Art Education GACE Study Guide (because the "official" one is full of vague nonsense)

trompe l'oeil (fool the eye)

a form of painting that attempts to represent an object as existing in three dimensions, and therefore resembles the real thing

Chiaroscuro

The treatment of light and shade in a work of art, especially to give an illusion of depth.

radial symmetry

The quality of having many lines of symmetry that all pass through a central point.

one-point perspective

a perspective system with a single vanishing point on the horizon

two-point perspective

A realistic way of drawing objects in three dimensions using a horizon line, a key edge, and two vanishing points.

three-point perspective

two vanishing points recede toward the horizon like in two-point perspective; however, the third vanishing point is used to show the vertical recession of parallel lines that are vertical to the ground. the addition of a third vanishing point makes it possible to depict a form above (bird's eye view) AND/OR below (worm's eye view)

Sfumato

Italian for "smoky", technique used to blend details to look more realistic. Perfected by Leonardo to create imperceptible transitions between light and shade.

monochromatic color scheme

Use of different tints, shades, & intensities of ONE color

complementary color scheme

Use of TWO colors that are directly across from each other on the color wheel

analogous color scheme

any three colors which are side by side on a 12 part color wheel

tertiary colors

Created by mixing a primary color with a neighboring secondary color

atmospheric perspective

Creating the illusion of depth of space by fading colors and eliminating detail in objects that are further away.

Modeling (Drawing)

Uses shading to suggest the roundness of forms. It is one method of creating perspective in drawing to represent three-dimensional surfaces.

linear perspective

A monocular cue for perceiving depth; the more parallel lines converge, the greater their perceived distance.

vehicle (painting)

liquid constituent that holds pigment in suspension

baren (printmaking)

a tool used in relief printing; typically circular or rounded with a flat face, used to transfer ink from block to paper

squeegee (printmaking)

a tool used in serigraphy (silk-screen printing); typically possesses a wooden or metal handle attached to a thin, flexible rubber or plastic blade. Used to force ink through the printing screen and onto the substrate.

Megapixel (MP)

Digital camera resolution, which is typically stated in megapixels (MP), or one million pixels.

the type of ceramic product that requires the highest firing temperature

true porcelain

extruder (ceramics)

a piece of equipment used in a ceramics studio to create desired forms; to extrude means to shape a material by forcing it through an opening

depth of field

the area of acceptable sharpness in front of and behind the subject which the lens is focused. put simply, it refers to how blurry or sharp the area is around your subject.

aperture

the opening of a camera lens through which light passes. affects the light and sharpness of images.

if the opening is larger, more light gets in and the image becomes blurrier. if the opening is smaller, less light gets in, and the image is sharper.

extender (painting)

prolongs the drying time of [acrylic] paint so you get the most out of your material; it also smooths out paint texture so you can salvage clotted or dried paint

solvent

A liquid substance capable of dissolving other substances

Tjanting (canting)

tool used to draw lines in hot wax on fabric for the batik technique

Batik Printing

using wax to prevent the fabric from absorbing dyes in these areas

ribbon tool

tool with square and looped metal ribbon ends for trimming and hollowing soft and leather hard clay.

wire cutter

Used to cut clay off a larger piece and to cut in half to check for air pockets.

pyrometer

Instrument used to record the exact temperature of the kiln.

pyrometric cone

pieces of ceramic that help you gauge whether a kiln has reached sufficient temperature and whether the pottery will have been fired the correct amount

"On Painting" (Della pittura)

15th century text written by Leon Battista Alberti; included the first systematic guidelines for the use of linear perspective

Wedgwood

British potter/inventor/entrepreneur, developer of Queensware and Jasperware using mass production techniques to spread art to the middle classes

Roman fresco

A painting on wet plaster - when the plaster dries, the painting is bonded to the wall; used for painting large murals during the Renaissance

Chinoiserie

The imitation of Chinese motifs and techniques in painting and in decorating furniture

Art Nouveau style

(1890-1914) A highly decorative style that was applied to painting, sculpture, architecture, furniture, jewelry, fabrics, and all types of materials used for interior and exterior design.

