COMM 1300 FINAL EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH COMPLETE ANSWERS
Donor Portrait - ANSWER-A portrait in a larger painting or other work showing the
person who commissioned and paid for the image, or a member of his family.
Donor portraits are very common in religious works of art, especially paintings, of the
Middle Ages and Renaissance, the donor usually shown kneeling to one side, in the
foreground of the image.
Often, even late into the Renaissance, the donor portraits, especially when of a whole
family, will be at a much smaller scale than the principal figures.
Royal Portraiture (Elizabeth I) - ANSWER-The portraiture of Elizabeth I of England
illustrates the evolution of English royal portraits in the Early Modern period from the
representations of simple likenesses to the later complex imagery used to convey the
power and aspirations of the state, as well as of the monarch at its head.
Even the earliest portraits of Elizabeth I (1533-1603) contain symbolic objects such as
roses and prayer books that would have carried meaning to viewers of her day. Later
portraits of Elizabeth layer the iconography of empire—globes, crowns, swords and
columns—and representations of virginity and purity—such as moons and pearls—with
classical allusions to present a complex "story" that conveyed to Elizabethan era
viewers the majesty and significance of their Virgin Queen.
Daguerreotype - ANSWER-Invented by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, it is a
photograph taken by an early photographic process employing an iodine-sensitized
silvered plate and mercury vapor. It was the first publicly available photographic process
(1839), and for nearly twenty years it was the one most commonly used.
Carte de Visite - ANSWER-A type of small photograph which was patented in Paris in
1854. Each photograph was made of paper and was the size of a visiting card, and
such photograph cards were traded among friends and visitors. Albums for the
collection and display of cards became a common fixture in Victorian parlors.
It was slow to gain widespread use until 1859, when Disdéri (creator) published
Emperor Napoleon III's photos in this format. This made the format an overnight
success. The new invention was so popular it was known as "cardomania" and it spread
throughout Europe and then quickly to America and the rest of the world. The immense
popularity of these card photographs led to the publication and collection of
photographs of prominent persons.
Sojourner Truth - ANSWER-Sojourner Truth sold carte-de-visite's to finance her
speaking tours in the 1860s. The caption on the photograph reads, "I sell the shadow to
,support the substance." Abolitionists used photographs to call attention to the plight of
slaves and to raise money for the antislavery cause.
Sojourner Truth (Carte) vs. Elizabeth (Miniature) - ANSWER-1. Cheap vs expensive
2. Reproducible vs unique
3. Shared/sold widely vs given to select individuals
4. Regular person vs royalty
5. Indexical vs not indexical
Similarities?
1. Portraits of powerful women
2. Used them to drive their political/social agendas
3. Iconic
4. Upright posture
Seven Ways to Analyze an Image - ANSWER-1. Automatic reaction
2. Formally/artistically
3. Technical production
4. Creator's intention
5. Representing a person
6. Cultural meaning
7. Historical context
"Afghan Girl" - ANSWER-A 1984 photographic portrait of Sharbat Gula by journalist
Steve McCurry that appeared on the June 1985 cover of National Geographic. The
image is of an adolescent girl with green eyes in a red headscarf looking intensely at the
camera.
It has been likened to Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the Mona Lisa and has been
called "the First World's Third World Mona Lisa". The image became "emblematic" of
"refugee girl/woman located in some distant camp" deserving of the compassion of the
Western viewer.
Sharbat originally didn't like the attention, but grew to be happy once she realized the
profound effect the image had.
Biometric Identification - ANSWER-The process of using a person's unique physical
characteristics for computer identification. Current biometric identification methods
include identification by fingerprint, voice, and face.
Definition of a Sign - ANSWER-"A sign represents and refers to something."
"any mark, bodily movement, symbol, token, etc., used to indicate..."
Examples:
, Visual identifier for a shop
Public instructions (street sign)
*A portent of a coming event (sign from heaven)
Nonverbal communication (he signed for me to listen)
Sign language
Indexical, Iconic, and Symbolic Signs
Iconic Sign - ANSWER-1. Symbols that gain rich connotations and convey powerful
meanings.
2. Signs that resemble or imitate its signified object in that it possesses some of its
qualities ("Resembling what it represents.")
Examples:
X-Ray
Photograph
Portrait/Watercolor/Cartoon
Stop sign
Statue
A word
Indexical Sign - ANSWER-Signs that show evidence of presence. A sign in which the
signifier (the material form) is caused by the signified (mental concept). It is not
arbitrarily assigned and is directly connected in some way to the object.
Examples:
Fingerprint
Bullethole
Bite mark
Signature
X-ray
Photograph
Denotative vs. Connotative - ANSWER-Denotative: Literal meaning.
Connotative: An emotional, cultural or any other association that comes to mind when
you see/hear a sign.
Susan Sontag - ANSWER-Said "A fake painting falsifies the history of art. A fake
photograph falsifies reality."
This is a legacy of the idea that the unaltered
photograph captures the "truth."
