Study Guide

Field 030: Fine Arts—Visual Arts
Sample Multiple-Choice Questions

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Objective 0001
The Elements and Principles of Art (Standard 1)

1. Mixing the colors blue and red in equal proportion will produce which of the following hues?

  1. maroon
  2. violet
  3. orange
  4. brown
Answer
Correct Response: B.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of the characteristics and qualities of the elements and principles of art. Blue and red are primary colors. Mixing primary colors results in secondary colors. Violet is the secondary color that results from mixing blue and red in equal proportion.
Objective 0001
The Elements and Principles of Art (Standard 1)

2. Use the reproduction below to answer the question that follows.


The use of shape to represent the features of the mask is best described in which of the following ways?

  1. naturalistic
  2. ornate
  3. stylized
  4. unbalanced
Answer
Correct Response: C.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of ways in which the elements and principles of art are used to achieve specific effects, communicate ideas, or solve problems in given works of art. The mask appears to depict a human face but the face is not rendered in a realistic manner. Rather, its shape is abstract and stylized, with a long face and nose, and tiny eyes.
Objective 0001
The Elements and Principles of Art (Standard 1)

3. Use the reproduction below to answer the question that follows.


The use of line in the building's design achieves primarily which of the following effects?

  1. creating a sense of dynamic movement
  2. drawing the viewer's eye toward the sky
  3. communicating a sense of rigid formality
  4. depicting a smooth implied texture
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of ways in which the elements and principles of art are used to achieve specific effects, communicate ideas, or solve problems in given works of art. Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest, features a long gently curving contour line that creates a visual sense of movement. But the almost haphazard steel lattice work that darts here and there along the body of the building creates a dynamic sense of energy and movement.
Objective 0002
Media, Tools, Techniques, and Processes (Standard 2)

4. According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), informational safety sheets must be present in art rooms that contain which of the following safety risks?

  1. bladed machinery
  2. hazardous chemicals
  3. loud noises
  4. heat-producing tools
Answer
Correct Response: B.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of safety and health issues related to the use of media, tools, techniques, and processes in drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, architecture, fiber arts, mixed media, jewelry, electronic media, and photography. According to OSHA, informational safety sheets must be present in art rooms that contain hazardous chemicals.
Objective 0002
Media, Tools, Techniques, and Processes (Standard 2)

5. Use the reproduction below to answer the question that follows.


The strong contrast of dark and light in the work exemplifies which of the following painting techniques?

  1. impasto
  2. sgraffito
  3. plein air
  4. tenebrism
Answer
Correct Response: D.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of ways in which particular media, tools, techniques, and processes affect meaning or expression in drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, architecture, fiber arts, mixed media, jewelry, electronic media, and photography. Bright light on parts of the figure's garments and skin contrasts strongly with the dark background of the composition. Such contrast of light and dark is characteristic of tenebrism, a technique introduced by Caravaggio during the Renaissance.
Objective 0002
Media, Tools, Techniques, and Processes (Standard 2)

6.Use the reproduction below to answer the question that follows.

The use of which of the following camera filters most likely contributed to the vivid color of the sky in the photograph?

  1. UV
  2. diffusion
  3. polarizing
  4. neutral density
Answer
Correct Response: C.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of the characteristics and uses of media, tools, techniques, and processes in drawing, painting, printmaking, ceramics, sculpture, architecture, fiber arts, mixed media, jewelry, electronic media, and photography. Polarizing filters are used to filter out reflections and glare. In the photograph, the blues in the sky are pure and vivid because the polarizing filter diminished polarized light waves that would otherwise have reduced the color saturation of the sky.
Objective 0003
Art in Context (Standard 3)

7. Use the reproduction below to answer the question that follows.


Which of the following aspects of the painting is most characteristic of paintings created in the Mannerist style?

  1. the elongated proportions of the central figures
  2. the deeply saturated monochromatic hues
  3. the figures crowded on the left side of the composition
  4. the illusion of depth established by aerial perspective
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of significant art movements and their development throughout history. Mannerism was a style of painting during the late Renaissance. The Mannerist style of painting featured eccentric treatment of subject matter and themes, clashing colors, and elongated proportions of figures.
Objective 0003
Art in Context (Standard 3)

8. Italian Baroque art developed primarily for which of the following purposes?

  1. stimulating interest in the church
  2. communicating the need for social justice
  3. entertaining wealthy merchants
  4. celebrating the architectural styles of classical antiquity
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of ways in which artworks from various cultures of Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania, the Americas, and Europe relate to their historical, political, social, and cultural contexts. Italian Baroque art developed during the Counter Reformation period in Europe when the Catholic Church sought to regain influence and constituents it had lost during the Protestant Reformation. The church tried to attract practitioners through sensual, awe-inspiring artworks.
Objective 0003
Art in Context (Standard 3)

9. Use the reproduction below to answer the question that follows.

The artwork is most characteristic of art from which of the following cultures?

