GLOSSARY

We were asked to create our glossary for technical terms used within art and design. The idea of creating glossary was to expand our knowledge and also use like the new vocabulary.

A

Abstraction.The process of creating art that is not representational or based on external reality or nature.

Angular.An object, outline, or shape having sharp corners, or angles.

Avant-garde.French for “advanced guard,” this term is used in English to describe a group that is innovative, experimental, and inventive in its technique or ideology, particularly in the realms of culture, politics, and the arts.

B

Background. The area of an artwork that appears farthest away from the viewer; also, the area against which a figure or scene is placed.

Batik. A wax-resist dyeing technique that is often used to make highly patterned cloth.

Bauhaus.A German school of art, design, and architecture, founded in 1919 by Walter Gropius. The school’s curriculum aimed to re-establish the bond between artistic creativity and manufacturing that had been broken by the Industrial Revolution.

C

Calligraphy.Decorative handwriting or lettering.

Canvas.Cotton or linen woven cloth used as a surface for painting.

Cityscape.An image with urban scenery as its primary focus; an urban environment.

Collage.The technique and resulting work of art in which fragments of paper and other materials are arranged and glued to a supporting surface.

Commission.To request, or the request for, the production of a work of art.

Concept.A scheme; a plan. An idea.

D

Design brief. A written record describing the elements and scope of a design project.

E

Expression.A facial aspect indicating an emotion; also, the means by which an artist communicates ideas and emotions.

Exposure.The action of exposing a photographic film to light or other radiation.

F

Fantastic.Based on or existing only in fantasy; unreal; strange or fanciful in form, conception, or appearance.

Font.A specific size and style of a typeface design (for example, Arial 12 pt bold, or Times New Roman 10 pt italics). The term is often confused with typeface, which is a particular design of type.

Form.The shape or structure of an object.

Formal.Relating to the shape or structure of an object.

G

Gender.The socially constructed identity assigned to a person as a result of their sex.

Grotesque.Characterized by ludicrous, repulsive, or incongruous distortion, as of appearance or manner; ugly, outlandish, or bizarre, as in character or appearance.

H

Hue.A particular gradation of colour; a shade or tint.

I

Identity.The characteristics that determine one's self.

L

Line.A long mark or stroke.

M

Mandala.A sacred Hindu and Buddhist art form, generally circular, that symbolizes the universe.

Manifesto.A public declaration, often political in nature, of a group or individual’s principles, beliefs, and intended courses of action.

Mass Production.The production of large amounts of standardized products through the use of machine-assembly production methods and equipment.

Modern.Modern can mean related to current times, but it can also indicate a relationship to a particular set of ideas that, at the time of their development, were new or even experimental.

Multiple.A term for small-scale, three-dimensional works conceived by artists, and often produced commercially, in relatively large editions.

N

Narrative.A spoken, written, or visual account of an event or a series of connected events.

P

Parody.A literary or artistic work that uses imitation, for instance of the characteristic style of an author or a work, for comic or ironic effect or ridicule (noun); to make a parody of something (verb).

Pattern.A series of events, objects, or compositional elements that repeat in a predictable manner.

Perspective.In art, a technique used to depict volumes and spatial relationships on a flat surface, as in a painted scene that appears to extend into the distance.

Print.A term describing a wide variety of techniques used to produce multiple copies of an original design. Also, the resulting text or image made by applying inked characters, plates, blocks, or stamps to a support such as paper or fabric.

R

Representation.The visual portrayal of someone or something.

Rural.An area, generally agricultural, that is not densely populated.

S

Scale.The ratio between the size of an object and its model or representation, as in the scale of a map to the actual geography it represents.

Sketch.A rough or unfinished version of any creative work, often made to assist in the completion of a more finished work (noun); to make a rough drawing or painting (verb).

Style.A distinctive or characteristic manner of expression.

Symbol.A form, sign, or emblem that represents something else, often something immaterial, such as an idea or emotion.

T

Typeface.A particular design of type. Characters in typefaces include letters, numbers, punctuation marks, and symbols. Some of the most common typefaces include Arial, Times New Roman, and Verdana. The term is often confused with font, which is a specific style and size of a typeface.

Typography.The art and technique of designing and/or arranging type letters, numbers, and punctuation marks, and of printing from them.

U

Urban.Relating to or characteristic of a city.

This glossary I found interesting to do as I could use many new words in the future jobs. It was worth it.(I used www.moma.org)