What Is Aesthetic Value?

MULTIPLE CHOICE

1. Which of the following is an example of an aesthetic object?

a.
a beautiful painting
b.
a disgusting piece of rotting fruit
c.
a sink full of dishes that need to be washed
d.
a rock caught in one’s shoe

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 297

2. The difference between aesthetics and philosophy of art is

a.
aesthetics only deals with artistic creations and philosophy of art deals with anything beautiful.
b.
aesthetics only considers natural objects and philosophy of art only deals with created objects.
c.
aesthetics deals with all pleasing perceptions and philosophy of art deals with what is the nature of art.
d.
aesthetics deals with questions about how to create art and philosophy of art deals with art that has already been created.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 297

3. That which makes an object pleasing to the eye is

a.
goodness.
b.
beauty.
c.
truth.
d.
aesthetics.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 297

4. Philosophy of art focuses on questions such as

a.
“what is a beautiful object?”.
b.
“what is the nature of art?”.
c.
“what makes a person beautiful?”.
d.
“how can everyone create art?”.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 297

5. Pragmatism is

a.
an idealistic philosophy.
b.
a philosophy that grounds theory in lived experience.
c.
a philosophy that focuses on abstract concepts.
d.
the idea that all art belongs in museums.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 298

6. By experience, Dewey means

a.
learning something.
b.
an encounter with the divine.
c.
interaction between a living creature and its environment.
d.
any aesthetic experience.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 299

7. “An experience” is different than experience because

a.
experience always becomes “an” experience.
b.
“an experience” needs an explanation in order to be understood.
c.
“an experience” is self-sufficient.
d.
experience is self-sufficient.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 299

8. What Dewey means by “the consummating phase of every developing integral experience” is

a.
what is most important in “an experience” is the conclusion.
b.
what is most important in “an experience” is what leads to the conclusion.
c.
that humans are different than animals because we reach conclusions.
d.
that part of the satisfaction of a conclusion are the pieces that lead to the conclusion and form “an experience.”

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: p. 300

9. “An experience” has its own

a.
esthetic quality.
b.
artistic quality.
c.
truth from God.
d.
meaning in every situation.

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 300

10. The connection between the words “artistic” and “esthetic” is

a.
neither requires intelligence.
b.
both require an understanding of the relationship between what has been done, what comes next, and completion.
c.
both are inferior to scientific thought.
d.
both distort experience.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 304

11. Esthetic perception is

a.
a rare experience.
b.
unpleasant.
c.
due to the completion and link between the parts of an activity or object.
d.
a reflection of a single part of an activity of object.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 305

12. According to Dewey, recognition is

a.
a more complex process than perception.
b.
the beginning of perception.
c.
more difficult to achieve than perception.
d.
something that allows us to understand esthetic experience.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 306

13. Nochlin believes that art history has been shaped by

a.
objective criteria that distinguishes great art from good art and bad art
b.
criteria from many cultures around the world.
c.
the white, Western male viewpoint
d.
criteria developed over many centuries of great art

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 308

14. The following is NOT one of the reasons that Nochlin gives to answer the question, “Why have there been no great women artists?”

a.
Women’s art is as good as men’s art, it’s just less appreciated
b.
The belief that some people are just born with the genius to be a Great Artist
c.
The myth of the Great Artist
d.
Women have been systematically deprived of the opportunity to train to be a Great Artist

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 311-314

15. Nochlin uses the example of nude models to illustrate that

a.
Aesthetic taste changes over time
b.
Men and women have been trained to depict the human body by studying, painting, and drawing male and female nude models
c.
Only male nudes were used in art schools to train budding artists.
d.
Women have systematically been deprived of opportunities to become great artists.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 314-317

16. Wabi is a Japanese word that means

a.
success.
b.
poverty.
c.
wealth.
d.
despair.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 320

17. Sabi is a Japanese word that means

a.
wealth.
b.
success.
c.
solitude.
d.
health.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 320

18. According to Daisetz T. Suzuki, the “one-corner” style and “thrifty brush” tradition illustrate

a.
the way in which the Japanese have rejected aesthetics
b.
the spirit of Zen through the simple images portrayed.
c.
the symmetry of Japanese art.
d.
the values of Japanese art and Western art.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 319

19. According to Suzuki, the Japanese art values asymmetry because

a.
the Zen monks want to remind people of the mastery of God over human lives.
b.
it inspires notions of grace, solemnity, and impressiveness.
c.
symmetry is an oppressive view pushed on them by the West.
d.
it inspires the Zen view that individual things are perfect in themselves.

