water Color was published in New York City in 1856 — the bookwas a considerable improvement over the only other manual of instruction existing at the time, Elements of Graphic Art, by Archibald Roberson,published in 1802 and by the 1850's long out of print.In 1866 the NationalAcademy of Design was host to an exhibition of watercolor painting in its elaborate neo-Venetian Gothic building on Twenty-Third Street in New York City. The exhibit was sponsored by an independent group called The Artists Fund Society. Within a few months of this event, forty-two prominent artists living in and near New York City founded The American Society of Painters in Water Colors.托福阅读题目：1. This passage is mainly about(A) the most influential watercolor painters in the mid-1800's(B) efforts to organize watercolor painters in New York City during the mid-1800's(C) a famous exhibition of watercolor paintings in New York City in the mid-1800's(D) styles of watercolor painting in New York City during the mid-1800's2. The year 1850 was significant in the history of watercolor painting mainly because(A) a group of artists established a watercolor painting society(B) watercolor painting was first introduced to New York City(C) John Falconer established his studio for watercolor painters(D) The first book on watercolor painting was published3. The word "securing" in line 5 is closest in meaning to(A) locking(B) creating(C) constructing(D) acquiring4. All of the following can be inferred about the Society for the promotion of Painting inWatercolor EXCEPT:(A) The society exhibited paintings in lower Manhattan.(B) Instruction in watercolor painting was offered by members of the society(C) The society exhibited only the paintings of its members.(D) Scenes of the Hudson River appeared often in the work of society members.5. The exhibition at the Crystal Palace of the works of the Society for the Promotion of Painting inWatercolor was significant for which of the following reasons?(A) It resulted in a dramatic increase in the popularity of painting with watercolor.(B) It was the first time an exhibition was funded by a private source.(C) It was the first important exhibition of the society's work.(D) It resulted in a large increase in the membership of the society.6. The word "it" in line 15 refers to(A) time(B) group(C) building(D) studio7. Which of the following is true of watercolor painters in New York City in the late 1850's?(A) They increased in number despite a lack of formalorganization.(B) They were unable to exhibit their paintings because of the lack of exhibition space.(C) The Artists Fund Society helped them to form The American Society of Painters in WaterColors.(D) They formed a new society because they were not allowed to join groups run by other kinds ofartists.8. Henry Warren's Painting in Water Color was important to artists because it(A) received an important reward(B) was the only textbook published that taught painting(C) was much better than an earlier published fundamental of instruction(D) attracted the interest of art collectors9. The word "considerable" in line 19 is closest in meaning to(A) sensitive(B) great(C) thoughtful(D) planned10. The year 1866 was significant for watercolor painting for which of the following reasons?(A) Elements of GraphicArt was republished.(B) Private collections of watercolors were first publicly exhibited.(C) The neo-Venetian Gothic building on Twenty-Third Street in New York City was built.(D) The NationalAcademy of Design held an exhibition of watercolor paintings.11. The word "prominent" in line 25 is closest in meaning to(A) wealthy(B) local(C) famous(D) organized托福阅读答案：BADCC BACBD C托福技巧：托福阅读题型及方法一、图表题总结全文原则1、根据引导词先大定位2、匹配与引导词语义相关的选项，排除与引导词无关/错误的选项二、事实信息题同义改写原则1、读题干，找到其中的关键词2、根据关键词，定位到原文中的有效信息3、正确答案是原文有效信息的同意改写4、选项定位法，逐个击破三、否定事实信息题排除原则1、选项定位法2、核对题干信息四、修辞目的题细节原则1、看选项中的动词从文中找逻辑排除(demonstrate/contrast/refute…)2、重点看本句(细节题)前一两句(观点)，关注段首句(段落观点)3、选择同义改写五、推断题排除原则1、根据原文有效信息选项定位法，逐个击破2、不可过分推，宁可推少，不可推多;宁可保守，都不过分推理3、思路上可以有取反或取非六、句子简化题逻辑对应原则1、正确选项必须包含原句主要信息(主干)，修饰信息可删除，可同义改写，可概括总结;2、最好用的逻辑关系词对照：因果(原因对原因，结果对结果);转折让步比较(虽然对虽然，但是对但是)3、and前后信息有前必有后，不能缺失前后信息七、句子插入题承上启下原则先看插入句找线索，三大线索分别是代词，逻辑连接词和结构八、指代题联系上下文原则指代对象一般为前一句的主语或宾语(主优先于宾九、词汇题熟词直选原则认识单词直接选;不认识根据上下文的逻辑猜测十、六选三题总结观点原则1、全文主题2、一个或多个段落的主旨大意托福技巧：托福阅读一共几道题关于托福阅读题目及分数的问题，大家可以参考托福阅读计分方法：1、托福三篇文章(如遇加试时从五篇中随机选三篇)计分，每篇12-14道题。
