Art 126, Past Quizzes, Spring 2001

1.

What is a commentary (explanation exposing origins, connections & results of material examined)?

2.

What is a meta-commentary (one possibly hidden from its participants)?

3.

What is an axiom (unquestionable assumption)?

4.

What is a concept (collection of different kinds of data & thought forming overall idea)?

5.

What is an issue (2 or more concepts in conflict, dissatisfaction)?

6.

What is the purpose of Classicism (reveal divine truth and hence benefit soul)?

Note: this caused some contention which we need to think about for future tests. The ideas of "goal" and "purpose" are similar enough to cause confusion, but they really are different. For example, if you think about high-school sports, their purpose is to encourage physical fitness and social teamwork. Their goal is for one team to get a ball into a basket, net or over a bar more frequently than the other team. A purpose, then, is more general than a goal. You could see a goal as something that individuals are trying to achieve within the main purpose.

7.

What are the two Classical axioms about truth (no conflict, age & prestige)?

8.

What is the goal of Classical thinkers (achieve greatness)?

See the notes under question 6, above. This goal, by the way, is why we tend to look for "great" works of art. Remember that it is limited to Classicism and other paradigms have different goals.

9.

How do you recognize Classical Beauty (completeness/good condition, bright colour/light, geometric qualities)?

This question often throws up problems when students think impressionistically. Remember to focus your thoughts. Recognizing Classical Beauty (as in this question) is different from saying what it was supposed to be able to do, and different again from explaining how it was supposed to do it. Recognizing Classical Beauty is also different from recognizing the Idealization, which is a special set of features by which to recognize an Ideal human figure. Anything can be Classically Beautiful if it has the right characteristics. Only a Human figure can be Idealized.

10.

Spell contrapposto.

11.

(bonus) Give any three signals of Idealization (nudity/near nudity, face and body at rest, contrapposto, smooth skin/little detail, geometric qualities)

Review of Quiz

Questions this time were asked in direct form, mimicking the language and order of the site. This lets you parrot. Another time, I will ask questions differently. For example, question 7:

How do Classical thinkers recognize truth (age & prestige)?
or
Did Classical thinkers believe that truth had to be proved (no)?
or
What assumption did Classical thinkers make about the variety of truths (cannot conflict/must harmonize)?
or
If two truths cannot conflict, what must they do (harmonize)?

Quiz no 2

1.

Do you have to prove Classical Truth (no)?

2.

What 2 things was Classical Beauty supposed to be able to do (manifest God, ennoble soul)?

3.

What does Idealization tell you about a figure (divine, perfect, favoured/grace)?

4.

What is the universe and everything in it made of, according to Plato (dross)?

5.

Why did Giotto make his figures so large (so they could be easily seen, narrative clarity)?

6.

Why did Giotto make landscapes and buildings so small (required to be complete for Classical Beauty, if he made them to scale, they would be cut up by the frame & incomplete)?

7.

Why would artists and architects want to make perfectly geometrical space (create Classical Beauty with no dross, only experience of perfection possible under Classicism)?

8.

What is foreshortening (compacting objects so they project towards viewer)?

9.

What is the Italian word for "blurry" (sfumato)?

10.

What is the Italian word for modelling in light and shade (chiaroscuro)?

11.

(bonus) What is the word for deep pools of black shadow (tenebrism)?

Quiz 3

1.

Give three ways Classical thinkers recognized greatness (innovation, achievement, exhaustion).

2.

Why was is essential for a church to be Classically Beautiful (CB manifests God & ennobles soul as a church should do)

3.

Alberti set architects a difficult problem with the design of a church façade. Did he solve it himself (no)?

4.

How was the problem solved in the end (colossal corbels, by Giacomo della Porta on Il Gesu)?
(name of architect & church = 1 bonus point each)

5.

What is exhaustion (perfection, no improvement considered possible)?

6.

At St Peter's, did Bramante put the geometry in the masonry or the space (space)?

7.

