Art Criticism
The process of using formal analysis,
description, and interpretation to evaluate or explain the
quality and meanings of art.
1) Formal theories
which focus attention on the
composition of the work and how it may have been
influenced by earlier works
2) Contextual theories,
, which consider art as a product of
a culture and value system. religion, economic, racial sexual
3) Expressive theories,
which pay attention to the artist's
expression of a personality or worldview.
Work of Art:
t: What the artist makes or puts in front of us for
viewing. The visual object that embodies the idea the artist
wanted to communicate.
.Synthetic Cubism
Synthetic Cubism: A brighter, flatter version of
Analytic cubism. Bright colors, larger shapes and
patterns, the inclusion of found materials and
collaged text and patterns, and an emphasis on the
two dimensional reality of the picture plane, all
define t
Surrealism:
: A movement in literature and visual arts that
developed in the mid 1920's and remained strong until
the mid 1940's; grew out of Dada and automatism. Based
upon revealing the unconcious mind in dream images, the
irrational, and the fantastic, Surrealism
Social Realism:
Representational art that expresses protest at
some social condition.
Romanticism:
: A literary and Artistic movement of
late-eighteenth and nineteenth century Europe,
aimed at asserting the validity of subjective
experience as a countermovement to the often cold
formulas of neoclassicism, characterized by intense
emotional excitement,
Rococo:
: From the French "rocaille" meaning "rock
work." This late Baroque (c. 1715-1775) style used in
interior decoration and painting was characteristically
playful, pretty, romantic, and visually loose or soft; it
used small scale and ornate decoration, past
Representational Art:
Art in which it is the artist's
intention to present again or represent a particular
subject, especially pertaining to realistic portrayal of
subject matter.
Renaissance
Period in Europe from the late fourteenth
through the sixteenth centuries, which was characterized
by a renewed interest in human-centered classical art,
literature, and learning.
What makes a work of art a master piece?
A good sense of Balance, when an artist uses the principles well.
Elements
Lines, shape, texture, space, time, motions, light, mass, plastic
Abstract
has to start from somthing
Baroque
Lights and Darks no middle tone
Action
drama, comon people, poorand curvy
Orphism is like
Cubism: flows of energy
Post- moderism
1970 and forward
Like to mix styles
Abstract Expressionism
A painting movement in which artists typically applied paint rapidly, and with force to their huge canvases in an effort to show feelings and emotions, painting gesturally, non-geometrically, sometimes applying paint with large brushes, sometimes dripping
Academic Art
Academic art grew out of a highly structured European training method that produced art based on classical ideals. Artists at academies where educated in a specific, systematic way. Through the patronage of European aristocracy, art schools, known as acad
Action Painting
emphasizes the process of making art, often through a variety of techniques that include dripping, dabbing, smearing, and even flinging paint on to the surface of the canvas. These energetic techniques depend on broad gestures directed by the artist's sen
.
aesthetic
pertaining to a sense of the beautiful or to the philosophy of aesthetics.
avant-garde
the advance group in any field, especially in the visual, literary, or musical arts, whose works are characterized chiefly by unorthodox and experimental methods.
Bauhaus
A very influential German school of art and design. Underlying the Bauhaus aesthetic was a fervent utopianism, based upon ideals of simplified forms and unadorned functionalism, and a belief that the machine economy could deliver elegantly designed items
Byzantine Art
The art of the Eastern Roman Empire, the Christian empire whose capital was Constantinople (now known as Istanbul), which endured from c. 330 CE following the Roman Empire in the east, until it was conquered by the Turks c. 1450
Classical Art
Classical Art adheres to artistic principles and rules laid down by centuries of Master Artist Painters and Sculptors all with artistic lineage leading all the way back to the noble Greeks and Romans and their interpretation and formal representation of t
Color Field Painting
Paintings with solid areas of color covering the entire canvas, as exemplified in the work of Mark Rothko (American, 1903-1970), Kenneth Noland (American, 1924-), and Jules Olitski (American, 1922-). A type of Abstract Expressionism, these artists were in
Conceptual Art
Art that is intended to convey an idea or a concept to the perceiver, rejecting the creation or appreciation of a traditional art object such as a painting or a sculpture as a precious commodity.