2022年托福阅读：欧洲洞穴艺术Cave Art in Europe欧洲地窖艺术P1: The earliest discovered traces of art are beads and carvings, and then paintings, from sites dating back to the Upper Paleolithic period. We might expect that early artistic efforts would be crude, but the cave paintings of Spain and southern France show a marked degree of skill. So do the naturalistic paintings on slabs of stone excavated in southern Africa. Some of those slabs appear to have been painted as much as 28,000 years ago, which suggests that painting in Africa is as old as painting in Europe. But painting may be even older than that. The early Australians may have painted on the walls of rock shelters and cliff faces at least 30,000 years ago, and maybe as much as 60,000 years ago.难词解析：bead n. 珠链;水珠，露珠 v. 用珠子装饰site n. 遗迹，遗址date back 回溯至Paleolithic adj. 旧石器时代的marked adj. 明显的(注：考词汇题等于considerable)artistic adj. 艺术的crude adj. 粗略的naturalistic adj. (艺术或写作)自然主义的; 写实主义的slab n. 厚板excavate v. 挖掘 (古物)rock shelter 岩石遮挡的墙上cliff face 陡崖断面难句翻译：We might expect that early artistic efforts would be crude, but the cave paintings of Spain and southern France show a marked degree of skill. So do the naturalistic paintings on slabs of stone excavated in southern Africa.虽然，我们可能会认为早期的艺术成就都是不成熟的，但西班牙与法国南部的岩洞画显示出了超群的技艺，在非洲南部开掘出的自然石板画也是如此。
教案讲稿第三节高速加工技术一、高速加工的概念与特征普通加工超过70％是辅助时间（零件的上下料、测量、换刀和调整机床）几十年，主要是减少加工过程的辅助时间。
20世纪50年代美国麻省理工学院发明了数控技术，实现了多品种、小批量生产的柔性自动化，成功解决了形状复杂、重复加工精度高的零件的加工，节省了辅助工时，提高了生产效率。
机床空行程动作（自动换刀、上下料）大大加快，辅助工时也大为缩短。
自动换刀时间缩短小于1s，空行程速度提高到30～60m/min。
但再减少辅助工时，技术上有难度，经济上不合算。
可以减少切削的工时，提高切削速度和进给速度。
高速加工可以成倍提高机床的生产效率，还可以改善加工质量和精度。
高速加工技术：是指采用超硬材料的刀具和磨具，能可靠地实现高速运动的自动化制造设备，极大地提高材料的切除率，并保证加工精度和加工质量的现代制造加工技术。
以切削速度和进给速度界定：高速加工的切削速度和进给速度为普通切削的5～10倍。
以主轴转速界定：高速加工的主轴转速≥10000 r/min。
刀具：PCD、CBN、超细晶粒硬质合金、Si3N4陶瓷、TiN基硬质合金，涂层刀具。
高速切削和普通切削的比较1. 高速加工切削速度的范围高速加工切削速度范围因不同的工件材料而异铝合金：1000-7000 m/min◎铜：900-5000 m/min◎钢：500-2000 m/min◎灰铸铁：800-3000 m/min ◎钛：100-1000m/min高速加工切削速度范围随加工方法不同也有所不同◎车削：700-7000 m/min◎铣削：300-6000 m/min◎钻削：200-1100 m/min◎磨削：50-300 m/s2. 切削理论的提出泰勒（Frederick ）是最早研究金属切削机理的学者之一。
提出了传统的切削速度和刀具寿命的关系为线性，即刀具的速度越高，刀具的磨损越快。
但在实际生产中出现了违反这一规律的现象。
托福阅读tpo41R-1原文+译文+题目+答案+背景知识原文Navajo Art①The Navajo,a Native American people living in the southwestern United States, live in small scattered settlements.In many respects,such as education, occupation,and leisure activities,their life is like that of other groups that contribute to the diverse social fabric of North American culture in the twenty-first century.At the same time,they have retained some traditional cultural practices that are associated with particular art forms.For example,the most important traditional Navajo rituals include the production of large floor paintings.These are actually made by pouring thin,finely controlled streams of colored sands or pulverized vegetable and mineral substances,pollen,and flowers in precise patterns on the ground.The largest of these paintings may be up to5.5meters in diameter and cover the entire floor of a room.Working from the inside of the design outward,the Navajo artist and his assistants will sift the black,white, bluish-gray,orange,and red materials through their fingers to create the finely detailed imagery.The paintings and chants used in the ceremonies are directed by well-trained artists and singers who enlist the aid of spirits who are impersonated by masked performers.The twenty-four known Navajo chants can be represented by up to500sand paintings.These complex paintings serve as memory aids to guide the singers during the performance of the ritual songs,which can last up to nine days.②The purpose and meaning of the sand paintings can be explained by examining one of the most basic ideals of Navajo society,embodied in their word hozho (beauty or harmony,goodness,and happiness).It coexists with hochxo("ugliness," or"evil,"and"disorder")in a world where opposing forces of dynamism and stability create constant change.When the world,which was created in beauty, becomes ugly and disorderly,the Navajo gather to perform rituals with songs and make sand paintings to restore beauty and harmony to the world.Some illness is itself regarded as a type of disharmony.Thus,the restoration of harmony through a ceremony can be part of a curing process.③Men make sand paintings that are accurate copies of paintings from the past. The songs sung over the paintings are also faithful renditions of songs from thepast.By recreating these arts,which reflect the original beauty of creation,the Navajo bring beauty to the present world.As relative newcomers to the Southwest, a place where their climate,neighbors,and rulers could be equally inhospitable, the Navajo created these art forms to affect the world around them,not just through the recounting of the actions symbolized,but through the beauty and harmony of the artworks themselves.The paintings generally illustrate ideas and events from the life of a mythical hero,who,after being healed by the gods,gave gifts of songs and paintings.Working from memory,the artists re-create the traditional form of the image as accurately as possible.