Metalanguage/ Glossary
Are you using these words when you write about art?
abstraction
uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world.
aesthetic
Used to describe something as visually-based, beautiful, or pleasing in appearance and to the senses. Aesthetics is a term developed by philosophers during the 18th and 19th centuries and is also the academic or scientific study of beauty and taste in art.
allegory
An image or story that refers to a related or overarching concept such as good or evil.
appropriation
The act of borrowing imagery or forms to create something new.
culture
The rarely questioned system of beliefs, values and practices that form one's life. Cultures are often identified by national borders, ethnicity, and religion—while some cultures cross borders, ethnicities and organized faiths. A culture which involves a select portion of a population and which is organized around a particular interest (such as cars, graffiti, or music) is known as a subculture.
form
The shape and structure of a work of art, formal elements include color, shape, pattern, and duration. Many artists strive for a relationship between form and content, so that the way something is made fits with what the artist intends the work to be about or how it will be seen.
graffiti art
is writing or drawings that have been scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place.
iconography
Symbols and images that have a particular meaning, either learned or universal.
ideology
An organized system of values and opinions which form the basis of a social, political, or economic agenda. Informed by a culture, ideologies often take the form of rules, codes, or guiding principles.
installation art
an artistic genre of three-dimensional art that is often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of space.
juxtaposition
The state or position of being placed close together or side by side, so as to permit comparison or contrast.
metaphor
A relationship between disparate visual or verbal sources where one kind of object, idea, or image is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them. Artists use metaphor to bridge differences between seemingly dissimilar images and ideas.
motif
A recurrent or dominant theme in a work of visual or literary art.
multicultural
Influenced by a diversity of ethnic, religious, cultural or national perspectives.
mythology
An allegorical narrative often incorporating legendary heroes, gods, and demi-gods of a particular people or culture.
narrative
The representation in art, by form and content, of an event or story. Whether a literal story, event, or subject matter—or a more abstract relationship between colors, forms and materials—narrative in visual art applies as much to the work as it does to the viewer's "story" of what they see and experience.
perspective
A visual formula that creates the illusion of depth and volume on a two-dimensional surface. Perspective also infers a particular vantage point or view.
recontextualisation
is a process that extracts text, signs or meaning from its original context (decontextualisation) in order to introduce it into another context.
representational
Works of art that depict recognizable people, places or things—often figures, landscapes, and still lifes.
site-specific art
is artworks that are created to exist within a certain place. The artist typically takes the location into account when planning and creating the artwork.
video art
is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data.
uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world.
aesthetic
Used to describe something as visually-based, beautiful, or pleasing in appearance and to the senses. Aesthetics is a term developed by philosophers during the 18th and 19th centuries and is also the academic or scientific study of beauty and taste in art.
allegory
An image or story that refers to a related or overarching concept such as good or evil.
appropriation
The act of borrowing imagery or forms to create something new.
culture
The rarely questioned system of beliefs, values and practices that form one's life. Cultures are often identified by national borders, ethnicity, and religion—while some cultures cross borders, ethnicities and organized faiths. A culture which involves a select portion of a population and which is organized around a particular interest (such as cars, graffiti, or music) is known as a subculture.
form
The shape and structure of a work of art, formal elements include color, shape, pattern, and duration. Many artists strive for a relationship between form and content, so that the way something is made fits with what the artist intends the work to be about or how it will be seen.
graffiti art
is writing or drawings that have been scribbled, scratched, or sprayed illicitly on a wall or other surface in a public place.
iconography
Symbols and images that have a particular meaning, either learned or universal.
ideology
An organized system of values and opinions which form the basis of a social, political, or economic agenda. Informed by a culture, ideologies often take the form of rules, codes, or guiding principles.
installation art
an artistic genre of three-dimensional art that is often site-specific and designed to transform the perception of space.
juxtaposition
The state or position of being placed close together or side by side, so as to permit comparison or contrast.
metaphor
A relationship between disparate visual or verbal sources where one kind of object, idea, or image is used in place of another to suggest a likeness or analogy between them. Artists use metaphor to bridge differences between seemingly dissimilar images and ideas.
motif
A recurrent or dominant theme in a work of visual or literary art.
multicultural
Influenced by a diversity of ethnic, religious, cultural or national perspectives.
mythology
An allegorical narrative often incorporating legendary heroes, gods, and demi-gods of a particular people or culture.
narrative
The representation in art, by form and content, of an event or story. Whether a literal story, event, or subject matter—or a more abstract relationship between colors, forms and materials—narrative in visual art applies as much to the work as it does to the viewer's "story" of what they see and experience.
perspective
A visual formula that creates the illusion of depth and volume on a two-dimensional surface. Perspective also infers a particular vantage point or view.
recontextualisation
is a process that extracts text, signs or meaning from its original context (decontextualisation) in order to introduce it into another context.
representational
Works of art that depict recognizable people, places or things—often figures, landscapes, and still lifes.
site-specific art
is artworks that are created to exist within a certain place. The artist typically takes the location into account when planning and creating the artwork.
video art
is a type of art which relies on moving pictures and comprises video and/or audio data.
Created by N. Usher for Gilroy Catholic College, 2014.