Chapter 1
Chapter 1
LESSON 5: MEDIUMS IN VARIOUS FORMS OF ART
Mediums comes from the Latin word medium means by "which an artist communicates his ideas". These are the materials which are used by an artist to interpret his feelings or thoughts. Many mediums have been used in creating different works of art. Thus, Medium is very essential in arts.
The choice of medium is a crucial aspect in art production. Mediums differ not only in their inherent qualities but also in the effects they produce. On the basis of Medium, the arts are primarily classified as visual and auditory. Visual arts are those mediums can be seen and which occupy space. These are grouped into two classes:
(1) Dimensional or two-dimensional art which includes painting, drawing, printmaking, and photography and:
(2) the three-dimensional arts which includes sculpture, architecture, landscape, community planning industrial design, crafts like ceramics and furniture.
Visual arts are those arts that can be perceived with our eyes. The most common visual arts are painting, sculpture, and architecture. Their mediums are discussed as follows:
Painting is the art of creating meaningful effects on a flat surface by the use of pigments. Different mediums are used in painting. Each medium exerts a pronounced effect on finished product, is capable of varied treatment and determines its own stroke. These mediums are applied to wet plaster, canvas, wood or paper.
Watercolor is done with the use of pigments mixed with water and applied to fine white paper. It is difficult to handle because producing warm and rich tones using this medium proves to be a challenge. On the contrary. Watercolor pigments invite brilliance and a variety of hues. Simple and clear spontaneity is its principal essence. These effects are used by watercolor artists through some techniques.
Frescoes is an Italian word it is "fresh". It is a painting method done on a moist plaster surface with colors ground in water or a limewater mixture. Fresco must be done quickly because it is an exacting medium - the moment the painting is applied to the surface, the color dry into the plaster and the painting becomes an integral part of the wall. An example of fresco painting is Michelangelo's "The Creation of Adam", "The Fall of Man" and some other biblical events in the Sistine Chapel ceiling commissioned by Pope Julius II.
Tempera paints are mineral pigment mixed with egg yolk or egg white, ore, gum and chalk (gesso). Being an emulsion, tempera readily dries with the evaporation of water and this characteristic is one of its advantages. Another advantage is its effect on the wooden panel, its ground or surface -luminosity of tone. However, there are also disadvantages, it is a quick-drying; it allows little blending or fusing of colors. This kind of medium are still use today.
Pastel is done with a stick of dried made of pigment ground with chalk compounded with gum water. It is very flexible medium whose colors are luminous. In spite of the richness and varied effects it yields, pastels are less popular than the other mediums because it is difficult to preserve the finished product in its original state.
Encaustic is one of the early mediums used by the Egyptians for painting portraits on mummy cases. This is done by applying wax colors fixed with heat. Painting with wax produces luster and radiance, making subjects appear at their best in portraits.
Oil is one of the most expensive art activities today because of the prohibitive cost of materials. It is the heaviest of painting mediums (from minerals, coal tar and/or vegetable matter). In oil painting pigment are mixed with linseed oil and applied to the canvas. One good quality of oil paint as a medium is its flexibility. The artist may use brush, palette knife, or even his bare and when applying medium on his canvas. The distinctive characteristic of oil paint, compared with other mediums, is that it dries slowly and the painting may be changed and worked over for a long period of time.
Acrylic is a medium used popularly by contemporary painters because of the transparency and quick-drying characteristics of watercolor and the flexibility of oil combined. The synthetic paint is mixed with acrylic emulsion as binder for coating the surface of the artwork. Acrylic paints do not tend to break easily unlike oil paints which turn yellowish or darker over a period of time.
Mosaic is the art of putting together small pieces of colored stones or glass called "tesserae" to create an image. The tesserae are most often cut into squares and glued on a surface with plaster or cement. Mosaic is usually classified as painting, although, the medium used is not strictly pigment.
Stained Glass as an artwork is common in Gothic cathedrals and churches. It is made by combining small pieces of colored glass, held together by bands of lead. It is also kind of patchwork. The pictures in the stained glass commonly depict lives of saints and effect, also serve as a means of religious instruction among Christians. Beautiful stained-glass windows showing scenes from the Bible are commonly found in our beloved country, Philippines.
