Intro to visual arts midterm
palette
1. A surface used for mixing paints. 2. The range of colors used by an artist or a group of artists, either generally or in a specific work. An open palette is one in which all colors are permitted. A restricted palette is limited to a few colors and their mixtures, tints, and shades.
medium
1. The material from which a work of art is made. 2. A standard category of art such as painting or sculpture. 3. A liquid compounded with pigment to make paint, also called a vehicle and often acting as a binder.
impressionism
1860s in France. painting movement. portraying daily life, especially middle class and leisure. landscapes. Recording how light interacts with life.
surrealism
1900s. imitating dreams and fantasy. Salvador Dali
minimalism
60s-70s. simple, primary forms. industrial materials for sculptures.
style
A characteristic, or a number of characteristics, that we can identify as constant, recurring, or coherent. In art, the sum of such characteristics associated with a particular artist, group, or culture, or with an artist's work at a specific time.
visual balance
A form of balance in art. each area of a painting suggests a certain visual weight, a certain degree of lightness or heaviness.
abstract expressionism
An American art movement of the mid 20th century, characterized by large heroic scale and nonrepresentational imagery.
geodesic dome
An architectural structure invented by R. Buckminster Fuller, based on triangles arranged into tetrahedrons (four-faceted solids).
classical
Ancient Greek and Rome. any art that emphasizes rational order, balance, harmony, and restraint
futurism
Art movement founded in Italy in 1909 and lasting only a few years. concentrated on the dynamic quality of modern technological life, emphasizing speed and movement.
representational
Descriptive of a work of art that depicts forms in the natural world.
naturalistic
Descriptive of an approach to portraying the visible world that emphasizes the objective observation and accurate imitation of appearances. Naturalistic art closely resembles the forms it portrays. Naturalism and realism are often used interchangeably, and both words have complicated histories. In this text, naturalism is construed as a broader approach, permitting a degree of idealization and embracing a stylistic range across cultures. Realism suggests a more focused, almost clinical attention to detail that refuses to prettify harsh or unflattering matters.
trompe l'oeil
French for "fool the eye," representational art that mimics optical experience, almost realism
memento mori
Latin phrase meaning 'remember you must die'. portrait with a skull but other symbols commonly found are hour glasses or clocks, extinguished or guttering candles, fruit, and flowers.
scale
Size in relation to some normal constant size
proportion
Size relationships between parts of a whole, or between two or more items perceived as a unit; also, the size relationship between an object and its surroundings. Compare scale.
canon
The canon can be seen as a body of work, which has been established as representative of the best examples of a particular genre. The works of art that are included in the canon are considered to be masterpieces. The works included in the canon set a standard from which other works of art, whether new or old, which are not included in the canon can be judged.
divine right
The idea that god gives people the right to own/conquer things, depicted in a lot of european/early american works.
intensity
This term is used to describe the brightness, or the dullness of a color.
mannerism
a period of European art that emerged from the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520. Characterized by artificial qualities such as elongated features, meant to promote tension and instability.
contrapposto
a pose that suggests the potential for movement and thus life, in a standing human figure. developed by sculptors in ancient greece, contrapposto places the figure's weight on one foot, setting off a series of adjustments to the hips and shoulders that produce a subtle S-curve.
monochromatic
all the colors, tints, shades, of a single hue
conceptual art
art created with the belief that the essence of art resides in a motivation idea, and that any realizations or recording of the idea are secondary. 60s. moving away from producing objects that could be bought and sold. Often ephemeral.
abstract
art in which the forms of the visual world are purpously simplified, fragmented, or otherwise distorted
cubism
art style in 1800s. objects are analyzed, broken up and reassembled in an abstracted form. Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso.
pop art
art style of the 60s. derives imagery from popular culture, often mass produced. Mundane, focuses on overfamiliar objects and gives them new often political meaning. Andy Warhol.
nonobjective
art that doesn't represent or refer to a world outside itself
direction/movement
artists will rely on tools to to establish story and flow of composition by using visual sense of motion through the work
site-specific
based on a site and required to be there
site-sensitive
based on a site but not required to be there
cool
blues, greens, purples
triadic
color scheme incorporates three hues that are evenly spaced around a color wheel
analogous
colors near eachother on the color wheel
curvilinear
contained by or consisting of a curved line or lines.
rectilinear
contained by or consisting of a straight line or lines.
