ART HIST Midterm Study Guide: Key Terms 

Gutai (Concrete Art):

• Name translates to "tool/means (gu) + body (tai)."

• Japanese art group founded in 1954 by Yoshihara Jiro.

• Radical, post-war artistic group.

• Known for innovative happenings, performances, and events.

• Aims to break the barrier between art and life.

• Example: "Breaking Through" performance, symbolizing post-WWII reconstruction.

Situationism:

• Political and artistic group founded in 1957.

• Active in Europe in the 1950s and 1960s.

• Known for social and political critiques.

• Formed by merging three groups.

• Supported student protests in France in 1968.

• Rooted in Marxism and avant-garde movements like Dada and Surrealism.

• Guy Debord was a key member.

Détournement:

• Technique used by the Situationist International.

• "Interrupting the spectacular flow" by shifting familiar elements.

• Creating a new situation from an existing one.

• Often used to shock the viewer.

• Example: Duchamp's L.H.O.O.Q. (Mona Lisa with a mustache).

Dérive:

• Situationist practice.

• "Drifting" through urban landscapes without a plan.

• Done alone or in groups.

• Goal: grow aware of societal shifts in space.

• Focus on emotional effects of urban landscapes.

Open Artwork:

• Introduced by Umberto Eco.

• Artworks open to various interpretations.

• Viewer "completes" the artwork.

• Example: John Cage's 4'33".

• Removes artist intent.

Happenings:

• First used by Allan Kaprow.

• Events based on scores (instructions).

• Breaks boundaries between viewer and artwork.

• The viewer becomes a participant.

• Example: Kaprow's Yard.

Consumerist Society:

• Encourages buying more products.

• Belief: more consumption equals more happiness.

• Target of critique by artists (e.g., Situationists).

• Critiqued for creating "spectacle culture."

Independent Group:

• Group of artists in London in the 1950s.

• Discussed contemporary visual culture.

• Questioned modernism.

• Precursor to Pop Art.

Pop Art:

• Started with the Independent Group.

• Employs commonplace images from mainstream culture.

• Reflection of society.

• Impersonal style.

• Bold colors and hard-edged images.

• Notable Artists: Andy Warhol, Roy Lichtenstein.

Silkscreen Printing:

• Stenciling method.

• Ink forced through a mesh screen.

• Used by Pop artists (e.g., Andy Warhol).

Combine:

• Term used by Robert Rauschenberg.

• Hybrid creations: part painting, part sculpture.

• Example: Monogram.

Minimalism:

• Art movement in New York in the 1960s.

• Simplicity and austerity.

• Focus on intrinsic qualities of a medium.

• Notable Artists: Donald Judd, Dan Flavin, Robert Morris.

Specific Object:

• Coined by Donald Judd.

• Three-dimensional works (neither painting nor sculpture).

• Large scale.

• Depart from conventional formats.

• Made from any material.

Gestalt:

• Psychology term ("shape" or "form").

• Perceptual experience as a whole, greater than the sum of its parts.

• Used in Minimalism.

• Relationship between artwork and viewer.

Land Art:

• Site-specific sculptures in nature.

• Large scale.

• Subject to environmental variables.

• Transforms awareness of human-earth relationship.

• Notable Artists: Robert Smithson, Richard Long, Nancy Holt.

Site-Specificity & Site-Specific Art:

• Art created for a particular location.

• Meaning tied to the work and location.

• Considers space's history, culture, and purpose.

• Used in sculpture and architecture.

Size vs. Scale:

• Size: actual physical dimensions.

• Scale: size in relation to another object.

• "Size determines an object, but scale determines art." -Robert Smithson

Positive vs. Negative Space:

• Positive space: subject areas.

• Negative space: background.

• Example: M.C. Escher's Sky and Water I.

Conceptual Art:

• Values ideas and messages over aesthetics.

• Emerged from Minimalism.

• Encourages critical thinking about art.

• Sol LeWitt is an example.

Self-Referentiality:

• Art that refers to itself.

• Uses symbolism or imagery.

• Example: MoMA Logo (stacked boxes).

Art & Language:

• Conceptual artist collaborative.

• Founded in Britain in 1968.

• Provocative texts.

• Challenges traditional art forms.

• Named after their journal.

Feminist Art:

• Empowers women and promotes equal rights.

• Stemmed from the Civil Rights Movement.

• Arose from the lack of women artists in US museums.

• Ad Hoc Women Artists' Committee brought this art to light.

• Examples: The Dinner Party, American People Series # Die, Womanhouse exhibition.

Ad Hoc Women Artists' Committee (1970):

• Formed in 1970.

• Brings awareness to women's contributions in the arts.

• Formed after a lack of women in a Whitney Museum exhibition.

• Members: Faith Ringgold, Lucy Lippard, Brenda Miller.

Womanhouse Exhibition (1972):

• Feminist art installation and performance.

• Open to the public in 1972.

• Created by Judy Chicago and Miriam Shapiro.

• Refutes traditional roles of women in society.

Guerilla Girls:

• Anonymous group of female artists.

• Formed in New York City in 1985.

• Wear gorilla masks.

• Raise awareness about the lack of female and minority artists.

• Expose sexism and racism in the art world.

Social Sculpture:

• Art that can transform society.

• Used by Joseph Beuys.

• Everyone is an artist with creative potential.

• Art should have a purpose.

Artist as Shaman:

• Shaman: someone with access to the spirit world.

• Artist as shaman: transformative and ahead of their time.

• Changes the collective consciousness.

• Example: Joseph Beuys.

Office for Direct Democracy:

• Formed by Joseph Beuys in 1971.

• Political organization.

• Promotes democracy.

• Believes everyone should have a say and equal opportunities.

Remodernism:

• Contemporary art movement.

• Began in 1999 with the Stuckists.

• Opposed to conceptual art.

• Bold colors and traditional art forms.

• Values humility, spirituality, and sincerity.

Late Minimalist Sculpture:

• Simple and uses industrial materials.

• Often site-specific.

• Example: Joel Shapiro.

Art in Architecture Program:

• US government program.

• Established in 1963.

• Funds artworks for federal buildings.

• Examples: La Palme, Transparent Horizon.

Big Photography:

• Large size and digital manipulation.

• Used in advertising and art galleries.

• Example: Andreas Gursky.

Retro Sensationalism:

• Contemporary art movement.

• Sensationalist imagery and culture of spectacle.

• Often shocking and provocative.

• Example: Damien Hirst.

yBa:

• Young British artist.

• Group of British artists from Goldsmiths College.

• Sensationalist works and entrepreneurial spirit.

• No unifying aesthetic attributes.

• Example: Damien Hirst.

Charles Saatchi:

• Iraqi-British businessman and art collector.

• Co-founder of Saatchi & Saatchi.

• Founder of the Saatchi Gallery.

• Major collector of yBa art.