GLOSSARY
Art that is not representational
Animation:
Animation is the rapid display of sequences of static imagery in such a way as to create the illusion of movement.
Appropriation Art:
Objects, images and texts are taken out of their traditional cultural context and dropped, unaltered, into a new and
seemingly paradoxical one. The new meaning is created by the disruption.
Art Fair:
An exhibition where art dealers set up booths in order to exhibit and sell. They allow collectors to shop at hundreds of
international galleries in one spot.
Auction :
A method of selling that requires the minimum of three participants : two who bid against each other in a competitive
process and a third who selects the winner, the highest bidder and charges a commission to the seller.
Biennial:
A large international exhibition held every two years. The first was the Venice Biennale in 1895. The late 20th century
saw a dramatic increase in biennals. In 2007, there were 50 across the world including Singapore, Beijing, Prague, Sao
Paulo.
Bought in:
If an art work does not meet its minimum price at an auction (its reserve), the auction house cannot sell it and it is
"bought in"
C-Print
Hand-printed colour photograph from a colour negative. Often you will see C-Print on Kodak. Kodak refers to Kodak Endura paper, an archival quality paper which ensures longevity.
Catalogue Raisonne:
Annotated catalogue of an artist's work, with a claim to 100% completeness and accuracy. Often used as a reference
guide by galleries, dealers, curators and museums.
Collage:
A work of art made up of a variety of unconnected objects or fragments that were not created by the artist e.g paper,
fabric. They are typically glued together on a given surface.
Conceptual Art:
A medium that emerged in the 1960s. Its premise is that an idea along is sufficient to create a work of art. The term
refers to art that is driven by an idea not a visual image. Artists include Beuys, Klein, Kosuth and Gilbert & George
Term loosely used to denote art of the present day and of the relatively recent past, of an innovatory or avant-garde
nature. Each museum gives a different definition. A useful and accurate one would be art of the last 10 years, on a rolling
basis.
Condition Report:
A report requested by the buyer a work, typically at auction. The report identifies any damage or condition issues with
the work.
Connoisseurship:
The result of careful study and self-education in a given field
Curator:
An individual or a group selecting the works exhibited in a given show. The curator determines the layout of the works.
Digital art:
Art that makes use of computers
Diptych:
Paintings in two panels
Drypoint:
An intaglio process in which lines are drawn on a (copper) plate with a sharp, pointed needle-like instrument.
Edition:
A series of identical impressions from the same printing surface. Since the late 19th century the number of Prints produced has usually been restricted and declared as a "limited edition". Contemporary artist's prints are usually limited to a specified number, anything between 2 and 1,000. However, for a truly limited edition, the prints should be limited to 25 or so. Editioned prints are usually signed, numbered, and often dated by the artist. An edition of twenty-five will be numbered 1/25, 2/25, etc
Etching:
An Intaglio technique which uses chemical action to create incised lines in a metal printing plate. Ink is place in the sunken lines, but wiped from the surface. The plate is then pressed against paper and passed through a printing press with great pressure to transfer the ink from the incised lines to the paper.
Figurative works:
Art that is representational as opposed to abstract, usually depicting some aspect of the human figure
Giclee Print:
A digital printing process using an inkjet printer
Graffiti Art:
Originated in New York in the 1970s. Graffiti ranges from bright graphic images (wildstyle) to the stylised monogram
(tag). Early examples are Keith Haring and Basquiat. Now, we have Banksy.
Happening:
An artistic action in front of the public that normally becomes engaged or provoked
I.C.A:
Institute for Contemporary Art, a place that puts on cutting – edge exhibitions but does not maintain its own collection
Icon:
A religious image, symbol or representation
Iconography:
The language of images and the study of their cultural context. You could study the iconography of postmodern
architecture or medieval religious icons
Impasto:
An area of very thick paint, or texture in a painting.
Installation art:
An artist places a work in a specific space to create a desired effect. The works are often mixed-media constructions or
assemblages usually designed for a specific place and for a temporary period of time.
Kitsch:
Kitsch is the German word for trash. The is often described as the opposite of fine art and encompasses pulp fiction,
comics, Manga comics etc. In the 1960s however, artists took an interest in popular culture, and Pop Art was born. The
engagement with Kitsch has been seen in the Neo-Geo movement and in the works of Paul McCartney and John Currin.
A series of identical impressions from the same printing surface. Contemporary artists' prints are usually limited to a specified number between 2 and 1,000. For a truely limited edition, prints should be limited to 25 or so. The printing surface is then destroyed. Limited editioned prints are usually signed, dated and numbered by the artist. An edition of 25 is numbered 1/25, 2/25 3/25 etc.
