abstraction & abstract
art
At its purest, abstraction uses shapes, colors and lines as elements in and for
themselves. Abstraction can also be conceptual, such as when a sentence or subject
matter is cut up so as to make its meaning nonsensical or unreal. A characteristic
trait of 20th century and Modern Art, many artists working today combine representational
and abstract elements while others make works without recognizable people, places,
or things.
aesthetic
Used to describe something as visually-based, beautiful, or pleasing in appearance
and to the senses. Aesthetics is a term developed by philosophers during the
18th and 19th centuries and is also the academic or scientific study of beauty
and taste in art.
allegory
An image or story that refers to a related or overarching concept such as good
or evil.
animation
Giving movement to something; the process of making moving cartoons or films
that use cartoon imagery.
appropriation
The act of borrowing imagery or forms to create something new.
artifact
An object produced or shaped by human craft, especially a rudimentary art form
or object, as in the products of prehistoric workmanship. different and yet share
the same commitment to questioning artistic conventions.
calligraphy
The art of handwriting, or letters formed by hand.
caricature
A representation of a person or thing that exaggerates their most striking or
characteristic features. Famous people and political figures are often drawn
as caricatures by cartoonists to humorous ends. Caricatures, when thought of
as an accurate likeness, are transformed into stereotypes.
casting
A sculptural process, done by pouring a liquid material into a mold and allowing
it to cool or harden. Casting is used to make a replica of an object or to make
groups of identical objects. Many mass-produced commercial objects, such as toys
and dinnerware, are casts.
classical art
Referring to the art of ancient Greece and Rome (300–400 BCE) and characterized
by its emphasis on balance, proportion, and harmony.
collaboration
A working arrangement between an artist and another person, group, or institution.
Present throughout art history, collaborations are considered unusual today when
artists tend to be valued for their individual voice and contribution to society.
Some artists even form long-term working partnerships with other artists—these
are seen as distinct from collaborations which are often temporary.
collage
The process or product of affixing paper or objects to a two-dimensional surface.
composition
The arrangement of an artwork's formal elements.
conceptual art
Works of art in which the idea is equally if not more important than the finished
product. Conceptual art can take many forms, from photographs to texts to videos,
while sometimes there is no object at all. Emphasizing the ways things are made
more than how they look, conceptual art often raises questions about what a work
of art can be. Conceptual art is also often difficult to collect or preserve
as it can be the artist's own experience that is the work of art.
contemporary art
Art made after 1970 or works of art made by living artists. A loose term that
at times overlaps with Modern Art, many museums specialize in showing art by
living artists in isolation while other institutions show contemporary art along
with works dating back thousands of years. Unlike Modern Art, contemporary art
is not defined by a succession of periods, schools, or styles.
content
The subject matter, concepts, or ideas associated with a work of art. A work's
content is shaped by the artist's intentions, the context of its presentation,
and by the experiences, thoughts, and reactions of the viewer.
context
The location, information, or time-frame that informs how a work of art is viewed
and what it means. Works of art often respond to a particular space or cultural
climate. If the context for a work of art is changed or recontextualized, the
way in which the work is understood may change as well.
curator
A person who is responsible for the collection, care, research, and exhibition
of art or artifacts.
design
Relating to popular forms of art including architecture, books, the internet,
furniture, and mass media. Today, things that are designed are often mechanically
produced or made with the help of a computer.
displacement
fluxus
Implying flow or change, the term fluxus was adopted by a group of artists, musicians,
and poets in the 1960's to describe a radical attitude and philosophy for producing
and exhibiting art. Often presented in non-traditional settings, Fluxus forms
included impromptu performances, mail art, and street spectacles.
form
The shape and structure of a work of art, formal elements include color, shape,
pattern, and duration. Many artists strive for a relationship between form and
content, so that the way something is made fits with what the artist intends
the work to be about or how it will be seen.
genre
A means of categorizing works of art based on style, form, and subject matter.