④The Navajo are also world-famous for the designs on their woven blankets. Navajo women own the family flocks,control the shearing of the sheep,the carding,the spinning,and dyeing of the thread,and the weaving of the fabrics. While the men who make faithful copies of sand paintings from the past represent the principle of stability in Navajo thought,women embody dynamism and create new designs for every weaving they make.Weaving is a paradigm of the creativity of a mythic ancestor named Spider woman who wove the universe as a cosmic web that united earth and sky.It was she who,according to legend,taught Navajo women how to weave.As they prepare their materials and weave,Navajo women imitate the transformations that originally created the world.⑤Working on their looms,Navajo weavers create images through which they experience harmony with nature.It is their means of creating beauty and thereby contributing to the beauty,harmony,and healing of the world.Thus,weaving is a way of seeing the world and being part of it.译文纳瓦霍人的艺术①纳瓦霍人是生活在美国西南部的土著美国人，居住在分散的小定居点。
The Northwest Coast art refers to the indigenous art form that originated from the tribes living along the Pacific Northwest coast of North America. This rich artistic tradition has been passed down through generations and holds immense cultural and spiritual significance for the indigenous communities. Northwest Coast art is known for its distinctive style, intricate designs, and connection to nature.One of the key features of Northwest Coast art is its use of formline design. Formline design is characterized by its use of flowing, curvilinear lines and shapes that are often outlined in bold, black lines. This style creates a sense of movement and gives the artwork a dynamic quality. The formline design is used to depict various animals, supernatural beings, and everyday objects. The animals represented in the art often have an exaggerated and stylized form, with bold lines and intricate details that reflect the artists’ deep understanding and respect for nature.Another important aspect of Northwest Coast art is its symbolism. Each design element used in the artwork has a specific meaning and represents a part of the cultural heritage and beliefs of the indigenous communities. For example, the depiction of animals may symbolize qualities such as strength, wisdom, or spirituality. The designs also often represent ancestral connections and family histories, serving as a visual representation of an individual’s clan or lineage.Wood carving is a prominent medium used in Northwest Coast art. The artisans skillfully carve out intricate designs on wood to create totem poles, masks, and other ritual objects. Totem poles, in particular, are a significant part of the art form. They are immense wooden sculptures that serve as a visual narrative, depicting clan histories, legends, and cultural stories. The totem poles are often placed in front of longhouses or used as ceremonial markers, representing the tribal identity and spiritual presence of the community.Copper is another material commonly used in Northwest Coast art. Copper shields, plates, and plaques are intricately engraved with designs that reflect the artistic traditions and cultural symbolism. These objects were used for trade, ceremonial purposes, and as displays of wealth and status within the community.Northwest Coast art also incorporates other mediums such as textiles, basketry, and jewelry. Weavers create intricate patterns and designs on blankets and robes, using natural materials such as cedar bark and wool. Basketry involves intricate weaving techniques, producing baskets of various sizes and shapes, often adorned with decorative elements such as feathers or shells. Jewelry, such as necklaces and bracelets, are meticulously crafted using materials like shells, bone, and beads, incorporating traditional designs and symbolic elements.In conclusion, Northwest Coast art is a rich and significant artistic tradition that encompasses various mediums and techniques. Its distinctive style, intricate designs, and symbolism reflect the deep connection and spirituality of the indigenous communities with their natural surroundings. From wood carving to weaving, eachart form carries stories, traditions, and cultural beliefs, making Northwest Coast art a valuable and cherished part of the indigenous heritage.。