Lambda Print:
A digital print using a Lambda laser printer. The Lambda is a superior large format printer
A printing process based on the fact that water and grease don't like each other. The image is applied to stone using a
greasy ink (e.g crayon). A solution of gum Arabic and nitric acid is then applied over the surface. A roller filled with oil
based ink is then rolled over the surface and sticks to the greasy image area. Paper is placed against the surface and it is
run through a printing press.
Manga:
Japanese comics depicting action, violence and sometimes, sex
Minimal Art:
An art movement from the 1960s that reduces sculptures and pictures back to their clear basic geometric forms. It is an
extension of abstract idea that art should have its own reality and not be an imitation of something else. Important artists
were Frank Stella, Flavin, Judd, Lewitt, Morris and Serra.
Mixed Media:
Works composed of different media.
Modern Art:
Art from the 1940s-1970s. This is distinct from contemporary art, which is now and the recent past (1980s, 90s).
A variant on the traditional print. An impression is printed from a reprintable block, such as an etched plate, but in such
a way that only one of its kind can exist e.g by adding drawing or collage or hand – colouring to the print
Multiple:
Works of art which are produced in quantity, that is, as "multiples". E.g If an artist prints an edition of 10 photographs,
each photograph is a multiple
Mural:
A painting applied directly to a wall in a public space
Neo-Geo:
Short for Neo-Geometric conceptualism. Developed in the 1980s in New York by Ashley Bickerton and Jeff Koons.
Their work is aimed at being a critique of the mechanisation and commercialisation of the modern world.
New Media art:
Used to describe the new technologies available to artists since the 1980s.
Op Art:
Abstract art, from the 1960s that plays on optical illusions
Performance Art:
Artistic work performed in public, often memoralised by photographs, films or surviving props. Art in which the
medium is the artist's own body. It became a major phenomenon in the 1970s and 80s with the likes of Beuys and Gilbert
and George making highly original performance art
Photorealism:
Hyper-realistic painting and sculpture using exaggerated photographic sharpness to take a critical look at the details of
reality. Leading painters – Chuck Close, Robert Bechtle, Richard Estes, Audrey Flack and Ralph Goings
An art movement of the 1960s which transformed popular culture and iconography into an art form e.g Andy Warhol,
Roy Lichenstein
Postmodernism:
A loose term that describes contemporary art which does not fit into any easily identified art movement
Primary market:
The first sale of a work of art, usually from the artist's primary dealer. It means the work has never been offered for sale
before.
The provenance of a work of art is its history of ownership. Provenance is essential in establishing with certainty the
authorship of a work of art. An ideal provenance would allow you to trace back the ownership to the artist's studio.
Provenance also takes into account exhibitions the art work has been in and prestigious collections it has belonged to.
All add to its value.
Readymade:
An everyday item which the artist declares to be an art work and exhibits it without any alterations. The idea began with
Marcel Duchamp who displayed an ordinary urinal from porcelain signed R. Mutt 1917
Renaissance:
Describes the great revival in art that took place in Italy around 1400s. Renaissance reached its peak between 1500 and
1530 (the high Renaissance) with the works of Michelangelo, Raphael and Leonardo.
Reserve price:
The minimum price at auction below which a seller would rather not sell an art work
Retrospective:
A show that takes a look back over an artist's career
Salon style:
Referring to a style of hanging art works which has fallen out of favour in modern times. The works are grouped together
by subject matter or medium and hung side by side and above one another. Compare to the modern hanging style where
the works are arrayed in a single line with plenty of space around each work.
A variety of stencil printing using a screen made of fabric (usually silk) stretched tightly over a frame. The non-printing
areas are blocked out by paper. Ink is forced onto the open, printing areas using a rubber blade, and through the silk on
to paper beneath.
Secondary market:
A resale of a work of art e.g at an auction. Each time a work is sold after the initial sale (primary) it is a secondary market
sale
Shophouse:
A building type native and unique to urban Southeast Asia. Shophouses typically consist of shops on the ground floor
which open up to a public arcade or "five-foot way", with residential accommodation above. The covered walkway or
"five-foot way" is within the shophouse property line but is for public use. It provides pedestrians with shade from the
relentless sun and monsoon showers. Shophouses have narrow street frontages but often extend backwards to great
depths. Within the depths is one of the most important features of a shophouse – the internal courtyard. These are open
to the sky spaces to admit daylight and air.
Still life:
One of the most popular genres ( subject types) of Western art. The subject matter of a still life is anything which is not
moving or dead and encompasses man-made and natural objects.
Surrealism:
An art movement started in the 1920s. The suspension of conscious control in creating art was intended to create art
based on dreams and the unconscious mind. Salvador Dali was one of the leading Surrealist artists
Triptych:
An art work in three panels / parts
Video art:
Art that consists of film shorts, usually lacking a narrative
White cube:
The white exhibition room which, in modern times, has succeeded older forms of presenting art (compare to Salon
rooms). The white cube is supposed to facilitate the concentrated and undisturbed perception of the work of art.