ABSTRACT ART
Artwork that is non-figurative, non-representational and which is concerned with the formal elements of the artwork rather than the representation of subject matter.
ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM
American abstract art movement in the 1940s and 1950s which emphasised a non-figurative, emotionally engaged approach to painting. Predominantly New York- based, it was also referred to as the New York School, Some artists whose practice emphasised gesture and physical expression, such as the drip paintings of Jackson Pollock or the expressive brushwork of Willem de Kooning, were referred to as action painters or gesture painters. Other artists associated with Abstract Expressionism, such as Barnett Newman and Mark Rothko, emphasised the flat surface of the painting through the application of thin layers of paint, the elimination of gesture and emphasis on colour. This approach is referred to as Colour-Field Painting.
ABSTRACTION
The process of making abstract through elimination or avoidance of any representational elements and by emphasising the formal elements of an artwork.
ACTIVIST ART
Arts practice which employs collective action in the public domain, such as demonstrations, protests, banners, signs and leaflet distribution, informed by issues of political or social injustice.
ALTERMODERN
A term coined by French curator Nicolas Bourriaud to describe arts practice in the twenty-first century which is concerned with globalised culture and communication and which is realised through social and technological networks.
ANICONISM
The avoidance of representation of divine beings, human figures or animals as part of a religious belief system. It is a feature of Islam and Judaism.
ARCHITECTURE
The discipline concerned with the planning, design and construction of the built environment in terms of its aesthetic, functional and social considerations.
APPROPRIATION
The use of existing elements, such as an image, idea, sound, text or style, in the creation of a new artwork.
ARCHITECTURE
The discipline concerned with the planning, design and construction of the built environment in terms of its aesthetic, functional and social considerations.
ART FAIR
An event, usually held annually, to network, showcase, market and sell art. Art Fairs have become an important mechanism in the art market for Modern and Contemporary Art. Notable examples include Frieze, ARCO and ArtBasel.
ART MUSEUM
A venue for the collection, preservation, study, interpretation and display of significant cultural objects and artworks.
ART PHOTOGRAPHY
Also known as Fine Art Photography, a category of photography which emphasises the photographer?s artistic intentions over the technical or functional aspects of the photograph.
ARTIST-LED INITIATIVES
Projects or organisations, such as studios or galleries, set up and run by artists, often on a collective or cooperative basis.
AUDIO TECHNOLOGY
Devices and mechanisms for recording and producing sound, such as the gramophone, audio cassette, microphone and compact disk.
AUTOMATISM
Drawing on Freud’s theories of free association, the Surrealists created poetry, prose, drawing and painting by using the first words or images which came to mind. In drawing and painting this involved letting the materials dictate the form of the work, using scribbling, poured paint and random and accidental mark making.
AVANT-GARDE
French for advance guard or ‘vanguard’, a military term to describe an advance army group. The term is used to describe innovative, experimental or cutting edge artists and movements.
BAUHAUS
An influential school of art, architecture and design founded by Walter Gropius in Weimar Germany in 1919. Influenced by Constructivism and De Stijl, the Bauhaus style, associated with the International Style, emphasised practicality, harmony between function and design and lack of ornamentation.
BIENNIAL
A large-scale exhibition of international Contemporary Art hosted by many cities every two years. The Venice Biennale was the forerunner of what is now a dominant trend in exhibiting Contemporary Art.
BIOTECHNOLOGY
Biology-based technology concerned with medicine, agriculture, food science and genetic engineering.
BLAUE REITER
A German expressionist art movement from 1911-1914 which involved Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc which was concerned with spirituality and abstraction. Paul Klee was also associated with this movement.
CALOTYPE
An early photographic process invented by William Henry Fox Talbot in the 1830s which involved the exposure of paper coated with silver iodide to light, producing a negative image from which multiple positive images could be printed.
CAMERA OBSCURA
An optical device developed used extensively during the Renaissance to aid drawing and perspective.
CD-ROMs
A compact disc which contains fixed data and which can be accessed by a computer.
CINEMATOGRAPHY
The technical term for motion picture photography, which involves the manipulation of the film in the camera, the arrangement of lighting and the printing of the film.
COLLABORATION/COLLABORATIVE ART
A form of arts practice where two or more artists, often from different disciplines, collaborate in the creation of an artwork.
COLLAGE
Originating in the work of Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso known as SYNTHETIC CUBISM, collage refers to the construction of an artwork by assembling and gluing together materials such as textiles, paper and found objects.
