General Art Vocabulary

Transcription

1 General Art Vocabulary Reviewing vocabulary can be helpful in preparing your students for their AGA experience. You may use this list as an art vocabulary reference and choose words that apply to your program or lesson. Students can practice this vocabulary with a suggested vocabulary activity, found in the Teacher Resources section. The list is broken into: Museum Vocabulary, People and Occupations, Art Media & Techniques, Genres of Art, and Art Concepts. art [ahrt] The definition of art is controversial in contemporary philosophy. Whether art can be defined has been a matter of controversy. The philosophical usefulness of a definition of art has also been debated. When discussing art with your students explore the definition of art together or create your own! MUSEUM VOCABULARY Art exhibition Frame Gallery Museum Traveling exhibition An organized presentation and display of a collection of objects to the public. Exhibitions usually occur within museums, galleries and exhibition halls. An enclosing border or case made to support or protect a work of art. Also a concept (to frame) meaning to adapt or describe something from a particular perspective. Similarly, reframe means to redescribe, or relabel from a different perspective. A room or series of rooms where works of art are exhibited. A building or institution which houses a collection of objects having scientific, historical or artistic value. A type of exhibition that is available for circulation on a local, national or international level. PEOPLE and OCCUPATIONS Architect Curator A professional who designs buildings or other structures, or who prepares plans and supervises construction. A person who manages, administers or organizes a collection, either independently or employed by a museum, library, archive or zoo.

2 Exhibition guide Model Museum educator Painter Printmaker Sculptor A person thoroughly trained on art exhibitions who leads tours through gallery spaces and facilitates interaction with artworks. A person who poses for an artist, or an object used as an example for an artist to follow when creating a work of art. Other meanings include: a small copy or image that represents a larger object, or the concept of constructing a model of something (to model). A person thoroughly trained on art exhibitions who leads school groups through gallery spaces and facilitates interaction with the art. An artist who paints pictures. An artist who makes prints. An artist who produces sculpture. ART MEDIA & TECHNIQUES Collage Digital art Drawing Etching Found objects Lithography A form of art in which a variety of materials (e.g., photographs, fabric, objects) are glued to a flat background. Artwork created using digital technologies either in the production or the output of the art work. A picture, likeness, diagram or representation, usually drawn on paper with a pencil, crayon, pen, chalk, pastels, etc. Also refers to the act of representing something by hand. A printmaking technique: an intaglio process in which an image is scratched through an acid-resistant coating on a metal plate. The plate is then dipped in acid which eats into the exposed surface. Also describes the impression made from an etched plate. This indicates the use of an object which has not been designed for an artistic purpose, but which exists for another purpose already. Printmaking technique based on the principle that oil and water do not mix. The artist uses plates whose image areas attract ink and whose non image areas repel ink. Non image areas may be coated with water to repel the oily ink or may have a surface, such as silicon, that repels ink.

3 Medium Mixed media Mosaic Mural Painting Photography Printmaking Sculpture Sketch Sound art Woodcut Material or technique that artist works in. Also describes the component of paint in which the pigment is dispersed. A form of art where an artist employs different types of physical materials such as ink and pastel or painting and collage etc. and combines them in a single artwork. An art medium in which small pieces of colored glass, stone, or ceramic tile called tessera are embedded in a background material such as plaster or mortar. Also describes works made using this technique. A large wall painting, often executed in fresco. An illustration or artwork done with the use of paint(s). The art and technology of producing images on photosensitive surfaces, and its digital counterpart. The process by which a work of art can be recreated in great quantity from a single image usually prepared from a plate. Any three-dimensional form created as an artistic expression. Sculpture is primarily concerned with space: occupying it, relating to it, and influencing the perception of it. Rough drawing used to capture the basic elements and structure of a situation and is often used as the basis for a more detailed work. A diverse group of art practices that considers wide notions of sound, listening and hearing as its predominant focus. Prints produced when the original printing plate is engraved on a block of wood. It is one of the oldest methods of printing, dating back to 8th century China. GENRES OF ART Installation Landscape Portrait A genre of art which incorporates any media, including the physical features of a site, to create a conceptual experience in a particular environment. A painting, drawing or photograph which depicts outdoor scenery. They typically include trees, streams, buildings, crops, mountains, wildlife, rivers and forests. A painting, photograph, or other artistic representation of a person.

