New Jen's Horde


Thursday, April 03, 2008

Art Deco, Art Nouveau, or Cheese?

 
Today, we went with our homeschool group to see the Art Deco exhibit at the Aurora History Museum. Before hand, I showed them many examples of Art Deco pieces, and used Art Nouveau work to contrast it.

When we got home, I put together a photo quiz for them, and I thought you all might like to see it, too.

Get your #2 pencils, grab some paper, and click here to take the quiz Art Deco, Art Nouveau, or Cheese?

For those of you who need a review, here are some definitions from Wikipedia:

Art Deco: The structure of art deco is based on mathematical geometric shapes. It was widely considered to be an eclectic form of elegant and stylish modernism, being influenced by a variety of sources. Among them were the, so called, "primitive" arts of Africa, Ancient Egypt, and Aztec Mexico, as well as Machine Age or streamline technology such as modern aviation, electric lighting, the radio, the ocean liner and the skyscraper...Other popular themes in art deco were trapezoidal, zigzagged, geometric, and jumbled shapes, which can be seen in many early pieces.

Art Nouveau: Dynamic, undulating, and flowing, with curved 'whiplash' lines of syncopated rhythm, characterized much of Art Nouveau. Another feature is the use of hyperbolas and parabolas in windows, arches, and doors. Conventional moldings seem to spring to life and 'grow' into plant-derived forms. Like most design styles, Art Nouveau sought to harmonize its forms.

Cheese: Cheese is a food made from the milk of cows, goats, sheep and other mammals, by coagulating the milk. This is accomplished by first acidifying it with a bacterial culture and then employing the enzyme rennet (or rennet substitutes) to coagulate the milk to "curds and whey."[1] The precise bacteria and processing of the curds play a role in defining the texture and flavor of most cheeses. Some cheeses also feature molds, either on the outer rind (similar to a fruit peel) or throughout.

Or, here's a quick way to cheat. If a piece is linear, geometric, and dramatic, or reminds you of flappers or ancient Egypt, it's a good bet it's Art Deco. If it's organic, flowing, flowery and looks like something you might find at Rivendell, it's probably Art Nouveau. If you look at it and think, "Mmmm, that would be good with crackers!" put down Cheese.

The answers will be in the comments, so you can check your own papers. Let me know how you did!

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Comments:
Here are the answers:

1.Art Deco
2.Art Nouveau
3.Art Deco
4.Cheese
5.Art Deco
6.Art Deco
7.Cheese
8.Art Nouveau
9.Art Deco
10.Art Nouveau
11.Cheese
12.Art Deco
13.Art Nouveau
14.Cheese
15.Art Nouveau
16.Art Deco
17.Art Nouveau
18.Cheese
19.Art Deco
20.Art Nouveau
 
Aww! I missed two...and they weren't cheese....

I LOVE Art Nouveau. I have one of those pictures in my planner!
 
Hey, and to extend the lesson, you could visit Van Briggle Pottery.
 
I've never been there, what kinds of things do they have? I was under the impression it was a store...
 
Aww I missed 3 and 17! Obviously reversed them.
 
It is a shop and a mini-museum. You can also see how the pottery is made. Kind of neat for kooky artsy freaks like myself.
It is beautiful pottery.
http://www.vanbriggle.com/
 
Well first you should have heard my kid every time we got to one that was cheese!!! she would go along deco? deco? nouveau? CHEESE!!!

and we only missed one...#17 kid answered most of these all by herself.

Thanks for the great art lesson!!!
 
Ooh, Jennifer, that sounds like a likely Co-op Class!

#17 seems to be a tough one. I won't count it against your total, just give yourself extra credit if you got it right...
 
Aaahhh!! It's all cheese to me!! ;)~
 
That is just so very cool! I learned a lot (who knew there was so much cheese in the world?)

Here's a link to the Union Terminal building here in Cincinnati, which is supposed to be such a big example of Art Deco building (I always think of it as "Heroic Russian Design).
 
I did very well on your quiz, especially the cheesy questions ;-)
 
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