Assemblage: Sculptural technique involving the combination of found objects and other three-dimensional forms. Return

Crenellation: Surface with a notched outline, as in a parapet or battlement. Return

Existentialism: Twentieth-century philosophical movement emphasizing the individual’s isolation in an unknowable universe; the individual is believed to assume full responsibility for, and accept the consequences of, his or her actions.
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Facade
: Front or face of a building. Return

Found object
: Object not originally designed to have artistic value that the artist selects and displays as a work of art. Return

Freestanding
: Standing independent of a support. Return

Galvanize
: Treat or coat with zinc. Return

Golden Mean
: System of ideal proportion developed by the ancient Greek mathematician Euclid. In this system, a line is divided into two parts; the smaller line has the same proportion (ratio) to the entire line as does the larger line. This is expressed mathematically as the ratio 1 to 1.6 or 1:1.6. Return

Irony
: Use of words to convey the opposite of their literal meaning. Return

Kamikaze
: Japanese air attack pilot in World War II assigned to make a suicide crash on a target such as a ship. Return

Linoleum-cut print
: Print made from the relief process. Instead of wood, a piece of linoleum serves as the printing surface, and a sharp tool is employed to cut away the areas that will not be inked; i.e., the raised surface is the design that will be inked and imprinted on the paper. Return

Lithography
: Method of printmaking in which the artist draws the design on a stone with a greasy crayon. The stone is dampened, and then inked. Because oil and water naturally repel one another, only the parts drawn with the greasy crayon hold the ink. Paper is then applied to the stone and run through a printing press. Return

Marquetry
: Material such as wood inlaid into a wood surface in an intricate design for decorative purposes. Return

Medium
: Technique used by the artist. Return

Paradox
: Something with apparently contradictory features. Return

Printmaking
: Art process that involves the creation of multiple originals from a surface prepared by an artist or made under an artist’s supervision. The printed surface is often paper. Return

Relief printing
: Method of printing in which the artist cuts away nonessential portions of the surface so that the design is raised from a background. The surface is inked, but only the raised portions are imprinted on the paper when pressure is applied. Relief prints may be made from wood blocks; these are called woodcuts. Relief prints made from linoleum blocks are designated linoleum (or lino) cut prints. Return

Symbol
: Something that represents an object or idea, either by association or by convention. Return

Woodcut print
: Print made from the relief printing process, in which the artist cuts away parts of a wood block, leaving a raised surface that will be inked and printed onto paper. Return