Art Theory and Visual Communication

Why does the French art not showcase modernity?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
More than that of any other of modern people, French art is a national expression. It epitomizes very definitely the national esthetic judgment and feeling, and its manifestations share a certain character that is very salient. Of almost any French picture or statue of any modern epoch one's first thought is that it is French. In the field of the fine arts, as in many others, the results are evident of an intellectual co-operation which insures the development of a common standard and tends to subordinate idiosyncrasy. The fine arts, as well as every other department of mental activity, reveal the effect of that intellectual as distinguished from the sensuous instinct which is so much more powerful in France than it is anywhere else. I think, one does feel the absence of imagination, opportunity, of spirituality, of poetry in a word. The French themselves feel something of this. At the Great Exposition of 1889 no pictures were so much admired by them as the English, in which appeared, even to an excessive degree, just the qualities in which French art is lacking.
Some French critics, far from denying this preference of French art, express pride in it, and, indeed, defend it. The French rooms, at least until modern periods are reached, are a demonstration that in the sphere of esthetics, science does not produce the greatest artists  — that something other than intelligent interest and technical accomplishment are requisite to that end, and that system is fatal to spontaneity. The French classical painters show little absorption, little delight in their subject. They are too cultivated to invent. Selection has taken the place of discovery in their inspiration. They are addicted to the rational and the regulated. Their substance is never sentimental and incommunicable. Their works have a distinctly professional air. Everywhere is the air of reserve, of intellectual good-breeding, of avoidance of extravagance. That French painting is at the head of contemporary painting, as far and away incontestably it is, is due to the fact that it alone has kept alive the traditions of art which, elsewhere than in France, have given place to other and more material ideals. From the first its practitioners have been artists rather than poets, have possessed, that is to say, the organizing rather than the imaginative temperament, but they have rarely been perfunctory and never common.
And one quality is always present: elegance; it is always evidently aimed at and measurably achieved. A refined and cultivated sense of what is sound, estimable, competent, reserved, satisfactory, up to the mark, and above all, elegant and distinguished — has been at once the arbiter and the stimulus of excellence in French painting. It is this which has made the France of the past three centuries, and especially the France of to-day.

All of the following are true of French art, except

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question.
More than that of any other of modern people, French art is a national expression. It epitomizes very definitely the national esthetic judgment and feeling, and its manifestations share a certain character that is very salient. Of almost any French picture or statue of any modern epoch one's first thought is that it is French. In the field of the fine arts, as in many others, the results are evident of an intellectual co-operation which insures the development of a common standard and tends to subordinate idiosyncrasy. The fine arts, as well as every other department of mental activity, reveal the effect of that intellectual as distinguished from the sensuous instinct which is so much more powerful in France than it is anywhere else. I think, one does feel the absence of imagination, opportunity, of spirituality, of poetry in a word. The French themselves feel something of this. At the Great Exposition of 1889 no pictures were so much admired by them as the English, in which appeared, even to an excessive degree, just the qualities in which French art is lacking.
Some French critics, far from denying this preference of French art, express pride in it, and, indeed, defend it. The French rooms, at least until modern periods are reached, are a demonstration that in the sphere of esthetics, science does not produce the greatest artists  — that something other than intelligent interest and technical accomplishment are requisite to that end, and that system is fatal to spontaneity. The French classical painters show little absorption, little delight in their subject. They are too cultivated to invent. Selection has taken the place of discovery in their inspiration. They are addicted to the rational and the regulated. Their substance is never sentimental and incommunicable. Their works have a distinctly professional air. Everywhere is the air of reserve, of intellectual good-breeding, of avoidance of extravagance. That French painting is at the head of contemporary painting, as far and away incontestably it is, is due to the fact that it alone has kept alive the traditions of art which, elsewhere than in France, have given place to other and more material ideals. From the first its practitioners have been artists rather than poets, have possessed, that is to say, the organizing rather than the imaginative temperament, but they have rarely been perfunctory and never common.
And one quality is always present: elegance; it is always evidently aimed at and measurably achieved. A refined and cultivated sense of what is sound, estimable, competent, reserved, satisfactory, up to the mark, and above all, elegant and distinguished — has been at once the arbiter and the stimulus of excellence in French painting. It is this which has made the France of the past three centuries, and especially the France of to-day.

Which of the following statements is true about the work of artist working in metal?

Directions: Read the following passage carefully and answer the question that follows.

The gallery named ‘Fifth Dimension’ was started by a young lady in 1978 and for about over 3 decades she has tried to work for the promotion of the young, upcoming and talented artists. Particularly, she has tried to promote the works in rather less explored media like sculpture and printmaking. It has been no less challenging experience for her. It is observed that the medium of sculpture has received comparatively less attention in the contemporary art than painting instead of sculpture for different reasons. However, sculpture has been an integral part of collection at ‘Fifth Dimension’. There are works in wood, terracotta, bronze, ceramic, stone and mixed media in its collection. Creations of Prabhu Katayal, an artist working with beaten and welded metal sheets finds a place in the collection. The themes of the works are mostly of mythical and lyrical nature. There is a sense of strength as well as lightness in his works. There are also works by a group of three artists who have been experimenting with ‘smooth against rough’ technique in granite. One of these artists works in a very interesting way of carving out facial forms with only one prominent feature like a finely rendered nose or mouth against a flat and rough ovoid face. Yet another sculptor who works in metal too has his share in the collection of the gallery. This sculptor’s work shows the influence of Chola bronzes i.e., the rich repository of cast-metal works carried out by the craftsmen during the Chola dynasty. Despite his leanings towards the traditional form of art, he has retained an abstract quality in his works.

