± Abstract art – Art that does not represent or depict a visual reality, but rather uses shape, color, line, and/or form to achieve a visual effect. In representational works of art, identifiable objects or figures that have been simplified or schematized are often referred to as “abstracted.” “Pure abstraction,” however, refers only to those works that depict no identifiable real-world objects or figures. Early twentieth-century artists such as Wassily Kandinsky, Piet Mondrian, and Kasimir Malevich are credited with some of the first works of pure abstraction ever created.
± Assemblage – A sculptural work of art made by assembling discrete elements that have been typically found or bought by the artist. Assemblage emerged in the early twentieth century with works by Pablo Picasso and Kurt Schwitters and became popular again in the mid- twentieth century with works by Edward Kienholz, Robert Rauschenberg, Jasper Johns, and others.
± Institutional critique – An art practice that aims primarily to critique institutions of art, whether museums, galleries, practices of art criticism, prominent donors, etc. Hans Haacke pioneered institutional critique through Conceptual and participatory work that drew attention to the hidden politics and economics of art institutions.
± Minimalism – A form of abstract art that developed in the United States in the late 1950s and early 1960s. Important artists associated with Minimalism, also called Minimal art, include Dan Flavin, Donald Judd, Agnes Martin, Sol LeWitt, Frank Stella, and Carl Andre. Minimalist artworks are often characterized by pristine surfaces free of any marks of production (such as brushstrokes); repeating, identical components; geometric shapes; and compositions defined by grids. Minimalists rejected the notion of the artwork as a form of subjective self-expression, and the related concept of the artist as a genius creator.
± Conceptualism – Art defined by the primacy of the idea behind it, which is considered by the artist to be more important than the work’s finished physical form. Influenced in part by the development of Minimalism, Conceptualism, or Conceptual art, emerged as a movement in the 1960s through the work of artists such as Joseph Kosuth, Sol LeWitt, and John Baldessari. Conceptual artists engaged many different mediums and styles, though their work tends to have an informational, straightforward aesthetic.
± Monochrome – An artwork comprised of only one color. Monochromes can be paintings or sculptures but have a stark aesthetic as a result of having a uniform color. Monochromes were first painted in the early twentieth century and became popular again in the 1960s in the hands of artists such as Robert Ryman, Ad Reinhardt, and Yves Klein.
± Photomontage – A collage constructed from photographs, typically found by the artist. The medium was first popularized by Berlin-based Dadaists who used it as a form of political expression and protest.
± Tableaux – A term used to describe large- scale installations made by Edward Kienholz. It draws on a more historical term used to describe paintings (and later photographs) in which figures are arranged in a space to picturesque or dramatic effect, in a way that closes off the viewer from the composition. Kienholz’s tableaux, by contrast, are often made to be directly engaged by the viewer, allowing the viewer to interact with various elements and/or to walk through the space of the installation.