The Honest Art Dictionary: A Jovial Trip Through Art Jargon

By The Art History Babes and Carmen Casado

From the popular @arthistorybabespodcast, “a tidy, helpful and informative guide to what can be a Tower of Babel of art jargon” (Republican American).

In this art dictionary like no other, The Art History Babes (the hosts behind the prolific podcast) break down the elitist world of art with definitions of over three hundred essential art terms.

Art speak is infamously alienating, strange, and confusing as hell. Think stereotypical, stylish art dealers who describe art as ‘derivative’ and ‘dynamic’—or stuffy auction houses filled with portraits of dead white people called ‘Old Masters’. What do these words mean? Where did they come from? And how can you actually use them?

The Honest Art Dictionary spans art history, iconic movements, peculiar words, and pretentious phrases. After reading this book, you’ll be able to lay down that art jargon with the best of them. From avant-garde to oeuvre, the Harlem Renaissance to New Objectivity, museum fatigue to memento mori—the Babes use their whip-smart humor, on-point knowledge, and a heavy dose of candor to explain even the most complex ideas in bite-sized, relatable and often humorous definitions.

With illustrations from Carmen Casado—The Honest Art Dictionary is a valuable starter pack for those new to the study of art history, those re-exploring the discipline, or those simply interested in impressing their friends during a trip to the local art museum.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Open Road Integrated Media
• Release date: Sep 1, 2020
• ISBN: 9780711254152

Book preview

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ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM (n.)

Abstract Expressionism is an art movement that began in America, specifically New York, after World War II. Ab-Ex, as the cool kids call it, is all about abstraction and conveying emotion in painting. Ab-Ex painters were coming up in post-WWII America (see postwar art), in a culture that was largely conservative and churning with Cold War politics and paranoia—it’s no wonder artists were striving to express their thoughts and feelings on canvas. Painters such as Helen Frankenthaler, Mark Rothko, and Lee Krasner were developing new ways of painting abstractly and expressively. You can’t really pin down a single style to unite Ab-Ex painters. Rather, they should be noted for breaking the mold of traditional painting techniques by using unique materials such as house paint, putting canvases on the floor as opposed to easels and walls, and having a sense of spontaneity in their work. G

CARYATID, CONSTRUCTIVISM, SCULPTURE

ABSTRACTION (n.)

The general concept of abstraction is difficult to define and gets really, well, abstract. So, we’re gonna keep it simple and just talk about abstraction in art, which is called abstract art (imagine that). Abstract art is unconcerned with depicting things from the visible world in a realistic way, and sometimes ignores the visible world altogether. There are varying degrees of abstraction—from reshaping the natural world à la Pablo Picasso to depicting completely unrecognizable subject matter, as in African–American Expressionist painter Alma Thomas’s explorations of deep color and form in the 1950s. So why abstraction? Sometime around the turn of the 20th century, it seems artists were starting to feel disillusioned with the material world. Advancements in science and technology, changes in urban life, and a rising interest in psychoanalytic theory began to cause many to question the very nature of reality and our place within it. Innovations in photography especially pushed artists to challenge the limits of their medium in order to make some new discoveries. Thus, abstraction became a tool for artists to utilize in order to explore everything from the enigma of the fourth dimension (Cubism) to the mysteries of our most complex human emotions (Abstract Expressionism). Through abstraction, artists were able to offer alternative ways of seeing, which is extremely awesome.

I know what you are thinking, "But Je-ennn, I’ve seen that stuff in museums and I could do that!" Well then, go right ahead, sweetie. Show us what you got. J

ACCIDENTAL PAINTING (n.)

Accidental painting—while not quite an accident, does require a certain level of chance aesthetics. This technique involves pouring a synthetic paint onto a flat, horizontal surface, and waiting for it to spread before pouring paint of a different color on top. Slow, controlled pouring of the secondary colors results in trippy, unexpected patterns, due to the layers of paint infiltrating one another.

Mexican painter David Alfaro Siqueiros developed the technique in the 1930s, when he began experimenting with synthetic paint and different application techniques. He was amazed by the simple process coupled with the complex results. Using acrylic paint, he found the medium would adhere to the surface no problem, while also creating these otherworldly effects. For example, in Collective Suicide (1936), he created portions of the work using this method with a fast-drying lacquer typically reserved for painting cars. In 1936, Siqueiros held his first workshop for new techniques in New York City called the Siqueiros Experimental Workshop. None other than Jackson Pollock reportedly attended one of these workshops, meaning it’s likely his infamous splatter paintings were in some way influenced by his time spent in Siqueiros’ workshop. N

ACROPOLIS (n.)

