Two-dimensional: possessing the measurements of length and width but lacking thickness or depth

Art vocabulary and exercises

This is a tough topic. The good news is that you only need a fairly limited range of art vocabulary. There is no need to learn the technical words, just the general words that an educated person should know. If you are a scientist, the idea is that you need to know the equivalent term for “internal combustion engine”, you don’t have to say how it works!

What is art?

This is a big, big question. Here are some basic distinctions you may want to consider.

The fine arts

The fine arts are what most people mean when they just say “art”.These include artistic disciplines such as paintingand sculpture. Typically, they are objects created to be “beautiful”.

Arts and crafts

A craft is a similar, related concept and we do use the term arts and crafts. In arts and crafts, objects are created by hand. A good example would be tapestry.

The visual arts

These are the ones we look at and include paintings, drawings and photographs. Does cinema count? For some people, yes. Television?

The plastic arts

These are the ones we can touch.A sculpture and a piece of pottery are examples.

Performance art

This is when you see someone performing and what they do/produce is a piece of art. Theatre can be called a form of performance art, perhaps a better example is juggling. We normally use this term for art that is “different”. There is also a relatively new phenomenon of thestreet artist.

Pictures

There are many types of pictures. If it is picture of somebody, it is generally a portrait. if it is a picture of a place, it is generally a landscape. While a picture of an object by itself is a still life.

Three genres of picture possibly worth knowing are a watercolour which is painted onto paper, an oil painting which is normally painted onto canvas (a tent like material) and a sketchwhich is normally a preparatory drawing.

Philosophies of art

Art has changed greatly over the ages. You certainly don’t need to be able to talk about the differences between Renaissance art, Mannerism, the Baroque, the Pre-Raphaelites, Impressionism and Cubism – if you did, you would probably scare your IELTS examiner. It might help to have this much knowledge though:

figurative/representational art: this is where the painting/object looks like something from life

abstract art: this is where you see squares, circles and other shapes and you cannot (immediately) tell what the painting is about

contemporary art: this is the art of now. It’s dangerous to use the word “modern” because “modernism” in art actually happened quite a long time ago (the 1930s was probably its heyday).

Where do you see art?

You normally find art in an art gallery. You walk around and admire the exhibits in an exhibition, while discussing whether the curator has got the lighting right and whether that picture should really be hung next to that one.

Sometimes you might also find art in museums, but that is much less common. For example, the British Museum has artefacts from Britain’s past, while the National Gallery is a collection of art.

Would you buy it?

Art tends to be expensive. A masterpiece by Van Gogh could be said to be priceless – that’s so expensive that no one has the money to afford it. A lot of art forms part of a nation’s heritageand the government protects it from sale abroad.

People and art

Not everyone likes art. People who like to spend a lot of time admiring art are often termed culture vultures (a fairly idiomatic term), while the idiom for people who dislike art is philistines.

There is of course art and art. People who appreciate the more elitistforms of art may be said to have highbrow tastes, while those who prefer the less intellectual art forms may have lowbrow tastes.

What makes art special?

Another big question. Some people think that it is important for a work of art to be originalorcreative. Others would say that what matters is how it appeals to our imagination.

One or two idioms

Perspective shows the depth of a picture – how many dimensions you see. If you have/keep a sense of perspective, then you see a problem/issue for what it is – often meaning that it is not as serious as it seems.

If you describe someone as being no oil painting, be careful. This means that they are ugly.

GENERAL TERMS

museum: an institution dedicated to the collection, care, study, and display of works of art, history, and natural science as objects of lasting value or interest

gallery: a room or building devoted to the exhibition of works of art

label: a small card describing a work of art, usually attached to the wall next to the artwork

school: a “school” of artists is a group of individuals linked often geographically and always philosophically. Artists in a “school” or “movement” share the same approach toward technique and/or share a similar attitude regarding the purpose of making art. Sometimes a school’s philosophy is very much in synch with attitudes in society, other times a school of artists can be at odds with the rest of society.

