ARTS 2050 Final Exam 5/7

Where was Mesoamerican art made?

"Mesoamerica" is the name given by archaeologists to the area occupied by modern-day Mexico & Central America

What is Art Brut?

"Raw art," artworks made by untrained artists, & having a primitive or childlike quality

Who is the artist of The Dinner Party?

Judy Chicago

What is the subject matter of Buddhist art?

The life of Buddha & his teachings & beliefs, which are considered pathways to achieving spiritual perfection

Expressionism focuses on what?

Concerned with the representation of objects & the world, emphasized inner states of feeling, tried to depict what they felt rather than what they saw, with sometimes unconventional results

What medium was used in the making of Wenda Gu's United Nations China Monument: Temple of Heaven?

The monuments are made of walls or screens woven from human hair donated by people from countries around the globe

True or false: Vincent Van Gogh committed suicide by bleeding to death after slicing off his left ear.

False, he shot himself in the chest with a revolver & died 2 days later

True or false: The Kandanya Mahadeva is dedicated to Vishnu, the god who preserves the universe.

False, it is dedicated to Shiva, the Hindu god of creation & destruction

Name the artist who created Fox in the Snow.

Gustave Courbet

Name 3 artworks that reveal a culture's understanding of astronomy.

1) Flint incorporates elements of the cosmology & astronomical knowledge of the Maya, depicting a crocodile canoe with passengers 2) the Aztec Sun Stone is a store of astronomical & mathematical knowledge, reveals how they counted time 3) Islamic astrolabe could find the direction of Mecca & calculate the time of day

What is the date of Willem de Kooning's painting Woman I?

1950 - 1952

What can we see in Matisse's The Red Studio?

A lot of information about his working environment, a number of his paintings, sculptures, & ceramics, an intense red, gold outlines

In which country is the Taj Mahal located?

Agra, India

Why is Body Worlds controversial?

Although all of the bodies featured in it are those of willing donors, many people consider the display irreverent & complain about the overtly theatrical poses of the bodies as well as the fact that the shows are often promoted as art, rather than science

What was the goddess Tlazolteotl responsible for?

An Earth Mother & patron of childbirth, was known as the "filth eater" because she visited people at the end of their lives & absolved & ate their sins, she was responsible for bringing disease as well as curing it

Which material was used to create the colossal sculpture of the Aztec mother goddess Coatlicue?

Andesite

Who created the painting of Dead Christ?

Andrea Mantegna

How were the protective goddesses of Upper & Lower Egypt represented on the headdresses of the mask of King Tutankhamun?

As a vulture & cobra above his brow

What is Marcel Duchamp's Bicycle Wheel an example of?

Assemblage of found objects, resembles a sculpture

What was the purpose of Japanese tearooms?

Chanoyu, or Way of the Tea, is a set of rituals that helps one find peace & solace from the ordinary world, it creates an area for intense concentration

Which qualities did most Impressionist artists represent in their paintings?

Chose to explore the impact of the formal qualities of their artwork, sought to capture the impression of the fleeting moment through quick brushstrokes, dabs of paint, & the use of vibrant color & light

Did Goya paint a slightly unflattering portrait of the Spanish royal family because he strongly disliked them & wanted to insult the King?

Critics commented on how he represented the less flattering aspects of the royal family, the king & queen are shown as aging & overweight, the grandmother has a large mole, there is no evidence that he intended to insult or make fun of them, it may reflect his respect for truth & nature

What type of artwork can we see in 20th & 21st centuries?

Cubism, abstractions, collages, Expressionism, avant-garde, non-objective

What do the Moai of Easter Island represent?

Deified ancestors who were chiefs, the large quantities & size suggest some kind of ritual, ceremonial, or cultural importance

How could you tell that a Senufo sculpture depicts a spirit figure rather than a human being?

Depicted with anatomy very different from that of humans, exaggerated breasts & arms, nursing baby suggests that this is one of the female ancestral spirits

Where is the Dome of the Rock located?

Devout people made pilgrimages to the city of Jerusalem, it surrounds the sacred Foundation Stone

Who created a sculpture of the Falling Women?

Eric Fischl

What is the formal element of Mark Rothko's paintings?

Eventually entirely eliminated representation from his compositions, concentrated on form & color, his works consisted of luminous rectangles floating in fields of color

True or false: Surgical dissections & artists studying anatomy have nothing in common.