High city. No, I’m not talking about that kind of high city (shout out to Denver and legalized cannabis though). I’m talking about an acropolis, meaning high city or upper city in Greek. The ancient Greeks built city-states made up of core cities and surrounding territories that, as a whole, acted as independent states within larger Greece. They often built a temple on the acropolis, which served as the literal and symbolic center of the city-state. These centers were also fortified with high walls. If a city-state came under attack, residents would take cover in the acropolis, where they had the advantage of being less exposed, but also the ability to see enemy invaders coming. The ancient Greeks are renowned for their architecture and some acropolis temples are still standing today, including the Parthenon on the Athenian Acropolis. The Parthenon was dedicated to Athena, goddess of war and wisdom, so of course it still stands strong and badass to this day. G

ACRYLIC PAINT (n.)

Not all paint is created equal. When acrylic paint arrived on the art scene in the 1930s, artists were drawn to the medium because a) it sticks to nearly anything and b) it dries quickly. A relatively new medium compared to oil paint or tempera paint, it gave artists the option of a more convenient and nontoxic paint to work with.

David Alfaro Siqueiros helped popularize the medium among artists when he used synthetic paint to develop his accidental painting style. Thanks in large part to him, acrylic paint was commercially available by 1955. Pop artist David Hockney discovered acrylic in the 1960s and used it to create many of his famous swimming pool paintings, including Portrait of an Artist (Pool with Two Figures) (1972).

Basically, acrylic is the chameleon of paints. It’s meant to be applied in layers, and the consistency and volume of paint in those layers facilitates the end result. It’s water-soluble, and can be applied in super thin, translucent layers called veils, to mimic watercolor paint. Or, it can be mixed with a special polymer medium so it behaves more like oil paint: layering gobs of it straight from the tube in thick impasto that will dry waaayyy faster than oil. For all these reasons, and more, acrylic paint is an excellent choice for beginners and professional artists alike. N

ACTION PAINTING (n.)

If Jackie Chan had buckets of paint strapped to his arms and legs in Rush Hour 2, and there just happened to be a blank canvas nearby, you would end up with an action painting. Action painting describes a style in which paint is applied spontaneously to a surface. This includes splashing, splattering, dribbling, or smearing paint onto the canvas, rather than applying it carefully. The most essential aspect of action painting is the action, and the finished product should emphasize the physical act.

The style was popularized during the 1940s through 1950s and is most closely associated with Abstract Expressionism. The works of the action painters were not meant to portray objects or even specific emotions. Rather, they were meant to tap into the subconscious mind, evoking a sense of the primeval. This touches on psychiatrist Carl Jung’s theory of a collective archetypal visual language—this is the idea that we are born with ingrained primordial images that we can psychically recognize in the physical world. In other words, the appeal of action painting lies in its ability to tap into base human forms that make our brains feel good. Nice. J

ADDITIVE COLOR (n.)

All right, so, looking at a color wheel, primary colors are red, blue, and yellow. However, when talking about additive color, the primary colors are red, blue, and green. I’m sorry to throw your world into chaos like that, but bear with me. Color, as we see it, is basically just reflected light. Wavelengths of light travel to our eyes, which then perceive color. Our eyeballs have three types of cone receptors: red, blue, and green. So, our eyes are able to perceive wavelengths of light that are red, blue, and green. Additive color is a blanket term for all the colors we are able to see and how we are able to see them due to the mixing of red, blue, and green light. It is the varying combination of these three colors, traveling to our eyes in the form of wavelengths, that creates all perceivable colors. For example, when equal parts of red, blue, and green light connect, we perceive the color white. When all three colors are removed, we perceive black. Blending of the three colors allows us to see teals, mustards, periwinkles, salmons, and so on. Ultimately, additive color is all about light perception and how the mixing of only three colors can open up a Pandora’s box of color possibilities. G

AESTHETIC (n./adj.)

