Short Answer Question,
1. Why were the Constructivist artists of the Russian Avant-Garde so focused on designing textiles, posters, stage sets and monuments? What were they trying to create with all of this design work?
Short Answer Question,
2. What were the two different branches or types of Surrealist painting that we discussed in class? Briefly describe the difference between them.
Short Answer Question
3. In 1936, American gallerist Julian Levy made the following public statement with regard to an exhibition on display at his uptown gallery in NYC: “Everyone shares the subconscious. Everyone can enjoy poetry and everyone can make it.”
What art movement/ group is he referring to here?
What would be the purpose of a statement like this one?
Short Answer Question,
4. What was the innovative new form of art-making (medium) that artist Hannah Hoch used to create her masterpiece “Cut with the Kitchen Knife through the Last Beer Belly Culture of Wiemar Germany” and which art movement/ group was she in?
5. What are the differences that separate Picasso’s Guernica (1936) from a mural by the Mexican Muralist Diego Rivera, such as his Man, Controller of the Universe (1932)? Think about each pieces unique context of creation, style and movement – use the artwork (form and content) to reinforce your argument.
(short essay question)
6. How do the two artworks below embody the “documentary impulse,” a major motivating element for artists during the 1930’s in the U.S.? Explain what each artist is trying to achieve with their artwork and briefly consider whether these are “artworks” or “documents.”
(short essay question)
7. What visual technique, borrowed from motion picture films, does Benton use to bring these diverse scenes of city-life together in this panel from his “America Today” mural? What American art movement does Benton belong to and how can you tell?
(short answer question )
8. How is Man Ray’s “Object to Be Destroyed” different than Duchamp’s art object mentioned above? Why is this a “Surrealist Object” rather than a sculptural collage belonging to the Dada movement?
(short answer question)