AP Art History Contemporary

The Gates (author, medium, date)

Christo and Jeanne-Claude, 1979-2005 CE, mixed-media

The Gates (form/content)

post and lintel, 7000+ gates, installation, saffron-colored, inspired by shinto shrines

The Gates (Function, Context)

Draw attention to details of pathways in Central Park. Temporary, valued bc it doesn't last.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial (author, date, medium)

Maya Lin, 1982 CE, Granite

Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Form, Content)

Looks like a black scar on the nation's capital. Minimalism, names. cuts into the Earth. reflective black granite, points to 2 other monuments, 58000 veterans names.

Vietnam Veterans Memorial (Function, Context)

not glorifying war, helps people come to terms w/death. apolitical and interactive.

A Book From The Sky (author, date, medium)

Xu Bing, 1987-1991 CE, Paper + Print Press

A Book From The Sky (Form, Content)

Pages w/chinese text on all 4 walls, 4000+ fake characters, scrolls

A Book From The Sky (Function, Context)

Makes a statement abt propaganda + misuse of text. Propaganda misleads you like this text -- looks like characters, are fake.
Xu Bing lived through the Cultural Revolution + made propaganda to continue being a scholar.

No Crying in the Barbershop (author, date, medium)

Pepon Osorio, 1994 CE, Mixed Media Installation

No Crying in the Barbershop (Form, Content)

barbershop: chairs, photographs, objects, videos. Displayed Latino men crying, stereotypical masculine images showing machismo, flowers, pool table.

No Crying in the Barbershop (Function, Context)

attacks machismo, makes viewers uncomfortable + confront their idea of masculinity, brings attention to displacement of Africans in the Latino community, became a barbershop + place for change/learning.
Grew up as a Latino man, saw the normalization of toxic masculinity.

Guggenheim Museum (Bilbao) (author, date, medium)

Frank Gehry, 1997 CE, titanium/glass/limestone

Guggenheim Museum (Bilbao) (Form, Content)

Deconstructivism, odd shapes that ripple and bend, curvilinear gallery, glass connects outside w/inside. 'Boat gallery'

Deconstructivism:

fragment/break apart structure surface

Guggenheim Museum (Bilbao) (Function, Context)

part of a major urban renewal program in Bilbao, designed w/computer software

Darkytown Rebellion (author, date, medium)

Karak Walker, 2001 CE, paper/wall projection

Darkytown Rebellion (Form, Content)

Installation, Paper medium (associated w/craft work + black women). Silhouettes w/paper showing black and white people, projector is in color, viewer's shadows join the scene.

Darkytown Rebellion (Function, Context)

Commentary on race relations. Lack of colors in figures forces us to stereotype who is white/black.

Shibboleth (author, date, medium)

Doris Salcedo, 2008 CE, Installation

MAXXI National Museum of XXI Century Arts (author, date, medium)

Zaha Hadid, 2009 CE, Glass/steel/cement

MAXXI National Museum of XXI Century Arts (Form, Content)

fluid, weightless, overhang, art galleries

Sunflower Seeds (author, date, medium)

Ai Wei Wei, 2001 CE, Sculpted and painted porcelain

Horn Players (author, date, medium)

Jean-Michel Basquiat, 1983 CE, Acrylic/oil paint stick on triptych

Horn Players (Form, Content)

obsessive scribbling, crossed out words. obsession with musicians and how they created something out of nothing, jazz

Summer Trees (author, date, medium)

Song Su-nam, 1983 CE, Ink on paper

Summer Trees (Form, Content)

ink on dry and wet paper, subtle shades of grey, overlapping brushstrokes, meditative quality

Androgyn III (author, date, medium)

Magdalena Abakanowicz, 1985 CE, Burlap, resin, wood, nails, string

Androgyn III (Form, Content)

wood figure, hollow back. Stretcher brings attention to missing legs. Burlap needs resin/external support to prop up. Sculpture in the round - walk around it

Androgyn III (Function, Context)

Poland was invaded by Nazis/she lived in an aristocratic family and was targeted. Her experiences made her feel empty + she wanted others to feel the same. Androgynous to make it relatable to all.

