| abstract/abstraction
- |
Abstract means the
modification of a (usually) natural form by simplification or
distortion. Abstraction is the category of such modified images.
(See also non-objective.)
|
| alla prima - |
(pronounced ah-la
pree-ma) - Italian term, meaning to paint on canvas or other
ground directly, in full, opaque color, without any preliminary
drawing or underpainting done first. (Underpainting is often
done to establish the larger masses of the composition, or to
establish tonal values (lights and darks).
|
| all-over space - |
A type of space in
modern painting characterized by the distribution of forms equally
"all over" the picture surface, as opposed to the
traditional composing method of having a focal point, or center
of interest. In "all-over" space, the forms are seen
as occupying the same spatial depth, usually on the picture
plane; also, they are seen as possessing the same degree of
importance in the painting. (In traditional painting, the focal
point (or center of interest) is meant to be the most significant
part of the painting, both visually and subject-wise, for instance,
a portrait; whereas with "all-over" space, there is
no one center of interest visually or subject-wise.) The Action
painter, Jackson Pollock, was the first to use all-over (also
called infinite) space, in his famous "drip" paintings
of the 1940's and '50's, and this spatial concept has influenced
most two-dimensional art since that time.
|
| aquatint - |
An etching technique
that creates finely textured ar eas of tone through the powedered
resin that is sprinkled on the etching plate prior to being
bitten by the acid bath. Tones can be darker or lighter depending
on how long the plate is left submerged in the acid. The term
reflects the fact that this technique was originally celebrated
for its effectiveness in imitating the look of a watercolor
wash
|
| assemblage - |
(pronounced as-sem-blidge)
- A type of modern sculpture consisting of combining multiple
objects or forms, often 'found' objects. (A found object is
one that the artist comes upon and uses, as is or modified,
in an artwork.) The most well known assemblages are those made
by Robert Rauschenberg in the 1950's and '60's; for example,
one assemblage consisted of a stuffed goat with an automobile
tire encircling its stomach, mounted on a painted base. The
objects are combined for their visual (sculptural) properties,
as well as for their expressive properties.
|
| atmospheric - |
A quality of two-dimensional
images which has to do more with space than with volume; an
'airiness,.' seen more in contemporary than traditional images.
Also refers to atmospheric perspective, which is a less technical
type of perspective, using faded and lighter colors to denote
far distance in landscapes.
|
| atmospheric perspective
- |
Atmospheric, or aerial,
perspective, is a less technical type of perspective, which
consists of a gradual decrease in intensity of local color,
and less contrast of light and dark, as space recedes into the
far distance in a landscape painting or drawing. Often, this
far distance will also be represented by a light, cool, bluish-gray.
(See also perspective.)
|
| broken
color - |
Broken color was
first used by Manet and the Impressionists in 19th century French
painting, where color was applied in small "dabs,"
as opposed to the traditional method of smoothly blending colors
and values (lights and darks) together. This method results
in more of a "patchwork" effect, where the dabs render
the facets of light on forms, and/or the planes of the forms'
volume, by means of color and value. Broken color has continued
to be used in much modern and contemporary painting.
|
| calligraphy/calligraphic
- |
Calligraphy is beautiful
personal handwriting, which has also been practiced in the Orient
and Near East for many centuries. The term calligraphic is also
applied to drawing or painting which contains brushstrokes reminiscent
of calligraphy.
|
| camera obscura -
|
A system of lenses
and mirrors developed from the 16th to the 17th centuries, which
functioned as a primitive camera for artists. With the camera
obscura, painters could project the scene in front of them onto
their painting surface, as a preliminary drawing. Vermeer, among
others, is thought to have used the camera obscura.
|
| chiaroscuro - |
(pronounced kyar-oh-scoor-oh)
- Italian term for light and dark, referring to the modeling
of form by the use of light and shade.
|
| collage - |
(pronounced col-laj)
- French word for cut and pasted scraps of materials, such as
paper, cardboard, chair caning, playing cards, etc., to a painting
or drawing surface; sometimes also combined with painting or
drawing.
|
| color field painting
- |
A style of painting
begun in the 1950's to '70's, characterized by small or large
abstracted areas of color. Mark Rothko is one of the earliest
and best known color field painters; Morris Louis, Jules Olitski
and Helen Frankenthaler are other examples.
|
| complementary colors
- |
Colors which are
located opposite one another on the color wheel (e.g., red and
green, yellow and purple, blue and orange); colors which when
mixed together will (in color theory) produce a neutral color
(a color which is neither warm nor cool). In the case of the
three primary colors (red, yellow and blue), the complementary
of one primary will be the mixture of the other two primaries
(complementary of red will be a mixture of yellow and blue,
or green). When placed next to one another, complementary colors
will make one another appear much more intense, sometimes in
an "eye-popping" sense, which was utilized by Op artists
of the 1960's to create optical effects. Also in color theory,
an object's primary color has its complementary color in its
shadows (e.g., the shadows on and around a painted yellow apple
will contain some purple).
|
| composition - |
The process of arranging
the forms of two- and three-dimensional visual art into a unified
whole, by means of elements and principles of design, such as
line, shape, color, balance, contrast, space, etc., for purposes
of formal clarity and artistic expression.
|
| conception/execution
- |
Conception is the
birth process of an artistic idea, from the initial creative
impulse through aesthetic refinement, problem-solving, and visualization/realization.
