Chapter 2: Medium and Technique in the Visual Arts
 there is no format for three-dimensional;
MEDIUM
It Is the material, or substance out of which a work
is made.
The choice is part of the meaning of the work and
is a signifier of meaning in the context of the
work’s total meaning.
PROPERTIES OF A MEDIUM
1. Size or Scale
 can be very large or very small; may also
pertain to volume for three-dimensional
art
 is part of the meaning of the work, thus
changes in this property may lead to
great changes in the meaning
o large-scale works may be to draw
attention to the dynamism, or an
environment of colors and shapes;
commonly to be able to unfold a
panorama of history or to convey the
sweeping impulse of a people’s
movement for change (two-
dimensional)
o small size may diminish the emotional
energy of heroic figures reduced into
figurines (three-dimensional)
2. Format
 Usually may be rectangular, square
(symbolizes intellectual order), or circular
(for two-dimensional). Deviation is solely
an intention of the artist
o Tondo (from Rotonda), Madonna and
Child by Raphael (circular)
o abstractions of Piet Mondrian (square)
o Frank stella (geometric shapes)
o young Filipino artist (joined shapes of
plyboards)
usually attributed to scaling with respect
to being a part of a building (e.g.
rectangular pediment, horizontal sections
of frieze, relief figures of the Parthenon);
depends on purpose
3. Frame
 a Western invention that came with the
development of easel painting in oil of
canvas
 can affect or modify the meaning of the
painting
 may be wood, gilded or elaborately
handcarved and polished, plain
aluminum, etc.; implies a social and
cultural context
 artists prefer an unobtrusive frame
TWO-DIMENSIONAL EXPRESSION
It involves arts painted in a medium.
Includes the surface or ground and the marking
or coloring substances applied to it.
Types of Medium
1. Easel Paintings
 are portable paintings usually hung on
walls
 traditional surfaces are canvas, cotton or
linen stretched on a frame and primed
with a white or lightly tinted base
2. Paper
 readily available; usually on hand
 usually in different thicknesses, textures,
and tones; usually taken into
consideration by artists depending on the
kind of work they want to do
 was first produced by the Egyptians from
papyrus, a marsh plant
  became standard writing material in
Ancient Greece and Rome up to the 4
century A.D.
 beautifully painted illuminated
manuscripts were done on paper from
the 14th century.
 handmade ones are usually made of
cogon and banana; finished paper usually
slightly uneven and fibrous in texture
3. Cheese Cloth
 also called katsa
 a common substitute for canvas; used
especially for large murals which can be
rolled up after display
4. Wooden Surface
 Usually plywood, especially marine
plywood; prepared by coating it with
gesso, any white substance such as
plaster of paris mixed with glue to
provide a smooth ground.
5. Glass or Stained Glass
 Usually consists of designs made from
pieces of colored glass forming figures
held together by strips of lead.
Techniques
1. Alla prima
 direct method of painting; paint is
applied directly on the surface with a
brush
 used by Impressionists and most
contemporary artists.
2. Indirect Method
 traditional method which consists of
applying the paint in thin layers of
transparent color
a. Glazing
 a transparent layer of oil paint is
applied over a solid one for color
modification
 commonly used by the Old Masters.
b. Scumbling
 An opaque layer of oil paint is worked
th
over another layer; small areas of the
under color shows through in an
uneven, broken manner
3. Acrylic Painting
 uses acrylic vinyl polymer emulsion paint
 This paint is characterized by being quick
drying and water soluble
 can be applied in thin washes like water
color, or alla prima with a piled-up
texture (impasto)
4. Watercolor
 the paper is first soaked and stretched to
keep it flat while painting
 water based pigments are applied as
transparent layers
a. wet-on-wet technique
 white ground of paper is shown for
highlights
b. dry brush technique
 used to bring out fine details
 ex. Gouache is an opaque watercolor
where pigments are mixed with zinc
white for solid effect; Chinese watercolor
and calligraphy which uses rice paper
5. Tempera painting
 application of tempera which consists of
pigments ground with egg yolk; has
luminosity and tone
 common technique of easel painting until
15th century; usually of wooden panels
6. Fresco
 mural (large-scale painting) on a wall
to ensure durability; prepared by
coating with damp plaster; work is
done while plaster is damp using
water-based pigments
 ex. vault, upper walls, altar of Sistine
Chapel by Michelangelo
7. Stained Glass
 ex. Gothic cathedrals of the 12th-13th
century; windows of Manila Metropolitan
 Cathedral by Galo B. Ocampo; sarimunok  “those arts which depend for their effect
design of Abdulmari Imao for Philamlife on drawing and not on color”; drawing
Building; Art Nouveau and engraving
8. Mosaic a. Relief
 small units of tesserae (chips from slabs  parts of a woodblock or metal
of colored stone, marble glass) are plate meant to be black are left and
embedded of a wall or floor prepared those meant to be white are cut
with wet cement; done in such a way that away
the facets reflect light b. Intaglio
 ex. early Rome to the Byzantine and Early  reverse of relief; ink is held in the
Christian times; chapel of Bacolod made engraved grooves
entirely of different kinds of shells i. Etching
9. Tapestry o covered with resinous coating
 fiber arts; incorporate indigenous impervious to acid, lines are
weaving techniques etched, then immersed in acid to
 ex. dyed burlap sewn with abaca thread; darken exposed parts.