COLLECTOR
Someone who acquires artworks based on personal taste or for investment purposes. Many collectors donate or loan their collections to museums and galleries.
COMMODITY/COMMODIFICATION
A product or article of trade which is marketed for a commercial exchange of equal value. The influence of the art market on the nature, production and distribution of art is often referred to in terms of commodification.
COMMUNITY ARTS
A form of Participatory Arts practice where emphasis is placed on the potential of art to bring about social change. Often involving collaboration between artists and specific communities or self-generated by communities where participants are involved in all aspects of the art making process. The term is associated in particular with socially-engaged arts practice of the 1980s and ?90s.
COMPUTER
A mechanism for storing data and executing instructions called programmes in relation to that data. Software applications for personal computers include word processing, spreadsheets, databases, Web browsers, e-mail clients, games, and specialist software.
COMPUTER and VIDEO GAMES
An electronic game devised for interactive use on a computer or video player. The development of games involves multidisciplinary teams of game designers, programmers, graphic designers, sound technicians and producers.
CONCEPTUAL ART
Originating in the 1960s, Conceptual Art emphasises the idea or concept rather than the production of a tangible art object. The ideas and methodologies of Conceptual Art continue to inform Contemporary Art practice.
CONSTRUCTIVISM
An abstract art movement founded by Vladimir Tatlin and Alexander Rodchenko in Russia around 1915, which embraced developments in modern technology and industrialisation.
CONTEMPORARY
Refers to the present or recent past.
CONTEMPORARY ART
Refers to current and very recent art practice. Attributed to the period from the 1970s to the present, it also refers to works of art made by living artists. Contemporary Art can be driven by both theory and ideas, and is also characterised by a blurring of the distinction between art and other categories of cultural experience, such as television, cinema, mass media, entertainment and digital technology.
CRITIC
A person who describes, appraises, analyses and/or critiques art.
CRITICAL THEORY
A range of theories, drawn mainly from the social sciences and humanities, and associated with the Frankfurt School, which adopt a critical approach to understanding society and culture.
CUBISM
An early twentieth-century movement led by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque which focused on the physical qualities of painting rather than the subject matter. It is characterised by the breaking up of the picture plane, merging of figure and ground, the adoption of multiple viewpoints, and simplification of form into geometric shapes. Cubism was very influential on subsequent art movements and artists, and is considered to be the forerunner of Abstract Art.
CURATOR
A person who makes decisions with regard to the selection, acquisition, display and storage of artworks. A curator may be independent or freelance, or may be affiliated with a museum or gallery. A curator of Contemporary Art is concerned with display, research and preservation, but is also involved in experimentation and innovation.
CYBERSPACE
The notional space within which the network of information technology and communication infrastructures, such as the Internet, operate.
DADA
An international, interdisciplinary avantgarde art movement founded in 1916 which used a variety of media, including collage, sound, nonsense texts and absurd performances to protest against the social, cultural and political conditions prevailing in Europe during World War I. Originating in Zurich, the movement spread to Paris, Berlin, Cologne, Hanover and New York and was influential on subsequent avantgarde movements such as Surrealism, Fluxus and the Situationist International.
DAGUERREOTYPE
A photographic process developed by Louis Daguerre in collaboration with Joseph Niépce in the 1830s where an image is etched onto a silver-plated copper sheet after lengthy exposure to light.
DANCE
The movement of the body in a series of prescribed or improvised gestures often accompanied by music. The term also refers to the artform discipline concerned with the theory and practice of dance.
DEALER
An art dealer represents an artist by promoting the artist?s work and negotiating opportunities for the artist, such as the exhibition and/or sale of the artist?s work.
DECALOMANIA
Spreading gouache, ink or paint onto a smooth, nonabsorbent surface such as ceramic or glass which is then pressed onto another surface such as paper or canvas.
DE STIJL
Meaning ?style? in Dutch, an art movement founded in 1917 by Theo van Doesburg and Piet Mondrian which emphasised abstraction and purity of form and design. Also known as neoplasticism, De Stijl influenced subsequent developments in art, architecture and design.
DIALOGICAL AESTHETICS
An umbrella term used to describe socially-engaged arts practice where the emphasis is placed on dialogue and communication rather than the production of an art object.
DIDACTIC
To adopt an approach which conveys a message, knowledge or information.
DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY
Electronic data storage and transmission technology that enables immense amounts of information to be compressed on small storage devices, such as computers and telephones, that can easily be preserved, retrieved and transported.
DOCUMENTARY PHOTOGRAPHY
A genre of photography applied to the photographic documentation of social, cultural, historical and political events. Traditionally associated with professional photojournalists but more recently, with the proliferation of digital cameras and social media websites, it is associated with amateur photography.
DOCUMENTATION
The process of making records with the use of photography, film, video, audio or text to identify or report factual details.
DRAWING
The process of mark making, often using implements such as pencil, charcoal or pastels, on a two-dimensional surface.
ENVIRONMENTAL ART
A form of arts practice which emerged in the 1960s in response to growing concerns about environmental and ecological issues. Traditionally associated with site-specific and installation practice, contemporary Environmental Art encompasses a broad range of media and methodologies.
EPHEMEREAL
Something that is temporary, transient or lasting a very short time
EXPRESSIONISM
A form of artistic practice which emphasises the expression of feelings rather than the depiction of reality. Colour, form and the application of paint are employed to convey the artist?s feelings. Most notably associated with a number of avant-garde German artists involved in Die Brücke and Der Blaue Reiter in the early twentieth century.
EXQUISITE CORPSE
A game invented by the Surrealists which involved drawing or writing on a page which was then hidden by folding the page and passed to another person who added text or imagery without seeing what was already on the page.
FAUVISM
From the French Fauve meaning wild beast, a post-impressionist movement in the early twentieth century which placed an emphasis on colour and brushwork rather than pictorial representation. Considered a precursor of abstraction.
FEMINISM
A social, political, intellectual and philosophical movement advocating equal rights and representation for women in all aspects of society.
FILM
The medium used for the creation of still or moving images. The term is also used to describe a motion picture which is a sequence of images projected onto a screen, collectively referred to as cinema. In Contemporary Art, film is referred to as an art form.
FLUXUS
An international, avant-garde art movement in the 1960s which included artists, writers, filmmakers and musicians creating experimental, multimedia work in film, video and performance informed by social and political activism.
FORMALISM
Emphasises the formal elements of an artwork such as the materials and qualities of the work, colour, line, form, etc. External, contextual elements are not considered relevant.
FOUND OBJECTS
The re-use of objects, either manufactured or occurring in nature, which are not designed for artistic purpose, and are kept for their inherent qualities. Often exhibited in random juxtapositions to create new meanings.
FRESCOS
A form of mural painting prevalent during the Renaissance, which involved painting in pigment mixed with water on a thin layer of wet lime mortar or plaster.
FREE ASSOCIATION
In a therapeutic setting, a patient or analysand says the first thing that comes to mind and this is discussed with the therapist as a means of gaining access and insight into unconscious.
FROTTAGE
The creation of a surface pattern by rubbing with pencil or charcoal on a piece of paper laid over a rough or interesting surface such as wood grain.
FUTURISM
Early twentieth century movement which originated in Italy and embraced all things modern, including technology, speed, industrialisation and mechanisation. It also embraced violence and nationalism and was associated with Italian Fascism.
GALLERY
An internal space or series of spaces dedicated to the exhibition of artworks.
GPS GLOBAL POSITIONING SYSTEM
A US space-based radio-navigation system that provides positioning, navigation and timing services. GPS handsets are used by drivers to optimise navigation routes.
GRATTAGE
Similar to frottage but uses paint instead of pencil or charcoal.
HAPPENINGS
Associated with US artist Allan Kaprow, the term Happenings emerged in the 1950s to describe time-based performances, events or situations which rely on artistic chance and improvisation to provoke the interaction of the audience.
HELIOGRAPH
Early photographic process invented by Joseph Niépce in 1827 which involved exposing a metal plate coated with bitumen to light for long periods of time.
HYBRID
Something of mixed origin or composition.
HYPERTEXT
Text which contains links to other texts, usually displayed on a computer. Hypermedia refers to those elements of Hypertext which are not text, such as graphics. The World Wide Web is an example of hypertext.
ICONOCLASM
The opposition to the worship of figurative or representational depictions of religious figures, often resulting in the destruction of paintings and sculptures of religious figures.
IMPRESSIONISM
An art movement originating in France in the 1860s which experimented with colour and painting outdoors in the depiction of landscape and everyday life.
