Visual Art Vocabulary (A)

Front 1

Abstract

Back 1

A style of art that uses shapes, designs, textures and colors in a way that emphasizes moods or feelings.

Hint 1

A _____ of ___ that ____________, _______, ________, and ______ in a way that _______________ or ________.

Front 2

Abstract Expressionism

Back 2

A New York 1940s painting movement whose subject is revealed through the use of pure design elements and analysis. A harmony of materials revealing raw visual interest.

Hint 2

A 19____s __________________ whose ____________ is revealed through the _________________________. A harmony of materials revealing raw visual interest.

Front 3

ACADEMIC ART

Back 3

Art that follows prescribed rules; not experimental.

Front 4

ACANTHUS

Back 4

A plant with a large leaf, frequently represented on columns, friezes and moldings.

Hint 4

One of the most common plant forms to make foliage ornament and decoration

Front 5

ACRYLIC

Back 5

Pigment in a plastic binder medium; water-based paint that adheres to most surfaces.

Front 6

ADDITIVE SCULPTURE

Back 6

Sculpture made by adding, combining, or building up materials. Modeling with clay and welding steel parts together are ways of making additive sculpture.

Hint 6

Front 7

ADVERTISING

Back 7

Printed, painted, or spoken art that communicates positive aspects of a product or idea to an audience in order to persuade them to do or buy something.

Front 8

AERIAL PERSPECTIVE

Back 8

The effect of distance or atmosphere that creates haziness or changes in color.

Hint 8

Front 9

AESTHETIC

Back 9

The artistic qualities of artwork; defined by visual, moral, social, and contemporary standards.

Front 10

AESTHETIC QUALITIES

Back 10

Cues within a work of art, such as literal, visual, and expressive qualities, which are studied during the art-criticism process.

Front 11

AIRBRUSH

Back 11

An air compressor is used to power this instrument to create color gradients, highlight and shadow effects (atomizer).

Front 12

ALLA PRIMA

Back 12

Paint applied to canvas in one coat instead of applied layer by layer.

Front 13

ALTARPIECE

Back 13

A religious work of art placed behind the altar of a church or site.

Front 14

ALTERNATING PATTERN OR RHYTHM

Back 14

A pattern or rhythm in which two or more shapes, designs, or colors repeat in a one-after-the-other sequence

Front 15

AMERICAN SCENE PAINTING

Back 15

(usually) paintings of the rural Midwest during the 1920s and 1930s.

Front 16

ANALOGOUS COLORS

Back 16

Colors that are closely related, such as blue, blue-violet, and violet -- all of which have the color blue in common. Families of analogous colors include warm colors (red, orange, and yellow) and cool colors (blue, green, and violet).

Hint 16

Front 17

ANATOMY

Back 17

The structural makeup of the human body, including the muscles, bones, and flesh.

Front 18

Animation

Back 18

Moving art made by putting many pictures together. When shown quickly one after the other, the objects in the pictures seem to move.

Front 19

Ankh

Back 19

Egyptian symbol for life

Front 20

APPLIED ART

Back 20

Design principles applied to functional objects such as furniture and metalwork.

Front 21

APPLIQUÉ

Back 21

A design made by stitching pieces of colored fabric onto a larger piece of cloth.

Front 22

Uses for Appliqué

Back 22

Used for wall hangings and as decoration on clothing, quilts and pillows

Front 23

Aquatint

Back 23

A print resembling a watercolor, produced by etching a picture to a copper plate with powdered resin, nitric acid, heat to create a dense or lightly granulated effect.

Front 24

Aqueduct

Back 24

An ancient Roman system of using gravity to bring water from the mountains to the cities

Front 25

ARABESQUE

Back 25

Decorative technique that uses curving plant forms; frequently used in Islamic art.

Hint 25

Front 26

Arch

Back 26

A curved symmetrical structure spanning an opening and typically supporting the weight of a bridge, roof, or wall above it.

Hint 26

Front 27

ARCHAIC ART

Back 27

Greek sculpture or vases from 620 to c. 500 BC; ancient art.

Front 28

ARMATURE

Back 28

A skeleton-like framework used to support figures of clay or paper-mâché. Can be made of wire, piping, metal rods, rolled paper or similar materials.

Front 29

Uses of an Armature

Back 29

An armature keeps a sculpted figure with parts that stick out from drooping or falling apart

Front 30

Artifact

Back 30

Hand-made object that represents a particular culture or period.

Front 31

ARTS AND CRAFTS MOVEMENT

Back 31

A return to the hand-made decorative arts during the 1930s.

Front 32

ART DECO

Back 32

Applied design from the 1920s and 1930s derived from French, African, Aztec and Chinese motifs.

Front 33

ART NOUVEAU

Back 33

An 1890s asymmetrical decorative style featuring sinuous forms based on objects found in nature.

Front 34

ASCENDER

Back 34

That part of the lowercase letter that rises above the body of the letter, as in b, d, f, h, k, l and t.

Front 35

ASH CAN SCHOOL

Back 35

Paintings of everyday life in the city done by a group of painters of realism

Front 36

Asphalting/Bitumen

Back 36

A stop-out varnish used in the intaglio process to protect surface areas of metal that do not require to be etched. Usually mixed with turpentine or benzene for better control. One of the ingredients in hard ground etching

Front 37

ASSEMBLAGE

Back 37

A piece of art made by combining a collection of three-dimensional objects into a whole. It can be a free-standing sculpture or be mounted on a panel, and is usually made from scraps, junk, or various man-made or natural objects

Front 38

ASYMMETRICAL

Back 38

Different on either side of a central axis.

Front 39

ATMOSPHERIC PERSPECTIVE

Back 39

A way of showing depth and distance in a painting by using fading colors and hazy details in distant objects.

Front 40

AVANT GARDE

Back 40

At the forefront of new developments in art.