Deck 40: Without Boundaries: Multiple Meanings in a Postmodern World

Question 1

In his graffiti-inspired Charles the First,Jean-Michel Basquiat includes a crown to

A) symbolize his African ancestors.
B) parody the U.S. government.
C) honor African-American heroes.
D) evoke the evils of Caribbean colonialism.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

In his poem "If We Get It," David Antin leaves meaning open to interpretation by

A) using indeterminate words.
B) making contradictory statements.
C) omitting all punctuation.
D) using irregular meter and rhyme

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Frank Gehry used industrial materials such as corrugated metal and concrete blocks to surround his house to

A) keep his neighbors away.
B) create a sense of unease in its viewers.
C) provide contrast with the house's frame construction.
D) inexpensively expand the house's living space.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In literature,the postmodern hero differ from his or her predecessors by

A) having been rejected by society for not conforming.
B) embracing his or her ordinariness and lack of purpose.
C) having no definable goal and merely wandering through life.
D) accepting that the search for meaning is never-ending.

Question 5

Zhang Huan invited 40 Chinese peasants to be photographed standing in a pond in an effort to

A) make it into the Guinness Book of World Records.
B) show how Western culture was drowning the Chinese.
C) raise Beijing officials' consciousness about the poor.
D) show how the Chinese class system caused loss of self.

Question 6

Santiago Calatrava designed the Port Authority Trans Hudson station at the World Trade Center site to resemble a

A) stepped-terrace memorial garden.
B) rainbow.
C) series of monoliths of graduated heights.
D) a bird being released by a child's hands.

Question 7

Prague's Dancing House is designed to evoke

A) Renaissance palaces.
B) the city's totalitarian past.
C) a distorted mirror image of its neighbor.
D) the work of Robert Venturi.

Question 8

Which artist moves deftly between abstraction and photography-based representational painting?

A) Gerhard Richter
B) Louise Lawler
C) Pat Steir
D) Takashi Murakami

Question 9

Deconstruction is typical of postmodernism in its

A) determination of a reader's response to a work.
B) analysis of individual words.
C) inherently cross-cultural approach to criticism.
D) exposure of the possibilities of meaning.

Question 10

According to Robert Venturi,Las Vegas is the model for postmodern urban form because its structures

A) are not homogenous.
B) are of a grand scale.
C) are arranged chaotically.
D) reflect multiple cultures.

Question 11

Chaos theory has been applied to medical research in

A) the manufacture of antibiotics
B) understanding DNA sequences
C) predicting the spread of viruses
D) decreasing infant mortality

Question 12

In his "Gentle Manifesto," architect Robert Venturi defines the postmodern aesthetic as one of

A) clean and simple geometries.
B) harmony with its surroundings.
C) difficult unity of inclusion.
D) docile space for modern people.

Question 13

How does Renzo Piano's Jean-Marie Tjibaou Cultural Center in New Caledonia qualify as "green architecture"?

A) Ten pavilions function as wind scoops, cooling the interior.
B) Open, unfinished pavilions collect rainwater.
C) The open center is used for cultivating bamboo for construction.
D) Its southern orientation provides passive solar heating.

Question 14

Frank Gehry's Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao,Spain can be defined as postmodern because of its

A) outer elements covered in metal.
B) enormous and expansive size.
C) discontinuity with the town and countryside.
D) playful resemblance to a ship in full sail.

Question 15

The Chinese government deemed Zhang Hongtu's painting Bird's Nest,in the Style of Cubism unfit for the Olympic Games,with the reason given being that it

A) included too many English words.
B) was derivative of European Cubism.
C) inappropriate due to its muted palette.
D) mocked traditional Chinese superstitions.

Question 16

How does Beijing's Olympic Stadium-the Bird's Nest-qualify as "green architecture"?

A) The outer frame is built of renewable bamboo.
B) Its translucent roof provides passive ventilation.
C) The roof's solar panels light the stadium.
D) A natural grass floor helps to purify the air.

Question 17

In Thomas Pynchon's novel V.,protagonist Herbert Stencil can never fulfill his quest for the mysterious V.,who

A) died in Italy during World War II.
B) is not a person, but an unreachable vanishing point.
C) moved to Africa and changed her name.
D) was a figment of his father's imagination.

