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CHAPTER ONE 
 

The Visual Arts and its Branches 
Chidi Uzor, Chidiebere Onwuekwe, & Chibuzor Asogwa 

 

Introduction 
rt is a human conception made manifest by the 
skilful use of a medium. It signifies making, 
fashioning or putting together, and it usually 

implies that the thing is accomplished by human skill 
(Uzoagba 2000). Furthermore, it is a way of making and 
communicating meaning through imagery and 
performances. It is a unique symbolic domain and is a 
discipline with its particular demands and core of learning. 
Art is a natural and enjoyable way of extending and 
enriching the child’s experience of the world (visual Arts 
curriculum, 2010).  

The word 'arts' is an all-encompassing phenomenon 
and has numerous branches. Art or arts is subdivided into 
the visual arts and liberal arts. While visual art is further 
partitioned into Fine arts and design areas, liberal art is 
sub-categorized into performing and literary arts. 
However, our concern is the visual arts. 
 
Visual Arts 

Visual Art is an object or experience consciously 
created through an expression of skill or imagination 
(Egonwa, 2012). The term art encompasses diverse media 
such as painting, sculpture, printmaking, drawing, 

A 



Uzor, Onwuekwe, and Asogwa 

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decorative art, photography and installation. It is a 
universal means of communication. It is a process by 
which an individual expresses his or her feeling, taught 
and ideas visually. The teaching of visual art is a process of 
developing the creative potential in students to make the 
students self-reliant. The importance of visual art in the 
process of curriculum implementation and instruction 
cannot be over-emphasized.  

Visual art is also defined as a means of self-
expression. It provides one with various media through 
which one can bring to the light interior reflection of 
ideas, feelings, thoughts, and imagination either in two or 
three-dimensional form. A work of art is in two-
dimensional form when it is done on a flat surface and can 
be measured by length and width. A three-dimensional 
form of art is an artwork which can be viewed right round, 
that is; it is measured by length, width, and breadth. 
Painting and drawing done on paper are examples of two-
dimensional forms, while three-dimensional forms are 
sculptural works, which can stand on their own.  
 
Forms of Visual Arts 

There is an early mention of visual arts 
subcategorized into fine arts and design areas. We use a 
thematic chart to explain it below: 
 



The Visual Arts and Its Branches 

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Fig 1: Thematic view of the branches of visual arts. 

 

Drawing 
This is the most integral part of fine arts. Read 

(1972p. 51) describes drawing as delineation which 
remains one of the most essential elements of visual arts – 
even in sculpture. Drawing is a visual art form in which 
artists employ certain materials to make markings on 
paper or other two-dimensional media.  Drawings seem to 
be the most significant form of visual art. This is so 
because both three-dimensional and two-dimensional 
artists require drawings to kick-start their works. 

The importance of drawing in all forms of art 
cannot be over-emphasised. While a sculptor requires 
sketches to define the forms of his model before 
proceeding to his armature, so also does a visualizer 



Uzor, Onwuekwe, and Asogwa 

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require a sketch to develop his designs for both above-the-
line and below-the-line advert materials such as posters, 
handbills, danglers, product packages and even label cover. 
Even the movie maker requires delineated sketches in 
form of a Storyboard to direct the camera movement and 
other actions in a movie. Again, the Architect needs to 
present his designs to his clients in form of drawings.   
 
Painting 

Painting is a two-dimensional form of visual art that 
involves using colours in certain ways to make a 
statement. According to Owen (2020) painting is the 
expression of ideas and emotions, with the creation of 
certain aesthetic qualities, in a two-dimensional 
visual language. The elements of this language—its shapes, 
lines, colours, tones, and textures—are used in various ways 
to produce sensations of volume, space, movement, and 
light on a flat surface. Having said this, there are numerous 
materials and techniques explored by specialists in the 
painting field, and they yield varying results. Among the 

various painting techniques are oil painting, watercolour 
painting, pastel painting, acrylic painting, digital painting, 
ink wash painting or literati painting, Chinese black ink, 
hot wax painting or encaustic painting, spray painting, 
Fresco secco paintings - wall painting technique, gouache - 
opaque watercolour medium, enamel paintings, tempera 
paintings (are very long-lasting),  sand painting, etc 
(webneel.com, 2022). 
  Today, artists explore mixed media painting, where 
found objects are used as support for painting. Support is 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/aesthetic
https://www.britannica.com/topic/language


The Visual Arts and Its Branches 

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a surface which is prepared, on which a painting will be 
made.  
 
