Visual Arts Glossary

VISUAL ARTS GLOSSARY

Section 1:

abstract The rendering of images and objects in a stylized or simplified way, so that though they remain recognizable, their formal or expressive aspects are emphasized. Compare both representational and nonobjective.
Abstract Expressionism A painting style of the late 1940s and early 1950s, predominantly American, characterized by its rendering of expressive content by abstract or nonobjective means.
acrylic A plastic resin that, when mixed with water and pigment, forms an inorganic and quick-drying paint medium.
actual texture As opposed to implied or visual texture, the literal tactile quality or feel of a thing.
additive 1) In color, the adjective used to describe the fact that, when different hues of colored light are combined, the resulting mixture is higher in key than the original hues and brighter as well, and as more and more hues are added, the resulting mixture is closer and closer to white ; 2) In sculpture, an adjective used to describe the process in which form is built up, shaped, and enlarged by the addition of materials, as distinguished from subtractive sculptural processes, such as carving.
aesthetic Pertaining to the appreciation of the beautiful, as opposed to the functional or utilitarian, and, by extension, to the appreciation of any form of art, whether overtly "beautiful" or not.
aesthetic criteria Criteria developed about the visual, aural, and oral aspects of the witnessed event, derived from cultural and emotional values and cognitive meaning. Standards on which to make judgments about the artistic merit of a work of art.
analogous color A color scheme consisting of or limited to adjacent hues on the color wheel, usually within the scope of a primary through one of its related secondaries such as blue, blue-green, and green.
analysis Identifying and examining separate parts as they function independently and together in creative works and studies of the visual arts.
arbitrary color Color that has no realistic or natural relation to the object that is depicted, as in a blue horse, or a purple cow, but which may have emotional or expressive significance.
arch A curved, often semicircular architectural form that spans an opening or space built of wedge-shaped blocks, called voussoirs, with a keystone centered at its top.
art criticism Describing and evaluating the media, processes, and meanings of works of visual art, and making comparative judgments.
Art Deco A popular art and design style of the 1920s and 1930s associated with the 1925 Exposition Internationale des Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris and characterized by its integration of organic and geometric forms.
art history A record of the visual arts, incorporating information, interpretations, and judgments about art objects, artists, and conceptual influences on developments in the visual arts.
art materials Resources used in the creation and study of visual art, such as paint, clay, cardboard, canvas, film, videotape, models, watercolors, wood, and plastic.
art media Broad categories for grouping works of visual art according to the art materials used.
Art Nouveau The art and design style, characterized by undulating, curvilinear, and organic forms, that dominated popular culture at the turn of the century, and that achieved particular success at the 1900 International Exposition in Paris.
assemblage An additive sculptural process in which various and diverse elements and objects are combined together.
asymmetric balance Balance achieved in a composition when neither side reflects or mirrors the other. Not symmetrical.
atmospheric perspective A technique, often employed in landscape painting, designed to suggest three-dimensional space in the two-dimensional space of the picture plane, and in which forms and objects distant from the viewer become less distinct, often bluer or cooler in color, and contrast among the various distant elements is greatly reduced.
avant-garde Those whose works can be characterized as unorthodoxand experimental.
balance Balance is a feeling of equality in weight, attention, or attraction of various elements within an artwork as a means of unifying a composition. May be described as symmetrical or asymmetrical.
Baroque A dominant style of art in Europe in the seventeenth century characterized by its theatrical, or dramatic, use of light and color, by its ornate forms, and by its disregard for classical principles of composition.
bas-relief See low-relief.
Bauhaus A German school of design, founded by Walter Gropius in 1919 and closed by Hitler in 1933.
calligraphy The art of handwriting in a fine and "beautiful" way.
Carolingian art European art from the mid-8th to the early 10th century, given impetus and encouragement by Charlemagne's desire to restore the civilization of Rome.
cartoon As distinct from common usage, where it refers to a drawing with humorous content, any full-size drawing, subsequently transferred to the working surface, from which a painting or tapestry is made.
chiaroscuro In drawing and painting, the use of light and dark to create the effect of three-dimensional, modeled surfaces.
Classical style In Greek art, the style of the 5th century B.C., characterized by its emphasis on balance, proportion, and harmony; by extension, any style that is based on logical, rational principles.
classical line A kind of line that is mathematical, precise, and rationally organized, epitomized by the vertical and horizontal grid, as opposed to expressive line.
closed form A form whose contour is regular and continuous; a sense of calm completeness implying a totality within itself.
collage A work made by pasting various scraps or pieces of material--cloth, paper, photographs--onto the surface of the composition.
column A vertical architectural support, usually topped by a capital.
comparative process The basic critical tool of art history and criticism, in which works of art are compared and contrasted with one another in order to establish both continuities and similarities between various works or styles and significant differences or stylistic changes that have occurred historically.
complementary colors Two hues directly opposite one another on the color wheel. The complement of each primary can be produced by mixing equal amounts of the other two primaries (called secondaries).
composition The organization of the formal elements in a work of art.
conceptual art An art form in which the idea behind the work and the process of its making are more important than the final product.
conceptual imagery Imagery derived from imagination, emotion, dreams, or other internal sources; perceptual imagery: imagery derived from experience or perception of the natural world.
constructivism A Russian art movement, fully established by 1921, that was dedicated to nonobjective means of communication.
content The meaning of an image, beyond its overt subject matter, including the emotional, intellectual, symbolic, thematic, and narrative connotations.
context A set of interrelated conditions (such as social, economic, political) in the visual arts that influence and give meaning to the development and reception of thoughts, ideas, or concepts, and that define specific cultures and eras.
contour The visible border of an object in space.
contrast Differences in values, colors, shape, texture (e.g., dark, medium, light; or large, medium, small; or rough, smooth).
cool colors Colors whose relative visual temperature makes them seem cool. Cool colors generally include green, blue-green, blue, blue-violet, and violet.
cross-hatching Two or more sets of roughly parallel and overlapping lines, set at an angle to one another, in order to create a sense of three-dimensional, modeled space. See also hatching.
Cubism A style of art pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in the first decade of the 20th century, noted for the geometry of its forms, its fragmentation of the object, and its increasing abstraction.
Dada An art movement that originated during World War I in a number of world capitals, including New York, Paris, Berlin, and Zurich, and that was so antagonistic to traditional styles and materials of art that it was considered by many to be "anti-art".
delineation The descriptive representation of an object by means of outline or contour drawing.
design Both the process and the result of structuring elements of visual form.
De Stijl A Dutch art movement of the early 20th century that emphasized abstraction and simplicity, reducing form to the rectangle and color to the primaries--red, blue, and yellow.
dome A roof generally in the shape of a hemisphere or half-globe.
edition In printmaking, the number of images authorized by the artist made from a single plate.
electronic media Means of communication characterized by the use of technology, e.g., radio, computers, e.g., virtual reality.
elements of design The component parts of art. The elements help define what principles are; there cannot be a principle without an element. The elements do not occur in isolation but one can be dominant. The elements give the artist a vocabulary to use to help explain art--line, shape, color, value, texture, space/form.
elevation In architecture, the side of a building, or a drawing of the side of a building.
emphasis The principle of visual organization that suggests that certain elements should assume more importance (dominance) than others in the same composition. Dominance contributes to unity because one main idea or feature is emphasized and other elements are subordinate to it.
engraving An intaglio printmaking process in which a sharp tool called a burin is used to incise the plate. The resulting print is also called an engraving.
ensemble The dynamic interaction and harmonious blending of the efforts of the many artists involved in the dramatic activity of theatrical production.
etching An intaglio printmaking process in which a metal plate coated with wax is drawn upon with a sharp tool down to the plate and then placed in an acid bath. The acid eats away at the plate where the lines have been drawn, the wax is removed, and then the plate is inked and printed. The resulting print is also called an etching.
expression In visual arts, a process of conveying ideas, feelings, and meanings through selective use of the communicative possibilities.
Expressionism An art that stresses the psychological and emotional content of the work, associated particularly with German art in the early 20th century. See also Abstract Expressionism.
expressionism The broad term that describes emotional art, most often boldly executed and making free use of distortion and arbitrary use of color.
expressive line A kind of line that seems to spring directly from the artist's emotions or feelings--loose, gestural, and energetic--epitomized by curvilinear forms.
eye level The height of the viewer's eyes above the ground plane.
Fauvism An art movement of the early 20th century characterized by its use of bold arbitrary color. Its name derives from the French word "fauve," meaning "wild beast".
figure-ground relationship In a two-dimensional work, the relationship between a form or figure and its background.
fixative A thin liquid film sprayed over pastel and charcoal drawings to protect them from smudging.
fluting The shallow vertical grooves or channels on a column.
focal point A radial type of balance. It occurs when two or more identical elements are distributed around a center point to create a repetitive equilibrium.
folklife Made up of two words: folk and life. The word "folk" usually means people or refers to a particular group of people. The word "life" includes all of the daily activities people do in their lives. "Folklife" means the daily traditional activities, information, and art forms of a particular group of people.
foreshortening The use of perspective to represent the apparent visual contraction of an object or figure that extends backwards from the picture plane at an angle approaching the perpendicular.
form In visual arts, a) the literal shape and mass of an object or figure; b) more generally, the materials used to make a work of art, the ways in which these materials are utilized in terms of the formal elements (line, light, color, etc.), and the composition that results.
format Basic layout or proportions of a work being presented.
fresco Painting on plaster, either dry (fresco secco) or wet (buon or true fresco). In the former, the paint is an independent layer, separate from the plaster proper; in the latter, the paint is chemically bound to the plaster, and is integral to the wall or support.
Futurism An early 20th century art movement, characterized by its desire to celebrate the movement and speed of modern, industrial life.
gouache A painting medium similar to watercolor, but opaque instead of transparent.
ground The background in two-dimensional works--the area around and between figure(s). Also, the surface onto which paint is applied.
happening A spontaneous, often multimedia event, conceived by artists and performed not only by the artists themselves but often by the public present at the event as well.
hatching An area of closely spaced parallel lines, employed in drawing and engraving, to create the effect of shading or modeling. See also cross-hatching.
harmony The related qualities of the visual elements of a composition. Harmony is achieved by repetition of characteristics that are the same or similar.
Hellenistic art The art of the 3rd and 2nd centuries B.C. in Greece, characterized by its physical realism and emotional drama.
high contrast A maximum of contrast between light and dark.
highlight The spot or one of the spots of highest key or value in a picture.
horizon line In linear perspective, the implied or actual line or edge placed on a two-dimensional surface to represent the point in nature where the sky meets the horizontal land or water plane.
hue A color, usually one of the six basic colors of the spectrum--the three primary colors of red, yellow, and blue, and the three secondary colors of green, orange, and violet.
idealism As opposed to realism, the representation of things according to a preconceived ideal form or type.
imagery The art of making pictures to represent or evoke a particular thing.
impasto Pigment applied very thickly to canvas or support.
implied line As opposed to actual line, a line created by movement or direction, such as the line established by a pointing finger, the direction of a glance, or a body moving through space.
impression In printmaking, a single example of an edition.
Impressionism A late 19th century art movement, centered in France, and characterized by its use of discontinuous strokes of color meant to reproduce the effects of light.
intaglio Any form of printmaking in which the line is incised into the surface of the printing plate, including aquatint, drypoint, etching, engraving, and mezzotint.
intensity The relative purity of a color's hue, and a function of its relative brightness or dullness; also known as saturation.
intention What the artist means to convey in a work of art, as opposed, for instance, to the way the work is interpreted.
intermediate colors The range of colors on the color wheel between each primary color and its neighboring secondary colors; yellow-green, for example.
key The relative lightness or darkness of a picture or the colors employed in it.
kinetic art Art that moves.
kitsch Sentimental, slick, and mass-produced art designed to appeal to the widest possible popular audience.
line The actual or implied connection between two points. Line creates a visual path of action, our eyes tend to follow lines. Line defines the edge and shape two dimensionally. Line has different qualities--thick, thin, light, dark, long, short, and broken. Line can create directional effects. Lines grouped together make patterns and textures. Lines define the contour of shape by moving in and out, back and forth.
linear perspective A system for depicting three-dimensional space on a two- dimensional surface that depends upon two related principles: that things perceived far away are smaller than things nearer the viewer, and that parallel lines receding into the distance converge at a vanishing point on the horizon line.
linocut A form of relief printmaking, similar to a woodcut, in which a block of linoleum is carved so as to leave the image to be printed raised above the surface of the block. The resulting print is also known as a linocut.
lithograph Any print resulting from the process of lithography.
lithography A printmaking process in which a polished stone, often limestone, is drawn upon with a greasy material; the surface is moistened and then inked; the ink adheres only to the greasy lines of the drawing; and the design is transferred to dampened paper, usually in a printing press.
local color As opposed to optical or perceptual color, the actual hue of a thing, independent of the ways in which different conditions of light and atmosphere might affect it.
low (bas-) relief In sculpture, where the figures and objects remain attached to a background plane and project off of it by less than one-half their normal depth.
low contrast A minimum of contrast between light and dark, so that the image is either predominantly dark or predominantly light.
Mannerism The style of art prevalent especially in Italy from about 1525 until the early years of the 17th century, characterized by its dramatic use of light, exaggerated perspective, distorted forms, and vivid colors.
medium 1) (pl. media) A particular material along with its accompanying technique. A specific type of artistic technique or means of expression determined by the use of specific materials. 2) In painting, a liquid added to the paint that makes it easier to manipulate.
Minimalism A style of art, predominantly American, that dates from the mid-20th century, characterized by its rejection of expressive content and its use of "minimal" formal means.
modeling In sculpture, the shaping of a form in some plastic material, such as clay or plaster; in drawing, painting, and printmaking, the rendering of a form, usually by means of hatching or chiaroscuro, to create the illusion of a three-dimensional form.
Modernism The various strategies and directions employed in the 20th century--Cubism, Futurism, Expressionism, etc.--to explore the particular formal properties of any given medium.
monochromatic A color scheme limited to variations of one hue. A hue with its tints and/or shades
mosaic An art form in which small pieces of tile, glass, or stone are fitted together and embedded in cement on surfaces such as walls and floors.
narrative art A temporal form of art that tells a story.
naturalistic Synonymous with representational; descriptive of any work that resembles the natural world.
nave The central part of a church, running from the entrance to the choir.
negative shape A background shape produced by its interaction with foreground or figure shape(s).
negative space Empty space, surrounded and shaped so that it acquires a sense of volume or form.
Neoclassicism A style of the late 18th and early 19th centuries that was influenced by the Greek Classical style and that often employed Classical themes for its subject matter.
neutral color A color not associated with any single hue. A neutral can be made by mixing complementary hues
nonobjective art Art that makes no reference to the natural world and that explores the inherent expressive or aesthetic potential of the formal elements--line, shape, color--and the formal compositional principles of a given medium. Also see nonrepresentational.
objective As opposed to subjective, free of personal feelings or emotion; hence, without bias.
one-point linear perspective A version of linear perspective in which there is only one vanishing point in the composition.
open form A form whose contour is irregular or broken, having a sense of unfinished growth.
Optical Painting (Op Art) An art style particularly popular in the 1960s in which line and color are manipulated in ways that stimulate the eye into believing it perceives movement.
optical or perceptual color The color as perceived by the eye, changed by the effects of light and atmosphere, in the way, for instance, that distant mountains appear to be blue.
original print A print created by the artist alone and that has been printed by the artist or under the artist's direct supervision.
outline The contour of a shape or figure depicted by an actual line drawn or painted on the surface.
pastel 1) A soft crayon made of chalk and pigment. Also any work done in this medium. 2) A pale, light color.
perception Visual and sensory awareness, discrimination, and integration of impressions, conditions, and relationships with regard to objects, images, and feelings.
perceptual line Any line that is perceived but not actually drawn, such as a horizon line.
performance art A form of art, popular especially since the late 1960s, that includes not only physical space but the human activity that goes on within it.
perspective A formula for projecting the illusion of three-dimensional space onto a two-dimensional surface. See also linear perspective, one-point linear perspective, two-point linear perspective, and atmospheric perspective.
photorealistic art Art rendered with such a high degree of representational accuracy that it appears to be photographed rather than drawn or painted.
pictorial space The implied or illusory space in a painting or other two-dimensional work as it appears to recede backward from the picture plane.
picture plane The two-dimensional picture surface.
pigment A coloring agent in powder form used in paints, crayons, and chalks.
polychromatic Having many colors; random or intuitive use of color combinations as opposed to color selection based on a specific color scheme.
Pop Art A style arising in the early 1960s characterized by its emphasis on the forms and imagery of mass culture.
positive shape A figure or foreground shape, as opposed to a negative ground or background shape.
Post-Impressionism A name that describes the painting of a number of artists, working in widely different styles, in the last decades of the 19th century in France.
Postmodernism A term used to describe the willfully plural and eclectic art forms of contemporary art.
primary colors The hues that in theory cannot be created from a mixture of other hues and from which all other hues are created--namely, in pigment, red, yellow, and blue; and in light, red-orange, green, and blue-violet.
principles of design Organize and give order to the elements of design and can be used to describe the visual qualities of an artwork. Balance, focal point, proportion, rhythm, emphasis, harmony, variety and unity.
print Any one of multiple impressions made from a master image.
process A complex operation involving a number of methods or techniques, such as the addition and subtraction processes in sculpture, the etching and intaglio processes in printmaking, or the casting or constructing processes in making jewelry.
proof A trial impression of a print, made before the final edition is run, so that it may be examined and, if necessary, corrected.
proportion In any composition, the comparison and relationship of the parts to each other and to the whole. Proportion can be expressed in terms of a definite ratio, such as "twice as big," or be expressed by "darker than," "more neutral than," or "more important than."
realism As opposed to idealism, the representation of things with relative fidelity to their appearance in visible nature.
relief 1) In sculpture, where images and forms are attached to a background and project off it. See low-relief and high-relief. 2) In printmaking, any process in which any area of the plate not to be printed is carved away, leaving only the original surface to be printed.
repetition (pattern) An art element repeated over and over.
representational art Any work of art that seeks to resemble the world of natural appearance.
rhythm A continuance, a flow, or a feeling of movement achieved by repetition of regulated visual units, the use of measure accents, that directs the eye through a composition.
Rococo A style of art popular in the first three-quarters of the 18th century, particularly in France, characterized by curvilinear forms, pastel colors, and its light, often frivolous subject matter.
Romanesque art The dominant style of art and architecture in Europe from the 8th to the 12th centuries, characterized, in architecture, by Roman precedents, particularly the round arch and the barrel vault.
Romanticism A dramatic, emotional, and subjective art arising in the early 19th century in opposition to the austere discipline of Neoclassicism.
saturation The purity or intensity of a hue (color) on a scale from bright (full saturation) to dull (low saturation).
scale The comparative size of a thing in relation to another like thing or its "normal" or "expected" size.
secondary colors A hue created by combining two primary colors; in pigment, the secondary colors are traditionally considered to be orange, green, and blue; in light, they are yellow, magenta, and cyan.
shade A color or hue modified by the addition of another color resulting in a hue of lower key or value, in the way, for instance, that the addition of black to red results in maroon.
shape A defined area. Two-dimensional shapes are areas that stand apart or out from the space around them because of a definite boundary or difference of value, color, or texture. Shapes may be geometric, organic, or composite. There are positive and negative shapes which together can be referred to as a "figure-ground relationship." A figure-ground reversal occurs when the eye switches from seeing a shape as foreground and sees it instead as background.
simultaneous contrast A property of complementary colors when placed side by side, resulting in the fact that both appear brighter and more intense than when seen in isolation.
spectrum The colored bands of visible light created when sunlight passes through a prism.
still life A work of art that consists of an arrangement of inanimate objects, such as flowers, fruit, and household objects.
stippling In drawing and printmaking, a pattern of closely placed dots or small marks employed to create the effect of shading or modeling.
style A distinctive or characteristic manner. Any constant, recurring, or conventional manner of treatment or execution of works of art that is characteristic of a particular civilization, time period, artistic movement, or individual artist.
structures Means of organizing the components of a work into a cohesive and meaningful whole, such as sensory qualities, organizational principles, expressive features, and functions of art.
subject matter The literal, visible image in a work of art, as distinguished from its content, which includes the connotative, symbolic, and suggestive aspects of the image.
subjective As opposed to objective, full of personal emotions and feelings.
sublime That which impresses the mind with a sense of grandeur and power, inspiring a sense of awe.
subtractive 1) In color, the adjective used to describe the fact that, when different hues of colored pigment are combined, the resulting mixture is lower in key than the original hues and duller as well, and as more and more hues are added, the resulting mixture is closer and closer to black.
Surrealism A style of art of the early 20th century that emphasized dream imagery, chance operations, and rapid, thoughtless forms of notation that expressed, it was felt, the unconscious mind.
symbol An image, sign, or element, such as a color, that is understood, by convention or context, to suggest some other meaning.
symmetry When two halves of a composition correspond to one another in terms of size, shape, and placement of forms. Symmetrical (bilateral) balance is a form of balance achieved by the use of identical compositional units on either side of a vertical axis.
techniques Specific methods or approaches used in a larger process; for example, graduation of value or hue in painting or conveying linear perspective through overlapping, shading, or varying size or color.
technologies Complex machines used in the study and creation of art, such as lathes, presses, computers, lasers, and video equipment.
texture The actual tactile characteristics of a thing, or the visual simulation of such characteristics.
three-dimensional space Any space that possesses height, width, and depth.
tint A color or hue modified by the addition of another color resulting in a hue of higher key or value, in the way, for instance, that the addition of white to red results in pink.
trompe l'oeil A form of representation that attempts to depict the object as if it were actually present before the eye in three-dimensional space; literally "eye-fooling".
tools Instruments and equipment used by students to create and learn about art, such as brushes, scissors, brayers, easels, knives, kilns, and cameras.
two-dimensional space Any space that is flat, possessing height and width, but no depth, such as a piece of drawing paper or a canvas.
two-point linear perspective A version of linear perspective in which there are two (or more) vanishing points in the composition.
unity A sense of wholeness in a work of art, all parts working together.
value The range of light and dark on a shape or form or in an entire space. Value is the amount of lightness or darkness in a color. Red when lightened by white is called pink but is actually a light red. When gray or green is added to red it is darkened and we may call it maroon. Pink and maroon are thus light and dark values of red.
vanishing point In linear perspective, the point on the horizon line where parallel lines appear to converge.
variety The use of opposing, contrasting, changing, elaborating, or diversifying elements in a composition to add interest and individualism. The counterweight to harmony in a work of art.
video art An art form that employs television as its medium.
virtual reality An artificial three-dimensionalenvironment, generated through the use of computers, that the viewer experiences as real space.
visual arts A broad category that includes the traditional fine arts such as drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture; communication and design arts such as film, television, graphics, product design; architecture and environmental arts such as urban, interior, and landscape design; folk arts; and works of art such as ceramics, fibers, jewelry, works in wood, paper, and other materials.
visualization The forming of a mental image or images, particularly visual images, either of objects real and present or of things imagined.
warm colors Colors whose relative visual temperature makes them seem warm. Generally warm colors or hues include red-violet, red, red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, and yellow.
watercolor A painting medium consisting of pigments suspended in a solution of water and gum arabic.


