20th Century Art Trivia

1. What artist created a picture of a muscleman pointing a giant tootsie pop at a semi-nude woman on a couch?

From Quiz Pop Art and Minimalism

Answer: Richard Hamilton

Richard Hamilton created "Just what is it that makes today's homes so different, so appealing?" in 1956. There are numerous historical references to be found throughout the picture. Richard Hamilton was an admirer of Marcel Duchamp.

From Quiz Contemporary Art and Artists

Answer: Dan Flavin

There is a museum dedicated to him in Bridgehampton, New York.

From Quiz Pin-Up Girls & the Art of Illustration

Answer: glamour art and pretty girl

The most well known of the three categories, the pin-up was a full length view of the model, generally with a slight narrative tone to it, and of course, the model was dressed in form-revealing clothing, if dressed at all. Glamour art did not require a full-length view of the model, and as the name suggests, the women were generally dressed in eveningwear. A pretty girl was a either glamour art or a pin-up created by a mainstream illustrator as opposed to someone who worked solely in the pin-up genre.

From Quiz Cubist!

Answer: Pablo Picasso

Cubism as an art movement is characterised by a radical approach to representation, breaking down objects into geometric shapes and reassembling them into abstract forms. This technique allows multiple perspectives to be depicted simultaneously, challenging traditional notions of perspective. "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" by Pablo Picasso (1881-1973), a Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, ceramicist and stage designer, is considered a groundbreaking work that marks the beginning of Cubism, although the term was not yet in use. The painting depicts five naked prostitutes from a Barcelona brothel, rendered in a fragmented, angular style. This work is often regarded as the first Cubist painting because of its challenge to conventional representations of space and form. Picasso's radical departure from traditional perspective and use of mask-like faces introduced a new visual language. The development of the painting involved numerous sketches and studies, reflecting Picasso's exploration of different compositional elements and influences. "Les Demoiselles d'Avignon" also marks Picasso's break with traditional Western depictions of the female nude, incorporating influences from African and Oceanic art that he encountered in Parisian ethnographic museums. The painting is now part of the collection of the Museum of Modern Art (MoMA) in New York City.

From Quiz Semi-Abstract and Purely Abstract

Answer: Mondrian

Mondrian was a Dutch artist who helped found the De Stijl movement.

From Quiz Gaga on Dada

Answer: Tristan Tzara

This European poet was the main driving force behind the movement.

From Quiz Modern Art Potpourri

Answer: Susan Rothenberg

Marisol did some hobby horses, but she was certainly not a minimalist.

From Quiz The Fascinating World of Modern Art

Answer: Stained glass

When I think of Chagall's work I imagine people floating above odd looking landscapes, something like a dream. In fact, Chagall's often bizarre paintings were often inspired by dreams. I sometimes consider his work to be even more surreal than the work of the self-named Surrealists...

From Quiz Modern Art Questions

Answer: Art and Language

From Quiz Modern Art

Answer: lights

From Quiz Random Modern Art Questions

Answer: Douglas

Aaron Douglas...the father of modern African American art.

From Quiz Modern Art - Painting to Painter

Answer: Salvador Dali

From Quiz 20th Century Art

Answer: Pittsburgh

His parents were emigrants from the former Austro-Hungarian empire; his father emigrated in 1914 before the dissolution of the dual monarchy, and his mother followed later in 1921.

From Quiz Bad Modern Art

Answer: Disumbrationism

Paul Jordan-Smith was a journalist who took offense that some of his artist wife's still life paintings had been panned by critics as "too realistic", so he did what any man would do: grabbing a few tubes of paint and an old brush, he whipped out a painting of a bare-breasted native woman holding something in her hand. According to Jordan-Smith it was supposed to be a starfish, but ended up looking more like a bunch of bananas (here it should be noted that Jordan-Smith had neither artistic training nor natural talent). So he called it "Yes, We Have No Bananas" (after a popular song of the day), and submitted it to the New York Exhibition of the Independents under the name "Pavel Jerdanowitch." The critics raved about the painting (which was terrible beyond description), and soon the world was clamoring for more work by Pavel Jerdanowitch. So Jordan-Smith kept cranking out paintings, each more awful than the one preceding it. He even invented a biography for Jerdanowitch, stating he had been born in Russia and and had studied at the Chicago Art Institute. He called his style "disumbrationism," because he couldn't figure out how to paint shadows ("umbra" is Latin for shadow). He published fictitious interviews with the equally fictitious Jerdanowitch, in which he expounded on the philosophy of "disumbrationism." And he kept this up for four years, without arousing the suspicions of anyone in the artistic community! One of his paintings, "Aspiration", which showed a black woman doing laundry, was even included in a prestigious reference work, "The Golden Book of Modern Art". In a pamphlet prepared for a 1928 exhibition at Boston's famous Vose Galleries, the artist explained that: "The entire painting affords a marvelous illustration of the law of dynamic symmetry; everything directs the eye of the beholder towards the central symbol, so that at first we are like the washer woman (who stares at the cosmic rooster: this is why the painting is called 'Aspiration') and fail to notice the hand of greed reaching for her purse." Eventually Jordan-Smith tired of the joke, and confessed to being a fraud. This created something of a cause célèbre in the art world; the critics eventually decided that they had not been fooled at all, and that Jordan-Smith was a natural genius who had actually created great art while attempting to create bad art. It's hard to argue with reasoning like that.

