Art Fundamentals, Movements, and Vocabulary

Fifty vocabulary flashcards defining key principles of design, visual elements, sculpture techniques, artistic perspectives, art movements, and specific artists based on the lecture notes.

Balance

How visual weight is arranged.

Contrast

Differences between elements, such as light/dark or rough/smooth.

Emphasis

Makes one part stand out.

Movement

Guides the eye or creates a feeling of motion.

Pattern

Repetition of a visual element.

Rhythm

Repetition that creates a visual beat or flow.

Unity

All parts work well together.

Scale

Size of an object compared to another object or its surroundings.

Line

A mark that moves from one point to another.

Shape

A flat, 2D enclosed area.

Form

A 3D object with height, width, and depth.

Color

What we see when light reflects from an object.

Value

How light or dark something is.

Texture

How something looks or feels.

Space

Area around, between, or inside objects.

Medium

Material/tool an artist uses, such as paint, clay, graphite, or watercolor.

Media

More than one medium.

Sculpture

3D artwork made by shaping, carving, casting, or modeling materials.

Harlem Renaissance

Major cultural/artistic movement during the 1920s–1930s that celebrated African American art, music, literature, and culture.

Augusta Savage

American Harlem Renaissance sculptor (1892–1962) who created Lift Every Voice and Sing, a 16-foot painted cast plaster sculpture treated to look like basalt/black stone.

Universal/Timeless Perspective

Ideas, emotions, and experiences understood across cultures/time, such as love, family, fear, and happiness.

Cultural Influence

Art shaped by a society's values, beliefs, traditions, and history.

Personal/Individual Perspective

Art connected to an artist's or viewer's experiences, identity, and emotions.

Focal Point

Part of an artwork that gets your attention first.

Earthworks

Large artworks made using/changing natural materials and landscapes, such as dirt, rocks, and earth.

Relief Sculpture

Sculpture that sticks out from a flat background.

Freestanding Sculpture

3D sculpture that can be viewed from different sides.

Classical Art

Art from Ancient Greece and Rome (roughly 800 BCE–500 CE) characterized by realistic/idealized human bodies, balanced proportions, natural-looking poses, and interest in anatomy.

Medieval Art

Art from the Middle Ages (roughly 500–1400/1500 CE) that was strongly focused on religion and generally less focused on realistic human anatomy.

Italian Renaissance

Period of artistic rebirth in Italy (1300s–1500s) where artists looked back to Classical Greece and Rome, focusing on realistic anatomy, proportion, and perspective.

Michelangelo

Italian Renaissance artist (1475–1564) who created Madonna and Child using Classical ideals of realistic anatomy and proportions.

Abstract

Changes, simplifies, or does not realistically represent objects.

Illusionistic

Creates the appearance of realistic objects, people, or space.

Linear Perspective

Creates depth/distance using lines moving toward vanishing points.

Atmospheric Perspective

Creates depth by making distant objects lighter, less detailed, and less clear.

Oblique Projection

Shows a 3D object with the front straight-on and depth using angled lines.

Calligraphy

Decorative or artistic handwriting.

Impressionism

Art movement focused on light, color, movement, quick visual impressions, and everyday subjects.

The Academy

Institution that established traditional rules and standards for art and criticized Impressionism for not following traditional standards.

Mary Cassatt

American-born Impressionist artist (1844–1926) who worked in France, created The Child's Bath, and combined Western techniques with Japanese Ukiyo-e influence.

Conceptualism

Approach where the idea/concept is more important than the physical artwork.

Minimalism

Art style using simple forms and very few elements.

Nonobjective

Art that does not represent recognizable objects or subjects.

Nonrepresentational

Art that does not attempt to realistically represent something from the visible world.

Pure Abstraction

Uses colors, lines, shapes, and forms without recognizable subject matter.

Site-Specific

Artwork created specifically for a particular location.

Contour Line

Follows the edges of an object.

Gesture Line

Quick line capturing movement or pose.

Impasto

Paint applied very thickly to create raised texture.

Stippling

Creates shading/texture using many small dots.