AP Art History: Elements of Art Lecture Notes

Pictures - originates from the Latin word pingo, meaning “I paint”, 2D images that are typically flat and are measured horizontally and vertically, include: paintings, mosaic, stained glass, tapestries, prints, and photographs.

Sculptures - originates from the Latin sculpere, meaning “to carve”, 3D objects that are measured by height, width, and depth, typically made of wood, stone, metal, and clay.

Architecture - originates from the Latin architectura, buildings that enclose a space ordained for a specific use, often contain both pictures and sculptures

Values of Art:

• Material Value - a work may be valued only based on the materials it is made of i.e. gold, silver, lapis lazuli

• Intrinsic Value - art valued due to its artist. This is not always apparent, and varies due to culture and its value of a specific style

• Religious Value - Art that carries a specific religious significance. Ex. images of deities, ziggurat, temples, churches

• Nationalistic value - Art that expresses pride and accomplishes in a culture. This is often related to religious values.

• Psychological value: Emotional attachment to a work of art that gives it value based on the viewers reaction.

Images - described as naturalistic, idealistic, representational, abstract, illustionatic, or stylized

• Naturalistic - true to life

• Idealistic - the ideal form of a true to life image

• Representational -recognizable forms of an object

• Abstract - unrecognizable form of an object

• Illusionistic - a representational image that can be mistaken for the real thing

• Stylized - representational image created in a style appealing to a cultural standard

Artistic Terms:

• Composition - overall plan or structure

• Plane - flat surface that has space

• Balance - harmonious blend

• Symmetry - correspondence of elements on either side of an axis

• Asymmetrical - uneven balance of elements

Line - the path traced by a moving point

• Straight - honesty and truth (masculine)

• Curved - (femanine)

• Crooked - dishonest

Perspective:

• Linear Perspective - one point perspective, illusion of depth where the space between objects seem shorter (foreshortening)

• Vanishing Point - where sight lines (orthogonals) meet to convey distance

Light and Color - Color in paintings are created by pigments

• Neutrals - white, grey, black

• Primary Colors - red, blue, yellow

• Secondary Colors - purple, green, orange

• Tertiary Colors - mix of secondary colors

Describing Color

• Hue - another word for color

• Analogous Hues - hues containing a common color

• Monochromatic - when only a single hue is used

• Value - lightness or darkness of color, tone

• Achromatic - works done in only neutral tones

• Chromatic - colored

• Intensity - brightness or dullness of color

Principles of Design - Repetition, Unity, Variation, Contrast, Emphasis, Movement, Rhythm, Pattern

Art as artefact: Art serves as a medium to pass information about its maker, time, and/or society

For artist: making a living, religion, politics, power, to impress

Meaning can change and differs from person to person