Deck 2: What Is Art

Question 1

According to the author, Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa dazzled his contemporaries because:

A) the sitter was a wealthy woman.
B) he was a famous artist.
C) the portrait was almost miraculously lifelike.
D) all of these were the case.
E) None of these answers are correct.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Our modern ideas about art carry with them ideas about:

A) only the artist.
B) only the audience.
C) both the artist and the audience.
D) the gallery.
E) the museum.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

To discover why the sculptor of the Amida Nyorai depicted the subject with elongated earlobes, specific hand gestures, and a bun atop his head requires the use of:

A) mudras.
B) iconography.
C) religious worship.
D) enlightenment.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

If a work of art is faithful to our visual experience, its style is:

A) iconographic.
B) representational.
C) stylized.
D) abstracted.

Question 5

Van Gogh's paintings are of high value because:

A) his work had a major influence on subsequent artists.
B) there are a limited number of his paintings.
C) he plays a large role in Western art history.
D) his paintings allow the viewer to feel a connection with the artist himself.
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 6

During the Renaissance in Western Europe, ________ came to be regarded as the more elevated of the arts.

A) calligraphy, mosaic, and metal forging
B) cabinetry, architecture, and calligraphy
C) ceramics, weaving, and mosaic
D) painting, sculpture, and architecture
E) painting, cabinetry, and landscape gardening

Question 7

Kara Walker's A Subtlety is an example of a(n):

A) painting.
B) architecture.
C) installation.
D) trompe l'oeil.
E) None of these answers are correct.

Question 8

The field of philosophy called aesthetics asks the question:

A) What is art?
B) Can we apply our concept of art to art of the past?
C) Can we apply our concept of art to art of different cultures?
D) Is there one correct standard for judging art?
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 9

After much study of the Arnolfini Double Portrait, experts agree that:

A) the single candle is a sign of God's presence.
B) the dog is a symbol of marital fidelity.
C) the red bed suggests a fertile marriage.
D) all of these are true: the single candle is a sign of God's presence; the dog is a symbol of marital fidelity; and the red bed suggests a fertile marriage.
E) they still debate the work's iconography.

Question 10

Context is a factor of ties that bind a work of art to the:

A) life of its creator.
B) tradition it grows from and to which it responds.
C) audience for which it was made.
D) society in which it was circulated.
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 11

When discussing the size, shape, material, color, and composition of a work of art, we are discussing its:

A) form.
B) iconography.
C) theme.
D) purpose.
E) content.

Question 12

Fisherman's Cottage on the Cliffs at Varengeville was painted by:

A) Claude Monet.
B) Vincent van Gogh.
C) Pablo Picasso.
D) Leonardo da Vinci.
E) Andy Warhol.

Question 13

Representational art with an approach to naturalism covers:

A) fabric drapes over bodies.
B) recording effects of light and shadow on form.
C) inner structures of bodies.
D) All of these answers are correct.
E) None of these answers are correct.

Question 14

________ is the name for a standard subject in Christian art, that of Mary, the mother of Jesus, holding her son after he was taken down from the cross.

A) Portrait
B) Pietà
C) Vanitas
D) All of these are correct answers: Portrait, Pietà, and Vanitas.
E) None of these answers are correct.

Question 15

Which statement is NOT true regarding James Hampton's Throne of the Third Heaven....body of work?

A) The artist's art was outside of the realm of professional training.
B) The artist was unknown until his death.
C) The work realized a spiritual vision.
D) The complete body of work resides now in the Smithsonian.
E) The artist intended the work to be viewed by everyone as a message of redemption.

Question 16

What term describes work done by nonprofessionals?

A) Folk art
B) Naïve art
C) Intuitive art
D) Outsider art
E) All of these answers are correct.

Question 17

During the ________ the term "art" was used roughly in the same sense as "craft."

