Midterm Guide (Medium Answers)

Question A:

You guys came up with a number of good ways of relating the subplots, including aesthetics, the fickleness of love, and the idea of making or fashioning people/things... the weaker answers ignored my plea to analyze "thematically or conceptually" rather than focusing on plot.

8 of 18 answered this question for an average score of 16.3 out of 20. The following answer is by no means flawless, but it received 20 out of 20.

A Midsummer Night's Dream has three overlapping subplots to make the story more confusing so the reader can take part in the ever changing love triangles. Shakespeare included many different forms of love as the play was originally intended to be performed at a wedding. Theseus & Hippolyta symbolize a forced love, Oberon & Titania a jealous love, and Hermia and Lysander represent true love. Although the mechanicals do not have an apparent love interest, their group presents the audience with brotherly love which can be [intuited] when the craftsmen are depressed when Bottom disappeared. These groups are important to express different formations of love, which could have been included to make a point about how love should be reformed in Shakespeare's time period, when arranged marriages were more common. The three subplots relate together by their incorporation of love, which makes the plot all the more confusing for the reader to follow, just as the characters are endlessly confused throughout the play with the help of fairy interference and love potions.

Question B:

It was difficult to answer this question in a satisfactory way without making some reference to Aristotlean style cultivation of virtue, or to humanism, though some of you managed to approach this in a more general way by talking about life experience. The better answers were grounded in actual statements by Alberti, though some (weaker) answers discussed istoria, composition etc. while avoiding answering the question about humanity and affability. There's no excuse for dodging the question if I give it to you ahead of time.

10 of 18 answered this question for an average score of 16.8 out of 20. The following answer is by no means flawless, but it received 20 out of 20.

Alberti advised the painters to "take from nature that which [they] wish to paint." He meant to include painting in humanistic studies becausd he believed that music, mathematics, etc. improved the soul, and that painting did too. His technique in painting was to use geometry to make the painting look as realistic as possible. Using geometry would improve perspective and an improved perspective would result in a realistic painting. If the painting was realistic enough, it would "hold the eyes and the soul" of the audience. Just the technique would benefit the painter. But the "benevolence of the citizens" would do more good to the painter than his skill alone because then he would have a firm guard against povertly. This benevolence could only be achieved if the painter had an approachable personality. Alberti wanted the painter to develop good habits like humanity and affability by associating with poets and rhetoricians who had a broad knowledge about everything. They would give his painting the... istoria which could help him relate his work to the audience and engage their souls as well as their eyes.

Question C:

The better answers were able to link the historical moment to multiple artistic developments (such as expressionism, dada, bauhaus, etc.) For those who are still confusing the working class with the middle class, or the upper class with the "bourgeoisie" (middle class), you really need to see me in office hours... you've really missed the boat.

9 of 18 answered this question for an average score of 16.4 out of 20. The following answer is by no means flawless (there is a mistake in assuming these new styles of art met with instant popular approval, as Moeller's articles about the Nazis show), but it received 20 out of 20.

Art, like politics, can be shifted dramatically according to the will of the people. If people are unhappy with their government, they will revolt to change it; likewise their forms of expression, or art, will follow suit. After World War I, the concept of communism began to flood into the minds of the German working class; a classless society of equal distribution appealed to them ideologically. Rejecting the notion of the upper classes, they began to express their discontent publically. This discontent was brought about by a disillusionment with the nation, with its ailing economy... and its loss in the war. As such, new forms of expression, along with the rejection of old forms, started to formulate. Art was meant to be enjoyed by the bourgeoisie, a depiction of an idyllic life as seen in impressionist paintings, with relaxing backgrounds and such and such. However, the working class decided that art should be brought into their hands, and many new art forms emerged to express this mentality. The Dadaists believed that art was a weapon, utilizing photomontage to gather support for their cause. Meanwhile, the Bauhaus movement declared that art should be reintegrated with crafstmanship, producing cheap, easily reproducible art for the working classes. The Weimar Renaissance, brought on by the new Weimar Republic in 1918, shows that the affiars of the nation are related to art, as modes of expression change with the state of the nation.

Question D:

It seemed as if some of you understood the propaganda function of photomontage better, and some understood the purely dadaist function better (nonsense, undermining traditional ideas, etc.) But some did pretty well with both. Examples were helpful too. I was a bit disappointed to see that very few mentioned the dadaists as being humorous or satirical.

9 of 18 answered this question for an average score of 16.3 out of 20. The following answer is by no means flawless, but it received 16.2 out of 20.

Some photomontage is good dadaism because it effectively depicts the chaos and disorder that is plaguing the Weimar Republic. For example, John Heartfield's early photomontages and Hannah Hoch's "Cut with Kitchen Knife" demonstrate through the use of abstraction the state of Germany following the war and economic struggles. Both artists are able to use dadaist photomontage to present the dadaist point of view and be critical of the Weimar Republic and the war. Some photomontage is good communist propaganda because it criticizes the enemies of the communists. For instance, Heartfield's photomontages about the "Heil Hitler" support the communist cause in mocking Hitler and attacking the Nazis. The difference between the photomontages, then, is the relative ease and clarity with which the works present their arguments. The communist propaganda were generally more blatant in their messages, whereas the dadaist photomontages looked like chaos before looking like a messsage.

Question E:

Weaker answers said that something wasn't art but didn't really explain why;
this question was really a definition in reverse. Thus several theories of art emerged in your answers: expressive, representational, technical, and purposive/rhetorical, to name a few.

4 of 18 answered this question for an average score of 16.5 out of 20. The following answer is by no means flawless, but it received 18 out of 20.

Racecar driving is not an art because it does not require any expression. Although there are techniques required to drive keenly and safely, it does not serve a purpose other than the race itself. To me, art is something that can be defined in different ways depending on who is producing it. Like Alberti, I believe that art is something that demonstrates an end; and that end must be related to what that artist believes in. In a way, art is political. Whether it is done intentionally or unintentionally, the art is very much influenced by the experiences and ideas of the artists. A racecar cannot demonstrate a driver's experiences or ideas. He cannot drive slow, even if he is innately a calm, mellow driver. He will lose if he decides to go with his instincts. In racecar driving, a driver may go against what he believes in (it might be safety, not crashing into other cars) to win the race. Other types of sports such as basketball or gold are more artistic than racecar driving because a player can express his style more distinctly.

Question E:

This question was rather broad, so examples were useful. Some of you gave examples that didn't fit very well with the point you were making, though.

14 of 18 answered this question for an average score of 14.4 out of 20. The following answer is by no means flawless, but it received 20 out of 20.

Makers are not always doers. Even though Professor Moeller seems to believe that makers are always doing something. Ever heard of "art for art's sake"? Well that is definitely not "doing" something. I think of doing as helpful toward others, philanthropic, or like an action. A good example of an artist who is not doing that is Monet. Yeah, he painted some great landscapes. Yeah, he used this crazy new technique that is really pretty. OK, his art is still sold around the world. What does the art do? What did Monet do with his art? He didn't do anything. He made paintings for the sake of putting a brush to canvas. I use painting as an example because most other forms of art are making and doing. A culinary artist makes food that's purpose is to feed people. (I guess nobody really eats those fancy watermelon swans.) A building "maker" is doing something for the people that will need the building. Makers can be doers, but they are not ALWAYS the same.