Tuesday, May 12, 2009

2008

1. Both wall paintings are from
(D) Pompeii

2. The wall painting on the right was located in a
(B) home

3. The wall painting on the left is probably related to
A) a mystery cult

4. The illusion of depth in both paintings is created
by all of the following EXCEPT
(C) marbleized panels

5. The two figures in the slide on the right are
(C) a married couple


6. When did the wall painting on the left come to
public attention?
(B) During eighteenth-century archaeological
excavations


7. The objects held by the figures in the slide on the
right refer to
(D) literacy


8. The painting was created in
(C) Italy

9. The painting was created between
(B) 1501 and 1550

10. The style of the painting is
(A) Early Renaissance

11. The painting was commissioned for a
(A) chapel in a church

12. The artist is
(D) Pontormo

13. The iconography relates to
(B) the New Testament

14. The painting style is characterized by
(A) exaggeration of space and color

15. The chair’s designer was associated with
(D) De Stijl

16. The chair’s design evokes
(D) kinetic energy

17. The chair was designed to
(A) reflect the formal concerns of its maker

18. The art movement represented by the chair
promoted all of the following EXCEPT
(B) clean, abstract forms


19. The chair is made of
(D) plywood

20. The chair is often compared to the painting of
(D) Piet Mondrian

21. The designer of the chair was
(B) Dutch

22. The building is
(D) Hagia Sophia in Istanbul

23. The building was constructed in the
(A) sixth century

24. The patron of the building was

(B) Justinian


25. The building combines
(A) a basilican plan with a central plan

26. An important structural innovation of the building
is the use of
(A) pendentives

27. The architects of the structure were also
(D) mathematicians

28. The original interior decoration primarily featured
(C) mosaics

Select and fully identify two works of art that depict one or more women. The works must come from two different cultures, one of which must be from beyond the European tradition. Explain how each work reveals its culture’s attitudes about women. (30 minutes)

The Venus of Willendorf sculpture was made during the Stone Age and unearthed in present day Austria. It presents woman as significant because she has the ability to reproduce. Her over emphasized vulva, naval, and breasts are all symbols of fertility. Her face is covered with what may be a braided headdress. This sculpture is representative of the importance that the culture who created it puts on reproduction and the continuing of the human race. It expresses the culture’s subjective view of women. They were not given worth for their talents, intellect, or character. The way that the woman’s face is covered in the sculpture proves that they were not valued for the content of their mind. It was covered because they did not deem a woman’s intellect as important or significant. They were given worth for their ability to reproduce, because the culture deemed that offspring was all a woman could add to society.
Manet’s Olympia is a painting made in France in the 1800s. It depicts a nude prostitute waiting for her client and her black servant. This painting portrays women in two ways. The first being a servant, a caretaker shown by the black woman. She is an example of how the culture of France at that time viewed women as housekeepers who were good for embroidery and cleaning and tending to the children. However, that woman is often overshadowed by the other woman, the prostitute, Olympia. She presents sexuality in a different light. She does not have the same pure, peaceful aura about her that previous nude female subjects have had. She faces the audience with a hard stare, she is surrounded by fine things-symbols of wealth and pleasure, yet she seems to have control over the situation and over the man because of her hand which firmly protects her vagina. This is one of the first works to ever portray women as being independent or capable of original thought. The culture of France was rigidly opposed to this work, which shows how they were reluctant to view women as intellectual beings or even as potentially independent beings.


Name the specific art-historical style of the original. How is the theme of death treated and why? (5 minutes)

The original art-historical style of the original is Hellenistic. The theme of death is treated as dramatic because the artists wanted to portray dying in battle as heroic. They wanted the viewer to have great admiration for the dying soldier. They also wanted the viewer to appreciate the pain that the soldier went through to bring glory to his people.

3. The slides show two views of the same fresco cycle in the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena.
Identify the artist. Explain how the subject and meaning of the fresco cycle relate to its location. (10 minutes)

The artist of these frescoes is Ambrogio Lorenzetti. Both frescoes depict the city of Siena as peaceful and well-run. They do this because they want people to think of Siena as a place where vituous men rule and all people are happy and prosperous.

