AP ART HISTORY
Chapter 29 – Comparative Analysis Assignment
Mrs. Lawson
100 Points Total
NAME _________________________________________________
DUE: _______________________________________
Directions: Take notes from class lecture.
SCULPTURE
ANALYSIS/
DATA
COLLECTION
WORKSHEET
CRITERIA:
Date / Time /
Period / Style
Giacometti, City Square,
pg 1109
1948 / European
Modernism – Post WWII
Calder, Mobiles, handout
Man Ray, The Gift, handout
1942 / American (USA)
Modernism / Non-Objective /
Mobiles
1958 / American (USA)
Modernism / Dada
Smith, Tank Totem IV,
pg 1119-20
1964 - American (USA)
Modernism / Formalism /
Abstract Expressionism Minimalism
Tate Gallery, London
Outdoors in nature / meant to
complement organic nature
Site / Location /
Relationship to site
Museum of Modern Art, N Y
Various / indoor & outdoor
Museum of Modern Art, N Y /
Dada- where = New York &
Western Europe
Medium / Materials
/ Method /
Technique
Bronze / casting
Rods / wires / sheet metal forms
Powered by wind &/or water
Painted flatiron with metal tacks
Stainless steel (new material) /
polished surfaces texture / use of
reflection / welding / burnishing
Function / Purpose
Art for arts sake /
expression of many
influences
Create movement in space /
constant change
Critique of modern life / objects
out of the ordinary environment
shown as works of art /
Pay homage to Cubism / art for
art sake / exploration of new
materials
Content / Subject /
Message /
Iconography
A world with small, lonely
people wandering aimlessly
Movement in space
Creating a paradox / humor /
contradiction / irony / rejection of
middle class morality
Monumental geometric units /
sense of poised balance of
elements / tension / use of
negative space
Artistic Importance
/ Influence:
Leading artist in 1930’s
Surrealist movement / Later
works - Abstraction
(Expressionism)
Content = ideas of subject
represented – symbolic /
emotions / sensations / art
of the “Mainstream” /
Mainstream crosses
Atlantic
Small, frail, lumpy / surface
= rough (crude) / working
directly from model / figures
alone or in groups /
Invented the Mobile / delicately
balanced wire armature from
which sculptural elements are
suspended / influences Kinetic
sculpture in the 1950’s – 60’s /
first to set works in continuous
natural (no motors) movement /
Challenged notion of what art
should be / movement had great
influence on contemporary art /
enraged many viewers / critical
stance toward bourgeois society
is characteristic of modern art =
conceptual art of 1980’s
New York School / Abstraction
(Expressionism) Content = ideas
of subject represented –
symbolic / emotions / sensations
/ exploration of new materials
Balance / movement / pattern /
constantly shifting definition of
space /
Modified object / breaking away
from the proper function of
smoothing & pressing
Lightness & beauty of stainless
steel / polished surfaces /
monumental scale / geometric
forms contrasted against organic
nature / curvilinear patterns
formed by light hitting the
burnished surfaces / balance =
tension – treat of collapse
Patron / Audience
Independent – gallery –
private collectors
Independent – gallery – private
collectors
Independent – gallery – private
collectors
Independent – gallery – private
collectors
Relationship to
Cultural belief
system (Religious)
Existential philosophy /
“Humans alone in a
meaningless universe-able
to decide own fate”
Distinction between painting &
sculpture diminished & visual
forms were related to
architectural space
Distinction between painting &
sculpture diminished & visual
forms were related to
architectural space
Relationship to
Political / Social /
Economic / Power
& Authority
Post WWII – USA emerges
from war as world power /
New York replaced Paris as
the center of the art world /
raid new movements /
Mainstream artists
Post WWII – USA emerges from
war as world power / New York
replaced Paris as the center of
the art world / raid new
movements = art becomes
international
Dada = response to the death toll
of WWI => new technology could
wreak havoc / made people
wonder if the price of modern life
was to high / blamed society’s
rational thinking / believed
civilization was on the brink of
destruction
Post WWII- USA emerges from
war as world power / New York
replaced Paris as the center of
the art world / raid new
movements = art becomes
international
Formal Qualities:
Scale / Size / Proportion /
Pictorial Space /
Composition / Emphasis
/ Balance / Volume /
Mass / Depth / Color /
Movement / Treatment of
the Human Form
Post WWII – USA emerges from
war as world power / New York
replaced Paris as the center of
the art world / raid new
movements = art becomes
international
Other artworks
from the period &
relevant criteria
Cubi XIX, 1964
AP ART HISTORY
Chapter 29 – Comparative Analysis Assignment
Mrs. Lawson
100 Points Total
NAME _________________________________________________
DUE: _______________________________________
Directions: Take notes from class lecture.