History painting and landscape are genres of painting; horror and romantic comedy
are genres of film; detective and science fiction are genres of literature.
gesture
A description of figural movement; the embodiment of the essence of a figure.
graffiti
Art made on a public surface, such as a building or a street sign, that is not
owned by the artist. Dating back to ancient Egypt, graffiti today is often made
with spray paint and marker. Seen by some as vandalism, others view graffiti
as an important expression of opinions.
graphic
A description applied to flat, two-dimensional images or primarily graphic media
such as fonts, comic books, and cartoons.
iconography
Symbols and images that have a particular meaning, either learned or universal.
illusion
A visually misleading or perceptually altered space or object.
installation
A work of art created for a specific architectural situation, installations often
engage multiple senses such as sight, smell and hearing. The placement of individual
works of art in a gallery is also commonly referred to as an installation. Installations
are generally temporary and stationary, but some installations travel to different
locations and exist over longer periods of time.
juxtaposition
The state or position of being placed close together or side by side, so as to
permit comparison or contrast.
kinetic
Having mechanical or moving parts that can be set in motion; art that moves.
kitsch
Used to describe items that are overly decorative or sentimental, kitsch may
also have negative connotations—meaning tastelessness or bad taste in art.
Things generally considered to be kitschy in popular American culture include
ceramic figurines, black velvet paintings, rhinestones, and glitter. However,
what is kitsch in one cultural context may not be in another.
land art
Also known as earth art or earthworks, land art uses the raw materials of the
natural world to make large-scale, outdoor sculpture. Often taking many years
to complete, some earthworks made in the 1970s exist to this day while others
are still under construction.
minimal art
A type of abstract art, primarily three-dimensional, which often uses industrial
materials in geometric or repetitive ways. Reduced to basic shapes (cubes, spheres)
or bare materials (steel, neon tubing, bricks), minimalist objects of the 1960s
expressed more the artist's process than his or her emotions.
modernism
An historical period and attitude from the early to mid-20th century, characterized
by experimentation, abstraction, a desire to provoke, and a belief in progress.
Modern artists strove to go beyond that which had come before. Works of modern
art may be visually different and yet share the same commitment to questioning
artistic conventions. Modern Art is oriented towards developing new visual languages
(rather than preserving and continuing those of the past) and takes the form
of a series of periods, schools, and styles.
narrative
The representation in art, by form and content, of an event or story. Whether
a literal story, event, or subject matter—or a more abstract relationship
between colors, forms and materials—narrative in visual art applies as
much to the work as it does to the viewer's "story" of what they see
and experience.
op art
Short for Optical Art, a style popular in the 1960s that was based on optical
principles and optical illusion. Op Art deals in complex color interactions,
to the point where colors and lines seem to vibrate before the eyes.
pop art
Art which draws its subject matter or appearance from mass media and consumer
culture. Transforming "low" culture such as advertisements, comics,
and tabloid photographs into the "high" culture of painting and sculpture,
Pop artists of the 1950s and 60s reached a wide audience with their cool, detached
depiction of contemporary times.
postmodernism
A term that has come to describe the stylistic developments that depart from
the norms of modernism. Postmodernism questions the validity of the emphasis
of modernists on logic, simplicity, and order, suggesting that ambiguity, uncertainty,
and contradiction may also have a valid place.
process
An artist's investigation, or the steps the artist takes to make a work of art,
processes differ widely from artist to artist.
public art
Works of art that are designed specifically for, or placed in, areas physically
accessible to the general public.
realism
The realistic and natural representation of people, places, and/or things in
a work of art; the opposite of idealization.
satire
Exposing human vices and follies to ridicule or scorn.
stylized
Used to describe works of art which conform to imagined or invented visual rules.
Work that is stylized tends to be less spontaneous or visually responsive to
changes in subject matter.
tagging
The act of writing graffiti, a tag is often an artist's name or visual trademark.
textile
Materials that are woven, knitted, or made from cloth.
typography
The appearance of fonts, letters, or characters, typography involves the printed
word and graphic design.
visual sign
A visible, conventional figure or device that stands for a word, phrase, or operation.