Was Bramante's design for St Peter's Classically Beautiful (yes)?

8.

Was Bramante's design for St Peter's structurally safe (no)?

9.

What is an axiom (unquestionable assumption)?

10.

What is the result for Classical thought if two truths come into conflict (it collapses, fails)?

Quiz no 4

1.

Give three signals for a STATIC composition (horizontals, verticals, wide base, simplicity, complete forms)

2.

Name two human experiences of the static (e.g. mountains, architecture, doors, walls, locks, sleep, death, etc)

3.

Give three signals for a LYRICAL composition (curves, sfumato or soft/blurry finish, use of blue)

4.

Name three human experiences of lyrical forms (e.g. sea/water, hills, clouds, infants, eroticism, etc)

5.

Which compositional type do diagonal forms belong to (dynamic)?

6.

Which compositional type is most likely to be used for solemn purposes (static - remember, our experience of the static tends to be absolute. There's no arguing with the eternity and immovability of mountains, the finality of death, the exclusion of locks etc)

7.

Spell "corbel"

8.

What is "foreshortening" (compacting an object so it appears to project towards the viewer remember, foreshortening is different from linear perspective. It is about objects, not space, and about projection not recession)

9.

Did Classical thought place any restrictions on women artists (yes, only painting/engraving)?

10.

What was Properzia's big mistake (monumental sculpture not prescribed for women - hubris; arguably also lack of virtue because she chased a man who rejected her)?

11.

Bonus. Who suggested to Sofonisba that she should make a picture of a child crying (Michelangelo)?

Quiz no 5

1.

Give THREE signals of visual truth (linear perspective, chiaroscuro, cast shadows, foreshortening, optical illusions, aerial perspective)

2.

Give THREE signals of evocative truth (expressive line, prominent silhouette, evocative allusion, dynamic & lyrical compositional signals - curves, blurry, blue; diagonal, complexity, incompleteness, overlapping, crowding, lots of details, sketchiness, stop-action)

3.

What does evocative truth demand of the viewer (complete image or experience mentally)?

4.

How do you recognize Sensual Beauty (lyrical/curvy compositions/forms; moody colors/light; textural technique and content)?

5.

Does Sensual Beauty manifest God like Classical Beauty (no, it's more of a lure or manipulation)?

6.

How do you recognize a Romanticized figure (not Idealized, clothed, sensual, young, set back or high up and possibly partially blocked from viewer)

7.

Suggest THREE terms to describe brushwork/brushmarks (this is for practice in making your descriptive vocab more conscious) (e.g. visible, invisible, descriptive, gestural, static, dynamic or lyrical,illusionistic, evocative, textural, exciting, frightening, stodgy, relevant or irrelevant, gestural, bravura, impasto)

Note: These last questions flummoxed a lot of you. Get to know them - they will come up again!

8.

Define TENEBRISM (deep pools of dark shadow; large areas of dark shadow)

9.

What is CONNOISSEURSHIP (expert judgement concerning taste or artist recognition)?

10.

In this course, we define "taste" as something intuitive and personal. What is it used for (recognize great, good or pleasing art under the Sensual paradigm)?

11.

Bonus. What is BRAVURA (flourishing brushwork)?

Quiz 6

1.

What is the name for a person with discrimination in matters of style and taste (connoisseur)?

2.

Why did Hals often get ranked lower than Titian, Rembrandt & Rubens (less range)?

3.

What is is the lost Classical paradise called (Arcadia)?

4.

Since that lost Classical paradise was Classically Beautiful, what could it do for the people who visited it or lived in it (ennoble their souls)?

5.

Why is there a dark & sinister shadow in the foreground of a Classical landscape (suggests present suffering & death)?

6.

How did the Dutch change the figures to suggest that Paradise could be regained (turned to horizon)?

7.

Did 18th century "good taste" approve of Classically Beautiful bright colours (no)?

8.

What is "the canon" (list of great works of art compiled by Charles Norton Eliot to train taste & discrimination of art history students at Harvard, 1874)?