Tapestry is a fabric produced by hand-weaving-colored threads upon a warp. The woven designs often end up as pictorials, wall hangings, and furniture covering.
Pencil leads (graphite) are graded in different degrees of hardness or softness. Grades are chosen depending on the kind of drawing the artist will undertake. For line work, hard pencil lead is applied while, when working a granular surface, soft pencils are used because they invite effects of mass and texture of gray.
Ink is one of the oldest mediums still in use, offers a great variety of qualities, depending on the tools and techniques used in application.
Charcoal is a carbonaceous material obtained by heating wood or other organic substances in the absence of oxygen. It is used in representing broad masses of light and shadow. Like drawing pencils, soft charcoal produces the darkest value, while the hardest produces the lightest tone.
Crayons are pigments bound by wax and compressed into painted sticks used for drawing. It is especially popular among children in the elementary grades. Crayons adhere better on paper surface.
Silverpoint -to produce a silverpoint artwork, the artist uses a silver stylus to produce a thin grayish on specially prepared paper. Silverpoint drawings were popular during Renaissance period.
Printmaking is anything printed on a surface that is a direct result from the duplication process. The painting or graphic image, usually done in black ink on white paper becomes the artist's plate. One of the advantages of printmaking is the ease with which one can make multiple copies of the original drawing.
Lithography is a surface printing done from an almost smooth surface which has been treated chemically or mechanically so that some surface areas will print and others will not. The artist draws his design using greasy crayon or pencil on a slab of special limestone or zinc plate, the drawing is then fixed with an acid solution. Afterwards, a greasy ink is spread all over the surface are with a roller. A print can then be made by pressing any piece of paper on the plate.
Bistre is a brown pigment from the soot of wood, and often used in pen and wash drawings.
Sculpture
In choosing a subject for sculpture, the most important thing to consider is the material. The materials available for sculpture are limitless. Each of these materials presents a challenge of the sculptor's creativity.
Plaster is composed of lime, sand and water. It is worked on an armature of metal wires and rods in addition to various materials and fibers. It is applied on walls and ceilings allowed to harden and dry. The medium is used extensively in making manikins, models, molds, architectural decorations, and other indoor sculpture.
Stone is hard and brittle substance formed from mineral and earth material the finished product is granular and dull in appearance. Stones are normally used for gravestones in cemetery.
Wood is a medium is easier to carve than any other mediums available because it can be subjected into a variety of treatment. It is lighter and softer to carve despite having greater tensile strength than stone. Wood should be treated to preserve its quality.
Jade is a fine stone, usually colored green, and used widely in Ancient China. It is highly esteemed as an ornamental stone for carving and fashion jewelry. Today, it is made into women's fashion accessories because it carries certain social significance.
Clay is a natural earthy material that is plastic when wet. It consists essentially of hydrated silicates of aluminum and is used for making bricks and ceramics. Clay is generally fragile so it becomes necessary to cast it in another durable material.
Glass is a medium that is hard, brittle, non-crystalline, more or less transparent substance produced by fusion, usually consisting of mutually dissolved silica and silicates and contains soda and lime. It can be molded in various colors and shapes. It used to make beautiful fragile figurines.
Ivory comes from the main parts of tusks of elephants, is the hard-white substance used to make carvings and billiard balls.
Metals include any of class of elementary substances such as gold, silver, or copper, all of which are crystalline when solid and many of which are characterized by capacity, ductility, conductivity, peculiar luster when freshly fractured.
Bronze- one of the oldest alloy of metals composed chiefly of copper and tin with color. It is one of the most popular metals for cast sculpture.
Brass- an alloy copper and zinc, is not popularly used by contemporary artist because of its limitations as a medium. It has many practical uses, as brass does not rush and takes a brilliant polish.
Gold and Silver- are used as casting material for small objects like medals, coins, and piece of jewelry.
Granites is a granular igneous rock composed of feldspar and quartz, usually combined with other minerals. This medium is quite difficult to chisel. It is good for large works with only a few designs.
Marble is a limestone in a more or less crystalline state sufficiently close in texture, and capable of taking a high polish.