  1. New England during the colonial era
  2. Rome during the Roman Republic
  3. England during the Middle Ages
  4. Turkey during the Ottoman era
Answer
Correct Response: D.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of styles and distinguishing characteristics of art from various cultures of Africa, the Middle East, Asia, Oceania, the Americas, and Europe. Turkish carpets created during the Ottoman era feature the floral designs and patterns seen here that are characteristic of Islamic art throughout the world. The carpet also features two floral columns within a central shape that forms the outline of a mihrab, a prayer niche typical of mosques.
Objective 0004
The Integrative Nature of Visual Arts, and Visual Arts Careers (Standard 4)

10. Which of the following components of Gothic cathedrals would be useful to study in a physics class because it was designed to support outward force?

  1. flying buttress
  2. portal
  3. stained glass window
  4. clerestory
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of the role of visual arts as a critical element in learning across all disciplines. In Gothic architecture, flying buttresses are exterior half arches that support the outward thrust of the roof or interior vaults of cathedrals. Studying flying buttresses would help students understand concepts of physics such as thrust, force, and mass.
Objective 0004
The Integrative Nature of Visual Arts, and Visual Arts Careers (Standard 4)

11. A student has a knack for communicating and working with people who have limited knowledge of art, enjoys designing installations, and is skilled in the use of electronic databases. Which of the following visual arts-related careers would best match the student's strengths and interests?

  1. corporate curator
  2. art librarian
  3. auction house expert
  4. art professor
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of skills and educational requirements for various visual arts-related careers. Corporate curators acquire artworks and display them in corporate offices. They also keep track of corporate collections. Because of these job responsibilities, corporate curators need to have a knack for working with people who have a limited knowledge of art, they need to be skilled at and enjoy installing art, and they need to have skills in using electronic databases. The latter is important for keeping track of collections.
Objective 0005
Aesthetics and Art Criticism (Standard 5)

12. Use the critical reviews below of an Amy Sillman painting to answer the question that follows.

Review 1

Sillman incorporates rounded shapes and bright colors against a white background, giving the central design the appearance of a baby rattle and the overall work a sense of lightheartedness.

Review 2

Sillman's imaginary world is refreshing and uplifting. She treats an earth shape like it's an inflated beach ball. The work is unapologetically free of guile, a playful and delightful treat.

Compared with the first review, the second review places greater emphasis on which of the following components of art criticism?

  1. evaluation
  2. analysis
  3. interpretation
  4. description
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of describing, analyzing, interpreting, and evaluating works of visual art. Art criticism generally consists of four stages: description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation. Evaluation is the last stage. Evaluating artworks means judging them for their artistic value. The evaluation stage of art criticism is most likely to sound like a judgment or opinion. Review 2 evaluates Sillman's work positively, calling it "refreshing and uplifting," and "a playful and delightful treat."
Objective 0005
Aesthetics and Art Criticism (Standard 5)

13. Definitions of art in the twentieth and twenty-first centuries have gradually devalued primarily which of the following concepts or ideas?

  1. technical skill
  2. beauty
  3. artist agency
  4. abstraction
Answer
Correct Response: B.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of definitions of art. The rise of Modernism in the early twentieth century ushered in a new approach to artmaking and art criticism. Modernists sought new forms of expression and rejected the notion that art had to be beautiful. Definitions of art have continued to devalue beauty for beauty's sake into the twenty-first century.
Objective 0006
Visual Arts Instruction and Assessment (Standard 7)

14. According to the Indiana Academic Standards for Visual Arts, which of the following grades is most appropriate for students to create tie-dye works of fiber art?

  1. Kindergarten
  2. Grade 2
  3. Grade 5
  4. Grade 8
Answer
Correct Response: D.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of the Indiana Academic Standards for Visual Arts. According to the Indiana Academic Standards for Visual Arts, tie-dye is a recommended medium and process "appropriate for a grade band of Grade 6 through Grade 8."
Objective 0006
Visual Arts Instruction and Assessment (Standard 7)

15. Which of the following instructional strategies would most help students understand that artworks are often characteristic of the cultures in which they are created?

  1. having students read about the history of ancient Greece before studying Mycenaean pottery iconography
  2. providing students with a photograph of the Taj Mahal and asking them to make a clay maquette of it
  3. having students paint with oil paints to better understand the media used by Renaissance painters
  4. providing students with a reproduction of an African mask and asking them to sketch their emotional responses to it
Answer
Correct Response: A.
This question requires the examinee to demonstrate knowledge of instructional strategies and resources for promoting student understanding of concepts and skills related to visual arts. Reading about the history of ancient Greece will give students a good foundational understanding of that culture so that when they study Mycenaean pottery iconography they will better be able to see the connection between art creation and the cultures in which art is created.