Art in Focus

Chapter 3: Creating Art: Media and Processes

Lesson Summaries-English

          Throughout history, artists have used many different media and processes to express their ideas and feelings.

Lesson 1
Drawing and Painting

          When you understand the media and processes that artists use in drawing and painting, you will be able to recognize two important ways artist create. In drawing, an artist portrays a subject through lines, shapes, values, and textures in one or more colors. The process involves moving a sharp object such as a pencil or crayon over a smooth surface to leave marks known as lines. The style of a drawing often reflects the artist’s purpose. There are two types of media for drawing: dry media, such as pencil, which are applied dry, and wet media, such as ink, which are applied wet.

          Many artists use drawings to develop ideas for more finished artworks. In painting, artists show us unique ways of representing ideas. Several types of paint can be used, though all are made up of pigment, binder, and solvent. Painters usually use brushes to apply paint. Understanding these media and processes and then experimenting with them will help you learn to express yourself in unique ways.

Lesson 2
Printmaking, Photography, Video, and Digital Media

          Printmaking, photography, video, and digital media allow artists to create multiple images of a work. In printmaking, an original design is repeatedly transferred to another surface. In relief printing, the image to be printed is raised from the background, while for intaglio printing the opposite occurs and ink is forced to fill lines cut into a metal surface. In lithography, the image to be printed is drawn on a surface with a special greasy crayon. In screen printing, paint is forced through a screen onto paper or fabric. For photography, images are recorded as light on frames of film and can then be transferred to paper. When using the medium of video, artists can capture sequences of events on videotape and play them back immediately. While video has been used mostly for television, fine artists also use this technology to tell stories with sound and images. Digital media have many possibilities because they can be processed, manipulated, and reproduced by computers. Images can be stored in a computer’s memory and later transformed. Software programs allow artists to create original images right on the computer. Text, sound, and video can then be added to the images to create multimedia productions. Since the computer offers so many options and solutions, the art of digital media is one of the most exciting frontiers for artists.

Lesson 3
Sculpture

          Artists throughout history have created sculpture using a variety of materials and processes. Because sculpture exists in actual space, it can express powerful emotions. Relief sculptures are three-dimensional forms attached to a flat surface and are meant to be viewed from the front. A sculpture in the round, on the other hand, is a freestanding work surrounded by space. In order to create a sculpture, an artist must consider what materials, tools, and processes will be most effective to express his or her idea. The processes of sculpture include modeling, carving, casting, and assembling. In modeling, a soft, pliable material such as clay is built up into a sculptural form. Carving involves cutting or chipping away a form from a mass of material. In casting, a melted-down metal or other liquid is poured into a mold to harden. For assembly, an artist joins a variety of materials to make a three-dimensional work of art. One type of assembly, kinetic art, actually moves in space so that its elements continually create new relationships. Today sculptors can use age-old techniques or make use of new materials and processes to make thrilling artworks.

Lesson 4
Architecture

          Architecture is the art and science of designing and building structures that enclose space. Like sculpture, architecture exists in space. Unlike most sculpture, it can also be viewed from the inside and is meant to be functional as well as visually appealing. The first architects used the building materials most readily available to them, such as wood and stone. One of the earliest methods of building with stone is the post and lintel system, in which a horizontal beam or lintel is placed across an open space between two posts. In order to span larger areas, later architects placed round arches made of stone blocks on top of two supports. By placing several arches front to back, they created barrel vaults. To allow more light into these spaces, architects developed the groin vault, in which two barrel vaults are placed at right angles. In the Middle Ages, pointed arches increased the height of churches, and walls were made thinner by the use of supports known as buttresses. Domes were also developed to enclose circular or square spaces.

          The industrial revolution allowed for major changes in architecture. Wood became commonly used as a material for building frames, as did iron and steel for larger buildings. Steel allowed for massive, open buildings and skyscrapers. Concrete reinforced with metal rods was also adopted. Today other lightweight metals and plastics offer architects new ways to enclose vast areas.

          

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