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General Art Vocabulary
Reviewing vocabulary can be helpful in preparing your students for their AGA experience. You may use this list as an art
vocabulary reference and choose words that apply to your program or lesson. Students can practice this vocabulary with
a suggested vocabulary activity, found in the Teacher Resources section.
The list is broken into: Museum Vocabulary, People and Occupations, Art Media & Techniques, Genres of Art, and Art
Concepts.
art [ahrt]
The denition of art is controversial in contemporary philosophy. Whether art can be dened has been a matter of
controversy. The philosophical usefulness of a denition of art has also been debated. When discussing art with your
students explore the denition of art together or create your own!
MUSEUM VOCABULARY
Art exhibition An organized presentation and display of a collection of objects to the public.
Exhibitions usually occur within museums, galleries and exhibition halls.
Frame An enclosing border or case made to support or protect a work of art. Also a
concept (to frame) meaning to adapt or describe something from a particular
perspective. Similarly, reframe means to redescribe, or relabel from a
diferent perspective.
Gallery A room or series of rooms where works of art are exhibited.
Museum A building or institution which houses a collection of objects having scientic,
historical or artistic value.
Traveling exhibition A type of exhibition that is available for circulation on a local, national or
international level.
PEOPLE and OCCUPATIONS
Architect A professional who designs buildings or other structures, or who prepares plans and
supervises construction.
Curator A person who manages, administers or organizes a collection, either independently
or employed by a museum, library, archive or zoo.
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Edmonton, AB, Canada T5J 2C1
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Exhibition guide A person thoroughly trained on art exhibitions who leads tours through gallery
spaces and facilitates interaction with artworks.
Model A person who poses for an artist, or an object used as an example for an artist to
follow when creating a work of art. Other meanings include: a small copy or image
that represents a larger object, or the concept of constructing a model of
something (to model).
Museum educator A person thoroughly trained on art exhibitions who leads school groups through
gallery spaces and facilitates interaction with the art.
Painter An artist who paints pictures.
Printmaker An artist who makes prints.
Sculptor An artist who produces sculpture.
ART MEDIA & TECHNIQUES
Collage A form of art in which a variety of materials (e.g., photographs, fabric, objects) are
glued to a at background.
Digital art Artwork created using digital technologies either in the production or the output of
the art work.
Drawing A picture, likeness, diagram or representation, usually drawn on paper with a pencil,
crayon, pen, chalk, pastels, etc. Also refers to the act of representing something by
hand.
Etching A printmaking technique: an intaglio process in which an image is scratched
through an acid-resistant coating on a metal plate. The plate is then dipped in acid
which eats into the exposed surface. Also describes the impression made
from an etched plate.
Found objects This indicates the use of an object which has not been designed for an artistic
purpose, but which exists for another purpose already.
Lithography Printmaking technique based on the principle that oil and water do not mix. The
artist uses plates whose image areas attract ink and whose non image areas repel
ink. Non image areas may be coated with water to repel the oily ink or may have a
surface, such as silicon, that repels ink.
2 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, AB, Canada T5J 2C1
T: 780.422.6223
F: 780.426.3105
youraga.ca
Medium Material or technique that artist works in. Also describes the component of paint in
which the pigment is dispersed.
Mixed media A form of art where an artist employs diferent types of physical materials such as
ink and pastel or painting and collage etc. and combines them in a single artwork.
Mosaic An art medium in which small pieces of colored glass, stone, or ceramic tile
called tessera are embedded in a background material such as plaster or mortar.
Also describes works made using this technique.
Mural A large wall painting, ofen executed in fresco.
Painting An illustration or artwork done with the use of paint(s).
Photography The art and technology of producing images on photosensitive surfaces, and its
digital counterpart.
Printmaking The process by which a work of art can be recreated in great quantity from a single
image usually prepared from a plate.
Sculpture Any three-dimensional form created as an artistic expression. Sculpture is primarily
concerned with space: occupying it, relating to it, and inuencing the perception of
it.
Sketch Rough drawing used to capture the basic elements and structure of a situation and
is ofen used as the basis for a more detailed work.
Sound art A diverse group of art practices that considers wide notions of sound, listening and
hearing as its predominant focus.
Woodcut Prints produced when the original printing plate is engraved on a block of wood. It is
one of the oldest methods of printing, dating back to 8th century China.
GENRES OF ART
Installation A genre of art which incorporates any media, including the physical features of a
site, to create a conceptual experience in a particular environment.
Landscape A painting, drawing or photograph which depicts outdoor scenery. They typically
include trees, streams, buildings, crops, mountains, wildlife, rivers and forests.
Portrait A painting, photograph, or other artistic representation of a person.
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Edmonton, AB, Canada T5J 2C1
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Self portrait A portrait an artist makes using himself or herself as its subject, typically drawn or
painted from a reection in a mirror or photograph.
Still life A painting or other two-dimensional work of art representing inanimate objects
such as fruit and owers. Also describes the arrangement of these objects from
which a drawing, painting, or other artwork is made.
CONCEPTS in ART
Elements of Art The elements of art are the building blocks of an artistic creation, a visual
language or visual alphabet used by the artist: line, shape, form, colour, texture,
space and value.
Colour Colour describes that which is perceived when light hits and reects of of an
object. The three properties of color are Hue (name of a colour), Intensity (strength
of a colour) and Value (lightness or darkness of a colour). The primary colors are red,
yellow, and blue; every color except white can be created from various blending of
these three colours.
