Art Vocabulary: Chapter 1-2

Architecture

the design and construction of buildings or other complex structures.

Artworld theory of art

an approach to defining art as whatever the artworld says it is.

Catharsis

the process of releasing pent up emotion resulting in personal change.

Circumambulate

to “walk around”—a ritual practice of circling a sacred site, following a set path either inside or outside of a structure.

Communication theory of art

an approach to defining art as a transfer of feeling from artist to spectator.

Convention

group consensus about the way something is usually done.

Icon

a person or thing regarded as representative of something, often religious.

Institutional theory of art

another name for the Artworld theory of art.

Labyrinth

similar to a maze, but generally has only one intricate and twisting path to the center.

Mimesis

an approach to defining art as a copy of perceived reality.

Monument

a statue or other structure meant to commemorate a famous person or event.

Mural

a work of art executed directly on a wall.

Relic

an object thought to have belonged to or been part of a holy person’s body.

Secular

lacking in religious or spiritual content, not bound by religious rule.

Significant Form

an approach to defining art as what we notice.

Symbolism

the use of images to represent ideas or qualities.

Trompe l’oeil

art so realistic that it “fools the eye.”

Zeuxis and Parhassios

an ancient Greek myth about two competing painters who vie for the title of greatest artist by copying reality most faithfully.

2-Dimensional Art

art that is executed on a two dimensional surface that has length and width; a flat (or nearly flat) surface. These include, but are not limited to, paintings, drawings, and prints.

3-Dimensional Art

art that is executed in the three dimensions of length, width, and height. These include, but are not limited to, sculpture, architecture, ceramics, glass, textiles, assembly, and installation.

4-Dimensional Art

art that is executed in, and depends upon, both space and time, which is considered the “fourth dimension.” Examples include but are not limited to performance art and video art.

Abstract Expressionism or ABEX

this art historical term is specific to a group of painters working in New York after the Second World War. This group includes Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Lee Krasner, and Helen Frankenthaler. Their primary approach to painting was gestural, and “all over,” a condition in which no single part of the work is visually predominant.

Acrylic

a fast drying water-soluble petroleum based painting medium.

Actual Texture

the condition in which texture is created, not represented. Actual texture is the opposite of simulated texture or the illusion of texture. Examples include brushstrokes, impasto, collage, and inclusion.

Additive Color

color based on projected light.

Additive

a sculptural process in which material is added.

Afterimage

the optical sensation that occurs after a visual stimulus is removed. The afterimage is a quickly fading complement of the original stimulus.

Analogous Color

a color scheme that uses colors adjacent to an initial point on the color wheel. For example, if an artist chose red for the initial color, then an analogous color scheme would employ the color range that occurs between orange, red, and purple.

Armature

a wire or wood substructure used to support a clay sculpture while it is being worked.

Assembly

a sculptural process in which disparate materials are combined to form the final artwork.

Asymmetric

lacking symmetry.

Atmospheric Perspective

the use of color to simulate the illusion of space.

Axis

an imaginary line around which objects are arranged.

Balance

the property of equality in visual weight.

Binder

a transparent fluid used to suspend colored pigment and attach it to a support.

Brush

tools used to apply paint to a support, usually hair or fiber attached to a wooden or plastic handle.

Buon Fresco

literally, “good fresco.” A mural process in which pigment is painted on and absorbed into wet plaster.

Calligraphy

beautiful writing.

Carving

a sculptural process in which material is removed to reveal the final artwork.

Casting

a sculptural process in which material is substituted to form the final artwork.

Charcoal

an art medium made from burned wood used to make dark black marks usually on paper.

Closed Form

sculptural forms that are not penetrated by exterior space.

Color Scheme

an organized or formulaic approach to the selection of color. For example, Monochromatic (one color), Complementary (opposite colors), and Analogous (adjacent colors) color schemes.

Color Temperature

in visual art, the sensation of “warm” or “cool” relative to a given color. Warm colors tend toward red/orange, while cool colors tend toward blue/white. Every color, when compared to another can be seen to be either more warm or more cool.

Color

the sensation caused by differing qualities of light.

Complementary Color

colors that when blended together create a neutral gray. On a color wheel, complementary colors appear opposite to one another. Examples of a complementary color pair would be blue and orange or red and green.

