| Term | Description |
Value/Hue | An art term for the degree of lightness of hue of a color varying from nature's colors of pure black to pure white. Darker colors are darker in hue. Many artists, striving for realist depiction, use their palette's to mix colors to create values that approximate nature's 'true' colors. Source: Robert Atkins, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" |
Vancouver School of Art/The Vancouver School | An informal group of Canadian photo artists, whose work is often referred to as photo-conceptualism. Themes focused on complex social issues, and a motivating force was the desire for greater national and international recognition of Canadian artists. Involved were Ken Lum, Jeff Wall, Ian Wallace, Stan Douglas, Rodney Graham, Roy Arden, and Vikky Alexander. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vancouver_School |
Vanderpoel Art Association | Founded in 1913 by friends of John H. Vanderpoel, the Association was a memorial to this long-time teacher at the Chicago Art Institute. The Association amassed a collection of over 600 works, many of them by Vanderpoel, but had paintings and sculptures by other artists including Rowena Abdy, Gustave Baumann, Grace Betts, Nicholas Brewer, Mary Cassatt, Emma Richardson Cherry, Jessie Benton Evans, Daniel Chester French, Albert Krehbiel, Pauline Palmer, Maxfield Parrish, Clyde Singer, Theodore Steele, Marion Wachtel and Grant Wood. The collection was first housed in Vanderpoel School at Ridge Park Field House, 96th and Longwood Drive, in Chicago. In 1969, most of the collection was moved to the Beverly Art Center building in Ridge Park, a suburb of Chicago. Source: "The Visual Delights of the Vanderpoel Art Collection", Brochure of the Association, Courtesy Sidney C. Hamper, President, 2004. |
Vanishing Point | In linear perspective, the point on the horizon line where parallel lines appear to meet. It is a trick of the eye, and an example would be the appearance that railroad tracks appear to be increasingly closer together as they recede. Many artists consider the creation of vanishing points when doing the preliminary planning for their artwork. However, other artists beginning in American art with Hudson River School painter, Thomas Cole, deliberately defy the concept. Cole's early 19th-Century canvases were shocking because they had eye-catching activity in many parts of the canvases, which was a violation of the European landscape-painting requirement of having a Vanishing Point. Sources: Robert Atkins, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms". James Flexner, "History of American Painting", V. III, p. 38-39. (LPD) |
Varnish | "A solution of resin in a volatile solvent that, brushed or sprayed on a surface, dries to a hard, glossy, and usually transparent film, which serves as a protective coating; also the coating itself." (Mayer) An effective varnish protects paint surfaces from dampness and atmospheric dirt without altering the coloration. It should also be easy to remove for cleaning or restoration. Some varnishes are made with colors, but these are recommended for industrial use only and not for artwork. Varnishes manufactured in the late 20th-century are considered by some professionals to be much more desirable for long-range use than previously-used varnishes that caused yellowing with age and dirt and led to crackling because of the oil paint being unable to "breathe". Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms". |
Vehicle | Liquid in which pigments are dispersed so that paint can be mixed and spread. The Vehicle is that which carries the color, binds it together and causes it to adhere to a surface. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques" |
Vellum | See Parchment/Vellum |
Vellum Paper | Originally a term for high quality paper made from lamb or calf skin and primarily used for calligraphy and manuscript illumination. However, Vellum in this definition is seldom used by contemporary calligraphers, but the term is used by makers of heavy, durable paper. Sources: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques"; Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" (LPD) |
