AP Art History Introduction

Question 1

Who was Katsushika Hokusai and explain the effects of his painting as well as a description of it itself.

Answer 1

Katsushika Hokusai was a Japanese painter (1760-1849) who created a painting called “Maple Leaves on the River” by dipping a chicken’s feet into red paint and letting it run all over a sheet of paper with blue paint. It was not a realistic interpretation of a river but was symbolic of the sensation of a river itself.

Question 2

How did the Egyptians use the river as a symbolic subject matter for art and explain it’s usage in the painting on Nespawershefi’s coffin.

Answer 2

In 10th Century BCE the Egyptian’s used rivers as a expression of religion and the need for survival. The Nile was crucial for survival since every time it would flood it would help grow the crops. As well as the religious expression through the Sun God Re. In order for the sun to rise on Earth the Sun God Re would have to make his journey across the celestial ocean in the day and through the underworld in the night. In order to achieve this he would have to beat his enemy, a serpent named Apophis. The painter used the river as a way to express religious beliefs and a happy life after death.

Question 3

Who is Frederic Edwin Church and describe the paintings he did.

Answer 3

Frederic Edwin Church (1826-1900) was an American Landscape painter. A well known piece of his is the piece Niagara (1857), a dramatic piece that makes it seem as though the viewer in inside or on the edge of the water.

Question 4

What did the Niagara painting done by Frederic Edwin Church signify?

Answer 4

The piece’s signified the national pride of America in the 19th century as the New American Republic slowly began to expand as well as have ambitions for expansion. More so, the piece represents religious significance because often during that time period, nature represented a presence of God. In addition these landscape pieces were also mainly created to educate and entertain the audience.

Question 5

Who was Louise Nevelson and what was a significant piece that she created?

Answer 5

Louise Nevelson (1899-1988) created a piece called the White Vertical Waterfall, which was an abstract piece using white three dimensional rectangles that popped out as well as other organic geometric shapes. The curves and shapes of this piece represent the white froth of the waterfall and the fish swimming through it. This piece forces the viewer to take a closer look in order to realize that it is a waterfall.

Question 6

Describe how labels and stereotypes reflect cultural influences throughout art.

Answer 6

(Not Important But Here) Art communicates an idea or an expression of feelings and can be created with any range of materials. - An example of how labels and stereotypes reflect cultural influences throughout art can be how the Western World denoted cultural art outside of itself as “The Primitive Arts”, this mainly consisted of the Pacific Island and Northern Africa because they were not of material for “high” or “fine” arts from Europe. Another example of this is that during the time period of the Renaissance, painting and sculptural work were denoted as “fine art” unlike craft work such as ceramics and furniture due to it’s lesser cost in materials. However, each culture in itself have different meanings of value in terms of higher forms of art, for example Peru highly values wool work in art and China valued calligraphy.

Question 7

What is Fine art and an example of a piece?

Answer 7

“Fine Art” is a form of art that tends to be made from more expensive materials, these pieces are created with great skill and a vast creative imagination in order to create a sensation of pleasure visually. Agonolio Bronzino’s art piece Eleanora of Toledo and her son Giovanni is an example of fine art. Which was created for his patron, the husband of Eleanora of Toledo. In which in this piece we can see great detail throughout the texture of her dress, her complexion as well as in her son’s face, etc.

Question 8

What is Graphic Art and an example of it?

Answer 8

Graphic art is art the can be replicated many times over and over again. Because of this graphic art is often seen as of lesser value or of lesser accomplishment compared to Fine Art. However, Graphic Art does have the advantage of being able to access a wider audience. An example of Graphic Art is the FedEx Logo, which it’s purpose was to access a wider audience and sell it’s services internationally.

Question 9

Does Graphic Art take less work than Fine Art?

Answer 9

Not necessarily, while the portrait that Bronzino created did take great skill and effort so did the FedEx logo, since they had to go over 200 concepts as well as hold many concepts etc.

Question 10

Describe El Anatsui’s piece “Old Man” and it’s purpose.

Answer 10

El Anatsui’s piece “Old Man” is an abstract piece that reflects how cultural influences art around us. The piece is made out of liquor bottle caps to symbolize the history of how the Western World traded alcohol for African goods, while at the same time it’s design suggests the enduring power and the fragility of Ghanaian Culture.

Question 11

Where does the word Museum come from and describe important museums from across the world.

Answer 11

The word museum derives from the word “mouseion” which means a temple dedicated to art and sciences. Such as the Museion of Alexandria in Egypt which was established 2,400 years ago and still showcases and collects art today. Another important museum is the Louvre which was originally a personal collection for Louis VI, a fortress, and a palace. The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts is another important museum, it was the first museum as well as was an art school in America. Overtime more and more American art museums began popping up replicating the models of European museums.

Question 12

What is a Neoclassical style?