Execution is the second half of the creative process: the actual
carrying out of the idea, in terms of method and materials,
which often involves compromises and alterations of the initial
conception. Artists often see the initial conception as the
guiding force for their aesthetic decisions, in terms of formal
elements of design, and in terms of the expressive content desired.
Contemporary conceptual artists place more emphasis on the first
part of the creative process; traditional artists are somewhat
more concerned with the techniques and methods involved in producing
the artwork. The painter Henri Matisse advised, in his essay
On Painting, that artists should keep their initial impulse
in the front of their minds when working on a painting, to make
the best expressive and formal decisions.
|
| conceptual - |
Pertaining to the
process involved in the initial stages of art-making (i.e.,
the initial conception, or idea). Also, the name of a contemporary
art movement which is mainly concerned with this process of
conceiving of and developing the initial idea, as opposed to
the carrying-out of the idea into concrete form. I think that
conceptual artists also often think of the idea as the real
work of art, rather than its concrete manifestation. It is possible
for a conceptual art "piece" to not even be a tangible
object - it may be an event or a process, which can't be seen
itself, but the results of the event or process may be displayed,
in text or photographs, for instance. Conceptual art tends to
be created across artistic categories - for instance, mixing
the mediums of photography, text, sound, sculpture, etc. My
feeling about a lot of the conceptual work I have seen is that
it tends to be an experiential art, rather than the traditional
'passive' experience of viewing art on a wall or a pedestal.
Perhaps because our age and time demand a more interactive experience;
or because art had by the late 20th century become a 'commodity,'
to be bought and sold like any other commodity, and artists
felt a need to avoid this commodification. Two examples come
to mind: 1) Maya Lin's memorial to Vietnam veterans in Washington,
DC. The traditional bronze statue of soldiers would not have
been nearly as effective as a memorial to Vietnam veterans;
as it is, it has become a powerful catharsis for Vietnam vets,
and also for the two war-era factions - the hawks and the doves
- those who protested the war in the 1960's, and those who supported
the Vietnam war. 2) In the Holocaust Museum in Washington, DC,
there is a large collection of shoes which belonged to Nazi
concentration camp victims. Though this may not be officially
a conceptual artwork, it has the characteristics of one, and
perhaps was influenced by conceptual art. A photograph on the
wall of such belongings would be an adequate representation
of the horror of that time. But a huge pile of shoes in a room,
to be walked through, to see the different types of shoes which
resemble their former owners in personality and age, is to really
experience the powerful emotions associated with such horror
|
| contemporary art
- |
The term contemporary
describes the most recent art, in this case as distinguished
from modern art, which is generally considered to have lost
its dominance in the mid-1950's.
|
| content - |
As opposed to subject
matter, content is the "meaning" of the artwork, e.g.,
in Moby Dick, the subject matter is a man versus a whale; the
content is a complex system of symbols, metaphors, etc. describing
man's existence and nature.
|
| contour - |
The outer edge of
forms which implies three dimensions, in contrast to an outline,
which is a boundary of two-dimensional, flat form. Also, a type
of line drawing which captures this three-dimensional outer
edge, with its fullness and recession of form.
|
| contrapposto - |
pronounced con-tra-pos-to)
- Italian term, meaning to represent freedom of movement within
a figure, as in ancient Greek sculpture, the parts being in
asymmetrical relationship to one another, usually where the
hips and legs twist in one direction, and the chest and shoulders
in another.
|
| cool colors- |
In color theory,
colors are described as either warm, cool, or neutral. A cool
color generally is one which contains a large amount of blue,
as opposed to a warm color, which will contain more yellow.