Venice Biennale | An art exhibition begun in 1895 and held every two years in Venice, Italy as a world-wide event to exchange ideas on the latest trends and movements in the art world---an Olympics for art! Nation states, not individuals, are invited to participate, and the exhibition site is in the Giardini di Castello. A committee from each of the participating countries runs the Biennale, and each country has artist representatives. The American government chooses professionals from a single museum each time to oversee the American pavilion and to select the exhibiting artists. Artists who have represented the United States include Isamu Noguchi, Stuart Davis, Arshile Gorky, Jasper Johns, Frank Stella, Philip Guston, Claes Oldenburg, Louise Nevelson, Red Grooms, Robert Colescott, Byron Burford and Susan Rothenberg. Sources: Peter Duus, "The Life of Isamu Noguchi"; AskART database (LPD) |
Vermilion | A brilliant, pure light red pigment, opaque and heavy that works well with oil paint. Vermilion has been in use from early times in China and appeared in Europe about the 8th Century. It has proven durable and permanent, especially when not covered with a protective coating such as varnish. In the 1920s, Vermilion was replaced in popularity by light Cadmium Red because of the tendency of Vermilion to turn dark in spots. Source: Ralph Mayer, "A Dictionary of Art Terms and Techniques". |
Vernissage/Varnishing Day | The French word for Varnishing Day, which was a frequently used term in the 19th Century for private openings or previews of artwork. At these events the artists would gather with an audience a day prior to the Exhibition opening, such as the Paris Salons, to varnish their works so that a select few could see the application of the finishing touches. However, neither the term nor the tradition has been commonly used since the 19th century. Varnishing Day has been replaced by "Openings" or "Previews". Sources: Artlex.com with permission of Michael Delahunt; Kimberley Reynolds and Richard Seddon, "Illustrated Dictionary of Art Terms" (LPD) |
Verso | The second or backside of any work on paper, or canvas. Artists at times may create sketches or even complete paintings on the reverse side of a work, making it a double-sided painting. Verso is the opposite term to the word Recto. A title or signature may be inscribed ‘on verso’ on a piece, or on the stretchers on the reverse side of a work. ‘Verso inscription’ refers to information on the back of a painting, either on the canvas, the stretcher bars, or on the frame. Multiple-line verso inscriptions are common, as are stamps and other marks, especially on the frame. Source: Artlex.com; International Federation of Libraries website; Webster’s Seventh New Collegiate Dictionary; and website of glass artist Dave Archer. (LPD) |
Vertical | A line from top to bottom or bottom to top. Upright. |
Video Art | Originating in 1965 with Korean born Naim June Paik, it is a technology medium of capturing live events and turning them into visual, often television-type, presentations that are incorporated with Performance Art and Installations. Paik started by making tapes on a portable Sony camera and showing them a few hours later at Cafe a Go Go in New York City's Greenwich Village. An example of Video Art is "Aransas" by Frank Gillette, which is a six-monitor video installation of the swampy landscape of Aransas, a county in Texas. Other Video Artists include Vito Acconci, Bruce Nauman, Tony Oursler and Rebecca Horn. Sources: Robert Atkins, "ART SPEAK"; AskART dabase; (LPD) |
Vienna Secession | Formed in 1897 by a group of Austrian artists, it was also known as the Union of Austrian Artists. Gustav Klimpt was the first president, and other members included Otto Wagner, Egon Schiele, Max Fabiani, Josef Hoffmann and Koloman Moser. The group was not linked by a style, but only by commitment to non-conservatism and the motto: To every age its art and to art its freedom." Source: Carl Schorske, "Gustav Klimt: Painting and the Crisis of the Liberal Ego," Cited on Wikipedia. (LPD) |
Villa Ball | The home of American sculptor Thomas Ball (1819-1911) in Florence, Italy, it was on a hill outside the city wall on the south side of the Arno River. The land, purchased in 1868, was near the Porta Romana along the Viale Poggio Imperiale and had a sweeping view of the city of Florence. Adjacent was property purchased at the same time by sculptor Hiram Powers, (1805-1873) close friend of Ball. The Powers family was large and occupied several villas, but Thomas Ball, with only a wife and one child, built one villa that was large, two stories and had his studio of seven rooms and enough space for another sculptor. Behind this structure was a small, two-story house and a separate studio, where his staff could live and work. In a letter from Powers when Ball was in America during the building, Powers wrote that he had looked at