False, Leonardo also made his own observations of the human body, frequently studying corpses to determine whether the writings of Vitruvius were accurate

True or false: Art can only be made by a single individual.

False, art often involves large numbers of people, even whole communities

True or false: In Greek mythology, powerful ruler King Minos was said to have built a small, modest palace on Knossos because of his humility toward the gods.

False, the palace complex was so full of twists & turns that it is easy to see how the Greeks developed a myth about the labyrinth

True or false: Ancient Egyptian pyramids were only positioned according to geographical coordinates.

False, the sides of each pyramid are all the same length & are placed precisely at the cardinal points, revealing the Egyptians mastery of engineering & mathematics

True or false: The Easter Island Moai figures are identical, with no unique individual features.

False, these figures have unique individual features as well as common general characteristics

True or false: The work of Minimalist artists is generally made out of natural materials with an organic quality.

False, they sought to use neutral textures, geometric shapes, flat colors, & even mechanical construction in order to strip away any traces of emotion or underlying meaning in their work

What elements does Gustav Klimt feature in his work?

Fantasy & eroticism, lavish use of gold, at odds with the grim subject matter

Who is the artist featured on the cover page of our textbook?

Frida Kahlo, the mirror images depict distinct aspects of the artist's identity

Who is the artist of The Ecstacy of St. Teresa?

Gian Lorenzo Bernini

Why was Diego Rivera's mural for the RCA building in Rockefeller Center controversial?

He made some changes to what Rockefeller had approved inspired by his Communist inclinations, the most notable was on the right side where he included a portrait of the Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin leading a demonstration of workers in a May Day parade

What type of work did Michelangelo create?

He painted the ceiling of the Vatican's Sistine Chapel, but he preferred stone carving to painting, he also painted The Last Judgement

What images was the Japanese woodblock printer Kitagawa Utamaro famous for?

He specialized in bijinga, or images of beautiful women, such as Two Courtesans

Where is the influence for Picasso's creation of Les Demoiselles d'Avignon from?

He studied & collected art from outside the Western tradition, especially Africa & the Pacific islands, this interest is reflected in the masked faces

When was Timothy O'Sullivan's famous photograph of dead bodies on a deserted battlefield taken?

He took the famous Civil War photograph Harvest of Death after a day at Gettysburg, the battle that caused the most casualties of the entire conflict on July 4th, 1863

Why did Jasper Johns paint the 1965 version of his Flag in green, orange, & black?

He uses his knowledge of color theory to create an optical illusion that forces the viewer to stare intently at an image of the flag, after staring, the red, white, & blue flag will appear, he is utilizing the science that lies behind afterimage effect

Which country is the location for Rothco Chapel?

Houston, Texas United States

In which country is the Tomb of Lady Dai located?

Hunan Museum, Changsha, China

What is Shinto?

Japanese religion that emphasizes the ways such natural elements as the sun, mountains, water, & trees are connected to well-being, focuses on the here & now & reveres nature itself as a deity

Who is the painter of the Woman Holding a Balance?

Johannes Vermeer

What techniques were used in Rembrandt's painting, The Night Watch?

It is a fine example of his innovative approach to group portrait, he made skillful use of chiaroscuro, tenebrism, & dramatic lighting to enliven his composition

Where were the earliest examples of Christian art discovered?

It was common amongst Christians in Italy to bury the dead in underground cemeteries known as catacombs, scenes painted on burial-room walls & ceilings can be found in Rome

Yongzheng Emperor was a ruler of what?

Manchu-led Qing Dynasty in China

In which country is the Taian Teahouse located?

Myoki-an Temple, Kyoto, Japan

Was Tintoretto's Last Supper very symmetrical in composition to Da Vinci's painting of the same subject?

No, in Da Vinci's Christ is depicted at the center of the painting, the vanishing point is directly behind his head, Tintoretto's angle is more off-centered

Did critics of the sculpture Falling Woman say that it was irrelevant to the terrorist attacks of 9/11 & that it did not capture any of the pain & emotion of that day?

No, when it was unveiled in New York City, it was considered so offensive that it was covered over almost immediately, it was seen as too potent & heart-wrenching

The Woman from Willendorf is made out of which medium?

Oolitic limestone

Why was Machu Picchu built?

