The University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Thesaurus Exercise: A Painting Thesaurus
Group H
Maddy Brodsky, Kelly Denzer, Mary Old, Marilia Wimberly, & Kathleen Woerner
LIS 640-04D: Information Organization & Access
Dr. Pendse
November 19, 2014
Introduction
When given the task of constructing a thesaurus, our group chose the domain of
“Painting.” Since our group consists of artists, art historians, and public school personnel, each
of us has some specific knowledge of the term and its meanings. Although each of us chose a
different thesaurus to compare our terms to, we all agreed upon the structure and appearance of
our thesaurus website, http://paintingthesaurus.weebly.com. When creating this website, we
adhered to the principles laid forth in our readings on classification by Clare Begthol, Lois Mai
Chan and Theodora Hodges.
The domain “Painting” can be described as a verb, noun or adjective. It can have
different meanings depending on the context and the user’s intentions. According to Lois Mai
Chan, “In subject representation, if a word or phrase has multiple meanings, each subject
heading can represent only one meaning” (165). Our website has multiple subject headings for
the multiple meanings of “Painting:” Painting as an action, Painting as a concept, Painting as a
type, Painting as a medium, Painting as an object and Painting as a movement. In this way, our
thesaurus serves as a “Knowledge Organization Classification,” or KOC. Just like a KOC, the
purpose of our thesaurus is to gather and organize literal and figurative meanings of words
related to the common term “Painting” (Begthol 1045, 1046). In the layout of our website, we
used a “facet structure.” Our domain, “Painting,” is broken up into its different facets (listed
above), then each facet is broken down further by its focus into alphabetically listed synonyms.
Our domain and its facets appear in bold type, while the focus terms are in light-faced type since
they are lead-in terms. In addition to these subject headings and lead-in terms, we also included
definitions for each meaning of “Painting” and the domain used in a sentence to place it in the
desired context. We used this structure to unify our thoughts and justify our choices we made
when comparing our thesaurus to others that exist on the web.
Website Structure
We choose the thesaurus in The Free Dictionary by Farlex for comparison to the structure
of our website. Their thesaurus is similar to ours in that it divides the synonyms or terms related
to “Painting” into categories. Both thesauri contain categories that are numbered and set apart
with bold font. However, the two thesauri in question differ greatly in regard to structure.
Supporting terms, definitions and examples within Farlex’s categories lack order as they are
randomly listed. Both thesauri use color for organization, but only our thesaurus uses visuals to
continually aid users in understanding the organization of the five facets.
Categories
Farlex identifies each of its “Painting” thesaurus entries as nouns, dividing the terms into
separate, yet obscure, categories that seem to refer to objects, styles, types and related careers.
The user has to read the term used in a sentence and its definition to understand the context of
the entry. In our thesaurus, each category (action, concept, type, medium, object and movement)
is clearly presented in bold font on separate pages. The other major difference in our selection of
categories is that we chose the addition of painting movements, while Farlex focused on painting
careers.
Alphabetizing and Color Coding
Alphabetizing, color coding and supporting examples are evident in both thesauri, but
they are more pronounced in our creation. By the second category, Farlex seems to abandon
alphabetizing and lists the terms without order. Each of our synonyms are listed in alphabetical
order and our definitions and examples are clearly labeled as such. Farlex uses a color key at the
top of the page to identify synonyms and other related words. Only two words are actually color
coded as synonyms, while the rest are color coded as related words. Our thesaurus uses the color
red for sub-headings throughout the website. Our fifty synonyms and their definitions are in
plain black text.
Visuals
Each page of our thesaurus contains a visual to illustrate its purpose. The “Painting as
Type” page contains a photo of a large mural. Visuals such as this help put the meaning of
“Painting” in the correct context. Farlex’s thesaurus contains two clip art images, one of an easel
and one of a house painter. There are no visuals in Farlex’s thesaurus to aid in the contextual
understanding of the “style” or “type” categories.
Our Subject Headings
“Painting” as an Action
Each group member chose words to represent painting as an action or verb, referring to
the active form of the domain, “painting.” These include blending, coating, designing, dripping,
glazing, scumbling, stippling, and tinting; all actions pertaining to the act of painting a picture.
This is similar to The Free Dictionary that includes as its third thesaurus entry painting defined in
its verb form as “the act of applying paint to a surface.” It then breaks it further into four related
words and their forms; application, spray painting, splashing, finger-painting. Ours is a more
comprehensive list that includes both simple and complex ways of applying paint to a surface,
but similar in meaning. For instance, “dripping” paint on the surface is similar to “splashing”
paint; “blending” paints on a surface refers to any means and could compare with “fingerpainting” as an active form of mixing and moving paint around and creating a finished surface.
“Painting” as a Concept
For our second domain, “painting as a concept,” each group member chose several
related synonyms. These terms are comprised of nouns and adjectives, and include: composition,
depiction, expression, genre, gestural, masterpiece, religious, and representation. The MerriamWebster dictionary defines “concept” (noun) as “something conceived in the mind; a thought or
notion.” Our thesaurus states that “painting as a concept” can be defined as “the conveyance of
an idea”, with an example given that “visualization is painting a picture in your head.” Our
definition is essentially the same, yet we chose to use the term “conveyance” in our definition
since it is in relation to painting. If one conceptualizes a painting, generally the intention is to
convey or express that concept visually. Our chosen synonyms are various tools and methods
artists use to creatively illustrate the abstract thoughts and ideas within their minds. The terms
describe the domain by exemplifying the different ways of which painting could be viewed as a
concept.
