LESSON 2 MEDIUM IN ARTS

• The word Medium comes from the Latin word MEDIUS which means "MIDDLE," and denotes that by which an artist communicates an idea.
• MEDIUM is essential to art. But SUBJECT AND FUNCTION are not essential.
• There is art without subject and there is art without function, but there is no art without MEDIUM.
• Painting, sculpture, architecture, tapestry, and glassware are examples of VISUAL ARTS; they are seen.
• Music and literature are AUDITORY ARTS; they are heard.
• There are 3 ways to classify arts; VISUAL AND AUDITORY ARTS, TIME AND SPACE ARTS, and MAJOR AND APPLIED/MINOR ARTS.
• Visual arts are SPACE ARTS.
• Auditory arts are TIME ARTS.
• Dance, theater, opera, and cinema are known as COMBINED ARTS, being both visual and auditory, existing in both space and time.
• 5 Major arts are MUSIC, LITERATURE, PAINTING, SCULPTURE, AND ARCHITECTURE.
• APPLIED OR MINOR ARTS include metalwork, weaving, ceramics, glass, furniture, photography, lettering, and bookmaking.
• There are 4 influences of medium on choice of subject; SCULPTURE, PAINTING, LITERATURE, and MUSIC.
• SCULPTURE has tended to emphasize mass and weight, and its subjects are objects of DEFINITE FORM and SOLIDITY.
• Sculptures with moving parts are called MOBILES, which associated primarily with the name of ALEXANDER CALDER.
• TRADITIONAL PAINTING has much a wider field than sculpture; it may concern itself with anything in space.
• Traditional painting and sculpture are BOTH LIMITED in time, in which each can represent its object only at a SINGLE MOMENT in time.
• Painting allows a wider range of subjects than sculpture, but LITERATURE allows a wider range than painting.
• While painting can present anything that might be seen, literature can present anything that can be put into WORDS.
• Imitation through LITERATURE is less exact than imitation through either painting or sculpture.
• MUSIC can never portray any subject clearly.