Creating Works of Art Flashcards
What are the 7 elements of art?
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Shape, color, Form, Value, Line, Texture, Space
What is the hue of a color?
origin of the colors we see. Think red, yellow, green (white, black and grey are never hues). What most people think of when they use the term color
What is the intensity of a color?
How bright or dull the color is
What is the value of a color?
How light or dark the color is
What are the primary colors?
red, yellow blue
What is a secondary color?
Result of 2 primary colors mixed together: orange, violet, green
What is a tertiary color?
Colors made combining primary and secondary colors: red-orange
What is a complementary color?
Colors that are opposite each other on the color wheel
What is the difference between an organic and geometric shape?
Geometric shapes are ones we have names for in math like circle, square, etc. Organic shapes are asymmetrical and found in nature
What is form in an artwork?
Describes the shape of an artwork in a space
What is contrast when describing colors?
The difference in values or the difference in the lightness or darkness of a color
What are the 7 principles of design?
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Balance, Pattern, contrast, Rhythm, movement, emphasis, unity
What is the balance of an artwork?
How an artwork’s visual weight is organized: can be symmetrical or asymmetrical
What is asymmetrical balance?
Visually weighted more on one side of an artwork
What are the pros of asymmetrical balance?
Gives the artwork more visual interest and leads the viewers eye around the artwork
What is contrast in an artwork?
When an artwork’s elements are juxtaposed against each other to create interesting differences- difference between warm and cool colors or between geometric and organic shapes
What is movement in an artwork?
Using the elements to lead the viewer throughout the piece: like the repetition of shapes that move the viewer’s eye
What is emphasis in an artwork?
Creates a focal point in an artwork by using a bold color, asymmetrical balance, or a strong contrast
What is pattern in an artwork?
Repeating elements in the same order
What is rhythm in an artwork?
Repeating elements without a specific order
What is unity in an artwork?
Harmony throughout the artwork created by elements working together: like repetition, similarity or rhythm of elements
Describe the elements and principles at use in Piet Mondrian’s Composition with Red, Yellow, and Blue
Primary colors placed asymmetrically, line, geometric shapes
Describe the elements and principles used in Embrace IV by Emilia Glaser
Color: mainly one color with a spot with darker value, combination of different shapes, strong visual lines separate the borders of shapes, mostly upward lines, rough texture
Describe the elements and principles used in Starry Night by Van Gogh
Contrast in the values in the painting, warm colors advance and cool colors recede, Moon shows emphasis being largest light value, balance with large dark shape on left and bright moon on right, Brushstrokes provide movement
Describe the elements and principles used in Screwarch by Claes Oldenburg
asymmetrical balance, repeating spiral pattern, smooth head with rough texture for the rest, movement in arch
When did drawing become a more widely used art form? Why?
Renaissance bc of availability of paper and drawing was foundation for other art forms
Describe the evolution and history of drawing in 4 steps
First in cave paintings, then in Middle Ages as preliminary step before painting, Renaissance drawing foundational skill before more advanced forms, 1500s in N Europe drawings as finished works (artists like Durer)
How is charcoal made and when was it first used? What is it used for now?
Burnt wood, cave drawings. large gesture drawings and putting ideas onto canvas prior to painting
What is red chalk and who most famously used it?
iron oxide pigment and refined clay, Leonardo da Vinci for sketches
What are black chalk and white chalk each used for?
Black- underdrawings for ink or metal point or portraits, white- highlights on drawings
What is the difference between a 10H and 10B pencil? What are the pencils in the middle of the spectrum called?
10H- hardest lead and lightest mark, 10B- softest lead and darkest mark. F and HB medium hardness and darkness
What is a tortillon?
blending pencil paper thing
What is a maulstick?
stick with padded head to rest hand when painting or drawing
What was used for a drawing surface in the middle ages?
parchment, animal skin, wood, wax, slate
What is the difference between hot and cold pressed paper?
Hot pressed is smooth while cold pressed has texture
What is acid free paper and when is it used?
Paper that doesn’t yellow or deteriorate, for finished drawings
What is gesture drawing and when is it used?
drawing technique to quickly (60 seconds) capture the action and form of a model or subject, loose lines to capture the essence
What is perspective drawing?
Drawing technique showing spatial relationships and illusion of space
What is a vanishing point?
Points on horizon in perspective drawing where objects disappear in the distance
What is hatching and crosshatching?
Hatching drawing using parallel lines, crosshatching is parallel and perpendicular lines
What will the part of an object that is closest to the light have on it?
Highlight
Describe the 4 steps of critique
Describe (facts), analyze (elements & principles), interpret, judge
Describe the evolution of oil painting in 3 steps
fine art medium in 15th century by Jan van Eyck on wooden panels, popularity of canvas, 18th century oil paints manufactured
What is remarkable about Van Gogh’s sunflowers?
