【0710G 五一互助小组】7月作业 I131

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Issue 131
"The arts (painting, music, literature, etc.) reveal the otherwise hidden ideas and impulses of a society."

提纲：同意
1．        艺术是现实的升华，高于生活，旨在揭示人的内心和情感， 而人又组成了社会。比如：Madonna and child, Beethoven, Shakespeare’s Macbeth, Photographer Sherry Levine.
2．        艺术又可以表达社会的hidden ideas.比如说中世纪教会和贵族对艺术的限制。
3．        但是，不仅仅只有艺术可以reveal the hidden ideas.

Can arts, such as painting, music, literature, play and photograph and so forth reveal the otherwise hidden ideas and impulse of a society? I agree that arts are the collection of wisdom of human beings and can reflect the internal world of individuals. Arts not only express the beauty of life, but also reveal the deeper thoughts and impulses of a society. Yet strictly followed, the arts are not the only way to reveal the otherwise hidden spirit.

On the one hand, the arts are sublimation of life. Perhaps the oldest definition of the function of the arts is that they provide pleasure. Another is that they present us with insight into what is eternal and universe. The aim of the art is that they reveal the feeling and emotion of people. For instance, the Renaissance painting Madonna and Child, for many viewers, is the revelation of transcendent spirituality. Beethoven’s eminent symphony reflects his eternal pursuit of freedom. Shakespeare’s Macbeth teaches us that inordinate ambition is pernicious. The photographer Sherry Levine has used grotesque images of women to protest the oppression of the female gender by American law and social custom. All these people’s works reveal the hidden ideas of them, and of cause, individuals constitute the society. These masters are representative of every aspect of the society, though they are in the different era.

On the other hand, the arts not only reflect the active respect of the society but also reveal the society’s dark angle and restrain. The middle age is a good case in point. Consider western history before 19th century, when the nature of art is determined primarily by leaders of society’s most powerful institutions-the church and aristocracy, the arts only reflected the value of rulers. Therefore the paintings, music, statue, literature and so forth are only at the service of the dominating power. We can also probe that the populace have no right to determine their life. Observing from the arts, we can sense the sorrow of an age, the oppression of the creation of the freedom and the impulses of the society to reform. However, these characters not directly take on, they conceal behind the arts in middle ages.

However, the arts are not the only way to reveal the hidden meanings and impulses of a society. The change of the architecture can reflect a society’s culture; the transportation can reveal a society’s development; the variation of the food can unveil a society’s increasing level of life. All these above can reveal the otherwise hidden ideas of a society. Moreover, the advance of individuals’ consciousness can also reflect that people are more willing to participate in the politics and business of a society. This of cause uncovers the impulses of a society.

To sum up, the arts can reveal the otherwise hidden ideas and impulses of a society. But, the arts are not the only way to express the society. However, the arts are a proper method and measure to reveal the dilemma and contradiction of individuals and reflect the change of a society.