Art Movements: 1946-1999: English Vocabulary List

a modern art movement originated in New York in which an artist expresses subjective feelings in abstract forms rather than external objects or figures

"He loves abstract expressionism."

"Abstract expressionism became popular in New York in the 1950s."

an Italian art movement active in the late 20th century, which sought to create art from everyday, found materials

"Arte povera used humble materials."

"Arte povera used humble everyday materials like dirt twigs and rags for conceptual art installations."

a group of American writers active in the mid-20th century who sought to challenge the conventions of literature and create a more experimental style

"Beat generation rejected conformity."

"The Beat generation rejected conformity and celebrated spontaneity in art poetry and lifestyle during the nineteen fifties."

a group of American artists active in the late 20th century who sought to challenge the conventions of abstract expressionism and create a more humorous and irreverent style

"Chicago Imagists used surreal figurative art."

"The Chicago Imagists used surreal and figurative art styles with bright colors and monstrous themes."

an abstract art movement in which large fields of color are used to create a sense of immersion, stillness and calm

"Color field used large flat areas."

"Color field painting used large flat areas of solid color to create emotional and meditative responses."

an international multi-disciplinary art movement that peaked in the 1960s and 1970s

"Fluxus blended art and life."

"Fluxus blurred the boundary between art and everyday life with event scores and unconventional performances."

an American art movement active in the mid-20th century, which sought to create abstract paintings through the use of geometric shapes and flat, bold colors

"Hard-edge painting used sharp boundaries."

"Hard edge painting used sharp boundaries between flat colors with precise geometric forms and no visible brushstrokes."

a modern art form that depends on motion to produce the desired effect

"The museum shows kinetic art."

"Kinetic art moves and changes with air or motors."

an art movement active in the mid-20th century, which sought to challenge the conventions of traditional art and create a more experimental style

"Neo-dada artists challenged traditional art conventions."

"The neo-dada movement of the mid-20th century embraced absurdity and experimentation, questioning what could truly be considered art."

an artistic movement active in the mid-20th century, which sought to create art from everyday, found objects

"Nouveau realisme used actual objects."

"Nouveau Realisme used actual objects as art materials to celebrate consumer culture in France."

an art movement that uses visual illusions and patterns to create the illusion of movement, depth, and changing form

"Op art created optical illusions."

"Op art creates optical illusions of movement and vibration using black and white patterns or bright colors."

art created by those outside of the mainstream art world, often self-taught artists with no formal training

"Outsider art lacked formal training."

"Outsider art is made by self taught artists outside the mainstream often in isolation or psychiatric hospitals."

an art movement emerging from the United Kingdom during the 1960s that was based on mass media and popular culture, using elements of commercials, comic books, etc. as a way to challenge the traditions of the fine arts

"Pop art celebrated everyday consumer objects like soup cans and comic strips."

"Pop art was a 1960s movement that blurred the boundaries between high art and mass popular culture"

an art movement of the 1960s that reacted against abstract expressionism by rejecting gestural brushwork in favor of smooth, evenly painted surfaces with hard-edged geometrical shapes and drips of color

"Post-painterly abstraction rejected gestural paint."

"Post painterly abstraction rejected gestural paint for clean surfaces and sharp edges with flat colors."

art movement that focuses on documenting the artistic process itself, rather than producing an end product

"Process art emphasized making."

"Process art emphasized the act of making rather than the final object using industrial materials."

art created for a publicly accessible space and intended to reach a wide audience, often site-specific pieces incorporating the surrounding environment

"Public art is placed publicly."

"Public art is placed in publicly accessible outdoor or indoor spaces for everyone to enjoy."

an anarchist and Marxist political and artistic movement that existed from 1957 to 1972 and aimed to transform culture through creative activity and the construction of situations

"Situationist international critiqued society."

"The Situationist International critiqued modern consumer society through art and political activism in the nineteen sixties."

art form that uses moving image media like video and film as the primary medium

"Video art uses moving images."