In theory, cool colors seem to recede in space, as the distant
mountains or hills tend to appear light bluish-gray, and the
closer ones will be more green or brown (warmer). In landscape
paintings, artists often paint the distant hills in this pale
blue color; and it is generally thought that cool colors will
recede into space in any painting. However, color is a complex
element, and colors often misbehave - it is usually best to
go on a case-by-case basis, because colors are influenced greatly
by what colors they are next to, appearing "warm"
in one setting, and "cool" in another. (I recommend
reading the abbreviated version of The Interaction of Color,
by Josef Albers, for his ideas and exercises.)
|
| cross-hatching -
|
The practice of overlapping
parallel sets of lines in drawing to indicate lights and darks,
or shading. (Hatching is one set of parallel lines, cross-hatching
is one set going in one direction, with another overlapped set
going in a different, often perpendicular, direction.)
|
| diptych
- |
Two separate paintings
which are attached by hinges or other means, displayed as one
artwork.
|
| directional movement-
|
A principle of visual
movement in artworks, which can be carried by line, dots, marks,
shapes, patterns, color, and other compositional elements. Directional
movement in paintings or sculptures directs the viewer's eye
around or through the artwork, in a way which the artist consciously
or unconsciously determines. One important function is to keep
the viewer's eye from "leaving" the work, and instead
cause the viewer to follow an inventive (interesting) path within
the work, or exit in one area, only to be brought back in another
area.
|
| drawing - |
Pencil, pen, ink,
charcoal or other similar mediums on paper or other support,
tending toward a linear quality rather than mass, and also with
a tendency toward black-and-white, rather than color (one exception
being pastel).
|
| earthwork
- |
A type of contemporary
art begun in the 1960's and '70's, which uses the landscape,
or environment, as its medium, either by using natural forms
as the actual work of art, or by enhancing natural forms with
manmade materials. Two well-known earthwork artists are the
husband and wife team of Christo and Jeanne-Claude, and Robert
Smithson. Some of these earthworks can be very large, measured
in miles. The origin of earth art may have been the environment-conscious
'60's and '70's, but earthworks also refer back to ancient earthworks,
such as the large Native American and other burial mounds. Christo'
and Jeanne-Claude's work is various, usually temporary and site-specific,
and ranges from "wrapping" an island or a building
(such as the former German Reichstag headquarters), to erecting
a very high "curtain" of fabric over miles of uninhabited
(and inhabited) land. They work with an army of workers to erect
these works, and also work with the surrounding community to
get permission and establish guidelines of what they can and
cannot do, during which meetings they explain their artistic
purposes to community members, and often the residents evolve
from their initial reluctance to give permission, to becoming
enthusiastic supporters. It is a very interesting process to
watch, and I think is another example of how some contemporary
art tries to enlist the participation of the public in the art-making
process, or at the very least to familiarize the public with
artistic motivations. In Christo and Jeanne-Claude's work, I
see a kind-of Quixotic whimsy - when they wrapped the former
Reichstag headquarters building in Germany, it seemed to me
to be a poetic expression of victory over the former Nazi Third
Reich tyranny.
|
| encaustic - |
The process of using
pigments dissolved in hot wax as a medium for painting; mostly
used long ago, but there are some contemporary artists who have
used encaustic, such as Jasper Johns.
|
| engraving - |
A general term used
to describe traditional printing processes, such as etching,
aquatint, drypoint, etc., where an image is made by the use
of metal plates and engraving tools, and printed, usually through
a printing press. The image can be incised into the plate, or
drawn with fluid and then dipped in acid to etch the uncovered
areas. These processes are still used by artists, but of course
have been supplanted by more modern processes for general printing
purposes.
|
| expressionistic
- |
A characteristic
of some art, generally since the mid-19th century, leaning toward
the expression of emotion over objective description. James
Ensor, Edvard Munch and Vincent Van Gogh were perhaps the first
expressionists, though there was not really a movement per se,
but individual artists. At the end of the 19th and beginning
of the 20th centuries, expressionism became widely espoused,
particularly by German and Austrian artists, such as Emil Nolde,
Kirchner, Gustav Klimt, and others. Though there is variation,
certain characteristics predominate: bright, even garish, color;
harsh contrasts of black and white (as in woodcuts); exaggeration
of form; and distortion or elongation of figures. There are
still many artists whose work has expressionistic tendencies;
in the 1980's there was a period of art called Neo-Expressionist.
(The word 'neo' before an art label means that there is a reprise
of work similar to the original movement.)
|
| figurative
- |
A term used to describe
art which is based on the figure, usually in realistic or semi-realistic
terms; also loosely used to describe an artist who paints or
sculpts representationally, as opposed to painting or sculpting
in an abstract or non-objective manner.
|
| figure/ground -
|
The relationship
of the picture surface (ground) to the images on the picture
surface (figure). The figure is the space occupied by forms
(e.g., a person in a portrait) (also known as the 'positive'
space); the ground is the "empty" or unoccupied space
around the person in the portrait (also known as the 'negative'
space) (The ground is also commonly called the 'background.')
In art since the early 20th century, this division of the picture
plane has been seriously challenged, to the point where there
is not a distinction of figure/ground, but rather one continuous
surface and space, with no 'positive' or 'negative' space, just
one interwoven space.
|
| focal point - |
In two-dimensional
images, the center of interest visually and/or subject-wise;
tends to be used more in traditional, representational art than
in modern and contemporary art, where the picture surface tends
to have more of an overall importance, rather than one important
area.
|
| foreshortening -
|
Perspective applied
to a single object in an image, for a three-dimensional effect,
which often results in distortion with possible emotional overtones.