The word aesthetic is, and always has been, nebulous. It refers to a number of ideas and is used in a variety of contexts. Add in the 21st-century world of internet lingo and the word takes on even more meaning, with increased nuance.

In the realm of art history, aesthetic is often used as a noun describing the visual principles of an artwork, artist, or artistic movement. For example, "The overall aesthetic of her work is reminiscent of early 18th-century ukiyo-e, (and the crowd oohs and aahs at your vast knowledge). Aesthetic can also be used as an adjective describing a concern or appreciation for beauty. This type of aesthetic is often used in philosophical and scientific discourse. Aesthetics is the branch of philosophy that picks apart unanswerable questions such as, What is beauty?"

If that isn’t enough for you to wrap your mind around, aesthetic or #aesthetic has come into use across popular social media platforms in recent years. In this context, aesthetic can be used to describe something that is visually pleasing. For example, Your blog is so #aesthetic may be something you say to compliment a carefully curated tumblr feed of pastel colors, sunset shots, and soft grunge images. However, aesthetic can also describe one’s personal fashion, vibe, or lifestyle in a comedically simplified way. This often includes a specific image or pop culture reference. For example, my aesthetic is Hermione Granger eating a cheeseburger accompanied by a photo of a costumed Emma Watson at McDonald’s.

So, to answer your question, I suppose aesthetic is everything. It is all the things. C

AGNOTOLOGY (n.)

Agnotology is the study of culturally induced ignorance. If that doesn’t prick up your ears, I don’t know what will. The field was born when American science historian Robert Proctor learned how the tobacco industry used confusion and doubt about the dangers of smoking to deliberately spread ignorance. Now, in no way does that mean this was the first instance of agnotology on a large scale—really it had been around for centuries as a political tool. Maps are perfect examples of agnotology in action. When mapmakers of the past were filling in unchartered territory, they made up information to enforce certain assertions (see cartography). If you’ve ever read Homer’s Odyssey, you’ll know the monster-laden scenery I’m referring to. Oftentimes this involved fearmongering about areas and people that were unknown or foreign. I wish I could say that has died out over time, but alas. N

AI ART (n.)

Whenever people ask me why I love art so much, one of my favorite go-to answers is, because creating art is distinctly human. Lovely response isn’t it? Simple, elegant, universal. Too bad I’m wrong.

Robots make art now. Not only that, but Christie’s is out here selling portraits made by artificial intelligence for half a million dollars. Here’s how it works: a human feeds an algorithm of aesthetically pleasing images to a robot. The robot then learns the aesthetic elements of the images and spits out an image that follows those same guidelines. Boom! Robot art.

Now, whether or not AI art is actually created by humans (or can even be considered art) is up for debate. For one, humans build the AI in question. Humans also create the visual information the AI uses to make its art. Furthermore, the resultant artwork is dependent on the curation of images that is fed through the algorithm (by a human).

AI Art: An innovative approach to art-making, or further proof we’re in a simulation—who’s to say? C

AIRBRUSH (n./v.)

An airbrush is a wee tool that, when connected with pressurized air, sprays out liquid materials such as paint and ink. Airbrushes push fast-moving air through a pump that is able to spray the paint out in very fine splatters. When used correctly, there are no brushstrokes. Everything is smoothly and evenly applied. An airbrush artist has the ability to control the size of the spray in order to achieve a variety of styles and forms. The airbrush is not relegated to the art world alone: perhaps you’ve heard of airbrush makeup? Yes, you can spray your face and body with foundation so that you look like a perfect, poreless doll. People also airbrush cars, clothing, buildings, and more traditional art surfaces such as canvas and panel. While airbrushing reaches outside of the accepted realm of fine art, I appreciate its ability to be seen and experienced in many ways. I’m not saying your circa 1999 airbrushed Backstreet Boys sweatshirt is fine art, but people who paint with airbrushes are painting, and there is a great deal of skill and technique involved. If you don’t believe me, check out some airbrush videos on YouTube—a lot of them have electric guitar soundtracks and guys in garages, but the airbrush skills are real. G

CAMP, FRAME, LIGHT ART

ALIENATION (n.)

