Art Education GACE Exam

study guide for the GACE Art Education test

What are the three most commonly used types of clay?

Earthenware, Stoneware, and Porcelain

Earthenware Clay

Earliest clay used and it is fired to a temperature of less than 1200 degrees. Terracotta is this type of clay and it is reddish brown. Typically brown, orange or red in its raw state

Stoneware Clay

a mid to high fire clay that ranges from light gray to brown when fired. It is non-porous and is more opaque than porcelain

Porcelain

Rich history in China, often called fine china in English speaking countries. a high fire clay that is made with kaolin which makes its finished product pure white. It is fired to 1800 degrees C and is hard, nonporous and translucent.

What are some commonly used materials for sculpture?

Stone, Marble, Granite, Limestone, Sandstone, Alabaster, Wood, Glass and Clay

Stone

this material has been used for sculptures for centuries, making the artist use the subtractive method to remoce and shape.

Wood

this material has been historically used for carving, lighter and easier to carve than stone, used for many important sculptures in Africa, China and Japan.

Glass

this material can be cast in molds or heated in kilns and then blown or sculpted with hand tools. Larger Scale of this materail is a modern development. Believed to have been discovered in Egypt around 8000 B.C

Clay

this material has been used for thousands of years to form pottery. First function al pottery vessels were created in 10,000 B.C and people were crafting human and animal figures from it as early as 24000 B.C

Relief

a sculpture in which the sculptural elements are attached to a dolif background. The background elements are cut away, leaving the subjects raised.

bas-relief (low relief)

final sculpture has a shallow depth and is not raised far from the background. Coins are a good example of this.

haut-relief (high relief)

when more than half of the sculptural form is projecting from the background. Many Ancient greek sculptures used this technique

mezzotint

a printmaking technique in which the artist works from dark to light.They work on a copper or steel plate and roughen parts of the plate for shading while smoothing out other parts for lighter areas.

aquatint

another printmaking technique to create tonal effects in a print. Fine particles of acid-resistant powdered rosin are melted into a metal plate which is then dipped in acid. The darkness of theses tones can be controlled by the amount of time it sits in acid.

linocut/ woodcut

relief printing methods which involve cutting away pieces of the material to produce the image to be printed. Gouges of various shapes and sizes ate used to cut away materials. The image can be reproduced repeatedly.

burnisher (baren)

a disklike hand tool that is flat on the bottom and has a handle.

monotype

only produces one print. it is created on a nonabsorbent surface with oil or water based inks. Since most of the ink is transferred to paper there is not enough to produce another print.

Stamping

another type of relief printmaking. can be made from rubber, wax, or other materials including cardboard or potatoes. a shape that will produce the image is cut into the material and the negative space is cut away. Can be reproduced over and over again.

Frottage

a printmaking technique in which the artist gets an impression of the surface of a material.During the surrealist movemtn, Max Ernst would take rubbings from various surfaces and uses thes as the basis for his artworks.

Collography

a printmaking technique in which materials of various textures are attached to a surface. The materials should roughly be the same height.

What year did humans begin making small figures out of clay?

24,000 B.C

The first Functional pottery and bricks were made around what year

9,000 or 10,000 B.C

Glazes were discovered where and what year?

Egypt around 8000 B.C

The first potters wheel was first used where and what year?

Central America and 3,000 B.C

In what time period were decorative vases depicting daily life and were later decorated with black and red figures?

Ancient Greece

When was Porcelain developed?

During the Han Dynasty (206B.C- A.D.220)

Where and when were the first known prehistoric sculptures and what were the made out of?

Stone Age approximately 230,000 B.C and they were made out of basalt and quartz

What kind of figures were found in the Stone Age?

Figures called Venuses ( shaped as obese woman, possibly related to fertility) were found and were made from materials such as bones and stones.

When did freestanding sculptures and Bas-relief works come about?

In the Mesolitic Period from 10,000-4,000 B.C

In what period where bronze statuettes created ?

