ARTS 1513 EXAM 2 STUDY GUIDE
QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
Organic Shape / Form - Answer-Made up of unpredictable, irregular lines that evoke the
natural world.
Positive Shape (Figure) - Answer-A shape defined by its surrounding negative space
Negative Space (Ground) - Answer-an empty space given its shape by its surround,
Figure-Ground Reversal - Answer-the reversal of the relationship between one shape
(the figure) and its background (the ground), so that the figure becomes the background
and the ground becomes the figure.
Contrast - Answer-a drastic difference between such elements as color or value when
they are presented together
Volume - Answer-Space filled by or enclosed by a three-dimensional figure or object
Mass - Answer-a volume that has, or gives the illusion of having, weight, density, and
bulk.
Texture - Answer-the surface quality of a work, for example fine/coarse, detailed/lacking
in detail
Implied Texture - Answer-two-dimensional work by an artist to create the effect of
texture.
What is the subject matter of Goya's Third of May? How does he use directional line
and contrast to draw attention to and build sympathy for the victims? - Answer-mplied.
Painters often use implied line to guide a viewer's eye as it scans the canvas. In
Francisco Goya's The Third of May, 1808, the artist portrays the execution of Spaniards
who had resisted the occupation of their country by the French army of Emperor
Napoleon (1.1.13). Goya uses contrast to draw our attention to a particular line (A)—
created in the place where the dark background sky meets and contrasts with the
lighted hillside—that separates the two areas of value. Our attention is drawn downward
and to the right toward an area where there is more visual activity. Goya holds our
attention by using other directional lines; (B), for example, follows the line implied by the
feet of the soldiers. Then a shadowed area (C) at the bottom of the page directs our eye
to the left, where other lines, such as (D) and (E), draw our gaze up toward the area of
high contrast (A). Goya is keen to keep our attention on the atrocities committed by the
army of Napoleon. The strong horizontal of the rifles is so distinct that our eye is pulled
toward the group of victims: we identify not with the line of executioners, but with the
victims. PG 56 IN TEXT
, What qualities or feelings are often conveyed by vertical lines? horizontal lines?
diagonal lines? - Answer-Vertical lines tend to communicate strength and energy;
horizontal lines can suggest calmness and passivity; diagonal lines are associated with
action, motion, and change.
How is the technique of figure-ground reversal used in Noma Bar's Gun Crime? -
Answer-The woodcut, where removed material prints white and preserved material
prints black, is conducive to exploring figure- ground reversal, which is the very essence
of Escher's technique here. Ppt 5
How does the texture of the Buddha statue help convey something about the Buddha's
character? - Answer-This bronze statue depicts the Buddha in his enlightened state,
having found an inner peace through spiritual awareness and meditation. The Buddha's
body is almost entirely smooth, with very little decoration to break up the continuity of
the even surface. Coupled with the flowing contours lines and pleasant facial
expression, the surface quality is suggestive of the Buddha's clear and serene state of
mind. The bronze has also been polished, resulting in a reflective surface that would
have caught the movement of candlelight in its original 15th-century context. The
flickering light dancing across the body would have given the Buddha a radiant
"specialness" appropriate to his status as a figure of devotion. ppt 5
What role does impasto play in Wayne Thiebaud's cake paintings? - Answer-Although
the actual surfaces of paintings are frequently smooth and even, the impasto technique
can add a three-dimensional texture to the work. The painter Wayne Thiebaud uses this
to great effect, adding a textural realism to his representations of desserts. Mimicking
the appearance of spread and piped icing, paint projects off the surface of the canvas in
dense brushstrokes of varying thickness. The paintings can set off a chain reaction of
the senses: while visually perceiving the tactile quality of the painted desserts (and
thinking about real desserts in the process), the viewer may experience a charged
memory rooted in taste or a desire to eat some sweets.
How and why does Meret Oppenheim's Object rely on "subversive texture"? - Answer-A
subversive texture contradicts our previous tactile experience. Example is the fur
covered tea cup bc we would expect the tea cup to be smooth and cold, but then we
would imagine drinking from this and having fur tickle our mouth instead. Artists and
designers use the contradictions and contrasts of subversive texture to invite viewers to
reconsider their preconceptions about the world around them. The tactile memory would
conflict with the actual experience of sipping tea from a shiny teacup.
Value - Answer-Refers to the lightness and darkness of a surface, with the light source
determining the placement and intensity of light and shadow. In two-dimensional art, a
value range can provide an illusion of three-dimensionality.
Chiaroscuro - Answer-Manipulation of value to suggest a sense of three-dimensionality
in a two-dimensional work of art.
