Intro to Visual Arts - Exam 2

How African art was perceived in the West

Invaluable, souvenirs

What are the traditional aspects of African art?

stylized and abstracted

Where was silk invented?

China

Where was porcelain invented?

China - Jingdezhen

What empire controlled the largest contiguous territory in the world?

The Mongol Empire

What European country traded with the Edo of Benin? (Ivory trade)

Portugal

Where was African art displayed in Europe and America during the 18th and 19th centuries?

18th - curiosity cabinets, tables of wealthy

19th - museums

What stylistic features of the Ife heads led Frobenius to his wrong hypothesis?

Naturalism - it was lifelike and nuanced.

Why did Smee take issue with the London published article in 1938?

The article compared African and European works - diminishing the value of African art

What problem did French citizenry have with Ingres’ portrait of Napoleon?

1. It did not look like him

2. It was an authoritarian illustration of him, instead of as a man for the people

Where did Picasso turn for inspiration for Gertrude Stein’s portrait?

“primitive” ancient Roman and archaic Iberian sculpture

Where did Kehinde Wiley get inspiration for the patterned backdrops in his portraits?

Seydou Keita and his floral backgrounds

art (conceptual)

paintings, sculptures, prints

craft

pots, shawls, handwoven textiles, furniture

yurt

a portable tent that is round and covered with woven fabrics for insulation; commonly used by nomadic people

What was most important for Frank Lloyd Wright’s Prairie-style home designs?

Their integration with nature, giving them form and function. Immersion with the setting

Who did Walker Evans work for?

Resettlement Administration for the US Department of Agriculture

Pattern of Clarkson’s quilt?

honeycomb pattern

Why is Gee’s Bend Collective considered a craft rather than a fine art?

The quilts are utilitarian

aniconism

the eschewal of figural imagery

iconoclasm

the destruction or mutilation of existing figural imagery

How was the Taliban’s destruction of Bamiyan anomalous?

the structure was blown up and destroyed in its entirety instead of mutilated. they also claimed it was religious, but it was a political stunt

What is Ai Weiwei doing in his “Study of Perspective?”

challenging authority and the limitations it has on people’s freedoms

where were Ai Weiwei’s sunflower seeds made and what were they symbolic of?

Made in Jingdezhen, China; symbolic of communist collective, consumerism or even mass production. By inviting the audience to step on them, they are involved in iconoclasm

what does “Ukiyo-e” mean?

Ukiyo-e translates to "pictures of the floating world," and it comes from a Buddhist concept that has to do with the ephemeral aspects of life. 

Who designed Central Park in NYC?

Frederick Law Olmsted and Calvert Caux

avant-garde

new or experimental ideas, especially in the arts, or the people introducing them

What materials did Keith Haring use for his subway art?

White chalk on matte black paper

Basquiat fact

Basquiat began his career writing on walls and subway cars with spray paint and this was called his "SAMO" graffiti

classical concept of beauty

it is objective, and adheres to a canon that is proportioned and harmonious

The traditional assessment of Gothic architecture

it was the decline of architecture and was a degenerate form of art

How did Goethe change the assessment of Gothic architecture?

he argued that it had different goals than ancient Roman and Greek architecture; he believed it was meant to impact the devotees that entered the space, and should not be compared to the others

How does Picasso redefine beauty?

Picasso redefines beauty with his painting of "ugliness" that in reality creates an empathetic and visceral connection with the audience

Why does Duchamp submit a urinal to an art exhibition?

As a way of making a statement to challenge the conventions of art; he also mocks aesthetic beauty and what people hold onto as objective beauty by doing so

silk road

vast network of trade routes that connected Europe and China

What does Picasso’s Demoiselles d’Avignon do?

Does not appreciate African art in context or ceremony, but demonstrates formal appreciation