ILTS Visual Arts (214) cheat sheet

Elements of art: line, shape/form, color, value, texture, space - the building blocks used to describe and analyze any work.

Principles of design: balance (symmetrical, asymmetrical, radial), contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, unity/variety, proportion, scale.

Color theory: hue, value, intensity/chroma; primary, secondary, tertiary; complementary, analogous, triadic, split-complementary, tetradic harmonies.

Subtractive color (pigment: cyan, magenta, yellow, black) mixes toward darkness; additive color (light: red, green, blue) mixes toward white.

Linear perspective: one-point (single vanishing point), two-point (two vanishing points on horizon), three-point (adds vertical vanishing point); atmospheric perspective uses value/contrast reduction.

Drawing/media: graphite hardness scale (H = hard/light, B = black/soft, HB mid), charcoal, conté, ink, pastel; wet media: watercolor, gouache, acrylic, oil, tempera, fresco.

Printmaking families: relief (woodcut, linocut), intaglio (etching, engraving, drypoint, mezzotint), planographic (lithography), screen (serigraphy/silkscreen), monotype.

Sculpture methods: additive (modeling, assemblage), subtractive (carving), casting (lost-wax, mold), construction/fabrication; relief vs. freestanding/in-the-round.

Photography and digital media: aperture controls depth of field, shutter speed controls motion, ISO controls sensitivity; composition rules include rule of thirds, leading lines, framing.

Prehistoric: cave painting (Lascaux, Altamira), Venus figurines (Willendorf), megalithic structures (Stonehenge); purposes likely ritual, sympathetic magic, fertility.

Ancient Near East and Egypt: ziggurats, stele (Code of Hammurabi), Lamassu; Egyptian canon of proportions, frontal-shoulder profile-face convention, Book of the Dead, pyramids, temples.

Greek: Archaic (kouros/kore, Archaic smile), Classical (contrapposto, idealized proportion, Parthenon/Iktinos & Kallikrates, Phidias), Hellenistic (drama, Laocoön, Pergamon altar).

Roman: veristic portraiture, concrete and the arch/vault/dome (Pantheon, Colosseum), mosaics, fresco (Pompeii), triumphal arches and columns.

Medieval: Byzantine (mosaics, gold ground, Hagia Sophia, Ravenna), Romanesque (thick walls, rounded arches, tympana), Gothic (pointed arch, rib vault, flying buttress, stained glass, Chartres).

Renaissance: linear perspective (Brunelleschi), humanism, sfumato and chiaroscuro (Leonardo), David (Michelangelo/Donatello), High Renaissance balance (Raphael), Northern realism (van Eyck oil glazing).

Baroque: dramatic tenebrism (Caravaggio), dynamic diagonals (Bernini), theatrical light (Rembrandt, Vermeer); Rococo: pastel, ornamental, aristocratic (Fragonard, Boucher).

19th century: Neoclassicism (David, Ingres), Romanticism (Delacroix, Goya, Turner), Realism (Courbet, Millet), Impressionism (Monet, Renoir, Cassatt), Post-Impressionism (Cézanne, Van Gogh, Gauguin, Seurat).

Modern/contemporary: Cubism (Picasso, Braque), Fauvism (Matisse), Expressionism (Munch, Kirchner), Futurism, Dada (Duchamp readymades), Surrealism (Dalí, Magritte), Abstract Expressionism (Pollock, Rothko), Pop (Warhol, Lichtenstein), Minimalism, Conceptual art.

Critique models: Feldman's four steps - description, analysis, interpretation, judgment/evaluation - applied in that order.

Aesthetic theories: imitationalism (art mirrors reality), formalism (significant form/design), emotionalism (art evokes feeling), instrumentalism/institutionalism (context and artworld define art).

Art criticism vs. art history: criticism evaluates and interprets; history situates works chronologically, culturally, and stylistically.

Reading a work: identify subject (representational, abstract, nonobjective), medium, formal qualities, iconography/symbolism, function, and cultural context.

Interpretive caution: avoid projecting the artist's biography onto the work without evidence; distinguish artist intent from viewer response.

Museum and art-world roles: curator, conservator, registrar, docent, gallerist, critic, collector; provenance and attribution affect value and meaning.

Visual culture and media literacy: analyze advertising, film, and design using the same formal vocabulary; consider audience, persuasion, and stereotype.

Documentation of student work: portfolio types (process, best-work, cumulative), artist statements, and reflective journals support assessment and critique.

Studio safety: label and store solvents and fixatives with SDS access, ventilate spray areas, use gloves and eye protection, never eat/drink in the studio.

Kiln and clay hazards: silica dust causes silicosis - wet-mop, avoid dry sweeping; clay dust and glazes containing lead or barium require ventilation and handling rules.

Tool safety: carving tools cut away from the body, secure work with clamps, keep blades sharp; mat knives retract when not in use; hot-glue and soldering risks.

Age/grade appropriateness: sharp tools and hot materials require supervision; non-toxic (AP/CP seal) materials preferred for young students; avoid hazardous solvents with children.

Lesson design: measurable objectives tied to standards, anticipatory set, modeling/demonstration, guided practice, independent work, formative checks, closure, rubric alignment.

Assessment: rubrics with criteria (craftsmanship, concept, composition, effort), formative critique, self-assessment, portfolio review; avoid grading only on realism.

Differentiation and accessibility: multiple entry points, choice-based centers, adaptive tools, visual and verbal instructions, Universal Design for Learning principles.

Classroom management: routines for distribution and cleanup, labeled storage, drying racks, and a documented emergency plan for injuries and spills.

Advocacy and standards: national/state visual arts standards emphasize creating, presenting, responding, and connecting; display and community partnerships build support.