Section outline

  • Unit 5: Artistic Media

    Artists find all sorts of ways to express themselves and use almost any resource that is available. Making extraordinary images and objects from various but somewhat ordinary materials is a mark of creativity. Using charcoal, paper, thread, paint, ink – and even found objects such as leaves – artists continue to search for ways to construct and deliver their message. In this unit, we look at artworks created from two- and three-dimensional media and artworks made using different types of cameras.

    Completing this unit should take you approximately 4 hours.

    • Upon successful completion of this unit, you will be able to:

      • identify and describe specific characteristics of the media that artists use;
      • explain how the advance of technology affected art practices;
      • explain the effect photography had on traditional artistic media;
      • differentiate between two-dimensional and three-dimensional media;
      • explain the technologies, aesthetics, and techniques that define photography as an artistic medium; and
      • explain the technologies, aesthetics, and techniques that define time-based photographic imagery in video, film, performance, and installation.