Art Basics: Types of Visual Art Forms
Q. What are the main styles of architecture?
Early civilizations – like Egyptian, Sumerian, Minoan, Greek, Roman and Byzantine – had their own unique styles of architecture. Thereafter, the main architectural styles usually include Romanesque, Gothic, Renaissance, Baroque, Rococo, and Neoclassical. In the 19th century, we see a number of repeats of old styles, including: The Greek Revival and the Gothic Revival, as well as a Neo-Renaissance and Neo-Romanesque Revival, plus the Second Empire style (1850-80) in France. In the 20th Century, the principal architectural schools and movements include: 1900-1920 Art Nouveau; 1900-1925 Early Modernism; 1900-1925 Continental Avant-Garde (De Stijl, Neue Sachlichkeit); 1900-2000 Steel-frame Skyscraper Architecture; 1919-1933 Bauhaus (Walter Gropius); 1925-1940 Modernism and Art Deco; 1928-1940 Totalitarian Architecture (Germany, USSR); 1945-1970 Late Modernism; 1945-2000 High Tech Corporate Design Architecture; 1960-2000 Postmodernism; 1970-2000 Minimalism; 1980-2000 Deconstructivism; 1990-2000 Blobitecture.
Q. What are the main types of sculpture?
Sculptures traditionally have been carved or chiseled from a variety of natural materials, including animal bones, clay, stone, wood, and precious metal. New tools and technology enabled sculptors in China and ancient Greece to begin casting in bronze. Today, contemporary artists use a huge range of materials, including: car-parts, stainless steel, plastics, stained glass, foam rubber, concrete, sand and ice.
Q. What’s the difference between ceramics and pottery?
In art, there is no difference between ceramics and pottery. Both involve shaping, firing and glazing/decorating clay bodies. Pioneered by craftsmen in China and ancient Greece, ceramic art is one of the most difficult artforms to master.
Q. What is “assemblage”?
Assemblage is a type of 3-D art composed from everyday objects which are typically ‘found’ by the artist.
Q. What is “collage”?
The word “collage” denotes a composition of assorted materials – usually things like newspaper clippings, photographs, pieces of textile or fabric, and perhaps solid objects – affixed to a sheet of paper or board or canvas. First used by Georges Braque and Pablo Picasso during their synthetic Cubism phase, Collage is also associated with Henri Matisse, as well as the modern art styles of Dada, Surrealism, Pop-Art and assemblage.
Q. What is “calligraphy”?
Originating in China, calligraphy is the art of stylized writing, requiring the correct formation of characters, the ordering of the various parts, and general harmony of proportions. The two leading forms of calligraphy derive from the Arabic and Oriental languages.
Source: Encyclopedia of Irish and World Art. Additional information can be found at or http://www.visual-arts-cork.com/art-questions.htm