SCULPTURE
ANALYSIS/
DATA
COLLECTION
WORKSHEET
CRITERIA:
Date / Time /
Period / Style
Site / Location /
Relationship to site
Nevelson, Sky Cathedral,
pg 1121-22
1958 / Modernism /
Formalism / Abstract
Expressionism Assemblage
New York School – women
Oldenburg, Lipstick (Ascending)
on Caterpillar Tracks, pg 1130
1969-74 / Modernism /
Formalism / Abstract
Expressionism – Pop Art
Smithson, Spiral Jetty, pg 11441145
1969-70 / Modernism /
Conceptual Art- Earthworks
Chicago, The Dinner Party,
Pg 1145-1147
1974-79 / Modernism /
Conceptual- Feminist Art
Various locations / outdoor public
projects / city squares
Outdoor – settings in nature
Various /
Salt Lake, Utah
Medium / Materials
/ Method /
Technique
Wood construction / painted
matte black
Plaster / plastic
Often used materials found on
location / shaped the landscape
with machines or coverings
White tile floor inscribed in gold
with 999 women’s names, table
with painted & sculpted
porcelain, needlework
Function / Purpose
Pay homage to Cubism / art
for art sake / exploration of
new materials
Objection to the increasingly
impersonal & sanitized nature of
Western life / humor
Break down barriers – women
achieve recognition in the art
world /
Content / Subject /
Message /
Iconography
Evoking ancient ruins,
monuments, & royal
personages through
assemblage
Artistic Importance
/ Influence:
Inspired by Cubism - New
York School / Abstraction
(Expressionism) Content =
ideas of subject
represented – symbolic /
emotions / sensations /
exploration of new
materials
Large scale – transformed
space to “higher realm” /
matte black used to
obscure identity of the
individual elements & to
formally integrate them /
black=mysterious / use of
soft blue light = moon light
Reference to militant feminism –
women recently succeeding in
gaining admission to Yale
(formally all male) / combines
male & female sexual references
Portrayed popular objects that
satirized American society /
erased the line between
commercial & fine art / Influences
from Dada /
Emphasis on the planning &
thinking of a work / execution
secondary / Performance art –
meant to stun the viewer as he
participates in the creation
Taking art back to nature, away
from the market place / works
exist afterward only in
photographs & documents /
meant to impress the spectator
New category of art making
called site specific sculpture –
works designed for a particular
location, usually outdoors
Large scale popular objects /
subjects
Ongoing dialectic with nature /
two forces = constructive
(building) & destructive (natural
destruction) / impress the
spectator with the vastness of
time / used spiral because it is a
fundamental shape in nature –
galaxies, shells, DNA, salt crystal
Women’s art forms- stitchery,
needlepoint, china painting
Formal Qualities:
Scale / Size / Proportion /
Pictorial Space /
Composition / Emphasis
/ Balance / Volume /
Mass / Depth / Color /
Movement / Treatment of
the Human Form
Celebrating and addressing
concerns & lives of women /
triangle shape symbol for women
& in France equality
Improve women’s place in history
& change world thinking /
feminist art displayed art’s ability
to contribute meaningfully to a
better future
Patron / Audience
Independent – gallery –
private collectors
Independent – gallery – private
collectors
Independent – gallery – private
collectors
Independent – gallery – private
collectors
Relationship to
Cultural belief
system (Religious)
Distinction between
painting & sculpture
diminished / visual forms
related to architectural
space
Distinction between painting &
sculpture diminished / visual
forms related to architectural
space
Distinction between painting &
sculpture diminished / visual
forms related to architectural
space
Distinction between painting &
sculpture diminished / visual
forms related to architectural
space
Relationship to
Political / Social /
Economic / Power
& Authority
Post WWII / New York
replaced Paris as the
center of the art world /
rapid sequence of new
movements = art becomes
International
Post WWII – USA / New York
replaced Paris as the center of
the art world / rapid sequence of
new movements = art becomes
International
Post WWII- USA / New York
replaced Paris as the center of
the art world / rapid sequence of
new movements = art becomes
International
Post WWII – USA / New York
replaced Paris as the center of
the art world / rapid sequence of
new movements = art becomes
International
Other artworks
from the period &
relevant criteria
Christo,
Clothespin
Umbrellas
Spoon
Christo,
Running Fence
AP ART HISTORY
Chapter 29 – Comparative Analysis Assignment
Mrs. Lawson
100 Points Total
LATE 20TH-CENTURY ART & THE CONTEMPORARY WORLD
Marble carving is dead. All the great advantages to marble—its permanence, durability, and lustrous shine—have been cast
into the dustbin of history, Few artists want to spend years studying marble carving in a world that will offer no commissions for
laboring over an art form that is associated with the ancients and has seemingly nothing to offer beyond that. Marble is also
unforgiving; once chipped, it cannot be repaired without showing the damage.