Sandstone is relatively soft, making it easy to work on.
Basalt is hard and black.
Limestone has a fine and even texture, its color ranges from light cream to buff, and from light gray to a darker, bluish gray.
Architecture
It is an art, its strictest meaning, it is the art of designing a building and supervising its construction. It may also be regarded as the procedure assisted with the conception of an idea and its realization in terms of building materials. Materials used in architecture are classified into three: (1) the material found in nature; (2) materials manufactured or made by man; (3) indigenous materials.
Mediums of Auditory Arts
Auditory arts are those whose mediums can be heard and which are expressed in time. The mediums of auditory arts are:
-motion pictures, film, or movies;
-theatre (a place for viewing)
-television or TV for short
Mediums of Combined Arts
-doing a charcoal sketch before painting
-doing a pencil sketch before painting
-combining watercolor with pastel in landscaping painting
Techniques in Arts
Artists differ from one another in technique even if they use the same medium. A musician's technique is his ability to make music sound the way he wants it. For instances, a pianist, my sound different from another pianist even as they handle the same instrument and play the same musical composition.
Technique differs in the various arts. An arts and techniques in one medium will be quite different from his technique in another. A painter may have a fine technique in watercolor but a poor one in oil. The distinction between an art and a craft may be made on the basis of the technique used. Technique, thus, is an important aspect that distinguishes an art from a craft.
Some Techniques of Visual Arts
-blowing etching - printing transfer design -tinkering, splattering
-throwing coloring -flowing cutting -scratched etched
-stencil process -relief painting
Some Techniques in Auditory Arts
- sound as in music -speech -signaling with instrument
Some Techniques in Combined Arts
-photographic images -clothing -newspaper clippings
New Trends in Art Advertising
A trend is a change or development towards something new or novel. To set a trend is to do something that become accepted or fashionable so that a lot of other people copy or follow.
Six Big Visual Trends for 2017
1. Unfiltered Imagery. This kind of imagery helps brands to connect with younger, savvy consumers and bring a raw, spontaneous edge to their storytelling.
2. New Naivety Trend. Loose and irreverent, this type of imagery proudly displays traits we once tried to hide - such as being freckled, chubby or geeky -and is full of personality, humor and individuality. 3. Virtually Trend. People nowadays are immersed into an experience an exciting ways of art.
4. Color Surge. This is use if unnatural combination of color that immediate ignite interest and excitement in the works of art.
5. Gritty Woman Trend. About a whole new type of female representation that's starting to appear in design, branding and advertising. Tenacious, laser-focused and unafraid to get their hands dirty, these women are not to be crossed, overlooked or underestimated.
6. Global Neighborhood Trend. A trend where people are more concern on what they believe based on their connections.
Artist and Artisan
Artist are the creators of tangible or intangible products (work of art) as an expression of creativity and imagination for purely aesthetic reasons.
Artisans (craftsman) are the makers of products or crafts, not only for aesthetic value of for decorative purposes but for practical value, such as for business purposes.
Art Management (Art Administration) is the process of running the daily business operation of art institutions either private or public in nature. Art institutions includes museums, art galleries, theatres, opera house, art and cultural centers, among others.
Art Manager are those who manage arts through different aspects in Art Galleries and Museums.
Not included in lesson 5.
Role of Curators in the Art World
Curators are involved in nearly all facets of a museum's functions.
His roles are:
a. preserving and safeguarding the heritage art;
b. selecting of new work in the museum;
c. deciding which works are to be displayed;
d. deciding on how works are hung in the galleries;
e. deciding how the viewing public experience the exhibition;
f. researching hoe to show artworks in art historically coherent and in an entertaining way.
Role of Art Collectors
Art Collectors must have a good relationship with their artists. Some collectors are duty-bound to collect pieces of art work for display in art institutions.
Art Production Process
Art is concerned with the actual doing and how actions can be achieved in art as pure human expression. Art production often entails an inherent motivation, rationale, and intentionality.
Thus, art is valued as a creative journey or process rather than as a deliverable or end product.
Three Parts of Art Production
1. Pre-Planning/ Pre-Production
2. Production