1. Art Vocabulary
Abstract art
Art that does not accurately represent what is. Shapes and forms tend to be exaggerated or
simplified. Often certain qualities of the subject are isolated and focused upon. Wassily Kandinsky is
regarded as the founder of modern abstract art.
Abstract Expressionism
A painting movement in which artists tended to apply paint using sweeping physical gestures,
sometimes throwing and dripping paint onto canvas with speed in order to express and harness deep
emotion. There was usually no intent to represent tangible things, and spontaneity in the process was
highly valued. The movement started in the 1940s and peaked the 1950s, largely due to the activity of
American artists like Jackson Pollock, Mark Rothko, Helen Frankenthaler, Willem De Kooning and
Robert Motherwell.
Aesthetic
Pertains to the appreciation or recognition of beautiful things. May refer to the distinguishing
characteristics that define a work, or criteria by which art is judged.
Allegorical
The use of one set of characters, figures or objects to represent another set of people, ideas or
stories.
2. Aquarelle
Method of painting with thin, transparent watercolour. Taken from the French word for watercolour.
Avant-garde
Taken from the French word for vanguard. Refers to artists whose innovative or experimental ideas
and practices place them at the forefront of a new movement, sometimes in conflict with the traditions
and conventions of their own time.
Bas-relief
A sculpture that emerges as a raised surface or projected image off a flat background, e.g. as on a
coin (also known as low relief sculpture). Meant to be seen primarily from one direction.
3. Bio-morphic
Irregular and abstract in form, based on shapes found in nature. Sometimes representative of a living
object.
Chiaroscuro
The technique of contrasting light and dark in drawing and painting to create the illusion of three-
dimensional form.
Colourist
One who specialises in colour. An artist for whom colour is the key element.
4. Composite
Consisting of parts from different sources. (1) The inspiration for the subject, a work of art may be
drawn from a range of sources, not one specific person or thing. (2) The construction of a piece may
involve different materials.
Composition
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An artwork; or the arrangement of elements (e.g. shapes, lines, colours) in an artwork.
Cubism
An art movement pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque in the first decade of the 20th
century. Picasso and Braque sought to represent on a flat surface all aspects of what they saw in
three dimensions. In Analytical Cubism the artist analyses the subject matter, breaks it down into
geometric forms, and often combines into one view what can be seen from a range of angles. In
Synthetic Cubism bits of real objects are worked into the picture.
5. Dabbing
The brief pressing of sponge, cloth or brush to a surface, to apply or remove moisture, without
rubbing.
Diptych
A pair of panels or leaves fastened together, often hinged.
Eclectic
Drawing upon a variety of sources/opinions/tastes rather than one exclusively.
6. Engraving
The process of cutting a design into a hard surface with a tool that has a sharp point.
Etching
Traditionally a method of producing a design in which a needle is used to draw an image through a
waxed layer on to a metal plate. The work is submerged in acid, which etches the images exposed by
the needle onto the plate. When the plate is inked and applied to paper, an impression is left. (2)
Works produced as a result of the above process.
Expressionism
Specifically, a style of painting that grew from within Germany and dominated Europe 1905-1918.
Generally, expressionists try to express an emotion rather than reproduce the details of a scene, so
shapes and colours are often distorted.
8. Fauves/Fauvism
The French word fauve means 'wild beast'. This was term applied to a small group of artists (Henri
Matisse, Maurice de Vlaminck, Andre Derain) who exhibited in Paris in 1905 and whose work used
colour in a bold and explosive fashion.
Frottage
(1) The practice of placing a piece of paper or cloth over an object and rubbing a pencil or crayon
across the raised surface, lifting the texture or image. (2) An image achieved using this
technique to produce pictures of stronger, bolder colour.
9. Gesso
A fine plaster made of gypsum, more commonly known as plaster of Paris. (1) Can be mixed with glue
and applied to a surface as a prepared 'ground' for painting; (2) cast in a mold; or (3) used to create
the mold for a sculpture.
Gouache
A paint more opaque than ordinary watercolour. Its heavier texture tends to produce pictures of
stronger, bolder colour.
10. Grout
Thin fluid mortar (a mixture of sand, water and cement) that is used to fill in the spaces between
bricks, tiles, pavers, etc.
Hieroglyphic
A picture of an animal, object or figure used to represent a sound, syllable or word, e.g. those found
on the walls of ancient Egyptian buildings and in their written records.
11. Icon
An image, object or symbol that is widely understood to represent a person, place, era or culture.
Iconography
A method of drawing or illustrating using images or symbols that is understood to represent a person,
place, era or culture.
Impressionism
A style of painting that started in France during the 1860s. Impressionists sought to capture in paint
the effects of sunlight on their subject at different times of the day – to literally capture the moment or
'impression'.
13. Installation
A type of artwork that is made to go into a particular space, or environment, allowing for interaction
between the work, its audience and that environment. Light effects, time and sound might feature as
elements of an installation piece.
Kowhaiwhai
The patterns on the rafters inside a wharenui (Maori meeting house).
Lapita
A very old style of pottery found in the Pacific that dates back several thousand years, usually highly
decorated and often depicting faces.
14. Liquin
A durable, non-yellowing medium used for thinning paint and speeding drying time. Made by Winsor
and Newton.
Lithography
A method of printing in which a greasy medium, e.g. crayon, is used to draw an illustration on a stone,
metal or plastic plate. This surface is then washed. When ink is applied, it sticks to the greasy
medium. Paper is placed upon the plate and both are passed through a press to produce a new print.