Modern forms of sculpture are faster to produce and even easier to reproduce. Unlike marble or bonze they come in a
variety of textures. Anything that can be molded, like beeswax, is experimented with to make a visceral impact.
On occasion, sculptors will combine object into works of art, called assemblages. If the assemblages are large enough, they
are called installations and can take up a whole room in a museum or gallery.
New York School Sculpture
The New York School artists also produced sculptures. These sculptures resemble Abstract Expressionist paintings because
they are primarily nonrepresentational and express the subjectivity of the artists that created them. New York School sculptors were
drawn to working with industrial materials such as metal and wood. Despite being linked by time (1950s) and location, the New
York School artists and sculptors displayed different objectives in their creations.
Minimalism
Minimalism is a form of abstract art that denies representation of any kind, whether it exists on the objects itself or in the
title. It embraces a complete abstract aesthetic, lacking all narrative, gestures, and impulses. Early 20 th-century artists were
precursors to the Minimalist movement that dominated the art world in the 1960s and continued into the 1970s.
Minimalism was an American art movement. Like the Hard Edge painters, Minimalist sculptors emphasize the shapes and
straight edges of their creations. In doing so, Minimalist sculptors included no surface decoration, narrative elements, figures, or
other imagery in their works. These artists did not seek to crate abstractions of figures but, created basic geometric sculptures so that
what a viewer saw is what the viewer saw. Minimalist sculptures are also typically large and made from metal. Like the artists of
the Hard Edge movement, the Minimalist sculptors sought to remove any visible signs of themselves in the work. Some Minimalist
artists did not even create the finished product but rather sent blueprints to artisans who then welded the metal sculptures for them.
Site Art
Sometimes called Earth art, Site art is dependent on its location to render full meaning. Often works of Site art are
temporary. Other times the works remain but need the original environment intact in order for it to be fully understood. Site art
dates from the 1970s and is still being done today.
During the 1960s & 1970s, the environmental movement emerged in America. Concerned citizens began efforts to preserve
nature in the face of increasing industrialization and the proliferation of automobiles. Following the trend in politics, artists began to
create works that incorporated natural materials and were placed in outdoor locations. These artists sought to move art from the
museum and the sculpture garden into new contexts in which their creations would have a dialogue with the site itself. Much of the
art coming out of this movement is site specific.
Conceptual Art
The Conceptual artist sees a work of art in its purest form, as a thought or the thought process in his or her mind.
Conceptual art sometimes realizes a work in a representational format, but more often looks down on an artistic product as a
reduction of the original thought. This movement reached its height in the 1960s.
Performance Art
Performance art sees the act of making a work of art as the ultimate goal of the artist. The finished product is the result of
an action, but not the principal intention of the artist. Performance artists may incorporate dance, music, film, and other activities
into their creation. Performance art dates from the 1960s.
Pop Art
Pop Art had its sculptural representation in the work of Claes Oldenburg. Using consumer items such as polyester fibers,
vinyl, and canvas, Oldenburg created large, soft sculptures of everyday food items. He also made hard, painted sculptures of food
out of plaster. These sculptures reflected the foods seen in diners, which were popular in American culture during the 1960s. As the
U. S. became increasingly industrialized, the use of automobiles increased and so did fast food. Oldenburg represented this in his
work.