Kuntz
AP Art History
AP
Welcome to the amazing world of AP Art History! Your summer work is listed here, along with instructions for various websites and resources you will be using, materials you will be creating for the first day of class. If you have any questions, please contact me:
Summer Assignment:
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This link will take you to the 250 works and images you will be studying throughout the year. Refer to this list for resources and sites.
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Become familiar with Khan Academy.
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Visit one museum over the summer and document your visit. The link to the right will direct you to the exact assignment. There is a link to almost every museum in the Bay Area under the Study Menu drop down.
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Look at the slide show below on Form, Function, Content, and Context. Become familiar with what these terms mean.


















APAH Section II: Free-Response
The second section of the AP Art History Exam includes six free-response questions, made up of long essays, and four short essays.
Free-response question 1: Comparison is a long essay question that assesses students’ ability to compare two works of art: the first is required, is part of the image set, and provided in the exam image booklet; the second is selected by the student from a list of two to four works of art from the required image set (no image provided in the exam image booklet). Students may also select a different work of art from the same content area. This question assesses students’ ability to do the following:
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Provide two accurate identifiers for the selected work of art
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Describe visual or contextual elements of both the required and selected works of art
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Explain how the two works of art are similar or differentinhowtheyconveymeaning
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Articulate a defensible claim that explains the meaning or significance of similarities or differences between the two works of art
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Uses specific, relevant, visual, and/or contextual evidence to support the claim.
Free-response question 2: Visual/Contextual Analysis is a long essay question that assesses students' ability to analyze visual and contextual features of a work of art. Students are given a list of possible images to select from the image set (images not provided), or they may select a work from the content area stipulated in the question. This question assesses students’ ability to do the following:
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Provide two accurate identifiers for the selected work of art
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Respond to the prompt with an art historically defensible claim or thesis that establishes a line of reasoning
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Use specific and relevant visual and/or contextual evidence to support the claim
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Explain how the evidence supports the claim
Free-response question 3: Visual Analysis is a short essay question that assesses students’ ability to analyze the visual elements of a work of art beyond the image set (image provided). This question assesses students’ ability to do the following:
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Describe visual elements of a provided image of a work of art beyond the image set
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Explain how artistic decisions shape visual elements
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Explain how or why the work of art demonstrates continuity within an artistic tradition, style, or practice; or explain its influence on other artistic production
Free-response question 4: Contextual Analysis is a short essay question that assesses students’ ability to analyze the contextual elements of a work from the image set (image provided). This question assesses students’ ability to do the following:
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Describe contextual (and in some instances also visual) elements of a provided image of a work of art in the image set
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Explain how context influences artistic decisions about form, style, materials, content and/or function.
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Explain how an art historical interpretation of a work of art is derived from an analysis of its form, style, materials, content, function, context, reception, or meaning
Free-response question 5: Attribution is a short essay question that assesses students’ ability to attribute a work of art beyond the image set (image provided). This question assesses students’ ability to do the following:
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Attribute a work of art to a specific artist, culture, art-historical style, or object type
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Justify the attribution by providing specific visual evidence
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Analyze visual and/or contextual elements of the work of art
Free-response question 6: Continuity and Change is a short essay question that assesses students’ ability to analyze the relationships between a work of art from the image set (image provided) and a related artistic tradition, style, and/or practice. This question assesses students’ ability to do the following:
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Describe visual or contextual elements of a work of art
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Explain how or why the work of art demonstrates continuity or change within an artistic tradition or practice.
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Analyze meaning or significance of an arthistorical interpretation of the work of art provided
Art Historical Identifications
Free-response questions 1 and 2 require students to provide two accurate identifiers for a work of art in the AP Art History image set. Identifiers could include any of the following: title or designation of a work of art, name of the artist and/or culture of origin, date of creation, and materials, as described within the AP Art History image set.
Additionally, free-response question 5 requires students to attribute a work of art outside the image set based on their knowledge and understanding of works within the image set. Students will be instructed to attribute the work of art outside the image set to a specific artist, culture, art-historical style, or object type represented in the image set.
10 Content Areas per College Board
UNITS EXAM WEIGHT
Unit 1: Global Prehistory, 30,000–500 BCE ~4% 11 works
Unit 2: Ancient Mediterranean, 3500 BCE–300 CE ~15% 36 works
Unit 3: Early Europe and Colonial Americas, 200–1750 CE ~21% 51 works
Unit 4: Later Europe and Americas, 1750–1980 CE ~21% 54 works
Unit 5: Indigenous Americas, 1000 BCE–1980 CE ~6% 14 works
Unit 6: Africa, 1100–1980 CE ~6% 14 works
Unit 7: West and Central Asia, 500 BCE–1980 CE ~4% 11 works
Unit 8: South, East, and Southeast Asia, 300 BCE–1980 CE ~8% 21 works
Unit 9: The Pacific, 700–1980 CE ~4% 11 works
Unit 10: Global Contemporary, 1980 CE to Present ~11% 27 works
The Elements of Art & The Principles of Design


How to research and where to begin?
You need to find information on a work of art. You start with the text only to discover the information is limited at best or, worst case scenario, the art is not in the book at all. You can’t always find what you need in books so now, more than likely, you'll go to the Internet. This section will show you how to avoid becoming overwhelmed, find what you need without wasting time, and judge whether what you find is credible.
Internet research tips:
1. Keep your request simple. Too many words in the search box will send sites that are too specifically connected with the College Board, like AP Pinterest pins, teachers' PowerPoints, or directly to the College Board website.
2. Begin with only one key term. Look for words and key words and phrases, alternate spellings, and other information that might suggest directions to broaden your serch.
3. Limit returns to .org, .edu, or .gov domains. Type site:.edu or site:.org after the search term.
4. Use quotation marks around long titles.
5. Stay away from image only .com sites. (Shutterstock, Flickr)
But what about using Wikipedia?
Wikipedia can be useful for finding BRIEF overviews, other sources and authorities to deepen your search, alternate spellings for source-finding, and, of course, images. The problem with Wikipedia is that it can't be used for anything that can't be verified in scholarly sources.
Website Evaluation:
1. Authority - check for an author with credentials.
2. Content - check for credible sources listed, citations used, and an intent to inform rather than market/propagandize. Are there misspellings and/or can readers edit the content?