trapunto; great medieval castle for wall ii. Mezzotint
décor and warm buffer against winter o Deep tones and shadows are
cold achieved through a “rocker”
10. Collage which scrapes off small blurred
 first done by Braque and Picasso; pasting dots to obtain halftones and
printed texts from newspapers on a light.
surface iii. Aquatint
 later done using rope and pieces of o Tonal rather than linear; dusted
oilcloths; some with the use of bus tickets with powdered rosin which melts
and bottlecaps under heat; rosin protects the
 ex. sawali panels by Imelda Cajipe-Endaya plate while exposed parts are
11. Material Experimentation darkened by acid.
 Is but is not limited to  ex. etching and aquatint: Brenda
 Painting on tile with colored glazes Fajardo, Cajipe-Endaya, Ben
 Painting and sewing on tree bark Cabrera, Orlando Castillo;
 Painting with spray guns mezzotint: Fil de la Cruz, Manuel
 Frottage; rubbing pencil on a texture Rodriguez, Sr.
surface c. Surface or Planographic Methods
 Decalcomania (Decals); applying  do not involve carving; printing is
pigments on two sheets and done on a perfectly flat slab of
pressing them to get its shape then stone
drawing out figurative potentials  ex. Lithography; based on
 Pressing sponge or crumpled cloth antipathy of grease and water
 Mixed media of oil, acrylic, pastel which affect separation areas
12. Graphic arts where ink is receive or rejected
d. Serigraphy or Silkscreen
  used for posters and shirt designs marble; marble statues of Michelangelo
using fine silk and mask of paper and Gianlorenzo Bernini, Chinese jade
or lacquer carvings
 paint is brushed over sections 2. Clay
which have not been masked; color  medium of pottery
can go over another to create 3. Metal
other colors.  has been used since ancient times to
13. Printmaking processes present; usually bronze, steel, iron,
a. Collography aluminum, etc.
 collage elements such as  have properties of ductility (can be drawn
different texture materials, into wires) and malleability (can be shaped
leaves, etc. through hammering, melting, casting,
b. Plantigraphy molding, or pressing)
 using stencils  ex. Zeuz Hurling a Thunderbolt;
c. Thermography Doryphoros and Lance-bearer by
 embossing Polycleitos; jewelry of T’boli; brassware of
d. Xerography Maranao; Himlayang Pilipino by Caedo
 photocopy 4. Wood
e. Viscosity Printing  Narra and Molave are the among the best
 color separation is done in the world; other examples are bamboo,
through chemical reaction; forest vines, seed pods, tree barks,
introduced by Ofelia Gelvezon- batikuling, kamagong, langka, marang, etc.
Tequi  extremely durable, have a warmth of tone
and natural coloration, which ranges from
dark brown to yellow and reddish hues,
and has a fine-grained texture.
 evoke the forest they came from as wall as
THREE-DIMENSIONAL EXPRESSION the atmosphere of the human dwelling
ex. wooden sculptures (retablos and two-
Types of Medium sided crucifix) by Abueva, J. Elizalde
Navarro; bamboo sculpture by Francisco
1. Stone Verano; hangings by Junyee; bulol by
 Composition of first sculptures; used Ifugaos and Kalingas; bihang; okir by the
stones such as adobe, granite, limestone, Maranao, ukkil by the Tausug; kulintang of
marble, alabaster, jade, etc. various household utensils; torogan or the
 ex. menhirs: engraved male and female datu’s house which features the panolong,
pictures of stone; fertility statuettes, betis furniture, Paete, Laguna santero
venuses of the Stone Age; likha: block-like woodcarvings
human figures; adobe sculpture in front of 5. Industrial Revolution New Materials
UP Library; reliefs of massive stone blocks a. Plastics
by Napoleon Abueva; Egyptian statues of  first used by Constructivists;
granite and limestone; Greek statues of synthetic materials
 b. Crystal Technique
 started through the invitation of
Philippine Artists by Steuben Glass  Conventional Methods
c. Glass  carving, modelling, and casting
 associated primarily with Ramon  Pottery
Orlina; forms standing sculptures a. Earthenware
d. Chromium  most common pottery technique; sun-
e. Aluminum dried or kiln-baked
f. Plexi Glass Celluloid, Nylon, and  ex. palayok
Lucite b. Stoneware
 used by Naum Gobo to create  goes though a much higher firing;
sculptures in which space seems to vitrifies the clay for it to become close-
flow through; transparent materials grained and non-porous
g. Light Bulbs c. Porcelain
 used in luminal sculptures; marriage  Chinese invented; body vessel is hard,
of art and technology white, and translucent
6. Non-traditional and Non-academic d. Glazing
Materials  imparts a smooth finish, color and
a. Kinetic art decorative effects
 introduction of the element of  Figurative Sculpture
movement into art  made of baked clay which is modeled and
b. Collage and Assemblage shaped
 collage; small materials of all kinds  ex. terracotta
are pasted to form a solid bulk  Sand Casting
 assemblage; collage of large  involves making a mold of special sand
materials (e.g. aggressive from an original model of plaster of paris,
composition by Robert inserting a core and pouring in the molten
Rauschenberg) metal
 materials may include recyclable  Cire Perdue