Let’s talk walls. Specifically, the fourth one. What is the fourth wall, you ask? It’s the imaginary barrier between performers and their audience. Alienation effect is the strategy used by performers to keep their audience from getting completely swept up into a story. In other words, they want to alienate the audience. While having a captive audience seems like a good thing, this theory says that, in order to stay critical, a viewer must be engaged, but not overtaken by their emotions. Only then can they remain a conscious observer. By breaking the fourth wall during a performance, actors remind the audience of their separation from what’s happening on stage. Performance artists often practice this theory by engaging with their audience in a way that keeps them from being passive observers. A shining example is Yoko Ono’s Cut Piece (1964), in which Ono invited audience members on stage and handed them scissors (go visit Jen at Fluxus for more on that).

German socialist, playwright, and poet Bertolt Brecht coined the term Verfremdungseffekt (estrangement effect) in 1936. He created techniques to alienate the audience, such as showing captions or images, breaking into song, highlighting the fakeness of backdrops, and general breaking of the fourth wall. So it seems I have Herr Brecht to thank for the trauma my ten-year-old self endured when the hyenas tore through that fourth wall and came down the theater aisles during The Lion King musical. In some ways, that made the show feel more real, but I can confirm it indeed shocked me back into my tiny, terrified body. N

ALTARPIECE (n.)

Fourteenth-century Italians loved going to church. For fun, let’s imagine a teenager named Giacomo sitting in the Basilica di Santa Maria Gloriosa dei Frari in Venice. The priest is giving mass, but his back is turned to the congregation and he’s speaking in Latin. Giacomo, along with many others in the church, does not understand Latin. What to do Giacomo? Well, here is where an altarpiece comes in. Altarpieces are works of art placed behind and above the altar in a Christian church. Some of these devotional pieces date as far back as the Middle Ages and were made with the intention of engaging worshippers while conveying a religious message. Biblical scenes on altarpieces provided an additional form of religious doctrine. So, while the priest drones on in Latin, Giacomo gazes up at the altarpiece depicting the Virgin Mary as she ascends into heaven after her death. The divine imagery and vibrant composition are meant to spiritually move Giacomo. Today you too can be moved by Titian’s altarpiece, the Assumption of the Virgin (1516–18), in its original location in Venice. G

AMERICAN REGIONALISM (n.)

In the 1930s, at the height of the Great Depression, an art movement cropped up that was all about the heartland—the American Midwest that is—in all its corn-laden glory. Forgive me if I get a bit sentimental, I hail from the great state of Iowa, along with the poster boy of American Regionalism, Grant Wood. One of the best-known paintings in contemporary cultural consciousness is Wood’s American Gothic (1930). It has been parodied in just about every sitcom created in the past thirty years. You know the painting, the ambiguously glum, pitchfork-wielding couple standing rigidly in front of a farmhouse. That’s quintessential American Regionalism right there. Proponents of American Regionalism believed that the modern art coming out of Europe at the time was out of touch with the American spirit. American Regionalists chose to focus on realism and storytelling in a way that celebrated the lives of hardworking midwestern folk, while capturing the raw reality of rural life during the years of the Great Depression. C

ANACHRONISM (n.)

Anachronism describes something that appears to belong to a different time period or place than the one it’s actually in. Imagine this: you’re going to a Renaissance fair with some friends because it sounds like fun to drink mead and maybe buy a cool hat. When you and your 21st-century friends arrive at the scene, you’re suddenly part of a world in which people are dressed as knights, ladies, lords, blacksmiths, and wizards. The woman at the mead stand is dressed like a 15th-century barmaid, yet you are not in the 15th century. This, in a nutshell, is an anachronism.

Artists have incorporated people from the past into their contemporary compositions, and vice versa, for centuries. Consider the fresco School of Athens (1509–11) made by Italian painter Raphael in the Vatican. At a quick glance, and without context, we could guess this scene contains men from the same time period, but look closer and something seriously anachronistic is going on. Second-century intellects are in the same space with men from the 6th century, seemingly all discussing topics in one collective space. Raphael used anachronism here to herald men of intellect in a painting that was made for men of intellect to look at. No one viewing the fresco in this context would be confused as to why men from different time periods were together in one scene.