stylized
depicting forms with style rather than real world proportions
genre
depicts the daily lives of people
iconography
describing images. identifying, describing, and interpreting subject matter in art. part of studying art.
hatching
drawing closely spaced parallel lines for tonal or shading effects
actual texture
feel as they appear
sfumato
from Italian word "smoke," technique of painting that glazes over details for a hazy look. Mona Lisa.
movement
group of artists who agree on general principles
tint
he mixture of a color with white, which increases lightness
implied light
illusion of light
national endowment for the arts
independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence.
dada
international art movement during WW1. refused to make sense or provide comfort. created absurd anti-art.
value
lightness or darkness of a color
geometric
made up of points and lines, some so complex that math is needed to make them
chroma
measure of how pure or intense it is, how saturated the color is.
cross-hatching
method of line drawing that describes light and shadow
tertiary
mixture of secondary
post modernism
modern ideas about art, since the 70s. no progress in art, reflects back on art ideas from the past.
photorealism
movement in the 60s-70s. imitated precision of photography
intermediate
obtained by mixing primary and secondary
secondary
orange, violet, green
organic
organic shapes don't have perfect or uniform measurements
composition
organization of lines, shapes, colors, and other art elements in a work of art
gestural
paint is spontaneously dribbled, splashed or smeared onto the canvas, rather than being carefully applied
fresco
painting medium in which colors are applied to wet plaster. Michelangelo and the Sistine Chapel
visual texture
perceived surface quality
Baroque
period of European history, 16-1700s. Characterized by dramatic scenes, lighting and bold colors. Emotional and a lot of ornate architecture.
pointillism
picture is formed from small dots of color
appropriation
postmodern practice in which one artist reproduces an image created by another artists. Warhol and all the Mona Lisa's
conservation/restoration
preservation of older artworks either through keeping it in safe conditions or going in and retouching damages areas.
hue
property of colors by which they can be perceived, quality of color determined by dominant wavelength of the light
impressionistic
realistic lighting
primary
red, yellow, blue
quotation
referencing other pieces in artwork, also a postmodernism thing
saturation
referred to as "intensity" and "chroma." It refers to the dominance of hue in the color.
found object
regular objects somehow made into art
readymade
regular objects that are just called art. Duchamp.
ecclesiastical/secular
religious vs non religious
modeling
rendering illusion of volume on a two dimensional surface through shading
implied shape
spaces between objects that are placed in relationship to eachother and are seen as shapes
vanitas
specific genre of art in which the artist uses morbid symbolic objects (such as skulls, rotting food, fading flowers etc.) in order to produce in the viewer's mind an acute awareness of the brevity of life and the inevitability of death.
chiaroscuro
strong contrasts between light and dark
implied line
suggest an edge rather than clearly defining one
simultaneous contrast
tendency of color to induce its opposite in hue, intensity, value upon an adjecent color and be mutually affected
optical color mixture
tendency of eyes to blend patches of color placed next to eachother
visual weight
the ability of a region or art element within a composition to draw attention to itself. Visual weight is often created through the use of contrast and/or through the use of color.
realism
the goal is to portray forms in the natural world in a highly faithful manner. Specifically, an art style of the mid-19th century, identified especially with Gustave Courbet, which fostered the idea that everyday people and events are fit subjects for important art. Compare naturalism.
outline
the line by which a figure or object is defined or bounded; contour.
contour line
the line which defines a form or an edge. It is, essentially, the outline or silhouette of a given object or figure.
shade
the mixture of a color with black, which reduces lightness.
impasto
the process or technique of laying on paint or pigment thickly so that it stands out from the surface.
multivalent
the quality or state of having many values, meanings, or appeals
volume
the space that an object or figure fills in a drawing or painting
formalism
the study of art by analyzing and comparing form and style/the way objects are made and their purely visual aspects.
glaze
thin, oily, transparent layer of paint spread over the top of an opaque passage that has been given some time to dry
stippling
to paint, engrave or draw by means of dots or small touches
pydramidal
triangular
complementary
two colors on opposite sides of color wheel that when next eachother make eachother brighter
diptych/triptych
two or three panels attached.
biomorphic
use of organic shapes and line work derived from biology or living organisms
actual light
using light itself as an artistic medium
painterly
visual brushstrokes
in situ
works of art made specifically for host site
warm
yellows, reds
