Visual Arts Chapter 2 Vocab. (Living With Art)

Installation

A space is presented as a work of art that can be entered, explored, experimented, and reflected upon

Conceptual Art

Art according to the belief that the essence of art resides in a motivating idea, and that any physical realization or recording of this idea is secondary. Arose during the 1960s as artists tried to move away from producing objects that could be bought and sold. Conceptual are often realized physically in materials that have little or no inherent value, such as a series of photographs or texts that document an activity. They are often ephemeral.

Stylized

Describes representational art that conforms to a present style or set of conventions for depicting the world (example: Ancient Egypt)

Representational

Descriptive of a work of art that depicts forms in the natural world

Abstract

Descriptive of art in which the forms of the visual world are purposefully simplified, fragmented, or otherwise distorted

Nonobjective

Descriptive of art that does not represent or otherwise refer to the visual world outside itself

Trompe l'oeil

French for "fool the eye", extreme realism

Subject Matter

In representational or abstract art, the objects or events depicted

Form

Is the way a work of art looks. It includes all visual aspects of the work that can be isolated and described, such as size, shape, materials, color, and composition

Content

Is what a work of art is about. For representational and abstract works, it begins with the objects or events the work depicts, its subject matter

Iconography

Literally "describing images", involves identifying, describing, and interpreting subject matter in art

Style

Refers to a characteristic of group of characteristics that we recognize as constant, recurring, or coherent (help us categorize art by its own appearance)

Context

The personal and social circumstances surrounding the making, viewing, and interpreting of a work of art; the varied connections of a work of art to the larger world of its time and place

Naturalistic

Visual experience, recording how forms are revealed by light and shadow, how bodies reflect an inner structure of bone and muscle, how fabric drapes over bodies and objects, and how gravity makes weight felt