4. Attribute the painting to an artist you have studied. Justify your attribution by identifying and discussing specific characteristics seen in the painting. (10 minutes)

The painting is by Vincent Van Gogh. It has the saturated, almost sickly yellow hue that he is known for as well as noticeable brushstrokes. The sickly yellow is representative of his feelings about the world, and his brushstrokes add movement to his painting.

5. The slides show a plan and an interior view of Charlemagne’s Palatine Chapel in Aachen, circa 800 C.E. The building contains deliberate references to earlier architecture.
Name at least one earlier architectural period referenced in the Palatine Chapel. Identify one significant way in which the Palatine Chapel reinterprets architectural elements of that earlier period and explain why. (10 minutes)

The Palatine Chapel is from the Byzantine period with strong influences of the Romanesque period. San Vitale in Ravenna has the same Romanesque look. Both were built in a fortress- like style and they both feature the Roman arch repeatedly.

6. Both the 1950 painting shown in the slide and the quotation below are by the same artist.
“My painting does not come from the easel. . . . I prefer to tack the unstretched canvas to the hard wall or the floor. . . . On the floor I am more at ease. I feel nearer, more a part of the painting, since this way I can walk around it, work from the four sides and literally be in the painting. . . . When I am in my painting, I’m not aware of what I’m doing. . . . I have no fears about making changes, destroying the image, etc., because the painting has a life of its own. I try to let it come through.”
Identify the artist. How does the painting reflect the artist’s description of his process? In your answer, make specific references to both the quotation and the painting. (10 minutes)

Jackson Pollock is the artist of this piece. It reflects his process in that the art itself is spontaneous and flowing. The paint splatter effect is best achieved through dripping the paint on "the unstretched canvas to the hard wood floor." Through walking around the painting, Pollock is able to fill the entire painting with the watery paint.

7. Identify the art-historical period of the sculpture. What key characteristics support your placement of the work in the period you have identified? (5 minutes)

The art historical period of this work is Romanesque. The sculpture was made from wood and then painted. The figure is not realistic looking and it's clothing does not have the folds that clothing usually has when being worn.

8. The Baroque painting shown includes portrayals of both its patron and its artist.
Name the artist. Explain how the painting served the aims of both the artist and the patron. (10 minutes)

The artist of this painting is Diego Velazquez. He serves aims of both himself and the patron through showing both in his painting. Diego makes himself and the princess the subject of the painting while only showing the king and queen in a small mirror at the opposite side of the room.

9. Art since the 1960s encompasses a wide variety of approaches.
Address this variety of approaches through the careful choice and detailed discussion of two works of art made between 1960 and the present. The two works must be by different artists OR in different media.
Be sure to fully identify each work. (30 minutes)

Joseph Beuys created a piece named Homogeneous Infiltration for Piano. It is a piano covered in felt with a red cross on the side of it. The piece has a very simple meaning: music can heal. However, this meaning can be furthered when put into the context of the 1960s. They were a time of impersonal warfare and a time where people hated other people half a world away that they had never met. Joseph Beuys’ work challenges people to look inward and find the answers to conflicts rather than act in a rash and cowardly manner.
“Prebell Man” is a work built by Nam June Paik. It represents the idea that art is a way for people to communicate with each other. So often technology is seen as “the end to creativity”, but it’s the opposite. Nam June Paik proves that technology opens up more outlets for people to express themselves and communicate with one another. He himself used technology in an original way that expressed the ideas he had.
Both of these works are conversation pieces. They both challenge people to choose creativity and originality in their lives rather than accept the mundane cycle. They present ideas in ways that are more though provoking than words because it requires that the viewer finds the meaning for themselves.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

Your longer responses are well considered. I especially admired the latter response on 1960's art. The short responses would have been better served by more historical detail.

Overall, I think that you have grown intellectually throughout this year in remarkable ways. I stress to you the importance of keeping focused. I look forward to working with you next year.

content 3 / style 3 (out of five)

Unknown said...

Please keep in mind that I see a great inconsistency between your intellectual capability and your grades.

Failing to turn in your second AP prep exam and failing to keep up with your blog hurt in a big way.

Your grade, however, in no way reflects the power that is truly in your mind. It is up to you to figure out how to put that into action.