Pink Panther (author, date, medium)

Jeff Koons, 1988 CE, Glazed Porcelain

Pink Panther (Function, Context)

addresses pop culture, mass production, and nostalgia through an uncomfortable and sexual context

Untitled #228 (author, date, medium)

Cindy Sherman, 1990 CE, Photograph

Untitled #228 (Function, Context)

Attacks sexism in art, influenced by feminist mvmd of 70s + power of TV/images

Dancing at the Louvre (author, date, medium)

Faith Ringgold, 1991 CE, acrylic on canvas, tie-dyed pierced fabric border

Dancing at the Louvre (Form, Content)

quilts: traditionally feminine medium w/roots in African culture. Rewriting painful historical narratives

Dancing at the Louvre (Function, Context)

empower black women, rewrite painful historical narratives, include women of color where they were historically excluded

Trade (Gifts for Trading Land with White People) (author, date, medium)

Jaune Smith, 1992 CE, Oil and mixed media on canvas

Trade (Form, Content)

angry lines of paint, painted over pictures and newspapers, big canoe in yellow. thin views of paint, canoe outline, native american kitsch

Trade (Function, Context)

condemns exploitation of natives by European/American govt.

Earth's Creation (artist, date, medium)

Emily Kngwarreye, 1994 CE, Synthetic polymer paint on canvas

Earth's Creation (Form, Content)

bright colors, lines, dots, Impressionism. what she sees in springtime in aboriginal Australia

Earth's Creation (Function, Context)

expresses her dreams and visions of nature in gestural painting. indigenous artist connected to nature

Rebellious Silence (artist, date, medium)

Shirin Neshat, 1994 CE, Ink on photograph

Rebellious Silence (Function, Context)

demonstrates how women are treated in the middle east, makes a statement abt power and women's speech/rights. After the Iranian Revolution, women saw a regression of rights.

Pisupo Lua Afe (artist, date, medium)

Michel Tuffrey, 1994 CE, Mixed Media

Pisupo Lua Afe (Function, Context)

commentary on impact of global trade: canned food was introduced by Europeans and has become a part of gift-giving in the Pacific Islands; now obesity is an issue.

Electronic Superhighway (artist, date, medium)

Nam June Paik, 1995, Mixed-media installation

The Crossing (artist, date, medium)

Bill Viola, 1996 CE, Video/sound installation

Pure Land (artist, date, medium)

Mariko Mori, 1998 CE, Color photograph on glass screenshot of 3D video

Pure Land (Form, Content)

creative interpretation of Japanese art, romanticized pop culture, aliens playing music, merges consumerism w/Japanese imagery

Lying with the Wolf (author, date, medium)

Kiki Smith, 2001 CE, Ink and pencil on Paper

Lying with the Wolf (Function, Context)

demonstrates emotional and gentle power of women to calm anger, influenced by feminism

The Swing (artist, date, medium)

Yinka Shonibare, 2001, Mixed-media installation

Old Man's Cloth (artist, date, medium)

El Anatsui, 2003 CE, Aluminum and copper wire

Stadia II (artist, date, medium)

Julie Mehretu, 2004 CE, Ink and acrylic on canvas

Stadia II (Form, Content)

curved and straight lines, circles, dots, colorful, excitement, frenzy, dynamic, arena

Stadia II (Function, Context)

arenas are counterpoints in cultures, evoke emotion

Preying Mantra (artist, date, medium)

Wangechi Mutu, 2006 CE, Mixed media on mylar

Preying Mantra (Function, Context)

commentary on female persona in art, afro-futurism: if our past is bleak, then our only hope is the future

Preying Mantra (Form, Content)

ironic twist on praying mantis, collaged female figure w/animal parts

In his installation A Book from the Sky, Xu Bing referenced which of the following traditional Chinese art forms in order to comment on the political and cultural context of twentieth-century Chinese society?
A) Hand-bound books and scrolls printed with woodblock
B) Silk screens painted with watercolor and ink
C) Wall hangings showing monumental calligraphic characters
D) Propagandist posters depicting historical Chinese leaders

A) Hand-bound books and scrolls printed with woodblock

Maya Lin's design for the Vietnam Veterans Memorial draws primarily on the influence of which of the following artistic movements?
A) Postmodernism
B) Minimalism
C) Abstract expressionism
D) Deconstructivism

