1 . Picasso’s reputation as a major 20th-century sculptor came only after his death, because he had kept much of his sculpture in his own collection. Beginning in 1928, Picasso began to work in iron and sheet metal in Julio González’s studio in Paris. Then, in 1930, he acquired the Chateau Boisgeloup (northwest of Paris), where he had room for sculpture studios. There, with his mistress Marie-Thérèse Walter as his muse, Picasso began working in 1931 on large-scale plaster heads. In the 1930s he also made constructions incorporating found objects, and until the end of his life Picasso continued working in sculpture in a variety of materials.
Picasso’s ceramics(陶瓷制品) are usually set apart from his main body of work and are treated as less important, because at first glance they seem a somewhat frivolous exercise in the decoration of ordinary objects. Plates, jugs, and vases, made by craftsmen at the Madoura pottery in Vallauris, were in Picasso’s hands reshaped or painted, gouged out, scratched, or marked by fingerprints and, for the most part, were rendered useless. In turning to craft, Picasso worked with a sense of liberation, experimenting with the play between decoration and form (between two and three dimensions) and between personal and universal meaning.
During that period Picasso’s fame increasingly attracted numerous visitors, including artists and writers, some of whom (Hélène Parmelin, Édouard Pignon, Éluard, and especially Louis Aragon) encouraged Picasso’s further political involvement. He contributed designs willingly (his dove was used for the World Peace Congress poster in Wroclaw, Poland, in 1949), which was from a sincere and lifelong sympathy with any group of repressed people. War and Peace, two panels begun in 1952 to adorn the Temple of Peace attached to an old chapel in Vallauris, reflect Picasso’s personal optimism of those years.
1. Which of the following statements is NOT true?| A．Picasso only became famous after his death. | B．Picasso had a lot of his own collections. |
| C．In 1930 he began to make incorporating objects. | D．He started working in 1931. |
| A．Not having any serious purpose or value. | B．Able to be used for a practical purpose. |
| C．Funny and ridiculous. | D．Expensive and elegant. |
| A．Because Picasso kept a lot of his artworks after his own death. |
| B．Because Picasso had the ability to attract many visitors and writers. |
| C．Because Picasso’s artworks carried his sense of liberation and designed specially. |
| D．Because Picasso’s artworks are worth a lot of money. |
| A．Picasso’s Outstanding Sculpture |
| B．Why We All Love Picasso’s Art? |
| C．Picasso’s Works of Sculpture and Ceramics |
| D．Picasso’s In-depth Influence on Art and Politics |
2 . Black and white mountains and rocks covered in colorful mist—the combination of Chinese and Western painting styles—attracts Michela Millstein at an art exhibition in San Francisco.
“I think there are a lot of meanings behind the paintings. You can tell that it’s trying to show cultural things and not just a picture,” Millstein says. Having studied Chinese for three years, Millstein, a high school student in the San Francisco Bay Area, says she loves Chinese culture.
The exhibition, The Flying Colors, presented more than 60 pieces of Chinese ink paintings by a local artist, Arthur Ku, at San Francisco City Hall recently.
“Arthur Ku is a well-known painter, calligrapher, and artist; his endless devotion to the art community has undoubtedly contributed to the vitality (活力) of San Francisco,” the mayor said in the announcement.
Ku was born in Guangdong province in 1941 and settled down in the United States in 1977. He has been exploring the “splash ink and color” style, which is a technique of working with splashy (泼墨), colorful washes to create an abstract, expressive style. Ku’s artistic talent in traditional Chinese brush and ink painting inspired a unique style of down-to-earth and creative freedom, which created a critical attempt of traditional Chinese brush painting into modern and contemporary art, according to mayor’s statement.
Ku is also keen to promote cultural and artistic exchanges between China and the US to improve art and friendship. He has successfully held several joint painting exhibitions in the US for artists from China.
“I think inclusiveness brings unity and diversity brings vitality. We are now living in the most challenging times. So, I think it’s important for us to embrace more inclusiveness and diversity, to have more cultural dialogue, so that we can communicate better and respect each other more.” said Arthur Ku.
1. What can we learn from Millstein’s words in paragraph 2?| A．The exhibition held recently. |
| B．The beauty of artistic works. |
| C．The passion for artistic works. |
| D．The cultural significance of the works |
| A．Innovative. | B．Traditional. | C．Costly. | D．Inimitable. |
| A．To promote cultural and artistic exchanges. |
| B．To found an international charity organisation. |
| C．To enhance the reputation of some Chinese artists. |
| D．To introduce the history of Chinese traditional arts. |
| A．The learning process of a Chinese artist. |
| B．An artist furthering cultural communication. |
| C．The guidance on communicating and respecting. |
| D．An art exhibition held at San Francisco City Hall. |