“Painting” as a Type
For the website, our ‘painting as a type’ classification offers users unique nouns and
adjectives such as the following: body painting, easel painting, fresco, frieze, graffiti, landscape,
mural, portrait, and glass. The Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary defines ‘type’ as “the
characteristics of…things that set them apart from other…things…or groups that share particular
characteristics”. Given the very broad and ambiguous definition from Cambridge’s Online
Dictionary, our group chose to redefine type as being “a mode of, or vehicle for, creative
expression”. In this manner, our hope was to see painting as an element of beauty that can be
developed in many ways. While Cambridge’s definition almost forces type to be pigeonholed
based on certain characteristics or criteria, our type showcases a larger perspective for what type
is and how users can create it. For example, we challenge our users to see body painting as “a
type of body art in which pigment is temporarily painted on human skin”. That example and
seeing graffiti as a type of “painting that is often sprayed on a wall or public surface illicitly” are
both prime instances of type being both individualistic and innovative.
“Painting” as a Medium
Each group member chose words to represent “painting” as a medium. These terms
include tempera, encaustic, oil, watercolor, gouache, polymer, enamel and acrylic. Each of these
terms was used as a noun, treating the media as objects that could be used to create a painting. In
this manner, we defined “painting” as “a coating applied to a surface.” When compared to the
Merriam-Webster thesaurus, our definition of “painting” as a noun differs, yet our related terms
are similar. Merriam-Webster defines the noun form of “painting” as “a picture created with oil
paint.” Our definition is more general in its scope and allows for the use of more media.
Merriam-Webster lists related nouns that are identical to ours, including tempera, watercolor,
gouache and acrylic. Merriam –Webster also defines additional nouns that relate to painting
media: aquarelle (transparent watercolor) and pastel (chalk used for drawing). The term,
“aquarelle,” is similar to our term, “gouache,” which means transparent watercolor. MerriamWebster’s definition of “pastel” seems to refer more to drawing than the actual act of painting.
When used in this manner, the term could be deleted as a synonym of “painting.”
“Painting” as an Object
The category of “painting” as an object is comprised of the terms canvas, figure,
furniture, palette, paper, plaster, vase, and wall. As in the “painting” as a medium category, these
words are presented as nouns. They consist of objects which receive the action of the verb “to
paint,” as reflected in our definition “a surface on which an image is created.” According to the
Macmillan Dictionary thesaurus, the noun “painting” is given as “a picture made using paint.”
By using the word “picture” in the definition, the word’s meaning is limited to actual art pictures,
as opposed to other objects which can also be painted and can also be art. The only term of ours
which also appears in the Macmillan Dictionary’s thesaurus list of terms is “canvas,” but in the
sense of a completed artwork as a canvas, as opposed to the actual stretched cloth. The other
words included are many which appear in our “painting as a medium” and “painting as a type”
lists, such as gouache and fresco.
“Painting” as a Movement
The closest definition in the Macmillan Dictionary for “painting” as a movement is the
definition for “style,” which is “the way that someone writes or produces music or art.” Our
definition for “painting” as a movement is “a style in art with a specific common philosophy,”
which is similar to the Macmillan Dictionary’s definition in its recognition of stylistic
subcategories within the arts. Macmillan Dictionary’s definition is linked to the thesaurus page
of synonyms entitled “styles and methods in art,” which contains nearly all the terms we
included in our list: abstract expressionism, art nouveau, impressionism, and photorealism. Many
of the artistic movements we listed were not represented on the list, though they appeared
elsewhere in the Macmillan Dictionary as adjectives. An example of this is their inclusion of the
adjective “cubist,” as opposed to our “cubism.”
Conclusion
Working with the domain “Painting,” we constructed a thesaurus website that is both
visually pleasing and user friendly. We chose six unique headings based on our class reading of
Begthol’s book on cataloging where she states the purpose of “unique headings is to improve
precision” (165). We defined our headings and each individual related term to enhance the users
understanding of each, and additionally included visuals to further develop the definition of each
unique heading. The result of our collaboration is an enriched understanding of the word painting
based on multiple access points and classifications of the word. Thus, allowing a researcher to
gather and organize several meanings and related terms for our chosen domain “Painting.”
Works Cited
Begthol, Clare, Lois Mai Chan, and Theodora Hodges. “Classification Theory.” Encyclopedia of
Library and Information Sciences 3rd Ed. (2009): 1045-060. Taylor and Francis, 12 Dec. 2009.
Web. 22 Sept. 2014.
Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary. Cambridge Dictionaries Online. Cambridge
University Press, 2014. Web. 25 Sept. 2014.
Chan, Lois Mai., and Theodora Hodges. Cataloging and Classification: An Introduction.
Lanham, MD: Scarecrow, 2007. Print.
Farlex. “Painting.” Thefreedictionary.com. Farlex, Inc., 2014. Web. 23 Sept. 2014.
Gjertson, Stephen. Classical Realism: A Living Artistic Tradition. Art Renewal Center. Web. 25
Sept. 2014.
Motley, Archibald J., Jr. Self-Portrait. Digital image. Flickr.com. Bing Image Search, n.d. Web.
9 Nov. 2014.
“Painting.” Macmillandictionary.com. Macmillan Publishers Ltd, 2014. Web. 4 Nov 2014.
“Painting.” Merriam-Webster.com. Merriam-Webster, n.d. Web. 11 Oct. 2014.