It is used particularly with the human figure, in Renaissance
and Mannerist art.
|
| formal - |
A term used by artists
to describe the visual elements of a work of art, such as composition,
space, color, etc., i.e., formal elements.
|
| found object - |
First used in the
early years of the 20th century (in the Dadaist movement), a
found object is any object that an artist comes upon, and uses
in an artwork, or as the artwork itself. Marcel Duchamp called
these works 'readymades.' He exhibited a urinal in the Society
of Independent Artists exhibition in New York in 1917, under
the signature 'R Mutt'; Dada was the precursor to Surrealism,
and was an 'anti-art' movement after World War I, which sought
to avoid order and rationality in art. Dada also questioned
the very meaning of art: what is art? who decides if an object
is art? is it art because an artist places it in a museum and
calls it art? etc. Later, Picasso made a bull's head from found
objects: the seat and handle bars of a bicycle.
|
| fresco - |
Wall painting in
water-based paint on moist plaster, mostly from the 14th to
the 16th centuries; used mostly before the Renaissance produced
oil paint as a more easily handled medium.
|
| frottage - |
(pronounced fro-taj)
- French term, meaning to rub a crayon or other tool onto paper
or other material, which is placed onto a textured surface,
in order to create the texture of that surface on the paper.
The Surrealist artist Max Ernst used this technique in some
of his collages.
|
| genre
- |
(pronounced jahn-re)
- A type of painting representing scenes of everyday life for
its own sake, popular from the 17th century to the 19th century.
|
| gesso - |
An undercoating medium
used on the canvas or other painting surface before painting,
to prime the canvas; usually a white, chalky, thick liquid.
In the mid-20th century, gesso became available already commercially
prepared; before this time, artists often mixed their own gesso
mixture.
|
| gesture/gestural
- |
The concept of gesture
in drawing is twofold: it describes the action of a figure;
and it embodies the intangible "essence" of a figure
or object. The action line of a figure is often a graphic undulating
line, which follows the movement of the entire body of the figure
being drawn or painted. The term gestural is an extension of
this idea to describe a type of painting which is characterized
by brushstrokes with a gestural quality, that is, flowing, curved,
undulating lines or forms. Gestural composition means a type
of composition based on gestural directional movements. The
work of Arshile Gorky, the Abstract Expressionist, is an example
of gestural painting, which often connotes a spiritual or emotional
content.
|
| glaze/glazing -
|
A glaze is a thin
layer of translucent oil paint applied to all or part of a painting,
to modify the tone or color underneath. Glazing is the process
of using this technique.
|
| golden section -
|
A mathematical ratio
first used by the Greeks in their architecture, and developed
further in the Renaissance, which was said to be in tune with
divine proportion and the harmony of the universe. It has been
used by artists to divide the picture surface (as a compositional
device); among others, Seurat and Mondrian are thought to have
used this ratio to create compositions.
|
| graphic/graphic
arts - |
The graphic arts
(drawing and engraving) are said to depend for their effect
on drawing, as opposed to color. The term graphic describes
drawings or prints which lean more toward drawing (line) than
color (mass). I think that this division is less pertinent in
modern and contemporary art than in traditional art or art of
the past.
|
| grid - |
A formal visual vehicle
much in currency during 20th century art, the grid is a geometric
construct of squares or rectangles that form the underlying
or actual structure of some two-dimensional modern art. Though
the meaning of the grid to artists is hard to describe in words,
it is more than just a visual armature. In a way, it can be
said to represent the modern and postmodern stance of the 20th
century; and often seems to inspire almost a reverence, as a
symbol of aesthetic purity and integrity, particularly of modernism.
Many artists have used the grid; two who come to mind are Jasper
Johns (paintings) and Louise Nevelson (sculpture).
|
| grisaille - |
(pronounced gri-zale)
- Painting entirely in monochrome (tones of one color), in a
series of grays. Strictly speaking, monochrome is in any one
color, such as red, blue or black; grisaille means in neutral
grays only (French term). Grisaille may be used for its own
sake as decoration, or may be the first stage in building up
an oil painting (to establish the tonal range of the image).
Grisaille was also formerly used as a model for an engraver
to work from.
|
| guild - |
During the Middle
Ages, tradesmen formed guilds for economic, social and religious
purposes; there were often several trades in one guild. Originally,
painters were in the same guild as physicians and apothecaries
(pharmacists), in Florence, Italy. All painters had to join
the guilds, unless they were in the personal service of a ruling
prince. Only a Master could set up a studio in business, take
pupils and employ journeymen. To become a Master, a painter
had to submit a 'master-piece' to the guild as proof of competence.
