AP Art History | Ms. Price | Walter Payton College Prep: January 2013

What the heck is the 30-minute essay going to be?!

To quote the CollegeBoard website: "The questions are designed to address significant art historical problems, including contextual, stylistic, chronological and patronage issues. No visuals are provided in this section; you are required to select and fully identify specific works of art as evidence in your essays. Therefore, the choice of the works you choose to discuss is critical to a complete and satisfactory essay; the examples must be appropriate and the works themselves must form the thesis and drive the argument.

The approach to successfully writing the long essays is very much like the strategy for writing the short essays. It is recommended that you spend at least five minutes planning and twenty-five minutes writing each essay. In the past, the questions from the long essay sections have been largely thematic and take into account broad global art historical experiences and different cultural values."

Long Essay tips & practice

Review the Thematic Graphic Organizer. Familiarize yourself with the various essay topics. Begin to plan your topics for each theme. Which works of art do you feel most comfortable talking about? When you can write with knowledge and passion, your discussion is usually stronger.
When you see the essay topic, don’t panic! Start making a list of several works of art that you think can fit the topic. Then, choose the work that you feel the most confident in describing. You should have 4 basic characteristics for each work of art that you choose. Explain your characteristics thoroughly, but stay on topic.
There are several examples of art that can be used for different topics. Example: Seated Statue of Khafre (Human form in art, power and authority, object of religious ritual).

Suggested: Choose 2 works of art (including architecture) from 2 different cultures beyond the European tradition and study it, A TON. You must be able to cite these works of art (title, artist, time period).
Cultures: Egypt, Ancient Near East, Islam, China, India, Japan, Africa, Pre-Colombian America, and Oceania.
Themes:

Nature
Deities (gods and worship)
Sacred Spaces
Family
Human Body (male and female representation)
Propaganda
Violence in Art (war)
Women in Art (feminism)
Portraits
Domestic Space
Materials

ABET THEMES (be sure to review your notes and cheat sheets from these presentations)
Africa before 1800
Theme: DIVERSITY
Key Ideas:

Centered around spirituality, the spirit world and role of ancestors (present in many artworks)
Fertility of man and of land is key
Most common materials: wood, ivory and metal
Mostly utilitarian, usually for ceremonies
Architecture primarily mudbrick (Great Mosque)
Stone used in Zimbabwe and Ethiopian churches

Africa After 1800
Theme: GIT (gender roles, international influences & traditions)
Key Ideas:

Traditional African forms continued into 19th c. (sculptures and shrines dedicated to ancestor worship)
Royal arts also flourished (status symbols, luxurious materials)
Master woodcarvers (nail figures)
Most African sculpture exhibits hierarchy of scale (among figures and body parts, LARGE heads)
Individual artists emerge in the 20th c. (Osei Bonsu, Olowe of Ise)
Masquerades! Masks created for festive performances, almost always performed by men (gender roles)
Contemporary art (coffins & Apartheid protest)
Influence of African and non-Africna art has shifted throughout history, African art has great influence outside Africa in 20th c.

Native America before 1300
Theme: No Wheels, No Metal, No Problem
Key Ideas:

Indigenous arts span thousands of years and represent vastly different cultures and communities
Lived and created without the use of pack animals, wheels and metal instruments
Built elaborate cities, structures, pottery and works of art
Interest in spirituality and the cosmos (astronomy and astrology)
Much art is related to ceremony or religious ritual
Developed huge city-states featuring temple complexes rivaling any on Earth, old civilizations used as foundations for new ones (building upon preexisting sites)

Native Arts after 1300
Theme: 3C's (Codex, Construction & Crafts)
Key Ideas:

Mesoamerica

When Europeans arrived, they encountered sophisticated civilizations with long history of art production (including illustrated books)
Aztecs were dominant power before Cortes overthrew them (capital at Tenochtitlan, grid plan)
Religious beliefs included dramatic ritual at Great Temples (pyramids) including human sacrifice
Created colossal stone sculptures (beheaded Coatlicue)

South America

Inka Empire in Peru engineered thousands of miles of roads, kept track of inventories, census and astronomical info using a "computer of strings"
Master architects using ashlar masonry (Machu Picchu)

