Final Examination - PRACTICE SWU 252: Aesthetics for Life

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1 Part I:. /18 Part II:. /25 Part III:. / V1 35V2 50V3/V4 Total Score:. /53 Final Examination - PRACTICE SWU 252: Aesthetics for Life Name: Student ID Section Multiple Choice (18 pts) Circle ALL of the correct answers. If none are correct, circle NONE of the answers.. If you are unsure, you can try and convince me of your reasoning in the margins. 1.1 Basic Aesthetics and Philosophy of Art (12 pts) 1. The following images are from Alexey Kondakov s Art History in Contemporary Life project, where he digitally photoshops figures from Renaissance paintings into his photographs of modernday Naples. One goal of the series is for the viewer to view modern-day Naples in a new way through the eyes of classical paintings. On his website, Kondokov issues a statement saying that he wants the viewer to complete the story and scene using their imagination. Based on this information, which of the following are valid statements? a) Kondokov s artwork satisfies Kant s fourth criterion - triggering the imagination and intellect because they require the viewer to complete the story and scene using their imagination. b) Kondokov s artwork fail to satisfy Kant s third criterion disinterestedness, because the contrast between the ideal renaissance figures and the modern-day setting is interesting to the viewer. c) Kondokov s artwork satisfies Kant s first criterion, subjectivity, because the images trigger an immediate, uncalculated judgement that the images are beautiful. Language for Careers Program 1

2 d) Kondokov s artwork satisfies Kant s second criterion, universality, because the everyone can agree that the images are beautiful. e) Kondokov s artwork fails to satisfy Kant s first criterion, subjectivity, because different perceivers will complete the story and scene in different ways, resulting in different beauty-value judgements. 2. Based on the previous information about Alexey Kondokov s Art History in Contemporary Life project, which of the following are valid statements? a) Kondokov s artwork is compatible with an aesthetic conception of art because they require input from the viewer/perceiver. b) Kondokov s artwork is compatible with an aesthetic conception of art because the photoshopped images are beautiful c) Kondokov s artwork is compatible with an representational conception of art because the renaissance figures almost look as if they were really photographed in modern-day Naples. Kondokov is careful to make sure that the painted figures and the photographic background have the same type of lighting: the same direction of the light source, the same colour temperature of light, and the same value scale. This makes the photoshopped scene look realistic. d) Kondokov s artwork is incompatible with the expressive conception of art, because the result looks very realistic and representational. e) Kondokov s artwork is compatible with a contextualist conception of art because they require input from the viewer/perceiver. 3. Based on the previous information about Alexey Kondokov s Art History in Contemporary Life project, which of the following are valid statements? a) Kondokov s artwork is compatible with pluralistic approaches to the relationship between intention and interpretation b) Kondokov s artwork can be understood using the strict identity thesis c) Kondokov s artwork can be understood using the intermediate identity thesis d) Kondokov s artwork can be understood using hypothetical intentionalism e) Kondokov s artwork can be understood using radical hypothetical intentionalism 4. The following quote is attributed to Cennino Cennini, a pre/early-rennaisance Italian painter: This is an occupation known as painting, which calls for imagination, and skill of hand, in order to discover things not seen, hiding themselves under the shadow of natural objects, and to fix them with the hand, presenting to plain sight what does not actually exist. Based on this quote, indicate which of the following are valid statements? a) Cennini s opinion about art is incompatible with Aristotle s view of art, because Aristotle believed that the goal of art was to faithfully depict our outer reality. b) Cennini s opinion about art is compatible with Plato s view of art, because Plato believed that natural objects were just shadows of their true essence. c) Cennini s opinion about art is similar to the expressive approach to art because Cenini says that the goal of painting is to present things not seen, and we can interpret moods, emotions and attitudes ( inner reality ) as things not seen. It is not the same, however, because he discusses painting what does not actually exist, and moods, emotions and attitudes do exist, just not in a physical way. d) Cennini s opinion about art is compatible with a representational approach to art, because he wants to represent things not seen. e) Cennini s opinion about art is compatible with Kant s universality criterion, because he wants to paint from the imagination, and imagination is universal. Language for Careers Program 2

3 1.2 Nature Aesthetics (6pts) Use the following answers for the MC questions in this subsection.. Choose ALL the correct answers, and NONE of the incorrect answers. (A) The Object Model (B) The Landscape Model (C) The Impressionist Model (D) The Immersion Approach (E) The Order Appreciation Approach (F) The Ecological Approach The image to the right is an image of a snowflake. We can appreciate snowflakes as being beautiful because of their physical properties - i.e., the way snowflakes reflect light to sparkle like diamonds, and the complexity of the fern-like strands and ridges forming the arms. We can also appreciate the fact that the complexity of its shape conforms to a precise mathematical pattern - a sixfold symmetry. 1. The above paragraph is compatible with which aesthetic approaches to nature? mmmmmmmm 2. Kate McDowell is a conceptual artist who makes porcelain sculptures. Her work expresses her interpretation of how humans, and industrialized society, interact with the nature. Two examples of her work are given below: one portrays birds roosting inside a pair of human lungs (as opposed to trees); the other shows bees pollinating human hands (as opposed to flowers). Mcdowell s work expresses themes about nature related to which aesthetic models of nature? mmmmmmmm 3. The following are quotes from Canadian painter Emily Carr: As the woods are the same, the trees standing in their places, the rocks and the earth... they are always different too, as lights and shadows and seasons and moods pass through them. Cedars are terribly sensitive to change of time and light sometimes they are bluish cold-green, then they turn yellow warm-green sometimes their boughs flop heavy and sometimes float, then they are fairy as ferns and then they droop, heavy as heartaches Carr s quotes best describe which of the aesthetic approaches to nature? mmmmmmmm Language for Careers Program 3