艺术鉴赏英文作文Art appreciation is such a personal and subjective experience. When I look at a painting, I feel like I can see the artist's emotions and thoughts in the brushstrokes and colors. It's like a window into their soul.The beauty of art is that it can mean something different to everyone. One person might see a simple landscape, while another might see a profound statement about the human condition. It's all about perspective and interpretation.I love how art can evoke such strong emotions. Whether it's a feeling of peace and tranquility or a sense of chaos and confusion, art has the power to make us feel deeply and reflect on our own experiences.One of the things I find most fascinating about art is the way it can reflect the time and place in which it was created. A painting from the Renaissance tells a differentstory than a contemporary piece. It's like a snapshot of history, frozen in time.The process of creating art is also something that I find incredibly inspiring. The dedication and skill required to produce a masterpiece is truly admirable. I have so much respect for artists and their ability to bring beauty into the world.Art has the ability to challenge our beliefs and expand our horizons. It can push us out of our comfort zones and make us question the world around us. It's a powerful tool for sparking conversation and change.In the end, art is a celebration of the human spirit. It's a reflection of our creativity, our passions, and our ability to communicate without words. It's a reminder that we are all connected through our shared experiences and emotions.。
托福口语话题：艺术类课程托福口语考试中有些话题总是出现，同学们在练习的过程中可以总结出自己喜欢的语料，说出自己对话题的不同感受。
话题：Which of the following would you like to add to your schedule:History of science, art history，or modern history?话题：Which of the following classes do you like to take?1. Mathematics,2. Painting,3. Science.提纲：Art1. learn e.g. background, political….2. Interest e.g. 5, technique托福口语参考语料：I would like to add art history to my schedule.First, I can learn more about art if I take art history classes. For example, I can learn more about the sociological, political and religious factors behind each painting. As a result, I can understand the underlying meanings of the artworks better.Second, I have been interested in art since I was a child. I started to learn drawing when I was only 5 years old. I still draw every now and then today. While appreciating masterpieces by famous painters in the art history class, I could improve my drawing techniques.So, that’s why I prefer to take art history classes.。
新托福写作素材：艺术教育的益处新托福写作素材：艺术教育的益处时常会有考生抱怨已经很努力了，可是托福写作的分数总是提高不了，为了帮助大家更好地备考托福作文，下面是yjbys网店铺提供给大家关于新托福写作素材：艺术教育的益处，希望对大家的写作有所帮助。
新托福写作素材：艺术教育的益处Art in the classroom has great beneficial effects on student learning by stimulating multiple intelligences. Art education helps students form creative thinking as well as enhance their cognitive ability. Creating a school environment rich in arts can cultivate students’ morality and result in the ir heightened desires for knowledge and studying. Obviously, the power of art keeps students more focused. Also, for younger people who have difficulties in verbalizing their thoughts, art serves an effective way of expressing their ideas. Art, in this case, could create an easier way of learning new things. Art could serve as a bridge for students to learn new things. With the help of vivid paintings and catchy songs, study can be much more fun and knowledge can be more easily attainable for the young generation.- 托福写作素材Words and Phrases -① stimulate multiple intelligences 激发多种智力✎ Person-to-person interactions are important to stimulate children’s multiple intelligences and to spark inspiration in, and from, their parents.② form creative thinking 形成创造性的'思维✎In such a process, players are likely to form creative thinking that can be adopted to solve practical problems in their work and everyday life.③ enhance one’s cognitive ability 提高认知能力✎ Body movements that are connected to emotions tend to enhanc e one’s cognitive ability.④ verbalize 以言语表达✎difficult to verbalize one’s pain experiences- 托福写作素材话题词汇 -受过教育的 literate文盲 illiterate基础教育 basic education素质教育 well-rounded education终身教育 lifelong education对知识的渴望 hunger for knowledge熟练掌握不同的语言 proficient in/master different languages 借鉴别人的经验draw on other’s experience。