restricted access to life-drawing classes

a major obstacle faced by nineteenth-century women artists in Europe and the US

[art] conservation center

an institution that could be considered a cross between an art studio and a forensics lab

offset lithography (aka offset printing)

the most commonly-used process for printing daily newspapers before direct computer-to-press printing; a method of mass-production printing in which the images on metal plates are transferred to rubber blankets or rollers and then to the print media

serigraphy (silkscreen printing)

a printmaking process in which stencils are applied to a screen of silk or similar material stretched on a frame. Paint or ink is forced through the open areas of the stencil onto paper beneath.

engraving (intaglio)

a printmaking technique where the artist gouges or scratches the image into the surface of the printing plate, usually made of copper or other metals

etching

the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio (incised) in the metal

"Objective" Painting

a painting that specifically represents what the artist sees

Narrative Painting

A painting that represents a moment or moments of an actual or implied story that unfolds over time.

hard-edge painting

style of painting in which abrupt transitions are found between color areas; color areas are often of one unvarying color; related to Geometric abstraction, Op Art, Post-painterly Abstraction, and Color Field painting

Genre painting

a style of painting depicting scenes from ordinary life, especially domestic situations; associated particularly with 17th-century Dutch and Flemish artists.

sublime

of such excellence, grandeur, or beauty as to inspire great admiration or awe

an important tenet of Postmodernism

the concept of cultural determinism, whereby individual knowledge is shaped and limited by cultural forces like language

Iconography (Iconographic analysis)

the analysis of symbols, themes, and subject matter in the visual arts in order to establish the in-context meaning of an artwork

an event which altered critical understanding of the Sistine Chapel ceiling

a restoration effort which revealed vibrant colors

The Feldman method

method of art criticism which includes description, analysis, interpretation, and judgment

a stylistic choice which gave the Fauves the nickname "wild beasts"

the striking use of bold, vivid color

the Armory Show (aka The 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art)

introduced European modern art to the United States

William Blake (1757-1827)

English poet, painter, and printmaker. Seminal figure in the history of both the poetry and visual arts of the Romantic Age; style tended towards Romantic images which frequently incorporated biblical themes.

Artworld

An atmosphere of artistic theory, a knowledge of the history of art; coined by philosopher Arthur Danto; (art is determined by the artworld)

John Ruskin and William Morris

led the Arts & Crafts Movement; believed that machine-made goods were "dishonest" and that products made by craftsmen from start to finish were worth dignity and pride

Albert Bierstadt

German born U.S Painter known for his large, idealized landscape portraits of the 19th century west; reinforced the American idea of Manifest Destiny

figure-ground relationship

one of the most basic laws of visual perception, as observed by Gestalt theorists; in the human visual system, figure-ground organization is the process of identifying a figure from its background

theory of simultaneous space and time

influenced both Pablo Picasso and experimental writer Gertrude Stein

Eadweard Muybridge

United States motion-picture pioneer remembered for his pictures of running horses taken with a series of still cameras (1830-1904); served to advance the field of biomechanics

Color-Field Painting

use of overlapping and interacting and interacting areas of thin washes of flat color; huge canvases that treat the surface as a field of vision

Precisionism

a style of American painting of the 1920s and 1930s characterized by abstracted form, crisp contour, and static composition and usually depicting industrial or architectural subject matter.

Constructivism

an early twentieth-century art movement founded in 1915 by Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko; Abstract and austere, aimed to reflect modern industrial society and urban space; rejected decorative stylization in favor of the industrial assemblage of materials

Expressionism

a style of painting, music, or drama in which the artist or writer seeks to express emotional experience rather than impressions of the external world.

Purism

an early-20th-century art movement that embraced the "machine aesthetic" and sought purity of form in the clean functional lines of industrial machinery; a variant of Cubism and developed in France

Abstract Expressionism

an experimental style of mid-twentieth-century modern art popularized by painters in New York after WWII; Arshile Gorky, Willem de Kooning, Jackson Pollock

Decalcomania

in Surrealism, paint forced into random textured patterns to create strange and dreamlike landscapes (the basis of form inspired by free association)

features of the Great Mosque at Cordoba

a hypostyle hall, filled with columns topped by large horseshoe-shaped arches that support the roof, typical of traditional Islamic mosques

Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood

English art movement formed in 1848 by painters with notable affinities for the art and craft of the Middle Ages; most notably associated with the Gothic Revival movement

round domes and barrel vaults

most-likely learned from Etruscan engineers; first incorporated into architecture on a large scale during the Republican era of Rome