VISUAL ARTS GLOSSARY
Section 2:
abstract. Artwork in which the subject matter is stated in a brief, simplified manner. Little or no attempt is made to represent images realistically, and objects are often simplified or distorted.
additive. Refers to the process of joining a series of parts together to create a sculpture.
aerial perspective. Aerial or atmospheric perspective achieved by using bluer, lighter, and duller hues for distant objects in a two-dimensional work of art.
aesthetics. A branch of philosophy; the study of art and theories about the nature and components of aesthetic experience.
analogous. Refers to closely related colors; a color scheme that combines several hues next to each other on the color wheel.
arbitrary colors. Colors selected and used without reference to those found in reality.
art criticism. An organized system for looking at the visual arts; a process of appraising what students should know and be able to do.
art elements. See elements of art.
assemblage. A three-dimensional composition in which a collection of objects is unified in a sculptural work.
asymmetry. A balance of parts on opposite sides of a perceived midline, giving the appearance of equal visual weight.
atmospheric perspective. See aerial perspective.
background. The part of the picture plane that seems to be farthest from the viewer.
balance. The way in which the elements in visual arts are arranged to create a feeling of equilibrium in a work of art. The three types of balance are symmetry, asymmetry, and radial.
collage. An artistic composition made of various materials (e.g., paper, cloth, or wood) glued on a surface.
color. The visual sensation dependent on the reflection or absorption of light from a given surface. The three characteristics of color are hue, value, and intensity.
color relationships. Also called color schemes or harmonies. They refer to the relationships of colors on the color wheel. Basic color schemes include monochromatic, analogous, and complementary.
color theory. An element of art. Color has three properties: hue, value, and intensity.
complementary colors. Colors opposite one another on the color wheel. Red/green, blue/orange, and yellow/violet are examples of complementary colors.
composition. The organization of elements in a work of art.
content. Message, idea, or feelings expressed in a work of art.
contour drawings. The drawing of an object as though the drawing tool is moving along all the edges and ridges of the form.
contrast. Difference between two or more elements (e.g., value, color, texture) in a composition; juxtaposition of dissimilar elements in a work of art; also, the degree of difference between the lightest and darkest parts of a picture.
cool colors. Colors suggesting coolness: blue, green, and violet.
curvature. The act of curving or bending. One of the characteristics of line.
curvilinear. Formed or enclosed by curved lines.
design. The plan, conception, or organization of a work of art; the arrangement of independent parts (the elements of art) to form a coordinated whole.
distortion. Condition of being twisted or bent out of shape. In art, distortion is often used as an expressive technique.
dominance. The importance of the emphasis of one aspect in relation to all other aspects of a design.
elements of art. Sensory components used to create works of art: line, color, shape/form, texture, value, space.
emphasis. Special stress given to an element to make it stand out.
expressive content. Ideas that express ideas and moods.
figurative. Pertaining to representation of form or figure in art.
foreground. Part of a two-dimensional artwork that appears to be nearer the viewer or in the front. Middle ground and background are the parts of the picture that appear to be farther and farthest away.
focal point. The place in a work of art on which attention becomes centered because of an element emphasized in some way.
form. A three-dimensional volume or the illusion of three dimensions (related to shape, which is two-dimensional); the particular characteristics of the visual elements of a work of art (as distinguished from its subject matter or content).
function. The purpose and use of a work of art.
genre. The representation of people, subjects, and scenes from everyday life.
gesture drawing. The drawing of lines quickly and loosely to show movement in a subject.
harmony. The principle of design that combines elements in a work of art to emphasize the similarities of separate but related parts.
hue. Refers to the name of a color (e.g., red, blue, yellow, orange).
installation art. The hanging of ordinary objects on museum walls or the combining of found objects to create something completely new. Later, installation art was extended to include art as a concept.
intensity. Also called chroma or saturation. It refers to the brightness of a color (a color is full in intensity only when pure and unmixed). Color intensity can be changed by adding black, white, gray, or an opposite color on the color wheel.
line. A point moving in space. Line can vary in width, length, curvature, color, or direction.
linear perspective. A graphic system used by artists to create the illusion of depth and volume on a flat surface. The lines of buildings and other objects in a picture are slanted, making them appear to extend back into space.
line direction. Line direction may be horizontal, vertical, or diagonal.
line quality. The unique character of a drawn line as it changes lightness/darkness, direction, curvature, or width.
maquette. A small preliminary model (as of a sculpture or a building).
mass. The outside size and bulk of a form, such as a building or a sculpture; the visual weight of an object.
media. Plural of medium , referring to materials used to make art; categories of art (e.g., painting, sculpture, film).
middle ground. Area of a two-dimensional work of art between foreground and background.
mixed media. A work of art for which more than one type of art material is used to create the finished piece.
monochromatic. A color scheme involving the use of only one hue that can vary in value or intensity.
mood. The state of mind or feeling communicated in a work of art, frequently through color.
motif. A unit repeated over and over in a pattern. The repeated motif often creates a sense of rhythm.
movement. The principle of design dealing with the creation of action.
multimedia. Computer programs that involve users in the design and organization of text, graphics, video, and sound in one presentation.
negative. Refers to shapes or spaces that are or represent areas unoccupied by objects.
neutral colors. The colors black, white, gray, and variations of brown. They are included in the color family called earth colors.
nonobjective. Having no recognizable object as an image. Also called nonrepresentational.
observational drawing skills. Skills learned while observing firsthand the object, figure, or place.
one-point perspective. A way to show three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface. Lines appear to go away from the viewer and meet at a single point on the horizon known as the vanishing point.
organic. Refers to shapes or forms having irregular edges or to surfaces or objects resembling things existing in nature.
pattern. Anything repeated in a predictable combination.
performance art. A type of art in which events are planned and enacted before an audience for aesthetic reasons.
perspective. A system for representing three-dimensional objects viewed in spatial recession on a two-dimensional surface.
point of view. The angle from which the viewer sees the objects or scene.
portfolio. A systematic, organized collection of student work.
positive. Shapes or spaces that are or represent solid objects.
primary colors. Refers to the colors red, yellow, and blue. From these all other colors are created.
printmaking. The transferring of an inked image from one surface (from the plate or block) to another (usually paper).
principles of design. The organization of works of art. They involve the ways in which the elements of art are arranged (balance, contrast, dominance, emphasis, movement, repetition, rhythm, subordination, variation, unity).
properties of color. Characteristics of colors: hue, value, intensity.
proportion. The size relationships of one part to the whole and of one part to another.
rectilinear. Formed or enclosed by straight lines to create a rectangle.
reflection. Personal and thoughtful consideration of an artwork, an aesthetic experience, or the creative process.
rhythm. Intentional, regular repetition of lines of shapes to achieve a specific repetitious effect or pattern.
rubric. A guide for judgment or scoring; a description of expectations.
scale. Relative size, proportion. Used to determine measurements or dimensions within a design or work of art.
sculpture. A three-dimensional work of art either in the round (to be viewed from all sides) or in bas relief (low relief in which figures protrude slightly from the background).
secondary colors. Colors that are mixtures of two primaries. Red and yellow make orange, yellow and blue make green, and blue and red make violet.
shade. Color with black added to it.
shape. A two-dimensional area or plane that may be open or closed, free-form or geometric. It can be found in nature or is made by humans.
space. The emptiness or area between, around, above, below, or contained within objects. Shapes and forms are defined by the space around and within them, just as spaces are defined by the shapes and forms around and within them.
still life. Arrangement or work of art showing a collection of inanimate objects.
structure. The way in which parts are arranged or put together to form a whole.
style. A set of characteristics of the art of a culture, a period, or school of art. It is the characteristic expression of an individual artist.
stylized. Simplified; exaggerated.
subordination. Making an element appear to hold a secondary or lesser importance within a design or work of art.
subtractive. Refers to sculpting method produced by removing or taking away from the original material (the opposite of additive).
texture. The surface quality of materials, either actual (tactile) or implied (visual). It is one of the elements of art.
theme. An idea based on a particular subject.
three-dimensional. Having height, width, and depth. Also referred to as 3-D.
tint. Color lightened with white added to it.
tone. Color shaded or darkened with gray (black plus white).
two-dimensional. Having height and width but not depth. Also referred to as 2-D.
two-point perspective. A system to show three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface. The illusion of space and volume utilizes two vanishing points on the horizon line.
unity. Total visual effect in a composition achieved by the careful blending of the elements of art and the principles of design.
value. Lightness or darkness of a hue or neutral color. A value scale shows the range of values from black to white.
value scale. Scale showing the range of values from black to white and light to dark.
vanishing point. In perspective drawing, a point at which receding lines seem to converge.
variety. A principle of art concerned with combining one or more elements of art in different ways to create interest.
virtual. Refers to an image produced by the imagination and not existing in reality.
visual literacy. Includes thinking and communication. Visual thinking is the ability to transform thoughts and information into images; visual communication takes place when people are able to construct meaning from the visual image.
visual metaphor. Images in which characteristics of objects are likened to one another and represented as that other. They are closely related to concepts about symbolism.
volume. The space within a form (e.g., in architecture, volume refers to the space within a building).
warm colors. Colors suggesting warmth: red, yellow, and orange.
watercolor. Transparent pigment mixed with water. Paintings done with this medium are known as watercolors.



