Part A (60 points)

1) How does Nochlin define ideology? How does ideology function in paintings that feature a female nude?
A: Ideology is a set of fundamental assumptions that are invisible to those who share them and are involved in power relations. The female nude reproduces the ideology of gender relations: male=subject, active, the one who sees; female=object, passive, the one who is seen.

2) According to Nochlin, if a female chooses to question the ideology of the female nude, to what attacks might she be subjecting herself?
A: She will be accused of being a prude, naive, or not getting it.

3) Give an example, either Karp's or one of your own, of how exoticization can depict otherness in a positive light.
A: Something like the romanticization of American Indians. Anything where the other is depicted as different but better that the West.

4) Define assimilation according to Karp. How might an art exhibition, such as the 1984 MOMA exhibition "Primitivism," serve as an example of assimilation?
A: Assimilation is pointing out the similarities between the West and the Other, with an emphasis on how the Other is a footnote to the West. Primitivism juxtaposes Western and non-Western art to show how they are all part of the same movement, namely the West.

5) How does Tolstoy think aesthetic standards function?
A: Aesthetic standards function retroactively. One begins by liking or not liking something for purely subjective reasons (it pleases me) and then one creates a theory that matches one's tastes.

6) What does Tolstoy mean when he says that people are "infected" by art?
A: Infection is a good thing. It is how art can spread a shared emotional response to a community.

Part B (40 points)

1) Describe the death of Kurtz in both Heart of Darkness and Apocalypse Now. How does the latter function as a transformation of the former? Your answer should include a discussion of the plots of the two works as well as a discussion of Marlowe/Willard and Kurtz.
A: In general, the more plot summary the better. The basic plot fact that needs to be addressed is that in HD Kurtz dies of natural causes whereas in AN Willard kills him. Among the transformations that need to be addressed are: from Africa to Vietnam, from colonialism to war, from Kurtz as a humanist genius to Kurtz as a military genius, from evil being inherent in Enlightenment ideals to evil being what is released by war, etc. Again, the more detail and substance, the better. If, however, the student has clearly not read the novel or seen the movie, the grade will decrease considerably. In this answer more than the others, platitudes derived from class discussion should not be rewarded.