the arts
Music, painting, dance
The arts are creative disciplines pursued for aesthetic rather than practical ends—painting, sculpture, music, theater, dance, literature.
Distinguished from crafts and sciences, the arts aim to move or provoke rather than to function or explain.
She's always supported the arts.
A patron of the arts funds or champions creative work.
The term often implies high culture, though boundaries blur: is filmmaking an art or an industry?
Both.
Venue for live drama
- danceRhythmic bodily movement
- musicOrganized auditory art
- operaTheatrical art combining song
- balletClassical dance on pointe
drama · acting · circus · mime · puppetry · recital · choreography · orchestra
Pigment on canvas
- sculptureShaped three-dimensional art
- drawingMarks forming a picture
- photographyCreating images from light
- printmakingProducing images through impression
ceramics · installation · gallery · museum · canvas · brushwork · portrait · landscape
Aesthetic excellence
- harmonyAgreement or musical blend
- eleganceRefined, graceful quality
- formShape or document
- compositionArranged elements forming whole
style · balance · proportion · symmetry · taste · appreciation · critique · masterpiece
Inherited cultural legacy
- traditionCustom passed through generations
- humanitiesStudy of culture
- civilizationAdvanced organized human society
- renaissancePeriod of renewed vitality
antiquity · folklore · classical · patronage · cultural institution · indigenous arts · world music · cultural exchange
Metrical literary composition
- novelNew and unusual
- proseUnversified language
- essayShort argumentative prose work
- playwritingAuthoring theatrical scripts
storytelling · narrative · metaphor · imagery · symbolism · allegory · genre · fiction
Innovative cultural pioneers
- modernismFavoring contemporary approaches
- postmodernismSkepticism toward universal truths
- surrealismIrrational, dreamlike aesthetic
- impressionismStyle prioritizing perception
cubism · baroque · romanticism · futurism · dadaism · neoclassicism · expressionism · abstract expressionism
theater
Venue for live drama
ballet · drama · acting · circus · mime · puppetry · recital · choreography · orchestra · rehearsal
painting
Pigment on canvas
- sculptureShaped three-dimensional art
- drawingMarks forming a picture
- photographyCreating images from light
printmaking · ceramics · installation · gallery · museum · canvas · brushwork · portrait · landscape · still life
beauty
Aesthetic excellence
composition · style · balance · proportion · symmetry · taste · appreciation · critique · masterpiece · ornamentation
heritage
Inherited cultural legacy
- traditionCustom passed through generations
- humanitiesStudy of culture
- civilizationAdvanced organized human society
renaissance · antiquity · folklore · classical · patronage · cultural institution · indigenous arts · world music · cultural exchange · arts funding
poetry
Metrical literary composition
playwriting · storytelling · narrative · metaphor · imagery · symbolism · allegory · genre · fiction · nonfiction
avant-garde
Innovative cultural pioneers
- modernismFavoring contemporary approaches
- postmodernismSkepticism toward universal truths
- surrealismIrrational, dreamlike aesthetic
impressionism · cubism · baroque · romanticism · futurism · dadaism · neoclassicism · expressionism · abstract expressionism · minimalism
the artsscience
Systematic study through observation
STEM · natural sciences · mathematics · engineering · technology
the artsskilled trades
Occupations requiring specialized manual training
manual labor · commerce · business · vocational training · industry
the artscommerce
Exchange of goods, services
materialism · industry · philistinism · business · utilitarianism
art, artist, article, artistic, artificial, articulate, artistry, artful, artwork