Question 18

Benoit Mandelbrot disdained traditional Euclidian geometry for its

A) inability to account for variations in starting points.
B) Inability to describe irregularly shaped forms.
C) lack of inclusion of color as a component of order.
D) great focus on finite patterns.

Question 19

A hallmark of postmodern architecture is the

A) utilization of all available space.
B) incorporation of elements of technology.
C) harmony with a site's natural elements.
D) use of many different elements of design.

Question 20

What is one of the primary theoretical principles of postmodern thought?

A) Works contain a plurality of meanings.
B) Meaning resides in the creator's intent.
C) Meaning takes a backseat to creation.
D) Meaning is relative to context.

Question 21

Why did African painter Chris Ofili support The Holy Virgin Mary on two balls of elephant dung?

A) The dried and varnished dung made sturdy mounts.
B) Dried elephant dung is considered good luck in Africa.
C) He wanted to make himself more known through controversy.
D) In Zimbabwe, elephant dung is viewed as a fertility symbol.

Question 22

Explain at least two ways Santiago Calatrava's plans for the Port Authority Trans Hudson station is a fitting memorial to those who lost their lives on its proposed World Trade Center site.

Question 23

Identify and explain how works by two painters discussed in the chapter exemplify cultural misunderstandings.

Question 24

Identify and explain two ways computers have changed the understanding and creation of architecture and visual art,supporting your response with descriptions of specific works covered in the chapter.

Question 25

As briefly yet clearly as possible,explain how chaos theory and the butterfly effect fit with the ideas of postmodernism.

Question 26

In Janine Antoni's Touch,the horizon line on which she appears to be walking represents

A) what is always in front of us.
B) the endless cycle of birth and death.
C) what divides reality and imagination.
D) the balance between art and the mundane.

Question 27

The Muslim women portrayed in Shirin Neshat's series of photographs Women of Allah wear the black chador to

A) conform to Islamic fundamentalist law.
B) prevent them from becoming sexual objects.
C) avoid being arrested by Iranian officials.
D) display their submissiveness to Muslim men.

Question 28

Which of the following was NOT a response to the Brooklyn Museum's displaying of Chris Ofili's The Holy Virgin Mary?

A) demonstrations by the New York Catholic League
B) fresh elephant dung left at the museum's entrance
C) threats by the city to cut off the museum's funding
D) painting smeared with white paint by angry viewer

Question 29

The real subject of David P.Bradley's painting Indian Country Today is the

A) defacement of Native American lands.
B) assimilation of Native American and white peoples.
C) commercialization of Native American tradition.
D) revitalization of Native American lands.

Question 30

Define "green architecture," and explain how it fits with the concept of postmodern architecture.Then describe two examples-one from the book and one from your community.

Question 31

Referencing one poem and one novel discussed in the chapter,explain the "open interpretation" that characterizes postmodern literature.

Question 32

Define Robert Venturi's point that postmodern architecture should represent a "difficult whole," and identify and describe two examples from the book of how this "difficult whole" is presented.

Question 33

Respond to the chapter's "Continuity and Change" ending question: "What is it about your world that you have come [by studying the humanities] to understand and appreciate more fully?" Be sure to reference specifics-both from the text and from your experience.

Question 34

Playwright Luis Valdez produced Zoot Suit to

A) expose police brutality and injustices against Latinos.
B) raise awareness about Hispanic farmworkers' low pay.
C) help César Chávez unionize Hispanic farmworkers.
D) celebrate the Hispanics' success in American culture.

Question 35

Olafur Eliason's installation The Weather Project was initially criticized as being "mere" entertainment for

A) using rather ordindary materials.
B) attracting so many visitors to view it.
C) for disturbing visitors with its melancholy
D) for showing visitors the construction elements

Question 36

Identify and explain how two video presentations discussed in the chapter fit with the characteristics of postmodernism.

Question 37

In Eleanor Antin's video Minetta Lane-A Ghost Story,the ghost represents

A) fears of growing older and dying.
B) the tragedy of unfulfilled possibilities.
C) repressed sexuality and lost love.
D) the destructive force present in everyone.