Guild officers supervised the number of apprentices, work conditions,
and also materials (they bought in bulk, chose panels to work
on). They had a trade union mentality, which centered on uniformity
of performance; this led to painters like Michelangelo and da
Vinci insisting on the freedom and originality of the artist,
with the status of a professional and scholar/gentleman (an
inspired being, rather than an honest tradesman). This new attitude
toward artists led to the decline of the guilds, and the use
of academies, which took over the teaching of art.
|
| hatching
- |
A technique used
in drawing to indicate light and shade, or form, consisting
of parallel lines of varying width, darkness and spacing. Cross-hatching
is simply two or more overlapping sets of these parallel sets
of lines, at a perpendicular or other angle to the first set
of lines.
|
| hue - |
Referring to the
actual color of a form or object, e.g., a red car.
|
| iconography
- |
Knowledge of the
meanings to be attached to pictorial representations; perhaps
the visual equivalent of symbols or metaphors in literature.
An artist may be aware of his/her iconography and use it consciously;
probably just as often, the iconography is used in a semi-conscious
way. An artist will intuitively choose images because of meanings
they have for him/her, and over the course of time a pattern
can often be found, as a logical progression or repeating images.
An artist can be said to have a personal iconography, which
is often noted and analyzed by others, including art historians,
critics, writers and the public. Often, the meanings seen in
an artist's work by others differs, somewhat or considerably,
from what the artist has intended.
|
| ideal art - |
Art which aims to
be the true, eternal reality. In the 18th and 19th centuries,
this included some Neoclassical art, which emulated the forms
and ideas found in classical art (Greece and Rome). In modern
times, this could include artists such as Mondrian and Malevich,
who considered pure abstraction to be the manifestation of this
pure reality. Perhaps the theoretical opposite of ideal art
is realism, which tries to depict things not as some ideal,
but as they 'really' are.
|
| impasto - |
An Italian term for
oil paint applied very thickly onto the canvas or other support,
resulting in evident brushstrokes (visible).
|
| installation - |
A type of art, usually
sculptural, which is often large enough to fill an entire space,
such as a gallery, and consists of a number and variety of components.
Installation art perhaps began in the 1960's with Ed Kienholz
and George Segal, two American sculptors. Ed Kienholz' work
contains such elements as cars and institutional furniture (suggesting
a state hospital or prison), with the content being death and
serious societal issues. Segal's work, in contrast, consists
of lifesize plaster figures (cast from real people and usually
white), engaged in contemporary and mundane activities, such
as adding letters to a movie marquee or waiting for the subway,
and often represent the poetry of the mundane. Installation
art is often site-specific, meaning that it is created specifically
for a certain site. There are many contemporary artists creating
installations, such as Judy Pfaff.
|
| linear
- |
Describing a quality
related to the use of line in painting or sculpture; can refer
to directional movement in composition, or the actual use of
the element of line in the image or sculpture, as contrasted
with the use of mass or shape forms
|
| local color - |
The actual color
of a form or object, uninfluenced by the effects of light or
reflected color. For instance, a vase may be turquoise (the
local color), but appear pale blue because of sunlight hitting
it in certain places; dark blue because of areas in shadow;
and many subtle color shades in certain areas because of reflected
light from surrounding surfaces.
|
| lyrical - |
A quality applied
to various art forms (poetry, prose, visual art, dance and music),
referring to a certain ethereal, musical, expressive, or poetic
quality of artistic expression. Although difficult to define,
when a visual work of art is described as having a lyrical quality,
it means that it possesses a certain spiritual or emotional
quality; perhaps the color relationships may be said to "sing";
or the linear quality of directional movement may be
of a sensitive and expressive nature; or the work expresses
a particularly profound, passionate or tender sentiment, perhaps
related to romanticism or other lofty expression.
|
| mannerism/mannered
- |
Mannerism was a style
of art in 16th century Italy, characterized by somewhat distorted
(usually human) forms and a high emotional key. Practitioners
included the artist Pontormo. In modern and contemporary art,
the term mannered when applied to a style or work of art is
somewhat critical, implying that the style or work of art is
done not from the inner convictions and perceptions of the artist,
but rather out of the artist's historical artistic habits or
preconceptions. In other words, the work appears contrived or
forced, as opposed to arrived at by genuine and self-aware creative
impulses.
|
| mass/masses - |
Shapes or forms used
in visual art, as contrasted with lines; also masses often form
the large part(s) of the compositional structure, without the
additional complexity of detail.
|
| medium - |
Material or technique
an artist works in; also, the (usually liquid or semi-liquid)
vehicle in which pigments are carried or mixed (e.g., oil, egg
yolk, water, refined linseed oil).
|
| mobile - |
(pronounced mo-beel)
- A type of kinetic sculpture (that which moves), invented and
first used by the artist Alexander Calder. Trained as an engineer,
Calder built many hanging mobiles with various attached forms,
which moved and changed with air currents, etc. Many of them
were very large, and hang in museum lobbies or auditoriums,
from the ceiling. The forms which rotate and change their configurations
are often of a biomorphic nature, similar to those used by Hans
Arp and Juan Miro.
