week 10: Late Modern and Early Contemporay Art in the 20th century

Question 1

Abstract Expressionism

Answer 1

a mid-twentieth-century artistic style characterized by its capacity to convey intense emotions using non-representational images (See Chapter 3.9, page 538)

Question 2

Abstraction

Answer 2

the degree to which an image is altered from an easily recognizable subject (See Chapter 3.9, page 524)

Question 3

Acrylic

Answer 3

a liquid polymer, or plastic, which is used as a binder for pigment in acrylic paint (See Chapter 3.9, page 541)

Question 4

Action painting

Answer 4

application of paint to canvas by dripping, splashing, or smearing that emphasizes the artist’s gestures (See Chapter 3.9, page 539)

Question 5

Aesthetic

Answer 5

related to beauty, art, and taste (See Chapter 3.9, 534)

Question 6

American Scene

Answer 6

naturalistic style of painting in the US from the 1920s to 1950s that celebrated American themes, locations, and virtues (See Chapter 3.9, page 524)

Question 7

Armory Show

Answer 7

exhibition in 1913 in New York City that introduced America to Modernist European abstraction; continues as an annual international exhibition (See Chapter 3.9, page 533)

Question 8

Art Nouveau

Answer 8

French for “new art,” a visual style of the late nineteenth and early twentieth century, characterized by organic flowing lines, simulating forms in nature and involving decorative pattern (See Chapter 3.9, page 537)

Question 9

Assemblage

Answer 9

artwork made of three-dimensional materials, including found objects (See Chapter 3.9, page 529)

Question 10

Asymmetry

Answer 10

a type of design in which balance is achieved by elements that contrast and complement one another without being the same on either side of an axis (See Chapter 3.9, page 543)

Question 11

Avant-garde

Answer 11

early twentieth-century emphasis on artistic innovation, which challenged accepted values, traditions, and techniques (See Chapter 3.9, page 528)

Question 12

Background

Answer 12

the part of a work depicted furthest from the viewer’s space, often behind the main subject matter (See Chapter 3.9, page 527)

Question 13

Ben-Day dots

Answer 13

technique used in printing to create gradations and suggest a range of tones; named for its inventor (See Chapter 3.9, page 542)

Question 14

Bohemian

Answer 14

derived from the gypsies of the former Czech Kingdom of Bohemia who moved around; a wanderer; an artist or writer who functions outside the bounds of conventional rules and practices (See Chapter 3.9, page 528)

Question 15

Capital

Answer 15

the architectural feature that crowns a column (See Chapter 3.9, page 543)

Question 16

Collage

Answer 16

a work of art assembled by gluing materials, often paper, onto a surface. From the French coller, to glue (See Chapter 3.9, page 528)

Question 17

Color

Answer 17

the optical effect caused when reflected white light of the spectrum is divided into separate wavelengths (See Chapter 3.9, page 525)

Question 18

Color Field painting

Answer 18

branch of Abstract Expressionism focusing on non-objective abstractions (See Chapter 3.9, page 539)

Question 19

Column

Answer 19

freestanding pillar, usually circular in section (See Chapter 3.9, page 542)

Question 20

Composite view

Answer 20

representation of a subject from multiple viewpoints at one time (See Chapter 3.9, page 527)

Question 21

Conceptual art

Answer 21

a work in which the communication of an idea or group of ideas are most important to the work (See Chapter 3.9, page 529)

Question 22

Cubism, Cubist

Answer 22

twentieth-century movement and style in art, especially painting, in which perspective with a single viewpoint was abandoned and use was made of simple geometric shapes, interlocking planes, and, later, collage; the Cubists were artists who formed part of the movement. “Cubist” is also used to describe their style of painting (See Chapter 3.9, page 526)

Question 23

Dada

Answer 23

anarchic anti-art and anti-war movement, dating back to World War I, that reveled in absurdity and irrationality (See Chapter 3.9, page 524 and 528)

Question 24

De Stijl

Answer 24

a group of artists originating in the Netherlands in the early twentieth century, associated with a utopian style of design that emphasized primary colors and straight lines (See Chapter 3.9, page 534)

Question 25

Decorative

Answer 25

intentionally making an artwork pleasant or attractive (See Chapter 3.9, page 525)

Question 26

Facade

Answer 26

any side of a building, usually the front or entrance (See Chapter 3.9, page 543)

Question 27

Fauves, Fauvism

Answer 27

early twentieth-century art movement that emphasized bold, exaggerated colors and simplified forms to favor creative expression over accuracy. Fauves, “wild beast,” were artists working in this style (See Chapter 3.9, page 525)

Question 28

Form

Answer 28

an object that can be defined in three dimensions (height, width, and depth) (See Chapter 3.9, page 525)

Question 29

Found image or object

Answer 29

an image or art object found by an artist and presented, with little or no alteration, as part of a work or as a finished work of art (See Chapter 3.9, page 529)

Question 30

Futurism, Futurist

Answer 30

an artistic movement originating in Italy in 1909 that violently rejected traditional forms in favor of celebrating and incorporating into art the energy and dynamism of modern technology; Futurists were artists working in this style (See Chapter 3.9, page 533)