Fine Arts - Visual Arts Glossary
Section 3:

Abstract
Generalized art that retains the essence or characteristics of a recognizable subject or object.

Actual texture
Refers to how things feel (real texture).

Additive sculpture
Modeling a sculpture by adding materials to it until the desired effect is achieved.

Aerial perspective
The illusion of space on the picture plane created by means other than linear perspective such as contrast, warm and cool colors, etc.

Aesthetics
A branch of philosophy that focuses on the nature of beauty, the nature and value of art, and the inquiry processes and human responses associated with those topics.

Airbrush
Atomizer operated by compressed air used for spraying paint.

Analogous
Three colors that are next to each other on a color wheel and which have a common hue.

Analysis
Identifying and examining the elements and principles of art as they function independently and together in creative works and studies of the visual arts. How the work is organized.

Animation
The illusion of movement caused by successive presentations of inanimate objects in rapid order.

Appliqué
An art form where cutout fabric is attached to a larger surface.

Architecture
The art of designing and planning the construction of buildings, cities, and bridges.

Art history
A record of the visual arts, incorporating information, interpretations, and judgments about art objects, artists, and conceptual influences on developments in the visual arts.

Arts disciplines
Studies which include dance, music, theatre, and visual arts.

Assemblage
Three-dimensional work of art consisting of many pieces assembled together.

Assess
The act of collecting information about a work in order to understand its meaning.

Asymmetrical balance
An equal distribution of weight (physically or visually) achieved without identical units on both sides. One large shape or form may be balanced by several smaller ones. Also known as informal balance.

Atmospheric Perspective
How the eye perceives the effects of air and light upon an object. The more air and light between the object and the viewer, the duller that object will appear.

Aural
Art that incorporates sound.

Background
The part of the picture plane that seems to be farthest from the viewer.

Balance
A principle of design referring to a feeling of equality in weight, attention, or attraction within a composition.

Batik
A system of dyeing fabric in which selected areas are protected from the dye with wax.

Biomorphic
See organic.

Carving
The cutting and chipping away of wood, plaster, stone, or marble to alter the original form.

Calligraphy
The art of lettering.

Ceramics
Handbuilt or wheelthrown sculpture or vessels made of clay which can be fired, or fired and glazed.

Cityscape
A work of art in which a view of the city is the main subject.

Collage
A collection of materials arranged for a composition or design on a flat surface.

Color
The element of art derived from reflected light. There are three properties of color: Hue, value, and intensity.

Color scheme
Plan for organizing color.

Complementary
Colors opposite each other on a color wheel that contrast with each other: red-green, blue-orange, and yellow-violet.

Composition
The way in which the parts of an artwork are put together or organized using the principles of design.

Content
Message the artist is trying to communicate in a work of art.

Context
A set of interrelated conditions (such as social, economic, political) in the visual arts that influence and give meaning to the development and reception of thoughts, ideas, or concepts and that define specific cultures and eras.

Contour
Interior and exterior edges of objects.

Contour Line
A line that follows the edges or edge of a shape or form.

Contrast
Refers to differences in values, colors, textures, and other elements in an artwork used to achieve emphasis and interest (A Principle of Design).

Cool colors
Colors that suggest a cool, soothing feeling or mood. Cool colors are blues, some greens, and some violets. Cool colors appear to recede spatially in artwork.

Create
To produce works of visual art using materials, techniques, processes, elements, and analysis: the flexible and fluent generation of unique, complex, or elaborate ideas.

Critical process
Description, analysis, interpretation, and evaluation used in discussing artworks.

Criticism
Describing and evaluating the media, processes, and meanings of works of visual art, and making comprehensive judgments.

Critique
To review, analyze, and discuss works of art.

Cross cultural
Art across cultures (intercultural).

Culture
Behaviors, customs, ideas, and skills of a distinct group of people.

Decorative
Works of art created for the purpose of aesthetics.

Description
A list of all the literal things the viewer observes in a work of art.

Design
The way the elements of art are organized or arranged.

Diagonal lines
Lines that slant.

Dominance
A principle of design in which one element is emphasized.

Dyes
Pigments that dissolve in liquid used to stain materials.

Edition
A set number of productions of a work of art.

Elements of design
Line, shape, form, color, space, texture, and value, the basic visual symbols in art.

Emphasis
A principal of design that refers to the use of areas that lead the eye from one part to another and then to the most important part of a composition.

Enameling
The process of firing special powder or enamel pigments on copper or silver in a kiln.

Ethnic art
Art inspired by a specific culture.

Exhibitions
An organized display of works of art.

Explore
A general concept used in this document that may include compare, contrast, identify, create, discuss, use, etc.

Expression
A process of conveying ideas, feelings, and meanings through selective use of the communicative possibilities of visual arts.

Fiber arts
Arts which include techniques such as stitchery, weaving, tapestry, basketry, papermaking, soft sculpture, batik, needle arts, etc.