INDEXICALITY
A term associated with linguistics and philosophy which refers to a word or phrase whose meaning is contingent on the circumstance or context in which it is expressed.
INDUSTRIAL REVOLUTION
A period of social, political and economic change arising from the shift from manual to machine-based manufacturing, which affected agriculture, manufacturing, mining and transport. Began in Great Britain in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries and spread throughout Europe and America, impacting on all aspects of social, political and cultural life.
INTERDISCIPLINARY
The combining of two or more artform specialisms, such as music, visual arts or dance.
INTERIOR DESIGN
The discipline concerned with the planning and design of the interior built environment.
THE INTERPRETATION OF DREAMS
Sigmund Freud’s The Interpretation of Dreams, first published in 1899 and translated into English in 1913, outlined Freud’s early theories on the role of the unconscious in psychological functioning and suggested that the interpretation of dreams provided a means to access unconscious material. The Interpretation of Dreams was very influential among artists and intellectuals.
INSTALLATION ART
A broad term applied to a range of arts practice which involves the installation or configuration of objects in a space, where the totality of the objects and the space comprise the artwork.
INSTITUTIONAL CRITIQUE
A systematic interrogation of the workings of the art institution, through art practice and discourse, which exposes and challenges assumed normalities, such as the autonomy and neutrality of the museum or gallery space. Associated with both Minimalism and Conceptual Art, and with artists such as Hans Haacke, Andrea Fraser, Marcel Broodthaers and Daniel Buren.
INTERDISCIPLINARY
The combining of two or more artform specialisms, such as music, visual arts or dance.
INTERIOR DESIGN
The discipline concerned with the planning and design of the interior built environment.
INTERNATIONAL STYLE
A style of architectural design, named after an exhibition in the Museum of Modern Art in New York in 1932 featuring the work of architects associated with the Modern Movement. The International Style was characterised by simplicity of form, lack of ornamentation and use of industrial materials, and is also associated with the Bauhaus.
INTERNET
A globalised system of computer networks linked by copper wire, fibre-optic cables and wireless connections, which provides services, resources and information, such as the hypertext of the World Wide Web, electronic mail, file sharing, online gaming and social networking sites.
LAND ART
A US art movement from the 1960s which emerged out of environmental and ecological concerns and the perceived limitations of the conventional art object to respond to these concerns. Artworks were created within the landscape, often using the materials of the landscape.
LANGUAGE
The use of verbal and written text as a medium in Conceptual Art.
LENS-BASED MEDIA
Mechanisms which employ a camera lens, such as film, video and photography, to create art work.
LINGUISTICS
The scientific study of language methodologies, such as grammatical structure, perception, meaning, the action and sound of speech, and how these methods are acquired.
LITERARY THEORY
Refers to ideas concerning the reception of literature and text and how the reader may receive and negotiate its meaning based on his/her cultural background and personal experience.
LUDIC
Referring to play or playfulness, used in literary theory to refer to playfulness in language.
MAGICAL REALISM
A genre in literature and visual arts which blends fantasy and reality. Literary magical realism originated in South America.
MASS MEDIA
Forms of communication, such as newspapers and television, used to distribute news and information to large audiences.
MASS PRODUCTION
The generation of large quantities of standardised objects associated with industrialisation and mechanised factory production.
MEDIUM/MEDIA
In general usage, media refers to forms of communication, such as newspapers, magazines, television, radio and the Internet. In the arts media ? the plural of medium ? refers to the materials, methodologies, mechanisms, technologies or devices by which an artwork is realised. Traditional media include painting, sculpture and drawing and the specific materials used, such as paint, charcoal or marble, can also be referred to as media. In Contemporary Art practice media artists use a wide range of media, such as technology, found materials, the body, sound, etc.
MEMORIAL
An object or process to commemorate an individual or event usually sited in a public place. This may take the form of a gravestone, plaque, sculpture, building, cenotaph, park, temporary installation, event or performance.
MINIMALISM
An abstract art movement developed in the US in the 1960s which emphasised the use of simple, geometric forms and modern materials drawn from industry. It was an extension of abstraction focusing on the properties of the materials used but also a rejection of the ideology and discourse of Abstract Expressionism.
MODERN
Generally referring to the present or the contemporary, it is associated with the period of Modernism from the late nineteenth century to the mid-twentieth century. Modern can also be used to describe the period since the Enlightenment in the seventeenth century or the Renaissance in the fifteenth century.