9.

KANT wrote his "Critique of Judgement" in 1790. Did he believe that taste could be trained (no)?

10.

Kant refused to define beauty. What sort of places did he suggest we look for beauty - name THREE (no rules but maybe some of these: uncultivated nature like mountains, artificial naturalness like English Estates, bizarre furniture, lavish decoration, imagination pushed almost to the grotesque)?

11.

BONUS. Did Kant believe that beauty could have a spiritual or moral effect on the observer (no)?

12.

BONUS. How did Kant believe we would recognize beauty if he wouldn't tell us what it looked like (taste)?

13.

BONUS. Spell connoisseurship.

Quiz no 7

1.

Kant said that beauty has no spiritual, moral or practical function. Under the Quietist paradigm, does beauty have an artistic function (no)?

2.

Back in the 18th century, Kant said that science cannot prove or disprove or define God. Has Kant been proved wrong yet (not that the public knows of)?

3.

What is INTUITION (the ability to know the unknowable, envision the invisible, clairvoyance, a form of ESP [extra sensory perception])?

4.

Does the Quietist paradigm suggest that the individual can benefit the human race as a whole (no)?

5.

Give the three components of Quietist spirituality (1. passive attitude towards life, 2. abandonment of the personal will, 3. mystical contemplation).

6.

Give the three main components of Temporal Plainness (1. simple, bulky forms, e.g. broken, facetted, planar, undecorated; 2. neutral or neutralized colours, e.g. monochrome, subdued, tonally unified, opaque, simplified chiaroscuro; 3. matt, rough, cracked materials, e.g. unseasoned wood, bare concrete and steel, impasto, burlap, sisal, unbleached linen).

7.

How do you recognize an Objectified figure (1. occupies middle ground, 2. looks away or face masked/unclear, 3. plainly rendered, 4. body parts or facial features enlarged/exaggerated, 5. angular posture)?

8.

Does the Objectified figure have anything to give the viewer (no)?

9.

Does the Objectified figure demand anything from the viewer (no)?

10.

How should the viewer respond to the Objectified figure (neutrally, accept it as it is, no response)?

11.

BONUS - name TWO ways today's world can be destroyed by us (e.g. nuclear war, industrial pollution, biological warfare; subcategories & other global dangers negotiable - all of course fired by greed and jealousy, as suggested in class).

12.

BONUS - how much power does the average individual have to avoid the effects of this kind of destruction (none)?

Quiz no 8

1.

What are the three components of Quietist spirituality (passive attitude to life, abandonment of the personal will, mystical contemplation)?

2.

Did Kant believe that beauty had any spiritual or practical function (no)?

3.

Did Kant believe that beauty followed any laws or rules (no)?

4.

How did Kant say we could recognize beauty (inborn taste)?

Note: some students thought Kant said we could recognize beauty through good taste. This was a mistake. Good taste was how Sensualists recognized beauty and good art. But Kant said that everyone's taste was the same. Therefore there is no good or bad taste under Kant. There is only "taste" - what you are born with. And woe betide you if it does not match everyone else's!

5.

Under Kant's way of thinking, what does a person's sense of beauty show about them (whether they could receive God, the state of their soul, the state or their human rightness, etc)?

6.

What is the picture plane (assumed surface of an image)?

7.

What is aerial perspective (colours get paler/bluer/greyer in the distance)?

8.

If the picture plane is a neutral grey or brown, where will strong (intense) reds, yellows and whites appear to be in relation to it (floating in front of it)?

9.

Do restrained colours seem to move MORE or LESS than intense colours (less)?

10.

What happens to our confidence in our own judgement when we are faced with a paradox (we lose confidence, we doubt, we may even open our minds to new possibilities)?

11.

Bonus - The big paradox of Manet's Olympia is that the painting seems like a traditional one, but it is full of contradictions against that tradition. Name any TWO of these contradictions (possible whore rather than goddess/courtesan; African servant in complicity; hostile cat rather than acquiescent lapdog; neutralised colours rather than rich sensual ones; flattened chiaroscuro rather than fluid curves; plain painting style rather than sensual beauty painting style; woman refuses rather than accepts male advance; others negotiable)

12.

