LESSON 7- MEDIUM AND

TECHNIQUE IN THE ARTS

 Medium
• Refers to the materials which are used by an artist to
create works of art to interpret his feelings or
thoughts.
• Without a medium, there is no art.
• The distinctive character of the medium determines
the way it can be worked on and turned into a work
of art.
• For example, Monet’s haystack pictures.
 Technique
• Artist controls the medium to achieve the
desired effect.

• Fulfills the technical requirements of his

particular work of art.

• The way he manipulates his medium to express

his ideas in the artwork.
 Media Used in Painting,
Sculpture and Architecture
 Common paint media are:

-acrylic paint
-encaustic
-fresco
-gouache
-magna paint
-oil paint
-pastel
-tempera
-watercolor.
 Sculpture
• In sculpture, sculptors use a variety of materials
to create their art.

These include the following:

1. Hard Materials
2. Sound
3. Light
 Hard Materials
 Most recognizable and most popular form of sculpture has been created
with hard materials.

 Oldest form of sculpture.

 Examples are: Statues, Kinetic Sculptures, and Environmental sculpture.

 Some materials used are concrete, bronze, clay, stone, marble, granite,
limestone, alabaster, sandstone, schist, wood, glass, stainless steel,
aluminum, antimony, chrome, etc.

 Some alternative mediums are ice, sand , plastic and found objects.

 These may often by representational, or may be created in abstract form.

 Sound
• Three dimensional structures produce sounds.

• This art may also be known as a sound installation

because the sculptures are regularly installed in art
galleries.

• Artists who are known for their sound sculptures

are Alexander Calder, Hugh Davies, and Nigel Helyer.

• This medium that makes this type of sculpture

unique is the element of sound.
Examples of Sound
Sculpture
 Light
• It is the unique type of medium because they use a various
form of light of lighting to create an aesthetic effect.

• The medium of light may use fractal manipulations or gaseous

form of light-electricity-to produce an image.

• Olafur Eliasson and Dan Flavin- The creator of light sculptures

made via fluorescent lights.

• A man-made material is a material that is manufactured

through human effort often using natural raw materials.

• Man-made materials like glass, steel, and concrete cement.

Examples of Light Sculpture