Composition

the arrangement of visual elements.

Conte Crayons

in drawing, square sticks of compressed charcoal or pigment and wax or clay.

Conte

a mixture of pigment and clay used to make colored marks, usually on paper. Traditionally manufactured in black, white, and sanguine (red) colors.

Contour

the exterior boundary of a form.

Contrast

areas with a high difference in value, color, texture, or other scale.

Cool Color

a color that tends toward blue/white in hue. A cool color can be any color that tends toward blue/white when compared to another color. For example, alizarin crimson is a cool red when compared to cadmium red medium.

Crosshatching

intersecting marks that create value on a form.

Description

the process of enumerating the various elements of an artwork.

Design

a plan for the arrangement of visual elements.

Drawing

the process of making marks on a support, often but not always representative of an idea or object.

Edge

exterior boundary of a shape.

Edition

a series of prints made from a single matrix.

Electromagnetic Spectrum

continuous range of radioactive energy by wavelength.

Elements of Design

the physical components of visual art.

Emphasis

the strategy of directing attention with the use of high contrast.

Encaustic

a painting process which uses wax as the binder.

Figure/Ground Relation

the figure in front of the ground. Used to specify which objects qualify as figures.

Figure/Ground Reversal

ambiguous figure ground relation in which figures can be alternately seen as grounds and vice versa.

Figure

a shape that appears in front of a background.

Forced Perspective

use of perspective to create a distorted or unnatural scale relation.

Form

the physical components of visual art.

Found Objects

material incorporated into artwork that is not normally considered an artistic medium. Found objects serve the same purpose in sculpture that magazine cutouts serve in collage.

Freestanding

sculpture that can be viewed from all angles.

Fresco Secco

the process of painting on dry plaster.

Fresco

the process of painting on wet or dry plaster.

Fugitive

pigments that change color or become transparent with time or weathering.

Geometric

a shape with mathematically regular contours.

Gestalt

intuitive perception of an artwork as a single whole experience.

Gesture

direction interpreted as movement.

Gicleé

an Ink-Jet print, usually on acid free paper with archival inks.

Graphite

a carbon-based mineral mixed with clay to make pencil leads of varying hardness.

Ground

the stage on which a figure resides.

Gum Arabic

a water-soluble resin from the Gum tree used as a binder in watercolor.

Hard-Edged

a shape with clearly defined boundaries.

Height

vertical distance or measurement.

High Relief

sculpture that remains attached to a base, but uses undercut. Opposite of low relief.

Horizon Line

the visual limit of space where sky and land or water meet. In linear perspective, the vanishing point rotated 360 degrees.

Hue

the quality of wavelength in color; the color name.

Impasto

thick application of paint.

Implied Line

invisible line perceived by alignment of unrelated shapes.

Impressionism

a nineteenth century art movement, originating in Paris, in which changing variations of light become a principal subject. Examples include the work of Claude Monet, Edgar Degas, and Mary Cassatt.

Ink

a liquid pigment traditionally used with pens of various manufacture.

Installation

an art practice that surrounds the viewer in an environment.

Intaglio

a printing process in which a metal plate is scratched with a steel point to produce printed images.

Interactive

artwork in which the viewer is expected to participate.

Interval

the space between elements of an artwork.

Intuitive Color

an approach to the selection of color that relies on intuition or other internal state rather than observation of an external condition.

Kinetic Art

art that incorporates motion into its design.

Line

an infinite series of points with limited length.

Linear Perspective

geometrically constructed illusion of the recession of space.

Linear

of or pertaining to the quality of line.

Lithograph

a printing process that relies on the repulsion between oil-based ink and water. A stone (or aluminum plate) is drawn on and etched. Where the stone is etched will absorb water. Where the stone is not etched (protected by the drawing or image) the stone will remain dry. Water is applied to the stone. Ink is then rolled over the stone. Where the stone is wet, ink is repelled. Where the stone is dry, ink adheres. Paper is then pressed onto the inked stone resulting in a print.

Local Color

the color of an object under even illumination.

Lost Wax

a casting process in which a wax original is molded, then wax is melted out and replaced with metal.