HART 205: Midterm Study Terms

Federal Art Project (FAP)

A New Deal program established in 1935 under the Works Progress Administration (WPA) during the Great Depression. It employed artists to create murals, paintings, sculptures, posters, and other public artworks. Remember~ Government

funded art, employment for artists, public access to art, and the relationship between art and politics. Jungian archetype

A concept associated with psychologist Carl Jung. Archetypes are recurring symbolic patterns, figures, or images believed to emerge from a collective unconscious shared across humanity. Remember~ Myth, universal symbols, and recurring psychological imagery. An archetype can be interpreted differently depending on the artwork and its historical context. Popular Front

fascist groups. Remember~ Anti

fascism, left

wing politics, labor movements, and debates about whether art should address social and political issues. “Towards a Free Revolutionary Art”

A 1938 manifesto associated with André Breton and Leon Trotsky, written with Diego Rivera credited on the published text. It argued for artistic freedom from political and bureaucratic control while supporting revolutionary social change. Remember~ Artistic freedom, anti

fascism, revolutionary politics, and resistance to state control of culture. “Three Centuries of American Art”

A major exhibition of American art presented in Paris in 1938, associated with the international presentation of American cultural production. Remember~ How American art was presented to international audiences before Abstract Expressionism became prominent. School of the South (Escuela del Sur)

García. He argued that Latin American artists should develop their own modern visual language rather than simply follow European artistic traditions. Remember~ Latin American modernism, geometric abstraction, regional artistic identity, and the famous idea that the South could be oriented at the top of a map. The Irascibles

A group of Abstract Expressionist artists who protested the Metropolitan Museum of Art's approach to contemporary American painting in 1950. A famous photograph by Nina Leen, published in Life magazine in 1951, showed 15 of the artists. Remember~ Abstract Expressionism, resistance to conservative art institutions, and the artists' public recognition as a group. Associated artists include Jackson Pollock, Willem de Kooning, Barnett Newman, and Mark Rothko. Non

hierarchical composition

An arrangement in which no single part of an artwork is clearly more important than the others. The viewer's eye may move across the work without settling on one dominant focal point. Recognize~ An evenly distributed visual field rather than one central subject. Concrete art

geometric abstraction, often using unconventional materials, rough surfaces, and expressive gestures. Remember~ Material experimentation, irregular forms, and resistance to strict geometric order. Tachisme is closely related. All

over composition

A composition in which marks, shapes, or colors are distributed across the entire surface, without a single central focal point. Associated artist

hierarchical composition, but specifically describes how the visual elements cover the surface. Neo

concretism

A Brazilian movement that emerged in 1959 in reaction to the perceived rigidity of rationalist, geometric Concrete art. Neo

concretist artists emphasized bodily experience, perception, participation, and the relationship between viewer and artwork. Associated artist

Lygia Clark. Remember~ Art as an experience, not merely a geometric object to look at. Gestural Abstraction

out frame

A frame or shaped support whose outline departs from the conventional rectangle. The artwork's outer contour becomes an active part of the composition. Remember~ The shape of the support is important, rather than the painting simply being contained within a rectangular canvas. Particularly relevant to geometric abstraction and artists exploring irregular frames. Madí

garde movement founded in Buenos Aires in 1946, associated with Gyula Kosice and Carmelo Arden Quin. Madí challenged traditional painting and sculpture through irregular frames, geometric forms, movement, and playful experimentation. Remember~ Non

rectangular supports, modular elements, and art that challenges the conventional shape of a painting. Color

Field Painting

A form of abstraction emphasizing large areas of relatively flat, unmodulated color rather than expressive brushwork or dense compositions. Associated artists

dimensional surface. Remember~ Modernism, medium specificity, formal analysis, and the importance of painting's flat surface. Harold Rosenberg

An American art critic associated with the concept of Action Painting. Rosenberg emphasized the artist's act of painting as a consequential, existential event rather than simply a formal arrangement of shapes and colors. Remember~ Artistic process, performance, risk, and the canvas as an arena for action. “Is Modern Art Communistic?”

