Visual and Performing Arts: Visual Arts Glossary
The visual arts terms defined in this section include only those terms that are blue text in the standards. The meaning of the terms is specific to their use in the standards and the artistic discipline. The definitions included here are not meant to be an exhaustive list or used as curriculum.
The following defined terms are commonly accepted definitions, most of which are provided by the National Coalition for Core Arts at https://www.nationalartsstandards.org/content/glossary. appropriation: Intentional borrowing, copying, and alteration of preexisting images and objects.
art: In everyday discussions and in the history of aesthetics, multiple (and sometimes contradictory) definitions of art have been proposed. In a classic article, “The Role of Theory in Aesthetics,” Morris Weitz (1956) recommended differentiating between classificatory (classifying) and honorific (honoring) definitions of art. In the California Arts Standards, the word art is used in the classificatory sense to mean “an artifact or action that has been put forward by an artist or other person as something to be experienced, interpreted, and appreciated.” An important component of a quality visual arts education is for students to engage in discussions about honorific definitions of art—identifying the wide range of significant features in art-making approaches, analyzing why artists follow or break with traditions and discussing their own understandings of the characteristics of “good art.” artist statement: Information about context, explanations of process, descriptions of learning, related stories, reflections, or other details in a written or spoken format shared by the artist to extend and deepen understanding of his or her artwork; an artist statement can be didactic, descriptive, or reflective in nature. artistic investigations: In making art, forms of inquiry and exploration; through artistic investigation artists go beyond illustrating pre-existing ideas or following directions, and students generate fresh insights—new ways of seeing and knowing. art-making approaches: Diverse strategies and procedures by which artists initiate and pursue making a work. artwork: Artifact or action that has been put forward by an artist or other person as something to be experienced, interpreted, and appreciated. brainstorm: Technique for the initial production of ideas or ways of solving a problem by an individual or group in which ideas are spontaneously contributed without critical comment or judgment.
characteristic(s): Attribute, feature, property, or essential quality.
characteristics of form (and structure): Terms drawn from traditional, modern, and contemporary sources that identify the range of attributes that can be used to describe works of art and design to aid students in experiencing and perceiving the qualities of artworks, enabling them to create their own work and to appreciate and interpret the work of others. collaboratively: Joining with others in attentive participation in an activity of imagining, exploring, and/or making. concepts: Ideas, thoughts, schemata; art arising out of conceptual experimentation that emphasizes making meaning through ideas rather than through materiality or form. constructed environment: Human-made or modified spaces and places; art and design-related disciplines such as architecture, urban planning, interior design, game design, virtual environment, and landscape design shape the places in which people live, work, and play. contemporary artistic practice: Processes, techniques, media, procedures, behaviors, actions, and conceptual approaches by which an artist or designer makes work using methods that, though they may be based on traditional practices, reflect changing contextual, conceptual, aesthetic, material, and technical possibilities; examples include artwork made with appropriated images or materials, social practice artworks that involve the audience, performance art, new media works, installations, and artistic interventions in public spaces. contemporary criteria: Principles by which a work of art or design is understood and evaluated in contemporary contexts which, for example, include judging not necessarily on originality, but rather on how the work is re-contextualized to create new meanings. context: Interrelated conditions surrounding the creation and experiencing of an artwork, including the artist, viewer/audiences, time, culture, presentation, and location of the artwork’s creation and reception. copyright: Form of protection grounded in the US Constitution and granted by law for original works of authorship fixed in a tangible medium of expression, covering both published and unpublished works. Creative Commons: Copyright license templates that provide a simple, standardized way to give the public permission to share and use creative work on conditions of the maker’s choice (http://creativecommons.org/). criteria: In art and design, principles that direct attention to significant aspects of a work and provide guidelines for evaluating its success. critique: Individual or collective reflective process by which artists or designers experience, analyze, and evaluate a work of art or design.cultural contexts: Ideas, beliefs, values, norms, customs, traits, practices, and characteristics shared by individuals within a group that form the circumstances surrounding the creation, presentation, preservation, and response to art. cultural traditions: Pattern of practices and beliefs within a societal group. curate: Collect, sort, and organize objects, artworks, and artifacts; preserve and maintain historical records and catalogue exhibits. curator: Person responsible for acquiring, caring for, and exhibiting objects, artworks, and artifacts. demonstrate: Show musical understanding through observable behavior such as moving, chanting, singing, or playing instruments.
