Abstract Expressionism is a post World War II American movement that focused on automatic, subconscious or spontaneous creation and an anti-figurative aesthetic.

Abstraction is art that is unconcerned with the literal depiction of things from the visible world.

Advertising is a form of communication that typically attempts to persuade potential customers to purchase or to consume more of a particular brand of product or service.

Amphora is a type of ceramic vase that was used by the ancient Greeks and Romans as the principal means for transporting and storing commodities.

Analogous colors are colors that are adjacent to each other on the color wheel.

Applied Line is a suggested linear path that leads the eye along the art work.

Appropriation refers to the use of borrowed elements in the creation of new work.

Art Group is an association of artists who work and may live communally for the purpose of the creation of art.

Artist Books are works of art created in the form of a book. Artist Books or ‘book art’ objects are usually one of a kind and can take on a wide range of forms.

Automatic Writing is the process or production of writing material that does not come from the conscious thoughts of the writer.

Bookbinding is the process of physically assembling a book from a number of folded or unfolded sheets of paper or another material. There are a number of methods to hand-bind a book including Accordion Binding, Japanese Stab Binding, and Linen Tape Binding.

Brand Identity is how the brand owner wants the consumer to perceive the brand.

Collaboration is a process where individuals work together toward a common goal; does not require leadership and often emphasizes decentralization or egalitarianism

Color Field movement is characterized primarily by large fields of flat, solid color, spread across or stained into the canvas; creating areas of unbroken surface and a flat picture plane.

Color theory is a guide to color mixing and the visual impact of specific color combinations.

Communication is the process of transfer information from one person to another person, signified by the interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs.

Community is not always defined as a physical location – sometimes it is created by a group of people with common interests, expectations, values, or beliefs.

Complementary colors are pairs of colors that are of opposite hue on the color wheel.

Concentric circles share the same center, axis or origin with one inside the other.

Conservation is the scientific study of the nature and status of Earth's biodiversity with the aim of protecting species, their habitats, and ecosystems from excessive rates of extinction.

Conservation is the act of preserving, guarding or protecting the environment.

Copy refers to the written element of a layout, in contrast to the graphic elements.

Criticism is a process of evaluating something in order to determine its merits and faults.

Demographics are data that reflect the characteristics of a certain population or location. Demographic profiles can be considered when examining a particular community to understand who lives there.

Distinctiveness an important concept in trademarking. Distinctive branding helps a company stand out and attract potential customers.

Environment is synonymous with surroundings, the natural world or an ecosystem.

Figure Drawing is an exercise in drawing the human body in its various shapes and positions.

Function is the intended purpose of an object or item.

Graphic Design focuses on visual communication and presentation. Graphic design methods are used to create and combine images with words to create a visual representation of ideas and messages. A graphic designer may use visual art and typography techniques to produce the final result.

Happening is an event, performance or situation that is meant to be considered as art; requires key elements to be planned out but leaves room for improvisation and audience participation; e.g. flash mobs.

Interpretation is an explanation of the meaning of some object of attention.

Irony is a literary or rhetorical device, in which there is an incongruity or discordance between what one says or does and what one means or what is generally understood.

Juxtaposition is a placement in nearness or contiguity, or side by side, often done in order to compare/contrast, to show similarities or differences.

Layout is the part of graphic design that deals in the arrangement and style treatment of elements (images and text) on a page.

Line is an outline that defines the shape of an object as well as the internal lines that define the form of an object.

Logo is a graphical element that represents a trademark or commercial brand.

M.C. Escher was a Dutch graphic artist known for his often mathematically-inspired compositions that feature impossible constructions, explorations of infinity, architecture, and tessellations.

Mandala is a concentric diagram having spiritual and ritual significance in both Buddhism and Hinduism.

Marketing is an integrated communications-based process through which individuals and communities discover that existing and newly-identified needs and wants may be satisfied by the products and services of others.

Marketplace is the space, actual or metaphorical, in which a market operates.

Mass media is a term used to denote a section of the media specifically envisioned and designed to reach a very large audience.

Monochrome is a range of colors consisting of shades of a single hue.

Mural is a painting on a wall, ceiling or other permanent surface. Murals are often forms of public art. A Mural can act as a method of communication and bring awareness to a social or political issue or movement.

Non-sequitur is a device, often used for comical purposes, that due to its lack of meaning relative to the comment it follows, is absurd to the point of being humorous or confusing.

Objet d’art is a creation that is made and or valued primarily for an "artistic" rather than practical function.

Pattern is the recurrence of elements within a piece, often with some variation to keep interest.

Paul Klee was a Swiss painter with a highly individual style that exhibited many trends including expressionism, cubism, and surrealism.

Pollution is the contamination of the environment by harmful substances.

Poster is a piece of paper designed to be attached to a wall or vertical surface. Typically posters include both textual and graphic elements, although a poster may be either wholly graphical or wholly textual. Posters are designed to be both eye-catching and convey information.

Primary colors are red, yellow, and blue. They make up the primary color triad in a standard color wheel.

Public Art is the term for art that exists in the public arena, often outdoors, and is accessible to anyone. Public art has a broader audience than a gallery or museum and provides maximum exposure for the artist and message the work conveys.

Recognition in the context of marketing is the identification of a brand without the name of the company present.

Representational art focuses on depicting objects, living beings, or scenes which the artist views, remembers, or imagines.

Secondary colors are colors made by mixing two primary colors in a given color space.

Self-portrait is a representation of an artist, created by the artist.

Self-Publishing is the process of creating, publishing or releasing books or other media by the author of those works.

Semi-abstraction is a style of art in which the subject remains recognizable although the forms are highly stylized in a manner derived from abstract art.

Semiotics is the study of sign processes or signification and communication, signs and symbols.

Sigmund Freud was an Austrian psychiatrist who is best known for his theories of the unconscious mind.

Site Specificity means that an artist takes a particular location into consideration when designing a work of art. Site specific art can be inspired by a particular location and may not be appropriate or effective in a different place.

Space is the use of room in a piece of art. Positive space is the space taken up by objects (surface). Negative space is the distance between objects (whitespace).

Storyboards are graphic organizers such as a series of illustrations or images displayed in sequence for the purpose of previsualizing a narrative.

Surrealism is a 20th-century literary and artistic movement that attempts to express the workings of the subconscious and is characterized by fantastic imagery and incongruous juxtaposition of subject matter.

Target Audience is the group of people or community that a piece of art is designed to appeal to.

Tertiary colors are colors made by mixing one primary color with one secondary color.

Tessellation is a collection of plane figures that fills the plane with no overlaps and no gaps.

The Orange Alternative was an underground protest movement in Poland in the 1980s. Its main purpose was to offer a wider group of citizens an alternative way of opposition against the communist regime by means of a peaceful protest that used absurd and nonsensical elements.

Thumbnail Sketches are small drawings on paper used to explore multiple ideas quickly.

Trademark is a distinctive sign or indicator used by an individual or organization to identify that the products and/or services to consumers with which the trademark appears originate from a unique source, and to distinguish its products or services from those of other entities.

Trompe-l'œil is a French term meaning ‘trick the eye.’ Artists use this technique when creating two dimensional works of art to create the optical illusion of depth and three dimensionality.

Typography is the process of arranging and modifying copy in a design - it involves the selection of font, size, line length and spacing of the copy.

Value describes the lightness (tint) or darkness (shade) of a color and allows the perception of forms.

Vessel is a hollow utensil, such as a cup, vase, or pitcher, used as a container, especially for liquids.

 

return to curriculum menu