1 The Creative Impulse

Question 1

abstract art

Answer 1

Works whose shapes are distorted or converted into patterns that may be read by the viewer as interesting in their own right or as representing another vision of a subject.

Question 2

balance

Answer 2

is the distribution of weight-actual or visual-in a work of art.

Question 3

color

Answer 3

color is the thing that the human eye and brain perceive that is associated with descriptive words like red, or blue, or yellow. IN visual arts “color theory” is a body of knowledge for artists that describes and categorizes color, its properties, behavior, and effects.

Question 4

content

Answer 4

All that is contained within a work of art-the visual elements, the subject matter, and its underlying meaning or themes. Also the flow of line or contour, or the continuous transition from one shape to another to lead the viewer’s eye from one part of a composition to another.

Question 5

culture

Answer 5

Society’s images, its ideas and attitudes, its customs, its skills, and its arts.

Question 6

emphasis

Answer 6

in a composition describes an attention-grabbing aspect that directs the viewer’s eye to a particular area, giving it visual or conceptual dominance.

Question 7

focal point

Answer 7

describes the main point of interest in a work of art–one that captures and holds a viewer’s attention.

Question 8

form

Answer 8

The “how” of a work of art– the general structure and overall organization of a work; also sometimes synonymous with shape in describing three-dimensional works.

Question 9

genre

Answer 9

The category of subjects with which an artist works, such as portraits or landscapes.

Question 10

iconography

Answer 10

The study of themes and symbols-figures and images that, when deciphered, reveal the underlying meaning of a work of art.

Question 11

line

Answer 11

the element of art created by the connection of two points, either actual or implied.

Question 12

medium

Answer 12

The material and tools that an artist uses to create a work of art.

Question 13

nature

Answer 13

The native physical world that surrounds us and the biochemical world within our physical selves

Question 14

nonobjective art

Answer 14

Art that is abstract and nonrepresentational, that is, does not portray figures or objects from the visible world.

Question 15

principles of design

Answer 15

Unity and variety, emphasis and focal point, balance and rhythm, and scale and proportion.

Question 16

proportion

Answer 16

is comparative size, that is, the size of elements or images within a work of art in relation to each other or to the whole

Question 17

rhythm

Answer 17

in art is the equivalent of a beat in music.It describes recurrent visual motifs (like patterns) and compositional accents, movement, and flow.

Question 18

scale

Answer 18

is defined as the size of something relative to the human dimensions of a viewer.

Question 19

subject

Answer 19

The “what” of a work of art- the people, places, things, themes, processes, and ideas in a work.

Question 20

space

Answer 20

describes the area around or within the compondnts of a work of art- what Frank Lloyd Wright called “the breath of art”. In the visual arts we speak of open and closed space; shallow (two-dimensional) space; the actual (three-dimensional) space in which a piece exists; and the illusion of three dimensional space on two dimensional surfaces.

Question 21

style

Answer 21

The signature look of an artist’s work; the distinctive characteristics of an artist’s work and those of a culture and era.

Question 22

shape

Answer 22

An area within a composition with boundaries that that separate it from what surrounds it and makes it distinct.

Question 23

texture

Answer 23

The surface character of materials as experienced by the sense of touch.

Question 24

time and motion

Answer 24

In art these two aspects are connected; Motion occurs over time and distance. Motion can be actual (components of a work of art actually change position) or implied (illusionary)

Question 25

unity

Answer 25

Oneness, singleness; harmony

Question 26

value

Answer 26

The relative lightness or darkness of a color

Question 27

visual elements

Answer 27

Line, shape, value, color, texture, space, and time and motion.

Question 28

variety

Answer 28

contrast and diversity; the counterpoint to unity