Deck 22: From Modern to Postmodern

Question 1

Robert Smithson's Spiral Jetty is an example of:

A) land art.
B) feminist art.
C) Neo-Expressionism.
D) performance art.
E) Neo-Dada art.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The term action painting refers to the fact that this new type of painting:

A) emphasized figures and subject matter in strong action.
B) traced the actions of the painter.
C) actually moved.
D) referred to political issues, calling people to action.
E) depicted simple diagrams of mechanical actions.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Anselm Kiefer was one of the most prominent Neo-Expressionists. His work:

A) dealt directly with the trauma of Germany's past.
B) explored the role of the subconscious and dream images.
C) consisted of mass-produced replicas of works of other artists.
D) was an exploration of flatness.
E) inserted words resembling advertising slogans into public places.

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Photorealism refers to:

A) a movement in photography that explores various levels of representation.
B) a movement in sculpture that uses actual objects.
C) a movement in art that rejects the camera as a viable art tool.
D) a movement in painting that explores the way a camera "sees."
E) a movement that involves documentation in film.

Question 5

Early Conceptualists reacted to the burgeoning art market by:

A) co-opting the system by flooding the market with bad art.
B) bringing trash bags to art receptions and taking all the food home.
C) attempting to eliminate the art object.
D) emphasizing the material value of art.
E) imitating the mass-produced objects of popular culture.

Question 6

One of the ideas behind Postmodernism is pluralism, which proposes that art:

A) historically follows an obvious progression and advocates a dominant direction.
B) can take many directions at the same time, all of them equally valid.
C) should be based on the advancement of formal discoveries.
D) should focus on the future and leave the past behind.
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 7

A new art form known as "installation":

A) gives credit to the work done by installers, people who hang other people's art.
B) forces the viewer to create the art in his or her mind based on verbal description.
C) has again flattened the art object to two dimensions.
D) creates an environment for the viewer to enter and experience.
E) predominantly focuses on film.

Question 8

The term New York School refers to a postwar art movement that:

A) developed from graduates of the New York School.
B) went mostly unnoticed by the rest of the world outside of New York.
C) was a convenient way to lump together the Abstract Expressionists.
D) completely rejected the ideas of Surrealism.
E) quickly moved from New York to Paris.

Question 9

Allan Kaprow took art in a new direction with "happenings." His primary claim was that:

A) art should be a permanent physical record of an event.
B) art should concentrate on its basic forms of sculpture and painting.
C) artists had to have credentials and advanced training.
D) American art was not meeting the desires of the general public.
E) art was most like life itself.

Question 10

The Women series of paintings by Willem de Kooning caused a stir in the art world. They were:

A) provocative because of their high realism.
B) loved by the public but reviled by critics.
C) the result of his turning away from abstract representation to a nonrepresentational style.
D) seen as powerless, cool, and intellectual.
E) seen as shocking and brutal.

Question 11

The artistic recycling of existing images is an aspect of:

A) Pop art.
B) Conceptual art.
C) Postmodernism.
D) Feminist art.
E) Minimalism.

Question 12

A Neo-Dada artist who made art from "found" materials and images and named his new art form "combine paintings" is:

A) John Cage.
B) Robert Rauschenberg.
C) Jasper Johns.
D) Allan Kaprow.
E) Andy Warhol.

Question 13

Artist Jean-Michel Basquiat:

A) incorporated his interest in science and languages in his video works.
B) began as a graffiti artist.
C) was mentored by Andy Warhol.
D) presented himself as a classically trained artist.
E) fooled people into thinking he had no talent.

Question 14

Jasper Johns chose familiar images for his subject matter so that he could then concentrate on all of the following EXCEPT:

A) the relationship between image and object.
B) the ability to reproduce an image.
C) the impact of symbols.
D) the psychological use of color.
E) paradoxes.

Question 15

Minimalism, a trend that coexisted with Pop, emphasized a continuation of the exploration of nonrepresentation and the idea that a painting or sculpture is primarily:

A) an illusionistic space or window to look into.
B) an expression of the energy and vitality of the artist's mark.
C) a statement of the artist's psyche.
D) a physical object.
E) an expression of the sublime nature of reality.

Question 16

Painting is the primary medium used by all of the following artists EXCEPT:

A) Helen Frankenthaler.
B) Alice Neel.
C) Mark Rothko.
D) Jackson Pollock.
E) Louise Bourgeois.

Question 17

One of the names most closely associated with Performance art is ___________, who is known for the multimedia work Stories from the Nerve Bible.

A) Cai Guo-Qiang
B) Alice Neel
C) Mark Rothko
D) Kara Walker
E) Marina Abramovic

Question 18

The Guerrilla Girls use posters and onsite appearances to:

A) draw attention to new and progressive art venues.
B) raise awareness about animal rights and environmental issues.
C) bring attention to gender inequalities in the art world.
D) offer support to great art regardless of who created it.
E) raise money mostly for male artists.

Question 19

Appropriation contends that the meaning of a work of art:

A) is determined solely by the artist.
B) is of no importance.
C) has no relation to other art.
D) is unstable and communal.
E) is fixed by art critics.

Question 20

The term postmodern was first used in reference to a certain style in:

A) happenings.
B) Conceptual Art.
C) installations.
D) architecture.
E) motion pictures.

Question 21

Roy Lichtenstein often based his imagery on the:

A) Bible.
B) current popular products.
C) figure.
D) comic book.
E) work of earlier artists.

Question 22

How have contemporary artists explored cultural identity? Discuss works in which artists explore pluralism and identity through their use of images, actions, and materials.

Question 23

Define and discuss the term Postmodern as it relates to architecture, sculpture, and painting.

Question 24

Consider LeWitt's Wall Drawing #122. How has this artist used the wall in his work? Why is this work considered to be conceptual art? What concepts are communicated through its design and creation?

Question 25

Discuss how video artist Bill Viola employs digital media to create a visual and sensory experience.

Question 26

Consider Pollock's Number 1, 1949. Identify the style of this work. Then discuss the artist's incorporation of at least three elements and principles of art in the work.

Question 27

Explain several different ways in which artists of the late 20^th and early 21^st centuries have referred to the work of earlier artists in their own works. Mention specific works and artists to illustrate your points.

Question 28

Who were the Guerrilla Girls and what was their mission?

Question 29

Making references to the works of specific artists, discuss representations and interpretations of the human body from De Kooning to the present. Analyze a selection of works with a variety of representations of the body. Explore an artist or work that you consider particularly interesting or compelling, analyzing why you feel this way.

Question 30

Consider David Wojnarowicz's Americans Can't Deal with Death and Glenn Ligon's Untitled (I Do Not Always Feel Colored). Analyze the artists' use of media and the manner in which each work addresses a cultural issue of its time.

Question 31

Sol LeWitt's Wall Drawing #122 is an example of:

A) pointillism.
B) surrealism.
C) realism.
D) conceptual art.
E) None of these answers are correct.

Question 32

Giving specific examples of works and/or artists to support your statements, discuss the impact of the feminist movement on art and artists. How have feminist artists created works that address issues of gender? What media, subjects, and themes have been and are used by feminist artists?

Question 33

Consider the following works: Rothko's Orange and Yellow, De Kooning's Woman IV, and Johns' Target with Four Faces. Associate each artist or his/her work with the style it most closely represents. How do these works approach issues of representation, content, media, and abstraction?

Question 34

Consider Judy Chicago's Dinner Party. Describe how the work is representative of feminist theory and Feminist art.