Form A form is set apart by denite contour and takes up space, used to refer to a shape
that is depicted in three rather than two dimensions.
Line The path of a point that moves through space. Line can be described in terms of
width, direction, movement, length, curvature, and even color.
Shape Two-dimensional form that encloses space within a dened contour (ie. circle,
square, rectangle, triangle).
Texture The tactile surface characteristics of an artwork which are either felt or perceived
visually.
Value The relative lightness or darkness of tones or colors. For example, white and yellow
have a light value; black and violet have a dark value.
Principles of Design The ways in which the Elements of Art are organized are referred to as the
Principles of Design. In other words, they are the basic aesthetic considerations
that guide organization of a work of art. They include rhythm, movement,
balance, contrast, proportion, economy, emphasis, space, harmony, unity,
and variety.
Balance A feeling of equality in weight, attention, or attraction of the various elements
within a composition as a means of accomplishing unity. This can be done through
symmetry, asymmetry, or radial (circular) design.
2 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, AB, Canada T5J 2C1
T: 780.422.6223
F: 780.426.3105
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Contrast The diference between elements or the opposition of various elements (lines,
colors, shapes, values, forms, textures).
Economy A principle of design referring to keeping only the essential elements required to
achieve the desired efect or reveal the essence of a form.
Emphasis The accent, stress, or importance of a part of an artwork. Opposing sizes, shapes,
and lines, contrasting colors, closer detail, and intense, bright color are all used to
emphasize, or draw attention to, certain areas or objects in a work of art.
Harmony The unity of all the visual elements of a composition achieved by the repetition of
the same characteristics or those which are similar in nature.
Movement The path that our eyes follow when we look at a work of art.
Proportion Proportion is a principle of design and may be described as the relationship
between objects with respect to size, number, etc.
Rhythm The visual ow through a work of art, or a feeling of movement achieved by the
repetition or regulated visual units such as lines, shapes, colors, or patterns in a
work of art.
Unity Unity refers to the way all the aspects of an artwork together: the organization of
parts so that all elements and principles of design contribute to a coherent whole.
Variety The use of diferent or contrasting elements to add interest.
ART GLOSSARY
Abstract A non-representational form of art. Also refers to a concept meaning to simplify,
rearrange or distort an image.
Asymmetrical balance Placement of non-identical forms to either side of a balancing point in such a way
that the two sides seem to be of the same visual weight.
Background The part of a composition that appears to be farthest from the viewer.
Composition An arrangement of the visual elements in an artwork ofen used to refer to a work
of art itself.
Content The message the work communicates. The content can relate to the subject
matter or be an idea or emotion. Theme is another word for content.
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Edmonton, AB, Canada T5J 2C1
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Design The organization or composition of a work; the skilled arrangement of its parts. An
efective design is one in which the elements of art and principles of design have
been combined to achieve an overall sense of unity.
Focal point The element or object in a work of art on which the viewers attention is focused.
Foreground The part of a composition that appears to be nearest to the viewer.
Geometric Design based on simple shapes such as rectangles, triangles, circles, or straight
lines.
Horizon line A level line where land or water ends and the sky begins. Vanishing points, where
two parallel lines appear to converge, are typically located on this line. A
horizon line is used to attain the perspective of depth.
Linear perpective A system for creating the illusion of depth on a two-dimensional surface. The
system is based on a scientically or mathematically derived series of
actual or implied lines that intersect at a vanishing point on the
horizon. Linear perspective determines the relative size of objects from the
foreground of an image to the background.
Negative space Negative space refers to the empty or unoccupied area surrounding a shape or
form, and also helps to dene the boundaries of the shape or form.
Organic A mark with length and direction that forms an irregular line or shape that might be
found in nature. It is usually contrasted to inorganic and geometric shapes.
Original This term can imply exclusivity or the idea that the work is one of a kind rather
than a copy by any method including ofset-lithography, digital printing or
by forgery. Not all paintings can be considered original since the term also refers to
the image being newly created, so a painted copy of another work is not an original.
Pattern Repetition of elements or motifs.
Positive space Shapes or forms in two-dimensional and three-dimensional art. Surrounded by
negative space.
Perspective The art of picturing objects on a at surface so as to give the appearance of
distance or depth.
Repetition A series of repeated elements having similarity.
2 Sir Winston Churchill Square
Edmonton, AB, Canada T5J 2C1
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F: 780.426.3105
youraga.ca
Reproduction A copy of an artwork that is not the original.
Style The identifying characteristics of the artwork of an individual, a group of artists, a
period of time or an entire culture/society.
Symbol A visual image that represents something other than itself.
Technique Specic methods or approaches when working with materials in creating works of
art.
Three-dimensional Occupying or giving the illusion of three dimensions (height, width, depth).
Two-dimensional Having two dimensions (height and width); referring to something that is at.
Vanishing point In perspective, the point on the horizon in the distance where two lines seem to
converge and visibility ends.
SOURCES
http://www.bluemoonwebdesign.com/art-glossary-4.asp
http://www.artlex.com/
http://www.ode.state.or.us/teachlearn/subjects/arts/curriculum/vocabulary/visualartvocab.rtf
http://www.globaled.org/chinaproject/teachingmaterials/chineseart/Lesson1Glossary2.doc