Lansquenet
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Lansquenet is the French translation of the German word, landsknecht. A landsknecht was an infantry soldier in the German army in the 15th through 17th centuries.
Satyr
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Satyrs, part-human and part-goat, were popular figures during the Renaissance, as they harkened back to the classical hybrid monsters of ancient Greek and Roman art. They were companions to Dionysus, the Greek god of wine, and thus creatures who loved the physical pleasures of wine, women, and wind instruments.
Memento mori
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Memento mori is a Latin phrase meaning "remember that you must die." This term refers to objects or symbols that remind the viewer of the transitory nature of life; that material goods and worldly pleasures are unfulfilling, particularly in comparison to the spiritual rewards of immortality in the afterlife.
Minimalism
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
In the early 20th century, the term "minimalism" was used to refer an impersonal, austere style of painting and sculpture characterized by simplicity of form and the use industrially processed materials. From the early 1960s, minimalism came to refer primarily to the three dimensional works of artists such as Donald Judd, Carl Andre, Robert Morris, and Sol Lewitt; Judd and Morris both wrote influential critical texts about minimalism.
Purchase Prize
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
A purchase prize was a monetary award granted to an artist for the institutional purchase of his or her artwork, which was deemed superior to all other artworks within its category by the juried panel of the exhibition.
Modernism
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
With the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century came the rapid growth of cities and unprecedented technological developments. During the 19th century, print media circulation increased and travel became more readily accessible, both of which contributed to the social dynamics of urban centers.
Ergonomics
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Ergonomics studies the way humans interact with the man-made instruments and systems that surround them.
Regionalism (style or movement)
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Painting in the United States blossomed in the opening decades of the 20th century, reflecting the developing regional character of the various parts of this immense country.
Arte Povera
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Arte povera ('impoverished art') was named by art critic Germano Celant after seeing an exhibition at Bretesca Gallery in Genoa in 1967.
Postmodernism
GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Postmodernism describes an approach toward art that arose during the 1970s, and which constituted a departure from the aesthetics, theory, and ideals of modernism. During the seventies, artists expanded artmaking beyond the established realms of painting and sculpture to include performance, time-based media, photography, fiber, and earth art.