COLOR WHEEL

A circular arrangement of contiguous spectral hues used in some color systems.  Also called a color circle.

COLOR FIELD PAINTING

A movement that grew out of Abstract Expressionism, in which large stained or painted areas or "fields" of color evoke aesthetic and emotional responses.

COLONNADE

A row of columns usually spanned or connected by beams (lintels).

COLLAGE

From the French coller, to glue.  A work made by gluing materials such as paper scraps, photographs, and cloth on to a flat surface.













Pablo Picasso, Compotier avec fruits, violin et verre, 1912

COFFER

In architecture, a decorative sunken panel on the underside of a ceiling.

CLUSTER HOUSES

Residential units laced close together in order to maximize the usable exterior space of the surrounding area, within the concept of single-family dwellings.

CLOSED FORM

A self-contained or explicitly limited form; having a resolved balance of tensions, a sense of calm completeness implying a totality within itself.








Clement Meadmore, Around and About, 1971

CLASSICAL

1. The art of ancient Greece and Rome.  More specifically, Classical refers to the style of Greek art that flourished during the fifth century B.C.

2. Any art based on a clear, rational, and regular structure, emphasizing horizontal and vertical directions, and organizing its parts with special emphasis on balance and proportion.  The term classic is also used to indicate recognized excellence.

CHIAROSCURO

Italian for "light-dark."  The gradations of light and dark values in two-dimensional imagery; especially the illusion of rounded, three-dimensional form created through gradations of light and shade rather than line.  Highly developed by Renaissance painters.

CERAMIC

Objects made of clay hardened into a relatively permanent material by firing.  Also, the process of making such objects.