AP Art History : Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Sculpture
Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Art History
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Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Analyzing Twentieth And Twenty First Century Sculpture
Which of the following is true of Judy Chicago's The Dinner Party?
It avoids using traditionally female craft techniques as a way of elevating women to a higher purpose.
It is aimed at establishing respect for women and their art, educating the public about women's role in history and the fine arts and making this accessible to a broad audience.
It includes the inscribed names of notable men as well, in order to convey the important female relationship to men.
It is a large departure from Judy Chicago's typical works, as it avoids discussing female sexuality.
It includes spaces for only 13 women, reminiscent of the Last Supper.
It is aimed at establishing respect for women and their art, educating the public about women's role in history and the fine arts and making this accessible to a broad audience.
Chicago aims at elevating female achievements in this work, honoring traditional female roles and celebrating the strength, inventiveness, creativity, and independence of women throughout history. Its feminist themes touch on sexuality, traditional gender roles, concepts of achievement, and more.
Example Question #731 : Ap Art History
This sculpture is an example of what artistic movement?
Surrealism
Cubism
Futurism
Abstract Expressionism
Fauvism
Futurism
While it may bear some similar principles to movements like Surrealism and Cubism, the sculpture's emphasis on the energy of a body in motion is a prime example of Futurism, of which Boccioni was a leading artist. Fauvism is not applicable to sculpture, dealing instead with the color palette of paintings, and Abstract Expressionism largely did away with representational figures, even somewhat abstracted ones like the sculpture in question.
Image is in the public domain: http://www.wikiart.org/en/umberto-boccioni/unique-forms-of-continuity-in-space-1913
Example Question #732 : Ap Art History
In his Technical Manifesto of Futurist Sculpture, Boccioni proclaimed the abolition of __________________.
the palpable extension of objects in space
spiraling momentum
definite lines
round shapes
striding figures
definite lines
The answer is "defining lines," of which there are none in this sculpture. All of the other answers are key features of both Futurism and this sculpture.
Image is in the public domain: http://www.wikiart.org/en/umberto-boccioni/unique-forms-of-continuity-in-space-1913
Example Question #733 : Ap Art History
All of the following are qualities of the figure except _______________.
muscularity
momentum
impetuosity
weight
speed
weight
The figure demonstrates momentum and speed in the way Boccioni has conveyed his forward movement. Impetuosity is an emotional quality we can infer from the speed and momentum. Though it lacks defined muscles in a naturalistic way, the sculpture also conveys a sense of muscularity through the unique rendering of his body parts. Of all these qualities, and in spite of this being a bronze sculpture, weight is not a fitting description for a figure that has muscularity but also a significant lightness to it.
Image is in the public domain: http://www.wikiart.org/en/umberto-boccioni/unique-forms-of-continuity-in-space-1913
Example Question #1 : Understanding Terminology That Describes Twentieth And Twenty First Century Sculpture
An American architect closely associated with the Prairie School was __________.
Frank Lloyd Wright
Ludwig Mies van der Rohe
Frank Gehry
Philip Johnson
Frank Lloyd Wright
The Prairie School was an architectural movement that grew around the turn of the nineteenth to the twentieth century in the American midwest. The Prairie School architects wished for a uniquely American form of architecture that could fit in with the natural landscape of America. Among the leading figures of the Prairie School was the famous architect Frank Lloyd Wright, whose early houses were all largely in the Prairie style.
Example Question #2 : Understanding Terminology That Describes Twentieth And Twenty First Century Sculpture
Three-dimensional art produced from pre-made objects, including things like household items, commercial products, or even trash is known as __________.
modern art
collage
performance art
found object art
found object art
"Found object" can be considered an umbrella term, as it can apply to sculpture, installations, and many other media. The main concept behind "found object" art is that any object can be presented as or included in fine art. The first use of such art was by Marcel Duchamp with his "readymades," which were literally just regular objects Duchamp gave titles to and placed in galleries. The earliest form of the movement was seen as a subset of Dadaism.
Example Question #3 : Understanding Terminology That Describes Twentieth And Twenty First Century Sculpture
Found object art ___________.
was, like Futurism, a brief artistic movement that thrived in the years between the First and Second World Wars
None of the answers are correct.
can frequently be found in the most popular creations of Renaissance masters like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo
created a widely-accepted art movement--Illusionism--that forced viewers to reconcile the seen with the unseen
challenges the viewer to consider what makes something "art" and, like Pop Art, can put everyday items in a new light as a result
challenges the viewer to consider what makes something "art" and, like Pop Art, can put everyday items in a new light as a result
Found object art, or art that incorporates already made materials, is a form of art that often elicits controversy over what "art" really is--while it began as a conscious technique early in the twentieth century, it continues on today.
Example Question #4 : Understanding Terminology That Describes Twentieth And Twenty First Century Sculpture
Marcel Duchamp's coined the term "readymade" to describe sculptures made using ________________.
objects created by a team of artists working in an assembly line
None of these
stolen objects
ordinary manufactured objects
objects from other countries
ordinary manufactured objects
Readymades were everyday objects that were chosen and then adjusted by the artist before being put on display. Examples include Duchamp's own provocative "Fountain," which was simply a urinal. He saw this as a response to so-called "retinal art," or art that only affected its viewers through sight.
Example Question #5 : Twentieth And Twenty First Century Sculpture
The American sculptor known for making large, stainless steel figures with a mirror finish, usually of kitsch and pop culture subjects, is named __________.
George Segal
Mike Leavitt
Damien Hirst
Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons
Jeff Koons is a controversial modern sculptor, as he has often turned his eye to pop culture subjects considered outside the realm of high art. Notably, he has a series called "Banality," and has constructed immense metallic sculptures of balloons twisted into animal shapes. While his subjects tend to be "lighter" compared to his contemporaries, like George Segal, Koons' skill with steel and his non-traditional subjects have been highly influential on younger generations of artists, including Damien Hirst and Mike Leavitt.
Example Question #6 : Twentieth And Twenty First Century Sculpture
Which twentieth-century artist is responsible for the 1917 sculpture Fountain, which features a urinal?
Reginald Mutt
Pablo Picasso
Francis Picabia
Man Ray
Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp
Duchamp is responsible for this three-dimensional art piece. The piece was signed "R. Mutt," but the origin of this signature is still debated, though it is said to stand for Richard Mutt.
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