4 Self portrait Still life A portrait an artist makes using himself or herself as its subject, typically drawn or painted from a reflection in a mirror or photograph. A painting or other two-dimensional work of art representing inanimate objects such as fruit and flowers. Also describes the arrangement of these objects from which a drawing, painting, or other artwork is made. CONCEPTS in ART Elements of Art Colour Form Line Shape Texture Value Principles of Design Balance The elements of art are the building blocks of an artistic creation, a visual language or visual alphabet used by the artist: line, shape, form, colour, texture, space and value. Colour describes that which is perceived when light hits and reflects off of an object. The three properties of color are Hue (name of a colour), Intensity (strength of a colour) and Value (lightness or darkness of a colour). The primary colors are red, yellow, and blue; every color except white can be created from various blending of these three colours. A form is set apart by definite contour and takes up space, used to refer to a shape that is depicted in three rather than two dimensions. The path of a point that moves through space. Line can be described in terms of width, direction, movement, length, curvature, and even color. Two-dimensional form that encloses space within a defined contour (ie. circle, square, rectangle, triangle). The tactile surface characteristics of an artwork which are either felt or perceived visually. The relative lightness or darkness of tones or colors. For example, white and yellow have a light value; black and violet have a dark value. The ways in which the Elements of Art are organized are referred to as the Principles of Design. In other words, they are the basic aesthetic considerations that guide organization of a work of art. They include rhythm, movement, balance, contrast, proportion, economy, emphasis, space, harmony, unity, and variety. A feeling of equality in weight, attention, or attraction of the various elements within a composition as a means of accomplishing unity. This can be done through symmetry, asymmetry, or radial (circular) design.

5 Contrast Economy Emphasis Harmony Movement Proportion Rhythm Unity Variety The difference between elements or the opposition of various elements (lines, colors, shapes, values, forms, textures). A principle of design referring to keeping only the essential elements required to achieve the desired effect or reveal the essence of a form. The accent, stress, or importance of a part of an artwork. Opposing sizes, shapes, and lines, contrasting colors, closer detail, and intense, bright color are all used to emphasize, or draw attention to, certain areas or objects in a work of art. The unity of all the visual elements of a composition achieved by the repetition of the same characteristics or those which are similar in nature. The path that our eyes follow when we look at a work of art. Proportion is a principle of design and may be described as the relationship between objects with respect to size, number, etc. The visual flow through a work of art, or a feeling of movement achieved by the repetition or regulated visual units such as lines, shapes, colors, or patterns in a work of art. Unity refers to the way all the aspects of an artwork together: the organization of parts so that all elements and principles of design contribute to a coherent whole. The use of different or contrasting elements to add interest. ART GLOSSARY Abstract Asymmetrical balance Background Composition Content A non-representational form of art. Also refers to a concept meaning to simplify, rearrange or distort an image. Placement of non-identical forms to either side of a balancing point in such a way that the two sides seem to be of the same visual weight. The part of a composition that appears to be farthest from the viewer. An arrangement of the visual elements in an artwork often used to refer to a work of art itself. The message the work communicates. The content can relate to the subject matter or be an idea or emotion. Theme is another word for content.

6 Design Focal point Foreground Geometric Horizon line Linear perpective Negative space Organic Original Pattern Positive space Perspective Repetition The organization or composition of a work; the skilled arrangement of its parts. An effective design is one in which the elements of art and principles of design have been combined to achieve an overall sense of unity. The element or object in a work of art on which the viewer s attention is focused. The part of a composition that appears to be nearest to the viewer. Design based on simple shapes such as rectangles, triangles, circles, or straight lines. A level line where land or water ends and the sky begins. Vanishing points, where two parallel lines appear to converge, are typically located on this line. A horizon line is used to attain the perspective of depth. A system for creating the illusion of depth on a two-dimensional surface. The system is based on a scientifically or mathematically derived series of actual or implied lines that intersect at a vanishing point on the horizon. Linear perspective determines the relative size of objects from the foreground of an image to the background. Negative space refers to the empty or unoccupied area surrounding a shape or form, and also helps to define the boundaries of the shape or form. A mark with length and direction that forms an irregular line or shape that might be found in nature. It is usually contrasted to inorganic and geometric shapes. This term can imply exclusivity or the idea that the work is one of a kind rather than a copy by any method including offset-lithography, digital printing or by forgery. Not all paintings can be considered original since the term also refers to the image being newly created, so a painted copy of another work is not an original. Repetition of elements or motifs. Shapes or forms in two-dimensional and three-dimensional art. Surrounded by negative space. The art of picturing objects on a flat surface so as to give the appearance of distance or depth. A series of repeated elements having similarity.

7 Reproduction Style Symbol Technique Three-dimensional Two-dimensional Vanishing point A copy of an artwork that is not the original. The identifying characteristics of the artwork of an individual, a group of artists, a period of time or an entire culture/society. A visual image that represents something other than itself. Specific methods or approaches when working with materials in creating works of art. Occupying or giving the illusion of three dimensions (height, width, depth). Having two dimensions (height and width); referring to something that is flat. In perspective, the point on the horizon in the distance where two lines seem to converge and visibility ends. SOURCES