INSTRUCTIONS: Consider the questions below. Answer ONE from the first section and then choose THREE from the seond section to answer. So, answer FOUR total. 25 points per question, 100 points total. Write answers in essay format. Please write all answers in your own words. Plagiarized responses will receive no credit. Give me concise, complete answers, about 100-200 words per question.
Section 1: Course readings
1. Accoording to the author (Louise Norton) of the “Richard Mutt Case,” why does Duchamp’s “Fountain” qualify as a work of “art?” Do you agree? Why or why not?
Section 2: Course topics/ themes
1. What is the Ashcan School? Why was the work of artists associated with this school controversial?
2. What is the Armory Show? What effect did it have on art production and consumption in the United States?
3. What does the term “Modernism” imply when applied to American art? What changes/ innovations do we see during the so-called “Modernist” period?
4. Consider American photography from the first half of the 20th century. Some photographers sought to legitimize the medium as “art” while others sought to “document” social circumstances. Choose one example of an American photographer and discuss how this person acheived one of these agendas in their work.
5. Consider American architecture after World War 2. In class we discussed two main innovations: corporate skyscrapers and shopping malls. What do these architectural forms tell us about social relations and societal values during that time?
6. We discussed several art “movements” from the post-War period: Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, Minimalism, Conceptual Art, Performance Art, and Post-Colonialism. Select one of these movements and discuss how an artist associated with the movement responded to social and poilitical issues through their work.
7. Some historians consider the post-War period as being one of relative peace, prosperity, and conformism in American culture. That this perception is overly simplified is evidenced by the photography of both Weegee and Diane Arbus. Select one of these photographers and discuss what exactly they’re showing us and perhaps why they’re showing it.
Each question should be answered separately, in essay format. 100-200 words.
