OUTLINE
 
by Paul Nervy
Copyright (c) 2006 by Paul Nervy
 
Visit www.paulnervy.com.


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VISUAL ARTS

Contents
Philosophy of visual arts.
Visual arts terminology.  
	Elements of visual arts.  
	Movements in the visual arts.  
Types of visual arts
	Drawing
	Painting
	Sculpture
	Photography
History of visual arts


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Philosophy of visual arts

Images

Pictures
Picture as a model.  Picture as a blueprint.
Picture as a text.  We read a picture.


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ELEMENTS OF THE VISUAL ARTS.  

Line.
Curves
Angles

Shape
Plane shapes.  
Solid volume shapes.

Color
The color spectrum
Psychology of color.  Cool, calm colors.  Hot, excited colors.
Symbolism of color, varying among cultures.
Natural colors vs. Artificial colors (ex. Neons?)

Texture
smooth, shiny, plastics, metalic, wet, 
rough, stone, cloth, 

Media
Pencil and pen
Brush
Spray can

Paper
Canvas

Perspective in the visual arts

Landscapes
Seascapes
Airscapes - pictures of clouds

The human figure
Portraits
The body
Figurative art.


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MOVEMENTS IN THE VISUAL ARTS

Description of.  Where and when.  Examples of who.

Abstraction.  Abstractionism.
What does it mean to abstract?  Does it mean to simplify?  To make a model?  To condense?  Is not all art an abstraction of some type?  Example: Stick figures.

Representation.  Representational art.
Literally to "re-present" something.  To depict or describe an object.  Depiction.  Is all art representational of something, even if its a mental phenomenon?

Figurative art.  
A type of representative art that deals with the human body or figure.

Expressionism.
Trying to convey whats going on in your head, without relying on reference to objects in the outside world.

Symbol.  Symbolism.
(1) A symbol is when one thing stands for another.  Symbolist works of art rely heavily on symbols.  (2) What isn't a symbol?  Everything is a symbol.  (3) What is the difference between a symbol or code and an association or an allusion.  The former are hard and clear the latter are soft and fuzzy.

Formalism
Formalism is a conception of art that focuses on the formal aspects of art such as line, shape and color.  

Minimalism.
Minimalism is a style of art that uses only a few brush strokes to convey meaning.  Examples: Zen calligraphy.


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Classicism.
Focus on formal aspects of art, such as balance, proportion, symmetry, and harmony.

Neo-classicism
Neo-classicism was a focus on classical values in art.  
When, where: Europe, late 1700's.

Romanticism.
(1) Romanticism was a reaction against neo-classicism in the arts.  (2) Romanticism was a reaction against Enlightenment ideals.  (3) Romanticism was a reaction against the overemphasis on reason.  The limits of reason.  The focus solely on reason.  (4) Romanticism was a focus on other psychological elements.  A focus on emotions.  A focus on perception.  
When, where: Europe, early 1800's.

Realism
The realist want to represent things "as they really are".  What we see.  Like a photograph.  Truthfulness in the sense of direct depiction of reality.

Impressionism
A focus on phenomena.  A focus on perceptual appearances.  
When, where: Europe, late 1800's.

Post-impressionism.
Post-impressionism gave artist's wider ability to express themselves than impressionism's focus on visual phenomena.  
When, where: Europe, 1900.  
Example: Cezanne, Gaugin, Van Gogh

Fauvism.
The Fauves used very bright colors.  
When, where: France 1910's.  
Example. 

Dada
Playful response to the absurdity of life.  
When, Where.  1920's, Germany.  
Examples: Marcel Duchamp.

Cubism.
Why make everything a cube?  Why not a triangle.  Why not a circle?  Or an ellipse?  
When, Where: Europe, 1930's.  
Examples: Pablo Picasso

Surrealism
Surrealism depicts dream-like distortions of reality.  
When, where: Europe, 1930's.
Examples: Salvador Dali.  Rene Magritte.

Abstract Expressionism
When, Where.  New York, USA.  1950's.
Example: Jackson Pollack.  Mark Rothko.

Pop art.
Pop art defined as art for the masses.  Pop art defined as art about the masses.  Pop art defined as art that uses the techniques of the masses, for example, the printing presses of the mass media.  Pop art recognizes a breakdown in the division between fine art and entertainment.
When, where: USA, 1960's.
Examples: Andy Warhol.

