dada - an anti-art movement which emerged in Europe in 1916 as a reaction against the antihuman calamity of World War I. It continues today when artists interpret irrational and nihilistic social forces by creating ridiculous and ridiculing sensory images.

distortion - the modification and exaggeration of visual qualities to enhance expressive impact.

dominance - emphasizing an idea and/or particular visual components (through repeated use, intensity of color, and/or relative scale) to the degree that all other aspects of a work become subordinate.

elaboration - the embellishment of an idea or object through a constant repetition and/or variation of some visual components while other components may remain simplified or lack complexity.

expressionism - a style which deliberately abandons 'naturalistic' and 'idealistic' approaches, and utilizes exaggerations and distortions of form and color, which often result in a more direct and greater emotional impact.

expressive character - the sensory, formal and technical aspects of works of art (objects or events) that result in evoking particular thoughts and/or emotions.

expressive properties - the ideas or ideals, dynamic states, and/or mood or spirit that can be identified and/or associated with objects or events, which, when coupled with a work's other properties, contribute to the evocation of particular thoughts and feelings.

formal properties - the means whereby sensory properties (shapes, colors, textures, etc.) are formed; e.g., unified, emphasized, balanced, etc.

genre - specifically, art works that depict scenes of everyday life; e.g., 17th century Dutch paintings of domestic settings; more generally, art forms which share certain structural or stylistic characteristics; e.g., marine or still-life paintings.

gradation - subduing contrast through related steps; e.g., developing spatial illusion in a landscape by using slightly changing value contrasts from foreground to background.