Neolithic Period 4,000-2,000B.C

In what years were classic greek sculptures forming?

500-323B.C

When and What period were sculptors creating figures with great realism

The Renaissance (A.D 1,400-1,600)

Who is known as the greatest Renaissance Sculptor of all time?

Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni

What kind of tools are used to sculpt stone?

Chisels, pitching tools, rasps, mallets, and rifflers

Chisel

a piece of steel that is pointed at one end and flat on the other end

pitching tool

wedge shaped chisel

mallet

used to help other tools break away unwanted stone

rasps

flat steel tools with a rough surface

riffler

smaller rasp used for details

Ribbon or Loop tools

made from a flattened metal ribbon and are attached to a wooden handle. ised to trim, carve or hollow out a shape.

wire cutter

used to remove a pot from a potters wheel

caliper

an adjustable tool used to measure openings for making lids

Subtractive Sculpture

The removal of material from a larger piece such as marble, wood or another material Michelangelo was a master of this technique.

Additive Technique

consist of adding materials to create an artwork. A soft material such as clay or plaster strips is built up over an armature until the final form is achieved. Also called modeling.

Assembling

another additive sculpture technique, became popular in the 50’s and 60’s. Creates a 3-D collage by gluing, welding, nailing and otherwise joining objects, usually found objects.

What are the three methods of handbuilding? (Clay)

Slab Building, Pinch Pot and the Coil Method

Slab Building

Clay is rolled into sheets and cut into shapes. the shapes are cut out and joined together. Artist will score the edges, add some slip and then join the endges securely

Pinch Pot

Rolling a ball of clay and then inserting thumb into the ball. the artist presses the sides out evenly with the thumb on the inside of the pot and the fingers on the outside until the sides and bottom are of consistent width and are smooth,

Coil Method

the artist first makes a shallow pinch pot as the base then rolls long coils of clay and builds up the body of the bowl or pot in a spiral.

hand building

working with clay without a pottery wheel

wheel throwing

using a potters wheel to throw clay objects. the artist will get the air bubbles out of the clay by wedging the item on a surface then uses slip to create the object as the clay spins on the wheel

relief printing

any method in which a raised surface is used to produce the image. commonly done with linoleum or wood. Letter press is also a good example

screen printing (silk screening)

ink is pressed through a screen to produce the print. An image is created onto the screen through methods like stencils or photo emulsion. Andy Warhol is famous for using this technique

intaglio

a printmaking technique in which the image is carved into a surface and the ink is held in those lines for printing

lithography

the artist uses a greasy medium such as crayon or ink to produce an imafe on limestone or aluminum.

brayer

a handtool used for printmaking to smooth out the ink

burnisher

a smooth metal tool that is used to smooth the surface of a metal intaglio plate

plate

a copper or zinc sheet of metal used for intaglio printmaking

gouge

used in relief printmaking to cut away parts that will not hold ink

apprentice

someone who learned to be an artist by working under a master artist

tradesman

this what a painter was called in the medieval era and their clients would dictate what worked they created

What kinda task would apprentice do?

Clean paintbrushes, grinding pigments, practice drawing by copying works, paint backgrounds etc.

What are some materials included in tradition sculpture?

Stone, Wood, Clay and Metal

What sculpture material has survived through the years better than other?

Stone (Marble)

What sculpture material has been lost to decay, insect damage and fire through the years.

Wood

What kind of sculptures to modern sculptors put their focus on rather than traditional materials.

Assembling and found objects, like a sculptural collage.

What three artist changed the direction of modern sculptures?

Picasso with his assemblage, Allexander Calder’s Mobiles and David Smith’s Stainless steel sculptures

Leather hard

Clay that has partially dried but is not completely dry

Bone Dry

When clay is completely dry, the clay will be a lighter color and the piece will be fragile.

Bisque

When the piece has been fired once in the kiln. Can be glazed and fired again

Greenware

All unfired clay pieces prior to being fired.