Answer 12

Neoclassical style is where there are symmetrical forms that represent democratic ideals from Ancient Greece and Rome derived from the Classical Architecture style.

Question 13

Where are many important art pieces found other than museums, describe an example of a piece.

Answer 13

Many other art pieces are found in religious and communal spaces. An example of this is the piece the Virgin of Guadalupe, legend says that the Virgin imprinted her image into a peasant’s cloak made out of cactus fiber which then became a symbol for the Mexican and devout Catholics. It is today in the National Basilika of St. Mary of Guadalupe.

Question 14

What the term “In Situ” mean?

Answer 14

The location for which it was originally made.

Question 15

What is an example of a work that is “In Situ” today?

Answer 15

An example of a work that is still “In Situ” today is Simon Rodia’s known today as the Watt Tower’s but originally named Nuestro Pueblo meaning “Our Town.” Created from 1921-1954 the piece is a series of seventeen interconnected structures. The piece is made out of materials that the local people brought to him. And while originally the piece was disapproved by the people and city of Los Angeles and was almost taken down, it still stands today and is now a Historical Landmark and recognized internationally.

Question 16

What does Rodia’s work show?

Answer 16

That art can be made from anything and from anywhere and that humans naturally have as much of a drive to create art as they do for sleeping and eating.

Question 17

Who was James McNeil Whistler, what was a significant piece of his art and what influence did he have on art?

Answer 17

Whistler created art for art’s sake a significant piece that shows this is his Nocturne Black and Gold: the falling rocket which was exhibited in 1877 and provided many controversial opinions. For example an art critic Ruskin, describe the piece as pointless and had a lack of subject and was simply a splatter of paint on a canvas and not deemed worthy of it’s’ price of 200 guineas. However this discussion went to trial in which Whistler argued that it represented not only the value of the time and effort that he put into the piece but as well as the knowledge that he gained over a lifetime. This opened up inspiration for artists to create pieces of work that were not always or understood by the viewer.

Question 18

How has art slowly developed overtime?

Answer 18

Art has been made for over thousands of years, starting originally as a communal effort in which spirituality and notions of the cycle of life were common themes but as time progressed art began identifying social issues and using expressions of identity throughout. However many of these pieces were not created by single individuals. In addition, in modern times society has popularized that the idea that art is made from the individual as a form of self-expression and to be made very controversial. However as said above many art pieces are not necessarily made by the artist themselves and often assistants are hired to help them.

Question 19

What are some examples of how the definition of what being an artist means to an individual shifts based on cultural influences, etc.

Answer 19

In Japan the tea bowl is praised because of it’s subtle colors, textures, etc. because of tradition and the sensation of sipping tea from the bowl. However Da Vinci’s piece the Mona Lisa was praised because of it’s individual integrity even though it was virtually unknown at that time because it was not commissioned by a patron;

Question 20

How does the way the art is publicized affect us?

Answer 20

What we determine to be art nowadays as we use publicists and critics to help to become well known controls our access to those who buys art and where it’s displayed which in turn influences us as a society.

Question 21

Why was it important to have patrons throughout history?

Answer 21

Without patrons many pieces of art would not exist today due to the fact that patrons financially supported many artists. An example of a significant patron is Gertrude Stein who collected modern art with her brother. She ended up commissioning Picasso to do a portrait of herself which ended up leading him on his way to cubism due to struggling with replicating her portrait.

Question 22

What is an important thing to remember about the success and fame of artists?

Answer 22

Many artists don’t often achieve fame or success in their life time. An example of this Vincent Van Gogh’s artwork

Question 23

Why was training for art significant throughout art history?

Answer 23

Throughout history many artworks would not be able to gain fame or become known if you had not trained at an academy. With this many art schools became prominent and necessary for an artist’s career. However artist’s could still become successful despite not going to training.

Question 24

Why is Loongkoonan an important figure in art?

Answer 24

Loongkoonan started painting nineties, and her pieces reflect her culture and keeps it alive through her art which is the Nykini country. This shows how many art pieces have cultural uses such as tea bowls from Japan and masks from Africa.

Question 25

How does art help us understand the human condition, provide an example of a piece that does this.

Answer 25

Art helps us understand the human condition because it is a physical piece of work that communicates feelings and ideas. An example of a piece that does this is Marc Quinn’s self portrait of a mask made out of his own blood. This mask represents the mortality of humans and is refrigerated, however without the refrigerator it would dissolve. This forces us to contemplate our own mortality and the fear of it as well as our self-image and how others perceive us.

Question 26

What constitutes the value of art?

Answer 26

Nothing exactly constitutes the value of art for it can be valued for many different reasons.

Question 27

Why would someone want to censor art and provide an example of this.

Answer 27

People may want to censor art due to economic, political, religious, pornographic or simply out of offence. An example of this Ai Weiner’s memorial to the death of many children due to the collapse of schools from an earthquake which was made out of children’s backpacks. This was exhibited in Munich and in 2011 Chinese government officials ordered the demolition of the studio for economic crimes.