Pachacuti selected a ridge high on a mountaintop in Peru to become his private estate & religious retreat, it offered privacy & protection

Who developed a cannon of harmonious proportions to be used for the portrayal of the ideal human body in sculpture?

Polykleitos

List 4 practices that Muslims use.

Praying to Allah in a mosque, must pray 5 times a day facing the direction of the city of Mecca, the creed, daily prayers, almsgiving, fasting during Ramadan, pilgrimage to Mecca (hajj) at least once in a lifetime

Where were the earliest paintings in the world found?

Prehistoric art has been discovered in Europe from as early as 40,000 BCE, the earliest paintings in Europe are found on walls of El Castillo Cave in Spain

Which two gothic architectural innovations allowed cathedral walls to be built higher than before?

Rib vaults make the great height of Gothic cathedrals possible, the weight of the structure is spread through the ribs of the ceiling vaults before further dividing the burden between the walls & flying buttresses

Who is the artist of Tilted Arc?

Richard Serra

Which churches recalled the architectural elements from ancient Rome?

Romanesque, Sainte-Foy was one of these churches, Roman architectural elements included exterior arches, the church was in the shape of a Latin cross

What is the meaning of the singular Nkisi?

Sacred medicine

Who is the artist of The Birth of Venus?

Sandro Botticelli

Describe spirituality in art.

Spirituality encompasses our sense of being connected to others, our awareness of both mind & body, & our wish to understand life's meaning in & beyond the world in which we find ourselves, serves as a source of inspiration & a way for us to share our beliefs, there are 5 categories of artworks with spiritual context: 1) those that incorporate specific gods or deities 2) those that refer to the spirits of the natural world or ancestors 3) suggestions of communication with the spirit world 4) depictions of judgement at the end of an Earthly life 5) reactions to places that have a sacred resonance

Who used hieroglyphics as their written language?

The Egyptians

Who repeatedly painted studies of the mountain he had seen throughout his childhood & later observed from his studio window?

The French painter Paul Cézanne developed a new type of landscape painting through the intense study of Mont Sainte-Victoire, a mountain he could see from his studio & childhood home

Which technique did Van Gogh use to create thick swirls in his work, Starry Night?

The artist infused the scene with his own emotions, one can sense the very physical act of applying the thick paint, impasto, in swirls that show movement in the sky & the light emanating from the stars

Where in present day was the bronze head of Akkadian ruler discovered?

The head was originally discovered in Nineveh in Northern Iraq, went missing after the looting of the National Museum of Iraq in Baghdad

Where were the Roman catacombs located at the time they were built?

The human desire to paint important or sacred places is evident in the catacombs constructed outside of the city of Rome, Italy which was an underground system

What does the Dura Europos Synagogue contain?

The oldest surviving Jewish artwork other than coins, more than 50 stories are displayed in fresco paintings on the wall, there is also a shrine containing the Torah, which contains the commandments given to Moses by God

Which object in William Harnett's The Old Violin was not painted?

The only part of the painting that is in fact real is a blue envelope signed by the artist, which he attached to the lower left corner of the painting

Was the portait of Mao Zedong ever taken down?

The portrait that hangs over Tiananmen is not the same painting that was placed there in 1949, it has been replaced with near-identical portraits almost yearly

What color is used to create the most prized Hawaiian feather cloaks?

The red & yellow feathers both come from birds, but because the yellow birds were very rare, cloaks with more yellow feathers were considered more valuable

What does a deposition scene show?

The removal of Jesus Christ's body from the cross

In artwork by both African & Pacific island peoples, cowrie shells often represent what?

The shells have been symbols of fertility, natural materials have symbolic significance

What do Mimis in Australian rock art represent?

The slender figure, a "Mimi," is one of the spirits who taught humans to hunt & paint during one of the early eras of the "Dreaming" or creation period

What is the Renaissance?

The term means "rebirth," a reference to a renewed interest in the Classical world of Greece & Rome, a period of cultural & artistic change in Europe from the 14th to the 17th century

What material was used to make a vessel for the Yoruba ritual?

The terracotta vessel is thought to show both the inner & outer head in the natural head & very abstract conical heads that surround it

Guerilla Girls make what kind of art?

Their productions take the form of public protests & lectures as well as flyers & posters such as Do Women Have to Be Naked to Get into the Met. Museum?