B) Minimalism

The repetition of form and color in Christo and Jeanne-Claude's installation The Gates is most strongly intended to call attention to which of the following?
A) Isolated from against the landscape
B) The materials and impermanence of the work
C) The lines of the walking paths in the park
D) The static nature of the rigid vinyl gates

C) The lines of the walking paths in the park

Pepon Osorio created En la Barberia no se Llora (No Crying Allowed in the Barbershop) as...
A) an immersive video installation featuring various sounds and smells
B) an interactive installation that resembles a functioning barbershop
C) a light projection that incorporated the shadows of the viewers as participants
D) a painting combined with an assembly of personal objects from the artist's personal life

B) an interactive installation that resembles a functioning barbershop

In Darkytown Rebellion, Kara Walker uses silhouettes of nineteenth-century racist images to...
A) provide positive role models for other oppressed groups
B) provoke dialogue about how stereotypes still affect contemporary society

B) provoke dialogue about how stereotypes still affect contemporary society

Emily Kngwarreye's Earth's Creation reflects the artist's roots in aboriginal ceremonial sand painting as well as demonstrating continuity with the style of the Western art movement known as...
A) Expressionism
B) Surrealism
C) Constructivism
D) Impressionism

D) Impressionism

According to Cindy Sherman, she only sourced printed images from books to create her work Untitled (#228) from the History Portraits series because she...
A) wanted to use imagery available to anyone in the world
B) needed to cut up the book pages to use for collage
C) was creating exact reproductions of old master paintings
D) did not have access to nearby museums and galleries

A) wanted to use imagery available to anyone in the world

Jaune Smith's inclusion of cheap trinkets in her work Trade is intended to...
A) emphasize that most popular American sports are variations of Native American traditions
B) expose the low wages of Native American workers who labor in factories to mass-produce such goods
C) critique the art market's obsession with the skill and craftsmanship of American art
D) reference a history of exploitative economic transactions between Native Americans and Europeans

D) reference a history of exploitative economic transactions between Native Americans and Europeans

Faith Ringgold references traditional folk art forms in Dancing at the Louvre by incorporating the technique of
A) collage
B) quilting
C) bead work
D) weaving

B) quilting

From an art historical perspective, Magdalena Abakanowicz' Androgyne III can best be interpreted as
A) representing immigrant experiences
B) exploring issues of gender identity
C) revealing the truth in the natural world
D) expressing human suffering

D) expressing human suffering

Which of the following works is most similar to Pure Land in that it includes a photographic self-portrait?
A) Horn Players
B) No Crying in the Barbershop
C) Dancing at the Louvre
D) Rebellious Silence

D) Rebellious Silence

The most significant difference in the way writing is used to convey meaning in Xu Bing's A Book from the Sky and Shirin Neshat's Rebellious Silence from the Women of Allah series is that...
A) Bing does not use text for social commentary while Neshat does
B) Bing repeats a message many times while Neshat includes a single text
C) Bing's work is made with block-printed characters while Neshat's text is written in ink
D) Bing's work employs invented characters while Neshat's work quotes from a poem

D) Bing's work employs invented characters while Neshat's work quotes from a poem

Jaune Quick-to-See Smith made Trade (Gifts for Trading with White People) partly in reaction to which of the following events?
A) The 500-year anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas
B) The emergence of the Red Power movement among Native Americans during the Civil Rights era
C) The expieration of the federal government's termination policy that broke up the reservation system
D) The passage of the Water Rights Protection Act that preserved rivers on Native American lands

A) The 500-year anniversary of Christopher Columbus' arrival in the Americas

In addition to outlining the contour of each state, the neon tubing in Paik's installation evokes...
A) neon signs associated with traveling on the interstate
B) the sharp political divisions in the United States
C) a sense of nostalgia for analog technology
D) once-thriving factories in the industrial Midwest

A) neon signs associated with traveling on the interstate

The Crossing, a video installation by Bill Viola, expands the viewer's temporal, psychological, and spiritual experience through his signature use of...
A) slow-speed film that creates ambiguous imagery featuring hazy, foggy effects
B) a large-scale projection split between two opposing film screens
C) high framerate film, capturing detail beyond the normal range of human perception
D) video projected onto side-by-side, reflective screens complemented by otherworldly sounds

C) high framerate film, capturing detail beyond the normal range of human perception