IV

CONTENTS
01 W H AT I S ME D IU M I N A RT ?

C LAS S I F I CA T IO N O F A RT
02 A C CO RD ING T O ME DI UM

T H E AR T IS T : H I S M ED I U M
03 AN D T E C HN I Q U E
1 MEDIUM
IN
ART
 MEDIUM
What is the meaning of medium in art?

MEDIUM CAN BE
According to Esaak (2018)
medium in art refers to a
As a type of art
substance that artist uses to
create an artwork. Each medium
has its own particular As an artistic material
characteristics and each requires
its own techniques for creating As a pigment additive
art.
1. AS A TYPE OF ART
Plural: Media

A broad use of the word medium is used

to describe a specific type of art.
For instance:
Painting is a medium, printmaking is
a medium, and sculpture is a
medium.
2. AS AN ARTISTIC MATERIAL
Plural: Media

Specific materials used to create a piece of artwork.

For example:
Painting – type of paint used (ink , pastel, oil)
Sculpting- metal, wood, clay, bronze, or marble
Mixed media - Artists who use multiple media in a
single piece of art typically
One common application of mixed media is the collage, where several
images, texts and found objects are combined into a single artwork,
according to the Own Art website.
3. AS A PIGMENT ADDITIVE
Plural: Mediums

It refers to a substance which binds a pigment to create

paint.
For instance:
Linseed oil is a common medium for oil paints and egg yolks are a
common medium for tempera paints.

A gel medium will thicken paint so the artist can apply it in textural
techniques like impasto. Other mediums are available that will thin
paints and make them more workable.
2 ARTC
LASS
IFIED
 CLASSIFICATION OF ART
According to Medium

VISUAL AUDITORY
COMBINED
OR OR
ARTS
SPACE ARTS TIME ARTS
 1. VISUAL OR SPACE ARTS

those whose medium can be seen and occupies space

entire work of art is present simultaneously

PRINTMAKING PAINTING DRAWING LANDSCAPING

SCULPTURE CRAFTS ARCHITECTURE PHOTOGRAPHY
 1. VISUAL OR SPACE ARTS
Two Categories

Two- Three-
Dimensional Dimensional
Arts Arts
PAINTING SCULPTURE
emphasizes an artwork’s
DRAWING the vertical mass,
ARCHITECTURE
and horizontal volume, and
PRINTMAKING character of space are LANDSCAPING
an artwork emphasized
PHOTOGRAPHY by the artist CRAFTS
2. AUDITORY OR TIME ARTS

Those whose medium can be heard and which

are expressed in time.

Music and Literature are temporal forms

of the arts, or arts of time.
3. COMBINED ARTS

Those whose mediums Dance

can be both seen and Movies
heard, and which exists
in both space and time. Opera

Drama
3 T H E
A R T
I S T
THE ARTIST & HIS TECHNIQUES
Technique- artist’s knowledge of his medium and his skill in making it
achieve what it he wants it to.

Artist’s techniques differ from each other even if they work with
the same medium.
Same medium yet different techniques at different time and purpose.

Technique is adapted as the need arises.

THE ARTIST & HIS TECHNIQUES
Use of Technique – an artist differs from a craftsman

ARTIST vs CRAFTSMAN
 Creativity enters into its works  Merely follows the dictate of the designer

 His works almost always response to  Concerned exclusively with the manipulation
some leap of imagination of the material
 Objectifies an original, imagined  Produces a product that is expected to turn
design out
 Exploits every possibility that the  Not free to innovate
medium can offer
 The process becomes an adventure  A mere copyist
to him
 Uses technique as a means to an end  Uses technique as an end itself
THE ARTIST & HIS TECHNIQUES

Originality in Expression
distinguishes an art from a craft

Judging a work of art

not so much technical but on how an artist employed his means -
medium and technique to achieve his end.

“There is no such thing as a completely original

work of art”
THE ARTIST & HIS MEDIUM
An artist’s choice is for his medium is usually influenced
by:
Availability of material

Use to which the art object will be put

Function of the artwork
Idea that the artist wants to communicate
Best suits the artist’s purpose
Nature and special characteristics of the medium itself
Determine the physical appearance of the finished
product
No medium is inherently better than another. Truth
to materials is important, but at the end, it is not
the medium that matters – it’s the message.

Bryan Dunleavy