Slip

A liquid clay mixture that can be used to join clay pieces together

What era was pottery first made in China?

The Paleolithic Era

During the Ming Dynasty what style of porcelain pottery was perfected?

Cobalt Underglazing, leading to the production of the iconic blue and white vases from that period.

Name an artist that still uses historical Chinese materials with modern ideas

Ai Weiwei

What were sculptures in Ancient Greence often depicting?

Battles, Mythology and their rulers

What materials were early sculptures from Ancient Greece made from??

Limestone, bronze and if it was bigger marble or bronze

What technique did Greeks use to create metal sculptures?

Lost -Wax

What was the main focus of sculptures in Ancient Rome?

Romans sought to immortalize and capture a likeness of a person, like a portrait.

What are the hallmarks of early Renaissance Sculptures?

Classical Composition, Religious and Secular and Realism

Who was credited as the beginner of Renaissance Sculpture?

Lorenzo Ghiberti and his large bronze doors at the Florence Baptistery

What is Donatello’s most well known work?

David (casted in Bronze)

What is lost-wax casting?

A technique in which a metal copy of a sculpture is produced from an original sculpture.

Explain the process of lost-wax casting?

A mold is first made of a clay sculpture, the inside of the mold is brushed with wax until the wax is the thickness of the intended metal sculpture. The mold is removed and the shell is filled with heat resistant plaster. The plaster covers the wax and is turned over and put in oven to melt the wax out. Then metal is poured in place of the wax.

When was the term “fiber art” first used?

It was used by curators after WWII to describe works relating too fabrics like embroidery, weaving, knitting crocheting and sewing.

What kind of work did fiber artist focus on after the 1980’s?

Cultural issues including feminism, gender, politics and social sciences.

Who was the first person to use the term feminist art and why was she so influential?

Judy Chicago founded the first feminist art program in the US and created a piece called the dinner party that celebrated womens history, needlework and fabric.

What is a “fiber”?

A threadlike piece of material created from threadlike pieces. This includes material like fabric, yarn nad embroidery thread.

What are fibers made of?

They can be made of natural materials such as cotton, wool from sheep, or silk from a silkworm. They can also be made from synthetic material such as acrylic used to make yarn.

What is “roving”

Wool that has been run through a mill to brush the fibers in the same direction but hasn’t been spun into yarn yet.

What is “felting”?

A process involving hot water and shrinking wool piece down into a smaller, denser piece

Why was “The Dinner Party” by Judy Chicago such an influential piece?

It celebrates the accomplishments of 39 important women from history, setting a place at a table for each woman. The work, constructed as a long triangle incorporates traditional needlepoint and embroidery among the other materials. Almost 400 women assisted with this project.

What is “knitting”?

This consists of creating a series of interlocking loops using straight knitting needles that are pointed at the end.

Give me a step by step guide on how to knit??

Begin by casting on, or creating the first stitches on the needle. The main stitches are called knit and purl.

What is “weaving”?

Two sets of thread are interlocked in a perpendicular pattern. This can be done by hand or machine. The lengthwise threads are called the warp and are held stationary on a loom while the other thread (weft) is passed back and forth between them.

What is crocheting?

Involves using a stick with a hook at the end called a crochet hook and creating stitches to interlock the yarn into a fabric or patten. Each stitch is finished before starting the next.

What kind of materials were used as jewelry prior to the discovery of precious metals?

In prehistoric times humans used bones, shells, antlers, feathers and pebbles to decorate their bodies.

Where and when was the oldest example of traditional jewelry found?

In a tomb in Sumer in 2,600 B.C. They found gold pins, amulets, earrings and a headdress.

What period was jewelry making truly flourishing?

The Hellenistic period in Greece and even greater in Ancient Rome

What kind of things were found in the tomb of Tutankhamun in Egypt?

Bracelets, amulets, pendants, earrings and a large quantity of jewels showing a high degree of craftsmanship. Also motifs llike the scarab, lotus flower, Horus, eye, serpents and sphinx.