Exam #2 | Terminology

Question 1

Animism

Answer 1

Animism encompasses the belief that objects, sacred places, animals and natural phenomena possess a distinct spiritual essence.

Such beliefs continue to be a crucial force in the religious lives of Southeast Asians and provide significant inspiration for various art forms within the region.

Question 2

Ashlar Masonry

Answer 2

Fiinely dressed (cut, worked) stone, either an individual stone that was worked until squared or the structure built from it.

Ashlar is the finest stone masonry unit, generally rectangular cuboid, mentioned by Vitruvius as opus isodomum, or less frequently trapezoidal.

Question 3

barrel vault

Answer 3

A barrel vault, also known as a tunnel vault or a wagon vault, is an architectural element formed by the extrusion of a single curve along a given distance.

The curves are typically circular in shape, lending a semi-cylindrical appearance to the total design.

A pair of curves would form a pointed barrel vault.

Question 4

Bauhaus

Answer 4

Movement that championed a geometric, abstract style featuring little sentiment or emotion and no historical nods.

Its aesthetic continues to influence architects, designers and artists.

Bauhaus was an influential art and design movement that began in 1919 in Weimar, Germany

Question 5

Buttress

Answer 5

Buttress, in architecture, exterior support, usually of masonry, projecting from the face of a wall and serving either to strengthen it or to resist the side thrust created by the load on an arch or a roof.

Question 6

Flying buttress

Answer 6

Flying buttress, masonry structure typically consisting of an inclined bar carried on a half arch that extends (“flies”) from the upper part of a wall to a pier some distance away and carries the thrust of a roof or vault.

Question 7

cantilever

Answer 7

Cantilever, beam supported at one end and carrying a load at the other end or distributed along the unsupported portion.

The upper half of the thickness of such a beam is subjected to tensile stress, tending to elongate the fibres, the lower half to compressive stress, tending to crush them.

Question 8

Corinthian order

Answer 8

This architectural style is characterized by slender fluted columns and elaborate capitals decorated with acanthus leaves and scrolls.

The Corinthian order is the last developed of the three principal classical orders of ancient Greek and Roman architecture.

Question 9

Deconstruction

Answer 9

Deconstruction is a form of criticism first used by French philosopher Jacques Derrida in the 1970s which asserts that there is not one single intrinsic meaning to be found in a work, but rather many, and often these can be conflicting.

Question 10

Digital Imaging

Answer 10

Digital art is work made with digital technology or presented on digital technology.

This includes images done completely on computer or hand-drawn images scanned into a computer and finished using a software program like Adobe Illustrator.

Question 11

Doric order

Answer 11

The Doric order is characterized by a plain, unadorned column capital and a column that rests directly on the stylobate of the temple without a base.

The Doric entablature includes a frieze composed of trigylphs—vertical plaques with three divisions—and metopes—square spaces for either painted or sculpted decoration.

Question 12

Facade

Answer 12

In architecture, the “face” of a building.

Especially applicable to the principal front that looks onto a street or open space.

Question 13

groin vault

Answer 13

A vault produced by the intersection at right angles of two barrel vaults.

Sometimes the arches of groin vaults may be pointed instead of round.

Question 14

Guilds

Answer 14

An association of artisans and merchants who oversee the practice of their craft/trade in a particular area.

Question 15

Iconoclasm

Answer 15

1: Attacking settled beliefs or institutions.
2: Opposing the veneration of religious images.

VIDEO

Question 16

iconography

Answer 16

An iconography is a particular range or system of types of image used by an artist or artists to convey particular meanings.

For example in Christian religious painting there is an iconography of images such as the lamb which represents Christ, or the dove which represents the Holy Spirit.

VIDEO

Question 17

intaglio

Answer 17

Intaglio describes any printmaking technique in which the image is produced by incising into the printing plate.

The incised line or area holds the ink and creates the image.

Sub-Forms can include:
* Etching
* Drypoint
* Engraving
* Wood Engraving

Question 18

International / Modern
Style Architecture

Answer 18

The term international style was first used in 1932 to describe architects associated with the modern movement whose designs shared similar visual qualities – being mostly rectilinear, undecorated, asymmetrical and white.

Question 19

ionic order

Answer 19

Ionic columns normally stand on a base which separates the shaft of the column from the stylobate or platform while the cap is usually enriched with egg-and-dart.

Question 20

Iwan

Answer 20

In Islamic architecture a vaulted space, walled on three sides, with a monumental portal opening onto a courtyard.

Question 21

Keystone

Answer 21

The wedge-shaped stone at the apex of a masonry arch or typically round-shaped one at the apex of a vault.