About ArtWe may generally agree that art has many incarnations: drama, music, painting and sculpture, film, such literary expressions as poetry and the novel, the dance, and, in some ways, architecture. Today we see art forms entering fields that were undreamed of only a half-century ago -- video art, for example; music in which the performers rather than the composer decide what to play and when; dance in which dancers deliberately fall down; and plays without words. The primary question, "what are the arts" is best addressed if we ask about the function of art. Just what do the arts do? For whom?Across the history of Western civilization there have been more than a few formulations of what the arts do, but I will focus on five. These are functions that have been important, both in the longer Western tradition, and in the relatively short three centuries in which our country has participated in art. Perhaps the oldest definition of the function of the arts is that they provide pleasure. They offer sheer entertainment. We like stories, as in short fiction and TV specials and popular movies. We enjoy being reminded of the familiar, as in musical patterns we have heard since childhood, and we are pleased by arrangements of color, form, sound, and process that remove us from our everyday cares.That the arts provide pleasure and escape is one formulation. Another is that they present us with insight into what is eternal and universal. Traditionally, this has been called the theory of imitation. Behind every profound work of art, this point of view proposes, is a set of principles about humanity that always prevails. A Renaissance painting of a Madonna and child, for many viewers, is somehow a revelation of transcendent spirituality; a Beethoven symphony is the last word on human endurance. Certain arrangements of color and movement satisfy us over a long period of time, like the ballet Swan Lake, for instance, or Impressionist paintings. We judge them as beautiful. Beauty, many would insist, is the very hallmark of what is truly "art."To these may be added a third function. The arts are didactic -- they teach us. Shakespeare's Macbeth, for instance, teaches us that inordinate ambition is pernicious. Ingemar Bergman's films urge us not to miss the unspoken and the delicately nuanced. All the narrative arts, in fact, instruct us to some extent. When we watch a play that is deeply moral, we see ourselves in the characters, we recognize our own destinies in the plot, and we find the moral dilemma of the action to be representative of problems in all human relationships.So far we have defined the arts as providing pleasure, beauty, and instruction. At the beginning of the 19th century, these functions were considered to be the primary responsibilities of art. During most of Western history before this point, the nature of art had been determined primarily by leaders of society's most powerful institutions -- the church, the government, and the aristocracy. Artists were craftsmen at the service of leaders, and much of the work that they were commissioned to create interpreted and upheld their social vision.Beginning about 1800, these principles were radically called into question, and we continue tolive in an era of challenge. As the church and government, first in one European country and then another, pulled away from commissioning art, artists became competing members of entrepreneurial societies. Artists clamored to attract the notice of potential patrons, setting themselves apart as distinctive individual creators. The pianist Franz Liszt, for instance, in the 1830s and 40s created a public personality as the great piano virtuoso of the era. Socialites who hired him to play at their salons were proud to tell friends that he played the piano with such intensity that repairmen had to be called in afterwards. This function of the arts can be denoted as "expressionism" -- the artist's use of a medium to express unique passion and insight. Poets such as Emily Dickinson and Theodore Roethke, painters such as the American sea painter Winslow Homer, the black folk artist Horace Pipkin, and musicians like blues artist Clarence Leadbelly used the arts to express their deepest private feelings and their vision of the universe. What they created were not works that expressed an official or institutional point of view. They elevated the personal to a level of all-consuming importance.A second kind of expressionism also developed in the 19th century. This one was much more offensive. In societies undergoing tremendous change, artists began to use art to agitate for social change. The French painter Honore Daumier, for instance, in the 1830s used his brush and pencil to protest political oppression. In early 20th-century America, Theodore Dreiser used the novel to point out the devastating loss of place experienced by workers who fled the rural for the opportunities of the city. Photographer Sherry Levine has used grotesque images of women to protest the oppression of the female gender by American advertising, law, and social custom. This form of expressionism we can call cultural criticism. That is, artists take a stand against certain practices in the society that they consider to be