What is Art?

Banksy's Artwork

 

Why was it produced?

To create controversy in society and in art, to explain Banksy’s personal opinions on society in a picture form.

Do you think the artists thought of it as “art”?

Many people see Banksy’s art as disruptive and as unacceptable. Artists probably view Banksy’s work as a joke, rather than serious artwork.

 

What is your opinion of it?

I like Banksy’s artwork as I think it shows true opinion rather than conforming to the norms of society and creating artwork in the same way that everyone expects artists to do.


What is art?

ART has not always been what we think it is today. An object regarded as Art today may not have been perceived as such when it was first made, nor was the person who made it necessarily regarded as an artist. Both the notion of "art" and the idea of the "artist" are relatively modern terms.

Many of the objects we identify as art today -- Greek painted pottery, medieval manuscript illuminations, and so on -- were made in times and places when people had no concept of "art" as we understand the term. These objects may have been appreciated in various ways and often admired, but not as "art" in the current sense.

ART lacks a satisfactory definition. It is easier to describe it as the way something is done -- "the use of skill and imagination in the creation of aesthetic objects, environments, or experiences that can be shared with others" - rather than what it is.

How could the artistic qualities of a controversial work of art such as the installation above or a

winning entry for the Turner Prize be explained to someone who doubted its artistic merits?

(17 marks)

You cannot define art as any one thing - it is simply someone's feelings or opinions expressed in almost any form. Everyone has the right to create an art of their choice in which ever form they choose, whether that be a painting, to music, to a film. One person cannot define art no matter how logical their answer may be - as the appreciation of different artworks depends on the person. Different people interpret art in different ways - for example, Banksy's artwork to one person may be pure vandalism on public property, but to another, could be inspiring and appreciated greatly, if they share the same views on society, or even if they don't.

Against Immigration

They can be negative aspects from immigration such as overcrowding. England can only take so many people, and due to net migration being higher in immigration in the UK we are significantly growing in numbers which may be ok for now, but it the distant future can cause problems relating to benefits, debt, housing, education etc. Also there may be an issue with the language barrier and more people are having difficulty in understanding one another, and eventually the languages spoken can create problems for places such as the work industry. It could also possibly cause racial or social disagreements between cultures and social ways of living such as informal rules. These are some reasons which can cause large numbers of immigration to be frowned upon.

How have problems changed in society

Idleness was seen as a big problem because unemployment had been high.

Many diseases were life threatening since healthcare was only good if you were wealthy.

Squalor - Housing was inadequate and poor conditions such as slum areas.

Poverty was rife, the elderly suffered as their state pension was barely sufficient (Want)

    People had little education and the school leaving age was 14 (Ignorance)           

what is the Welfare State?
Welfare State constructed during Labour government post world war two– until recently taken for granted.  Concept of cradle to the grave care for all – provision of free access to healthcare (NHS), free education access to social benefits for those in need for example council housing

When was it created?
1945-1950

Explain the concept “from cradle to the grave”
Looking after from birth to old age (links slide show)

When was the NHS created?

1948

Do you think Welfare should always be provided by the State?

This can vary because of the situation it provides for some people, as some people can have a luxury life on benefits yet not work which is not fair, therefore it should be necessarily given rather than provided compulsory. 

Which of the four ‘providers’ of Welfare do you think may provide the best provision?I think that the state is the best because it concerns all aspects of society such as environment, transport and education.

1.  Do you think the creation of the Welfare State has been a force for good? 

This is mostly true however some people take advantage of the beneficial opportunities and therefore is not a good aspect of the welfare state. 

TRANSPORT

why do you think it is different now?

Transport has changed due to an improvement in technology and there are more choices in the way you can travel, they are more advanced and have a quicker duration.  

What effect has this had on the population?

As the population has increased, the transport facilities are a lot busier and therefore need different time allocation and need to work efficiently.

Are we now ‘better off’?

Yes definitely. We can travel anytime and anywhere and do not need to worry about how we are getting there.

How have these changed since 1945?

• health care
• transport
• communication
• employment
• education

Life Changes

Do parents have the right to influence a child's characteristics in order to improve life chances? (for example make choices about what kind of child they want at conception or chose not to continue with a pregnancy if they detectabnormality). 
I believe that it todays society due to modern technology, we are offered a range of outcomes and options prior to pregnancies. If a couple do not want a boy, and then they may decide to abort. If an abnormality is detected then it also may result into abortion. I think that this  process can be bad, due to parents developing their babies the way they want them to be, nurturing them before they are born which goes against nature which I believe to be wrong.