For aesthetics, keystones are often larger than ribs in vaults and many of the voussoirs (arch stones) in arches, or embellished with a boss.

Question 22

Kiva

Answer 22

A Hopi word used to refer to specialized round and rectangular rooms in modern Pueblos.

Modern kivas are used by men’s ceremonial associations. Archeologists assume that ancient kivas served similar functions.

Kivas are an important Southwestern architectural form.

Question 23

Mana

Answer 23

The spiritual life force energy or healing power that permeates the universe, in the culture of the Melanesians and Polynesians.

Anyone or thing can have Mana. It is a cultivation or possession of energy and power, rather than being a source of power. It is an intentional force.

Question 24

Metope

Answer 24

In classical architecture, a metope is a rectangular architectural element that fills the space between two triglyphs in a Doric frieze.

The frieze is a decorative band of alternating triglyphs and metopes above the architrave of a building of the Doric order.

Question 25

Mihrab

Answer 25

A semicircular niche in the wall of a mosque, that indicates the qibla (direction of Mecca), and into which the Imam prays.

Question 26

Minaret

Answer 26

In Islamic religious architecture, the tower from which the faithful are called to prayer five times each day by a muezzin, or crier. Such a tower is always connected with a mosque and has one or more balconies or open galleries.

Question 27

Minbar

Answer 27

A raised platform in the front area of a mosque, from which sermons or speeches are given. The minbar is located to the right of the mihrab, which marks the direction of the qiblah for prayer. The minbar is usually made of carved wood, stone, or brick.

Question 28

Oculus

Answer 28

An oculus (plural oculi, from Latin oculus, 'eye') is a circular opening in the center of a dome or in a wall. Originating in antiquity, it is a feature of Byzantine and Neoclassical architecture. It is also known as an œil-de-boeuf from the French, or simply a "bull's-eye".

Question 29

Pantheism

Answer 29

The belief that the universe is in some sense divine and should be revered. Pantheism identifies the universe with God but denies any personality or transcendence of such a God.

Question 30

Patron / Patronage

Answer 30

In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings, popes, and the wealthy have provided to artists such as musicians, painters, and sculptors. The word "patron" derives from the Latin: patronus ("patron"), one who gives benefits to his clients

Question 31

Pediment

Answer 31

A triangular gable forming the end of the roof slope over a portico (the area, with a roof supported by columns, leading to the entrance of a building); or a similar form used decoratively over a doorway or window. The pediment was the crowning feature of the Greek temple front.

Question 32

photomontage

Answer 32

A collage constructed from photographs.

Question 33

Polytheism

Answer 33

The worship of, or belief in, multiple deities, usually assembled into a pantheon of gods and goddesses, each with their own specific religions and rituals.

Question 34

Post and Lintel

Answer 34

A simple construction method using a header (or architrave) as the horizontal member over a building void (lintel) supported at its ends by two vertical columns or pillars (posts)

Question 35

Qibla Wall

Answer 35

The qibla wall is the wall in a mosque that faces Mecca. The mihrab is a niche in the qibla wall indicating the direction of Mecca; because of its importance, it is usually the most ornate part of a mosque, highly decorated and often embellished with inscriptions from the Qur'an

Question 36

ribbed vault

Answer 36

A ribbed vault is an architectural feature for covering a wide space, such as a church nave, composed of a framework of crossed or diagonal arched ribs. Variations were used in Roman architecture, Byzantine architecture, Islamic architecture, Romanesque architecture, and especially Gothic architecture.

Question 37

Ting / Ding

Answer 37

Prehistoric and ancient Chinese cauldrons, standing upon legs with a lid and two facing handles. They are one of the most important shapes used in Chinese ritual bronzes. They were made in two shapes: 1. round vessels with three legs 2. rectangular ones with four, the latter often called fangding.

Question 38

Triglyph

Answer 38

Triglyph is an architectural term for the vertically channeled tablets of the Doric frieze in classical architecture, so called because of the angular channels in them. The raised spaces between the channels themselves (within a triglyph) are called femur in Latin or meros in Greek.

Question 39

Twisted perspective

Answer 39

A convention of representation in which part of a figure is shown in profile and another part of the same figure is shown frontally.

Question 40

Weft / Warp

Answer 40

Warp and weft are the two basic components used in weaving to turn thread or yarn into fabric. **_Warp_** The lengthwise or longitudinal yarns which are held stationary in tension on a frame or loom. **_Weft_** The vertical yarn which is drawn through and inserted over-and-under the warp. (aka: woof)