M
Mat: to frame a picture or drawing with a cardboard border. The “mat” used in matting an art work can be made of cardboard, acid-free papers, or archival cotton fibers.
Materials: what objects are made of (wood to make a desk) and the objects used to create art (film to make a photograph).
Medium/Media: the material(s) used by the artist to create a work of art (i.e., paint, clay, fibers).
Memorabilia:
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary suggests the difference between the two, defining memorabilia as "things that are remarkable and worthy of remembrance" or "things that stir recollection."
Minimalism: a movement in art which the artist reduced an object to its most basic form by minimizing color, line, form, texture.
Mixed-Media: the use of two or more types of materials in a work of art.
Middle ground: area in a picture between the foreground and the background.
Mimetic: artwork whose purpose is to “mimic” or imitate nature; often refers to work that is highly realistic.
Mixed media: any art work that uses more than one medium.
Mobile: a hanging sculpture that has free-moving parts.
Modernism: refers to the overall art movement from the late 1800s to the early 1970s in which artists were primarily interested in how they presented their artistic ideas and issues rather than reproducing the world as it appears visually. A movement in art that departs from tradition by using new forms of expression. Modernists are interested in using new types of materials, focusing on abstraction over reality as subject matter, and encouraging the audience to take a more active role as the interpreter. This focus on the cultivation of individual style and artistic process led many modern artists toward an abstracted use of the elements of art. The new creative possibilities encouraged a great diversity of activity, and artists experimented with new visual formats and ideas. Reflecting this artistic diversity, Modernism can be considered as a larger heading under which a number of different art movements such as Impressionism, Fauvism, Expressionism, Cubism, Dada, Surrealism, and Abstract Expressionism all flourished in succession. The arts is also described as contemporary or innovative. Often used interchangeably with contemporary.
Monochromatic: a color scheme that uses one color and all of the tones, tints, and shades that can be derived from it.
Motif: a unit repeated to create visual rhythm.
Movement: the design principle that uses some of the elements of art to produce the look of action or to cause the viewer’s eye to sweep over the art work in a certain manner.
Mural: surface treatment or decoration that is applied directly to a wall. A painted fresco is one form of a mural.
Museum: a place where objects of value are collected, conserved, exhibited, and interpreted. Many offer classes, show films, have cafes, offer tours, have gift shops and staff or host experts on local, national and international artists. They are fun places to go where one will often see students sitting on benches or floors sketching from works of art hanging on walls. Many have permanent exhibits, which adds to the value and overall assets of a museum. They are administered by an Executive Director and his/her staff and are governed by by-laws overseen by a board of directors. There are specific kinds of museums, like African-American arts museums or general kinds like fine arts museums. Most credible museums have a recognizable accreditation. See our "Museum" listings for museums in Polk.
Music: The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre, or the vocal or instrumental sounds possessing a degree of melody, harmony, or rhythm.
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