Directions: The passage given below is followed by four alternative summaries. Choose the option that best captures the essence of the passage. Key in the number of the option you choose as your answer.

All art is the expression of experience in some medium. The experience is clothed in forms which appeal through the senses. Sculpture has for its medium stone and marble, painting colors, music sounds and poetry words. The relation between the experience and the medium is closer in some than in others, in poetry than in music, in painting than in sculpture. By means of the work of art, the experience is released afresh, in the spectator or the auditor. The enjoyer becomes a secret sharer of the creator’s mind.

Who deal(s) with the pictures?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question:

As every moron knows, an ad comprises words and pictures. The word component is the domain of the copywriter and the visuals, the Art person. Interestingly, although their combined creativity, skills and crafts went into the making/creation of this ad, they functioned separately. This meant that the copywriter wrote his stuff and handed it over to the art person - usually with some guidelines - who then proceeded to visualize it in an appropriate meaningful manner. But you also came from different social stratospheres. The copywriter, usually, came from a convent/public school background, was fluent in English and totally comfortable with both the command and nuances of the language.

How many components does an advertisement comprise?

Directions: Read the passage and answer the following question:

As every moron knows, an ad comprises words and pictures. The word component is the domain of the copywriter and the visuals, the Art person. Interestingly, although their combined creativity, skills and crafts went into the making/creation of this ad, they functioned separately. This meant that the copywriter wrote his stuff and handed it over to the art person - usually with some guidelines - who then proceeded to visualize it in an appropriate meaningful manner. But you also came from different social stratospheres. The copywriter, usually, came from a convent/public school background, was fluent in English and totally comfortable with both the command and nuances of the language.

The author cites the example of psychological laws of sight, for instance, the effects of colors or optical illusions in order to illustrate

Directions: This question is based on the following reading passage. Choose the best answer to the question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.

Art is visible. However, everything one sees is filtered through certain conditions, some of them historical, and others, natural. The historical conditions include the material, which is used — oil, colors, and the canvas; second, a certain style, i.e., a system of rules by which things visible are submitted a priori. There can be a general style, for example, the style of Impressionism, or a particular style, for example, the individual ways in which two painters, both impressionists, paint. The natural conditions include certain unchanging psychological laws of sight, for instance, the effects of colors or optical illusions.
The conditions of art are nothing but a particular way of interpreting reality. To understand this, one can examine the difference between the classical Greek and the classical Egyptian styles. For the Greeks, the reality of the visible was given by the perspective and the situation in which the object appears; for that reason they presented a person in his individual movements. For the Egyptians, however, this was only the appearance of a transitory moment, which, according to their beliefs, was not real. Therefore, the Egyptians searched for the permanent essence and the typical character in their depiction of an object. For the Egyptians, Greek art was an illusion; for the Greeks, on the other hand, Egyptian art was unrealistic constructivism.
The way in which reality appears in art must not be regarded on its own. It is affected by many other systems of recognizing reality, including the political, religious, economic, intellectual, and social — in short, all the phenomena of human life. Moreover, art is always of a certain epoch, with its particular conception of reality. Thus, when discussing, for example, the art of ancient myth, of medieval Christianity, or that of the technological age, one must be aware that myth, Christianity, or technology was the most salient feature of the epoch.
It is paradoxical to understand art as some kind of copy of the fields of experience connected with it. So, for example, it is meaningless for the work of art as such if one compares the landscape of a painting with the landscape, which served the artist as his model. Even if the artist had tried to make what he painted as similar as possible to the model he used, the landscape which he saw is only the matter from which something completely different emerges since he has submitted its view to the a priori conditions of art: namely to the material used (colors, canvas, etc.), to his style, and even to the fact that he paints on a flat surface. Thus one must contemplate a work of art by itself. Even if it is connected to other fields of experience it nevertheless displays something unique which appears in that piece of art and there alone.

The author mentions which of the following as one of the conditions through which art is seen?

Directions: This question is based on the following reading passage. Choose the best answer to the question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.

