CROSSROADSCROSSROA DS Language StudioÊs Newsletter May,May , 201
20 1 5
Painting, from caveman times tothe present day has been, in one
way or another, an effort by man
to gain some degree of control
over life by capturing its essence.
Cave drawings of animals, someresearchers surmise, may havebeen an attempt by the artist tocapture, and control, the spirit of the animals
depicted, thus enabling the tribe’s hunters to havesome level of control over the animals being hunted.
In Greek and Roman art, the gods werepersonified to help people understand and so, tosome degree, control the great forces of nature that
dictate man’s destiny.
Prehistoric paintings on cave walls and murals
and mosaics on walls or floors from Greek andRoman times are rendered in flat two-dimensional
images. European painting in the middle-ages
followed in this tradition both in style and in theartists’ intent as they actively searched for ways tounderstand life from a “spiritual” point of view.
Then came the renaissance. If nothing else, the“age of enlightenment” brought about a revolution
in the way artists sought to represent the “reality”
of the objects they were observing. Perspective wasborn. Now, like sculptors, painters would depict
images in three dimensions. Perspective was an
extraordinary development in art, but was it onlya three dimensional illusion on a two-dimensionalsurface?
Whatever the case, artists would not be satisfied
with a mere three dimensional representation ofobjects/life and, so, from the renaissance throughto the early 20th century, and beyond, they
searched for ways to better depict the “reality” inthe objects they wished to represent.

NET LESSONS: Too busy to come to CROSSROADS?
…. Try our lessons through the net!
SITE OF THE MONTH:
Here is a good site on cubism with lots of reproductions:
http://www.artyfactory.com/art_appreciation/art_movements/cubism.htm

Scientists, over the centuries, have also tried
to make sense of, and explain, our world to us.
According to the latest theories we live in an elevendimensional universe, but we are only aware ofinteracting with three of these dimensions in ourdaily lives. That is, three dimensions if you do notinclude time as the 4th dimension. But somescientists, and artists, do consider time to be the 4thdimension, and also a measurable part of ourreality. So, in an attempt to represent a truer“reality” in their subjects, artists in the early 20thcentury went about including the 4th dimension, i.e.
time, in their paintings.
Four dimensions on a two-dimensional surface!
How does this work? Take any sculpture, say,Michelangelo’s David. This is an object you canwalk around. And as you do so, your image of itchanges at every angle you observe it from. It takes
time to walk around an object. Thus, a freestanding object, in a way, includes the dimension oftime – at least from the observer’s point of view. So,
if you wish to take in multi-images of an object, youhave to move around it, or the object itself has tomove as you observe it. Either way, time passes as
you observe it.
This works for sculpture, but what
about paintings on a flat surface?
Enter early 20th century cubism,
Picasso and Braque. In pursuit ofa more complete interpretation ofthe objects they were representing,these artists tried, in part, toimmerse their objects in “time”. Theyinterwove a number of views of anobject into one another, just like themulti-images one gets by circling asculpture. In thisway, objects could be “Violin” by Braquerepresented from many angles as if
the viewer was moving aroundthem. Thus “time”, the fourth
dimension,
wasalsobeing
represented on the two-dimensional“Dora Maar, Sitting”
surface of a painting!
by Picasso

Joshua Says: It’s been just over a year since we moved to Ichiban-cho. Settling inhasn’t been difficult, and it really feels like we have been here much longer than we
actually have been. In fact, our new location seems to suit our present mood, style andpersona very well. It seems to reflect how we have matured over the years. Of course, allfour locations we have been in up to now, including this one, have each had a very distinct
character. But, I believe, each move has also been an indication of our constant growth.
Junko Says: Recently, I read a newspaper article saying some Japaneseelementary and middle schools will use English math textbooks to teach math.
These books are English translations of Japanese textbooks originally made forinternational schools or for foreign teachers to learn Japanese methods. But now
usual Japanese schools will start to use them. Teachers have now started to realize
students can learn English by simply repeating English phrases and expressions.
Mark Says Warmer weather has arrived and with the Golden Week
holiday it is a great opportunity to spend some time outdoors.
I stayed local during my break, so in addition to some quality timewith my daughter I explored some of the sites and experiences thatMatsuyama has to offer. I hope you all enjoyed your Golden Week
holiday as well.
Aaron Says: This year has been a year of firsts for me in Japan. My
first cherry blossom viewing, my first time eating pickled plums andmy first golden week! It is always nice to experience something forthe first time. What have you done for the first time this year?
Something interesting, I hope!
Danielle dit; Le 1 e r mai en France est un jour férié, la Fête duTravail. C’est donc un jour où pour commémorer la journée detravail, on ne travaille pas ! Le matin du 1 e r , beaucoup de mondeva cueillir du muguet dans la forêt. Le muguet est une plante avec
des fleurs en forme de clochettes blanches qui sentent très bon etc’est une très bonne période pour en faire de jolis bouquets.
ACROSS
3 beyond ordinary or usual
5 imagine to be the case
6 an early 20th century art movement
7 make capable or possible
8 therefore
10 shown as in a drawing or picture
12 length, width, height, time (and beyond)
14 to cover or sink completely
15 attribute human qualities to something
DOWN
1 a representation of 3-dimensional objects
2 before recorded history
4 command and control
9 (in art) to show, e.g. as in a picture
10 that which will happen, predetermined
11 locked together as if by weaving
13 art work made with small colored stones, etc.

