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At the Art Exhibit

Welcome to English as a Second Language Podcast number 30 – At the Art Exhibit. This is English as a Second Language Podcast episode 30. I’m your host, Dr. Jeff McQuillan, coming to you from the Center for Educational Development in beautiful Los Angeles, California. In this episode, we’re going to discuss taking a trip to a museum. Let’s get started.

[start of story]

I really wanted to see the new exhibit at the art museum, and I invited Lucy to come along. We both like contemporary art, and this was an exhibition by an artist we’ve both liked ever since she was up-and-coming 10 years ago.

This exhibit was a retrospective, so there was going to be a lot of different types of work by the artist. There would be some of the artist’s paintings, her early work. There would also be some of her sculptures. Her most recent work is mixed-media. She is very versatile, and that’s one of the reasons I like her work so much.

We were going to the opening of the exhibition, with a wine and cheese reception for the artist. When we arrived in the main gallery, there were already a lot of people there. Looking around, I could see that some of the people were artists themselves and others were art critics. I’m sure there were collectors there, too. I knew the curator and looked around for him. I spotted him talking with a group of people in the corner.

After a little while, the curator said a few words and then introduced the artist. We got a chance to meet her briefly and she was very gracious. I’m glad that someone with her talent has made it in the art world. That’s not easy to do. And I think her best work is still to come.

[end of story]

Today we enter the world of art and art exhibits. I talked about a trip that Lucy and I took to see an “exhibit at the art museum.” An “exhibit” (exhibit) is a special collection of art that you go to see. Sometimes exhibits are of one particular artist’s work, like the exhibit in the story. And sometimes, they are of art from a certain a period of time. For example, here in Los Angeles, a few years ago, there was an art exhibit about King Tut and ancient Egypt; that was a special exhibit.

I said, “I invited Lucy to come along.” To ask someone “to come along” means to ask that person to go somewhere with you. The type of exhibit that Lucy and I saw was “contemporary art.” “Contemporary” (contemporary) means of the current time period. So, “contemporary art” would be art that was made within the last 10 years or so. Contemporary art is also sometimes called “modern art,” although the term “modern” can refer to anything from the 20th century or, now, the 21st century.

I said that we had both liked this artist “ever since she was up-and-coming 10 years ago.” “Ever since” means after a certain time. For example, “Ever since I got back to Los Angeles, the weather has been beautiful” means that the weather has been beautiful from the time I returned until now. “Up-and-coming” (up-andcoming) is an expression we use for anyone – an artist, an actor, a politician – who is not yet famous or successful but will be in the future. Usually, we say this about a young artist or a young actor or anyone who is just starting out but who will probably become very popular.

I said that the exhibit or “show” we went to see “was a retrospective.” A “retrospective” (retrospective) is an exhibit that shows you the history of an artist’s work from the beginning. So, for example, a retrospective of movies by the famous Japanese director Kurosawa would include his early films, such as Rashomon, as well as later films like The Seven Samurai. If you’ve never seen these movies, I can highly recommend them. And my apologies to our Japanese listeners if I have mispronounced those names.

Back to our story, I said that this exhibit was a retrospective, and that it included “some of the artist’s paintings.” “Paintings” (paintings) are pictures that are made with paint: water-based paint, oil-based paint, acrylic paint, and so forth. I said that the paintings were part of her “early work.” When talking about art, we use the word “work” to mean the things that the artist has produced. The exhibit also had some of the artist’s “sculptures.” “Sculptures” (sculptures) can be made from many different materials. The “Venus de Milo,” the famous Greek statue in the Louvre Museum in Paris, was made from marble.

The most recent work by the artist we went to see was “mixed-media.” In modern art, many times the artist will combine different types of art: movies and music and pictures and so forth. When there are different art media used at the same time, we say it is “mixed-media.” I said that the artist we saw was “versatile.” “To be versatile” (versatile) means to be able to do many different things. I am not very versatile, for example.