Constructivism
To be concave is to have a surface or boundary that curves or bulges inward, as does the inner surface of a hemisphere. Concavity is the state of being concave. (A tip to assist in remembering: caves and cavities go in, while convexities go out.)
Readymade
An object manufactured for some other purpose, presented by an artist as a work of art. Between 1914 and 1921, Marcel Duchamp (French, 1887-1968), who originated this concept, selected and signed, among others, a snow shovel, a comb, and a urinal. He occa
Dada
An early twentieth century art movement which ridiculed contemporary culture and traditional art forms. The movement was formed to prove the bankruptcy of existing style of artistic expression rather than to promote a particular style itself. It was born
De Stijl
An art movement advocating pure abstraction and simplicity � form reduced to the rectangle and other geometric shapes, and color to the primary colors, along with black and white
Earthworks
Earth art (also called "land art") refers to a movement of artists with wide ranging goals, but all created in nature, employing such materials as stones, dirt, and leaves. "Earthworks" is the same movement. Most works are sculptural. Earthworks often ref
Expressionism
A quality of inner experience, the emotions of the artist (expressive qualities) communicated through emphasis and distortion, which can be found in artworks of any period.
Fauvism
An early twentieth century art movement and style of painting in France. The name Fauves, French for "Wild Beasts," was given to artists adhering to this style because it was felt that they used intense colors in a violent, uncontrolled way. The leader of
Folk Art
Art made by people who have had little or no formal schooling in art. Folk artists usually make works of art with traditional techniques and content, in styles handed down through many generations, and often of a particular region.
Futurism
A modern art movement originating among Italian artists in 1909, when Filippo Marinetti's first manifesto of futurism appeared, until the end of World War I.
Futurism was a celebration of the machine age, glorifying war and favoring the growth of fascism.
Genre Painting
Genre painting is the depiction of subjects and scenes from everyday life, ordinary folk and common activities. It achieved its greatest popularity in seventeenth century Holland (the Netherlands) with the works of Jan Steen (1626-1679) and Jan Vermeer (1
Impressionism
An art movement and style of painting that started in France during the 1860s. Impressionist artists tried to paint candid glimpses of their subjects showing the effects of sunlight on things at different times of day. The leaders of this movement were: C
Minimalism
A twentieth century art movement and style stressing the idea of reducing a work of art to the minimum number of colors, values, shapes, lines and textures. No attempt is made to represent or symbolize any other object or experience. It is sometimes calle
Neoclassicism
A French art style and movement that originated as a reaction to the Baroque in the mid-eighteenth century, and continued into the middle of the nineteenth century. It sought to revive the ideals of ancient Greek and Roman art. Neoclassic artists used cla
Outsider Art
The first inkling of the existence of Outsider Art emerged from the work of a few enlightened psychiatrists in the mid and late nineteenth century. Gradually it became clear that some psychiatric patients were spontaneously producing artworks - often on f
Pointillism
A method of painting developed in France in the 1880s in which tiny dots of color are applied to the canvas. When viewed from a distance, the points of color appear to blend together to make other colors and to form shapes and outlines. Georges Seurat (Fr
Post-Impressionism Post
In early Modernism, a French art movement that immediately followed Impressionism and Neo-Impressionism. The artists involved, usually meaning Paul C�zanne (French, 1839-1906), Vincent van Gogh (Dutch, 1853-1890), Paul Gauguin (French, 1848-1903), and Hen
Post Modernism
By the mid- to late 1980s earlier definitions of African American art would be supplanted by the postmodernist tenets of cultural relativity, art-as-performance, critical inquiries of art and society through one's work, and interrogations of identity, geo