Folk art
A style portraying the lives of the common people of a certain region. It generally covers decorative crafts and painting or sculpture produced for practical reasons.

Foreground
The space which appears to be closest to the viewer.

Form
1.Any style or arrangement which may be repetitive: 2. An arrangement which is the accepted structure.

Free-flowing (Free form)
Any curvilinear, asymmetrical shape not bound by hard edges.

Functional art
Art designed for a certain purpose.

Functions (and purposes) of art
Describes the context and reasons, the desired results, for which the artwork was created. In art education, students examine and use subject matter, themes, and symbols, as well as formal characteristics of art works to give meaning to art content.

Geometric form
Mathematical three-dimensional shapes; cube triangle, square, pyramid, etc.

Geometric shapes
Two-dimensional shapes created by exact mathematical laws; oval, circle, square, triangle, and rectangle.

Glazing
A technique used in painting in which pigment mixed with a transparent medium is layered, allowing underlying colors to show through. Glazing in ceramics is the process of applying glaze to clay work.

Gradation
A gradual smooth change from light to dark, rough to smooth, or one color to another.

Graphic design
A category of art that includes designing for commercial purposes, packages, signs, and advertisements.

Handbuilding
A process used in ceramics that incorporates slabwork, coils, and sculptural elements.

Harmony
The unity of all visual elements of a composition achieved by the repetition of the same characteristics or those which are similar in nature.

Horizon line
The line, either real or implied, in a work of art that marks where the sky and the ground appear to meet.

Hue
The name of a color.

Illustration
A work of art that usually seeks to join visual and discursive information for the purposes of communication.

Intensity
The brightness (purity) or dullness of a color, also known as chroma.

Intermediate colors (Tertiary)
A color made by mixing a primary color with secondary color.

Jewelry
A functional art form that involves assemblage and/or sculptural techniques to create ornamental objects, i.e., metalsmithing, lapidary, enameling, beading.

Kinetic
Art designed to move by natural or man-made forces.

Line
An uninterrupted actual mark or implied direction going from one point to another.

Linear perspective
Showing depth and distance in a picture with converging lines.

Maquettes
A small sculpture made as a preliminary model.

Materials
Resources used in the creations and study of visual art, such as paint, clay, cardboard, canvas, film. videotape, models, watercolors, wood, and plastic.

Media
Broad categories for grouping works of visual art according to the art materials used.

Media arts
Arts forms that deal with electronic technologies.

Middle ground
A term used to define a level surface behind the foreground and in front of the background.

Mixed media
The use of different materials in the same work of art.

Model
To shape or build up with malleable media.

Monochromatic
Uses only one hue and variations obtained from it's tints, shades, and tones.

Montage
A composite picture resulting from the placing of objects, materials, prints, or photographs in a preconceived design.

Mosaic
A method of decoration using small pieces of colored glass, stone, or ceramics which are inlaid on a background to form a designer picture.

Motif
A recurring element, subject, or theme in works of art.

Movement
A principal of design that refers to the arrangement of elements in artwork organized in such a way as to create a sense of motion.

Movements (arts)
Refers to a historical or cultural period when certain styles became prevalent.

Multi-cultural
Refers to more than one culture.

Negative space
The space around and through a shape or object.

Neutral colors
Colors formed by mixing complementary colors on the color wheel.

Non-objective
Shapes/forms created with no regard to an identifiable subject or object.

One-point perspective
A system of creating the illusion of space in the picture plane using vanishing point.

Organic form
Three-dimensional, free-flowing shapes found in nature.

Organic shape
Two-dimensional or flat free-flowing shapes found in nature.

Origami
The art of Oriental paper folding.

Papier Mache
A technique used to create three-dimensional forms with a mixture of shredded or torn paper or paste.

Pattern
Repetition of a motif involving line, shape, color, value, or space in a composition.

Perception
Visual and sensory awareness, discrimination, and integration of impressions, conditions, and relationships with regard to objects, images, and feelings.

Perspective
The representation of three-dimensional objects on a flat, two-dimensional surface; one point, two point, linear, aerial/atmospheric.

Photogram
A process in which light-sensitive paper is exposed with objects to create positive and negative space.

Photography
The technique of capturing optical images on light sensitive surfaces.

Pin hole camera
A hand-made camera using a pin hole opening to expose the film to light.

Pointillism
A method of painting in which the dots of colors blend visually from a distance to create the illusion of forms, shapes, and outlines.

Portfolio
A comprehensive collection of student work.

Positive space
The space in a composition occupied by the subject or objects.

Primary colors
Red, yellow, blue.

Principals of design
Rhythm/movement, balance, unity/harmony, dominance/emphasis, repetition/ pattern, proportions/scale, and contrast/variety.

Printmaking
The design and production of prints through a graphic art process. Processes may include intaglio, monoprint, silkscreen, stamp, engraving, lithograph, collograph, etc.

Process
A complex operation involving a number of methods or techniques, such as the addition and subtraction processes in sculpture, the etching and intaglio processes in printmaking, or the casting or construction processes in making jewelry.

Proportion
Scale or relationship of one part of a work of art to the other and to the whole. Figure (adult seven-and-a-half heads high). Three-and-a-half heads from waist to top of head; four from waist to ties. Arms fall at mid-thigh. Portrait. Eyes are one-half distance from top of head. Nose is one-half distance between eyes and chin. Mouth is one-half distance between nose and chin.

Radial balance
Type of balance in which forces or elements of a design come out from a central point.

Realism
A style of art that portrays people, objects, or place as we actually see them. Realistic art portrays lifelike colors, textures, shadows, proportions, and arrangements.

Repetition
A principle of design where a single element appears again and again. A technique for creating rhythm and unity.

Rhythm
Repetition of visual elements such as lines, shapes, or colors that may suggest movement.

Scale
Proportion.

Sculpture
Three-dimensional art forms created from processes of carving, modeling, and/or assemblage.

Secondary colors
Colors created by mixing two primary colors; orange, green, and violet.

Self-portrait
A rendering of the artist's own likeness.

Shade
A color with black added to it to change color value.

Shading
Gradation of tone or filling in areas through shadows.

Shape
Any two-dimensional area defined by line, color, tones, or edges.

Space
A perceived area or surface.

Spatial
Of, or existing in, space.

Split-complementary colors
A color and the two colors on either side of its complement on the color wheel.

Stained glass
Colored glass cut into pieces, arranged in a design , and joined with strips of lead.

Structures
Means of organizing the components of a work into a cohesive and meaningful whole, such as sensory qualities, organizational principles, expressive features, and functions of art.

Style
An artistic technique or way of expressing, using materials, constructing, or designing that is characteristics of an individual, group, period, or culture.

Subtractive sculpture
Process in which three-dimensional form is created by removing, cutting away, or carving out unwanted materials.

Symbol
Something that stands for or represents something else.

Synthesis
Combining of parts into a whole.

Tactile
Appealing to the sense of touch.

Techniques
Specific methods or procedures used in larger process; for example, graduation of value or hue in painting, or conveying linear perspective through overlapping, shading, or varying size or color.

Technologies
Complex machines used in the study and creation of art, such as lathes, presses, computer, lasers, and video equipment.

Temporal
Worldly; or time; art enduring for a time.

Tertiary
The combination of a primary and a neighboring secondary color on the color wheel. Also known as intermediate colors.

Texture
The tactile quality of a surface. Actual - the physical roughness or smoothness of a surface. Simulated- the illusion of roughness or smoothness of a surface.

Theme
A subject or topic in artwork.

Three-dimensional form
Objects which have height, width, and depth.

Thumbnail sketches
Small drawings used to develop an idea or composition.

Timeline
Chart showing the chronological progression of art history.

Tint
A color with white added to raise or lighten it's value.

Tone
Changes in intensity.

Triadic
The colors found on the colors found on the color wheel which form an equilateral triangle.

Two-dimensional
Flat area having height and width but no actual depth.

Two-point perspective
Perspective viewed when an object is observed from an angle. There are two vanishing points.

Unity
A principle of design referring to the arrangement of a work in which all parts seem interrelated.

Value
The element of art that refers to the lightness or darkness of an object or color.

Value scale
Gradation of tone or filling in areas through shadows.

Variety
A principle of design concerned with difference or contrast.

Visual Art
A broad category that includes the traditional fine arts such as drawing, painting, printmaking, sculpture; communication and design arts such as film, television, graphics, product design; architecture and environmental arts such as urban, interior, and landscape design; folk arts; and works of art such as ceramics, fibers, jewelry, works in wood, paper, and other materials.

Warm colors
Colors which appear to advance spatially in an art work and suggest a warm, hot, or active mood. Warm colors include reds, yellows, and oranges.




