Axe culturel 3 — Art et pouvoir : l'art comme arme d'engagement, de témoignage et de résistance dans le monde anglophone (programme LVA Tle)
Évaluation complète de fin de chapitre, tout en niveau difficile. Travaille seul et sans aide, puis vérifie tes réponses avec le corrigé détaillé dépliable en bas de page.
«When the artist Ai Weiwei was held for eighty-one days without charge, the Chinese authorities believed they could silence him. They were wrong. From the moment of his release, every restriction placed upon him — the surveillance cameras outside his studio, the ban on leaving the country — became raw material for new works. He photographed the cameras. He turned his house arrest into installations. In doing so, he transformed the instruments of his oppression into the very subject of his art. 'You can imprison the body,' he later remarked, 'but you cannot imprison an idea once it has been shared with the world.'»
Exercice 1 — Compréhension de l'écrit
Corrigé :
1. (2 pts) The authorities hoped to silence him by detaining him for eighty-one days. They did not succeed: the text states 'They were wrong', and from his release he produced new works. (1 pt pour l'intention de réduire au silence + 1 pt pour l'échec justifié par le texte).
2. (2 pts) Ai Weiwei turned the instruments of his oppression into art: he photographed the surveillance cameras and transformed his house arrest into installations. He thus made repression itself the subject of his work. (1 pt par élément précis du texte).
3. (2 pts) The quotation suggests that physical repression cannot stop the circulation of ideas: once an idea is shared, it escapes the control of any authority. Engaged art derives its power from this capacity to spread beyond censorship. (1 pt pour la paraphrase + 1 pt pour le lien avec le pouvoir de l'art engagé).
Exercice 2 — Maîtrise de la langue — vocabulaire et grammaire
Corrigé :
A. 1. dissent · 2. bear witness to · 3. outspoken · 4. subvert (0,5 pt chacun).
B. 5. was banned (passif au prétérit, action passée datée 'last year') · 6. have become (present perfect, 'Since 1998' relie le passé au présent). (1 pt chacun).
Exercice 3 — Expression écrite — essai argumenté
Corrigé indicatif :
Un bon essai doit :
• Annoncer une thèse nuancée : «While much great art has indeed challenged authority, I would argue that art does not HAVE to disturb power to be valuable.»
• Développer avec 2 exemples du chapitre : ex. (1) Swift's 'A Modest Proposal' subverts the language of power to denounce English indifference ; (2) the Belfast murals bear witness to conflict yet have evolved towards reconciliation, showing art can heal as well as disturb ; ou Ai Weiwei, Maya Angelou, Gil Scott-Heron.
• Nuancer : «However, some engaged art aims to console or to remember rather than to provoke (e.g. the AIDS Memorial Quilt).»
• Conclure : «Ultimately, disturbing power is one of art's functions, not its only purpose.»
Barème : 2 pts argumentation/structure + 2 pts vocabulaire critique (denounce, subvert, bear witness, co-opt…) + 2 pts correction (modaux, passif, connecteurs).
Exercice 4 — Expression écrite — prise de position brève
Corrigé indicatif :
Le candidat doit prendre position et la justifier. Points attendus :
• Présenter le paradoxe (1 pt) : une œuvre subversive vendue très cher est co-opted par le marché qu'elle critiquait (commodification).
• Argumenter dans un sens (2 pts) : soit l'œuvre garde sa charge critique car son message continue de circuler ; soit elle la perd en devenant un produit de luxe.
• Employer le vocabulaire et les modaux (1 pt) : to co-opt, commodification, statement piece ; one could argue that…, it may lose / retain its critical power…
Exemple de production : «I would argue that once a subversive work is sold for millions, it partly loses its critical edge, since it is absorbed by the very capitalist system it denounced. However, its message can still circulate and provoke debate. Therefore, such art remains engaged in content, even if its commodification weakens its original force.»
Cours particuliers de anglais (lva) à Marseille, en présentiel ou à distance — un prof qui s'adapte à ton rythme et reprend ce qui coince.