Your life chances are mainly effected by your circumstances. It is a question of who you know not who you are!I think that this may be true to an extent because your area consists of your opportunities which can determine the chances you have in your life. However, opportunities may arise that can provide better outcomes that what you circumstances suggest. Therefore it is not always true. 

The proption of young people from working class families taking part in higher education is less than young people among better off families. Why do you think this is the situation? Is it nature or nurture? What is the key determination in life chances?

The proportion of young people from working class families taking part in higher education is less than young people among better off families.

Why do you think this is the situation?

Is it nature or nurture? What is the key determination in life chances?

This is determined by nurture due to being where you live. If you are richer, and classed as a bourgeoisie then you are likely to have more opportunities. In life, your chances are mainly determined by your wealth but in some cases this doesn’t always happens and depends on your careers, if you want to be a model, then you life chance depends on your nature; physically and your appearance. The UK government use ‘mean test’ so that only certain groups are given benefits.

The government ‘Means tests’ focuses on offering financial support

To the most needy.

The government argue that a universal benefits scheme would mean supporting

Many people who do not need financial support.

Debate the argument above of a universal benefit scheme.

What do you think?I think that it is a good idea to give opportunities to those who can not always financially achieve so therefore this scheme is good in that sense. However, as it can cater for those who do not even need financial support then this is not effective and in fact is wasting money to those who could benefit from it more or even be given to other organisations such as charities.

Independant Research

How far and in what ways do soaps promote certain types of behaviour and legitimise negative behaviour?

independent research

Ashley Cole: 99 caps but not a single England goal to his name...

...Chelsea left-back has one final chance to find the back of the net to avoid joining a very exclusive club

Ashley Cole will earn his 100th international cap when England face Brazil at Wembley tonight, but the magic 100-club is not the only exclusive club that the defender will join.

Should Cole fail to score, he will become just the second outfield player in history to reach a century of caps for a top 20 ranked country to have never scored.

Out of 67 players to have reached 100 caps, only Sweden’s Bjorn Nordqvist failed to score, with his 115th and final international appearance coming in 1978.

Nordqvist played 115 times without finding the back of the net, so Cole still has a chance to score before he overtakes the Swede. However, the Chelsea left-back is not known for his prolific goalscoring record for his club, having netted just seven goals for the Blues – all of them coming in the league.

Having scored nine goals for former club Arsenal – with one coming in a Champions League tie, the possibility that he will get off the mark tonight is not a crazy one, but it is more than likely that Cole will reach the 100 mark with a big zero next to his name in the goals scored column. He is priced at 40/1 with bookmakers to get on the scoresheet.

Of course, England’s most capped player remains Peter Shilton, and although the goalkeeper didn’t score for his country, he still managed to get his goal tally off the mark against Southampton while playing for Leicester City.

There is some who feel that Cole should no longer be first-choice in the left-back role for Roy Hodgson’s side, with the ever improving Leighton Baines breathing heavily down Cole’s neck. With Baines’ set-piece ability, he certainly is a more attacking option, having already scored for the Three Lions in just 13 appearances.

However, Cole has established himself as one of the leading left-backs in the world, and the achievements to his name certainly back up that argument. Three Premier League trophies – two of those with Arsenal which includes ‘The Invincibles’ season – seven FA Cup’s, a League Cup and the famous Champions League victory with Chelsea last season leaves Cole as one of the most successful Englishmen to have played the game.

And although he may receive a mixed reception when he runs out tonight, there is no doubting that fans will let him off if he never scores for England, as long as he demonstrates the same commitment and skill that he has done in each of his 99 previous caps.

General Studies Article and Questions

identify the different stages in the argument in the passage:
proposition, conclusion and argument.

To what extent are the arguments used supported by evidence?
They are supported by a fairly large extent due to the analysing the validity and justification of the argument. It also includes anecdotes to provide real-life data along with statistics to give the argument evidence which is more reliable and accurate.

How reliable is the evidence provided?
The evidence is fairly reliable due to the information being from personal accounts; however this can be doubted whether or not these people are providing accurate analytical observations and information necessary to obtain the argument.