Bonus - Why do children, animals and undeveloped societies seem to have better skills of intuition than highly developed western adults (less sure of what they know, more open to unprovable possibility, etc)?

Quiz 9

This quiz pulls together the issues of perception (Impressionism, Cubism, Malevich) and the futility of trying to render reality (unit 21).

1.

What visual process is mimicked by Impressionism (biology: optics, retinal rods and cones, eye receives dots of colour)?

2.

Does the brain's expectations affect the appearance of what we see (yes)?

3.

What mental process is mimicked by Analytical Cubism (use of memory fragments to reconstruct and interpret an image)?

4.

What did Cezanne's long brushstrokes do to the viewer's perception of his image (forced to see the 2-dimensional surface shapes)?

5.

What visual problem do we have when trying to make sense of Malevich's images (no info, nothing to go on, difficult to interpret colour effects and scale, difficult to decide orientation & distance)?

6.

Every colour has a wavelength that causes a visual confusion. What happens to bright reds and yellows when we look at them (float further forwards than they are; expand beyond the boundaries of their host object)?

7.

Vision is our primary sense organ, the one we use most in gathering information about reality. How reliable is it (good enough for most purposes, not good for accurate work)?

8.

Give two ways Duchamp modified this urinal to change its meaning. It is no longer a urinal! (mounted it upside down, disconnected it, called it "fountain"; signed it as a mongrel dog ["mutt" - "R Mutt" - "our mutt"); dribbled signature suggests dog's method of signing/owning something)?

9.

What paradox did Arp bring up with the title of this painting: Collage with squares arranged according to the laws of chance (chance is random by definition, no laws, no arrangement possible in chance)?

10.

What does the word "Dada" mean (nothing, rubbish, child's word for rocking horse, ka-ka)?

Quiz 10

Note: This quiz was designed rather too hastily, and it emerged in class that the questions could elicit a wide range of defensible answers. Remember that the questions are always designed to throw light on the way art is produced in its society, on the issues it addresses, on the confusions it raises, and on our response to it. Bearing this in mind might help you to choose between the possibilities when questions seem ambiguous.

1.

After World War II, did artists WANT to accept commissions for church art (no)?

2.

What kind of world does the Quietist paradigm seek to navigate (one we cannot control, industrial revolution, nuclear war, insane politicians, global pollution, etc)?

3.

The image most frequently produced at Coventry and Assy is that of the suffering Christ. How does this image connect with Quietist spirituality or the modern experience (relinquish the will, passive attitude, contemplation; present torment & hopes of future salvation)?

4.

Usually, only ONE paradigm is dominant at any particular time, but the others remain operative at subconscious levels. How many paradigms are apparently functioning today (4, but I'll accept 3 since we have not examined the oldest one and its issues, and it is so deeply buried that it may be negligible for a little while longer. Note, however, that it is the original and "flip side" of the currently dominant Quietist paradigm, and its issues will therefore become prominent again)?

5.

What is the effect on thinkers of having several ways of thinking all operating at the same time (confusion, loss of confidence)?

6.

When people are confused, where do they look for comfort (in the tried and tested, in the familiar)?

This one produced a host of inspired answers in social terms. But note that suggestions like "the refrigerator", and "the family" actually also imply the comforting familiarity that the question was looking for.

7.

What kind of art do most people apparently want today (landscapes)?

Badly designed question, but major success of the course! Most of you came up with the abstract qualities of how art is put together and forgot to think about the content. You would have done the opposite at the beginning of the semester. Take a pat on the back! The question would have been clearer if I'd asked "what kind of subject do most people apparently want in paintings today?"

8.

What political ideology produced the idea of an artistic Avant Garde (Marxism - I'll accept Socialism or Communism for a half point, but these are really too extreme and like most totalitarian systems they tended to promote conservative art instead.)