|
| modeling - |
Three-dimensional
effect created by the use of changes in color, the use of lights
and darks, cross-hatching, etc
|
| modern art- |
Generally considered
to be the period from about 1905-6 to the mid-1950's, when Pop
art ushered in what is referred to as the postmodern period
in art. Modern art is generally characterized by formal experimentation
and exploration, and mostly seriousness of purpose. (Dada and
Surrealism may be the exceptions to this rule.)
|
| motif - |
(pronounced mo-teef)
- A French term which refers to: the subject matter or content
of a work of art (e.g., a landscape motif); also refers to a
visual element used in a work of art, as in a recurring motif
(i.e., Warhol used the motif of soup cans in his early works;
or Mondrian used rectangles as a visual motif.
|
| naturalism
- |
A style of painting
which uses an analysis of tone (value) and color of its subject,
resulting in a representation of the appearance of forms or
landscapes. Impressionism has naturalistic tendencies, because
it analyzes tone and color in the play of light on surfaces.
Naturalism can also have a sensual character (as against composition
and drawing). The Impressionists were influenced by 19th century
researches into the physics of color by Chevreul (a scientist)
and others, which showed that an object casts a shadow which
contains its complementary color (see complementary color).
This theory eventually hardened into Neo-Impressionism, where
Seurat and others sought the maximum optical truth about nature
and the ideal composition and color relationships. This line
of inquiry also led eventually to Post-Impressionism, where
Gauguin and Van Gogh, among others, used color in a purely artistic
and anti-naturalistic manner, which was non-intellectual. (Color
used by Gauguin and Van Gogh is often deliberately independent
of the local or light-influenced color of objects; and beyond
that in the early 20th century, the Fauve painters used bright
color and forms even more distant from their perceptual origins.)
|
| negative space-
|
In a painting or
sculpture, the areas where there are no forms (the "empty"
areas). In a painting, this means the areas which have no forms
or objects (sometimes also called the 'background' ). In sculpture,
this means the "holes" between forms or within a form
(e.g., Henry Moore sculptures). Negative space is the other
side of the coin of positive space, which is space actually
occupied by forms in a painting or sculpture (the figure in
a portrait). The notions of positive and negative space were
advanced during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, replacing
the more traditional notion of a 'background' which was subordinate
to and separate from the subject image - portrait, still life,
etc. Since about 1950, the notions of positive and negative
space have also been replaced by much contemporary art, which
sees the picture surface not as positive and negative areas,
but rather one continuous surface where every area is equally
important, and at the same spatial depth. (See also positive
space.)
|
| neutral color- |
A color which in
color theory is neither warm nor cool. Neutral colors are said
to result from the combination of two complementary colors (e.g.,
red and green, blue and orange, and yellow and purple). Neutral
colors can also be mixed by other means. (See also complementary
colors, and warm and cool colors.)
|
| non-objective -
|
A term used to describe
visual art which is not based on existing, observable forms,
but rather on abstract or idealized forms, such as geometric,
mathematical, imaginary, etc. Non-objective art came into existence
in the early 20th century, often with much theoretical accompaniment.
Mondrian is an example of an artist whose work is non-objective.
(See also abstract.)
|
| non representational
- |
Non-representational
art is art which is not based on external appearances; this
covers several types of art - abstract, non-objective, and decorative;
as contrasted with representational art, which is art based
on "real" imagery, whether actually existant or existant
only in the artist's imagination.
|
| one-point
linear perspective - |
Developed in 15th
century Italy, a mathematical system for indicating spatial
distance in two-dimensional images, where lines converge in
a single vanishing point located on the horizon line, as seen
by a stationary viewer. (See also two-point linear perspective.)
|
| organic - |
A description of
images which are partly or wholly derived from natural forms,
such as curvilinear, irregular, indicative of growth, biologically-based,
etc.
|
| painterly
- |
An adjective used
to describe a style of painting which is based not on linear
or outline drawing, but rather patches or areas of color. In
painterly two-dimensional images, the edges of forms tend to
merge into one another, or into the background, rather than
be separated by outlines or contours. Titian and Rembrandt are
two artists with painterly approaches; Botticelli's work is
not painterly, but more linear/drawing oriented.
|
| palette - |
A thin piece of glass,
wood or other material, or pad of paper, which is used to hold
the paint to be used in painting; also, the range of colors
used by a particular painter.
|
| pastel - |
A drawing stick made
of pigments ground with chalk and mixed with gum water; also,
a drawing executed with these pastel sticks; also, a soft, subdued
tint (light shade) of a color.
|
| pentimenti - |
Italian term, from
the word meaning 'repent'; refers to the lines or marks which
remain after an artist corrects his/her drawing (or painting).