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Critic’s corner with S(a)3’s Taro:

Here is installment 4 in series 2 from
Ren’s stay in China:

I would like to introduce you to an oldnovel today. It is called “The Stranger” by
Albert Camus, the Nobel Prize winner in
1957. This book was originally published inFrench and translated into nearly twentylanguages. It was also made into a movie
by Luchino Visconti (an Italian director) in
1967. I read this novel for the first time
when I was a high school student, andrecently I read it again in English.
The background for this story is set in Algeria in the 1940’s. Meuraultis an honest guy, but a little cool. He isn’t interested in anything. Thestory begins with his impressive monologue. “Maman died today. Or
yesterday, maybe. I don’t know”. At his mother’s funeral, Meusault
didn’t cry; he acted as usual, drinking coffee, smoking cigarettes and hetook a nap. Moreover, just the day after the funeral, he went swimming
and watched a comedy with his girlfriend.
One summer day, Meurault got involved in some trouble caused byhis friend and accidentally killed an Arabian hooligan. After beingarrested, the young Algerian remained impartial. In court, the judge
concluded he was cruel because of his indifferent attitude. In the end,
the judge sentenced him to death. However, Meursault didn’t evenshow any interest in his own pending death. Moreover, he maintained
his belief that it didn’t matter whether he died at thirty or at seventy.
It is true that Meursault had a unique character, but this story
involves some lessons and ironies. In our society, there are many
unwritten rules. If you can’t comply with the status quo, you areregarded as an outsider. Especially in Japan we are, in any cases,
expected to read between the lines. For example, you have to stay inyour office until your colleagues complete their work, even though you
may have finished your own. In fact, I sometimes break with thiscustom and go home early. My colleagues must see me as a“stranger”.
If you consider yourself to be a stranger, you should be careful. I
think it’s not bad to question traditions, but if you go too far, you might,
like Meursault, be punished!

In the same month I went to the China Tea Museum,
I joined a marathon festival with my classmates. Eachof the teams had 2 male and 4 female members.
Fortunately, the air pollution level was quite low on theday of the festival. Of course, I declined a request tojoin the team because I’m too old to run seriously(although, I do often go jogging in the universitygrounds). The picture below, on the left, is of our team.
They come from Kazakhstan, Jamaica, India, Austria
and Malaysia. Five are from my class, but I think theKazakhstan girl on the far left came from another class.
When we were selecting the team nobody, especiallythe girls, wanted to join the race; one even pretended tobe ill to get out of it! But when the race started, they all tried
their best. Unfortunately, our team was not very fast. I can’teven remember where they came, but I believe we all
enjoyed that event.
The second picture below, on the right, was taken after themarathon. The runners received a cake of soap for theireffort. Obviously, disappointing! You can see some of themholding their soap in the picture. The Austrian runner, who
was a replacement for a Slovenian girl who got sick, islaughing about her prize.
By the way, you can see my old dormitory in this picture.
It is just next to the grounds and was conveniently locatedfor when I wanted to do some exercise.

My dormitory

Our marathon team
I N C E P T I O N
FGUP E R M A N E N T
V E N T U R EO
DRIWPE L I M I N A T I O NHIIGIOUS
M I D S TNN
E S T A B L I S HTEEITLETOA
E A R T H L I N GGDIE
C O L O N Y
AC H R O N I C L I N G

After the race

Last Month’s Puzzle Solution
ACROSS
1 the first part or stage of an event
4 cannot be changed
5 a risky investment
8 remove or get rid of something
11 in the middle of things
12 to set up or begin something
14 an inhabitant of earth
15 a settlement of people far fromtheir homeland
16 making a record ofDOWN
2 give no attention to
3 investing money in a project
6 cut down in number or size
7 the first to do something
9 an assignment given to someone
10 not conforming to approved
standards
13 a separate period in a sequence ofevents

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