Unit 1 Flashcards
1
Q
Abstraction
A
The simplification of form into shapes, lines, or areas of color.
2
Q
Acrylic
A
Type of paint developed in the mid-20th century that uses synthetic polymers as binders
3
Q
Additive
A
Any sculptural technique, such as casting or modeling, that involves adding material.
4
Q
Advertising
A
The act or profession of calling attention to one’s products and services through paid announcements in print and other communications media.
5
Q
Aesthetic
A
Concerned with the beauty or the appreciation of beauty.
6
Q
Afrofuturism
A
An aesthetic that links the cultures of the African diaspora (people of African descent living outside of Africa) to science and technology.
7
Q
Allegorical Figure
A
A form of visual symbolism in which a human figure represents an abstract concept, such as justice.
8
Q
Anthropology
A
The study of humans and their ancestors, in different time periods and locations, with emphasis on adaptation to physical environment, culture, and interpersonal relationships.
9
Q
Archaeology
A
The study of human history and prehistory through the excavation of sites and analysis of artifacts.
10
Q
Architecture
A
The art or practice of designing buildings.
11
Q
Art Appraiser
A
Someone who determines the value of works of art based on their materials, beauty, and authenticity.
12
Q
Art Appreciation
A
The application of basic tools of visual literacy in order to understand and appreciate works of art.
13
Q
Art Gallery
A
A store or showroom where works of art are sold. A gallery could also be a room in a museum.
14
Q
Art History
A
The academic study of the history and development of the visual arts.
15
Q
Art Market
A
The economic circulation of works of art.
16
Q
Arte Povera
A
A modern art movement that explores the relationship between art and life using natural materials and human artifacts and is experienced through the body.
17
Q
Artifact
A
An object made by a human being, in particular an object of historical or cultural interest.
18
Q
Artist
A
A person who creates works of aesthetic value.
19
Q
Artistic Medium
A
The material with or in which a work of art is made, such as paint or marble.
20
Q
Artistic Movement
A
A tendency or style in art involving the pursuit of a shared philosophy or goal for a finite period of time.
21
Q
Arts Librarian
A
Someone who helps acquire and classify journal articles, digital sources, and books on art.
22
Q
Assemblage
A
Creating a sculpture by putting together a series of found objects.
23
Q
Asymmetry
A
Lack of equivalence or similarity between parts.
24
Q
Atmospheric Perspective
A
A form of perspective in which the more distant objects are depicted in a grayish or bluish haze.
25
Auction
A system of selling works of art in which buyers compete to purchase works of art by offering increasingly higher bids.
26
Axis
An imaginary line that divides an object.
27
Background
The most distant part of the composition from the picture plane
28
Balance
When elements of a composition carry equal weight or create harmony
29
Bias
Favoring a person or an idea or point of view in a way that is unfair.
30
Bilateral Symmetry
When two halves of something are exactly the same or mirror images of each other.
31
Binder
The liquid substance that holds pigments together and helps them adhere to the surface of a painting.
32
Biomorphic Shapes
Shapes that are free-form or amorphic (formless) and resemble amoebas, jellyfish, and other simple life forms.
33
Body Art
Works of art that use the artist’s body as a medium
34
Brushstroke
The visible mark of the paintbrush on the surface of a painting.
35
Canon
Those works of art considered to be most important, usually those studied in art history survey classes.
36
Carving
The production of a sculpture by scraping away, or removing, extra material from a block of stone, piece of wood, or other hard substance until the desired shape emerges.
37
Casting
The production of sculptures by pouring a liquid, such as plaster, molten metal, or wax, into a mold and letting it harden before the mold is removed.
38
Colonization
When people of one country take control over the people and society of another.
39
Color Wheel
The arrangement of prismatic colors on a circle so that complementary colors are across from each other.
40
Comparison and Contrast
Looking at two works of art at the same time and thinking about how they are different and how they are similar.
41
Computer Art
Any type of art in which computers play a role in creation or display.
42
Connoisseurship
An art historical method that relies on the recognition of elements of an artist’s personal style.
43
Context
The historical, social, political, religious, or geographical situation that informs the creation of works of art.
44
Contour Line
A line drawn to indicate the edge of a form.
45
Cool Colors
Colors in which blue is dominant.
46
Critical Thinking
Purposeful reflective judgment that involves an investigation of assumptions and hidden values, and the careful evaluation of evidence.
47
Cross-Hatching
The use of lines that cross over, particularly in printmaking and drawing, to indicate shadow and depth.
