Spring 2012 Final Exam REVIEW
Landscape Art Notes:
• Landscape painting has been a major genre in art since the sixteen hundreds. The landscape tradition in art didn’t take-off overnight, however – it slowly developed as artists began to focus more on the background of their paintings. Dutch artists were the first to paint works in which the setting – the landscape – actually became the subject of the painting. We have compiled a list of some of the most famous landscape artists of all time.
Thomas Cole – The Last of the Mohicans (1826)
• American artist Thomas Cole painted four works inspired by James Feinmore Cooper’s famous novel The Last of the Mohicans, published in the same year. Although the paintings all depict specific scenes of interactions with the Native Americans from the novel, the real focus of the painting is the American wilderness.
Claude Monet, Water Lillies (1914-1926)
• In his later years, impressionist artist Claude Monet painted a series of paintings of his water lily pond. Monet’s water lily paintings all share a pastel palette, and are done in his signature loose brushstrokes. Over the years, this series of works has become one of the most reproduced images of landscape art in history.
Paul Cezanne, Mount Saint-Victoire (1894-1900)
• Mount Sainte-Victoire lied to the east of Cézanne’s home in Aix-en-Provence, France. Over the years, he painted the mountain many times, in various painting styles. This painting in particular has become so famous because it has been labeled by some as one of the earliest works of cubism.
JMW Turner, The Slave Ship (1840)
• Turner painted many famous landscape paintings over the course of his career, but none so evocative or politically-charged as his Slave Ship. The painting depicts a slave ship sinking in a storm, and the passengers drowning in the choppy waters. He painted the work with the abolitionist campaign in mind.
Claude Lorrain, The Return of the Odysseus (1644)
• Claude Lorrain was the most sought after landscape painter in seventeenth and eighteenth century France. He is famous for the soft haze he gives to the background of his idyllic landscapes. This painting, like most of his works, references Greek mythology and incorporates classical Greek architecture.
Principles of Design Notes:
• The Principles Of Design help artists organize compositions so they communicate effectively.
• The main Principles are Unity, Variety, Emphasis, Rhythm & Movement, Balance, Pattern, and Proportion.
-Unity
• A principle of design related to the sense of wholeness that results from the successful combination of the elements of an artwork.
• All elements work together to communicate certain ideas or feelings.
Proximity Similarity & Continuation
Unity is affected by Proximity, Similarity, and Continuation.
• Proximity- the tendency to see things that are overlapped, touching or close together in groups
• Similarity- making things similar to each other such as color, value, texture, shape or form
• Continuation- creating a flow of vision from one object to another
-Variety
Introducing differences in the elements of a composition to offset unity and add interest to an artwork
-Emphasis
Emphasis makes part of the work more dominant over the other parts, creating more attention than anything else in the composition. The dominate element is usually a focal point and contributes to unity by suggesting that other elements are subordinate to it.
-There is an element or combination of elements that create(s) a focal point for the viewer.
-Emphasis can be created through contrast, isolation, location, convergence/lead lines or the unusual.
-Contrast refers to the degree of difference between elements, most commonly value, color and texture.
-Contrast is the key to a well-defined artwork such as The Girl with a Pearl Earring by Jan Vermeer.
-Isolation means putting one object alone, apart from all the others as in Andrew Wyeth’s Christina’s World.
-Location refers to placing objects near the center of the space, causing them to be noticed first as in Odilon Redon’s Red Boat with a Blue Sail. Watch out though; this can be too predictable.
-Convergence / Lead lines are implied or actual lines that draw your eye to a specific area or the composition as in Vincent Van Gogh’s Café Terrace at Night.
-The unusual refers to placing something unexpected in the composition to capture and hold the viewer’s attention as in David Alfero Siqueiros’ Echo of a Scream.
-Rhythm
• A principle that refers to ways of combining elements to produce the appearance of movement in an artwork.
• Repetition and movement indicates rhythm in the artwork.
• It may also be achieved through alternation or progression of an element.