digital resources: Anything published in a format capable of being read by a computer, a web-enabled device, a digital tablet, or smartphone. digital systems: Platforms that allow interaction and the conversion between and through the audio and digital domains. digital tools: Category of musical instruments and tools that manipulate sound using binary code, such as electronic keyboards, digital audio interfaces, MIDI, and computer software. dynamics: Level or range of loudness of a sound or sounds. established criteria: Identified principles that direct attention to significant aspects of various types of artwork in order to provide guidelines for evaluating the work; these may be commonly accepted principles that have been developed by artists, curators, historians, critics, educators, and others or principles developed by an individual or group to pertain to a specific work of art or design.
exhibition narrative: Written description of an exhibition intended to educate viewers about its purpose. expressive properties: Moods, feelings, or ideas evoked or suggested through the attributes, features, or qualities of an image or work of art fair use: Limitation in copyright law which sets out factors to be considered in determining whether or not a particular use of one’s work is “fair,” such as the purpose and character of the use, the amount of the work used, and whether the use will affect the market for the work.
formal and conceptual vocabularies: Terms, methods, concepts, or strategies used to experience, describe, analyze, plan, and make works of art and design drawn from traditional, modern, contemporary, and continually emerging sources in diverse cultures. found object: The use of man-made or natural objects not normally considered traditional art materials. Found objects are transformed by changing meaning from their original context. The objects can be used singly or in combination (e.g., assemblage or installation). genre: Category of art or design identified by similarities in form, subject matter, content, or technique.
image: Visual representation of a person, animal, thing, idea, or concept.
imaginative play: Experimentation by children in defining identities and points of view by developing skills in conceiving, planning, making art, and communicating. installation art: Art designed to exist in a site-specific location whether inside or outside, public or private. Contemporary art installation materials can range from everyday objects and natural materials to new and alternative media. Often the viewer walks into the installation space and is surrounded by the art. |
material culture: Human-constructed or human-mediated objects, forms, or expressions, that extend to other senses and study beyond the traditional art historical focus on the exemplary to the study of common objects, ordinary spaces, and everyday rituals.
materials: Substances out of which art is made or composed, ranging from the traditional to “nonart” material and virtual, cybernetic, and simulated materials. media: Mode(s) of artistic expression or communication; material or other resources used for creating art. open source: Computer software for which the copyright holder freely provides the right to use, study, change, and distribute the software to anyone for any purpose (https://opensource.org/).
personal criteria: Principles for evaluating art and design based on individual preferences.
portfolio: Actual or virtual collection of artworks and documentation demonstrating art and design knowledge and skills organized to reflect an individual’s creative growth and artistic literacy. preservation: Activity of protecting, saving, and caring for objects, artifacts, and artworks through a variety of means. preserve: Protect, save, and care for (curate) objects, artifacts, and artworks. relevant criteria: Principles that apply to making, revising, understanding, and evaluating a particular work of art or design that are generated by identifying the significant characteristics of a work.
style: Recognizable characteristics of art or design that are found consistently in historical periods, cultural traditions, schools of art, or works of an individual artist.
technologies: Tools, techniques, crafts, systems, and methods to shape, adapt, and preserve artworks, artifacts, objects, and natural and human-made environments.
venue: Place or setting for an art exhibition, either a physical space or a virtual environment.
visual components: Properties of an image that can be perceived. visual imagery: Group of images; images in general. visual organizational strategies: Graphic design strategies such as hierarchy, consistency, grids, spacing, scale, weight, proximity, alignment, and typography choice used to create focus and clarity in a work. visual plan: Drawing, picture, diagram, or model of the layout of an art exhibit where individual works of art and artifacts are presented along with interpretive materials within a given space or venue. |