48
Cultural Studies
The study of all aspects of cultural production, in particular, popular culture or everyday life.
49
Culture
The arts and other manifestations of human intellectual production.
50
Curator
A person who creates exhibitions for museums by grouping together works of art according to a common theme.
51
Curvilinear Line
Lines in art that are curved.
52
Decolonization
An approach to learning that attempts to undo the negative effects of colonization by presenting the points of view of formerly colonized peoples and by critiquing ideas associated with colonization.
53
Drawing
A work of art made by marking lines, usually with a pen, pencil, or other instrument, on a sheet of paper.
54
Dynamism
The illusion of movement in a composition.
55
Encaustic
A type of painting that uses beeswax as a binder.
56
Expressive Line
A line that seems to be an expression of the artist’s emotions.
57
Fluxus
A movement that took place during the 1960s and 1970s and involved the use of instructions, games, and other objects to activate participation in the viewer.
58
Foreground
The part of the painting closest to the picture plane, usually corresponding to the bottom of the composition.
59
Formal Analysis
Understanding works of art by consideration of their physical or formal qualities
60
Genius
An exceptionally talented, knowledgeable, or creative person.
61
Geometric Shapes
Basic hard-edged shapes, such as squares, triangles, rectangles, and circles.
62
Gestural Abstraction
A style of painting in which paint is spontaneously dribbled, splashed or smeared onto the canvas, rather than being carefully applied. The resulting work often emphasizes the physical act of painting itself as an essential aspect of the finished work or concern of its artist.
63
Gestural Line
A line that emphasizes the gesture of the hand
64
Graphic Designer
Someone who is skilled in the art of combining text and pictures in advertisements, magazines, or books.
65
Hatching
The use of parallel straight lines, particularly in printmaking and drawing, to indicate shadow and depth.
66
History
The study of the past, particularly through the analysis of written documents.
67
Hot Colors
Colors in which yellow and red are dominant.
68
Hue
The types of color—blue, green, red—are all different hues.
69
Iconography
A type of visual symbolism
70
Illusionism
Very similar to naturalism, it involves the attempt to convince the viewer that what is being seen is not a representation, but rather the thing itself.
71
Impasto
The thick buildup of paint, usually oil or acrylic, on the surface of a painting.
72
Individual Style
Art with subject matter and physical characteristics that are unique to a specific artist.
73
Installation
A type of art that involves the creation of large, room-sized environments that one can enter.
74
Intaglio
The opposite of relief, in which the lowest parts of the printing plate receive ink and the paper is pressed into them. Engraving is a form of intaglio printing.
75
Land Art
Works of art that use the landscape as the medium or incorporate the landscape on a huge scale.
76
Landscape
A work of art that takes the countryside as subject matter.
77
Linear Perspective
A form of perspective in which the lines of man-made objects (roads, buildings) are at right angles to the picture plane and converge toward a vanishing point.
78
Mass Culture
The set of ideas and values developed through exposure to the same broadcast, print, and internet media outlets.
79
Masterpiece
A work of outstanding skill or artistry.
80
Metaphor
A figure of speech in which a word or concept stands for or represents another concept.
81
Methods
The set of rules or philosophy that informs one's approach to understanding art history.
82
Middle Ground
The part of the composition between the foreground and the background.
83
Mixed Media
Any type of art that combines different artistic media.
84
Modeling
The production of sculpture by adding bits of clay together until they start to resemble the desired shape.
85
Modeling (2D)
The use of line and shadow to create the illusion of roundness and depth.
86
Narrative
The visual depiction of a story in works of art.
87
Naturalism
An artistic approach that involves reproducing objects as they appear to the eye. This term is often used in art history as a substitute for realistic, to avoid any confusion with realism as an artistic movement.
88
Negative Space
The space between two objects.
89
New Art History
A revisionist approach to art history that emerged during the 1970’s that questions earlier methodologies or approaches to art history.
90
New Media
Art that involves the use of technology, particularly that which uses digital technologies.
91
Oeuvre
An artist's body of work.
92
Oil
A type of paint that uses linseed oil as a binder.
93
Originality
The idea that a work of art is the result of an artist's unique vision and not of outside influences, such as other works of art.
94
Overlapping
A technique used to depict space in 2D artworks in which the closer object covers up, or overlaps, the more distant object.
95
Painterly
A style of painting (such as Impressionism) that emphasizes the brushstroke and action of applying paint to surface.
96
Patron
A person who provides financial support for the arts, by purchasing works of art, by paying the artist as an employee, or by other means, such as establishing a scholarship.
