MTEL Visual Art (17) cheat sheet

Elements of art are line, shape, form, color, value, texture, and space; principles of design include balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, unity/variety, proportion, and scale.

Additive color mixing uses red, green, and blue light primaries and produces white when all overlap; subtractive pigment mixing uses cyan, magenta, and yellow primaries in modern printing.

Value describes lightness or darkness independent of hue; a tint adds white, a shade adds black, and a tone adds gray or a complement to reduce intensity.

The rule of thirds divides a composition into a 3-by-3 grid; placing focal points near grid intersections is a compositional strategy, not a fixed law.

Subtractive carving removes material, additive modeling builds material up, and casting pours a liquid material such as metal or plaster into a mold.

Ceramic wares: earthenware is low-fire and porous; stoneware is mid-to-high-fire and vitrified; porcelain is high-fire, translucent, and usually white-bodied.

Printmaking categories: relief prints ink the raised surface; intaglio prints ink incised lines; lithography is planographic; screenprinting forces ink through a stencil on mesh.

Raster images are resolution-dependent pixel grids; vector images are resolution-independent mathematical paths suitable for logos and scalable graphics.

Studio safety rule: solvents, aerosols, and kiln gases require ventilation; lead-free glazes and water-based media reduce hazards; eye protection is required for carving and chipping.

Prehistoric art includes cave paintings at Lascaux and Altamira and portable fertility figures; interpretation relies on archaeology and radiocarbon dating because no written record exists.

Ancient Egyptian art uses a canon of proportions, composite view with frontal shoulders and profile head, hierarchical scale, and hieroglyphic inscription tied to afterlife belief.

Greek sculpture progresses from Archaic stiffness to Classical contrapposto and Hellenistic drama; Roman artists copied Greek works and adapted them for imperial propaganda.

Medieval art includes Byzantine gold-ground mosaics and icons, Romanesque pilgrimage churches with thick walls and small windows, and Gothic pointed arches, rib vaults, flying buttresses, and stained glass.

Renaissance art emphasizes humanism, linear perspective, anatomical study, and chiaroscuro; Northern Renaissance painters developed oil glazing and detailed domestic symbolism.

Baroque art uses dramatic light, diagonal composition, and emotional intensity for Counter-Reformation and royal patronage; Rococo favors lightness, asymmetry, and ornamental pleasure.

Modern movements include Realism, Impressionism, Post-Impressionism, Cubism, Dada, Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism, Pop Art, and contemporary global practices.

Non-Western traditions include Islamic arabesque and geometric ornament, Chinese literati landscape, Japanese ukiyo-e woodblock prints, African masquerade and reliquary arts, and Indigenous American media.

Contextual interpretation considers patronage, function, material, audience, belief system, and display site; Western museum categories should not be applied universally without evidence.

Aesthetics is philosophical inquiry into art, beauty, taste, aesthetic experience, and judgment; it is distinct from art history's chronological and contextual analysis.

Mimetic theory holds that art imitates nature or human action; expressive theory emphasizes feeling and communication; formalism prioritizes visual form and composition.

Institutional theory, associated with Danto and Dickie, defines art through the artworld's institutions, discourses, and recognition rather than intrinsic visual properties alone.

Feminist, Marxist, psychoanalytic, and postcolonial theories examine power, gender, class, desire, and colonial legacies in art's production and reception.

Art criticism sequence: description states observable facts; analysis explains elements and principles; interpretation proposes meaning; judgment evaluates using stated criteria.

The intentional fallacy judges art solely by artist intention; the affective fallacy judges it solely by emotional response; both are cautionary concepts in criticism.

Representation depicts recognizable subjects; abstraction simplifies or distorts them; nonobjective art lacks recognizable subject matter and relies on form, color, and process.

Iconography identifies subject matter and symbolic attributes; iconology interprets deeper cultural and historical meanings, following Erwin Panofsky's distinction.

Evaluation criteria can include craft, coherence, expressive power, innovation, function, and context; criteria should be named and applied consistently.

National Core Arts Standards organize preK-12 arts learning around Creating, Performing/Presenting/Producing, Responding, and Connecting, with artistic literacy as the overarching goal.

Formative assessment occurs during instruction through critiques, drafts, and exit tickets; summative assessment evaluates completed learning through portfolios, projects, or exams.

Rubric criteria must align with learning objectives and observable evidence; authentic assessment in art often uses portfolios, exhibitions, and artist statements.

U.S. fair use considers four factors: purpose of use, nature of the work, amount used, and effect on the market; educational use alone does not guarantee fair use.

Museum roles include curator, registrar, conservator, educator, preparator, and director; accession adds works to a collection and deaccession formally removes them.

Community arts practice includes murals, public art, community centers, and participatory projects; ethical practice addresses consent, site, audience, and long-term maintenance.

Art career pathways include graphic design, illustration, animation, industrial design, architecture, conservation, art therapy, museum work, and art education.

Professional and legal considerations include copyright and attribution, ADA accessibility, FERPA student-record privacy, hazardous-material SDS sheets, and IEP or 504 accommodations.