VISUAL ARTS GLOSSARY
Section 4:
The following terms are defined according to their usage in the visual arts. A term in italics has its own listing in the glossary.
abstract art Art that departs significantly from natural appearances. Forms are modified or changed to varying degrees in order to emphasize certain qualities or content. Recognizable references to original appearances may be slight. The term is also used to describe art that is nonrepresentational.
Abstract Expressionism An art movement, primarily in painting, that originated in the United States in the 1940s and remained strong through the 1950s. Artists working in many different styles emphasized spontaneous personal expression in large paintings that are abstract or nonrepresentational One type of Abstract Expressionism is called action painting. See also expressionism.
Abstract Surrealism See Surrealism.
academic art Art governed by rules, especially art sanctioned by an official institution, academy, or school. Originally applied to art that conformed to standards established by the French Academy regarding composition, drawing, and color usage. The term has come to mean conservative and lacking in originality.
academy An institution of artists and scholars, originally formed during the Renaissance to free artists from control by guilds and to elevate them from artisan to professional status. In an academy, art is taught as a humanist discipline along with other disciplines of the liberal arts.
achromatic Having no color or hue; without identifiable hue. Most blacks, whites, grays, and browns are achromatic.
acrylic (acrylic resin) A clear plastic used as a binder in paint and as a casting material in sculpture.
action painting A style of nonrepresentational painting that relies on the physical movement of the artist in using such gestural techniques as vigorous brushwork, dripping, and pouring. Dynamism is often created through the interlaced directions of the paint. A subcategory of Abstract Expressionism.
additive color mixture When light colors are combined (as with overlapping spotlights), the result becomes successively lighter. Light primaries, when combined, create white light. See also subtractive color mixture.
additive sculpture Sculptural form produced by combining or building up material from a core or armature. Modeling in clay and welding steel are additive processes.
aerial perspective See perspective.
aesthetic Relating to the sense of the beautiful and to heightened sensory perception in general.
aesthetics The study and philosophy of the quality and nature of sensory responses related to, but not limited by, the concept of beauty.
afterimage The visual impression that remains after the initial stimulus is removed. Staring at a single intense hue may cause the cones, or color receptors, of the eye to become so fatigued that they perceive only the complement of the original hue when it has been removed.
airbrush A small-scale paint sprayer that allows the artist to control a fine mist of paint.
analogous colors or analogous hues Closely related hues, especially those in which we can see a common hue; hues that are neighbors on the color wheel, such as blue, blue-green, and green.
Analytical Cubism See Cubism.
aperture In photography, the camera lens opening and its relative diameter. Measured in f-stops, such as f/8, f/ I 1, etc. As the number increases, the size of the aperture decreases, thereby reducing the amount of light passing through the lens and striking the film.
applied art Art in which aesthetic values are used in the design or decoration of utilitarian objects.
aquatint An intaglio printmaking process in which value areas rather than lines are etched on the printing plate. Powdered resin is sprinkled on the plate and heated until it adheres. The plate is then immersed in an acid bath. The acid bites around the resin particles, creating a rough surface that holds ink. Also, a print made using this process.
arabesque Ornament or surface decoration with intricate curves and flowing lines based on plant forms.
arcade A series of arches supported by columns or piers. Also, a covered passageway between two series of arches or between a series of arches and a wall.
arch A curved structure designed to span an opening, usually made of stone or other masonry. Roman arches are semicircular; Islamic and Gothic arches come to a point at the top.
armature A rigid framework serving as a supporting inner core for clay or other soft sculpting material.
Art Nouveau A style that originated in the late 1880s, based on the sinuous curves of plant forms, used primarily in architectural detailing and the applied arts.
assemblage Sculpture using preexisting, sometimes "found" objects that may or may not contribute their original identities to the total content of the work.
asymmetrical Without symmetry.
atmospheric perspective See perspective.
automatism Automatic or unconscious action. Employed by Surrealist writers and artists to allow unconscious ideas and feelings to be expressed.
avant-garde French for advance guard" or "vanguard." Those considered the leaders (and often regarded as radicals) in the invention and application of new concepts in a given field.
axis An implied straight line in the center of a form along its dominant direction.
balance An arrangement of parts achieving a state of equilibrium between opposing forces or influences. Major types are symmetrical and asymmetrical. See symmetry.
Baroque The seventeenth-century period in Europe characterized in the visual arts by dramatic light and shade, turbulent composition, and exaggerated emotional expression.
barrel vault See vault.
bas-relief See relief sculpture.
Bauhaus German art school in existence from 1919 to 1933, best known for its influence on design, leadership in art education, and a radically innovative philosophy of applying design principles to machine technology and mass production.
curvilinear Formed or characterized by curving lines or edges.
beam The horizontal stone or timber placed across an architectural space to take the weight of the roof or wall above; also called a lintel.
binder The material used in paint that causes pigment particles to adhere to one another and to the support; for example, linseed oil or acrylic polymer.
buttress A support, usually exterior, for a wall, arch, or vault, that opposes the lateral forces of these structures. A flying buttress consists of a strut or segment of an arch carrying the thrust of a vault to a vertical pier positioned away from the main portion of the building. An important element in Gothic cathedrals.
Byzantine art Styles of painting, design, and architecture developed from the fifth century A.D. in the Byzantine Empire of eastern Europe. Characterized in architecture by round arches, large domes, and extensive use of mosaic; characterized in painting by formal design, frontal and stylized figures, and a rich use of color, especially gold, in generally religious subject matter.
calligraphy The art of beautiful writing. Broadly, a flowing use of line, often varying from thick to thin.
camera obscura A dark room (or box) with a small hole in one side, through which an inverted image of the view outside is projected onto the opposite wall, screen, or mirror. The image is then traced. This forerunner of the modern camera was a tool for recording an optically accurate image.
cantilever A beam or slab projecting a substantial distance beyond its supporting post or wall; a projection supported at only one end.
capital In architecture, the top part, capstone, or head of a column or pillar.
caricature A representation in which the subject's distinctive features are exaggerated.
cartoon 1. A humorous or satirical drawing. 2. A drawing completed as a full-scale working drawing, usually for a fresco painting, mural, or tapestry.
carving A subtractive process in which a sculpture is formed by removing material from a block or mass of wood, stone, or other material, using sharpened tools.
casein A white, tasteless, odorless milk protein used in making paint as well as plastics, adhesives, and foods.
casting A process that involves pouring liquid material such as molten metal, clay, wax, or plaster into a mold. When the liquid hardens, the mold is removed, leaving a form in the shape of the mold.
ceramic Objects made of clay hardened into a relatively permanent material by firing. Also, the process of making such objects.
chiaroscuro Italian for "light-dark." The gradations of light and dark values in two-dimensional imagery; especially the illusion of rounded, three-dimensional form created through gradations of light and shade rather than line. Highly developed by Renaissance painters.
chroma See intensity.cinematography The art and technique of making motion pictures, especially the work done by motion picture camera operators.
classical 1. The art of ancient Greece and Rome. More specifically, Classical refers to the style of Greek art that flourished during the fifth century B.C. 2. Any art based on a clear, rational, and regular structure, emphasizing horizontal and vertical directions, and organizing its parts with special emphasis on balance and proportion. The term classic is also used to indicate recognized excellence.
closed form A self-contained or explicitly limited form; having a resolved balance of tensions, a sense of calm completeness implying a totality within itself.
cluster houses Residential units laced close together in order to maximize the usable exterior space of the surrounding area, within the concept of single-family dwellings.
coffer In architecture, a decorative sunken panel on the underside of a ceiling.
collage From the French coller, to glue. A work made by gluing materials such as paper scraps, photographs, and cloth on to a flat surface.
colonnade A row of columns usually spanned or connected by beams (lintels).
color field painting A movement that grew out of Abstract Expressionism, in which large stained or painted areas or "fields of color evoke aesthetic and emotional responses.
color wheel A circular arrangement of contiguous spectral hues used in some color systems. Also called a color circle.
complementary colors Two hues directly opposite one another on a color wheel which, when mixed together in proper proportions, produce a neutral gray. The true complement of a color can be seen in its afterimage.
composition The bringing together of parts or elements to form a whole; the structure, organization, or total form of a work of art. See also design.
Conceptual art An art form in which the originating idea and the process by which it is presented take precedence over a tangible product. Conceptual works are sometimes produced in visible form, but they often exist only as descriptions of mental concepts or ideas. This trend developed in the late 1960s, in part as a way to avoid the commercialization of art.
content Meaning or message contained and communicated by a work of art, including its emotional, intellectual, symbolic, thematic, and narrative connotations.
contour The edge or apparent line that separates one area or mass from another; a line following a surface drawn to suggest volume.
contrapposto Italian for "counterpoise." The counterpositioning of parts of the human figure about a central vertical axis, as when the weight is placed on one foot, causing the hip and shoulder lines to counterbalance each other, often in a graceful S-curve.
cool colors Colors whose relative visual temperatures make them seem cool. Cool colors generally include green, blue-green, blue, blue-violet, and violet. The quality of warmness or coolness is relative to adjacent hues. See also warm colors.
cross-hatching See hatching.
Cubism The most influential style of the twentieth century, developed in Paris by Picasso and Braque, beginning in 1907. The early mature phase of the style, called Analytical Cubism, lasted from 1909 through 1911. Cubism is based on the simultaneous presentation of multiple views, disintegration, and the geometric reconstruction of objects in flattened, ambiguous pictorial so space; figure and ground merge into one interwoven surface of shifting planes. Color is limited to neutrals. By 1912 the more decorative phase called Synthetic (or Collage) Cubism, began to appear; it was characterized by fewer, more solid forms, conceptual rather than observed subject matter, and richer color and texture.
curtain wall A non-load-bearing wall.
Dada A movement in art and literature, founded in Switzerland in the early twentieth century, which ridiculed contemporary culture and conventional art. The Dadaists shared an antimilitaristic and antiaesthetic attitude, generated in part by the horrors of World War I and in part by a rejection of accepted canons of morality and taste. The anarchic spirit of Dada can be seen in the works of Duchamp, Man Ray, Hoch, Miro, and Picasso. Many Dadaists later explored Surrealism.
depth of field The area of sharp focus in a photograph. Depth of field becomes greater as the f-stop number is increased.
design Both the process and the result of structuring the elements of visual form; composition.
De Stijl Dutch for "the style," a purist art movement begun in the Netherlands during World War I by Mondrian and others. It involved painters, sculptors, designers, and architects whose works and ideas were expressed in De Stijl magazine. De Stijl was aimed at creating a universal language of form that would be independent of individual emotion. Visual form was pared down to primary colors, plus black and white, and rectangular shapes. The movement was influential primarily in architecture.
divisionism See pointillism.
dome A generally hemispherical roof or vault. Theoretically, an arch rotated 360 degrees on its vertical axis.
drypoint An intaglio printmaking process in which lines are scratched directly into a metal plate with a steel needle. Also, the resulting print.
earth art; earthworks Sculptural forms of earth, rocks, or sometimes plants, often on a vast scale and in remote locations. Some are deliberately impermanent.
eclecticism The practice of selecting or borrowing from earlier styles and combining the borrowed elements.
edition In printmaking, the total number of prints made and approved by an artist, usually numbered consecutively. Also, a limited number of multiple originals of a single design in any medium.
elevation In architecture, a scale drawing of any vertical side of a given structure.
encaustic A painting medium in which pigment is suspended in a binder of hot wax.
engraving An intaglio printmaking process in which grooves are cut into a metal or wood surface with a sharp cutting tool called a burin or graver. Also, the resulting print.
entasis In classical architecture, the slight swelling or bulge in the center of a column, which corrects the illusion of concave tapering produced by parallel straight lines.
etching An intaglio printmaking process in which a metal plate is first coated with acid-resistant wax, then scratched to expose the metal to the bite of nitric acid where lines are desired. Also, the resulting print.
expressionism The broad term that describes emotional art, most often boldly executed and making free use of distortion and symbolic or invented color. More specifically, Expressionism refers to individual and group styles originating in Europe in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. See also Abstract Expressionism.
eye level The height of the viewer's eyes above the ground plane.
facade In architecture, a term used to refer to the front exterior of a building. Also, other exterior sides when they are emphasized.
Fauvism A style of painting introduced in Paris in the early twentieth century, characterized by areas of bright, contrasting color and simplified shapes. The name les fauves is French for "the wild beasts."
figure Separate shape(s) distinguishable from a background or ground.
fine art Art created for purely aesthetic expression, communication, or contemplation. Painting and sculpture are the best known of the fine arts.
flamboyant Any design dominated by flamelike, curvilinear rhythms. In architecture, having complex, flamelike forms characteristic of fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Gothic style.
flying buttress See buttress.
folk art Art of people who have had no formal, academic training, but whose works are part of an established tradition of style and craftsmanship.
foreshortening The representation of forms on a two-dimensional surface by presenting the length in such a way that the long axis appears to project toward or recede away from the viewer.
form In the broadest sense, the total physical characteristics of an object, event, or situation.
formalist Having an emphasis on highly structured visual relationships rather than on subject matter or nonvisual content.
format The shape or proportions of a picture plane.
fresco A painting technique in which pigments suspended in water are applied to a damp lime-plaster surface. The pigments dry to become part of the plaster wall or surface.
frontal An adjective describing an object that faces the viewer directly, rather than being set at an angle or foreshortened.
Futurism A group movement that originated in Italy in 1909. One of several movements to grow out of Cubism. Futurists added implied motion to the shifting planes and multiple observation points of the Cubists; they celebrated natural as well as mechanical motion and speed. Their glorification of danger, war, and the machine age was in keeping with the martial spirit developing in Italy at the time.
geodesic A geometric form basic to structures using short sections of lightweight material joined into interlocking polygons. Also a structural system developed by R. Buckminster Fuller to create domes using the above principle.
gesso A mixture of glue and either chalk or plaster of Paris applied as a ground or coating to surfaces in order to give them the correct properties to receive paint. Gesso can also be built up or molded into relief designs, or carved.
glaze In ceramics, a vitreous or glassy coating applied to seal and decorate surfaces. Glaze may be colored, transparent, or opaque. In oil painting, a thin transparent or translucent layer brushed over another layer of paint, allowing the first layer to show through but altering its color slightly.
Gothic Primarily an architectural style that prevailed in western Europe from the twelfth through the fifteenth centuries, characterized by pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses, that made it possible to create stone buildings that reached great heights.
gouache An opaque, water-soluble paint. Watercolor to which opaque white has been added.
green belt A strip of planned or protected open space, consisting of recreational parks, farm land, or uncultivated land, often used to define and limit the boundaries of a community and prevent urban sprawl.
ground The background in two-dimensional works-the area around and between figures. Also, the surface onto which paint is applied.
Happening An event conceived by artists and performed by artists and others, usually unrehearsed and without a specific script or stage.
hard-edge A term first used in the 1950s to distinguish styles of painting in which shapes are precisely defined by sharp edges, in contrast to the usually blurred or soft edges in Abstract Expressionist paintings.
hatching A technique used in drawing and linear forms of printmaking, in which lines are placed in parallel series to darken the value of an area. Cross-hatching is drawing one set of hatchings over another in a different direction so that the lines cross.
Hellenistic Style of the last of three phases of ancient Greek art (300-100 B.C.), characterized by emotion, drama, and the interaction of sculptural forms with the surrounding space.
hierarchic proportion Use of unnatural proportion to show the relative importance of figures.
high key Exclusive use of pale or light values within a given area or surface.
horizon line In linear perspective, the implied or actual line or edge placed on a two- dimensional surface to represent the place in nature where the sky meets the horizontal land or water plane. The horizon line matches the eye level on a two-dimensional surface. Lines or edges parallel to the ground plane and moving away from the viewer appear to converge at vanishing points on the horizon line.
hue That property of a color identifying a specific, named wavelength of light such as green, red, violet, and so on.
humanism A cultural and intellectual movement during the Renaissance, following the rediscovery of the art and literature of ancient Greece and Rome. A philosophy or attitude concerned with the interests, achievements, and capabilities of human beings rather than with the abstract concepts and problems of theology or science.
icon An image or symbolic representation often with sacred significance.
iconography The symbolic meanings of subjects and signs used to convey ideas important to particular cultures or religions, and the conventions governing the use of such forms.
impasto In painting, thick paint applied to a surface in a heavy manner, having the appearance and consistency of buttery paste.
Impressionism A style of painting that originated in France about 1870. Paintings of casual subjects, executed outdoors, using divided brush strokes to capture the mood of a particular moment as defined by the transitory effects of light and color. The first Impressionist exhibit was held in 1874.
intaglio Any printmaking technique in which lines and areas to be inked and transferred to paper are recessed below the surface of the printing plate. Etching, engraving, drypoint, and aquatint are all intaglio processes. See also print.
intensity The relative purity or saturation of a hue (color), on a scale from bright (pure) to dull (mixed with another hue or a neutral. Also called chroma.
intermediate color A hue between a primary and a secondary on the color wheel, such as yellow-green, a mixture of yellow and green.
International Style An architectural style that emerged in several European countries between 1910 and 1920. Related to purism and De Stijl in painting, it joined structure and exterior design into a noneclectic form based on rectangular geometry and growing out of the basic function and structure of the building.
kiln An oven in which pottery or ceramic ware is fired.
kinetic art Art that incorporates actual movement as part of the design.
kore Greek for "maiden." An Archaic Greek statue of a standing clothed young woman.
kouros Greek for "youth." An Archaic Greek statue of a standing nude young male.
lens The part of a camera that concentrates light and focuses the image.
linear perspective See perspective.
lintel See beam.
lithography A planographic printmaking technique based on the antipathy of oil and water. The image is drawn with a grease crayon or painted with tusche on a stone or grained aluminum plate. The surface is then chemically treated and dampened so that it will accept ink only where the crayon or tusche has been used.
local color The actual color as distinguished from the apparent color of objects and surfaces; true color, without shadows or reflections.
logo Short for "logotype." Sign, name, or trademark of an institution, firm, or publication, consisting of letter forms borne on one printing plate or piece of type.
loom A device for producing cloth by interweaving fibers at right angles.
low key Consistent use of dark values within a given area or surface.
lumina The use of actual light as an art medium.
Mannerism A style that developed in the sixteenth century as a reaction to the classical rationality and balanced harmony of the High Renaissance; characterized by the dramatic use of space and light, exaggerated color, elongation of figures, and distortions of perspective, scale, and proportion.
mass Three-dimensional form having physical bulk. Also, the illusion of such a form on a two-dimensional surface.
mat Border of cardboard or similar material placed around a picture as a neutral area between the frame and the picture.
matte A dull finish or surface, especially in painting, photography, and ceramics.
medium (pl. media or mediums) 1. A particular material along with its accompanying technique; a specific type of artistic technique or means of expression determined by the use of particular materials. 2. In paint, the fluid in which pigment is suspended, allowing it to spread and adhere to the surface.
Minimalism A nonrepresentational style of sculpture and painting, usually severely restricted in the use of visual elements and often consisting of simple geometric shapes or masses. The style came to prominence in the late 1960s.
mixed media Works of art made with more than one medium.
mobile A type of sculpture in which parts move, often activated by air currents. See also kinetic art.
modeling 1. Working pliable material such as clay or wax into three-dimensional forms. 2. In drawing or painting, the effect of light falling on a three-dimensional object so that the illusion of its mass is created and defined by value gradations.
modernism Theory and practice in late nineteenth- and twentieth-century art, which holds that each new generation must build on past styles in new ways or break with the past in order to make the next major historical contribution. Characterized by idealism; seen as "high art," as differentiated from popular art. In painting, most clearly seen in the work of the Post-Impressionists, beginning in 1885; in architecture, most evident in the work of Bauhaus and International Style architects, beginning about 1920.
module A standard unit of measure in architecture. The part of a structure used as a standard by which the rest is proportioned.
monochromatic A color scheme limited to variations of one hue, a hue with its tints and/or shades.
montage 1. A composition made up of pictures or parts of pictures previously drawn, painted, or photographed. 2. In motion pictures, the combining of separate bits of film to portray the character of a single event through multiple views.
mosaic 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, works made using this technique.
mural A large wall painting, often executed in fresco.
naturalism Representational art in which the artist presents a subjective interpretation of visual reality while retaining something of the natural appearance or look of the objects depicted. Naturalism varies greatly from artist to artist, depending on the degree and kind of subjective interpretation.
naive art Art made by people with no formal art training.
nave The tall central space of a church or cathedral, usually flanked by side aisles.
negative shape A background or ground shape seen in relation to foreground or figure shapes.
Neoclassicism New classicism. A revival of classical Greek and Roman forms in art, music, and literature, particularly during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries in Europe and America. It was part of a reaction to the excesses of Baroque and Rococo art.
neutrals Not associated with any single hue. Blacks, whites, grays, and dull gray-browns. A neutral can be made by mixing complementary hues.
nonobjective See nonrepresentational and abstract art.
nonrepresentational Art without reference to anything outside itself-without representation. Also called nonobjective-without recognizable objects.
offset printing Planographic printing by indirect image-transfer from photomechanical plates. The plate transfers ink to a rubber-covered cylinder, which "offsets" the ink to the paper. Also called photo-offset and offset lithography.
oil paint Paint in which the pigment is held together with a binder of oil, usually linseed oil.
opaque Impenetrable by light; not transparent or translucent.
open form A form whose contour is irregular or broken, having a sense of growth, change, or unresolved tension; form in a state of becoming.
optical color mixture Apparent rather than actual color mixture, produced by interspersing brush strokes or dots of color instead of physically mixing them. The implied mixing occurs in the eye of the viewer and produces a lively color sensation.
painterly Painting characterized by openness of form, in which shapes are defined by loose brushwork in light and dark color areas rather than by outline or contour.
pastels 1. Sticks of powdered pigment held together with a gum binding agent. 2. Pale colors or tints.
performance art Dramatic presentation by visual artists (as distinguished from theater artists such as actors and dancers) before an audience, usually apart from a formal theatrical setting.
perspective A system for creating an illusion of depth or three-dimensional space on a two-dimensional surface. Usually refers to linear perspective, which is based on the fact that parallel lines or edges appear to converge and objects appear smaller as the distance between them and the viewer increases. Atmospheric perspective (aerial perspective) creates the illusion of distance by reducing color saturation, value contrast, and detail in order to imply the hazy effect of atmosphere between the viewer and distant objects. Isometric perspective is not a visual or optical interpretation, but a mechanical means to show space and volume in rectangular forms. Parallel lines remain parallel; there is no convergence.
perspective rendering A view of an architectural structure drawn in linear perspective, usually from a three-quarter view or similar vantage point that shows two sides of the proposed building.
photorealism A style of painting that became prominent in the 1970s, based on the cool objectivity of photographs as records of subjects.
pictorial space In a painting or other two-dimensional art, illusionary space which appears to recede backward into depth from the picture plane.
picture plane The two-dimensional picture surface.
pigment Any coloring agent, made from natural or synthetic substances, used in paints or drawing materials.
plan In architecture, a scale drawing in diagrammatic form showing the basic layout of the interior and exterior spaces of a structure, as if seen in a cutaway view from above.
plastic 1. Pliable; capable of being shaped. Pertaining to the process of shaping or modeling (i.e., the plastic arts). 2. Synthetic polymer substances, such as acrylic.
pointillism A system of painting using tiny dots or "points" of color, developed by French artist Georges Seurat in the 1880s. Seurat systematized the divided brushwork and optical color mixture of the Impressionists and called this technique divisionism.
polychromatic Having many colors; random or intuitive use of color combinations as opposed to color selection based on a specific color scheme.
Pop Art A style of painting and sculpture that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s, in Britain and the United States; based on the visual clich¾ s, subject matter, and impersonal style of popular mass-media imagery.
positive shape A figure or foreground shape, as opposed to a negative ground or background shape.
post-and-beam system (post and lintel) In architecture, a structural system that uses two or more uprights or posts to support a horizontal beam (or lintel) which spans the space between them.
Post-Impressionism A general term applied to various personal styles of painting by French artists (or artists living in France) that developed from about 1885 to 1900 in reaction to what these artists saw as the somewhat formless and aloof quality of Impressionist painting. Post-Impressionist painters were concerned with the significance of form, symbols, expressiveness, and psychological intensity. They can be broadly separated into two groups, expressionists, such as Gauguin and Van Gogh, and formalists, such as C¾ zanne and Seurat.
Post-Modern An attitude or trend of the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s, in which artists and architects accept all that modernism rejects. In architecture, the movement away from or beyond what had become boring adaptations of the International Style, in favor of an imaginative, eclectic approach. In the other visual arts, Post-Modern is characterized by an acceptance of all periods and styles, including modernism, and a willingness to combine elements of all styles and periods. Although modernism makes distinctions between high art and popular taste, Post-Modernism makes no such value judgments.
prehistoric art Art created before written history. Often the only record of early cultures.
primary colors Those hues that cannot be produced by mixing other hues. Pigment primaries are red, yellow, and blue; light primaries are red, green, and blue. Theoretically, pigment primaries can be mixed together to form all the other hues in the spectrum.
prime In painting, a first layer of paint or sizing applied to a surface that is to be painted.
print (artist's print) A multiple-original impression made from a plate, stone, wood block, or screen by an artist or made under the artist's supervision. Prints are usually made in editions, with each print numbered and signed by the artist.
proportion The size relationship of parts to a whole and to one another.
realism 1. A type of representational art in which the artist depicts as closely as possible what the eye sees. 2. Realism. The mid-nineteenth-century style of Courbet and others, based on the idea that ordinary people and everyday activities are worthy subjects for art.
registration In color printmaking or machine printing, the process of aligning the impressions of blocks or plates on the same sheet of paper.
reinforced concrete (ferroconcrete) Concrete with steel mesh or bars embedded in it to increase its tensile strength.
relief printing A printing technique in which the parts of the printing surface that carry ink are left raised, while the remaining areas are cut away. Woodcuts and linoleum prints (linocuts) are relief prints.
relief sculpture Sculpture in which three-dimensional forms project from a flat background of which they are a part. The degree of projection can vary and is described by the terms high relief and low relief (bas-relief.)
Renaissance Period in Europe from the late fourteenth through the sixteenth centuries, characterized by a renewed interest in human-centered classical art, literature, and learning. See also humanism.
representational art Art in which it is the artist's intention to present again or represent a particular subject; especially pertaining to realistic portrayal of subject matter.
reproduction A mechanically produced copy of an original work of art; not to be confused with an original print or art print.
rhythm The regular or ordered repetition of dominant and subordinate elements or units within a design.
ribbed vault See vault.
Rococo From the French rocaille meaning "rock work." This late Baroque (c. 1715-1775) style used in interior decoration and painting was characteristically playful, pretty, romantic, and visually loose or soft; it used small scale and ornate decoration, pastel colors, and asymmetrical arrangement of curves. Rococo was popular in France and southern Germany in the 18th century.
Romanesque A style of European architecture prevalent from the ninth to the twelfth centuries, with round arches and barrel vaults influenced by Roman architecture and characterized by heavy stone construction.
Romanticism 1. A literary and artistic movement of late eighteenth- and nineteenth-century Europe, aimed at asserting the validity of subjective experience as a countermovement to the often cold formulas of Neoclassicism; characterized by intense emotional excitement and depictions of powerful forces in nature, exotic lifestyles, danger, suffering, and nostalgia. 2. Art of any period based on spontaneity, intuition, and emotion rather than carefully organized rational approaches to form.
salon A general term for a group art exhibition in France.
saturation See intensity.
scale The size or apparent size of an object seen in relation to other objects, people, or its environment or format. Also used to refer to the quality or monumentality found in some objects regardless of their size. In architectural drawings, the ratio of the measurements in the drawing to the measurements in the building.
school of art A group of artists whose work demonstrates a common influence or unifying belief. Schools of art are often defined by geographic origin. When the term is applied to a particular artist, it may refer to work done by the artist's pupils or assistants or to work that imitates the artist's style.
screenprinting (serigraphy) A printmaking technique in which stencils are applied to fabric stretched across a frame. Paint or ink is forced with a squeegee through the unblocked portions of the screen onto paper or other surface beneath.
secondary colors Pigment secondaries are the hues orange, violet, and green, which may be produced in slightly dulled form by mixing two primaries.
section In architecture, a scale drawing of part of a building as seen along an imaginary plane that passes through a building vertically.
serigraphy See screenprinting.
setback The legal distance that a building must be from property lines. Early setback requirements often increased with the height of a building, resulting in steplike recessions in the rise of tall buildings.
shade A hue with black added.
shape A two-dimensional or implied two-dimensional area defined by line or changes in value and/or color.
shutter In photography, the part of the camera that controls the length of time the light is allowed to strike the photosensitive film.
silk screen See screenprinting.
simultaneous contrast An optical effect caused by the tendency of contrasting forms and colors to emphasize their difference when they are placed together.
site-specific art Any work made for a certain place, which cannot be separated or exhibited apart from its intended environment.
size Any of several substances made from glue, wax, or clay, used as a filler for porous material such as paper, canvas or other cloth, or wall surfaces. Used to protect the surface from the deteriorating effects of paint, particularly oil paint.
still life A painting or other two-dimensional work of art representing inanimate objects such as bottles, fruit, and flowers. Also, the arrangement of these objects from which a drawing, painting, or other work is made.
stupa The earliest form of Buddhist architecture, probably derived from Indian funeral mounds.
style A characteristic handling of media and elements of form that gives a work its identity as the product of a particular person, group, art movement, period, or culture.
stylized Simplified or exaggerated visual form which emphasizes particular or contrived design qualities.
subtractive color mixture Combining of colored pigments in the form of paints, inks, pastels, and so on. Called subtractive because reflected light is reduced as pigment colors are combined. See additive color mixture.
subtractive sculpture Sculpture made by removing material from a larger block or form.
support The physical material that provides the base for and sustains a two-dimensional work of art. Paper is the usual support for drawings and prints; canvas and panels are supports in painting.
Surrealism A movement in literature and the visual arts that developed in the mid1920s and remained strong until the mid1940s, growing out of Dada and automatism. Based upon revealing the unconscious mind in dream images, the irrational, and the fantastic, Surrealism took two directions: representational and abstract. Dali's and Magritte's paintings, with their uses of impossible combinations of objects depicted in realistic detail, typify representational Surrealism. MirÙ 's paintings, with their use of abstract and fantastic shapes and vaguely defined creatures, are typical of abstract Surrealism.
symbol A form or image implying or representing something beyond its obvious and immediate meaning.
symmetry A design (or composition) with identical or nearly identical form on opposite sides of a dividing line or central axis; formal balance.
Synthetic Cubism See Cubism.
tempera A water-based paint that uses egg, egg yolk, glue, or casein as a binder. Many commercially made paints identified as tempera are actually gouache.
tessera Bit of colored glass, ceramic tile, or stone used in a mosaic.
texture The tactile quality of a surface or the representation or invention of the appearance of such a surface quality.
three-dimensional Having height, width, and depth.
throwing The process of forming clay objects on a potter's wheel.
tint A hue with white added.
townhouse One of a row of houses connected by common side walls.
trompe l'oeil French for "foot the eye." A two-dimensional representation that is so naturalistic that it looks actual or real (three-dimensional.)
truss In architecture, a structural framework of wood or metal based on a triangular system, used to span, reinforce, or support walls, ceilings, piers, or beams.
tunnel vault (barrel vault) See vault.
tusche In lithography, a waxy liquid used to draw or paint images on a lithographic stone or plate.
two-dimensional Having the dimensions of height and width only.
typography The art and technique of composing printed materials from type.
unity The appearance of similarity, consistency, or oneness. Interrelational factors that cause various elements to appear as part of a single complete form.
value The lightness or darkness of tones or colors. White is the lightest value; black is the darkest. The value halfway between these extremes is called middle gray.
vanishing point In linear perspective, the point on the horizon line at which lines or edges that are parallel appear to converge.
vantage point The position from which the viewer looks at an object or visual field; also called observation point or viewpoint.
vault A masonry roof or ceiling constructed on the principle of the arch. A tunnel or barrel vault is a semicircular arch extended in depth: a continuous series of arches, one behind the other. A groin vault is formed when two barrel vaults intersect. A ribbed vault is a vault reinforced by masonry ribs.
vehicle Liquid emulsion used as a carrier or spreading agent in paints.
video Television. "Video" emphasizes the visual rather than the audio aspects of the television medium. The term is also used to distinguish television used as an art medium from general broadcast television.
visualize To form a mental image or vision; to imagine.
volume 1. Space enclosed or filled by a three-dimensional object or figure. 2. The implied space filled by a painted or drawn object or figure. Synonym: mass.
warm colors Colors whose relative visual temperature makes them seem warm. Warm colors or hues include red-violet, red, red-orange, orange, yellow-orange, and yellow. See also cool colors.
war In weaving, the threads that run lengthwise in a fabric, crossed at right angles by the weft. Also, the process of arranging yarn or thread on a loom so as to form a warp.
wash A thin, transparent layer of paint or ink.
watercolor Paint that uses water-soluble gum as the binder and water as the vehicle. Characterized by transparency. Also, the resulting painting.
weft In weaving, the horizontal threads interlaced through the warp. Also called woof.
woodcut A type of relief print made from an image that is left raised on a block of wood