97
Patronage
The act of financially supporting the arts.
98
Performance
A type of art that emphasizes action.
99
Period Style
A type of art with shared visual characteristics that are unique to a specific period in time.
100
Photography
The production of images using photosensitive materials on a sheet of paper or metal.
101
Photosensitive
Sensitive to light.
102
Picture Plane
The invisible plane that corresponds to the surface of the painting
103
Pigment
Fragments of color, usually ground minerals, sometimes also plant dyes or synthetic colors.
104
Portrait
An image of an individual.
105
Positioning
A technique used to depict the illusion of distance in 2D artworks. The more distant object is shown through positioning over or on a diagonal with the closer object. Even though both may appear the same size, the eye reads the object that is positioned higher as more distant.
106
Primary Colors
Red, yellow, blue.
107
Primary Source
A primary source is a document or work of art that was created at the same time as a historic event.
108
Print Making
The production of works of art by pressing a sheet of paper against some sort of printing block, often with the help of a printing press.
109
Rectilinear Line
A straight line.
110
Regional Style
Art with shared subject matter or physical characteristics that are unique to a specific region.
111
Relief
A type of printmaking, such as woodblock, in which the paper comes into contact with the highest parts of the surface of the printing plate.
112
Representation
The act of depicting what one sees or encounters in lived experience in a work of art.
113
Saturation/intensity
The intensity of a color, dependent on the amount of white added. Lavender is a low-intensity shade of purple.
114
Scale
Size relative to another object
115
Secondary Colors
Orange, green, purple—the colors made by specific combinations of primary colors.
116
Self-Portrait
An artist’s portrait of himself or herself.
117
Site Specificity
When the relationship between a work of art or architecture is so strong that it would be impossible to move or reconstruct that object in another location.
118
Sociology
The study of the development, structure, and functioning of human society.
119
Still Life
A work of art that depicts artfully arranged inanimate objects.
120
Style
The unique method and form used to make a work of art.
121
Subject Matter
The content of a work of art
122
Subtractive
Any sculptural technique, such as carving, that involves taking material away.
123
Survey Course
An introductory course in art history that starts with prehistoric art and ends with contemporary art, offering an overview of the history of art.
124
Symbolism
When an object in a painting represents something else
125
Symmetry
The quality of having exactly similar parts facing each other across an axis.
126
Tempera
A type of paint that uses egg yolk as a binder.
127
Texture
How the surface of a work of art would feel if one could touch it, or its visible tactile qualities.
128
Three-Dimensional
A work of art that exists in space, usually sculpture or variations of sculpture.
129
Time-Based
A work of art that intentionally lasts for a finite period of time, such as a performance.
130
Traditional Media
Common materials used to make works of art or architecture, such as stone, wood, bronze, ink, paint, or paper.
131
Trompe L’oeil
A highly realistic optical illusion of three-dimensional space and objects on a two-dimensional surface.
132
Two-Dimensional
A work of art made on a flat surface, such as a painting, drawing, print, or photograph.
133
Value
The amount of black added to a color.
134
Vanishing Point
The point on the horizon where the straight lines of linear perspective converge
135
Video Art
A type of art that uses moving images. Video art could involve the use of a wide variety of technologies, from Super-8 to VHS to digital video, and is often shown in museums and galleries in the form of a video installation.
136
Visual Culture
A field of academic study that emphasizes the cultural meaning of a work of art rather than its aesthetic value.
137
Watercolor
A type of paint in which the pigment is temporarily suspended in water.
138
Work of Art
An object that has been designed for its aesthetic appeal, or an object that has come to be appreciated as a work of art.
139
Works on Paper
Drawings, prints, photographs, and other two-dimensional works of art made on paper.
140
Giorgio Vasari
An architect and artist whose book, The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects, was the most influential text of the Italian Renaissance.
141
Johann Winckelmann
An 18th-century German scholar who was the first to propose that works of art be analyzed as the products of the culture and time in which they were produced.
142
Judy Chicago
An artist whose work The Dinner Party called attention to the exclusion of women artists and people of historical and cultural importance.
143
Linda Nochlin
An art historian who became famous for questioning the exclusion of woman artists from museum exhibitions and from art history.
144
Petrarch
Influential poet and scholar known for favoring classical learning, and dismissing the medieval period as the "Dark Ages."
145
Pliny the Elder
A Roman author and natural historian who included some of the earliest recorded historical descriptions of works of art in his writings.
