Question

1. Which of the following is not a true statement?

a.
A work of art can be originally created to document an event, but later become a piece that commemorates the event and the people involved.
b.
Many cultures throughout history have had statues built to commemorate great rulers.
c.
Documentation attempts to tell about a factual event or person.
d.
Columnar monuments were used only by the Romans until the 14th century.

2. In Van Gogh’s Starry Night, he incorporated symbolic expression, using the visual elements of art, through all of the following actions, except which?

a.
The stars appear to interact with nature and the environment below, rather than being above it as they often appear in various other pieces of art.
b.
The houses are painted small and seem to almost blend into the ground.
c.
The artist has created the piece so that the negative space overpowers the positive space.
d.
The cedar trees and mountains seem to be reaching for the sky.

3. Propaganda is ________________

a.
a memorial, a lasting remembrance, evidence.
b.
something created to deliberately convince or influence people's thoughts, opinions, and/or actions.
c.
the art of using symbols, or having symbolic meaning.
d.
a recurring element in a work of art that provides an effect mode of social protest.


4. Hercules, the Great Warrior, and the history behind the saying, “an elephant never forgets,” are both examples of what type of artistic inspiration?

a.
belief
c.
visual metaphor
b.
dream
d.
myth/legend

5. Design is defined as __________________
a.
the all-encompassing reproduction of a person or thing.
b.
the arrangement of visual elements in piece, which help to create understanding and convey the artist’s message.
c.
the relative size of an object as compared to another, or as compared to the other elements in the piece.
d.
the arrangement of elements in order to create equilibrium and a piece that is aesthetically pleasing.


6. Above is an image of Paul Gauguin’s Tahitian Landscape. Which of the following is not true about this piece?
a.
Gauguin relied on geometric shapes to create mood and energy in his piece.
b.
The artist’s use of diagonal and curvilinear lines helps move the eye through the piece.
c.
The mixture of different lines combine to create a mood that is calm and inviting.
d.
The colors, although bright, are blended to create a natural flow through the entire piece.


7. Which of the following is not a visual element of art?
a.
color
c.
shape
b.
texture
d.
angle


8. Impasto is ______________
a.
thickly applied paint that lets us see brushstrokes.
b.
the degree to which the surface of an object seems to have a particular feel.
c.
the light, color, and shade of an object.
d.
any graduation of light and shadow that produces a hazy effect.


9. Answer the following question in 1-2 complete sentences.

Name the primary colors. Why are these colors considered the only “primary colors”?


10. Answer the following question in 3-4 complete sentences.

Define balance. Explain the difference between formal balance and structural balance.

Answer 1

1. d — Columnar monuments were used only by the Romans until the 14th century. (Not true.)

2. c — The artist has created the piece so that the negative space overpowers the positive space. (Not true.)

3. b — something created to deliberately convince or influence people's thoughts, opinions, and/or actions.

4. d — myth/legend

5. b — the arrangement of visual elements in a piece, which help to create understanding and convey the artist’s message.

6. d — The colors, although bright, are blended to create a natural flow through the entire piece. (Not true — Gauguin often used flat, unblended areas of vivid color.)

7. d — angle

8. a — thickly applied paint that lets us see brushstrokes.

9. Primary colors: red, yellow, and blue. These are considered primary because they cannot be made by mixing other colors and can be combined in various ways to produce a wide range of other colors.

10. Balance is the visual distribution of weight in a composition that creates a sense of stability. Formal balance (symmetry) occurs when elements are mirrored on either side of a central axis, giving a stable, orderly feeling. Structural balance (asymmetrical balance) is achieved when different elements of varying visual weight are arranged so they counterbalance one another without mirroring, producing a balanced but more dynamic composition.