STYLES OF ART

portrait: a painting, sculpture, drawing, or other representation of a specific, recognizable person

self-portrait: a portrait depicting the artist who created it

landscape: an artistic representation of natural inland scenery

cityscape:an artistic representation of a city scene

seascape: an artistic representation of an ocean scene

abstraction: an artwork which may depict only vaguely identifiable forms or which does not feature recognizable forms at all. In other words, when you look at abstract art you often cannot tell “what it is.”

sculpture: a three-dimensional work of art

sketch: an unstudied or spontaneous drawing or painting usually used as a draft for a finished painting or sculpture

still-life:a picture consisting predominantly of a grouping of objects

realism:to represent the external world in an objective and factual manner

representational:to represent recognizable images, but not necessarily factually or realistically. The opposite of abstract.

folk art: works usually done by a self-taught artists. Also sometimes called “naïve” art.

COLOR

primary: the pure colors of red, blue, and yellow which are the source for all other colors

secondary: the colors formed by mixing primary colors; the colors orange, violet and green obtained by mixing primary colors: red and yellow = orange, red and blue = violet, yellow and blue = green

complementary:each primary color has a complementary color which is produced by mixing the other two primary colors. The complementary color of red is green, a mixture of blue and yellow. The complementary color of blue is orange, a mixture of red and yellow. The complementary color of yellow is violet, a mixture of red and blue. Red and green are opposite to each other on the color wheel, as are blue and orange, and yellow and violet. One complementary color completes and intensifies its complementary color.

SPACE

two-dimensional: possessing the measurements of length and width but lacking thickness or depth

three-dimensional: possessing the measurements of length, width, and thickness; a solid surrounded by space

foreground: the part of a picture which appears closest to the viewer

middle ground:the part of a picture between the foreground and the background

background:the part of a picture representing what lies behind objects in the foreground or middle ground

AMERICAN ART MOVEMENTS & SCHOOLS
(advanced vocabulary)

The following terms will enrich an understanding of the unique progression of American art as trends influence and sometimes blend with one another. These “isms” are not essential vocabulary for your Art & SOL tour.

Hudson River School
The first group of American landscape painters emerged in the 1820s and became known as the Hudson River School because many of them painted in and around the Hudson River Valley and the nearby Catskill and Adirondack Mountains. This was the first coherent American art movement, in the sense that the artists involved shared a similar outlook and approach to making art. They depicted panoramic scenes in precise detail, and regarding nature as a spiritual resource.

Luminism
The pervasive glow of sunlight in a landscape is characteristic of Luminism, a trend among mid-nineteenth-century artists who saw light as landscape’s most important binding ingredient as well as a symbol of divine presence.

Impressionism
Impressionists shared a style of painting that did not hide the brushstroke nor blobs of paint on the surface. To them, light was even more important than it had been to the earlier Luminists. In fact, for many Impressionists, capturing the quality of light, often shimmering and diffused, was more important than the subject of their painting.

Regionalism
Artists led by Thomas Hart Benton used a robust style to celebrate ordinary working people and the rhythms of rural American life, politics, and society.

Ashcan School (also known as New York Realism or The Eight)
A group of painters and illustrators interested in capturing the gritty atmosphere of urban scenes and details of the lives of ordinary working people.

Harlem Renaissance
A movement of the 1920s that marked the first period of intense activity by African-Americans in the fields of literature, visual art and music. The center of this movement was the Harlem neighborhood of New York City.

abstract

based on real people, places and things but does not look like the real people, places and things. This style shows an object you can name but does not show it clearly.

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acrylic paint

a water based paint that has a (polymer) plastic binder and dries to a permanent covering.

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analogous

colors found side by side on the color wheel which are closely related

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analyze

in visual art, examining the unique features of a work as they relate to the elements of art and the principles of design.

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architecture

the art of designing buildings

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art critique

the process and the results of critical thinking about art. The parts are: describe, analyze, interpret, and judge.

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artist

a person who creates works of art.

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asymmetrical

not being the same on both sides.

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atmospheric perspective

the illusion of depth and distance created by using the weather in a landscape and dull, pale colors with hazy details in the background of a painting.

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background

those things that seem the most distant, as if at the back of the picture.

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balance

the principle of design that refers to the visual equalization of the elements in a work of art so that one side of the artwork does not appear heavier than the other side. Balance may also be radial, symmetrical, or asymmetrical.

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canvas

a tightly stretched cloth surface on which to paint.

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ceramics

objects made of fired clay or porcelain.

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chiaroscuro

using a combination of light (chiaro) and dark, or shade

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collage

artwork made by pasting pieces of paper or other materials to a flat

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color

the result of the reflection or absorption of light by a surface.