unjust. They become a social conscience. Their viewers and readers are typically angered, and in response, artists often consider the intensity of their offensiveness a badge of honor. Their responsibility, in this view, is to shock. "The artist sees what his fellow citizens can't," the French critic Charles Baudelaire wrote in the 1840s. Some artists pay dearly for it. Henrik Ibsen was almost run out of town for a play that showed the willingness of a resort community to poison its visitors with contaminated water so long as the tourist dollars kept pouring in. Daumier was imprisoned for his caricatures of the King. In the early 20th century, Georges Braque, the French cubist painter, expressed his conviction that the most valuable art is deeply provocative. "Science reassures us," Braque wrote. "The arts disturb us."One can well understand that these most recent functions of art -- the expression of private feelings and the criticism of society -- are seen as grave threats by citizens who want entertainment, or beauty, or peace. Yet, an ever-lengthening honor roll distinguishes works first received as unacceptable by resistant audiences. Beethoven's early listeners, accustomed to the predictable harmonies and melodic lengths of Haydn, dismissed his symphonies as literally causing their ears to hurt. The Parisian audience for Stravinsky's "Rites of Spring" in 1913 rioted when the orchestra first performed it. The paintings of Thomas Eakins, now recognized as among the greatest in the American tradition, were rejected as intolerable by his sitters. Van Gogh, two of whose still life paintings have recently broken all records in selling for $50 million, sold only one of his paintings in his entire career. Thoreau's Walden was an economic failure, and Melville's Moby Dick was so poorly received that he went into seclusion for years. When the French gavethe Statue of Liberty to our nation in 1886, the Augusta Chronicle -- in Georgia -- condemned it as a pagan image unsuitable to our country.The corollary to the function of the arts is the inquiry, who consumes the arts? In the earliest years of the American Colonies, most artistic practice was applied to the making of architectural ornament, of pewter and silver vessels for home use -- elements we would consider "craft" that were part of the everyday lives of many of the colonists. Paintings, drama, and imaginative literature were rarely part of everyday life, even of occasional life -- even for the educated and well-to-do. This was because the vast systems of assistance -- of what Howard Becker calls "art worlds" -- were not yet in place. To produce plays, a director needs actors, costumes, a place to produce them, and an audience -- all of which come into being through the slow building up of expectations that plays are important enough to support with money and time. No less is this true of the creation of large paintings, or publishing novels. These are very practical reasons, and in early New England at least, there were factors of ideology as well. The Puritans, and those they influenced, were suspicious of complex artistic productions. They were persuaded that such art distracted attention from religious contemplation and work.However small the early audience for art was in the Colonies, it was to expand by leaps and bounds in the 19th century United States. By the time of the Revolution, American political leaders and thinkers had been acutely aware of the ambitiousness of our government ideals and insisted that we must distinguish ourselves from European nations. As they observed the role of the most complex of the arts in European societies -- none of which were democracies -- they saw that arts were enjoyed only by the privileged. They had in mind lavish gardens of sculptured mythological figures, rooms of huge paintings depicting mythological fantasies, and expensive stage productions in which the aristocracy actually took part. In those contexts, the arts were expensive, and what was even more worrisome, they were patently not devoted to instruction or spiritual uplift.Some Americans argued that complex forms of art did not have to assume the forms they had taken in Europe. They felt that after Americans had developed their economy, their intellectual life, and the social glue of their communities, the arts would find a natural place in national life. John Adams, for instance, wrote his wife Abigail at the time of the Revolution:"I must study politics and war, that my sons may have liberty to study mathematics and philosophy, geography, natural history and naval architecture, navigation, commerce, and agriculture, in order to give their children