MODERNISM/MODERN ART
Refers to art theory and practice from the 1860s to the late 1960s and is defined in terms of a linear progression of styles, periods and schools, such as Impressionism, Cubism and Abstract Expressionism.
MONUMENT
A structure, such as a statue, building or arch, used to celebrate or commemorate a significant person or event within a society.
MONUMENTAL
Something very large and significant associated with a monument – a structure used to celebrate or commemorate a significant person or event within a society
MULTIPLES
The production of unlimited editions of an artwork, produced and disseminated at low cost.
NEOCONCRETISM
An influencial art movement in Brazil from 1959 and 1961 which rejected the emphasis on formal elements associated with concrete art (non-figurative, abstract art) in favour of a more expressive and participative arts practice.
NEW GENRE PUBLIC ART
A term coined by American artist Suzanne Lacy to describe a form of socially-engaged Public Art practice which emphasises collectivity and the relationship between the audience and the space.
NEW MEDIA
A range of materials and technologies developed relatively recently and utilised in the creation, presentation and dissemination of New Media Art.
NEW MEDIA ART
Artwork created using new media, such as film, video, lens-based media, digital technology, hypertext, cyberspace, audio technology, CD-ROMs, webcams, surveillance technology, wireless telephones, GPS systems, computer and video games and biotechnology.
OBSOLESENCE
A state where a product or technology is superceded by a newer one and consequently is no longer manufactured or used, even though it may still function adequately.
OIL PAINT
Form of painting which became prevalent during the fifteenth century, where pigment is suspended in slow-drying oil such as linseed oil.
ONEIRIC
Relating to dreams – in the context of Surrealism the term refers to the use of dream material as subject matter in the work of artists such as Max Ernst and Salvadore Dalí.
OP ART/OPTICAL ART
Type of art which employs optical illusions to suggest movement or depth. Informed by colour theory and the psychology of perception, Op Art is usually abstract and often comprises geometric patterns.
PAINTING
The application of a pigment or colour to a surface such as canvas, paper or plaster. It was the dominant artistic medium for pictorIal representation until the twentieth century.
PARTICIPATORY ART
A form of arts practice which prioritises viewer participation in the conception and/or realisation of an artwork.
PATRON
Someone who provides support to artists or arts organisations in the form of finance, materials, conditions, encouragement, protection or access to markets. Traditionally, patrons were often key figures or institutions associated with the church, royalty, the aristocracy or the merchant classes.
PER CENT FOR ART SCHEME
In Ireland, the Per Cent for Art scheme is a government initiative to provide funding for public art, whereby a percentage of government funding designated for capital expenditure can be set aside to commission a public artwork. Informed by earlier initiatives by the Office of Public Works (OPW) and the Department of the Environment, a Per Cent for Art Scheme across all Government Departments was established in Ireland in 1997. Such schemes operate in Australia and the US and in most European countries.
PERFORMANCE ART
Involves an artist undertaking an action or actions where the artist?s body is the medium. Performance art evolved in the late 1950s and is closely associated with Video Art as this was the primary means of recording this ephemeral art form.
PERFORMATIVE
The action of performing or acting out an aspect of an artwork either on the part of the artist or in collaboration with other artists or participants.
PERSPECTIVE
The technique of representing three-dimensional objects on a two-dimensional surface, such as paper or canvas, where the relationship between objects is determined by their distance from the viewer.
PHENOMENOLOGY
The study of the way things (phenomena) appear to us as an experience.
PHOTOGRAM
An image produced without the use of a camera by projecting the shadows of objects on photographic paper.
PHOTOGRAPHY
The process of recording an image ? a photograph ? on light-sensitive film or, in the case of digital photography, via a digital electronic or magnetic memory.
PHOTOGRAVURE
A printmaking process developed in the 1830s which involves creating an intaglio etching from a photographic image created on a light-sensitive copper plate through exposure to light.
PHOTOMONTAGE
The creation of a photographic image by combining parts of a number of separate photographic images. A practice associated in particular with the Dada movement in Berlin in the 1920s.
PICTORIALISM
An approach to photography prevalent in the late nineteenth century and early twentieth century which emphasised the pictoral and aesthetic qualities of the image over its documentary characteristics. Photographic artists created images similar to paintings in terms of form and effect, employing a range of techniques such as use of soft focus and manipulation of the printmaking materials to create painterly effects. They also displayed these photographic works in exhibitions similar to the conventional academy exhibitions. Associated with the work of artists such as Alfred Stieglitz, Edward Weston and Edward Steichen.