Visual Art Glossary
Section 5:
Abstract art
A style of art that uses lines, shapes, colours and textures to depict an object without attention to depicting the object in a realistic manner.
After- image
Weak image of the complementary colour created by the brain as a reaction to prolonged looking at a colour. (After looking at red, the after-image is green).
Alternating rhythm
Repeating motifs but changing the position, content or spaces between them.
Analogous colour
Colours that are beside each other on the colour wheel.
Arbitrary colour
Colours chosen by the artist to symbolize an idea or express a mood or feeling.
Art criticism
The process and result of critical thinking about art. It usually involves the description, analysis and interpretation of art, as well as some kind of judgment.
Assemblage
Sculpture consisting of many objects and materials which have been put together.
Asymmetrical balance
Informal balance in which unlike objects have equal visual weight.
Background
Part of the picture plane that seems to be farthest from the viewer.
Balance
Principle of design that deals with arranging the visual elements in a work of art for harmony of design and proportion.
Bas- relief
Sculpture in which part of the surface projects from a flat plane.
Bonsai
Artificially dwarfed plant or tree common in the Japanese culture.
Calligraphic line
Flowing line made with brushstrokes, similar to oriental writing.
Calligraphy
Handwriting usually very beautifully formed with a flat-nibbed pen or brush.
Chiaroscuro
Using contrast of light and dark to create the illusion of three-dimensional form on a two- dimensional surface. Clustering
In design, creating a focal point by grouping different objects or shapes together.
Collage
A work of art made from pieces of pictures, paper, found materials, etc. juxtaposed and glued to a surface.
Colour interactions
An optical sensation that colours are changed by their relationship to other colours.
Colour scheme
Plan for selecting or organizing colour (monochromatic, analogous, complementary, triad, split-complementary, warm, cool or neutral colours).
Colour triad
Three colours spaced an equal distance apart on the colour wheel (e.g., red, yellow, and blue).
Colour wheel
A tool for organizing colour.
Complementary colour
Colours that are opposite each other on the colour wheel (e.g., blue and orange). These colours are the strongest contrast to each other. When a hue is mixed with its complement, its intensity is reduced.
Composition
Arrangements of elements in a work of art.
Continuation (continuity)
In design, arranging shapes so that the line or edge of one shape leads into another (technique for creating unity).
Contour lines
Contour lines define edges, ridges or outlines of a shape or form.
Contrast
A principle of design used to emphasize, provide variety and interest, or to create a certain feeling in the work.
Convergence
Technique for creating focal point by arranging visual elements so that many edges or lines point to one area.
Cool colours
Green, blue and purple. Colours often associated with cool places, things or feelings.
Crafts
Art works that are both decorative and functional. (weaving, fabric design, jewelry- making and pottery).
Crosshatch
Technique for shading, using two or more crossed sets of parallel lines.
Culture
Behaviours, ideas, skills and customs of a group of people.
Distortion
Changing an object's usual shape to communicate ideas and feelings.
Documentary film
A film based on facts or real events.
Documented
Often art works which are temporary in nature are photographed or filmed to record their existence.
Dominant element
Element in a work of art which is noticed first (elements noticed later are subordinate).
Draftsperson
An artist who draws plans for machinery and buildings.
Elements of art
Colour, line, texture, shape and form.
Emphasis
Principle of design that stresses one element or area to attract the viewer's attention first.
Exaggeration
Increasing or enlarging an object or figure to communicate ideas or feelings.
Fine art
A traditional term for art that is valued for its qualities, ideas or expressiveness and not just its technical excellence; for example, painting, sculpture and architecture.
Flowing rhythm
Visual rhythm which is created by repeating wavy lines.
Focal point
Area of an art work which attracts the viewer's attention first. Contrast, location, isolation, convergence and the unusual are used to create focal points.
Foreground
Part of a picture which appears closest to the viewer and often is at the bottom of the picture.
Foreshortening
A form of perspective where the nearest parts of an object or form are enlarged so that the rest of the form appears to go back in space.
Gesture drawing
A drawing done quickly to capture a movement.
Harmony
Refers to ways similarities in a work are accentuated to create an uncomplicated, uniform appearance.
Hatching
Technique of shading using a series of parallel lines.
Hieroglyphics
Egyptian writing using symbols.
Hue
Another word for colour (colour has three properties: hue, value and intensity).
Illusion
A deceptive or misleading image.
Illustrator
An artist who creates images for books, magazines, etc.
Installation art
A work of art which is made for and placed within a certain space. It can activate the viewer to become involved in the space or react to the environment.
Intensity
Brightness or dullness of a colour. Intensity can be reduced by adding the colour's complement.
Isolation
Technique for creating focal point by putting one object or image alone.
Juxtapose
To place objects side by side.
Kinetic art
Art work which depends on movement for its effect.
Linear perspective
Technique of creating the illusion of depth on a flat surface. The lines of buildings and other objects converge to a vanishing point on a horizon line (viewer's eye level).
Logo
A visual symbol that identifies a business, club, individual or group.
Maquette
A small preliminary model made by a sculptor before undertaking a larger work.
Media
Any materials and techniques used to produce a work of art, such as paint, glass, clay, fibre, etc.
Middleground
Area in a picture between the foreground and the background.
Mixed media
Any art work which uses more than one medium.
Monochromatic colour
Colour scheme which uses one hue and all its tints and shades for a unifying effect.
Motif
Repeated unit to create visual rhythm.
Negative space
Space around an object or form.
Neutral colours
Black, white and grey. Non- objective
An art work without a recognizable object.
Opaque
Quality of a material that does not let any light pass through.
Organic form
Shapes or forms that are free-flowing and non- geometric.
Path of movement
The path along which the viewer's eye moves from one part of an art work to another.
Pattern
Lines, colours or shapes repeated in a planned way.
Perspective
Method used to create the illusion of space on a two-dimensional surface. It can be created by overlapping, placement, detail, colour intensity or value, converging lines and size variations.
Petroglyph
A carving or inscription on a rock surface.
Pictograph
A drawing or painting on a rock surface.
Picture plane
The surface of a drawing or painting.
Point-of- view
The angle from which something is viewed.
Positive space
Shapes or forms on a two-dimensional surface.
Principles of design
Guidelines that artists use in composing designs and controlling how viewers are likely to react to the image. Balance, contrast, proportion, rhythm, emphasis, harmony, variety and unity are examples of the principles of design.
Progressive rhythm pattern
Visual rhythm that changes the motif each time it is repeated.
Proportion
Principle of design concerned with the relationship of one object to another with respect to size, amount, number and degree.
Radial balance
Kind of balance where the elements branch out from a central point.
Random rhythm
Visual rhythm in which a motif is repeated in no apparent order.
Regular rhythm
Visual rhythm created through repeating the same motif with the same distance between the repetitions.
Repetition
Technique for creating unity and rhythm by using a single element or motif over and over again.
Reproduction
Copy of a work of art.
Rhythm
Principle of design that repeats elements to create the illusion of movement. Rhythm can be random, regular, alternating, progressive and flowing.
Scale
The proportion between two sets of dimensions.
Shade
Dark value of a colour made by adding black.
Shape
Element of art that is two-dimensional and encloses space. Shapes are usually geometric or organic and have length and width.
Sighting
Technique used in drawing to determine the proportional relationships of one part of an object to another.
Simplicity
Technique used to create unity by limiting the number of variations of an element.
Space
Space in an art work can be the area around, within or between images or elements. Space can be created on a two-dimensional surface by using such techniques as overlapping, object size, placement, colour intensity and value, detail and diagonal lines.
Split complementary
A colour scheme based on one hue and the hues on either side of its complement on the colour wheel.
Stippling
Technique of shading using dots.
Style
Style is the artist's ways of presenting things. Use of materials, methods of working, design qualities, choice of subject matter, etc. reflect the individual, culture or time period.
Subject
A topic or idea represented in an art work.
Subordinate element
Element in an art work noticed after the dominant element.
Subtractive method
Sculpture that is made by cutting, carving or otherwise removing material.
Surrealism
A style of painting concerned with the subconscious mind and dreams. Many surrealist artists make unusual combinations of objects which appeared very realistic.
Symbols
Objects that are intended to represent something other than themselves.
Symmetrical balance
Formal balance where two sides of a design are identical.
Thumbnail sketch
Quick sketches that an artist uses to work out ideas.
Tint
Light value of a colour made by adding white.
Translucent
Quality of a material which allows diffused light to pass through it.
Transparent
Quality of a material which allows light to pass through it.
Trompe- l'oeil
Means "fool-the-eye". Style of painting where the artist creates the illusion of three- dimensional objects.
Unity
Principle of design that gives the feeling that all parts are working together.
Value
The lightness or darkness of a colour.
Vanishing point
In perspective drawing, a point or points on the horizon where receding parallel lines seem to meet.
Variety
Principle of design that artists use when they want to add interest to a work of art.
View finder
A small, hand-held paper with an opening cut in it in proportion to the paper size used for drawing. Students use it by closing one eye and looking through the opening to determine a pleasing composition.
Visual weight
The interest or attraction that certain elements in an art work have upon the viewer. It can be affected by size, contour, intensity of colour, warmth or coolness of a colour, contrast in value, texture and position.
Warm colours
Red, yellow and orange. They suggest warm places, things and feelings.