9.

If "anything goes" in art and society, what problems will that produce for the Avant Garde (they aren't leading anything; history is dead)?

To answer this question, you needed to know what the Avant Garde is. It is a group of self-appointed artistic leaders, who assume that by leading their particular brand of art they are also working to change society for the better. Clearly, then, if they realise that their leadership isn't leading anywhere, this will lead to major soul-searching and even dispair.

10.

What is the Marxist understanding of history (a conscious force that mandates/calls forth particular artistic and cultural forms at particular times)?

11.

BONUS - What are the names of the two artists who polled the world (Vitaly Komar and Alexander Melamid - I'll accept just their last names)

12.

BONUS - What kind of art did everyone NOT want (abstract, dynamic)?

13.

BONUS - If everyone loves blue best, that tells us something. What associations have we made for blue in this course (lyrical, pleasant emotions, gentle seas and skies, infancy, security)?

An inspired addition to this list was "virginity" - because of the traditional colour of the Virgin's robe.

Quiz 11

This quiz asks you to think on your feet by applying what you know (we hope) of the paradigms, their ways of working, their issues, and their impact on the appearance of art. You could call it, "Problems in Modern Patronage".

1.

Why is Quietist art so often confrontational? (shock the viewer into honesty, stimulate intuition, make viewers think for themselves rather than be told, make viewer independent)

2.

Does the Objectified figure have anything to demand or give to the viewer? (no)

3.

Does the organized Church have anything to demand or give to people? (yes - claims to offer salvation, i.e. immortal life in heaven; requires obedience, recognition of authority, orthodox religious practice)

4.

If no one recognized the authority of the organized Church, how much power would it have? (very little or none)

5.

2 POINTS: If you were the Pope, which paradigm seems to suit your "business" needs best (i.e. which is most useful to the organized Church), - give one reason (e.g. Classicism recognizes truth through orthodoxy and prestige, suits authority of Church; also benefits the soul through Beauty paralleling Grace conferred through the Spirit. Sensualism uses the individual's emotions to lure and inspire them morally; Pluralism is non-realistic and has a symbolic approach which gets round the 2nd Commandment and adds doctrinal depth; Quietism encourages individual contemplation - more negotiable)

6.

2 POINTS: If you were the Pope, which paradigm(s) would you probably have to reject - give one reason (e.g. Classicism encourages realistic art against the 2nd Commandment; Sensualism also exploits it; Quietism puts the emphasis on the individual rather than the organization, and exploits subversion and shock to stimulate independent spirituality; Pluralism, I personally can't find an objection - suggestions?)

7.

Which paradigm has been identified in this course as the currently dominant one? (Quietist)

8.

What arguments can you suggest in favour of Andre Durand as the Pope's "Most Wanted" artist? The Time is At Hand, 1991. (Obvious Classical elements - high finish, smooth style, strong geometric canvases and compositions, bright (ish) colours - i.e. Classical Beauty; also voluntarily painting Gospel and Revelation subjects; some traditional symbolism - others?)

10.

BONUS ONE POINT - Prince Charles is the future head of the Church of England and the future King of England. Which paradigm would you suggest is most likely to cause him problems, give one reason? (His problems are very similar to those of the Pope, so your answer should be similar to your answer to number 6, above; he is known to crusade against Quietist art and architecture)

11.

BONUS - Jesse Helmes is a very conservative politician with strong views on good and bad art. Which paradigm gives him the most problems? Robert Mapplethorpe, Chains, 1979. (Quietist, for similar reasons to the Pope and Prince Charles; he too crusades against Quietist art and architecture, notably against Robert Mapplethorpe, relatively conservative link above. Think about Mayor Giuliani of Chicago too.)

12.

BONUS - When all those popes, bankers and businessmen poured money into art during the Italian Renaissance, which paradigm were they supporting? (Classical)

So, as food for thought - what do you think it would take to generate another Renaissance?

Other past quizzes