North America

Power more widely dispersed, more varied than Mesoamerica or S. America
American Southwest: built urban settlements (pueblos) and decorated council houses (kivas) with murals, magnificent textiles, temporary sand paintings, carved Hopi katsina figurines
Emphasis on spirituality, masks play important role (totem poles and transformation masks)

Oceania

Theme: OCEAN (Overall isolation, Community, Exaggerated features, Ancestors & New Proportions)

Key Ideas:

Strong gender roles for creating art
Wood is primary material: perfected woodcarving (Bisj poles)
Intricate lines and details
Art of Easter Island is unusual in Oceanic art (colossal stone sculptures probably represent ancestors)
Body adornment in form of tattooing is widespread in Polynesia (status, beautification, "spiritual armor")
Some of the oldest inhabited areas on Earth (Aboriginals reached Australia some 50,000 years ago)
Some places only inhabited up to 1000 years ago (Remote Pacific islands, Easter Island, New Zealand)

South & Southeast Asia after 1300
Theme: MMMM (Mughal, Mixes, Minarets and [Taj] Mahal)
Key Ideas:

Influence of Islam, Delhi's first mosque has tallest minaret in the world
Combination of Hindu and Islamic architectural elements (ex: beehive-shaped Hindu temple + Islamic scalloped arches)
Mughal sponsored series of important painting and architectural projects (Akbarnama, Akbar the Great's biography and the Taj Mahal, to memorialize his favorite wife)
Combination of Buddhist and Hindu influences throughout Asian kingdoms outside India
Queen Elizabeth I establishes East India Company, British influence (symbols of colonial rule)

China and Korea after 1279
Theme:
Key Ideas:

Under first Yuan emperor, China was richer and more technologically advanced than Europe
Renowned for calligraphy and porcelain pottery (cobalt blue glaze), painting flourished
Forbidden City, imperial palace compound on axial plan (Ming Dynasty)
While traditional painting still flourished, artists (Shitao) experimented with extreme effects (brushstrokes, massed ink)
When Communists began gaining control in 1949, art started to focus on Marxist ideals (propaganda pieces)
KOREA: erected impressive public monuments (Namdaemun gates, symbols of imperial power)
KOREA: influence of modern art (Song Su-nam's landscapes)

Japan after 1336
Theme: ZITT (Zen, Isolation, Transformation & Traditional)
Key Ideas:

Zen Buddhism arose, Zen temples promote meditation (karesansui- dry landscapes)

Muromachi painting varies greatly in subject and style (some Chinese roots)

Many great works of art commissioned for Momoyama warlords (using symbols of power like lions)

Importance of Japanese tea ceremony as social ritual

Rinpa painting and crafts feature vivid colors and gold (Boat Bridge box by Honami Koetsu)

Growing urbanization -> fostered focus on sensual pleasure and theatrical entertainment (Ukiyo-E Woodblock prints!!)

Western art began to influence Japanese work after 1868 Tokugawa Shogunate fell (shading, perspective and oils!)

In Japan, traditional and modern art flourish side by side

Ah, the Renaissance. A magical time of enlightenment.

Theme: PMA - a "positive mental attitude" and Perspective/Modeling/Anatomy Italians looks back to the Greeks and classicism for architectural and artistic inspiration. They were obsessed with Classical Greek ideals!

Key Concepts

HUMANISM flourished - celebrates the value and agency of human beings
The Medici Family (Cosimo, Piero, Lorenzo) - wealthy Florentine bankers who "ruled" Florence

Great patrons of the artists and supporters of humanism and scientific knowledge
Exiled in 1494

Florence becomes a powerful and wealthy Republic

Guilds and merchants expand wealth

International trade and expanding views of the world (deeper understanding of the world, HUMANISM)
Emergence of artist social position (artist as famed hero, genius!)
Intellectual approach to art

Linear perspective (mathematically created illusion), Atmospheric or Aerial perspective (diminishing crispness and detail as image recedes into distance, objects that are closer to the viewer are more in focus, detailed)
Proportion, harmony, balance
THE HUMAN BODY

There are plenty of excellent resources about the Early Renaissance in Italy. Check out these clips and links.

SmartHistory - Florence, Italy during the Early Renaissance (excellent resources, highly recommended!)

PBS series on the Medici Family