Identifying Introductions

Identify each type of introduction as:

a. background information
b. quotation
c. definition
d. summary

1		Cubism is a style of painting that uses geometric forms to portray people and familiar objects. Therefore, it is different from purely abstract art, which can be described as form without content. Cubist artists make no use of perspective or foreshortening, preferring to see the canvas as the two dimensional object that it is. Picasso and Braque are the two most famous cubists.
2		In a recent review of the current exhibit at the Marlboro Art Gallery, an art critic for a local newspaper complimented the gallery for its "far-sighted approach to contemporary art." He went on to say that he hoped that other galleries in the area would also begin exhibiting the work of less traditional artists. I, for one, think that this is a terrible mistake. Museums should preserve and exhibit the best art they can. It takes time to know what "the best" is. Therefore, museums should be exhibiting only art that has stood the test of time.
3		Art is becoming a smaller and smaller part of the education of American children. In the past twenty-five years, many schools have been forced to drop art classes for economic reasons. The public is less and less inclined to pay for art classes because they see them as nonessential. To most of the American public, art is a frill that is nice but not necessary. This is an unfortunate misconception.
4		As nineteenth-century American philosopher and writer Ralph Waldo Emerson said, "Every artist was first an amateur." These are important words for us all to remember whether we are artists, teachers, plumbers, lawyers, or taxi drivers. When you are starting out, it is not fair to compare yourself to the most accomplished men and women in your field. You must remember that each of these people was, at one point, a beginner--often making the same mistakes that you may be making today.