He used yellow pigment in his oil paint that faded over time turning to brown
When was watercolor first most widely used? By who?
Reinaissance, Durer, Audubon also used watercolors for bird illustrations in 19th c
Describe watercolor brushes
soft and have shorter handle than oil and acrylic brushes. Can be wet and reworked
What is egg tempera? What kind of surfaces is it used on?
pigment with egg yolk and continuously adds water to prevent drying. Hard surfaces to prevent cracking. Doesn’t fade but dries quickly. Stopped being used with introduction of oil paints but some artists still use
What is gouache? What is it used for?
opaque paint similar to watercolor, can be wet and reworked. graphic arts like illustrations comics, posters
What is the difference between watercolor type gouache and acrylic type?
acrylic cannot be rewet and reworked after it’s dry
Describe the difference between watercolor and acrylic paintbrushes. How should oil paint be cleaned? Acrylic?
oil and acrylic longer handles, stiffer hairs. Oil paint with paint thinner solvent, Acrylic and watercolor with water and soap
What are drying oils and why are they used?
decrease drying time and thin paint
What is primer and why is it used? What’s the most common primer?
base for painting used with oil and acrylic paints, gesso
How can you use acrylic and oil paint together?
Can only use acrylic first, can’t use acrylic over oil
How do you prep a watercolor paper?
Tape it down on 4 sides, wet paper and let dry to prepare the paper for paint. Has to be thick watercolor paper
What is underpainting and why is it used?
technique used in oil and acrylic paint to create a base for finished painting- establish layout and tones before beginning the painting
What is glazing in paint and why is it used?
used with oil paint to layer transparent color over dried opaque colors. Colors interact without physically blending on a palette. Create complex tones like skin tones
What is dry brush technique in painting and why is it used?
brush loaded with paint without medium, creates texture
What is sgraffito?
technique of scratching through a layer of paint to reveal surface underneath
What is wet on wet used for?
technique that causes colors to blend and bleed into each other- wet brush and wet paper
What is an alla prima painting?
painting wet oil paint onto wet oil layers, completed in 1 sitting
What is trompe l’oeil?
painting that depicts objects in a realistic way and creates illusion that they are 3D
What is di sotto in su?
Renaissance painting technique that uses foreshortening and realistic depictions of space above viewer
What are the pros of acrylic paint over oil paint?
Quicker drying time, water soluble and do not require solvents, can be used on more surfaces because don’t break surfaces down like oil paint does
What is impasto?
painting technique where paint laid on very thickly and brushstrokes are very visible and textured
Who discovered perspective?
Filippo Brunelleschi
How is perspective used in The Last Supper?
1 point perspective, lines converge to one vanishing point in center of painting placing emphasis on Jesus
What is a burnisher and how is it used?
hand tool in printmaking used to smooth surface of intaglio plate. Polishes metal surface reducing its ability to hold ink
What is a gouge and how is it used?
used in relief printmaking to cut away the parts that won’t hold ink
Describe the intaglio printmaking process
lines cut into metal plate using a burin (metal tool) or by etching which is a chemical process. Etching- plate covered with acid resistant material, image carved into that material to reveal plate, plate dipped in acid which bites into lines that were carved, acid resistant material removed, ink rubbed into carved lines and wiped off the rest, printed on to paper
Describe the lithography process
Crayon or ink used on limestone or aluminum surface, solution of nitric acid and gum arabic put on surface, roller with ink, ink only sticks to greasy area
Describe the screen printing process
Image created on screen using stencil or photo emulsion, ink pressed through screen to produce print, parts of screen left open is where ink goes through ink pushed through evenly with squeegee onto different materials
What is callography?
printmaking technique where materials of different textures are attached to a surface, then inked, then printed
What is frottage?
Printmaking technique where artists gets impression of surface of a material, like crayon leaf impressions
What is a monotype?
Only 1 print (think gelli plate)
How could a burnisher be used with linocuts and woodcuts?
Polisher
What is mezzotint?
print technique where artist works from dark to light
What is an aquatint?
Creates tonal effects in a print, by using powdered rosin and acid to eat away at metal around rosin particles (creates watercolor like wash)
When were the first prehistoric sculptures found? What are they?
Stone Age, Venuses (obese fertility women)
What is a bas relief?
Low relief sculpture (think coins)
What is haut relief? Who used this technique most commonly?
When more than half the sculptural form is projecting from the background. Greek sculptures
How are clays classified and what are the 3 most common types?