Art is visible. However, everything one sees is filtered through certain conditions, some of them historical, and others, natural. The historical conditions include the material, which is used — oil, colors, and the canvas; second, a certain style, i.e., a system of rules by which things visible are submitted a priori. There can be a general style, for example, the style of Impressionism, or a particular style, for example, the individual ways in which two painters, both impressionists, paint. The natural conditions include certain unchanging psychological laws of sight, for instance, the effects of colors or optical illusions.
The conditions of art are nothing but a particular way of interpreting reality. To understand this, one can examine the difference between the classical Greek and the classical Egyptian styles. For the Greeks, the reality of the visible was given by the perspective and the situation in which the object appears; for that reason they presented a person in his individual movements. For the Egyptians, however, this was only the appearance of a transitory moment, which, according to their beliefs, was not real. Therefore, the Egyptians searched for the permanent essence and the typical character in their depiction of an object. For the Egyptians, Greek art was an illusion; for the Greeks, on the other hand, Egyptian art was unrealistic constructivism.
The way in which reality appears in art must not be regarded on its own. It is affected by many other systems of recognizing reality, including the political, religious, economic, intellectual, and social — in short, all the phenomena of human life. Moreover, art is always of a certain epoch, with its particular conception of reality. Thus, when discussing, for example, the art of ancient myth, of medieval Christianity, or that of the technological age, one must be aware that myth, Christianity, or technology was the most salient feature of the epoch.
It is paradoxical to understand art as some kind of copy of the fields of experience connected with it. So, for example, it is meaningless for the work of art as such if one compares the landscape of a painting with the landscape, which served the artist as his model. Even if the artist had tried to make what he painted as similar as possible to the model he used, the landscape which he saw is only the matter from which something completely different emerges since he has submitted its view to the a priori conditions of art: namely to the material used (colors, canvas, etc.), to his style, and even to the fact that he paints on a flat surface. Thus one must contemplate a work of art by itself. Even if it is connected to other fields of experience it nevertheless displays something unique which appears in that piece of art and there alone.

According to the passage, classical Egyptians did not present a person in his individual movements

Directions: This question is based on the following reading passage. Choose the best answer to the question on the basis of what is stated or implied in the passage.

Art is visible. However, everything one sees is filtered through certain conditions, some of them historical, and others, natural. The historical conditions include the material, which is used — oil, colors, and the canvas; second, a certain style, i.e., a system of rules by which things visible are submitted a priori. There can be a general style, for example, the style of Impressionism, or a particular style, for example, the individual ways in which two painters, both impressionists, paint. The natural conditions include certain unchanging psychological laws of sight, for instance, the effects of colors or optical illusions.
The conditions of art are nothing but a particular way of interpreting reality. To understand this, one can examine the difference between the classical Greek and the classical Egyptian styles. For the Greeks, the reality of the visible was given by the perspective and the situation in which the object appears; for that reason they presented a person in his individual movements. For the Egyptians, however, this was only the appearance of a transitory moment, which, according to their beliefs, was not real. Therefore, the Egyptians searched for the permanent essence and the typical character in their depiction of an object. For the Egyptians, Greek art was an illusion; for the Greeks, on the other hand, Egyptian art was unrealistic constructivism.
The way in which reality appears in art must not be regarded on its own. It is affected by many other systems of recognizing reality, including the political, religious, economic, intellectual, and social — in short, all the phenomena of human life. Moreover, art is always of a certain epoch, with its particular conception of reality. Thus, when discussing, for example, the art of ancient myth, of medieval Christianity, or that of the technological age, one must be aware that myth, Christianity, or technology was the most salient feature of the epoch.
It is paradoxical to understand art as some kind of copy of the fields of experience connected with it. So, for example, it is meaningless for the work of art as such if one compares the landscape of a painting with the landscape, which served the artist as his model. Even if the artist had tried to make what he painted as similar as possible to the model he used, the landscape which he saw is only the matter from which something completely different emerges since he has submitted its view to the a priori conditions of art: namely to the material used (colors, canvas, etc.), to his style, and even to the fact that he paints on a flat surface. Thus one must contemplate a work of art by itself. Even if it is connected to other fields of experience it nevertheless displays something unique which appears in that piece of art and there alone.

The reference to the ‘impressionable nature’ of young children is to suggest that

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows:

Designing toys for children is challenging yet stimulating. Considering the low attention span of today’s kids, toys with higher play value are able to engage them longer. Young minds are also quite impressionable. So, toy design has to be conscious about ethics and values and also aid their cognitive, physical, emotional and social skills. But above all, fun is the primary objective of play. Fun is what makes them come back for more, makes them learn and remember. Another crucial factor is eco-friendliness.
Some of the best pro-environment design processes can actually be found in the Indian handicrafts industry. One such example is the lathe-turned toy craft of Channapatna, a town near Bengaluru. The age old craft uses wood and colours made completely from natural materials like turmeric, kumkum, indigo, etc. Creating modern designs based on such conventional techniques opens up a new range of products that are unique, educational and organic.

Directions: Which sentence is different in context from the others?

(I) In general, the term abstract art is used to describe new movements and techniques in plastic arts in the 20^th century. (II) The underlying principle of this art is that it is not the subject at all but form and colour which really possess aesthetic value. (III) Obviously, we cannot disregard the fact that the vitality of art throughout history is closely bound up with some form of religion. (IV) Most art historians suggest that the Impressionists, especially Cezanne, can be considered to be the pioneers of this art. (V) Also, there are some who strongly argue that the origins of abstract art are to be sought in the designs of primitive people as well as folk art.