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ARTS The House of Native American Tribe The earliest American folk art portraits The Music of Films Barbara Kasten The Works of Joyce Carol Oates The Printed Word The Art Nouveau Style Arts and Crafts Movement The House of Native American Tribe Keywords: United States, pueblos, buildings, chambers, niches Another early Native American tribe in what is now the southwestern part of the United States was the Anasazi. By A. D. 800 the Anasazi Indians were constructing multistory pueblos-massive, stone apartment compounds. Each one was virtually a stone town, which is why the Spanish would later call them pueblos, the Spanish word for towns. These pueblos represent one of the Anasazis supreme achievements. At least a dozen large stone houses took shape below the bluffs of Chiaco Canyon in northwest New Mexico. They were built with masonry walls more than a meter thick and adjoining apartments to accommodate dozens, even hundreds, of families. The largest, later named Pueblo Bonito (Pretty Town) by the Spanish, rose in five terraced stories, contained more than 800 rooms, and could have housed a population of 1,000 or more. Besides living quarters, each pueblo included one or more kivas-circular underground chambers faced with stone. They functioned as sanctuaries where the elders met to plan festivals, perform ritual dances, settle pueblo affairs, and impart tribal lore to the younger generation. Some kivas were enormous. Of the 30 or so at Pueblo Bonito, two measured 20 meters across. They contained niches for ceremonial objects, a central fire pit, and holes in the floor for communicating with the spirits of tribal ancestors. Each pueblo represented an astonishing amount of well-organized labor. Using only stone and wood tools, and without benefit of wheels or draft animals, the builders quarried ton upon ton of sandstone from the canyon walls, cut it into small blocks, hauled the blocks to the construction site, and fitted them together with mud mortar.Roof beams of pine or fir had to be carried from logging areas in the mountain forests many kilometers away. Then, to connect the pueblos and to give access to the surrounding tableland, the architects laid out a system of public roads with stone staircases for ascending cliff faces. In time, the roads reached out to more than 80 satellite villages within a 60-kilometer radius. 1. The paragraph preceding the passage most probably discussed (A) how pueblos were built (B) another Native American tribe (C) Anasazi crafts and weapons (D) pueblo villages in New Mexico 2. What is the main topic of the passage? (A) The Anasazi pueblos (B) Anasazi festivals of New Mexico (C) The organization of the Anasazi tribe (D) The use of Anasazi sanctuaries 3. The word supreme in line 5 is closest in meaning to (A) most common (B) most outstanding (C) most expensive (D) most convenient 4. The word They in line 7 refers to (A) houses (B) bluffs (C) walls (D) families 5. The author mentions that Pueblo bonito had more than 800 rooms as an example of which of the following? (A) How overcrowded the pueblos could be (B) How many ceremonial areas it contained (C) Hoe much sandstone was needed to build it (D) How big a pueblo could be 6. The word settle in line 14 is closest in meaning to (A) sink (B) decide (C) clarify (D) locate 7. It can be inferred from the passage that building a pueblo probably (A) required many workers (B) cost a lot of money (C) involved the use of farm animals (D) relied on sophisticated technology 8. The word ascending in line 26 is closest in meaning to (A) arriving at (B) carving (C) connecting (D) climbing 9. It can be inferred from the passage that in addition to pueblos the Anasazis were skilled at building which of the following? (A) Roads (B) Barns (C) Monuments (D) Water systems 10. The pueblos are considered one of the Anasazis supreme achievements for all of the following reasons EXCEPT that they were (A) very large (B) located in forests (C) built with simple tools (D) connected in a systematic way The earliest American folk art portraits Keywords: portraits, portraiture, artists, craft tradition, an original portrait What we today call America folk art was, indeed, art of, by, and for ordinary, everyday folks who, with increasing prosperity and leisure, created a market for art of all kinds, and especially for portraits. Citizens of prosperous, essentially middle-class republicswhether ancient Romans, seventeenth-century Dutch burghers, or nineteenth-century Americans-have always shown a marked taste for portraiture. Starting in the late eighteenth century, the United States contained increasing numbers of such people, and of the artists who could meet their demands. The earliest American folk art portraits come, not surprisingly, from New England- especially Connecticut and Massachusetts-for this was a wealthy and populous region and the center of a strong craft tradition. Within a few decades after