waste such as paper, rubber tires,  “lost-wax” method; the model and the
mattresses, discarded junk, metal, enclosing mold are filled with wax, then
machine parts, drift wood, shells, melted when the mold has hardened and
tough forest vines, stones and replaced with the melted metal
detritus  important part of Malay metalworking; used
 These can be called “found objects” by T’boli for jewelry and Maranao’s
in an artistic context. brassware
7. Boxes  “…process developed by Caedo father and
 work is composed of boxes of son sculptors…”
different sizes, with each  figure is built by pulverized bronze shavings
compartment having its own passed through a sieve to ensure talcum
meaning. powder-like fineness; then combined with
 chemicals with binding properties in exact
propertions
 Wiry Figures Architectural Methods and Materials
 done by Alberto Giacometti and Constantin
Materials are of five kinds: rock such as stone and
Brancusi; nervous, attenuated figures
clay; organic such as wood; metal such as steel;
 Metal Sheet Figures
synthetic such as glass and plastics; and hybrid
 done by Eduardo Castrillo; with verve and
such as concrete. Materials are used for structure
dynamism whether abstract or figurative
and veneer. Contemporary architecture is more
 Welded Pieces Craggy
concerned with structure than veneer. With this,
 done by Solomon Saprid; expressive figures
new materials such as steel and concrete give
in action
emphasis to structure.
 Pointillist Technique
 done by Virginia Ty-Navarro Materials are chosen according to their
 Open Cage Constructions availability and the building design. Three
 done by Conrado Mercado; using steel rods qualities of materials considered are:
 Woodcarving
1. Structure
 Traditionally, the carved figure is twice
 determines the way it reacts under stress;
coated with a native gesso made of a mixture
directly define structural design and form
of fine white clay or kesong puti mixed with
2. Texture
glue made from boiled cow or carabao hide;
 directs the choice of tool to use
done to provide a solid and nonporous
3. Aspect
surface for painting
 tags its color and outside skin after tooling
 Estofado
 gesso is gilded, and paint is applied over it; Materials are also chosen based on the character
ornamental motifs are made through paint it signifies: [1] stone denotes strength; [2] marble
lightly scratched away with a fine instrument. denotes power and permanence; [3] wood
 Empaquetage denotes warmth; [4] brick denotes practicality; [5]
a. wrapping objects or even parts of a building metal denotes lightness and impersonality.
with sheets, opaque or transparent
 Earthworks Methods of Construction
a. used to modify the natural landscape by
1. Lashed construction
making large depressions in the ground or
 prevalent in tropics; assembled by manual
building structures in water.
skill alone; without the aid of fabricated tools
b. ex. spiral jetty, scatterworks, stabiles, and
for sawing, mortising, etc.
installations
 most wholesome; materials used are in
natural state
Conceptual Art  members may be bamboo, twigs, posts, and
It stresses the primacy of the underlying concept willow shoots, rattan, ropes, etc. for ties
or principle in a work. This may involve  parts are separately created and are fitted
“formalization” where something familiar is together by lashing
removed form its original context and brought  ex. bahay kubo
into an art context. 2. Post-and-lintel construction
 as old as the pre-historic Stonehenge load on the other side of the point of
 consists of trilithons (three stones) in which support, which may be a column or pier
two are upright (post), supporting the one  seen in bridges where two halves are
which is spanning the two (lintel); may be supported only on both ends
used for stone, wood, and metal  ex. Cultural Center of the Philippines
 lintel must be sufficiently strong in both
compression and tension to support the
load with out breaking; posts must be rigid
and strong against compression
3. Arch and Vault Construction
 permits a greater span between the
supporting posts then the previous; the
arch transmits the pressure of weight
above the opening downwards mainly as
compression with a minimum tension
 keystone hold the stone units of the arch;
wedge-shaped piece at the summit of the
arch
 arches of the same size laid together form
a vault; common is a barrel vault; barrel
vault connected in a right angle form a
groined vault; dome is a hemispherical
vault which is supported by a circular wall
4. Skeleton Construction
 made possible by the development of two
modern materials, structural steel and
ferroconcrete
 skeletons are made of beams of steel which
are strong and light; walls of stone are no
longer necessary; doors can be of any size;
concrete is fluid, thus shell structure or any
shape may be formed
 ex. skyscrapers, Philamlife Buildings,
National Press Club, Chapel of the Holy
Sacrifice
5. Cantilever Construction
 makes use of steel and concrete but is
particularly characterized by the projection
of a unit of the architectural design beyond
its support
 cantilever requires that the tensile strength
of the material be enough to withstand the