Question 28

What is another significant piece of Ai Weiner’s? Describe it.

Answer 28

Ai Weiner created his art pieces like being in a cell as a guard from the Chinese Government and watching over him. By peering into numerous metal boxes we can see him eating, sleeping, sitting on the toilet, etc. Because of this people believe him to be a hero and he shows the power of art despite his limitations from the Chinese government.

Question 29

Why is studying art important?

Answer 29

Studying art is important because art in itself is a language and it engages all five of our senses in order to interact with the piece and help us understand our own experiences as humans. More so, everyone’s interpretation of art is different and with this we can more fully comprehend the human experience.

Question 30

What is content?

Answer 30

Content is the meaning or message of feeling expressed in a work of art in order to understand that content you have to identify the subject and consider the context in which the artwork was made and proceed with formal analysis.

Question 31

What is representational art? What is non-objective art? What’s the difference?

Answer 31

Representational art is art that shows an object or people so that you can recognize it, while non-object art has a nonrecognizable subject matter. This helps us figure out what the artist had in mind or wished to communicate to us when creating the work. More so many art pieces lie between these two depending on the level of abstraction. Representational is object meaning everyone can identify it while non-objective art is subjective since each viewer may interpret the subject matter differently.

Question 32

What is an example of representational art and how can we use context to understand it?

Answer 32

Edmonia Lewis’s forever free is representational because the viewer can recognize what there is. By knowing that this piece was made in 1867, 4 years after Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation which freed slaves, we can see in the piece that these two slaves are being freed and can feel the great relief that they feel.

Question 33

What is an example of non-object art and how can we use context to understand it?

Answer 33

An example of non-objective art is Eva Hesse’s untitled (rope piece), she had been recently been diagnosed with a rope piece and died few years later. With this we can interpret that the piece may depict the chaos of life and death, especially by given the context that some of the material is made out of latex which deteriorates just as the human body does and can represent human intestines and veins.

Question 34

What does “To Abstract” mean?

Answer 34

It means to abstract something or emphasize it. Abstraction in art refers to the way artists can emphasize, distort, simplify or arrange the formal (visual) elements of an artwork.

Question 35

What does context include and why do we use it?

Answer 35

Context includes information about the society in which it was created, for example how was the society organized, who it ruled, the economics and religion of the people that created it, by learning context we can understand the pieces before us more at first glance.

Question 36

What does Caspar David Friedrich’s (1774-1840) “Abbey among oak trees” tell us based off of context?

Answer 36

Knowing that Friedrich was a Lutheran and a Romantic painter his beliefs are reflected in the piece by using light against the cold wintry scene to create contrast and reflect that even without churches and religious levelers people can still worship god. More so we can see crosses against the burial site and a procession of people in the snow.

Question 37

What is formal analysis?

Answer 37

Formal Analysis is a way of examining the arrangement of the visual elements and principles of an artwork, which helps us analysis it’s content.

Question 38

What are some formal elements? How can an artist use them?

Answer 38

Elements can include color, shape, the surface texture, and forms. They are organized by principles and artists can utilize the elements and principles in many ways to communicate ideas, emotions, beliefs, etc. There is almost no limit to what an artist can do with creative imagination and the elements and principles of art.

Question 39

By analyzing David Hockney’s painting “Portrait of an Artist” using formal analysis what can the viewer tell/depict?

Answer 39

By analyzing “Portrait of an Artist” we can tell that while it’s a simple painting it reflects emotions and problems that were unresolved at the time by focusing on the contrast of the color’s value, middle ground, atmospheric perspective and sense of space, the first figure is his ex lover Peter Schlesinger, he uses scale to focus our attention to him.

Question 40

What is an example of representational work with high abstraction?

Answer 40

An example of this is Allan Houser’s reverie. The viewer can tell that it is a mother holding her child however her body is abstracted along with the child’s as she is tightly swaddling him.

Question 41

What is implied line and an example of it?

Answer 41

Implied line is a line that is not actually drawn but suggested by elements in the work. By analyzing the implied line in “Portrait of an artist” we can tell that Hockney was trying to imply a lost love in which Peter’s gaze toward the swimmer conveys a certain detachment or loss of emotion which suggests the end of their connection. In addition the fractured surface of the pool creates a sense of breaking things up along with Peter’s gaze on the swimmer going towards Peter shows how he already has eyes on the future without David.

Question 42

Who was Jean-Michael Basquiat and what was his influence in art?

Answer 42

He was an American Artist (1960-1988) who set a record in May 2017 when his painting untitled sold for 110.5 million. And while art is often valued for it’s sales price buyer Yusaku Maezawa stated that the purpose of buying this piece was due to his connection to the artist and the responsibility to take care of it and preserve it for the next generation