Object Type

Archival Material

Reproductions, correspondence, etc. from Study Collection or significant items moved to the object files.

Book

Bound or loosely bound book, with original artwork inside; artist’s book (artist book assigned in medium or as attribute?) AAT: items comprising a collection of leaves of paper, parchment, wood, stiffened textile, ivory, metal tablets, or other flat material, that are blank, written on, or printed, and are strung or bound together in a volume.

Ceramic

Object onto which an image, design or pigment has been fired.

Drawing

Producing visible forms primarily by delineation, usually by the direct application of material or instrument to the surface of the support. Works produced by the direct application of the material or instrument to the surface of the paper –such as watercolor, ink, gouache, oil, graphite, or collage. 

Furnishings and Equipment

Mirror, cushion, vase, chandelier, candlestick, etc.

Furniture

Movable or fixed objects or equipment, which may be either functional or ornamental, particularly objects for sitting, reclining, or storage, such as chairs, beds, tables, cabinets, etc., in a dwelling, business, or public space.

Installation

Works with many elements that use their exhibition space as part of their design.

Painting

work in which pigments are applied to a surface to create an expressive or communicative image. There may be some other media or small elements attached to the surface, but they are a small percentage of the overall work.

Photograph

Refers to still images produced from radiation-sensitive materials (sensitive to light, electron beams, pixels, or nuclear radiation), generally by means of the chemical action of light on a sensitive film, paper, computer chip, glass, or metal. Photographs may be positive or negative, opaque or transparent. The concept may include photographs made by digital means.

Print

Pictorial works produced by transferring images by means of a matrix such as a plate, block, or screen, using any of various printing processes. When emphasizing the individual printed image, use "impressions.” Avoid the controversial expression "original prints," except in reference to discussions of the expression's use. If prints are neither "reproductive prints" nor "popular prints," use the simple term "prints." With regard to photographs, prefer "photograph.”

Site-specific work

Works of the visual arts that are designed for specific locations, especially those that exploit or incorporate aspects of their sites.

Sculpture

Work primarily in 3 dimensions. Three-dimensional works of art in which images and forms are produced in relief, in intaglio, or in the round. The term refers particularly to art works created by carving or engraving a hard material, by molding or casting a malleable material (which usually then hardens), or by assembling parts to create a three-dimensional object. It is typically used to refer to large or medium-sized objects made of stone, wood, bronze, or another metal. Small objects are typically referred to as "carvings" or another appropriate term. "Sculpture" refers to works that represent tangible beings, objects, or groups of objects, or are abstract works that have defined edges and boundaries and can be measured. As three-dimensional works become more diffused in space or time, or less tangible, use appropriate specific terms, such as "mail art" or "environmental art."

Textile

Material produced by weaving, felting, knotting, twining or otherwise processing natural or synthetic fiber so that they cohere into a form or unit.

Time-based media

General term for visual works that depend on technology and/or have duration as a dimension. Includes film and video.