The exhibit included a special party to celebrate the start of the exhibit, called an “opening” (opening). In the movie world, the first time a movie is shown is called a “premier.” But for a paintor or a sculptor or anyone whose work is shown in a museum, it is called an “opening.” You can have an opening at a museum. You can also have an opening at an art gallery. A “gallery” (gallery) of art is a store that sells art, and it can also be part of a museum. So, we can use the term “gallery” to mean either part of a museum or a store that sells art.

At most openings, there is some sort of food and something to drink. The most common food and drinks, or “refreshments,” at an art opening are “wine and cheese.” “Wine” (wine) is, of course, something that you shouldn’t drink too much of, and “cheese” (cheese) is something very delicious that is made from cow or goat milk. We would call this a “wine and cheese reception.” “Reception” (reception) is just another word for a celebration or a party. An “art reception” is a very “low-key” party; there is not a lot of dancing or loud music. An art reception is much quieter than a wedding reception, for example.

I said that I saw many different people at the opening, and that some of the people I saw were “art critics.” A “critic” (critic) is anyone who writes for the newspaper or is on television and comments or gives an opinion about how good a movie is or how good a piece of art is.

I said that there were also probably “collectors” at the opening. “Art collectors” (collectors) are usually people who have a lot of money who buy art to put in their homes. They call these people “collectors” because they collect the art – they keep the art. We also use the term “collectors” to refer to anyone who likes to collect certain things. For example, there are some people who like to collect dolls and some people who like to collect famous photographs. These are also collectors.

The person at the museum who organizes the exhibits is called a “curator.” The “curator” (curator) decides which pieces of art to show and how they will be displayed. I said that I knew the curator and that I “spotted him talking with a group of people.” “To spot” (spot) someone means to find or to see the person you’re looking for in a large crowd or in a large room. For example, “I can’t find my wife in this crowded room, but then I spot her – she’s the beautiful woman standing at the door.” That’s what “to spot” means. You can also spot a thing: “I was walking down the street and I spotted a penny.” So, I picked it up and put it in my pocket.

The curator “said a few words.” The expression “to say a few words” means to stand up in front of a group of people and say something, but not for very long. That’s why we say “a few” words – not many words. Often you will hear this expression at a party like a birthday party. Someone will say to the person whose birthday it is, “Would you say a few words?” This means, “Will you stand up and say something to everyone?”

I said we were able to meet the artist, and that she was “very gracious.” “To be gracious” (gracious) means to be polite, to be kind, to be nice. I said that I was happy that “someone with her talent” had “made it in the art world.” “Talent” (talent) is an ability or a gift. Usually, we talk about talent when we are talking about some special ability that someone has. “To make it” means to be successful. “I hope to make it in the acting world” means I hope to be successful in that area.

Finally, I said that I thought this artist’s best work was “still to come.” “Still to come” means that we’re still expecting it – it hasn’t happened yet. “The end of this television series is still to come.” It’s in the future.

Now let’s listen to our story, this time at a normal speed.

[start of story]

I really wanted to see the new exhibit at the art museum, and I invited Lucy to come along. We both like contemporary art, and this was an exhibition by an artist we’ve both liked ever since she was up-and-coming 10 years ago.

This exhibit was a retrospective, so there was going to be a lot of different types of work by the artist. There would be some of the artist’s paintings, her early work. There would also be some of her sculptures. Her most recent work is mixed media. She is very versatile, and that’s one of the reasons I like her work so much.

We were going to the opening of the exhibition, with a wine and cheese reception for the artist. When we arrived in the main gallery, there were already a lot of people there. Looking around, I could see that some of the people were artists themselves and others were art critics. I’m sure there were collectors there, too. I knew the curator and looked around for him. I spotted him talking with a group of people in the corner.

After a little while, the curator said a few words and then introduced the artist. We got a chance to meet her briefly and she was very gracious. I’m glad that someone with her talent has made it in the art world. That’s not easy to do. And I think her best work is still to come.

[end of story]

Thanks to our wonderful scriptwriter, Dr. Lucy Tse, for her hard work. And thanks to you for listening. From Los Angeles, California, I’m Jeff McQuillan. Come back and listen to us again here on ESL Podcast.

ESL Podcast is produced by the Center for Educational Development in Los Angeles, California. This podcast is copyright 2006.