Question 31

Geometric form

Answer 31

three-dimensional form composed of predictable and mathematically derived planes and curves (See Chapter 3.9, page 526)

Question 32

Golden Section

Answer 32

a unique ratio of a line divided into two segments so that the sum of both segments (a + b) is to the longer segment (a) as the longer segment (a) is to the shorther segment (b). The result is 11.618 (See Chapter 3.9, page 534)

Question 33

Graphic design

Answer 33

the use of images, typography, and technology to communicate ideas for a client or to a particular audience (See Chapter 3.9, page 542)

Question 34

Ground

Answer 34

the surface or background onto which an artist paints or draws (See Chapter 3.9, page 534)

Question 35

Harlem Renaissance

Answer 35

movement in literature, music, and the visual arts from the end of WWI into the 1930s celebrating black experience and culture (See Chapter 3.9, page 536)

Question 36

Impressionism

Answer 36

a late nineteenth-century painting style conveying the impression of the effects of light; Impressionists were painters working in this style (See Chapter 3.9, page 528)

Question 37

Installation

Answer 37

originally referring to the hanging of pictures and arrangement of objects in an exhibition, installation may also refer to an intentional environment created as a completed artwork (See Chapter 3.9, page 544)

Question 38

Kinetic art/sculpture

Answer 38

three-dimensional art that moves, impelled by air currents, motors, or people (See Chapter 3.9, page 529)

Question 39

Minimalism, Minimalist

Answer 39

a mid-twentieth-century artistic style that references industrial production modes through materials and seriality, often with unified arrangements of geometric shapes and massive forms that become part of the viewer’s space (See Chapter 3.9, page 542)

Question 40

Modernist, Modernism

Answer 40

a radically new twentieth-century art and architectural movement that embraced modern industrial materials and a machine aesthetic (See Chapter 3.9, page 524)

Question 41

Monumental

Answer 41

having massive or impressive scale (See Chapter 3.9, page 533)

Question 42

Narrative

Answer 42

an artwork that tells a story (See Chapter 3.9, page 530)

Question 43

Naturalism

Answer 43

a very realistic or lifelike style of making images (See Chapter 3.9, page 525)

Question 44

Oil paint

Answer 44

paint made of pigment suspended in oil (See Chapter 3.9, page 540)

Question 45

Organic

Answer 45

having irregular forms and shapes, as though derived from living organisms (See Chapter 3.9, page 539)

Question 46

Outline

Answer 46

the outermost line or implied line of an object or figure, by which it is defined or bounded (See Chapter 3.9, page 526)

Question 47

Palette

Answer 47

the range of colors used by an artist (See Chapter 3.9, page 534)

Question 48

Plane

Answer 48

a flat, two-dimensional surface on which an artist can create a drawing or painting. Planes can also be implied in a composition by areas that face toward, parallel to, or away from a light source (See Chapter 3.9, page 526)

Question 49

Pointillism

Answer 49

a late nineteenth-century painting style using short strokes or points of differing colors that optically combine to form new perceived colors (See Chapter 3.9, page 542)

Question 50

Pop art

Answer 50

mid-twentieth-century artistic movement inspired by commercial art forms and popular culture (See Chapter 3.9, page 540)

Question 51

Post-Impressionists

Answer 51

artists either from or living in France, c. 1885–1905, who moved away from the Impressionist style—notably Cézanne, Gauguin, Seurat, and Van Gogh (See Chapter 3.9, page 527)

Question 52

Primary colors

Answer 52

three basic colors from which all others are derived (See Chapter 3.9, page 534)

Question 53

Readymade

Answer 53

an everyday object presented as a work of art (See Chapter 3.9, page 529)

Question 54

Regionalism

Answer 54

branch of American Scene painting that promoted rural, small-town virtues and values, especially related to the Deep South and Midwest US (See Chapter 3.9, page 536)

Question 55

Representation

Answer 55

the depiction of recognizable figures and objects (See Chapter 3.9, page 525)

Question 56

Rhythm

Answer 56

the regular or ordered repetition of elements in the work (See Chapter 3.9, page 536)

Question 57

Silhouette

Answer 57

a portrait or figure represented in outline and solidly colored in (See Chapter 3.9, page 537)

Question 58

Silkscreen

Answer 58

method of printmaking using a stencil and paint pushed through a screen (See Chapter 3.9, page 540)

Question 59

Sketch

Answer 59

a rough preliminary version of a work or part of a work (See Chapter 3.9, page 526)

Question 60

Social Realism

Answer 60

branch of American Scene painting that focused on Depression-era social issues and hardships of daily life (See Chapter 3.9, page 536)

Question 61

Style

Answer 61

a characteristic way in which an artist or group of artists uses visual language to give a work an identifiable form of visual expression (See Chapter 3.9, page 524)

Question 62

Subject matter, subject

Answer 62

the person, object, or space depicted in a work of art (See Chapter 3.9, page 524)

Question 63

Tempera

Answer 63

fast-drying painting medium made from pigment mixed with water-soluble binder, such as egg yolk (See Chapter 3.9, page 536)

Question 64

Three-dimensional

Answer 64

having height, width, and depth (See Chapter 3.9, page 526)

Question 65

Value

Answer 65

the lightness or darkness of a plane or area (See Chapter 3.9, page 542)