From Quiz Pop Art and Minimalism

Answer: Donald Judd

Those green boxes are really green lacquer on galvanized iron. Donald Judd was the creator of the work, which was dubbed "Untitled."

From Quiz Cubist!

Answer: Georges Braque

The name "Cubism" was coined in 1908 by the art critic Louis Vauxcelles, who described George Braque's landscapes as being composed of "cubes". Braque (1882-1963) was a French painter, collagist, draughtsman, printmaker and sculptor. His work is known for its monochrome palette and fragmented forms. He painted primarily in Paris, where he was influenced by and contributed to the avant-garde art scene. "Violin and Candlestick" is a classic example of Analytical Cubism, in which objects are broken down into geometric shapes and depicted from multiple perspectives. Braque's meticulous arrangement of intersecting planes and muted colours creates a complex, abstract composition. The subject of the painting, a violin and candlestick, is rendered almost unrecognisable, underlining the Cubist emphasis on form over representation. Braque's process involved extensive preliminary drawings and studies, experimenting with different ways of deconstructing and reassembling the objects. "Violin and Candlestick" is on view at the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA), one of the largest museums of modern and contemporary art in the United States.

From Quiz Semi-Abstract and Purely Abstract

Answer: Ryman

Robert Ryman isn't so philosophical about his paintings, but questions rather 'how to paint'...

From Quiz Gaga on Dada

Answer: Apollinaire, Breton

Many of their works fall in the Dada-Surrealist mode.

From Quiz Modern Art Potpourri

Answer: 'Art is useless, go home.'

'L'art est inutile rentrez chez vous' Somehow, I don't think he really felt this way. Then again, maybe he did!

From Quiz Modern Art Questions

Answer: Jennifer Bartlett

From Quiz Modern Art

Answer: Edward Steichen

From Quiz Random Modern Art Questions

Answer: Motherwell

From Quiz More Modern Art Randomness

Answer: Gustav Klimt

From Quiz Modern Art - Painting to Painter

Answer: Georges Seurat

From Quiz 20th Century Art

Answer: Robert Rauschenberg

It took him two months.

From Quiz Bad Modern Art

Answer: A rock

It's just a rock. Or, to be more precise, a 340 ton granite boulder. Now, mind you, while Heizer didn't actually do anything to the rock, he did find it, so that alone should be an adequate testament to his artistic genius. It's not clear how much Heizer pocketed from the deal; most of the costs were involved in transporting the rock some 63 miles from Jurupa Valley to Los Angeles; the rock itself cost "only" $70,000. The rock is mounted on the walls of a 456-foot long concrete trench, and people can walk underneath it. Some of us without the delicate sensibilities to appreciate the magnitude of this achievement can turn to the experts for enlightenment. For example, Michael Govan, the CEO of the museum, went on record as saying: "To me, it's better than the ancient sculptures because it's not about the power of the gods. It's a monument of our time and of our own place." Well, Michelangelo moved a lot of big rocks around, too, so there's not that much difference between him and Heizer, except that Michelangelo had such an inflated ego that he actually thought that he could improve upon what nature had already created.

From Quiz Pop Art and Minimalism

Answer: Roy Lichtenstein

When Roy Lichtenstein passed away in 1997 the art world mourned. Roy loved the comics. So many of his works, while appearing simplistic creations, were really quite difficult to develop. My favorite Lichtenstein is "Torpedo....Los!" which was created in 1963.

From Quiz Pin-Up Girls & the Art of Illustration

Answer: 1887

1867 marked the birth of Charles Dana Gibson, who died in 1944. In 1900 "Collier's" magazine offered Gibson $100,000 over a period of four years to create one hundred centrefold drawings. Gibson also created the "Gibson Man", the first male pin-up, who often appeared in illustrations with the "Gibson Girl".

From Quiz Cubist!

Answer: Juan Gris

Juan Gris (1887-1927) was a Spanish painter and sculptor closely associated with Cubism. Gris's work is known for its clarity, precision and use of vivid colour and texture. He is considered to be one of the most consistent Cubist artists, contributing significantly to the Synthetic phase of the movement. Gris worked primarily in France, where he was influenced by and contributed to the Parisian avant-garde scene. "Harlequin with Guitar" is an example of Gris's mastery of Synthetic Cubism. The painting depicts the harlequin, a popular figure in European art and theatre, deconstructed into geometric shapes and vibrant colours. Gris's structured composition and playful use of pattern reflect his innovative approach to Cubist principles. His process involved assembling cut paper and other materials, which he then translated into his paintings. This technique allowed him to experiment with texture and form, resulting in a harmonious blend of abstraction and representation. This painting is part of the collection of the Museo Reina Sofía in Madrid, which houses a wide range of modern and contemporary art.

From Quiz Gaga on Dada

Answer: Oppenheim

Meret Oppenheim's 'Luncheon in Fur' was the template for all the art objects to follow.

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