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color scheme

sometimes known as color families or relationships , these are groups of colors used together in the same artwork.

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color wheel

a tool for organizing color.

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complementary

colors found opposite on the color wheel and have the

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composition

an arrangement of the elements of art and the principles of

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contrast

a principle of art, that places 2 opposites side by side

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cool colors

colors that make you feel cool - blue, green and violet

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create

to make or produce.

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cross-hatching

shading done by drawing closely set parallel lines that

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daguerreotype

an early form of photography that uses chemicals to produce the image.

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depth

the look of space or distance

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describe

this process in responding to art work refers to the subject matter of the artwork.

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Diego Rivera

Mexican Muralist who created artworks in Mexico and the U.S. focusing on political messages.

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easel

a frame used to support an artist's canvas., an upright tripod for displaying something (usually an artist's canvas)

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elements of art

the basic components of visual communication. They

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Egyptian Art & Architecture

All art and architecture was created for a ceremonial purpose. Greatest Architectural achievement was the pyramids. Sculpture was created using specific rules. Faces are forward, the left foot is slightly ahead of the right.

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emphasis

focal point - the principle of design that is concerned with

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Evolution of Chinese Ceramics

During the Ming dynasty the Zhougan province created porcelin pottery that influenced the design and quality of our ceramics today. The special firing technique used by the Chinese influences the way pottery is made. Pottery is made using heavy silt (powdered clay), and water whereas ceramics are made using a fine silt (as light as baby powder) and sifted water.

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fibers

a natural or synthetic filament, such as cotton or nylon, which can

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focal point

that area in a composition at which the emphasis is greatest

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folk artists

people who create art using styles that have been handed down through generations. Folk Artists are usually untrained. Artists that create using things from nature.

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foreground

Part of a picture which appears closest to the viewer and

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form

An element of art that is three-dimensional and encloses

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functional art

utilitarian art - functional objects such as dishes and

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George Catlin

created Native American portraits based on the Plains Indians. He thought that the Native American way of life was going to be extinct.

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Greek Architecture

the use of post and lintel construction and symmetrical balance. Included 6 main parts of a temple: cornice, pediment, frieze, capitol, shaft, and base. The three columns types were Doric, Ionic, and Corinthian.

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Gothic Architecture

the use of stained glass windows, flying buttresses, thin walls, ribbed vaults, and very high buildings. Use of gargoyles as water spouts.

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Gothic Art

the use of elongated human figures, paintings were flat and used gold paint in the background. All paintings were of religious people.

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hatching

shading done by drawing tiny, closely set parallel lines.

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horizon

a level line where water or land seem to meet the sky.

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hue

a color found on the color wheel.

ARTS VOCABULARY

A abstract acrylic paint airbrush animation architecture art art gallery artist artistic artist's bridge artwork assemblage B bas-relief batik blending bridge brightness brush C calligraphy canvas cartoon carve ceramics casting cave drawing chalk charcoal chisel clay cloisonné collage color colored pencils color wheel compass composition contrast craft crayon create creativity critique crosshatching

D decorate decorative decoupage depict design draw drawing E easel egg tempera enamel encaustic engraving erase eraser etching exhibit exhibition F film form frame fresco G gallery gesso gilding glass glassblowing glaze gold leaf gouache graffiti graphic design graphite H hammer hatching high-relief hue

I illustrate illustration image ink installation K kiln L landscape latex paint line liner brush linseed oil lithograph lost wax method low-relief M mahl stick maquette marble marbling marker masterpiece mechanical pencil media medium mixed media mobile model mosaic mural museum O objects d'art oil paint old master op art

P paint paintbrush painter painting paint roller palette palette knife paper pastel pen pencil perspective photo photograph pigment porcelain portfolio portrait portray poster pottery pounce primary color print printing proportion Q quill quilt quilting R realism ruler S scale screen printing sculpt sculptor sculpture

S cont. seascape secondary color shade silk screen sketch sketchbook solvent stained glass stencil still life stippling stone stonecutting style T tempera template textile arts tole painting tone tools trompe l'oeil t-square tube turpentine U undertone V varnish vellum video visual W watercolor waterscape wax wheel wood wood carving woodcut woodcut print wood engraving