There’s a painting currently hanging at the White House titled The Republican Club, by Andy Thomas. It depicts a jovial group of men sitting around a table. Notable Republican presidents from history—Richard Nixon, Ronald Reagan, both George Bushes, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Gerald Ford, and Abraham Lincoln—sit at a table with Donald Trump. Now we all know Lincoln has long been dead and apart from a potential séance, Abe and Trump can’t chat and laugh while Trump guzzles his Diet Coke. However, this is anachronism at work. The reasons for anachronism in art are varied and vast, but it is always implemented with the intent to forge connections and make statements—whether on a wall in the Vatican, or on a wall in the White House. G

ANAMORPHOSIS (n.)

Anamorphosis, or an anamorphic image, is when an image is distorted in such a way as to be unrecognizable unless viewed at a certain angle or reflected in a mirror.

My favorite example of anamorphosis in art is Hans Holbein the Younger’s 1533 painting The Ambassadors. Holbein was a German-Swiss artist who thrived as a portrait painter in Tudor England, becoming the court painter for Henry VIII shortly after this painting was completed. The two fancy men in The Ambassadors were French ambassadors living in England at the time, and the painting is full of rich detail and symbolism. A large, striking skull is painted at the center of the composition, toward the ground. Viewing the object straight on, it doesn’t really look like a skull, but rather a piece of weird driftwood that somehow magically floated into the composition from some Surrealist painting. Position yourself to the right of the painting, however, and the skull is no longer stretched and distorted, but corrects itself to become recognizable. Holbein altered the skull in this way because it is a reminder of death (see memento mori). All other objects in the composition are rendered naturalistically because they represent earthly things, not transcendental things (like death). To view the anamorphic skull, you have to change your position, but it is still ever present at any angle—just like death! Here Holbein used anamorphosis in a very conceptual way to remind everyone, including fancy French ambassadors, that death comes for all … even if you can’t always see it. G

ANICONISM (n.)

See iconoclasm.

ANTIQUITY (n.)

Antiquity refers to the ancient time period prior to the Middle Ages. For example, an ancient Roman sculpture of Venus, the goddess of love, is considered an object from antiquity. When you hear about civilizations from antiquity, you’ve most likely heard about ancient Greece, Rome, Egypt, and Mesopotamia. Given that antiquity refers to civilizations and cultures before the Middle Ages, these are obviously not the only worlds from antiquity to consider. However, we hear more about these largely Mediterranean civilizations from antiquity because the original art historians—typically white, European men—told us they were the ones that mattered most. But the term antiquity casts a much wider net than those early art historians would have us believe.

Despite the centuries that separate ancient civilizations from the modern world, antiquity can still teach us a lot today. Through studying antiquity, we can learn about history, art, culture, innovation, and just, like, humanity in general. I’m not going to lie, that last part sounds like something a drunk girl pretending to be deep at a cocktail party would say, but I’m going to roll with it. G

ANTROPOFAGIA (n.)

Antropófagia is the Portuguese word for anthropophagy, the technical term for eating human flesh. It is also a term associated with a philosophy that guided the development of modernism in Brazilian art during the 1930s.

Let me give you a short history lesson: When the Spanish landed in the Lesser Antilles (in the Caribbean) in 1493, they encountered an indigenous group called the Carib (Carib, Caribbean, you see?). The Spanish explorers really wanted to enslave the Carib, but Queen Isabella said, nah. That is, until the explorers began sending reports of the Caribs performing human cannibalism back to the queen, who then said, "oh, hell no, enslave them asap. Many reports of cannibalism subsequently emerged across both North and South American continents. They became so synonymous with the New World that images of America personified often showed a nude woman holding a disembodied human head, arm, or leg. Even the word cannibalism" derives from the Spanish mispronunciation of Carib as Caniba.

Fast-forward 500 years, to a time when Brazilian authors, poets, and artists saw Europeans cannibalizing non-Western works in their art and calling it modern. That pissed some people off. So, they decided to cannibalize European modernism in their own unique brand of Brazilian modern art.

The Brazilian poet Oswald de Andrade published the Manifesto Antropófago in 1928. In it, he proposes that Brazil’s history of cannibalizing the works of other cultures is the country’s greatest strength. The manifesto’s iconic line, Tupi or not Tupi: that is the question, is simultaneously a celebration of the Tupi of Brazil, who practiced certain forms of ritual cannibalism, and a metaphorical instance of cannibalism: it eats Shakespeare. I love some good cannibal talk myself, it’s really my jam. But still,