era suspicion toward modern art, particularly abstraction, which some conservative commentators viewed as alien, politically suspect, or incompatible with American values. Remember~ Cold War politics, anti

communism, cultural diplomacy, and disputes about what counted as American art. Avoid assuming abstract art was inherently communist. The De Luxe Show

A 1971 exhibition in Houston, Texas, organized by Peter Bradley. It presented contemporary art in an integrated exhibition context at a time when racial segregation remained a significant issue in the American art world. Remember~ Houston, race and representation, art exhibition practices, and the relationship between art institutions and social change. Some American History

painterly abstraction

A term popularized by Clement Greenberg through a 1964 exhibition. It describes abstract painting that moved away from the heavy gestures of Abstract Expressionism toward clearer edges, flatter color, openness, and greater visual clarity. Associated artists

figurative and abstract art, including geometric abstraction. Remember~ Postwar European abstraction and the institutional promotion of non

representational art. Denise René

A French art dealer and gallery owner whose Paris gallery, opened in 1944, became an important center for geometric and kinetic art. Remember~ Concrete art, geometric abstraction, and international networks supporting experimental artists from Europe and Latin America. Synthesis art and architecture

looking applications of paint. The name comes from the French word tache, meaning spot or stain. Remember~ Spontaneous marks and textured surfaces; related to Informalism but often specifically associated with gestural, stain

like painting. “The Legacy of Jackson Pollock”

An influential 1958 essay by Allan Kaprow. Kaprow considered how Pollock's all

over paintings expanded the possibilities of art and helped lead toward environments, happenings, and the integration of art with everyday life. Remember~ Pollock's impact went beyond painting; his work helped open the way for performance, installation, and participatory art. Happening

An experimental art event that combines performance, objects, actions, and audience participation. Happenings often blurred the boundary between art and ordinary life and did not always follow a fixed script. Associated artist

based art, participation, chance, and the merging of art with life. Kachina

A spirit or spiritual being in the traditions of several Pueblo peoples of the American Southwest. Kachina dolls or figures can represent these beings and are used in cultural and religious contexts. Remember~ Indigenous cultural traditions, spiritual representation, and the importance of understanding the specific cultural context rather than treating these figures as generic symbols. Alliance for Progress

led initiative launched in 1961 under President John F. Kennedy to promote economic development, social reform, and political cooperation in Latin America during the Cold War. Remember US–Latin American relations, modernization, anti

communism, and the political context for contemporary Latin American art. The initiative's effects and reception varied across countries. The Roof of the Whale

The title may refer to a specific artwork, film, literary reference, or course reading. Confirm the exact reference in your lecture notes before memorizing a definition; the title alone does not establish which work your instructor means. Class in experimental musical composition, the New School, 1959

American artist and designer who helped organize and promote Fluxus, an international avant

garde movement beginning in the early 1960s. Remember~ Anti

commercial art, humor, instructions, performances, collaborative practice, and the merging of art with everyday life. Event Score

A brief written instruction or set of instructions for an action, often associated with Fluxus. The score may be performed in different ways, leaving room for interpretation, chance, and ordinary actions. Remember~ Instructions become the basis of the artwork, rather than a conventional painting or sculpture. Fluxshop

associated shop or distribution model for circulating artists' publications, multiples, objects, and inexpensive experimental artworks outside conventional gallery systems. Remember~ Accessibility, alternative distribution, anti

commercial attitudes, and art as something that can be reproduced and shared. Fluxkit

A box or container holding multiple Fluxus objects, printed materials, games, instructions, and other experimental items, often organized by George Maciunas or Fluxus artists. Remember~ Art as a collection of playable, usable, or interactive objects rather than a single precious artwork. Magic Machine

like appearance, geometric construction, industrial materials, and relationship between sculpture, technology, and modern life.