Op-art.
Op-art relied on colorful optical illusions.
When, where: USA, 1960's.
Examples: 

Conceptual art.
Conceptual art is where greater emphasis is put on the idea of the artwork than the actual work of art itself.  When, where: 1960's.  Examples: Fluxus.

Happenings.
Happenings were artistic street gatherings.  Happenings are similar to performance art and street art.

Performance art.
Performance art relies on humans in action to convey the meaning of the work of art.
Examples: Laurie Anderson.

Installation art
Installation art can use an entire room instead of a canvas to display a work of art.


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Modernism
Modernism was a movement in the arts in the early 1900's that 

Post modernism.
Post modernism was a movement in the arts in the late 1900's that was a reaction against modernism.


Futurism.


Color Field.
Color field paintings uses large areas of color to convey meaning.


Primitivism.
Example: Henri Rousseau.


Found object art
Natural objects.  Manmade objects - ex. Duchamps bicycle wheel

Moving art
Wind moved art - ex. Calder's mobiles.  Mechanical moving art.  Computerized mechanical moving art

Junk sculpture.
Junk sculpture is sculpture created out of discarded materials.

Narrative art.
Art that tries to tell a story in pictures.
Examples.  Thomas Hart Benton's murals.  

Graffiti.
Graffiti is drawing on buildings.  Grafitti is a type of street art.

Comic books


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Computer art.
Computer art as art made with the aid of a computer.

Ascii art.  
Using letters to make art on a computer screen.

Pixel art.  
Using small squares known as pixels on a computer screen to make art.

Video art
Television screens - cathode ray tubes (CRT) and flat screens.  Television test patterns and other televised images.
Examples.  Naim June Pak.

Light art
Neon light tubes.  Colored lights - Light color mixing differs from paint color mixing.  Fiber optics


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Renaisance.

Humanism.

Secularism.


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Art Brut.

Outsider Art.

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Body art.
Body art is art that uses the human body as a canvas.

Tattoos.
Tatoos are ink drawings on human skin.  Tatoos are a type of body art.

Land art.
Land art is art that uses the earth as a canvas.



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DRAWING

Charcoal.  Pencil

Ink.  Pen or brush.

Pastel

Mediums.  Paper.


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PAINTING

Oil

Acrylic

Watercolor


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SCULPTURE

Clay

Wood

Stone

Metal

Plastic

Mobile sculpture

Soft sculpture

Inflatable sculpture


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PHOTOGRAPHY

Lenses.  
Magnification.  1x is a neutral lens.  10x is ten time magnification.
Resolution of a lens

Film.
Faster films are more sensitive to light.  Faster films make an image with faster shutter speeds and thus capture fast motions better.

F stops.  
Size of  aperture.  Lets in more light.  Larger aperture, more light, faster shutter.  Smaller aperture, less light, slower shutter.

Shutter speed.  
Faster shutter speeds let you capture action.  Faster shutter lets in less light

Paper.  Graniness.

Depth of field is created how?

Photograph creation process
Expose the negative
Develop the negative.
Fix the negative.
Expose the paper.
Develop the paper
Fix the paper.

Digital photography
Megapixels

Viewfinder cameras
SLR cameras

Color photography
Black and white photography

Lenses
Magnification
Depth of field
F stops.  Wide - much light.  Low - little light.
Focus
Shutter speed.  Stops motion.

Film
Film speed.  Higher film speeds allow faster shutter speeds to stop motion.

Developing film.
Developer.  Fixer.

Printing.
Exposing paper.
Developing the paper.
Fixing the paper.

Moving pictures.  Film.

Videotape.

Digital cams.

Photography
urban
rural
war
crime
fashion
celebrity
landscape and nature
people.  Portrait.  Nudes.


History of photography (See the History database)

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HISTORY OF VISUAL ARTS (See the History database)


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WORLD VISUAL ARTS

NEOLITHIC ART
Lascaux cave paintings

EGYPTIAN ART
Hieroglyphics
Monument sculpture

CELTIC ART
Illuminated manuscripts - Book of Kells
Metalworking, Jewlry, ornamentation

INDIAN ART (Eastern Indian)
Voluptuous temple sculptures

MIDDLE EASTERN ART, 
Jewish art.  Islamic art.

CHINESE AND JAPANESE ART
Calligraphy
Floating world 
Animie

SOUTHEAST ASIA, BALINESE ART
Ankor Wat

RUSSIAN ART
Russian constructivism and futurism

POLYNESIAN ART
Maori tatoos