"Video art uses moving images as the primary artistic medium often shown on monitors or projected."

an artistic style popular in the late 20th century, characterized by its use of the body as a medium and its exploration of the relationship between the body and the self

"Body art uses artist's body."

"Body art uses the artist's own body as the canvas or medium for performances or photographs."

art in which the concept presented is considered as the most important part not the form or appearance

"Conceptual art prioritizes idea."

"Conceptual art prioritizes the idea over the finished object often using text or instructions instead of traditional materials."

a form of art that uses natural elements of a landscape directly in its composition

"Land art modifies natural landscape."

"Land art modifies the natural landscape to create large sculptures using earth rocks and vegetation."

a genre of art that is marked by a high-resolution representation of real life pictures

"Hyperrealism resembles high-resolution photos."

"Hyperrealism resembles high resolution photographs in painted form with incredible detail and precision."

an artistic style popular in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, characterized by its use of digital technologies and the Internet to create art

"Internet art uses web platform."

"Internet art uses the web as its medium and platform for interactive and net based projects."

an artistic style popular in the mid-20th century, characterized by its use of expressive brushstrokes and bright colors to create a sense of emotion and movement

"Lyrical abstraction expressed emotion spontaneously."

"Lyrical abstraction expressed emotion through spontaneous gestural painting with colorful dynamic brushstrokes."

an artistic style popular in the late 20th century, characterized by its use of the postal system to create art and its exploration of the relationship between art and communication

"Mail art travels through postal system."

"Mail art is distributed through the postal system using envelopes postcards and stamps as artistic media."

an artistic style popular in the late 20th century, characterized by its use of bold colors and textures to create a sense of abundance and energy

"Maximalism uses excess detail."

"Maximalism uses excess detail and intense decoration with many colors patterns and textures in a single work."

‌a style of art, music, or design that arose in the 1950s and is associated with simplicity and uses only a limited number of elements

"Minimalism uses few elements."

"The architect embraced minimalism, creating a serene space with clean lines and uncluttered surfaces."

an artistic style popular in the late 20th century, characterized by its use of vivid colors and expressive brushstrokes to capture the human experience

"Neo-expressionism returned to figurative painting."

"Neo Expressionism returned to figurative painting with intense emotion and rough hastily applied brushstrokes."

a modern type of art in which the artist and the audience are engaged in dramatic performance, often with political or social themes

"The artist's performance art involved sitting still for six hours."

"The performance artist sat silently in a chair for six hours while audience members stared at her."

an artistic style popular in the late 20th century, characterized by its use of simple forms, bright colors, and everyday objects to explore the relationship between art and life

"Postminimalism extended minimalism."

"Postminimalism extended minimalism with more organic and expressive forms using industrial materials like felt and rope."

a movement and style in art, literature, architecture, etc. in the 20th century, which reacted against modernism and is usually marked by a return to earlier styles and inclusion of features from various periods

"Postmodernism is skeptical."

"Postmodernism challenged traditional ideas about art, literature, and architecture in the twentieth century."

a style of art in which the artist studies a photograph and tries to recreate it in another medium as accurate and natural as possible

"Photorealism looks like photographs."

"Photorealism looks exactly like a high resolution photograph using painting or drawing techniques."

an artistic style popular in the mid-20th century, characterized by its use of bright colors and abstract forms to explore altered states of consciousness

"Psychedelic art uses bright swirling colors."

"Psychedelic art uses bright swirling colors to evoke altered states of consciousness inspired by hallucinogenic drugs."

an artistic style popular in the late 20th century, characterized by its use of a particular location and its exploration of the relationship between art and its environment

"Site-specific art responds to location."

"Site specific art is created for a particular location and cannot be moved without losing meaning."

an artistic style popular in the late 20th and early 21st centuries, characterized by its use of sound and its exploration of the relationship between art and music

"Sound art uses audio."

"Sound art uses audio as its primary artistic material including installations performances and recordings."