Final answer:
The materials used to create an artwork are called mediums. These mediums include various substances and techniques that artists use to create their pieces, and they contribute to the artwork's texture, mass, and overall form.
Step-by-step explanation:
The actual material substances used to create an artwork are called mediums (singular: medium). These can range from traditional materials like oil and pigments on canvas, carved marble, and woven fibers, to more unconventional items such as perishable foods or found objects. In the context of architecture, similar substances are referred to simply as materials. Apart from the physical substances, the term medium also encompasses the techniques and methods applied to these materials to create the final artwork. For instance, bronze requires melting and casting; stone needs to be quarried and carved; and cotton must be processed before it can become part of a quilt.
Different materials have specific properties that influence the ways they can be shaped and the visual effects they can produce. Texture and mass also contribute to the art's final form, either adding literal physical texture (like rough stone) or implied visual texture (seen in two-dimensional works). In some art forms such as process art, the materials' impermanence is a feature that's deliberately emphasized to reflect natural processes.