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Learning Tools - Art

This is a learning tool for ART. It contains resources to be used when tutoring ART students.

Filling In Class Notes

Key Terms:

  • Elements: The basic vocabulary of art.
     
  • Color: The optical effect caused when reflected white light of the spectrum is divided into separate wavelengths.
    • Hue: The general classification of a color; the name of the color.
    • Value: The lightness/darkness of a plane or area compared to another.
    • Saturation: The intensity of the color
  • Form: 
    • An object that can be defined in three dimensions (height, width, and depth)
    • The way style, techniques, media, elements of art, and principles of art are used to make the artwork look (or exist) the way it does.
  • Line: A mark, or implied mark, between two endpoints.
  • Mass: A volume that has, or gives the illusion of having, weight, density, and bulk.
  • Shape: A two-dimensional area, the boundaries of which are defined by lines or suggested by changes in color or value.
  • Space: The distance between identifiable points or planes.
  • Texture: The Surface quality of a work, for example fine vs coarse, detailed vs plain
  • Time: How an artwork attempts to show (the effect of) the passage of time.
  • Motion: The effect of changing placement in time.

Key Terms:

  • Principles: The ways the elements of art are constructed in a work of art
     
  • Balance: Using elements to create a symmetrical or asymmetrical sense of visual weight in an artwork.
  • Contrast: A drastic difference between elements like color or value when they are presented together
  • Emphasis:
  • Focal Point: 
    • The center of interest or activity in a work of art, often drawing the viewer's attention to the most important element.
    • The area in a composition to which the eye returns most naturally.
  • Pattern: An arrangement of predictably repeated elements.
  • Proportion: the relationship in size between a work's individual parts and the whole artwork.
  • Rhythm: The regular or ordered repetition of elements in the work 
  • Scale: The size of an object or an artwork relative to another object or artwork, or to a system of measurement.
  • Unity: The imposition of order and harmony on a design
  • Variety: The diversity of different ideas, media, and elements in a work.

Key Terms:

  • Analysis: detailed examination of the elements or structure of something.
     
  • Iconographic: Interprets Signs & Symbols within an Artwork
  • Bibliographic: Relates the artist's life & experiences to Artwork
  • Feminist: Considers the role of women as artists, subjects, & viewers
  • Contextual: Interprets artwork based on the time & place it was produced
  • Psychological: Considers the mental state of the artists when the artwork was being made and uses this to interpret the artwork 
  • Formal (or Visual): Considers the elements & principles used by the artist

Practice Makes Perfect

Memorization Help

Learning the Process

How to Understand Written Descriptions About Art:

  • Look at the image!
  • Read the caption!
  • Read the description!
  • Re-view the image
  • Point to where the image shows the parts talked about in the description

How to Learn Course Terms:

  • Learn how to pronounce the word
  • Learn how to spell the word
  • Look up the definition in the glossary.
    • Read it out loud
    • Summarize it in your own words
    • Create your own example
  • Look up the work in the book index and find other pages associated with this topic
    • Find the word on the page
    • Read the sentence the word occurs in
    • Read the context--the sentence before & after it
    • Look at images that are mentioned
    • Figure out how the image exemplifies the term.
  • Memorize the definition
    • Select a visual image to remind you of the definition
  • During class lecture or online lessons
    • Pay attention to how the term is used in different forms
    • Write a few examples down (verbatim) in your notes to remember.

How to Manage Course Assignments

  • Read the introduction!
    • The intro reviews all the important terms to know
    • The intro explains why this is worth knowing
    • The intro explains the point of the lesson
    • The intro explains what you should understand by the end of it
  • Do the assignments in order
    • Part 1 is an application
      • Look up terms you don't understand
      • Focusing on carrying out the steps explained
    • Part 2 is analytical
      • Ask yourself what you learned in Part 1
      • Use the same concepts and apply it to the examples selected by the instructor
      • Look at all the choices provided and brainstorm possible answers before selecting one
      • Choose the artwork that you feel most confident about your answer
  • Schedule study time for
    • Reading the assignment
      • Stop by the Learning Commons for help with finishing reading assignments & note-taking
    • Asking the instructor questions
    • Using Bailey Library if you need to incorporate outside research
    • Using the Writing Center to check your assignment