History of Photography Final Exam Multiple Choice

Digital image editing technologies were not available until about the year 2000

False

The word "photograph" roughly translates to —————— in Greek

Drawing with light

Which of the following was true about John Szarkowski

He was an influential curator at MoMA who helped advance photography's position among the fine arts

What early 20th century art movement was most concerned with dreams and the unconscious

Surrealism

Early modernist photography places more value on subject than form

False

The Düsseldorf school of photography produced photographers that were fond of:

Sharp focus & large scale printing

What year was the "invention of photography" announced to the world

1839

Which is more true?

A) tableau photographs are spontaneous images, often walking the line between reality and fiction

B) tableau photographs show characters arranged for picturesque or dramatic effect and appear absorbed/utterly unaware of the viewer's existence

B

Carte de Visite images were made for what purpose?

They were small, inexpensive photographic portraits intended for circulation & in some ways, they worked like Facebook or Instagram, presenting idealized, self-conscious representations of people that could be shared with others in their social circle

Camera obscuras have been very rare throughout history and can only be found in extremely specific locations

False

Choose the more correct statement:

A) Marcel Duchamp was more concerned with how art affects the mind than how art appeals to the eye

B) Duchamp was more concerned with how art appeals to the eye than how art affects the mind

A

What process was used to make the "first" photograph?

Heliograph

Choose the more correct statement:

A) Early fashion photographers like Richard Avedon and Irving Penn were also celebrated as artists and were shown at places like MoMA

B) Early fashion photographers like Richard Avedon and Irving Penn were barred from showing at places like the MoMA

A

Stieglitz's photographs "The Terminal" (1905) & "The Steerage" (1907):

Marked a major visual turning point for the artist, are often considered among the first "modernist" photographs, were an indication that the pictorialist movement was dwindling

Color photography was invented in the mid-20th century

False

The idea behind a work is essential in conceptual photography, not necessarily what it visually depicts

True

Choose the more correct statement:

A) the calotype process was more popular among early landscape photographers than the daguerreotype process because it was viewed as more expensive

B) the daguerreotype process was more popular among early landscape photographers than the calotype process because it was more accurate

A

New topographics photographers:

Showed man-altered landscapes

A photogram is best defined as:

A "camera-less" picture made in the darkroom through contact printing

Photography concerning women's rights and performance rose to prominence in the 1980s

True

Most of the images shot during 9/11 were with digital cameras

False

A C-Print is:

A color photograph

Choose the more correct statement:

A) many 19th-century documentary images were altered in some way by the photographer, calling into question the accuracy of photographs in telling "objective" truths

B) very few 19th-century documentary images were altered by photographers, which helped cement photography's role as a journalistic tool

A

This photographer was born in Denmark, worked primarily in New York, and pioneered the early use of flash photography

Jacob Riis

What is the name of the artist whose work frequently features black and white text, appropriated images, and bright red highlights?

Barbara Kruger

Which of the following statements is not true about Vivian Meier:

Her work was critically acclaimed during her lifetime

Choose the more correct statement:

A) pictorialism was a large movement that flourished in Europe and the americas from 1885-1915. The photo-secession was a smaller, selective group that included what they considered the best pictorialist photographers

B) the photo-secession was a smaller, selective group that included what they considered the best pictorialist photographers B

A

Who photographed the "Magnificent 11", a series of images taken during the Normandy landings in WWII?

Robert Capa

Gregory Crewdson's photographs often have:

Motion-picture-level production values, imagery consistent with the concept of "tableau", a cinematic aesthetic

Which WWII war photographer began their career in fashion and was a student of Man Ray?

Lee Miller

Choose the more accurate statement:

A) documentary, by definition, refers to photographs taken on assignment for a news publication

B) many types of people can take documentary photos. They can be of various situations but must aim to record something that has informational value (historically, socially, politically, etc.)

B

There are no known photographs of actual 19th-century battles because:

The process required exposures of multiple seconds, which didn't make capturing movement easy

Edward Curtis is a somewhat controversial figure as a documentarian because:

He would stage ceremonies and have subjects dress up in clothing that they might not typically wear

Which of the following statements is not true about Eadweard Muybridge?

He worked primarily in Paris and London

The images of photographic division of the Farm Security Administration are best known for...

Explaining to the American public why relief spending was necessary during the Dustbowl era & showing rural poverty

The calotype process is...

An early photographic process discovered by William Henry Fox Talbot. It involves using paper coated with silver nitrate

Which of the following statements is true about Lewis Hine?

He is most well-known for his work documenting child labor in the U.S.

Choose the more correct statement:

A) the f64 group promoted sharp-focused imagery. The name "f64" refers to the deep depth of field that can be achieved with higher aperture settings

B) the f64 group was created primarily to promote environmentalism through photography in American wilderness

A

Stereographs (aka stereoscopes) are:

3D images (when viewed through a stereoscope)

Which photographic process used negatives to create final images?

Calotypes

In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, photographic tools became less accessible. This might explain why there were very few women involved in pictorialism

False

After WWII, the pictorialist movement...

Slowed down as photographers gravitated toward different ideas/subjects