Find 2 examples of argument based on authority. In what ways might the claim to be “authority” be A. justification, B. Unjustified Give reasons for your answer?
An expert in one field is not necessarily an expert in others, this makes their claim to authority of justified by their type of field and instead being able to critique on all areas, therefore the topic matter is highly important.
Also, Experts are no more entitled to claim authority than any other person, which means that anyone can have the right to authority based argument being easily justified, yet the explanation given can vary to be unjustified to whether or not it makes sense.

Examples from text: “Club bosses believe…” They have authority justified by being bosses, yet their view can be bias or unreliable.
“Jenny Brannigan, 18” shares her view, which suggests she is not of a particular authority but the claims in which any person can have the right supports this idea and gives it justification.

Examples of deductive and inductive reasoning in the passage:Inductive: “If you allow two women into the same cubicle they’ll talk forever” who has rejected idea.
Deductive: “it is fact that young women like to go toilet together”.

To what extent is the conclusion of the passage implicit rather than explicit? How far is it justified?The conclusion considers two points of views which makes it explicit by considering more than one alternative. However, it can be implicit because it is quite vague and therefore not considering the information as effectively

Life Changes

Individuals ‘life chances’ are the opportunities each person has to improve their quality of life.

2 factors influence your life chances:

—  Social factors (nurture) – e.g. your family / access to money, type of school you go to / the environment you have been brought up in.

—  Genetic factors (nature) – e.g. your levels of intelligence / your physical, cognitive and psychological capabilities.

Genetic Factors

Do parents have the right to influence a child's characteristics in order to improve life chances? (for example make choices about what kind of child they want at conception or chose not to continue with a pregnancy if they detect abnormality.)

In a way I think parents do have the right to influence their child's characteristics, for example if they are aware of a possibility of abnormality, it is their decision as to whether they feel they will be able to support the child's needs. Also, if they feel that this abnormality could cause problems for the child's life and perhaps may mean they lack life chances, then they could decide it is in the child's best interest to prevent this. However I think that parents should love their child no matter what is detected before birth - whether it be a preference in gender or ability.

Social Factors 

Your life chances are mainly effected by your circumstances. It is a question of who you know not who you are!

Case Study - Education

 The proportion of young people from working class families taking part in higher education is less than young people among better off families.

Why do you think this is the situation?

I think that people from better off families are lead to believe that higher education isn't as important for them as they are perhaps starting life into the working world with more of an advantage than those from working class families, who may feel that without a university degree they will get nowhere and earn no money. People from better off families may have parents in high up jobs who have connections, so that they can start on the career ladder straight away.

Is it nature or nurture? What is the key determination in life chances?

I think this is nurture - it's how the person is brought up and what their families views are like on higher education, aswell as their financial state.

The UK government use ‘mean test’ so that only certain groups are given benefits.

The government ‘Means tests’ focuses on offering financial support

to the most needy.

The government argue that a universal benefits scheme would mean supporting

Many people who do not need financial support.

Debate the argument above of a universal benefit scheme.

What do you think?

I think that the universal benefit scheme is in some ways a bad idea, as it can be a waste of money for the government as some people receiving benefits don't necessarily need them, when instead we can give those with larger financial issues more money in benefits so everyone is more equal. However for those that are only slightly above the income limit for benefits, it can seem unfair as this money could therefore help them out a lot. 

‘Some people are born to be leaders and should get all the privileges society has to offer’

How far and in what ways does evidence support the view above?

Nature vs Nuture

Nature: Our abilities and successes are determined at birth though inherited traits.

Nurture: Our abilities and successes are determined by the environment we are brought up in and the influences we are exposed to.
Various factors about our environment effect our lives, for example:

1.Family structure

2.Education

3.Health choices/lifestyle

4.Income

5.Gender

6.Social Class

7.Immigrant status 

“To give all children an equal chance of a good education, all secondary school places in a local authority area should be allocated by ballot, even if that means bussing students around the authority”

Discuss the usefulness of this view (7marks) 

         I think that if children all had an equal opportunity being based on their area good be a good thing. This is because they would all have the same facilities and accessibility to developing their education. However this idea is not guaranteed being students may use options that are outside the area in order to pursue education further or receive help therefore perhaps making them more likely to be intelligent or talented at particular sports and hobbies. So this may be useful, but only to an extent due to not preventing the limitations into how educational developement can be secured.