POP ART
An art movement which developed in the UK and US in the 1950s drawing on aspects of popular culture and entertainment as subject matter.
POSTCOLONIAL THEORY / POSTCOLONIALISM
An intellectual discourse of the late twentieth century drawing on theories from literature, film, philosophy and social and political science, concerned with the cultural legacy of colonialism in terms of national and cultural identity, race and ethnicity.
POSTMODERNISM
A social, cultural and intellectual movement characterised by a rejection of notions of linear progression, grand totalising narratives and critical consensus associated with Modernism. It is characterised by an interdisciplinary approach, multiple narratives, fragmentation, relativity, contingency and irony.
POSTSTRUCTURALISM
Theories and methods of analysis drawn from Deconstruction and Psychoanalysis which reject the objectivity of Structuralism emphasising the plurality of meaning and the instability of categories of intellectual enquiry. Associated with the work of Michel Foucault, Jacques Derrida and Roland Barthes.
PRINTMAKING
The process of creating an artwork by transferring an impression from one surface to another. Printmaking processes can use metal, stone, linoleum, fabric, etc. While printmaking enables multiple copies to be produced, each print is considered unique.
PROCESS ART
Arts practice where the process of making the artwork is the subject of the work.
PSYCHOANALYSIS
A theoretical model for understanding the workings of the mind and human behaviour. It is also a form of intensive psychotherapeutic treatment in which free association, dream interpretation and consideration of resistance and transference are used to resolve psychological problems. Developed by Sigmund Freud in the late nineteenth century, there are many strands of psychoanalytic theory, including object relations theory, Lacanian psychoanalysis and Jungian analytical psychology.
PUBLIC ART
Artwork located outside the museum or gallery, usually sited in a public space and supported by public funding.
READYMADE
A term used in manufacturing to distinguish between handmade and manufactured goods, adopted by French artist Marcel Duchamp to describe the selection and modification of a manufactured object by an artist to create an artwork.
RELATIONAL AESTHETICS/RELATIONAL ART
Term coined by the French curator Nicolas Bourriaud to describe a set of art practices which place an emphasis on the social context in which the artwork is created and/or presented, and on the role of the artist as facilitator, where art is information exchanged between the artist and viewer. He calls examples of this practice Relational Art.
RELIEF
A raised sculptural form created on a two dimensional surface, such as a wood or stone panel usually by carving or chiselling.
RENAISSANCE
A French word for rebirth, the Renaissance was a cultural movement originating in Italy in the late fourteenth century, prompted by the revival of ancient classical sources. Extending until the sixteenth century the movement spread throughout Italy and Europe affecting all aspects of social, political and cultural life. Characterised by the adoption of a humanist approach, Renaissance artists placed an emphasis on naturalism and the use of linear perspective.
SCULPTURE
A three-dimensional art object which is either created or constructed by an artist. Includes constructions, assemblages, installations, sound, new media, etc.
SEMIOTICS
The study of the relationship between signs and symbols in visual and written communication.
SITE
The space in which an artwork is located either temporarily or permanently, such as a gallery space, a space in an art fair or biennal, a public space or a site-specific space where the artwork is created in response to the conditions of the space.
SITE-SPECIFIC ART
Artwork that is created in response to a specific site with the intention of being located in the site and where removal from the site would change the meaning of the artwork. Often associated with Installation Art, Land Art and Public Art.
SITUATIONISM
An open-ended term used to describe an event which is time-based and conditioned by a site or set of circumstances; commonly associated with the political actions of the artist collective Situationist International.
SNAP SHOT
A photograph taken with lack of deliberate aim or consideration of framing, lighting, etc. Characteristics of the snap shot include inadvertant cropping, red-eye, lack of focus, under or over exposure, double exposure.
SOCIALLY-ENGAGED ART
Arts practice which is informed by a social agenda and created and realised through engagement, collaboration and/or participation between an artist or artists and a specific social constituency, such as a youth group.
SOCIAL MEDIA
Internet based platforms such as Facebook and Twitter for people to interact share and information and ideas
SOCIAL NETWORKING SITES
Internet sites which facilitate global social interaction through the posting of text and images on personalised web pages. Examples include Facebook, LinkedIn and Bebo.
