Art 101
Medium
When you read a book, you need to know the language in which it was written, the vocabulary and turns of phrase. Art also has a language. The viewer needs a knowledge base from which to begin to “read” artwork. This base is called “the elements of art.” In science, elements combine to form the molecules and compounds that make up the universe and everything in it. In art, elements combine to create paintings, sculptures, et cetera. One of these elements is medium (plural: media).
Medium/media is what the work is made of or from – marble, clay, bronze, oil paints, acrylic yarn, or scraps of paper for example. Artists put a lot of thought into the materials because medium can communicate a lot about the artwork’s purpose. Clues about a work’s intent or the artist’s artistic philosophy may be inferred by whether it is stone, metal, or paper. Interpreting media can be tricky however because what we think today about a material could have been completely different than in the Past. Today, marble sculpture has an eminence that feels timeless and elegant, but in ancient Greece, bronze held a higher status. Today, we are used to seeing trash and scraps in art, but in the years just before World War I, it was new, shocking, and highly controversial. Using them signaled a creative rebellion from traditional methods of creating art.
Sometimes artists choose specific media because of the unique traits the materials have and how they affect the work. Oil paints dry very slowly, giving the artist time to carefully blend and shade colors to create more realistic imagery. Oils can also be layered, capturing and reflecting light in dazzling ways. Meanwhile, acrylic paints dry quickly but are somewhat watery and run easier than oils. Because they are synthetic paints, they might hint at modernist ideals. Sometimes, a medium’s characteristics are all the artist wants. They desire its personality and the way it uniquely reacts to the surrounding environment. Stone is natural, heavy, and solid. Metals tend to be manufactured, reflect light, and rust. An unprimed fabric canvas soaks in paint. Artwork just about the physical traits of the medium was in style in the third quarter of the twentieth century.
Medium can also refer to what the work is. Painting, sculpture, photography, and video are all types of media. Mixed media is when an artist uses several materials in one work, such as watercolor and ink on paper; or ivory and gold.
Here are some examples of medium…
The Vietnam Veterans Memorial, also called The Wall, is comprised of one-hundred-forty-four panels of highly polished black granite. The monument contains no imagery of any kind, just the names of the American casualties of the Vietnam War listed in columns. American artist Maya Lin’s choice of black granite was symbolic. Black is a funerary color in the West and granite is the stone commonly used for grave markers. When this memorial was proposed, the war had only just ended a few years before. It was a very divisive and controversial period in the history of the United States and many people still had passionate feelings about it and its costs. The memorial was supposed to be a way to begin healing. Instead of the expected traditional bronze statue about the glory of battle, the memorial acknowledges the real pain, suffering and loss of the families and the service members who made it home. The names of the casualties are carved literally into stone. As visitors approach The Wall, they see themselves reflected in its polished mirror-like surface and can feel it. This is a very personal interaction with the piece. He or she is connected through sight and touch with their thoughts and memories. It’s an emotionally powerful experience.
One of the most well-known images from ancient Egypt, this life-sized mask fit over the head and shoulders of King Tutankhamun’s mummy. It is solid gold and inlaid with precious stones, such as lapis lazuli and turquoise. At this time, Egypt was rich and powerful, and they believed their king was a god. Through media, this artwork demonstrates the extreme wealth of the kingdom and its ruler and his absolute authority over this civilization.
Throne of the Third Heaven, discovered in a garage after the death of American James Hampton, is made from aluminum and gold foil, cardboard, plastic, and other everyday objects gathered during his daily routine. It shows a scene from The Bible’s Book of Revelation. Employed as a janitor, these materials would have been easily available to Hampton and inexpensive to obtain. Each scrap of foil was carefully placed according to a complex and well-thought-out plan. This work is an ordinary man’s act of worship to God.
The choice of materials for a work of art is an important part of the artist’s message. They may reference the past or provide a clue into the ideological evolution of a society. Media may reflect a culture’s mood or emotions after a traumatic experience. They could hint at the power of a civilization or the powerlessness of an individual. Artists plan their works of art very carefully. An artwork is not just the image it portrays. Medium can also communicate a message.
Lady Bison 