High fire, low fire. earthenware, stoneware, porcelain
Describe earthenware clay
earliest clay used, terracotta is a type and is reddish brown. Brown, orange or red in its raw and fired state, less durable and more porous
Describe stoneware clay
Light gray to light brown when fired, nonporous, more opaque than porcelain, mid to high fire clay
Describe porcelain
Fine chine, high fire clay made with kaolin, finished product is pure white, hard nonporous and translucent when fired
Name tools used for sculpture with stone
rasps, chisels, pitching tool, mallet, riffler
Name tools used for pottery
cutters, rolling pins, ribbon or loop tools, wire cutter
What kind of sculptor was Michelangelo?
Subtractive sculptor (chip away at block of marble)
Describe additive sculpture
adding material to create a sculpture, soft material like plaster is built up over armature. Also called modeling
What are the three types of hand building
slab building, pinch pot, coil method
What is wedging in wheel throwing?
When you knead the clay to get out air bubbles before throwing
What does leather hard clay mean? What can you do with clay at this stage?
partially dried, can carve it or add decorative slip, handles can be added
What does bone dry clay mean? What can you do with clay at this stage?
When clay is completely dry, lighter color, fragile, can’t add or attach
What does bisque clay mean? What can you do with clay at this stage?
After clay is fired in kiln, can be glazed and fired again. Before being fired clay is still porous
What is greenware?
Clay that isn’t fired
What is slip and what is it used for?
liquid clay, clay and water mixture, can be used to join pieces of clay together
Describe Chinese ceramics
Most well known form of art in China, high fire porcelain, cobalt underglazing leading to blue and white vases in Ming Dynasty
Describe the difference between Greek and Roman sculptures
Greece sculptures depicted mythology, battles, rulers in marble or bronze, realistic human form and anatomy, idealize likeness of someone. Rome focused more on portraits and less on idealized human body, immortalize likeness of a person
What period is Michelangelo’s David from?
Renaissance
Describe the lost wax casting technique of sculpture
metal copy of a sculpture produced from an original sculpture. Mold made of clay sculpture, wax covers sculpture and is covered in plaster, plaster mold made, bronze poured into plaster mold, dries, plaster removed and left with bronze sculpture
What is the first major feminist art work?
Judy Chicago’s Dinner Party
Describe warp and weft in weaving
Warp are vertical strings (warp speed), weft strings past between (weeee)
What is the difference between crochet and knitting?
In crochet each stitch is finished before starting the next, knitting many open at the same time
Describe the process of enameling in jewelry
Fusing powdered glass to a surface by heating it- melts into smooth shiny coating. Can be colored and is resistant to scratches
What is soldering in jewelry?
joining metal pieces together by heating and using flux (a chemical used to promote soldering)
What is filigree in jewelry?
Technique of forming metal threads to resemble lace patterns
What is annealing in jewelry?
heating metal, then cooling slowly, so it is easier to work with for specific techniques
What is the difference between art and craft?
Art is decorative but not functional. Craft is created with aesthetic and functional purpose. But line often blurred
Describe the evolution of photography
Early 1800s first photo, Daguerre made first practical process to create photos called daguerreotypes and image was on copper plate, calotype process used paper coated in silver iodide, then emulsion plates or wet plates were created which needed much less exposure time, Late 1800s film camera was created called “kodak” and did not require solid plates and cost was low enough for average person
What determines the resolution of a digital camera?
Its image sensor
What is a DSLR camera and what is the pro of one?
digital single lens reflex, higher resolution
What is the ISO scale?
International Standards Organization that determines the speed of film which tells how much exposure the film needs to produce an image
What are the pros of slow vs fast film?
Slow film more detail, faster subject in motion
What does the shutter speed determine?
The amount of time the shutter is left open
What does the aperture control? How is aperture expressed?
Amount of light reaching image sensor determined by the opening of the lens, how much of image is in focus. In f-stops
What is the role of thirds? What’s the purpose?
Compositional technique where you divide an image vertically and horizontally into 3 equal parts so you have 9 equal parts. Focal point of image should be places at one of the intersections of these lines. Creates tension and imbalance and more interesting composition
What does a larger f stop number mean?
Smaller aperture which results in most of image being in focus
Who took the Migrant Mother photo? What did it express?
Dorothea Lange, mother during time of extreme poverty
Describe Cindy Sherman’s Untitled Film Still series
She uses photography to play the role of “everywoman” by dressing up in many cliched feminine roles, to examine stereotypes (late 1900s)
What is raster based artwork?
Pixel based artwork created using photoshop
What is the best file type for digital art?
TIFF files
Which art movements started performance art?
Dadaist, futurist
What is site specific art?
Art that is created for a certain location and loses meaning if moved from location
What is a happening?
Performance of event created in the context of fine art and include audience participation (each is unique)
What are Christo and Jeanne Claude best known for?
Large site specific artwork, manufactured materials that contrast with environment- ex: the gates, fabric gates throughout central part