A) Renaissance
B) Middle Ages
C) Baroque era
D) 19^th century
E) 20^th century

Question 18

Andy Warhol's images created from celebrities are portrayed through mass-produced:

A) oil paintings.
B) photographs.
C) multiple silkscreen images.
D) All of these answers are correct.
E) None of these answers are correct.

Question 19

During the 18^th century, beauty and art were discussed together because both:

A) were studied by the upper class.
B) were schools of philosophy.
C) were related to the senses.
D) were felt to provide pleasure.
E) involved vision.

Question 20

The term style is used to categorize a work of art by its:3

A) subject matter.
B) social context.
C) visual characteristics.
D) theme.
E) None of these answers are correct.

Question 21

Discuss the relationship between non-Western works of art that do not appear to represent conventional Western ideals of beauty and the form and content of those works. Discuss several examples of differences in culture or tradition that prove standards of beauty to be culturally specific rather than universal.

Question 22

Consider both Auguste Rodin's The Kiss and the Head of King from the Yoruba kingdom of Ife, included in this chapter of the text. Compare and contrast the materials from which the works were created and the styles each work represents, mentioning at least two of the general categories of styles (cultural, period/historical, and school styles). Finally, discuss the themes of art that you believe each work presents.

Question 23

Identify and explain three reasons that an artist would elect to present content through abstract or nonrepresentational form, referring to a different work or artist as an example for each of the reasons you have identified.

Question 24

Discuss how the artist Louise Bourgeois rejected traditional art education and explored alternative paths to create a career that spanned decades. Include her personal influences and public attention, and how she came to terms with life through her art.

Question 25

Consider the differences between "outsider" (naïve or folk) art and the works of professional artists, explaining why you believe that "outsider" art should or should not be accepted by critics, museums and galleries, and the public as "real" art.

Question 26

Consider the following works, included in this chapter of the text, and discuss each artist's style and treatment of the subject: Utamaro's Hairdressing, from Twelve Types of Women's Handicraft, and Degas's Nude Woman Having Her Hair Combed.

Question 27

Compare Titian's Assumption and Friedman's Untitled in regard to historical and social context, visual presentation, and audience.

Question 28

Consider Jan van Eyck's painting Arnolfini Double Portrait. Discuss three symbols within it that reveal the possible iconography of the work. Then explain an alternate interpretation of the work relating to the meaning of the same objects.

Question 29

Cite and describe four works representing each of these categories: representational, abstract, trompe l'oeil, and nonrepresentational. For each of the works you select explain what the artist communicated through the form of his or her artwork.

Question 30

The Amida Nyorai is an example of a sculpture that employs the iconography of Japanese Buddhism. Give an example of an artwork that employs Christian iconography and explain how the components of the artwork are examples of the term iconography.

Question 31

At the beginning of the 20^th century, how did the development of photography transform the art of artists who worked in nonphotographic media? Which artist determined that this new process changed the process of representing the observable world and how?

Question 32

Discuss how Kara Walker's A Subtlety and Joseph Bueys's How to Explain Pictures to a Dead Hare are examples of installation and performance art, addressing the performance nature of the pieces, the importance or unimportance of the space, the visual impact, and your response to this type of art.

Question 33

Compare and contrast Matisse's two paintings Piano Lesson and Music Lesson, addressing the abstract qualities of each, the presentation of the content, and how the objects presented in the paintings inform directly or indirectly the content of the paintings.

Question 34

The ideas we have about art today have not always been in place. Discuss how the Mona Lisa, one of the most famous works of Western art, became a product of our modern era. Consider influences such as historical context, the concept of celebrity, and the contemporary meaning of the term art as compared to that of the pre-modern era.

Question 35

Philosophers determined that the pleasure of art was an intellectual pleasure and was perceived through:

A) physical experience of the art through touch.
B) a special kind of attention called disinterested contemplation.
C) the formal analysis of the work.
D) any emotional response experienced by the viewer.
E) None of these answers are correct.