a right to study painting, poetry, music, architecture, statuary, tapestry, and porcelain."By the 1830s, this vision began to come true in the United States. It took place first in the realm of print, with the importation of journals, novels, poetry, and philosophy. European musicians came to this country to teach and tour. People in urban centers, like New York, Philadelphia, Boston, Baltimore, Cincinnati, Charleston, Saint Louis, and New Orleans, began to take national pride in works that were about American places and experiences. Washington Irving wrote light satirical sketches about old Dutch characters and timorous New Englanders, delighting his NewYork readers. Dramatists and actors began to develop plays and character sketches about such original American characters as the Yankee and the frontiersman. Landscape painters began to interest buyers in pictures of American scenery. By about 1840, it was not unusual to argue that all of this activity meant that the nation was intellectually and morally healthy. In addition, many argued that this activity was necessary in order for the community of citizens to live the fullest possible lives. Amidst the great concern that Americans were entirely too concerned with making money, many expressed the conviction that pictures would turn their thoughts to beauty, music would calm their ambition, and the best literature would send them into the contemplation of matters other than dollars. Through the expansion of networks of publishing, of art academies, traveling dramatic troupe, and small orchestras, towns and cities across the growing nation became part of the democratization of the arts. After the Civil War, many citizens amassed gigantic fortunes and became major collectors, and in the 1870s some of these very citizens began to establish public museums so that their less affluent fellow citizens could enjoy paintings and other beautiful objects as part of their everyday lives.If we look briefly at recent times, we find an even greater enlargement of audiences for the arts throughout the nation. The mass media have become part of that spread. Television has made it possible to explore the work of artists with a close-up focus that is impossible in museum visits. Television has made it possible to see in the performance of music -- the very bowing technique of violinists and the embouchure of flutists -- and to sit with Bill Moyers in the study of noted philosophers and sociologists of our time to hear them discuss their ideas. In communities large and small, in chain bookstores, as well as in the few specialty stores left, and on television, plays, ballet, paintings, sculptures, novels, and films in a wide range of intensity have been presented to mass -- as well as select -- audiences. Yet even as the employment of television in artistic production spread, many onlookers were persuaded that all was not well. Much of the mass audience seemed to wish merely to be pleased. What was being produced for the audiences who wished to be instructed, or to come face to face with the personal expression, or to be challenged, provoked, and even angered?The National Endowments for the Arts and for the Humanities were chartered to meet some of these concerns. As the result of a substantial groundswell, in the early 1960s, of the conviction that the arts were crucial to the preservation of a lively, thoughtful society, Congress chartered the National Endowments in 1965. The NEA was given the responsibility to make possible individual artist's creativity as well as exhibitions that would bring art to large numbers of viewers across the country. The NEH was given the responsibility to encourage the interpretation of the arts, and more broadly, of the humanities. Scholars were to carry out this interpretation in formats accessible to large numbers of American readers, viewers, and museum-goers.At the heart of the work of the Endowments was the conviction that the market forces in our society would not by themselves sustain a challenging artistic culture. In the 15-year period previous to the foundation of the Endowments, for instance, the art market had begun the climb to the precipitous heights at which it prevails today. Prices for old master and 19th-century paintings tripled, while artists still alive were struggling to make a living. The establishment of the Endowments attempted to guarantee American audiences that viewing or consuming would notbe controlled by the marketplace. The Endowments were created to offer the creators, exhibitors, and viewers of art the same kind of encouragement and sanctuary that our constitution offers the pursuit of ideas in language.。
