CLEP Humanities : 2D Visual Art

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for CLEP Humanities

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Analyzing The Content Of 2 D Visual Art

The photographer Ansel Adams is well known for his work focusing on __________.

Possible Answers:

National Parks and the American West

everyday urban life in America

portraits of famous people

European architectural landmarks

staged models of historic events

Correct answer:

National Parks and the American West

Explanation:

Ansel Adams (1902-1984) was a famous photographer and technical innovator who developed a process of developing film known as "the Zone System" and used the newest photographic technology of his time. The ability of Adams and his technology was seen through his many photographs of National Parks, particularly in the American West. Adams' photographs were most well known for their sharp focus and deep shading in black and white.

Example Question #2 : Analyzing The Content Of 2 D Visual Art

Which early twentieth-century artist was known for using bold black lines, rectangular shapes, and fields of primary color on a white canvas?

Possible Answers:

Pablo Picasso

Piet Mondrian

Henri Matisse

Georgia O'Keefe

Diego Rivera

Correct answer:

Piet Mondrian

Explanation:

Piet Mondrian was a Dutch artist who belonged to the artistic movement known as De Stijl ("The Style" in Dutch.) The principles of De Stijl were to reduce artistic forms to their simplest, most functional forms. Mondrian's specific form, which he developed in Paris between the World Wars and called "Neo-plasticism," featured mostly white canvases, which were bisected at various parts by perpendicular black lines and had fields of color only in the three primary colors.

Example Question #3 : Analyzing The Content Of 2 D Visual Art

The Russian painter Wassily Kandinsky's style was marked by all of the following EXCEPT __________.

Possible Answers:

emotionally charged lines

flowing brushstrokes

realistic representation

musical influences

abstract shapes

Correct answer:

realistic representation

Explanation:

Wassily Kandinsky was the most influential expressionist of the early twentieth century. Kandinsky's style, which was dominated by abstract forms, expressive lines, and flowing brushstrokes, would prove to be immensely popular among fellow artists, while his theoretical writing, which connected art to music, also proved influential. Kandinsky had to flee both the Russian Revolution of 1917 and the Nazis in the 1930s because of his controversial artwork.

Example Question #4 : Analyzing The Content Of 2 D Visual Art

The American painter most well-known for creating extreme closeups of flowers is __________.

Possible Answers:

Alfred Stieglitz

Mary Cassatt

Frida Kahlo

Diane Arbus

Georgia O'Keefe

Correct answer:

Georgia O'Keefe

Explanation:

Georgia O'Keefe developed a unique, instantly recognizable style that focused on flowers presented in vivid colors in an extreme close-up perspective. This style grew out of Modernism and its use of bright color and different perspective. O'Keefe proved influential in her ability to capture nature and natural images in paintings in a striking manner.

Example Question #5 : Analyzing The Content Of 2 D Visual Art

Who was the twentieth century American painter known for his works depicting the American Midwest?

Possible Answers:

Thomas Hart Benton

Alfred Stieglitz

Jackson Pollack

Jasper Johns

Ansel Adams

Correct answer:

Thomas Hart Benton

Explanation:

Regionalism was an art movement that sprung up after World War I in America that sought to paint naturalistic scenes of regional America. Foremost among the Regionalists was Thomas Hart Benton, who was inspired by politically conscious muralists like Diego Rivera to make large-scale works about his native Midwest. Benton's work often had political overtones that supported left-wing positions, and he was influential as an art teacher.

Example Question #6 : Analyzing The Content Of 2 D Visual Art

Which of the following was NOT an influence on Pablo Picasso's Les Demoiselles d'Avignon?

Possible Answers:

Tribal art

African masks

Realism

Paul Cézanne's The Bathers

Primitivism

Correct answer:

Realism

Explanation:

Picasso's 1907 painting Les Demoiselles d'Avignon is largely considered one of the first cubist paintings. As such, Picasso broke with traditional forms of representation, but did so by including many different influences, particularly impressionists like Paul Cézanne and trends toward a primitivism in art. Picasso also began creating the piece after seeing an exhibition on tribal art that included African masks like those portrayed in the painting.

Example Question #3 : 2 D Visual Art

The American painter who painted canvases of large blocks of color with broad, visible brushstrokes is __________.

Possible Answers:

Georgia O'Keefe

Jackson Pollock

Mark Rothko

Grant Wood

Andy Warhol

Correct answer:

Mark Rothko

Explanation:

Utilizing large canvases featuring only one or two bold colors in large blocks, Mark Rothko deconstructed the principles of Abstract Expressionism to their simplest form. Beginning in 1949, Rothko's "multiforms" became his chief artistic format, and made him a world-famous artist.

Example Question #7 : 2 D Visual Art

The Mexican artist Diego Rivera was most well known for working in what medium?

Possible Answers:

Photography

Printmaking

Murals

Mosaics

Collage

Correct answer:

Murals

Explanation:

Diego Rivera began his artistic career in Paris during the first decade of the twentieth century as a cubist influenced by Picasso. On moving back to his native Mexico in the 1910s, Rivera began embracing revolutionary politics, more direct figures, and native Mexican culture, as well as painting massive murals on the sides of buildings. These murals made Rivera much more successful, and produced many different commissions around the world.

Example Question #8 : 2 D Visual Art

A work of art that is a compilation of various images put together in one piece is known as a __________.

Possible Answers:

cast

mosaic

collage

fresco

mural

Correct answer:

collage

Explanation:

A collage is constructed not as one image, but by compiling a variety of images into one larger piece. This can be done for a variety of reasons, including ironic juxtaposition, social commentary, or refreshing traditional imagery. Collages became more widely used in the twentieth century as various forms of media were brought into widespread use.

Example Question #2 : Analyzing The Form Of Twentieth Century 2 D Visual Art

Jackson Pollack is well known for what distinctive artistic style?

Possible Answers:

Screen-printing

Roller painting

Collage

Drip painting

Mosaic

Correct answer:

Drip painting

Explanation:

Jackson Pollack began his career as an expressionist painter, using representative shapes and traditional methods. Beginning in the late 40s, however, Pollack began using the technique of "drip painting," which involved laying the canvas on the floor and splattering liquid paint on it from above. This produced paintings that were extremely abstract, but vivid and emotional, which garnered Pollack worldwide acclaim.

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