ASSIGNMENT
Choose one (1) of the following essays to answer.
Essay Question Options:
1. The search for new ways of looking at the world, combined with an urge to break down accepted conventions and preconceptions is characteristic of the period around the turn of the century. Consider the various art movements that developed from 1900 to 1914, the period covered in Chapter 41. Was one more successful than another in realizing this fin de siecle goal to create a new form of artistic expression? Or were they equally successful, but on different levels? Discuss at least two art movements in your answer.
2. Kandinsky imbued color with a spiritual significance in his theoretical art writings; the Fauves, especially Matisse, used color expressively, in a manner that was characterized at the time as “wild.” Compare the works of these two artists and their use of color. Do you think Matisse intended to engender in viewers the physical, psychological and sensual response to color that Kandinsky wrote about? How are these two artists alike and different in their use of color?
3. Futurism is characterized in this class as more of an ideology than a movement. Consider the examples of art that are grouped together under the title of Futurism. Is there a unifying style or stylistic element among the works, or are they unified only in theoretical terms? Offer at least three examples of Futurist works to support your argument.
4. Summarize the reception that Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring met at its public premiere. How can we be certain that this attitude has changed? Describe two ways in which Stravinsky and Schoenberg’s music broke with music of the past.