Sculpture: is an artistic form in which hard or plastic 
materials are worked into three-dimensional art objects. 
The designs may be embodied in freestanding objects, in 
reliefs on surfaces, or in environments ranging from 
tableaux to contexts that envelop the spectator. An 
enormous variety of media may be used, including clay, 
wax, stone, metal, fabric, glass, wood, plaster, rubber, and 
random "found" objects. Materials may be carved, 
modelled, moulded, cast, wrought, welded, sewn, 
assembled, or otherwise shaped and combined. 
On its part is done mostly in three-dimensional form with 
stone, cement, and wood, as the commonest materials.  
 

 
 

Plate 1: Brass heads from the ancient Ife Kingdom. Source: 
https://www.worldhistory.org/Ife/ 

 

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/environments
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/contexts
https://www.britannica.com/science/clay-geology
https://www.britannica.com/science/metal-chemistry
https://www.britannica.com/technology/glass
https://www.britannica.com/science/wood-plant-tissue
https://www.britannica.com/technology/plaster


Uzor, Onwuekwe, and Asogwa 

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Sculptural forms can be found in many cultures 
dating back to prehistoric times. In some societies, 
sculptures took the form of figures such as STATUES or 
RELIEFS while in others they took on more abstract 
forms such as OBELISKS, standing stones or pyramids. 
The size and function of the sculpture vary considerably 
depending on the context, materials and purpose. 
Traditionally, religious institutions, rulers and wealthy 
individuals were the main commissioners of sculpture. 
Sculptures in the form of statues, VOTIVES and shrines 
were commissioned to decorate palaces and sacred spaces 
such as churches, temples or tombs or to communicate a 
religious message, especially to a non-literate public (Irish 
Museum of Modern Arts, 2010) 
 
Architecture 

Architecture is a form of 3Dimensional Art.  
Architecture is not limited to the design of buildings as 
Janetius (2020) says; 
 

Defining architecture simply as an art or science of 
building is inadequate; also, describing architecture 
from the point of human habitation, raises another 
question, what if the structure is not habitable, say, 
for example, a monument, or a memorial; do they 
not still fall into the category of architecture?  
 
People argued as to whether architecture is art or 

not, and whether architecture should be in a different 
discipline. Like other branches of visual art, architecture 



The Visual Arts and Its Branches 

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deploys the language of formalism, content and design in 
its making. Architecture, being art, communicates, and like 
in all arts, it can be disturbing, inspiring, good, bad, or 
sublime, depending on the designers (Iruoke, and 
Onwuekwe, 2015: 91) 
 
Ceramics  

This is also another branch of visual art that deals 
with the production of permanent earthenware through 
heat firing such are plates, cups, flower vases, and floor 
and wall tiles. Its major material is clay which is naturally 
deposited in abundance in all parts of the world either on 
the surface or under the earth's surface.  
 
Textiles 

This genre is another vital aspect of visual art that 
deals with cloth designs and productions. It has three 
categories, tie-dye and batik, woven and printed textiles. 
Visual Arts therefore can be seen as an artist whose works 
are appreciated through the sense of sight.  
 
Photography 

Photography is the process of making pictures by 
capturing light on a light-sensitive medium, such as a 
sensor or film. Light patterns reflected or emitted from 
objects are recorded onto a sensitive medium or storage 
chip through a timed exposure. The most common 
process is done through mechanical, chemical or digital 
devices known as cameras (Introduction to photography 
403, 2008:7).  



Uzor, Onwuekwe, and Asogwa 

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A camera is an optical instrument for recording or 
capturing images, which may be stored locally, transmitted 
to another location, or both. ... The word camera comes 
from camera obscura, which means "dark chamber" and is 
the Latin name of the original device for projecting an 
image of external reality onto a flat surface. The camera is 
also a remote sensing device as it senses subjects without 
any contact.  The modern photographic camera evolved 
from the camera obscura. The functioning of the camera 
is very similar to the functioning of the human eye. The 
first permanent photograph of a camera image was made 
in 1826 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce (Wikipedia, 2014) 

On the photographic processes, and comparing it to 
other two-dimensional media, Bernadine (2008), opines 
thus;  
 

Photography may most closely resemble painting 
and the graphic arts because most photographs are 
stable, two-dimensional objects. The photographer's 
role, however, is different from the painter's. 
Photographers select their subject matter, but light, 
rather than the artist's hand, makes the image. 
Photographers make many creative decisions about 
film development, printing, or digital adjustments, 
and they can even add drawings or colours by hand. 
However, the primary process is mechanical and 
chemical. 

