abstract  
A style of art wherein the intent is not to represent realistic subject matter but to use line, shape, and color to express a mood, emotion, or idea.

abstract expressionism  
An art movement that developed in New York City in the 1940s and 50s featuring large canvases filled with nonrepresentational imagery and gestural brushwork. Instead of showing recognizable objects, abstract expressionist paintings are characterized by line, color, and brushstrokes used in an expressive manner.

appropriation	
Borrowing imagery or forms to create something new.

chiaroscuro
An Italian word meaning “light-dark.” It is a technique in painting, drawing, and the graphic arts to describe the effects of light and shadow on form through the contrast of light and dark areas.

collage		
The use of paper, found objects, and other non-traditional art materials to create two-dimensional works of art. The word is from the French verb coller (to glue). This technique dates to the 1910s in Europe.

composition  
The manner in which forms, lines, and colors are arranged in a work of art.

conceptual art 	
Art in which the emphasis is on the idea or concept of the artwork rather than the finished, tangible art object. In some cases the importance of the idea leads to the complete elimination of the object.

contemporary 
Current, of the present time.

found objects  
Existing objects not originally designed to have artistic value that the artist selects and displays in his/her work of art.

iconography
The study of the subject matter of a representation and its meaning.

installation 	
An artwork in which the artist transforms space, creating a new environment that is intended to directly involve the viewer.

juxtaposition   
Being placed close together or side-by-side, permitting comparison or contrast. Visual artists often suggest new meanings through the juxtaposition of existing images or ideas.

medium (plural: mediums) 
A material used by an artist.  

Minimalism  
An art movement associated with a group of New York City artists working in the 1960s. Minimalist art is characterized by simple or reduced abstract structures and geometric forms—free of all reference to the figure or to nature.

performance art  
An artwork based on a live, theatrical performance by the artist.

pop art  
An art movement that may use commonplace objects and blatantly flaunt name-brand products to comment on popular culture and/or address major social issues such as consumerism and class within today’s society.

popular culture  
Mass media, television, movies, and fashion of contemporary society.

postmodern
A term used to describe an approach towards making art that was popularized in the 1970s. Postmodern artists rebelled against modernist art, including modernism’s rejection of landscape and history paintings, and its association with optimism and an artistic elite. Many of these artists blurred the categories between fine art, popular culture, and mass media, and their works build off of ideas and styles from pop art, conceptual art, and feminism. Postmodern art is often characterized by appropriation, pastiche, irony, and the use of non-traditional mediums such as fabric, furniture, and video. 

representational  
Of or relating to representation, especially realistic graphic representation.

site-specific art  
Artwork created to exist in a specific location.

storyboard
A series of images used in planning the shots for a video.