AP Art History : Twentieth- and Twenty-First-Century Architecture

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for AP Art History

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Example Questions

Example Question #363 : 3 D Art

This architect is known for his prairie and organic styles. He was also the architect of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York.

Possible Answers:

Alden B. Dow

Philip Johnson

Frank Gehry

Frank Lloyd Wright

Walter Gropius

Correct answer:

Frank Lloyd Wright

Explanation:

Though many of these architects are known for either their prairie or organic styles, Wright designed the Guggenheim.

Example Question #13 : Identifying Artists, Works, Or Schools Of Twentieth And Twenty First Century Architecture

Chrysler_Building_by_David_Shankbone_Retouched.jpg

The spire of the Chrysler Building (William Van Allen 1928-30) in New York city is a well-known example of which 20th-century artistic and architectural style?

Possible Answers:

Art Nouveau

Art Deco

Rococo

Neoclassicism

Gothic

Correct answer:

Art Deco

Explanation:

The Chrysler Building in New York City is a well-known example of the Art Deco artistic and architectural style. Art Deco is known for its bold, geometrical shapes, rather than the organic, flowing style of Art Nouveau, or the Greek-and-Roman-derivation of Neoclassicism. Art Deco was not intricate or natural. It embraced technology and the modern world, and reflected the glamour and luxury that modern technology provided. 

The Chrysler building is a good example of Art Deco architecture, as its spire is composed of symmetrical, bold, powerful geometrical shapes. It also makes sense that Art Deco, which represented glamour and luxury, would be used in that time period to build a skyscraper in New York, which in and of itself is a representation of the modern world.

Rococo and Gothic architecture are not from the 20th century.

Image accessed through Wikipedia Image Commons: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Chrysler_Building_by_David_Shankbone_Retouched.jpg

Example Question #51 : Renaissance To Contemporary Architecture

The modernist home in Pennsylvania known as Fallingwater was designed by ______________________.

Possible Answers:

Philip Johnson

I.M. Pei

Mies van der Rohe

Frank Lloyd Wright

Correct answer:

Frank Lloyd Wright

Explanation:

Frank Lloyd Wright built Fallingwater outside of Pittsburgh in 1935 for the owner of a Pittsburgh department store, Edgar Kauffman. Kauffman desired a specific, small plot of land to be used and wanted very specific elements. In order to build a large house in a tight space, Wright used a revolutionary cantilevered approach in his design, also incorporating natural elements like a waterfall, giving the building its name.

Example Question #11 : Identifying Artists, Works, Or Schools Of Twentieth And Twenty First Century Architecture

Which of the following can be accurately applied to the work of Frank Lloyd Wright?

Possible Answers:

His early works served as models for future 20th century skyscrapers

He is known for his use of curves and rounded windows

Each building showcases a blend of chrome and natural wood

He wanted his buildings to blend harmoniously with their settings

Correct answer:

He wanted his buildings to blend harmoniously with their settings

Explanation:

The long, low Robie House which Wright created to match its prairie setting is a good example of how he matched design to fit surroundings. He felt the building should make the area even more beautiful than before its construction. His "Fallingwater" house in PA is another example of architecture matching its setting.

Example Question #1 : Answering Other Questions About Twentieth And Twenty First Century Architecture

In designing the vacation home known as Fallingwater, Frank Lloyd Wright was heavily influenced by  ___________________.

Possible Answers:

Gothic architecture

Japanese architecture

Baroque architecture

Egyptian architecture

Correct answer:

Japanese architecture

Explanation:

While Fallingwater is a thoroughly modern building, constructed in straight lines made out of concrete, glass, and steel, Frank Lloyd Wright was heavily inspired by Japanese architecture. Fallingwater was designed as a natural retreat for its owners, which meant Wright had to carefully blend the house into nature. Considering its use of natural light and a sense of blending the indoor and outdoor space, the house features many approaches which are borrowed from Japanese architectural ideas.

Example Question #1 : Answering Other Questions About Twentieth And Twenty First Century Architecture

Le Corbusier's Five Points of Architecture are best captured in the building _____________________.

Possible Answers:

Villa Savoye

Monticello

Fallingwater

Farnsworth House

Correct answer:

Villa Savoye

Explanation:

Le Corbusier was both a practicing architect and an architectural theorist. These two identities were best joined in his design and construction of Villa Savoye outside of Paris. The building intentionally and forcefully followed Le Corbusier's manifesto Five Points of Architecture. The five points Villa Savoye followed were having pilotis that lifted the building off the ground, a functional roof that could be used as a garden, a free floor plan without load bearing walls allowing interior openness, large windows that provided vast amounts of natural light, and freely designed facades that acted merely as a skin on the outside of the building.

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