Jargon or jargoff?
post-truth – an adjective defined as ‘relating to or denoting circumstances in which objective facts are less influential in shaping public opinion than appeals to emotion and personal belief’.
This was the Oxford dictionary’s word of the year 2016. Others that made the list were; Brexiteer, hygge and adulting.
As artists we’re saturated with unusual terms and nuanced definitions more than most, wild adjectives, metaphors and poetic descriptions feature in our everyday creative dictionary. Sometimes I just want to say enough with the complicated terms and theories, give it to me in simple English!!
Well unfortunately it looks as though the artybollocks is here to stay. The following list of new art jargon has been compiled by gallerists across the globe, how many of these will feature in your next review or essay?
Word | Meaning |
Geoturnal | Of the land – earthly qualities |
Madrasey | Dull, dreary and boring |
Psodomopliphic | Meaningless, trivial |
Prieth | Superficial |
Menolial | Despondent, bleak |
Gradientious | Tonal, textured, tactile |
Complementarium | Sympathetic, favourable |
Paradoxinous | Inconsistent, adverse |
Shyvescent | Hidden meaning, below the surface |
Replicentric | Consisting of two equal, identical, or similar parts or things |
Interprecitous | Open to many meanings, ambiguous |
Excellent article, essential reading for any OCA student contemplating their nascent zeitgeist.
Well said, Joanne! I hate pretentious writing.
I was concerned when my tutor wrote how madrassic my first draft of my dissertation was. I now know I shouldn’t have been overly menolial, especially as he rightly pointed out there was nothing shyvescent about it at all.