key terms for
this unit
Learning the key terms of this unit is important because they help you understand the big ideas we're exploring, like identity, culture, and how we see ourselves and others. These terms give you the language to talk about your own experiences and understand those of your peers. Knowing them will also help you think more deeply, ask better questions, and make stronger connections in your creative work.
There may be lots of new terms that you will also come across this unit, especially technical-specific and art theory-specific. As you build your visual literacy and rich vocabulary, a great idea would be to create your own dictionary of definitions at the back of your folio so that you can keep them to reference as you continue your Visual Arts studies!
For broader glossaries of art terms that you should be familiar with as part of the curriculum, click on the following below:
Visual conventions are traditional, cultural and/or stylistic ways of working in visual arts, craft and design. They reflect agreed expectations for various art forms such as painting or sculpture.Visual conventions are impacted by factors such as the time and culture they were created in and the choice of materials. They include the elements and principles of art/design (ACARA, 2025)
Visual arts processes are the processes used to create artworks. They include methods, tools, techniques and technologies relevant to the selected visual arts form. Visual arts processes involve working with 2D, 3D or 4D visual arts forms (ACARA, 2025)
Visual arts practices are the ways that artists go about their work. They include exploring ideas for artworks, working with ideas and responding to artworks (ACARA, 2025)
Conceptual sculpture has its primary emphasis on the communication of the idea behind the work. In conceptual art the "concept is the most important aspect of the work...The idea becomes the machine that makes the art..." (Sol LeWitt "Paragraphs on Conceptual Art", Artforum)
Nonobjective sculpture is a more completely nonrepresentational form. It arises from a constructive manipulation of the sculptor's generalized, abstract ideas of spatial relations, volume, line, colour, texture, and so on. The approach of the nonobjective sculptor has been likened to that of the composer of music, who manipulates the elements of his art in a similar manner." (Britannica.com)
Biomorphic is a term most commonly associated with abstract art to describe a form that is irregular or organic, often derived from shapes found in nature. Biomorphic forms are frequently found in Surrealist art, most notably in the paintings of Yves Tanguy and the sculpture of Arp and Henry Moore." (The Thames & Hudson Dictionary of Art)
Formalism emphasizes the form or structural qualities of a work over its content or context. Formalist sculpture's primary emphasis is in the relationships of shapes and the lines those shapes make. This approach is in contrast to process and conceptual sculpture. The objects and installations of process sculpture have an emphasis on the artifacts resulting from the process of creation.
Core Identity Terms
Belonging – The emotional need to be accepted as part of a group.
Cultural identity – A sense of belonging to a particular culture or group.
Ethnic identity – Identification with a particular ethnic group.
Gender identity – A personal sense of one's own gender, which may or may not correspond with sex assigned at birth.
Identity formation – The process by which individuals develop a distinct personality or identity.
Identity politics – Political positions based on the interests and perspectives of social groups.
Intersectionality – The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender.
Labeling – The assignment of categories that affect how people are perceived and treated.
Linguistic identity – How language influences one’s sense of self and cultural belonging.
Multiple identities – The coexistence of several identity facets within a person.
Narrative identity – The internalized and evolving story of the self that integrates past, present, and future.
National identity – A person's identity or sense of belonging to one or more nation-states.
Otherness – The concept of being perceived as different or alien to the dominant group.
Personal identity – The concept of what makes one person distinct from another.
Racial identity – How individuals identify or are perceived based on race.
Religious identity – A sense of belonging or connection to a particular religion or faith.
Self – The individual’s perception of themselves.
Self-awareness – Conscious knowledge of one’s character, feelings, motives, and desires.
Self-concept – How one thinks about, evaluates, or perceives themselves.
Self-esteem – One’s overall sense of self-worth or personal value.
Self-expression – The expression of one’s personality, feelings, or ideas.
Sexual identity – How one thinks of oneself in terms of whom one is romantically or sexually attracted to.
Social identity – How individuals define themselves in relation to groups they are part of.
“A found object" is a natural or man-made object, or fragment of an object, that is found (or sometimes bought) by an artist and kept because of some intrinsic interest the artist sees in it.Found objects (sometimes referred to by the French term for found object ‘objet trouvé’) may be put on a shelf and treated as works of art in themselves, as well as providing inspiration for the artist. The sculptor Henry Moore for example collected bones and flints which he seems to have treated as natural sculptures as well as sources for his own work. Found objects may also be modified by the artist and presented as art, either more or less intact as in the dada and surrealist artist Marcel Duchamp’s readymades, or as part of an assemblage. As so often, Picasso was an originator. From 1912 he began to incorporate newspapers and such things as matchboxes into his cubist collages, and to make his cubist constructions from various scavenged materials. “ (Tate, 2017)
“Assemblage" is art that is made by assembling disparate elements – often everyday objects – scavenged by the artist or bought speciallyThe use of assemblage as an approach to making art goes back to Pablo Picasso’s cubist constructions, the three dimensional works he began to make from 1912. An early example is his Still Life 1914 which is made from scraps of wood and a length of tablecloth fringing, glued together and painted.” (Tate, 2017)
My Cell'S Reach (Process Shot) Sculpture by Emily Motto,
Artist: Freya Jobbins http://www.freyajobbins.com