15. Marbling
To imitate the texture of marble through the blotching and streaking of paint, sometimes achieved
through the application of oil paint on top of water or water-based paints.
Matt
A colour or surface that is dull and non-reflective.
Gloss v matt
Media
Plural of medium – the physical materials or technique used by an artist to produce a work of art, e.g.
sculpture, crayon, collage.
16. Mere
A traditional Maori club used as a weapon. Usually made from stone e.g. greenstone (pounamu) or
wood, and sometimes elaborately carved.
Metaphor
A descriptor of one thing is applied to something else in a figurative sense. A direct comparison
between two things is implied.
17. Monoprint
One of a series of prints in which differences from the original common image are developed, print-by-
print. Each new print has something added, e.g. colour, texture or new design elements.
Motif
A distinctive design feature or re-occurring pattern, central in importance that may be repeated in a
variety of ways.
18. Myth
A traditional story, often peopled by supernatural characters, that explains the origins of values or
ideals upheld by society, or aspects of the natural world.
Narrative
A composition that tells a story.
19. Naturalistic
Adhering to ideals and forms that are true to nature.
Negative space
Empty space in an artwork, a void. The space in a painting around the objects depicted.
20. Neo-expressionist
A term referring to a trend in art, which arose in the 1970's and extended into the 80's. Artists
emulating the original expressionists revived their principles and practices in the context of
modernism.
Ochre
Clay and iron oxide mix to create a mineral commonly used as a pigment, especially to produce earth
tones. It varies in colour from light yellow to brown.
21. Olde English
Officially the English language spoken in Britain prior to 1150. The term is commonly used to refer to
the language of medieval times.
Opaque
Allows no light to pass through.
Optical art
A form of abstract art, which rose to prominence in the1960s. The art creates an optical illusion, e.g.
the impression of movement, by stimulating the retina of the eye through the manipulation of certain
elements (line, shape, colour etc), at the same time challenging assumptions about what is seen.
22. Paper Tole
The process of making three-dimensional pictures by cutting, shaping and reassembling paper
pieces. The finished work, resembling a three-dimensional image, is often placed into a deeply
recessed frame. Otherwise known as 3D decoupage.
Papier-maché
French for 'chewed-paper'. A material made from shreds of paper mixed with wallpaper paste, or flour
and water, which can be modelled into the required shape when wet and becomes hard and suitable
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for painting or vanishing when dry.
23. Paradox
A statement that appears to contradict itself and/or commonly held notions of what is reasonable, but
may still be true.
Parody
A creative work in which the attributes of someone or something, are humorously depicted or made
fun of.
24. Pe'a
A full-body tattoo of Samoan tradition and style.
Pollock Krasner Foundation Grant
Financial assistance (for a one-year period) to painters, artists and sculptors who meet the
Foundation's criteria. Lee Krasner was a leading abstract expressionist painter and the widow of
Jackson Pollock.
For more information visit the following website: www.pkf.org
Positive space
Space in an artwork that is filled with something, e.g. lines, designs, colour or shape.
25. Post-Impressionist
Refers to artists during the 1880's and 1890's, immediately after the initial Impressionist movement
swept Europe. These artists may have been through an Impressionistic phase but were no longer
pioneering new ideas, and while not opposed to Impressionism, were moving in new directions.
Renaissance
A revival of interest in art, culture (particularly ancient Greek and Roman) and learning that occurred
in Europe during the 14th and 15th centuries.
26. Satirical
Containing or using humour, exaggeration and/or irony to ridicule the views and/or behaviour of
others.
Schmincke
Brand name of a range of top quality oil painting materials, watercolours and pastels.
Sennit
Rope or cord made from coconut fibre.
27. Series
To paint a series is to produce several pieces of work about one subject or idea. This enables the
artist to explore different aspects of his/her theme.
Sgrafitto
The technique of scratching through one surface or layer to reveal what lies beneath.
28. Shellac
A varnish made from an animal product. A gummy substance secreted by a scale insect hardens into
what is called lac. Crushed and processed into shellac, the substance is mixed with alcohol, to
become a thin varnish.
Siapo
Samoan word for tapa.
29. Silverpoint
An artist's tool like a pencil with a drawing point
made of silver, that produces hard, clearly
defined lines, and requires a carefully prepared
ground. For more information visit
www.silverpointweb.com
Spatula
Flat broad-bladed tool used to pick up or mix powders and pigments.
30. Still life
A picture, usually drawn, painted or photographed, of inanimate objects.
Stippling
A method of applying paint or ink, employing a series of dots rather than lines.
31. Surrealist
A painter, whose work is not necessarily rational in its composition, but has dreamlike qualities,
fantastical elements and startling qualities. Surrealists are interested in expressing what comes from
the subconscious (or even unconscious) mind. Surrealism had its origins in an early Twentieth
Century movement called Dadaism.
Tapa
A cloth made from the inner bark of a tree (e.g. paper mulberry) that has been beaten. Used by a
variety of Polynesian and African cultures.
32. Tempera
An emulsion used as a medium for pigments, traditionally made with egg-yolks (although milk, glue or
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gum can be used) and thinned with water.
Translucent
Allows some light to pass through.
33. Triptych
A work featuring three panels side by side, often hinged.
Typography
The style or appearance of the text you use to print, e.g. font style or size.
34. Waka huia
In pre-European times these were ornately carved boxes that held the feathers of the Huia bird, worn
only by Maori chiefs of distinction.
Woodcut
A design is cut from the surface of a block of wood so that ink adheres only to the raised surfaces.
The illustration is then transferred to paper
