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ascenders and descenders

Abstract Expressionism An artistic tradition that flourished in the 1940s and 50s. Influenced by Freudian psychoanalysis, Surrealism, calligraphy, and the gestural spontaneity found in Expressionism, its major US practitioners were Arshile Gorky, Willem de Kooning, Robert Motherwell and Jackson Pollock.

Abstraction An image is always abstract in the sense that it is not the same as the thing it represents (“the map is not the territory” [Alfred Korzybski], or “an image of a pipe is not a pipe” [René Magritte]). Obviously, this may occur in degrees (by the selective inclusion/omission of traits), in the process of which the connection between mimic and model may become decreasingly evident. Contrary to popular belief, abstraction and realism are not direct opposites, in the sense that abstract visual forms (or sounds) may at times elicit more heightened responses than so-called realism.

Accent We only experience things by comparison. Thus, a grapefruit tastes more sour when eaten after something sweet. In general, when two or more things are experienced together, their differences become pronounced or accentuated. In color theory, this is known as simultaneous contrast, by which it is predicted that any hue (red, for example) will seem more vivid when placed next to its opposite (green). But comparable effects occur just as easily in the observation of light to dark values, shapes, sizes, textures, angles and so on. Simply, accents are small amounts of difference that (by comparison) heighten or accentuate other contrasting attributes.

Additive Color When emitted beams of light are mixed (called additive color), the results are considerably different from the mixture of paints, dyes or other pigments (called subtractive color). In additive color, the primary hues are red, green and blue (hence its common alternative name of the RGB color system), the equal mixture of which produces white light (theatrical lighting is based on this system, as is the color on televisions and computer monitors). In subtractive color, the primary hues from reflected (not emitted) light are cyan (blue), magenta (red), and yellow, the equal mixture of which on a white surface results in various types of brown, and dark hue-gray or black. In color printing, the three subtractive primaries are used in combination with a true (non-hue) black on white paper, so that “four-color printing” is commonly called the CMYK color system, in which K is a symbol for black.

Adhocism Ad hoc is a Latin term (meaning “for this [purpose]”) that is sometimes used to refer to the off-hand, unexpected use of familiar components. In 1972, this was introduced at length in Adhocism: The Case for Improvisation, a book by Charles Jencks (a Postmodern art theorist) and Nathan Silver. The concept is all but synonymous with bricolage (Claude Lévi-Strauss) and functional fixedness (Karl Duncker).

Alignment Bias For whatever reason, everything else being equal, things will appear to belong together to the extent that they line up in space. Marching bands, football formations, and the margin settings in typeset text are among the most common examples of this. In graphic design, the implied lines on which edges are aligned are called grid lines.

Ambiguity The term is derived from ambi, the Latin root for “on both sides” or “around.” When someone is ambidextrous, they have some facility with both hands. When a person is ambivalent, he or she can see both sides of an argument, and has contradictory feelings or opinions about a single issue. Ambitious people go around. An ambiance is all around, as is ambiant sound. In this sense, forms that are ambiguous are not meaningless, but rather they can be perceived in a number of alternative ways. Ambiguity is widely used in art, design and architecture because, being inconclusive or open-ended, it facilitates closure. Perhaps the best known book about literary ambiguity is William Empson’s Seven Types of Ambiguity (1930).

Anesthetic In certain ways, anesthetic experiences may be the direct opposite of those that are esthetic. In surgery, for example, to be anesthetized results in the total or partial loss of sensation, in contrast to esthetic experiences, which tend to be vivid and stirringly felt. As innumerable cultures have realized, drugs are not the only means of producing anesthetic impunity. As is known and practiced widely, sensations can also be blunted by prolonged exposure to experiential stimuli that are either too cohesive (unity with insufficient variety) or too incoherent (variety with insufficient unity).

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Anthropomorphism The term “anthro” pertains to humans (as in “anthropology”), while “morph” refers to shape or form. When we see or speak of non-human entities as if they were human (as we often do when describing animals), it is sometimes said that we are “anthropomorphizing,” but of course it is not always easy to know.

Arranged Marriage In some cultures marriage contracts are arranged by the families of the couple (sometimes when the pair are still children); regardless of whether they like it or not; and with little if any concern for the compatibility of the pair. By analogy, the term can be used to refer to a method of inventing new surprising forms; commonly used in Dada and Surrealism; in which parts are recombined by chance or whim, with little if any concern for their logical compatibility. The most famous example of this is a phrase by French poet Comte de Lautréamont about “the fortuitous encounter of a sewing machine and an umbrella on a dissecting table.” Sometimes called radical juxtaposition.

Art Deco A style of art, design, and architecture that flourished between the World Wars, c1920-1940. Also called Art Moderne, or Streamline Style, it was characterized by geometric abstraction, bold coloring, machine motifs, and metallic surfaces. Among those whose work is typically called Art Deco are A.M. Cassandre (poster designer), Rockwell Kent (book designer and illustrator), Tamara de Lempicka (painter), and Raymond Loewy (industrial designer).

Art Nouveau From the French term for "new art.” A turn-of-the-century art and design style, influenced on the one hand by the florid density of 19th-century Victorian decorative arts, and on the other, by the flat linear simplicity of Japanese Ukiyo-e woodcut prints. Among its chief European practitioners were Alphonse Mucha, Charles Rennie Mackintosh, and Josef Hoffmann.

Arts and Crafts A late 19th-century British design movement spearheaded by designer, writer, and Socialist reformer William Morris. Influenced by John Ruskin and the Gothic Revival, Morris initially opposed the machine manufacture of the Industrial Revolution, and nostalgically admired the Gothic period of the Middle Ages. As comparable beliefs caught on in the US, they became known as the American Arts and Crafts Movement.

Ascender In typographic letterforms, those parts of certain letters that extend above the midpoint (or x-height) of the letter. In contrast, the tail-like parts of letters that extend below the baseline are known as descenders.

Attention Also called selective attention. A filtering or screening that enables us, at any one time, to concentrate on certain aspects of our experiences and to delay or ignore the remainder. In one famous experiment, for example, participants were asked to watch a videotape of a basketball game. Those assigned to observe all the fouls were rarely aware of a person who walked across the court, carrying a multicolored umbrella. We seem especially attentive to change (differences that make a difference), but are also predisposed by past experience, physiological needs, and the nature of perceived events.

Avant-Garde In any cultural setting, the avant-garde are those whose work is “ahead of its time.” Of course, as experimental methods grow increasingly accepted, what started as avant-garde becomes surprisingly quickly (with the help of marketing) symptomatic of its time, not ahead of it.