Arabesque  Ornament or surface decoration with intricate curves and flowing lines based on plant forms.

Beam The horizontal stone or timber placed across an architectural space to take the weight of the

roof or wall above; also called a lintel.

Arch  A curved structure designed to span an opening, usually made of stone or other masonry. Roman arches are semicircular; Islamic and Gothic arches come to a point at the top.

Armature  A rigid framework serving as a supporting inner core for clay or other soft sculpting material.

Assemblage  Sculpture using preexisting, sometimes "found" objects that may or may not contribute their original identities to the total content of the work.

Wash  A thin, transparent layer of paint or ink.

Curvilinear Formed or characterized by curving lines or edges. 

Applied Art  Art in which aesthetic values are used in the design or decoration of utilitarian objects.

Bauhaus German art school in existence from 1919 to 1933, best known for its influence on design, leadership in art education, and a radically innovative philosophy of applying design principles to machine technology and mass production.

Bas-Relief See relief sculpture.

Barrel Vault See vault.

Baroque The seventeenth-century period in Europe characterized in the visual arts by dramatic light and shade, turbulent composition, and exaggerated emotional expression. 

Closed Form  A self-contained or explicitly limited form; having a resolved balance of tensions, a sense of calm completeness implying a totality within itself.

Balance An arrangement of parts achieving a state of equilibrium between opposing forces or influences. Major types are symmetrical and asymmetrical. See symmetry. 

Axis An implied straight line in the center of a form along its dominant direction. 

Avant-Garde French for "advance guard" or "vanguard." Those considered the leaders (and often regarded as radicals) in the invention and application of new concepts in a given field.

Automatism Automatic or unconscious action. Employed by Surrealist writers and artists to allow

unconscious ideas and feelings to be expressed.

Asymmetrical  Without symmetry.

Chiaroscuro  Italian for "light-dark." The gradations of light and dark values in two-dimensional imagery; especially the illusion of rounded, three-dimensional form created through gradations of light and shade rather than line. Highly developed by Renaissance painters.

Byzantine Art  Styles of painting, design, and architecture developed from the fifth century A.D. in the Byzantine Empire of eastern Europe. Characterized in architecture by round arches, large domes, and extensive use of mosaic; characterized in painting by formal design, frontal and stylized figures, and a rich use of color, especially gold, in generally religious subject matter.

Achromatic  Having no color or hue; without identifiable hue. Most blacks, whites, grays, and browns are achromatic.

Colonnade  A row of columns usually spanned or connected by beams (lintels). 

Casein  A white, tasteless, odorless milk protein used in making paint as well as plastics, adhesives, and foods.

Cluster Houses  Residential units laced close together in order to maximize the usable exterior space of the surrounding area, within the concept of single-family dwellings.

Binder  The material used in paint that causes pigment particles to adhere to one another and to the support; for example, linseed oil or acrylic polymer.

Buttress  A support, usually exterior, for a wall, arch, or vault, that opposes the lateral forces of these structures. A flying buttress consists of a strut or segment of an arch carrying the thrust of a vault to a vertical pier positioned away from the main portion of the building. An important element in Gothic cathedrals.

Composition  The bringing together of parts or elements to form a whole; the structure, organization, or total form of a work of art. See also design.

Calligraphy  The art of beautiful writing. Broadly, a flowing use of line, often varying from thick to thin.

Color Field Painting  A movement that grew out of Abstract Expressionism, in which large stained or painted areas or "fields of color" evoke aesthetic and emotional responses.

Weft  In weaving, the horizontal threads interlaced through the warp. Also called woof.