Question

1. Please give your interpretation of President Lyndon Johnson's statement at the founding of the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in 1965. Based on your reading of the "Introduction," what would you say are the basic functions of art? Basically, what is the impact of art on our lives?

3. On which mystical site does Mexico City stand today?

4. Describe El Castillo, the ancient Maya city.

5. What are pictographs?

6. What is America's largest Native population?

7. Name two contemporary artists who have used iconic signs and symbols excerpted from Amerind art.

8. Name the most widely recognized and foremost portrait artist of the new nation.

9. Describe Edward Savage's The Washington Family, now in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.

10. Who is Frances K. Pohl? Extra Credit (1 point each)

11. The biggest and most nefarious art heist in American history took place at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum in Boston in 1990. Robert K. Wittman, a former F.B.I. agent and author of Priceless: How I Went Undercover to Rescue the World's Stolen Treasures released in 2010 by Crown Publishers, said "Art thieves steal more than beautiful objects, they steal memories and identity, they steal history." If you were searching for stolen art, what sources would be most helpful to you in retrieving art and why? http://www.nytimes.com/2010/06/07/arts/design/07wittman.html?_r=0

Answer 1

3. On which mystical site does Mexico City stand today?

Answer: Teotihuacán, an island in Lake Texcoco.

The Mexicas believed that their principal god, Huitzilopochtli, would indicate the site where they should build a city. The sign was that the site would have an eagle eating a snake while perched on a cactus. This vision was seen on an island in Lake Texcoco, and so they built a city there called Teotihuacán, which later became Mexico City.

4. Describe El Castillo, the ancient Maya city.

Answer: El Castillo is a Mesoamerican step-pyramid at the archaeological site of Chichen Itza in the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico. Chichen Itza is a pre-Columbian city built by the Maya people of the Terminal Classic period. El Castillo is also known as the Temple of Kukulkan.

5. What are pictographs?

Answer: A pictograph is a pictorial representation of a word, phrase, or object. It conveys information using picture symbols.

7. Name two contemporary artists who have used iconic signs and symbols excerpted from Amerind art.

William Shirley Fulton and Charles C. Di Peso

10. Who is Frances K. Pohl?

Answer: Frances K. Pohl is an American author who has written books such as “Framing America” and “In the Eye of the Storm.” Her research interests include American art, Feminist art, and Ben Shahn.