Traditionally, this meant that these lines or marks remained
unintentionally, in the quest for the perfectly drawn figure,
for instance. However, at the end of the 19th century (with
Cezanne), these marks became part of the visual expression;
his figure drawings, for example, often show several contours
in the search for the "correct" one contour. With
Cezanne's drawings, these multiple contours in fact aid in the
expression of three dimensions, more than one contour alone
would do, giving a sense of roundness and volume. In addition,
these pentimenti contribute in an expressive sense. In drawings
and paintings since, some artists have taken advantage of this
expressive function of pentimenti, particularly in painting,
and have left the marks/lines deliberately, or even created
them on purpose. They can add richness to a work.
|
| performance art
- |
A type of art which
began in the 1960's (although the Dadaists had some event-oriented
artworks in the early part of the 20th century), which consists
of events, or performances, presented as art. Sometimes many
artists (and others) are involved; sometimes it is performed
by a single artist. In the 1960's, Robert Rauschenberg and others
were involved in 'happenings,' a similar endeavor, where, for
instance, someone would be riding a bicycle around and through
the performance area, another person would be reciting a prose
poem, music might be playing, lights and images projected onto
the walls, etc. Performance art can sometimes be taken to extremes,
as when, in the 1990's, an artist shot himself as part of his
performance piece.
|
| perspective - |
A semi-mathematical
technique for representing spatial relationships and three-dimensional
objects on a flat surface. (See also atmospheric perspective,
one-point linear perspective, and two-point linear perspective.)
|
| photomontage - |
(pronounced photo-montaj)
- A two-dimensional combining of photographs or parts of photographs
into an image on paper or other material (a technique much used
by the Surrealists in the 1920's, such as Max Ernst).
|
| pictorial/picture
surface - |
The flat plane of
the canvas or other support, which is the two-dimensional arena
of the image.
|
| picture plane- |
The flat surface
on which an image is painted, and that part of the image which
is closest to the viewer. (In modern and contemporary art, the
picture plane is synonymous with pictorial surface, meaning
that the entire image is located on the picture plane, as contrasted
with art from the Renaissance until the mid-19th century, where
the picture surface was considered as a window into which the
viewer looked into the illusion of distance.)
|
| positive space -
|
The areas of a painting
or sculpture which are occupied by forms or images, as contrasted
with negative space, which are the "empty" areas where
no forms/images are located. For example, in a portrait, the
figure would be the positive space, the "background"
would be the negative space. In painting since around 1950,
the differentiation between positive and negative space has
given way to a sense of a continuous surface/space/plane, where
all the forms are located on the picture surface, rather than
on different planes in space. (See also negative space.)
|
| postmodern - |
A term used to describe
the period of art which followed the modern period, i.e., from
the 1950's until recently. The term implies a shift away from
the formal rigors of the modernists, toward the less formally
and emotionally stringent Pop artists, and other art movements
which followed.
|
| printmaking - |
The category of fine
art printing processes, including etching, lithography, woodcut,
and silkscreen, in which multiple images are made from the same
metal plate, heavy stone, wood or linoleum block, or silkscreen,
with black-and-white or color printing inks.
|
| proportion - |
The relation of one
part to the whole, or to other parts (for example, of the human
body). For example, the human body is approximately 7 to 7-1/2
times the height of the head; the vertical halfway point of
the body is the groin; the legs are halved at the knees, etc.
Proportion also refers to the relative sizes of the visual elements
in a composition, and their optimum relationships for good design.
|
| realism
- |
Representational
painting which, unlike ideal art, desires to depict forms and
images as they really are, without idealizing them. Courbet
was one of the first realists, in opposition to the previous
reigning Neoclassical art in France; 19th century realist artists
wanted to depict life "as it is," warts and all.
|
| representational
art - |
Art which is based
on images which can be found in the objective world, or at least
in the artist's imagination; i.e., images which can perhaps
be named or recognized. For instance, an objectively faithful
depiction of a person is representational art; also, a depiction
of an alien from outer space can also be considered a representational
image. (See also non-representational.)
|
| rubbing - |
A product of rubbing
a crayon or other tool onto paper or other material over a textured
surface, in order to reproduce that texture into a two-dimensional
image. For example, a rubbing of a gravestone, a penny, etc.
