Art et expression

1. a)The story takes place in Detroit, on Grand Street. At the beginning, Maya could see a huge grey wall covered with old advertisements that nobody could read any more. (Accepter toute réponse mentionnant Detroit + le mur gris/vide et publicités illisibles.) (1)
2. b)Ruth means that the mural is not a simple decoration: the aim is not to make the wall prettier but to give the neighbourhood a memory and a voice, by painting the real people who lived there. (Toute reformulation opposant « embellir » et « raconter / rendre hommage » est acceptée.) (1)
3. c)Their reaction shows that the mural moved them deeply and that they recognised their own community in it: they « brought their own chairs and stood in front of the wall without saying a word », then the grandmother started clapping. The silence, then the applause, show respect and pride. (Citation exacte exigée.) (1)
4. d)It means that the wall is no longer an empty grey surface but a group of portraits: the painted faces keep the memory of the inhabitants alive, so that the neighbourhood and its history cannot be ignored or erased. (Accepter toute explication associant mémoire, visibilité et communauté.) (1)

Repère — Une question de compréhension se répond toujours en phrase complète et, dès qu’elle porte sur une interprétation, s’appuie sur une citation courte entre guillemets.

1. a)a landscape (accepter a landscape painting). (1)
2. b)a mural (accepter a fresco). (1)
3. c)a work of art (refuser « an art » ; accepter an artwork). (1)
4. d)in Harlem, New York, in the 1920s. (1)

Erreur fréquente — Art est indénombrable : on écrit a work of art ou an artwork, jamais « an art ».

1. a)In my opinion, this photograph is fascinating. (Ou To my mind / It seems to me that this photograph is fascinating. — according to ne s’emploie que pour citer autrui.) (1)
2. b)I agree with the critic about the remake. (Agree est un verbe : pas d’auxiliaire be.) (1)
3. c)The remake is rather disappointing. (Ou The remake is somewhat disappointing.) (1)
4. d)On the whole, I would say the original is more moving; however, the cover reaches a younger audience. (Accepter the cover version et nevertheless pour however.) (1)

Le point clé — Une opinion vaut mieux quand elle est nuancée : un adverbe (rather, somewhat) ou un connecteur de concession (admittedly, however) suffit à transformer une affirmation brutale en jugement construit.

1. a)In the foreground, a young woman is playing the trumpet. (Présent en be + -ing obligatoire ; at the foreground est refusé.) (1)
2. b)This song is a cover of an old blues song. (Accepter an old blues standard ; refuser a remake.) (1)
3. c)This mural was painted by an unknown artist in 1998. (1)
4. d)West Side Story is a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet. (Accepter a modern rewriting ou a modern adaptation.) (1)

Attention — Dans un commentaire d’image, ce qui se passe sur l’image se met au présent en be + -ing, mais la fabrication de l’œuvre se raconte au passif passé (was painted, was taken).

1. a)Attendus : trois phrases minimum, description objective au présent, au moins un be + -ing pour une action en cours, lexique du lieu (grey, bare, playground, concrete). Proposition : The wall of our playground is long, grey and completely bare. Every morning, hundreds of students are walking past it without even looking at it. The paint is peeling off in several places. (1)
2. b)Attendus : quatre phrases, would + base verbale correctement employé, deux termes du lexique de l’œuvre (mural, portrait, shades, foreground, to depict). Proposition : We would like to paint a mural on this wall. It would depict the people who make our school work every day: a teacher, a cook, a nurse, a student. We would use warm shades so that the wall looks alive even in winter. In the foreground, we would paint the hands of the people we portray. (1)
3. c)Attendus : deux structures d’opinion distinctes (In my opinion, To my mind, It seems to me that, I find it…) et deux nuances. Proposition : In my opinion, this project would change the way we look at our school. Admittedly, painting such a large wall would take several weeks. However, it seems to me that the result would be worth the effort, at least to some extent, because the students themselves would do the work. (1)
4. d)Attendus : une phrase de conclusion reliant art, héritage et transformation. Proposition : We would not simply be decorating a wall: we would be retelling the story of our school in our own way. (Accepter toute conclusion rappelant que créer, c’est aussi reprendre et transformer.) Barème global : hors-sujet ou moins de 100 mots, retirer un point sur le total de l’exercice. (1)

À retenir — Une expression écrite se note d’abord sur le respect des attendus : chaque consigne coche une compétence précise, et une belle phrase hors consigne ne rapporte rien.