QUESTIONS WITH CORRECT ANSWERS
Organic Shape / Form - Answer-Made up of unpredictable, irregular lines that evoke the
natural world.
Positive Shape (Figure) - Answer-A shape defined by its surrounding negative space
Negative Space (Ground) - Answer-an empty space given its shape by its surround,
Figure-Ground Reversal - Answer-the reversal of the relationship between one shape
(the figure) and its background (the ground), so that the figure becomes the background
and the ground becomes the figure.
Contrast - Answer-a drastic difference between such elements as color or value when
they are presented together
Volume - Answer-Space filled by or enclosed by a three-dimensional figure or object
Mass - Answer-a volume that has, or gives the illusion of having, weight, density, and
bulk.
Texture - Answer-the surface quality of a work, for example fine/coarse, detailed/lacking
in detail
Implied Texture - Answer-two-dimensional work by an artist to create the effect of
texture.
What is the subject matter of Goya's Third of May? How does he use directional line
and contrast to draw attention to and build sympathy for the victims? - Answer-mplied.
Painters often use implied line to guide a viewer's eye as it scans the canvas. In
Francisco Goya's The Third of May, 1808, the artist portrays the execution of Spaniards
who had resisted the occupation of their country by the French army of Emperor
Napoleon (1.1.13). Goya uses contrast to draw our attention to a particular line (A)—
created in the place where the dark background sky meets and contrasts with the
lighted hillside—that separates the two areas of value. Our attention is drawn downward
and to the right toward an area where there is more visual activity. Goya holds our
attention by using other directional lines; (B), for example, follows the line implied by the
feet of the soldiers. Then a shadowed area (C) at the bottom of the page directs our eye
to the left, where other lines, such as (D) and (E), draw our gaze up toward the area of
high contrast (A). Goya is keen to keep our attention on the atrocities committed by the
army of Napoleon. The strong horizontal of the rifles is so distinct that our eye is pulled
toward the group of victims: we identify not with the line of executioners, but with the
victims. PG 56 IN TEXT
, What qualities or feelings are often conveyed by vertical lines? horizontal lines?
diagonal lines? - Answer-Vertical lines tend to communicate strength and energy;
horizontal lines can suggest calmness and passivity; diagonal lines are associated with
action, motion, and change.
How is the technique of figure-ground reversal used in Noma Bar's Gun Crime? -
Answer-The woodcut, where removed material prints white and preserved material
prints black, is conducive to exploring figure- ground reversal, which is the very essence
of Escher's technique here. Ppt 5
How does the texture of the Buddha statue help convey something about the Buddha's
character? - Answer-This bronze statue depicts the Buddha in his enlightened state,
having found an inner peace through spiritual awareness and meditation. The Buddha's
body is almost entirely smooth, with very little decoration to break up the continuity of
the even surface. Coupled with the flowing contours lines and pleasant facial
expression, the surface quality is suggestive of the Buddha's clear and serene state of
mind. The bronze has also been polished, resulting in a reflective surface that would
have caught the movement of candlelight in its original 15th-century context. The
flickering light dancing across the body would have given the Buddha a radiant
"specialness" appropriate to his status as a figure of devotion. ppt 5
What role does impasto play in Wayne Thiebaud's cake paintings? - Answer-Although
the actual surfaces of paintings are frequently smooth and even, the impasto technique
can add a three-dimensional texture to the work. The painter Wayne Thiebaud uses this
to great effect, adding a textural realism to his representations of desserts. Mimicking
the appearance of spread and piped icing, paint projects off the surface of the canvas in
dense brushstrokes of varying thickness. The paintings can set off a chain reaction of
the senses: while visually perceiving the tactile quality of the painted desserts (and
thinking about real desserts in the process), the viewer may experience a charged
memory rooted in taste or a desire to eat some sweets.
How and why does Meret Oppenheim's Object rely on "subversive texture"? - Answer-A
subversive texture contradicts our previous tactile experience. Example is the fur
covered tea cup bc we would expect the tea cup to be smooth and cold, but then we
would imagine drinking from this and having fur tickle our mouth instead. Artists and
designers use the contradictions and contrasts of subversive texture to invite viewers to
reconsider their preconceptions about the world around them. The tactile memory would
conflict with the actual experience of sipping tea from a shiny teacup.
Value - Answer-Refers to the lightness and darkness of a surface, with the light source
determining the placement and intensity of light and shadow. In two-dimensional art, a
value range can provide an illusion of three-dimensionality.
Chiaroscuro - Answer-Manipulation of value to suggest a sense of three-dimensionality
in a two-dimensional work of art.