Caravaggio

Italian painter noted for his (gritty) realistic depiction of religious subjects and his novel (dramatic) use of light; "if all the men look like cow-eyed curly-haired women, it's [this artist]"

Jacques-Louis David

French painter; his works include The Oath of the Horatii (17850 and The Death of Marat (1793); "The King of Neoclassicism" and "propagandist for all sides"; reworked classical paintings to fit political narratives of his time

Cornaro Chapel

designed by Bernini; characteristic of the Baroque style (17th century)

pattern

a repeated decorative design

rhythm

visual elements that direct the eye across an artwork, often in repetitive motifs; without it, artwork may feel static

balance

the distribution of the visual weight of objects, colors, textures, and space; often related to or used to give symmetry

contrast

noticeable differences in artistic elements across the whole of an artwork, used to disrupt and/or preserve its balance

emphasis

the creating of a focal point or drawing the eye to a specific place on a piece of artwork; often achieved by using striking colors, stark contrast, etc

art period

a period of time during which artists in a certain geographical location share culture, history, and art styles; not intentional, usually grouped by parallel historical events

art movement

an art style or trend launched intentionally by a group of artists with a specific goal in mind; often associated with a particular art style and/or ideology

Prehistoric Art Period

lasted from 30,000 B.C. to about 2500 B.C.; composed of the Old (Paleolithic) and New (Neolithic) Stone Ages, which were characterized by hunting/gathering and agriculture, respectively;

Paleolithic era

time period during which cave paintings and stone sculptures of people and animals were popular; cave paintings are thought to have been used in Shamanistic/hunting rituals

Venus of Willendorf

an Old Stone Age (Paleolithic) statuette which exhibits exaggerated female features and may have been used as a fertility idol

Neolithic era

time period during which [cave] painting was mostly abandoned along with hunter/gatherer societies; people began to settle and develop agriculture; architecture such as Stonehenge was more popular

Stonehenge

a structure in England that is believed to have been built in the Neolithic Age; it is composed in a post-and-lintel arrangement

megalith

a large stone that forms a prehistoric monument

menhir

a large uncut stone erected as a monument in the prehistoric era; a standing stone; a topless megalith

cromlech

a circular pattern of menhirs

alignment

a cemetery-like row of menhirs

Mesopotamian period

lasted from about 3500 B.C. to about 500 B.C.; includes the Sumerians, the Akkadians, the Assyrians, and the Babylonians; art during this period is generally contained to war art, propaganda, and religious/tomb art

The Sumerians

a civilization in Mesopotamia which invented writing (cuneiform), monotheism, wrote the first epic poem (Gilgamesh), and zigurrats

Sumerian art

art created during this time is usually stiff, made for religious purposes, blocky or crude but still decorative, carved from stone or sculpted with clay, painted/inlaid with gold or other valuable metals/gemstones; think of this style as the main predecessor of the Egyptian art style

Zigurrat

a Mesopotamian religious temple in the form of a stepped pyramid

the Akkadians

a civilization in Mesopotamia known to develop the first known code of laws; art was used as propaganda in this society, meant to serve warlike ambitions rather than honor the gods

Akkadian art

art created during this time is a little more advanced than the basic forms of Sumerian art; human and animal figures are rendered more sensitively, giving them a little more dimensionality and muscle (detail)

the Babylonians

a group of people who conquered the Sumerians; their most famous king was Hammurabi (Hammurabi's Code); art created during this time placed a greater emphasis on piety of the king

the Assyrians

known as a warrior people who ruthlessly conquered neighboring countries (including Mesopotamia); used ladders, iron-tipped spears, and fearful military tactics to gain strength

Assyrian art

art created during this time was "macho"; it glorified rulers and was meant to intimidate enemies, convey military exploits, etc; these people invented continuous visual narrative by giving paintings and other works an action-movie feel

the Egyptian period

lasted from about 3100 B.C. to about 332 B.C.; often called "art of the dead" because most art created during this time was made for the tomb

Egyptian art

this art style is classified by symmetry, rigid yet elegant visual narrative and use of symbols, rich colors; the style changed very little over the course of its empire's long lifetime; all artists followed a canon of proportions; architectural marvels and tomb art

The Palette of Narmer

the earliest surviving ancient Egyptian artwork, showing the unification of Egypt after a great war; made of green siltstone