SOCIAL SCULPTURE
A term devised by German conceptual artist Joseph Beuys to describe a form of socially-engaged arts practice which encompasses human activity and which is underpinned by a belief in the potential for art to bring about social and political change.
SOLARISATION
The reversal of tones in a photographic negative or print caused by overexposure to light where light areas become dark and dark areas become light.
SONY PORTAPAK VIDEO CAMERA
The first portable low-cost video recording device introduced in 1967 by Sony. The low cost and portability made it accessible to many artists and contributed to the growth of experimental video making in the 1960s and 1970s.
SOUND ART
A form of arts practice concerned with sound, listening and hearing, often involving an interdisciplinary approach. Sound Art encompasses acoustics, electronics, audio media and technology, the body, ambient sound, etc.
STATUE
A three-dimensional object, usually figurative, representing a person or event.
STRAIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY
A term associated with photographers who emphasised the inherent qualities of photography and rejected any form of manipulation or distortion of the image for painterly effects as associated with Pictoralism.
SUPREMATISM
Russian abstract art movement founded by Kasimir Malevich and Alexander Rodchenko around 1915 which emphasised the supremacy of form expressed through the use of a limited range of colours and geometric shapes.
SURREALISM
An anti-establishment, literary and visual art movement founded in 1924 by André Breton and influenced by Dada, Psychoanalysis and Sigmund Freud?s theories of the unconscious.
SURREALIST GAMES
Games such as EXQUISITE CORPSE were used to bypass the conscious mind and also as a form of collaboration.
SYNTHETIC CUBISM
The later stage of Cubism associated with the work of Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque and following on from analytical Cubism, it involved using collage and assemblage to construct artworks from found materials.
SURVEILLANCE TECHNOLOGY
The employment of technology to monitor behaviour and activities and to gather information. This includes electronic security systems: CCTV cameras; social network analysis: Bebo, Facebook and Twitter; biometric surrveillance: fingerprinting and facial recognition; aerial surveillance: satellites and unmanned aerial vehicles; data mining and profiling; corporate surveillance and telephone and computer monitoring.
TABLEAU
An elaborate pictorial narrative or story staged and presented in a single image in the form of a painting or photograph.
TABLEAU-VIVANT
A pictorial narrative or story stages and presented in a single image using live subjects who do not move for the duration of the display.
TEMPORARY
Short-term, brief or transient.
TEXT/TEXT BASED
Artwork created using written or printed words as the material and/or subject matter.
THEATRE
The dramatic arts of writing, producing, directing, performing and presenting dramatic texts such as plays. The term also refers to the artform discipline of drama concerned with the theory and practice of drama.
TOTEM POLE
An arrangement of symbolic figures and animals carved on a wooden pole usually associated with North American indigenous cultures. Totem poles serve many purposes such as celebration, commemoration, recounting local history or even to ridicule or shame.
TRANSIENT
Brief, passing, not longterm.
TROPICÁLIA
Predominantly associated with music, Tropicália, also known as Tropicálismo, was an innovative, hybrid art movement in Brazil in the 1960s encompassing visual arts, poetry, music and theatre. In the visual arts it was associated with the work of Lygia Clark and Hélio Oiticica. It was informed by the civil rights movement and political and social injustices in Brazil.
VIDEO
Technology used to record, store and project static images in a moving format similar to film. The production of lightweight, low-cost video technology, such as the Sony Portapak, in the late 1960s contributed to the growth in experimental video making during this period.
VIDEO ART
Artwork created using a video recording device. Video Art emerged as an art form in the 1960s and 1970s due to the development of new technology, and it is a prevalent medium in Contemporary Art practice.
VIRTUAL REALITY
A simulated environment generated by computer technology and experienced through sensory stimuli.
VOTIV
An offering in support of a wish or expression of devotion usually in a religious context such as a church or temple.
WEBCAMS
A video-capture device that can be attached to a computer to enable the communication of live visual information.
WIRELESS TELEPHONES
A cellular or mobile telephone is a type of short-wave analog or digital telecommunication in which a subscriber has a wireless connection from a mobile telephone to a relatively nearby transmitter. The transmitter’s span of coverage is called a cell.
WORLD WIDE WEB
A system of interlinked hypertext documents accessed via the Internet. Browsers, such as Google, enable users to access web pages containing text, images and multimedia, and also to navigate between web pages using hypertext.