4 2 Short Answer (5x5pts = 25 pts) The following image shows Gwen Stefani and her Harajuku Girls. The Harajuku Girls are four Japanese and Japanese-American back-up dancers that appeared in Gwen Stefani s stage shows and music videos, as well as acting as Gwen Stefani s entourage during public appearances. The Harajuku girls were usually dressed in nearly-identical schoolgirl uniforms and make-up, never spoke English publically, and were renamed Love, Angel, Music and Baby, after characters from Stefan s clothing line. Gwen Stefani s use of the Harajuku Girls has been criticized by several Asian-Americans. They claimed that the silent Harajuku Girls reinforce harmful American stereotypes about Asian women in - i.e., that Asian women are all submissive, doll-like and unopinionated. Mihi Ahn, for example, points out that while the Harajuku style in Tokyo is subversive and a way for Japanese women to express their individuality (in a largely collective culture), Stefani s Harajuku girls, with their nearly-identical clothing and silence, lack individuality: Stefani has taken the idea of Japanese street fashion and turned these women into modernday geisha, contractually obligated to speak only Japanese in public...[stefani has] swallowed a subversive youth culture in Japan and barfed up another image of submissive giggling Asian women. While aping a style thats suppose to be about individuality and personal expression, Stefani ends up being the only one who stands out Mimi Ahn argues that Harajuku Girls reinforces harmful stereotypes about Asian women. Does her analysis use a aesthetic or contextualist conception of art? Explain your answer.. (5 pts) aesthetic / contextualist mm mm mm 2. Mihi Ahn claims that Gwen Stefani misrepresents the true nature of Harajuku - whereas the original Harajuku style in Japan is a way for women in a collectivist culture to express their individuality, Stefani s Harajuku Girls represent uniformity. Is Ahn s opinion compatible with Plato s views regarding the relationship between art, beauty and truth? Explain why or why not. (5 pts) Yes / No mm mm mm Language for Careers Program 4

5 Margaret Cho is another example of a prominent Asian American who finds the Stefani s Harajuku Girls problematic. While pointing out that she [Cho] appreciates how Stefani s Harajuku Girls have increased the visibility of Asians in American Media, she nonetheless compares Stefani s use of the Harajuku girls as portraying racial stereotypes, and similar to the racist practice known as blackface : I want to like [the Harajuku Girls], and I want to think they are great, but I am not sure if I can... to me, a Japanese schoolgirl uniform is kind of like blackface Gwen Stefani, when asked to respond to the criticism, denied that her use of the Harajuku Girls was racist, and stated the following: The truth is that I basically was saying how great that culture is. It pisses me off that [Cho] would not do the research and then talk out like that. It s just so embarassing for her. The Harajuku Girls is an art project. It s fun! 3. Stefani s response to her critics was dismissive - she claimed that Cho misinterpreted the Harajuku Girls, and that the Harajuku Girls, as an art project, did not have the racist meaning that Cho attributes to it. Which of the following concepts is her response compatible with? Justify your answer. (5 pts) (A) The Identity Thesis (B) The Intermediate Identity Thesis (C) Hypothetical Intentionalism (D) Radical Hypothetical Intentionalism (E) A monistic approach (F) A pluralistic approach 4. Margaret Cho and Mimi Ahn interpreted Stefani s Harajuku Girls as problematically racist, even if that was not Stefani s original purpose. Many Asian-Americans will not interpret Harajuku Girls as a claim about how great Japanese culture - instead they will interpret Harajuku Girls as reinforcing harmful cultural stereotypes. Which of the following concepts is this type of criticism compatible with? Justify your answer. (5 pts) (A) The Identity Thesis (B) The Intermediate Identity Thesis (C) Hypothetical Intentionalism (D) Radical Hypothetical Intentionalism (E) A monistic approach (F) A pluralistic approach Language for Careers Program 5

6 5. Which of the following approaches to art are Cho and Ahn s criticisms compatible with? Justify your answer. (5 pts) (A) The Representational Approach to Art (B) The Expressive Approach to Art (C) The Aesthetic Approach to Art (D) The Contextualist Approach (E) A Moderate Constructivist Approach (F) A Radical Constructivist Approach 3 Critical Thinking Question (10 pts) Choose ONE of the following to answer.. Remember, your answer should CONVINCE me that you understand the concepts involved! 1. Compare and contrast the Contextualist conception of art and the landscape model approach to nature aesthetics. What are their similarities and differences? Given an example to illustrate their differences. 2. Compare and contrast the Order Appreciation and the Ecological approach to nature aesthetics. What are their similarities and differences? Give examples to illustrate your answer. 3. What is the relationship between hypothetical intentionalism and a pluralistic approach to interpreting art? Justify your answer. 4. Is radical hypothetical intentionalism compatible with the constructivist conception of art? Justify your answer. 5. What are two ways to interpret an intentionalist approach to understanding art? Give examples to illustrate your answer. 6. Create your own critical thinking question and answer it. Your question should be about course material, and you should illustrate your answer with an example. Language for Careers Program 6