Art Last

1. Briefly yet thoroughly answer the following questions in essay form. (One sentence answers by definition are not thorough essay forms.)

1) Artists at Pech Merle in France were using paint to create images some 25,000 years ago, and the medium is still popular today. Why do you think painting has endured as a highly regarded artform? Support your answer with examples. 20%

2)  In 1834 Henry Talbot announced that he discovered “the art of photogenic drawing.” He called this new art medium the Calotype. Less than 200 years later, in 2018, renowned German photographer and filmmaker Wim Wenders stated that photography “is more dead than ever” and that smartphones are to blame for the art form’s demise. Do you agree or disagree with his belief in the short life of photography as art? Explain your reasoning. Give examples. 20%

3) Why do you think that the large scale fresco murals were chosen as the medium for the political works of the Mexican Muralists? Discuss how the medium plays a role in the message of those activist artists. What kind of role do you think art played in the Mexican Revolution? 20%

4).   In the six part YouTube series Art Vs Reality, Peter Drew begins with a question: If anything can be art, why do we need the art world? Referring to Conceptualism and Marcel  Duchamp’s statement that anything the artist chooses can be art, Drew suggests that contemporary artists like Koons or Hirst do not have skills, but instead they have the money to have art manufactured for them; therefore, their popularity comes from the monetary value of the work as a commodity, not an expression of genius creativity. Do you agree or disagree with this premise? Why? Or Why not? Give examples. 20%

5) Consider the sculptors Donatello, Michelangelo, and Bernini and how each artist approached the interpretation and depiction of the hero David. Compare and contrast the different approaches that these artists took in the appearance of David in their respective sculptures. Address how each work displays the characteristic cultural and artistic concerns of their respective eras in the Renaissance and Baroque . 20%