VISUAL ART GLOSSARY
Section 6:
Abstract. Artwork in which little or no attempt is made to represent images realistically, and objects are often simplified or distorted.
Acrylic. A fast-drying, water-based plastic polymer painting medium.
Aesthetics. A branch of philosophy that focuses on the nature of beauty, the nature and value of art, and the inquiry processes and human responses associated with those topics.
Analysis. In art criticism, discovering how the principles of art are used to organize the art elements. In art history, determining the style of the artwork.
Architecture. The art and science of designing and erecting buildings.
Armature. Supporting structure for sculpture.
Art Criticism. Describing and evaluating the media, processes, and meanings of works of visual art, and making comparative judgments.
Art Elements. Visual arts components, such as line, texture, color, form, value, shape, and space.
Art History. A record of the visual arts, incorporating information, interpretations, and judgments about art objects, artists, and conceptual influences on developments in the visual arts.
Artifact. An object representing a particular culture or stage of technological development.
Art Media. Broad categories for grouping works of visual art according to the art materials used.
Assemblage. Sculpting technique in which the artist gathers and joins together a variety of materials.
Asymmetry. A type of balance in works of art in which parts on opposite sides of a perceived midline give the appearance of equal visual weight.
Atmospheric Perspective. Objects in the distance appear less distinct in form and more muted in color.
Background. The area of an artwork that appears to be behind other objects or farther away from the viewer.

