ORELA Art (NT503) flashcards

33 cards. Read the term and the definition here. The deck at the top of this page is optional.

Elements of art

The basic visual components used to describe and create art: line, shape, form, color, value, texture, and space. They are the building blocks of any composition.

Principles of design

Organizational rules for arranging the elements of art, including balance, contrast, emphasis, movement, pattern, rhythm, unity, and variety. They describe how a composition is structured.

Complementary colors

Colors located directly opposite each other on the color wheel, such as red and green. Placed side by side they create maximum contrast and visual vibration.

Analogous colors

Colors that sit next to each other on the color wheel, such as blue, blue-green, and green. They produce harmonious and unified color schemes.

Tint and shade

A tint is a hue mixed with white, making it lighter. A shade is a hue mixed with black, making it darker. Together they expand a single hue's value range.

Linear perspective

A system for depicting three-dimensional space on a flat surface using a horizon line and vanishing points where parallel lines converge. One-point uses one vanishing point.

Atmospheric perspective

A technique for suggesting depth by reducing contrast, saturation, and detail in distant objects and shifting them toward cooler, lighter colors. Also called aerial perspective.

Chiaroscuro

An Italian term meaning light-dark; the strong contrast between light and shadow used to model form and create dramatic volume. Caravaggio and Leonardo employed it.

Sfumato

A painting technique of blending tones so subtly that outlines dissolve into hazy transitions, as in Leonardo's Mona Lisa. The term means 'smoke-like' in Italian.

Impressionism

A 19th-century French movement characterized by visible brushstrokes, light-filled color, and plein-air subjects. Monet, Renoir, and Degas are key figures.

Cubism

A 20th-century movement pioneered by Picasso and Braque that fractured subjects into geometric planes and multiple viewpoints. Analytic Cubism is monochromatic; Synthetic Cubism adds collage.

Surrealism

A 20th-century movement exploring dream imagery and the unconscious, influenced by Freud. Dalí and Magritte painted illusionistic scenes; Miró used biomorphic abstraction.

Abstract Expressionism

A post-World War II American movement emphasizing spontaneous, large-scale gesture and process. Pollock's drip paintings and Rothko's color fields exemplify it.

Pop Art

A movement of the 1950s and 1960s that appropriated imagery from mass culture, advertising, and comics. Warhol and Lichtenstein are central figures.

Gothic architecture

A medieval European style featuring pointed arches, ribbed vaults, and flying buttresses, allowing taller walls and large stained-glass windows. Chartres Cathedral is an example.

Baroque

A 17th-century style marked by dramatic light, movement, and emotional intensity, seen in Bernini's sculpture and Caravaggio's tenebrism. It served church and state display.

Relief printmaking

A print process where ink sits on the raised surface of a carved block while recessed areas stay blank. Woodcut and linocut are examples.

Intaglio printmaking

A print process where ink is held in incised grooves below the plate surface and pressed onto damp paper. Etching, engraving, and drypoint are intaglio techniques.

Lithography

A planographic print process based on the repulsion of oil and water on a flat stone or metal plate. The image is drawn with a greasy crayon.

Lost-wax casting

A bronze casting method in which a wax model is coated in a mold, melted out, and replaced by molten metal. It allows detailed, hollow sculpture.

Subtractive sculpture

A sculptural method that removes material from a larger mass, as in carving stone or wood. The artist cannot add material back once removed.

Additive sculpture

A sculptural method that builds up form by adding material, as in modeling clay or assemblage. It allows the artist to revise and extend the form.

Bisque firing

The first kiln firing of clay, which removes water and hardens the piece without fully vitrifying it. Glaze is typically applied after bisque firing.

Warp and weft

In weaving, the warp is the set of lengthwise threads held under tension, and the weft is the crosswise thread interlaced through them. Together they form the fabric.

Negative space

The empty area surrounding and between the subjects of an artwork. Attending to negative space helps artists judge proportion and composition.

Asymmetrical balance

A composition balanced by unequal visual weights rather than mirroring, such as a large pale shape offset by a small dark one. Also called informal balance.

Iconography

The study of the symbols, attributes, and subject matter used in artworks, such as a halo indicating sanctity. Iconology interprets their cultural meaning.

Provenance

The documented ownership history of an artwork from creation to the present. It helps establish authenticity and legal title.

Formative assessment

Ongoing evaluation during instruction, such as critiques, sketchbook checks, and exit tickets, used to adjust teaching. It is not graded as a final judgment.

Rubric

A scoring guide listing criteria and performance-level descriptors aligned to learning objectives. It makes assessment transparent and consistent across students.

DBAE

Discipline-Based Art Education, an approach organizing art instruction into four strands: art production, art history, art criticism, and aesthetics. It emphasizes written and verbal understanding alongside studio work.

Silica hazard

Crystalline silica in clay dust can cause lung disease when inhaled. Wet-cleaning floors and wearing a dust mask during glaze mixing reduce exposure.

Backward design

An instructional planning model that begins with desired learning outcomes, then determines acceptable evidence, then designs activities. It keeps instruction aligned to assessment.