GLOSSARY OF TERMS

ABSTRACT:

Art that does not accurately represent reality, but seeks to achieve its own reality through shapes, forms, colors, and textures.  

 

ACRYLIC PAINT:

A fast-drying paint made of pigment suspended in acrylic polymer emulsion. The paint is water-soluble, but comes water-resistant when dry.

 

APPROPRIATION:

As an artistic strategy, the intentional borrowing, copying, and alteration of preexisting images, objects, and ideas.*

 

ARTIST PROOF:

Also known as AP, an Artist Proof is the copy of a print or photograph outside of a numbered edition. It is historically known as the impression reserved for the artist’s own collection.

 

BINDER:

A component of paint that creates uniform consistency or cohesion.*

 

C - PRINT:

Dominant mode of photography identified by silver monochrome.

 

CANVAS:

A closely woven, sturdy cloth of hemp, cotton, linen, or a similar fiber, frequently stretched over a frame and used as a surface for painting.*

 

CERAMICS:

Works made from clay, also known as “pottery”.

 

CERTIFICATE OF AUTHENTICITY:

Also known as a CofA, a Certificate of Authenticity is a document that confirms the artist, description, size, and media of work. Oftentimes it can include provenance.

 

COLLAGE:

 Derived from the French verb coller, meaning “to glue,” collage refers to both the technique and the resulting work of art in which fragments of paper and other materials are arranged and glued or otherwise affixed to a supporting surface.*

 

COMMISSION:

To work with an artist to make an artwork that adheres to a client’s specifications. Historically occurred in the 19th century when artists were commissioned by wealthy patrons or institutions.

 

DECKLE EDGE:

Appearance of rifts or tears, but it is a stylistic look, teased fiber.

 

DIPTYCH: 

A work of art consisting of two sections or panels, usually hinged together.*

  

DRAWING:

A work of art made with a pencil, pen, crayon, charcoal, or other implements, often consisting of lines and marks; the act of producing a picture with pencil, pen, crayon, charcoal, or other implements.*

 

EDITION:

An edition is the number of prints out of a size.  

 

FIGURATIVE:

Representing a form or figure in art that retains clear ties to the real world.*

 

FLOAT FRAME:

A frame designed so the artwork appears to be floating, and it is not pressed behind glass.

 

FRAME:

Aesthetic protection of the work. Often in conversation with the work of art.

 

IMPASTO: 

An Italian word for “mixture,” used to describe a painting technique wherein paint is thickly laid on a surface, so that brushstrokes or palette knife marks are visible.*

 

INTAGLIO: 

A general term for metal-plate printmaking techniques, including etching, dry point, engraving, aquatint, and mezzotint. The word comes from the Italian intagliare, meaning “to incise” or “to carve.” In intaglio printing, the lines or areas that hold the ink are incised below the surface of the plate, and printing relies on the pressure of a press to force damp paper into these incised lines or areas, to pick up ink.*

 

LINING: 

A second canvas adhered to the back of existing canvas for reinforcement.

 

MAT (MATTE) : 

 A thin, flat paper-based material included within a frame. Serves as additional protection or aesthetic value to the work of art.

 

MATERIAL:

An element out of which something can be created.

 

MEDIUM:

Materials used to create a work of art, and categorization of the art based on materials used.*

 

MIXED MEDIA:

Artwork in which more than one medium or material is used. The combination of different media in a single work.

 

MONOCHROME:

Work of art produced in one color.

 

OEUVRE:

Entire body of work by an artist.

 

OIL PAINT:

Pigment suspended in linseed oil that produces a glossy finish. It’s slow drying time, allows for extended periods of alterations and greater translucence.

 

PAINT:

Combination of pigment, binder, and solvent.*

 

PHOTOGRAPH:

An image created by exposure of a photosensitive surface to light.*

 

PIGMENT:

A finely powdered substance that produces color. Upon mixture of pigment with oil, water, or fluid, it becomes paint.*

 

POINTILLISM:

Technique developed by Georges-Pierre Seurat and Paul Signac in which small distinct points of color are applied to create an image.*

 

PRINT:

A work of art that is made from / by transferring an image from an inked surface to a sheet of paper, and exists as one of multiple impressions, which constitutes an edition. Today’s definition of a print is a repeatable pictorial statement.*

 

SCULPTURE:

A three-dimensional work of art made by a variety of means, including carving wood, chiseling stone, casting or welding metal, molding clay or wax, or assembling materials.*

 

STRAINER:

A wood support with fixed corners on which a canvas is stretched.

 

STRETCHER:

 A wood support with flexible and adjustable corners on which a canvas is stretched.

 

VARNISH:

A clear and protective finish, also known as a “sealer”.

 

VISCOSITY:

The level of thickness in a work of art.


WATERCOLOR:

 Paints composed of pigments ground to an extremely fine texture in an aqueous solution of gum Arabic or gum tragacanth. The absence of white fillers, such as those in gouache, creates a medium with luminous transparency.*

 

*Definitions sourced from “MoMA Learning, Glossary of Art Terms.” MoMA. https://www.moma.org/learn/moma_learning/glossary/#material (January 1, 2021).