the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, the population was pushing westward, and portrait painters could be found at work in western New York, Ohio, Kentucky, Illinois, and Missouri. Midway through its first century as a nation, the United States population had increased roughly five time, and eleven new states had been added to the original thirteen. During these years the demand for portraits grew and grew, eventually to be satisfied by the camera. In 1839 the daguerreotype was introduced to America, ushering in the age of photography, and within a generation the new invention put an end to the popularity of painted portraits. Once again an original portrait became a luxury, commissioned by the wealthy and executed by the professional. But in the heyday of portrait painting-from the late eighteenth century until the 1850s- anyone with a modicum of artistic ability could become a limner, as such a portraitist was called. Local crafts people-sign, coach, and house painters-began to paint portraits as a profitable sideline; sometimes a talented man or woman who began by sketching family members gained a local reputation and was besieged with requests for portraits; artists found it worth their while to pack their paints, canvases, and brushes and to travel the countryside, often combining house decorating with portrait painting. 39. In lines 4-5 the author mentions seventeenth-century Dutch burghers as an example of a group that (A) consisted mainly of self taught artists (B) appreciated portraits (C) influenced American folk art (D) had little time for the arts 40. The word marked in line 5 is closest in meaning to (A) pronounced (B) fortunate (C) understandable (D) mysterious 41. According to the passage, where were many of the first American folk art portraits painted? (A) In western New York (B) In Illinois and Missouri (C) In Connecticut and Massachusetts (D) In Ohio 42. The word this in line 9 refers to (A) a strong craft tradition (B) American folk art (C) New England (D) western New York 43. How much did the population of the United States increase in the first fifty years following independence? (A) It became three times larger. (B) It became five times larger. (C) It became eleven times larger. (D) It became thirteen times larger. 44. The phrase ushering in in line 17 is closest in meaning to (A) beginning (B) demanding (C) publishing (D) increasing 45. The relationship between the daguerreotype (line 16) and the painted portrait is similar to the relationship between the automobile and the (A) highway (B) driver (C) horse-drawn carriage (D) engine 46. According to the passage, which of the following contributed to a decline in the demand for painted portraits? (A) The lack of a strong craft tradition (B) The westward migration of many painters (C) The growing preference for landscape paintings (D) The invention of the camera 47. The word executed in line 19 is closest in meaning to (A) sold (B) requested (C) admired (D) created 48. The author implies that most limners (line 22) (A) received instruction from traveling teachers (B) were women (C) were from wealthy families (D) had no formal art training 49. The word sketching in line 25 is closest in meaning to (A) drawing (B) hiring (C) helping (D) discussing 50. Where in the passage does the author provide a definition? (A) Lines 3-6 (B) Lines 8-10 (C) Lines 13-15 (D) Lines 21-23 The Music of Films Keywords: films, music, pianists, orchestras, conductor Accustomed though we are to speaking of the films made before 1927 as silent, the film has never been, in the full sense of the word, silent. From the very beginning, music was regarded as an indispensable accompaniment; when the Lumiere films were shown at the first public film exhibition in the United States in February 1896, they were accompanied by piano improvisations on popular tunes. At first, the music played bore no special relationship to the films; an accompaniment of any kind was sufficient. Within a very short time, however, the incongruity of playing lively music to a solemn film became apparent, and film pianists began to take some care in matching their pieces to the mood of the film. As movie theaters grew in number and importance, a violinist, and perhaps a cellist, would be added to the pianist in certain cases, and in the larger movie theaters small orchestras were formed. For a number of years the selection of music for each film program rested entirely in the hands of the conductor or leader of the orchestra, and very often the principal qualification for holding such a position was not skill or tasteso much as the ownership of a large personal library of musical pieces. Since the conductor seldom saw the films until the night before they were to be shown if, indeed, the conductor was lucky enough to see them then, the musical arrangement was normally improvised in the greatest hurry. To help meet this difficulty, film distributing companies started the practice of publishing suggestions for musical accompaniments. In 1909, for example, the Edison Company began issuing with their films such indications of mood as pleasant, sad, lively. The suggestions became more explicit, and so emerged the musical cue sheet containing indications of mood, the titles of suitable pieces of music, and precise directions to show where one piece led into the next. Certain films had music especially composed for them. The most famous of these early special scores was that composed and arranged for D. W. Griffiths film Birth of a Nation, which was released in 1915. 