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: p. 322

20. A group of interrelated attitudes, beliefs, and concepts about what is real, valuable, and important is

a.
the subject of art.
b.
an ideology.
c.
a philosophy.
d.
an aesthetic ideal.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 323

21. Andy Warhol’s Brillo Box led art to “turn to philosophy” because nothing but theory can explain

a.
why everything in a supermarket became art.
b.
the difference between Warhol’s Brillo Box as art and the Brillo Box in a supermarket.
c.
why conceptual art is now the only kind of art that is actually considered art.
d.
how Warhol installed his art in unusual places such as supermarkets.

ANS: B PTS: 1 REF: p. 324

22. According to Danto, “pressing against boundaries” made a “general philosophy of art” possible because

a.
artists typically relied on modern art to understand art.
b.
there was no longer a distinction between kinds of art.
c.
as artists pressed against boundaries, the boundaries fell away.
d.
artists were no longer able to support themselves creating art.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 325

23. Danto argues that which of the following is a mark of contemporary art?

a.
plurality of intention and realization
b.
a liberal political purpose
c.
a conservative political purpose
d.
establishing boundaries in the art world

ANS: A PTS: 1 REF: p. 325

24. According to Hicks, which of the following features of performance art is NOT linked to postmodernism?

a.
Works are anonymous.
b.
Works may be collaborative.
c.
Works are permanent and cannot be changed.
d.
Works are dependent upon the participation a politicized audience.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 327

25. The art described by Hicks is different than postmodern art because

a.
these artists don’t want a large audience to view their work.
b.
these artists are pop stars.
c.
it gets media coverage and reaches large audiences.
d.
it deals with universal themes such as truth and beauty.

ANS: C PTS: 1 REF: p. 328

26. The art described by Hicks has which goal that is distinct from the goals of postmodern art?

a.
Their goal is the creation of universal truth.
b.
Their goal is to create a new government.
c.
Their goal is to create art that challenges boundaries.
d.
Their goal is the transformation of social conditions.

ANS: D PTS: 1 REF: p. 329

TRUE/FALSE

1. The word aesthetics comes from Greek and means “art.”

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 297

2. In the Mexican and Chicano art worlds, politics does not play a role in performance art.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 328

3. Dewey believed that genuine art appreciation only happens in museums.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 298

4. Emotion can provide unity and an esthetic character to experience.

a. True

b. False

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: p. 300

5. “Esthetic” refers to experience as appreciative.

a. True

b. False

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: p. 305

6. An artist is successful if he or she completes a project, regardless of whether or not the form of the whole is present in each part of the process of completing a work.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 301

7. Nochlin believes that there is a meta-historical perspective that art historians use to view art.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 308

8. According to Nochlin, many women should be considered Great Artists

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 307-314

9. According to Nochlin, the Great Artist is produced by social conditions.

a. True

b. False

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: p. 308-314

10. Wabi, which means “poverty” in Japanese, is not an aesthetic value in Japanese culture.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 319

11. Sabi means solitude.

a. True

b. False

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: p. 320

12. Suzuki believes that the Japanese find asymmetry beautiful because the people have been morally trained not to be obtrusive but always to efface themselves, and this mental habit of self-annihilation manifests itself accordingly in art.

a. True

b. False

ANS: F PTS: 1 REF: p. 321

13. Asymmetry is characteristic of Japanese art.

a. True

b. False

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: p. 323

14. Postmodern art is a style of art that self-consciously moves beyond modernist art.

a. True

b. False

ANS: T PTS: 1 REF: p. 323

15. Danto believes it is easier to live in a world without boundaries than with boundaries.