What is the purpose of Navajo paintings?

They are made from sand, are temporary works of art, constructed as part of a prayer or ceremony, are closely connected to nature, both in materials used & imagery, used to heal a person

Which visual characteristics do Eastern Orthodox icons usually display?

They depicted holy figures as a focus of devotion & a source of inspiration, they have gold backgrounds, linear outlines, & stylized but believable poses

What was the purpose of flying buttresses?

They functioned like many long, outstretched fingers to prevent the walls from falling outward, it was possible to build with walls that became progressively thinner

What type of art was created at the place where the states of Colorado, Utah, Arizona, & New Mexico meet?

They used local materials to build practical structures that provided shelter, they constructed communal cliff dwellings of stone, timber, & adobe, it was abandoned between 1300 & 1540, they also painted buffalo hide

Can a painting capture the horror of war?

Yes, artists re-create the terror of battle, the tragedy of death, the joy of victory, & the sorrow of defeat

True or false: To make their artworks appear realistic, Renaissance artists sometimes distorted the way certain objects & elements looked.

True, Italian artists during the early Renaissance were preoccupied with making pictures that their viewers would find entirely believable, the real, however, was balanced with the ideal, especially when the subjects were mythological or religious

True or false: Many ancient Greek artists made artworks to honor their gods & deities.

True, a statue of the goddess Athena dominates the interior space of the Parthenon

True or false: Chavin art commonly features animals with spiritual connections.

True, in Chavin culture, animals feature prominently & are strongly associated with all 3 realms of the cosmos

True or false: Rituals that connect with ancestors & nature spirits are as important as the tasks of daily life for African people's like the Kongo.

True, in many African cultures, an important connection between past & present exists in the reverence people show for their ancestors & the nature spirits that influence their daily lives, the rituals they perform are as crucial to their livelihood as the chores & tasks of daily life

True or false: Art Nouveau is a style that emphasized decorative patterns & organic forms.

True, it emphasized decorative pattern & applied it to the traditional "fine arts," the decorative arts, & architecture & interior design

True or false: Because art from Africa & the Pacific Islands follows traditional methods, it tends to look the same over long periods of time.

True, perhaps the most striking similarity between art made in Africa & that of the Pacific Islands is the continuity of traditional techniques

True or false: Artists have often been influenced by scientific discoveries.

True, sometimes, artworks openly celebrate scientific achievements, & some artists have even used scientific methods to make art

True or false: Astrolabes were used by Muslims to determine the direction of Mecca.

True, the astrolabe was especially useful to Muslims, who were required to pray while facing toward the city of Mecca 5 times a day, the astrolabe could find the direction of Mecca

True or false: The Taj Mahal is surrounded by gardens that represent paradise.

True, the immense gardens that cover the Taj Mahal complex are designed to represent the paradise of the afterlife for those of Muslim faith

True or false: Anasazi cliff dwellings were built to take advantage of sun & shade in order to provide temperature in different seasons.

True, these locations took advantage of the sun's orientation to heat the pueblo in the winter & shade it during the hot summer months

What is the medium used in the process of creating the Yoruba Twin Figure?

Wood

What was the medium of the Eagle Transformation Mask?

Wood, feathers, & rope

What is the meaning for each color on the Kente Cloth?

Yellow: things that are holy & precious, gold: a symbol of royalty, wealth, & spiritual purity, green: for growth & good health, & red: for strong political & spiritual feelings

Did Peter Paul Rubens work with many assistants in his studio?

Yes, he produced about 2,000 paintings in his lifetime, this was made possible because he opened a large workshop in Antwerp, his assistants were responsible for producing some of his paintings

Is it true that artworks based in Buddhism, Hinduism, & Islam can be found in India?

Yes, the Great Stupa is Buddhist, the Kandariya Mahadeva is Hindu, the Taj Mahal is Muslim

Are styles of architecture & painting from the Middle Ages related to each other?

Yes, the artists represented in 2 dimensions the equivalent of the soaring spirituality of the Gothic style of architecture

Did Greeks use ideal proportions in their sculpture & architecture?

Yes, they tried to give their work the idealized proportions of a perfect human form

In The Great Wave Off Shore at Kanagawa, the wave intertwines with the sky to create an abstraction of which symbol?

Yin & yang, symbolic of the belief that the forces may seem opposed, but are dependent on one another