11. The passage mainly discusses music that was (A) performed before the showing of a film (B) played during silent films (C) specifically composed for certain movie theaters (D) recorded during film exhibitions 12. What can be inferred from the passage about the majority of films made after 1927? (A) They were truly silent. (B) They were accompanied by symphonic orchestras. (C) They incorporated the sound of the actors voices. (D) They corresponded to specific musical compositions. 13. The word solemn in line 7 is closest in meaning to (A) simple (B) serious (C) short (D) silent 14. It can be inferred that orchestra conductors who worked in movie theaters needed to (A) be able to play many instruments (B) have pleasant voices (C) be familiar with a wide variety of music (D) be able to compose original music 15. The word them in line 17 refers to (A) years (B) hands (C) pieces (D) films 16. According to the passage, what kind of business was the Edison Company? (A) It produced electricity. (B) It distributed films. (C) It published musical arrangements. (D) It made musical instruments. 17. It may be inferred from the passage that the first musical cue sheets appeared around (A) 1896 (B) 1909 (C) 1915 (D) 1927 18. Which of the following notations is most likely to have been included on a musical cue sheet of the early 1900s? (A) Calm, peaceful (B) Piano, violin (C) Key of C major (D) Directed by D. W. Griffith 19. The word composed in line 26 is closest in meaning to (A) selected (B) combined (C) played (D) created 20. The word scores in line 26 is closest in meaning to (A) totals (B) successes (C) musical compositions (D) groups of musicians 21. The passage probably continues with a discussion of (A) famous composers of the early twentieth century (B) other films directed by D. W. Griffith (C) silent films by other directors (D) the music in Birth of a Nation Barbara Kasten Keywords: photographs, objects, camera, image, equipment Barbara Kasten is an artist who makes photographs of constructions that she creates for the purpose of photographing them. In her studio she arranges objects such as mirrors, solid forms, and flat surfaces into what could be called large still life arrangements, big enough to walk into. She lights the construction, then rearranges and rephotographs it until she arrives at a final image. She also photographs away from her studio at various architectural sites, bringing camera, lights, mirrors, and a crew of assistants to transform the site into her own abstract image. Kasten starts a studio construction with a simple problem, such as using several circular and rectangular mirrors. She puts the first objects in place, sets up a camera, then goes back and forth arranging objects and seeing how they appear in the camera. Eventually she makes instant color prints to see what the image looks like. At first she works only with objects, concentrating on their composition; then she lights them and adds color from lights covered with colored filters. Away from the studio, at architectural sites, the cost of the crew and the equipment rental means she has to know in advance what she wants to do. She visits each location several times to make sketches and test shots. Until she brings in the lights, however, she cannot predict exactly what they will do to the image, so there is some improvising on the spot. 12. What does the passage many discuss? (A) The techniques of a photographer (B) The advantages of studio photography (C) Industrial construction sites (D) An architect who appreciates fine art 13. Which of the following would be an example of one of the constructions referred to in line 1? (A) A still life arrangement (B) Natural landscapes (C) An instant color print (D) A colored filter 14. In line 2, why does the author mention mirrors? (A) They are part of the camera. (B) Kasten uses them as subjects. (C) The crew needs them. (D) Photography mirrors life. 15. The word transform in line 6 is closest in meaning to (A) move (B) extend (C) change (D) interpret 16. It can be inferred from the passage that Kasten makes instant prints to (A) give away (B) sell as souvenirs (C) include as part of the construction (D) see what the construction looks like at that stage 17. The word composition in line 12 is closest in meaning to (A) arrangement (B) brightness (C) quality (D) size 18. The word them in line 12 refers to (A) prints (B) lights (C) objects (D) filt