THE VISUAL

ARTS
AND THEIR MANY FORMS
 To make things a bit more linear, let’s
identify 4 essential qualities that define art:

Art appeals to the senses –

whether it’s a painting you
can see, music you can hear,
or food you can taste.
Art is made by human hands.
This relates back to the
original concept of art as a
“technical craft”.

Art always expresses something –

Everything in art is whether it’s an emotion, an idea,
purposefully put into place; a story, a philosophy or a belief.
even something chaotic is
chaotic by design.
In the traditional understanding of art, there are SEVEN
distinct forms it can take:

Notice anything missing?

Where’s photography? Where’s fashion?

We can explain other art forms as a different expression of

the seven arts listed here.

For example, fashion is a kind of sculpture, but expressed

through apparel.

We can, however, break things down differently…

Forms dealing with “traditional” media;
physical materials - such as paint, fabric,
or clay - arranged to create tangible
works of “pure” art, whose function is
primarily to be appreciated as works of
art. This includes:
● Painting - the creation of artwork
on a surface by brushed application
of wet pigments, such as oil or
watercolour painting.
● Drawing - the creation of artwork
on a surface by marking it with
pigment by pressure, such as
graphite, chalk, pastels or ink.
● Sculpture - the creation of artwork
by shaping solid materials like
wood, bronze or clay into
representational shapes or forms.
Forms dealing with “new” media, with the
aid of technology, to create works of art
that can be disseminated and reproduced
remotely. This includes:
● Photography - capturing images
through photographic technology
(either chemical or digital), including
the processes by which these images
can be altered or refined after the fact
● Film - the creation of motion-pictures,
typically through photography, and
other creative tasks involved in
filmmaking - such as production design
and art direction.
● Animation - the creation of moving
images through the sequencing of still
images, either drawn by hand or
rendered digitally.
● Digital Art - the use of computerized
processes (i.e. software) to create
artwork in 2 or 3 dimensions,
sometimes called Computer-Generated
Imagery, or CGI.
Forms dealing with designing the world
around us, adding aesthetics and beauty
to functional objects in our everyday
lives. This includes:
● Architecture - the design of
buildings and structural objects
● Interior Design – the design of
functional spaces for living, working,
and leisure.
● Ceramics - the design and making of
functional objects (such as vessels
and tiles) from materials like clay
● Fashion Design - the design of
articles of clothing
● Industrial Design - the design of
manufactured and functional
objects, such as cookware, or
consumer electronics.