Balance. Element of design that deals with equally arranging visual elements in a work of art.
Symmetrical – Formal balance in which two halves or sides of a design create a mirror
image.
Asymmetrical – Another name for informal balance, in which unlike objects have equal
visual weight or eye attraction.
Radial Balance – Type of balance in which forces or elements branch out from a central
axis in a circular pattern.
Bas-relief. Sculpture in which areas project slightly from a flat surface.
Blending. Technique of shading through smooth, gradual application of value.
Calligraphy. An Asian method of beautiful handwriting.
Carving. A subtractive form of sculpture, in which the material is cut, chipped, or drilled away from a solid material to create a sculpture.
Casting. Process of sculpture in which a molten metal or substance is poured into a mold and allowed to harden.
Ceramic. Art of making objects with clay to produce pottery and sculpture.
Chiaroscuro. Method of arranging light and shadow in two-dimensional art to create the illusion of three-dimensional form.
Clay. A natural earthly material which is plastic when wet and becomes hard and brittle upon treatment by high heat (firing).
Coil. Long roll of clay joined into a circle or spiral.
Collage. Artwork onto which materials such as textured paper and fabric are attached.
Color. Element of design that is a property of light.
Primary – red, yellow, blue
Secondary – orange, green, violet (made from the primary colors)
Tertiary – produced by mixing two secondary colors.
Intensity – brightness of color.
Value – lights and darks of a color or greys.
Hue – name of color.
Color Schemes. Plan for organizing color.
Complementary – colors opposite each other on a standard color wheel.
Analogous – colors which are closely related to each other and in which common color can be found (yellow, yellow-orange, orange, etc.)
Monochromatic – tones of one color in addition to the main hue
Triad – any three colors found on a standard color wheel that are connected by a triangle (red, yellow, and blue)
Intermediate – colors made from a primary and secondary (blue-green, yellow-orange)
Split complement – color on either side of the direct complement (blue-green, yellow-green).
Cool Colors – Colors in which blue, green or violet predominate.
Warm Colors – Colors in which red, orange or yellow predominate.
Color Wheel. Sectioned circle with colors in a bent spectrum.
Composition. The ordered arrangement of the elements of art according to the principles of design.
Concept. An abstract or general idea
Conjoint. Carried on by two or more people in combination; cooperative participation; teacher guided.
Contemporary. Modern; current; coming into being during the same period of time.
Content. Meaning and significance; events, physical detail, and information in a work of art.
Contour Line. A line that defines the edges and surface ridges of an object.
Contrast. Differences between two or more elements (e.g., value, color, texture) in a composition; juxtaposition of different elements in a work of art. Also, the degree of difference between the lightest and darkest parts of a picture.
Conventional Performances. Only giving back certain identified "facts, concepts or problem sets" (one answer tests that do not require understanding of subject matter).
Criteria. Standards of judgement.
Critique. Evaluating, judging, synthesizing, analyzing.
Cross Hatching. Superimposed layers of parallel lines (hatching) at an angle to one another; used to create shadow and modeling.
Culture. Socially transmitted behaviors, arts, beliefs, institutions and all products of human work and thought, considered as the expression of a particular period, class, community or population.
Decorative. Ornamental; beauty over function.
Design. An artwork that has a planned arrangement of elements and principles.
Dimension. Amount of space an object takes up in one direction.
Dominance. The importance of the emphasis of one aspect in relation to all other aspects of a design.
Dominant. Element of a work of art that is noticed first.
Drawing. An art technique using pencil, pen, brush, charcoal, crayon, pastel or stylus.
Dye. Pigments that dissolve in liquid.
Fabric. Material made from fibers.
Fiber. Thin, threadlike linear material that can be woven or spun into fabric.
Figure-ground. In design, the background and the main subject.
Focal Point. The first part of a work to attract the attention of the viewer.
Foreground. In a visual work, the area that appears to be closest to the viewer.
Foreshortening. Method of drawing or painting an object or person so that it seems to go back into space.
Form. Element of art that is three-dimensional and encloses space. Form has length, width, and depth.
Freestanding. Work of art surrounded on all sides by space.
Function/Functional. Purpose of an art work; designed chiefly from the point of view of use.
Genre. The representation of people, subjects and scenes from everyday life.
Gesture Drawing. Quick sketch used to capture the movement or position of a figure.
Glaze. A gloss or mat coating developed on clay under heat.
Global. Worldwide.
Gradation. Gradual transition from one form or element to another with slight changes in value.
Graphics. Images and words generated by hand or computer.
Handbuilt. Forming without mechanical manipulation (usually referring to clay).
Harmony. The principle of design that creates unity in a work of art by stressing similarities of separate but related parts.
Hatching. Small, grouped lines made in drawing or engraving.
Icon. Symbol or image.
Illustrate. Create visual images that complement written words.
Interface. To interact or coordinate harmoniously.
In the Round. Freestanding sculpture surrounded on all sides by space.
Intuitive. Perceived knowledge from experience and feelings.
Jewelry. An ornament for personal adornment.
Judgement. In art criticism, determining the degree of artistic merit. In art history, determining the contribution of a work of art to the history of art.
Kinetic. Work of art that actually moves in space.
Line. A point moving in space. Line can vary in width, length, curvature, or direction.
Linear Perspective. Graphic system that creates the illusion of depth and volume on a flat surface.
Medium (Media). Material(s) used to create works of art.
Middleground. The area of an artwork that appears to be between the foreground and the background.
Mixed Media. Two or more media used in one artwork.
Mobile. A sculpture with a balanced arrangement of moveable parts.
Modeling. An additive process of sculpture in which soft, pliable material is built up and shaped.
Mosaic. Artwork made with small cubes of colored paper, marble, glass or tile and set into cement.
Motif. Unit that is repeated in visual rhythm.
Movement. Principle of design that deals with creating the illusion of action or physical change in position.
Mural. Painting on wall or ceiling.
Narrative. The written word describing a visual work of art and/or its artist (usually, but not confined to art history texts).
Negative Space. Empty space surrounding shapes and forms.
Neutral Colors. Black, white and gray.
Objective. Knowledge which some believe to be independent of experience and personal feeling.
Oil Paint. Pigments in linseed oil or another vegetable drying oil to make a smooth paste consistency; permanent color.
Opaque. Quality of a material that does not let any light pass through.
Outline. Line that shows the outer edges.
Paint. Pigments mixed with oil or water.
Palette. Tray for mixing colors of paints; colors used in a particular work of art.
Papier Mache. Modeling material made of paper and liquid paste molded over a supporting structure.
Pastels. Pigments held together with gum and molded into sticks.
Pattern. Decorative visual repetition.
Performance Art. A type of art in which events are planned and enacted before an audience for aesthetic reasons.
Perspective. Refers to two major systems for showing depth and distance in a work of art (linear perspective and atmospheric perspective).
Photography. The art or process of producing pictures by the action of light on surfaces sensitized by various processes.
Picture Plane. The flat surface of a two-dimensional art work.
Pigment. Finely ground, colored powders that form paint when mixed with a liquid.
Portfolio. A body of finished work.
Portrait. Image of a person, especially the face and upper body.
Positive Space. Shapes or spaces that are or represent solid objects.
Principles of Art. Ways artists organize the elements of art. The principles consist of balance, emphasis, harmony, variety, gradation, movement, rhythm, and proportion.
Printmaking. The artist designs and manufactures one or a series of prints, such as woodcuts, silk-screens, linoleum, etc.
Process Portfolio. A portfolio that includes a series of work that changes over time.
Proportion. The size relationships of one part to the whole or of one part to another part.
Reflection. The act of serious thought or contemplation; thoughtful consideration of an artwork.
Relief. Sculpture that projects from a flat background.
Repetition. Technique for creating rhythm and unity in which a motif appears again and again.
Rhythm. Principle of art that indicates movement by the repetition of elements.
Rubric. A guide for judgement or assessment; a description of expectations.
Sculpture. A three dimensional work of art.
Shade. The darkness of a color; may be achieved by adding black.
Shape. Element of art that defines a two dimensional space.
Sketch. Quick, rough drawing without much detail that can be used as a plan for later work.
Space. The element of art referring to the emptiness or area between, around, above, below or within objects.
Stippling. Painting, drawing, etc. by means of flecks or dots.
Style. Identifying characteristics of a particular artist, period, group or movement.
Surface Design. The patterning, coloring and transformation of fibers and other materials directed toward art and design.
Symbol. Lines, shapes and colors used to represent something else.
Synthesize. To form a whole from separate parts (visualizing).
Technique. A specific way to create artwork, often by following a step-by-step procedure.
Tempera. Paint made by mixing pigments with egg yolk.
Texture. Actual or implied appearances of surface characteristics (e.g., rough or smooth).
Three Dimensional. 3-D form – measured by height, width, and depth.
Tint. Light value of a color made by mixing with white.
Tone. Tint or shade; may be achieved by adding black or white to a color.
Transparent. Quality of a material that allows light to pass through.
Two Dimensional. 2-D form- measured by height and width.
Unity. Principle of design that allows a combination of elements, principles, and media to be viewed as a whole.
Value. The lightness or darkness of a hue or neutral color.
Value Scale. The range of values from black to white and light to dark.
Visual Art Components. Production – visual art making.
Aesthetics – relating to value, beauty and theory.
Criticism – the process of judging visual art works and/or their narratives.
History – recordings of the past.
Wash. Thin, liquid application of paint in any medium.
Watercolor. Pigments dispensed in a gum Arabic solution; a work of art so produced; also, the paint used in this technique; water based.
Weaving. Interlacing strands of material.
Wheelbuilt. Referring to the use of a mechanical device in order to form clay