-Movement
• Movement is used to create the look and feeling of action.
• Most movement in art is implied, although some works, called kinetic art, actually move in space.
-Balance
• The principle of design referring to the arrangement of visual elements to create stability in an artwork.
• The balance of the art is even and equalized in all aspects.
• Asymmetrical
• Symmetrical
• Approximate Symmetry
• Radial
-Informal balance in Joan Miró’s Landscape (The Hare). The large but thin curvilinear object on the left is balanced by the smaller but heavier shapes on the right.
-Formal balance along a central vertical axis in Diego Rivera’s Flower Day and radiating from the top center of Dorothy Torivio’s Vase.
-Pattern
The repetition or combination of elements in a recognizable organization.
-Proportion
• Proportion is the size relationship between the parts to one another and to the whole.
Ceramics Notes:
BISQUE - Unglazed clay, fired once at a low temperature.
BISQUE FIRING - The process of firing unglazed clay to a low temperature to harden the clay and drive the physical water from it. The approximate temperature of this firing is 1815 F.
BONE DRY - Refers to clay which is ready to be fired. All the moisture is gone from the clay. Clay is VERY FRAGILE at this stage.
CERAMICS - The art of making things of clay. Clay is an ancient tradition.
CLAY – A decomposed granite-type rock. To be classified as clay the decomposed rock must have fine particles so that it will be plastic (see definition below). Clays contain impurities which affect color and firing temperatures.
COILS - Rope like pieces of clay.
COIL CONSTRUCTION – Rope like pieces of clay that are stacked to form a wall and build the object. This technique is one of the most commonly used hand-building methods.
FIRE - To bake in a kiln. Firing is a term used for “cooking” the clay.
FORM - Three-dimensional shape and structure of an object.
GLAZE - A glassy coating that has been melted onto a ceramic surface. It is used to decorate the piece and to seal the clay surfaces.
GLAZE FIRE - Much hotter than a bisque fire. Firing to temperature at which glaze melts to form a glasslike surface.
GLAZE FIRING - Typically the second firing of a piece pottery which has been coated with glass forming materials. The approximate temperature of this firing 2300.
GLOSS - A shiny surface.
GREENWARE - Unfired pottery that is bone-dry, a state in which clay forms are the most fragile.
HANDBUILDING - One of the oldest craft techniques in which objects are constructed entirely by hand.
KILN - Enclosed containers of various sizes- built of refractor brick and heated by electricity, gas, oil, or wood to temperatures from 1500 F. to 2340 F. in which ceramic ware is fired. Also called the “oven” for firing the clay.
LEATHER HARD - Refers to clay that is dry enough but still damp enough to be joined to other pieces or carved without distortion. Clay at this state resembles leather. Hard to bend and soft enough to be carved.
MATTE - Not shiny.
PLASTICITY - Quality of clay that allows it to be manipulated and still maintain its shape without cracking or sagging.
POTS - Have a function (use) like a pot or a bowl.
POTTERY - Pottery was one of the first art forms explored by mankind. There are many extinct cultures throughout the world who did not leave behind any written record of their existence. For some of these civilizations the only evidence of their daily lives comes in the form of pottery. Some pots were for daily use and some were for ceremonial purposes. Some cultures buried their pots with their dead, and some had huge garbage dumps where broken pots ended up. Pottery and other forms of ceramics have left behind an important archeological record
RAWWARE – Unfired clay.
SCORING – Roughing up of the surface of clay for joining.
SLAB - Clay which has been made flat by rolling.
SLAB CONSTRUCTION - Handbuilding technique in which flat pieces of clay are joined (clay is flattened and thinned with rolling pin or slab roller)
SLIP – A liquid form of clay used as a glue or as decoration.
WEDGING - Method of kneading clay to make it homogenous; ridding the clay of all air pockets.
Art History Notes:
Look at these quizzes and powerpoints:
1. Contemporary Art
2. Emotion Art
3. Still Life Art