 

 
 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remote_sensing
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Human_eye
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Photograph
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joseph_Nic%C3%A9phore_Ni%C3%A9pce


The Visual Arts and Its Branches 

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Printmaking 
This is an art form consisting of the production of 

images, usually on paper but occasionally on fabric, 
parchment, plastic, or other support, by various 
techniques of multiplication, under the direct supervision 
of or by the hand of the artist. Such fine prints, as they are 
known collectively, are considered original works of art, 
even though they can exist in multiple.   

Unlike painting, designs are prepared on surfaces, 
which are used to make multiples of the same original art 
on surfaces such as paper, fabric, or walls. "The Matrix" in 
printmaking is practically a surface on which a design is 
prepared before being transferred through pressure to a 
receiving surface such as paper (Getlein, 2004, 187). 
Printmaking is an Art form consisting of the production 
of images, usually on paper but occasionally on fabric, 
parchment, plastic, or other support, by various 
techniques of multiplication, under the direct supervision 
of or by the hand of the artist. (Nwafor and Onwuekwe, 
2022: 52) 
 
Animation 

Animation is art in Movement. More, it is the art of 
movement. In an animated film, drawings are not static, as 
they must be on these pages. Whether it is on a movie 
screen, TV set, or computer monitor, the drawings come 
alive, and it is the quality of that life that matters, not the 
quality of a particular image, frame, or film (Laybourne, 
1998:22). 
 



Uzor, Onwuekwe, and Asogwa 

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Questions  
1. Describe Visual Arts 
2. Explain the word “Art”  
3. Mention the Forms of visual arts 
4. What is the Matrix? 
 
References 
Bernadine, B. (2008). Art. Microsoft Encarta Encyclopedia 

Redmond, WA: Microsoft Corporation. 
Egonwa, O.D. (2012): Nigerian Art: Introductory Notes. Ibadan: 

Ababa Press Ltd. 

Getlein, M. (2008). Living With Art: 8th Ed. New York: McGraw 
Hill Publishing Co. 

Irish Museum of Modern Arts (2010). What is Sculpture? 
https://imma.ie/wp-content/uploads/2018/10/ 
whatissculpture.pdf. 

Iruoke, V. M and Onwuekwe, C. O. (2015). The need for Art 

Appreciation in the Study of Architecture. Environmental 

Review. 5(1), http://erjournal.net/ 

index.php/erjournal/article/viewFile/11/pdf 

Janetius, S.T. (2020). Architectural Psychology: Space, Psyche, 
Enigma & Symbol, Mishil & Js Publishers, Thrissur, 
ISBN: 978- 1974307715. PP. 7-12. 

Laybourne, K. (Ed.). (1998). The Animation Book. New York: 

Three Rivers Press. 

Nwafor, N. A. and Onwuekwe, C. O. (2021). Exploration of 
Paper Stenciling as Matrix for Portraits Prints of four 
selected Nigeria’s Past Presidents. AJOFAA, Vol. 7 (2). 
Awka: Netizens Print Media. 



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Owen, P.(2020). Painting. Encyclopedia Britannica, 
https://www.britannica.com/art/ painting. Accessed 5 
April 2022. 

Read, Herbert (1972): The meaning of Art. England; Faber and 

Faber Ltd. 

Rogers, L. R. (2020). Sculpture. Encyclopedia Britannica. 

https://www.britannica.com/art/sculpture. 

Types of Painting. (2022). 25 Different Types of Painting 
Techniques and Styles. webneel.com/types-of-
paintings-techniques-styles. 

Uzoagba, I.N. (2009) Standard Notes and Objectives 

Questions on Art Theory, for Junior and Senior 

Secondary School, Onitsha: Unica Art Publishers.     

Visual Arts Curriculum. (1999). Dublin: The stationery office. 
https://www.curriculumonline.ie/ getmedia/ 0e0ccff3-
97c4-45c8-b813-e7c119a650c3/PSEC04A_ 
Visual_Arts_ Curriculum.pdf 

 

 

https://webneel.com/

