Art 1-4 Flashcards
(107 cards)
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.
broken color
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.
lyrical
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
positive space
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.
frottage
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 ______ approaches; Botticelli’s work is not _______, but more linear/drawing oriented.
painterly
A formal visual vehicle much in currency during 20th century art, the ____ 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).
grid
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
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.
contour
An Italian term for oil paint applied very thickly onto the canvas or other support, resulting in evident brushstrokes (visible).
impasto
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).
medium
___, the modification of a (usually) natural form by simplification or distortion. ____ is the category of such modified images. (See also non-objective.)
abstract/abstraction
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 ____, such as Jasper Johns.
encaustic
The ________ (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.
graphic/graphic arts
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.
tint
Shapes or forms used in visual art, as contrasted with lines; also ______ often form the large part(s) of the compositional structure, without the additional complexity of detail.
mass/masses
generally is one which contains a large amount of blue, as opposed to a warm color, which will contain more yellow.
cool colors
a technique first used by the Dada and Surrealist artists in the early 20th century, to tap into their subconscious to write poetry (Freud’s ideas on the subconscious had been introduced in the early part of the 20th century). They would try to connect with their subconscious to access a ‘stream of consciousness,’ or more ‘free’ type of poetry. Visual artists in these movements also tried to draw or paint “automatically,” by allowing their subconscious to play a large part in the creative process. The Abstract Expressionists of the 1940’s and ‘50’s also used this method, for example, Jackson Pollock’s “drip” paintings.
automatic writing
the subject of the artwork
subject matter
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.
assemblage
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, _____ became available already commercially prepared; before this time, artists often mixed their own ____ mixture.
gesso
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.
all-over-place
A dark value of a color, i.e., a dark blue; as opposed to a tint, which is a lighter ____ of a color, i.e., light blue. Also, to _____ a drawing means to add the lights and darks, usually to add a three-dimensional effect.
shade
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.)
one point linear perspective
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.
mobile