WITH COMPLETE ANSWERS
Donor Portrait - ANSWER-A portrait in a larger painting or other work showing the
person who commissioned and paid for the image, or a member of his family.
Donor portraits are very common in religious works of art, especially paintings, of the
Middle Ages and Renaissance, the donor usually shown kneeling to one side, in the
foreground of the image.
Often, even late into the Renaissance, the donor portraits, especially when of a whole
family, will be at a much smaller scale than the principal figures.
Royal Portraiture (Elizabeth I) - ANSWER-The portraiture of Elizabeth I of England
illustrates the evolution of English royal portraits in the Early Modern period from the
representations of simple likenesses to the later complex imagery used to convey the
power and aspirations of the state, as well as of the monarch at its head.
Even the earliest portraits of Elizabeth I (1533-1603) contain symbolic objects such as
roses and prayer books that would have carried meaning to viewers of her day. Later
portraits of Elizabeth layer the iconography of empire—globes, crowns, swords and
columns—and representations of virginity and purity—such as moons and pearls—with
classical allusions to present a complex "story" that conveyed to Elizabethan era
viewers the majesty and significance of their Virgin Queen.
Daguerreotype - ANSWER-Invented by Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre, it is a
photograph taken by an early photographic process employing an iodine-sensitized
silvered plate and mercury vapor. It was the first publicly available photographic process
(1839), and for nearly twenty years it was the one most commonly used.
Carte de Visite - ANSWER-A type of small photograph which was patented in Paris in
1854. Each photograph was made of paper and was the size of a visiting card, and
such photograph cards were traded among friends and visitors. Albums for the
collection and display of cards became a common fixture in Victorian parlors.
It was slow to gain widespread use until 1859, when Disdéri (creator) published
Emperor Napoleon III's photos in this format. This made the format an overnight
success. The new invention was so popular it was known as "cardomania" and it spread
throughout Europe and then quickly to America and the rest of the world. The immense
popularity of these card photographs led to the publication and collection of
photographs of prominent persons.
Sojourner Truth - ANSWER-Sojourner Truth sold carte-de-visite's to finance her
speaking tours in the 1860s. The caption on the photograph reads, "I sell the shadow to
,support the substance." Abolitionists used photographs to call attention to the plight of
slaves and to raise money for the antislavery cause.
Sojourner Truth (Carte) vs. Elizabeth (Miniature) - ANSWER-1. Cheap vs expensive
2. Reproducible vs unique
3. Shared/sold widely vs given to select individuals
4. Regular person vs royalty
5. Indexical vs not indexical
Similarities?
1. Portraits of powerful women
2. Used them to drive their political/social agendas
3. Iconic
4. Upright posture
Seven Ways to Analyze an Image - ANSWER-1. Automatic reaction
2. Formally/artistically
3. Technical production
4. Creator's intention
5. Representing a person
6. Cultural meaning
7. Historical context
"Afghan Girl" - ANSWER-A 1984 photographic portrait of Sharbat Gula by journalist
Steve McCurry that appeared on the June 1985 cover of National Geographic. The
image is of an adolescent girl with green eyes in a red headscarf looking intensely at the
camera.
It has been likened to Leonardo da Vinci's painting of the Mona Lisa and has been
called "the First World's Third World Mona Lisa". The image became "emblematic" of
"refugee girl/woman located in some distant camp" deserving of the compassion of the
Western viewer.
Sharbat originally didn't like the attention, but grew to be happy once she realized the
profound effect the image had.
Biometric Identification - ANSWER-The process of using a person's unique physical
characteristics for computer identification. Current biometric identification methods
include identification by fingerprint, voice, and face.
Definition of a Sign - ANSWER-"A sign represents and refers to something."
"any mark, bodily movement, symbol, token, etc., used to indicate..."
Examples:
, Visual identifier for a shop
Public instructions (street sign)
*A portent of a coming event (sign from heaven)
Nonverbal communication (he signed for me to listen)
Sign language
Indexical, Iconic, and Symbolic Signs
Iconic Sign - ANSWER-1. Symbols that gain rich connotations and convey powerful
meanings.
2. Signs that resemble or imitate its signified object in that it possesses some of its
qualities ("Resembling what it represents.")
Examples:
X-Ray
Photograph
Portrait/Watercolor/Cartoon
Stop sign
Statue
A word
Indexical Sign - ANSWER-Signs that show evidence of presence. A sign in which the
signifier (the material form) is caused by the signified (mental concept). It is not
arbitrarily assigned and is directly connected in some way to the object.
Examples:
Fingerprint
Bullethole
Bite mark
Signature
X-ray
Photograph
Denotative vs. Connotative - ANSWER-Denotative: Literal meaning.
Connotative: An emotional, cultural or any other association that comes to mind when
you see/hear a sign.
Susan Sontag - ANSWER-Said "A fake painting falsifies the history of art. A fake
photograph falsifies reality."
This is a legacy of the idea that the unaltered
photograph captures the "truth."