the construction progress at Balls and marveled at the size. "I could hardly imagine what you, your wife, and little 'tow head' are to do with all this room---you will be like mice in the great cave of Kentucky." (120). During the building, Thomas Ball went to America and bought many seeds and plants for his property and for Powers. The finished villa had a large garden with the studio rooms and offices on the first floor and the second floor as living quarters. A large lower level had the kitchen and storage areas, and in the back was a small two-story garden house with greenhouse of tropical plants and exotic birds. This structure was often used for entertaining and housing guests. Many of the rooms had Pompeii-style designs, and the studio had sculpture ranging from portrait busts to large allegorical statues. Villa Ball became the destination for many American visitors including singer Jenny Lind; authors Louisa May Alcott, Henry W. Longfellow and Ralph Waldo Emerson; composer Richard Wagner; capitalist John D. Rockefeller; and Civil War General William Tecumseh Sherman. Sculptors Daniel Chester French and William Couper, who married Thomas Ball's daughter, spent long periods of time in residence at Villa Ball. Frank Duveneck occupied studio space to complete a memorial sculpture for his wife's gravesite in Florence at Allori Cemetery. The Ball-Couper family left Villa Ball in 1897 and rented out the property, which remained in the family until 1919. New owner, Signora Fenci, converted the Villa into a Pensione named Villa Albertina. In 1956, a businessman bought it and leased the land to the city of Florence for a school, which preserved the original buildings. In 1986, it was restored to a private home. Source: Greta Elena Couper, "An American Sculptor on the Grand Tour" |
Visionary Art | A term applied to contemporary folk artists, especially when it is based on religious or dream themes where the artist experiences visions or voices. Included among American artists would be Sister Gertrude Morgan and Minnie Evans. Source: Chuck and Jan Rosenak, "Contemporary American Folk Art: A Collector's Guide" |
Vitreography | A term whose literal meaning is 'writing on glass'. It was coined by Connor Everts, born 1926, as a visiting artist at Littleton Studios to describe the process of printing fine-art editions from glass matrices. Source: Annex Galleries, Santa Rosa CA
|
Volcano School | Non-native Hawaiian artists "who painted dramatic nocturnal scenes of Hawaii's erupting volcanoes." Most frequently subjects were volcanoes on the Island of Hawaii, Kilauea and Mauna Loa. Jules Tavernier is the biggest name associated with the 'school', and other painters were Constance Cumming, Charles Furneaux, David Hitchcock, Titian Ramsey Peale, Joseph Strong, Lionel Walden and William Twigg-Smith. Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Volcano_School |
Volume | Similar to mass, a three-dimensional form implying bulk, density, and weight; but also a void or empty, enclosed space. |
Vorticism | A short lived early 20th Century art movement in Britain, it was considered the only significant early 20th Century art movement in Britain. Vorticism received that name in 1913 by writer, Ezra Pound, who along with T.S. Eliot, wrote for the group. Vorticism members first met in the Rebel Art Centre. Stylistically it is rooted to rebel Cubists and Futurists, especially Futurism. The focus was on dynamism, that is capturing movement in images by using devices such as converging bright lines to draw the viewer eye into the vortex or center of the painting. Wyndham Lewis was a leader of the movement, and artists involved included Helen Saunders, Dorothy Shakespear, Jacob Epstein and Cuthbert Hamilton. In 1915, the group held its one exhibition, which was at the Dore Gallery, and then disbanded with World War I. Source; http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vorticism |
Vose Galleries | America's oldest family owned gallery, it is in Boston but was founded in 1841 by Joseph Vose in Providence, Rhode Island. By 1860, his son, Seth, was selling paintings by Hudson River School painters including Bierstadt, Heade, and Inness, and was the first to bring Tonalist paintings from France to America. In 1962, Robert Vose, Jr. moved the gallery to a brownstone on Newbury Street in Boston, and shifted the focus to deceased American artists of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries. Source: Editor, 'America's Oldest Family-Owned Gallery', "Fine Art Connoisseur", December 2006.
|
|