(See also frottage.)
|
| scumbling
- |
A painting technique
(the opposite of glazing), consisting of putting a layer of
opaque oil paint over another layer of a different color or
tone, so that the lower layer is not completely obliterated,
giving an uneven, broken effect.
|
| shade - |
A dark value of a
color, i.e., a dark blue; as opposed to a tint, which is a lighter
shade of a color, i.e., light blue. Also, to shade a drawing
means to add the lights and darks, usually to add a three-dimensional
effect.
|
| sfumato - |
(pronounced sfu-ma-to)
- Italian term meaning smoke, describing a very delicate gradation
of light and shade in the modeling of figures; often ascribed
to da Vinci's work (also called blending). Da Vinci wrote that
'light and shade should blend without lines or borders, in the
manner of smoke', in his Notes on Painting.
|
| sgraffito - |
(pronounced sgraf-ee-to)
- Italian term meaning scratched; in painting, one color is
laid over another, and scratched in (with the other end of the
brush, for example) so that the color underneath shows through.
|
| shaped canvas -
|
A type of painting/stretched
canvas first begun in the 1960's, where the canvas takes other
forms than the traditional rectangle. Canvas is stretched over
multiple three-dimensional shapes, which are combined to form
a three-dimensional, irregularly shaped canvas on which to paint
(often abstract or non-objective) images.
|
| spatial cues- |
Methods of indicating
three-dimensional space in two-dimensional images. Examples
are: the modeling of forms with light and shade to indicate
volume; overlapping of forms to indicate relative spatial position;
decrease in the size of images as they recede in space; vertical
position in the image (the further away an object is, the higher
it is normally located in the image); the use of increased contrast
of light and dark (value) in the foreground; the decreasing
intensity of colors as they recede in space; the use of a perspective
system, of lines converging toward the horizon line. Spatial
cues are used also in abstract or non-objective art to indicate
relative position in relation to the picture plane, by means
of overlapping forms, color and size relationships, and other
spatial cues, but generally without perspective and other indications
of Renaissance (illusional) space.
|
| stabile - |
pronounced stah-beel)
- A type of 20th century sculpture which consists of a stationary
object, usually on a base of some kind. Described in contrast
to a mobile, the free-hanging sculptural invention of sculptor
Alexander Calder, stabiles were also created by Calder.
|
| stained canvas -
|
A method of painting
first begun in the 1960's, consisting of the application of
(liquid) paint directly to canvas by pouring or rolling, rather
than with the traditional brush, and without the prerequisite
layer of priming normally done to stretched canvas. Helen Frankenthaler
is one example of an artist who worked with stained canvas.
This way of applying paint gives a totally different image than
one brushed on - obviously a more fluid image, with translucent
fields of color - perhaps like the aurora borealis - an effect
impossible with traditional brushes.
|
| stippling - |
A drawing technique
consisting of many small dots or flecks to construct the image;
obviously, this technique can be very laborious, so generally
small images are stippled. The spacing and darkness of the dots
are varied, to indicate three dimensions of an object, and light
and shadow; can be a very effective and interesting technique,
which can also be used in painting.
|
| study - |
A preliminary drawing
for a painting; also, a work done just to "study"
nature in general.
|
| subject matter -
|
As opposed to content,
the subject matter is the subject of the artwork, e.g., still
life. The theme of Vanitas (popular a few centuries ago) of
vanity, death, universal fate, etc., used in the still life,
can be considered the content. The still life objects used in
the image are the subject matter. (See also content.)
|
| tint - |
A light value of
a color, i.e., a light red; as opposed to a shade, which is
a dark value, i.e., dark red.
|
| tone - |
The lightness or
darkness of an area in terms of black to white; also called
value, i.e., a light or dark red, or light or dark gray.
|
| two-point linear
prespective - |
A more recent version
of perspective than one-point perspective; using two (or more)
points instead of one on the horizon line gave artists a more
naturalistic representation of space in two-dimensional images.
|
| triptych - |
A painting which
consists of one center panel, with two paintings attached on
either side by means of hinges or other means, as "wings."
|
| underpainting
- |
A layer of color
or tone applied to the painting surface before the painting
itself is begun, to establish the general compositional masses,
the lights and darks (values) in the composition, or as a color
to affect/mix with subsequent layers of color. Underpainting
is generally a thin, semi-opaque layer of paint.
|
| value
- |
The lightness or
darkness of a line, shape or area in terms of black to white;
also called tone; e.g., a light red will have a light value;
a dark red will have a dark value.
|
| volumetric - |
A quality of two-dimensional
images characterized by a sense of three dimensions, solidity,
volume, as contrasted with atmospheric, which is characterized
more by a sense of space, or airiness, than with volume. Volumetric
is generally more characteristic of representational or traditional
art, than with modern or contemporary art, which is generally
less concerned with the depiction of three dimensions in objects
and space.
|
| warm
colors - |
In color theory,
colors which contain a large amount of yellow, as opposed to
cool colors, which contain more blue. For example, a yellow-orange
color would be warm; a greenish-blue would be cool. Warm colors
are thought to appear to be closer to the viewer, while cool
colors are thought to recede into the distance. (See also cool
colors.)
|
| wash - |
A thin layer of translucent
(or transparent) paint or ink, particularly in watercolor; also
used occasionally in oil painting.
|
| hue - |
Referring to the
actual color of a form or object, e.g., a red car. |
|
