Introductory Vocabulary – Art and Design Boot Camp

Abstraction: Selection, simplification, rearrangement, exaggeration of any natural appearance.

Aesthetics: Branch of philosophy concerned with beauty and meaning.

Art: Formal expression of an observed or conceived image made manifest with media.

Content: Essential meaning and significance of a work of art. What is the story it tells?

Craftsmanship: Aptitude, skill, or quality workmanship in the use of tools and materials.

Decorative: Ornamenting or enriching the two-dimensional surface.

Design: Underlying plan on which an artwork is based.

Elements of Art: Line, shape, value, color, texture/pattern; basic ingredients for imagery.

Expression: Manifestation of thought, emotion or quality of meaning in artistic form.

Form: Organization and arrangement of visual elements; total appearance of work of art.

Medium/Media: Materials, means used to bring an artwork into existence.

Negative Space: Unoccupied or empty space in an artwork.

Nonobjective/Nonrepresentational Art: Entirely imaginative design, without reference to recognizable objects or spaces.

Positive Space: The subject matter of an artwork and not the background.

Realism: Style of art that creates an impression of visual actuality in the real world.

Space: Interval or measurable distance between images in an artwork.

Style: An artist will develop a body of work that is recognizable as hers/his, with specific characteristics that distinguish if from other artists’ works.

Technique: Manner in which artist uses tools and materials to achieve artistic effects.

Three-Dimensional Art: Artwork that has height, width and depth; sculptural in form.

Two-Dimensional Art:  Artwork that has height and width; a flat or level surface/plane.

Unity: Bringing the elements into an appropriate

Art Quilt Association – Design Boot Camp 2006/7 – Deborah Snider, Drill Sergeant –