Courses

Visual Arts

Year 11 and 12 ATAR Pathway|Creative Arts

Visual Arts

Sarah Combes
Curriculum Leader - The Arts

Visual Arts

Conrad Hogg

Art is a fundamental dimension of human life. Throughout history the visual arts have given form and meaning to ideas and feelings and provided ways for people to express and communicate experience. The Visual Arts course encompasses the practice and theory of the broad areas of art, craft and design. Students have opportunities to express their imagination and develop personal imagery, develop skills, and engage in the making and presentation of artworks. They develop aesthetic understandings and a critical awareness that assists them to appreciate and make informed evaluations of art. The Visual Arts ATAR and General courses encourage students to develop problem-solving skills together with creative and analytical ways of thinking enabling students to make connections to relevant fields of study and to more generally prepare them for creative thinking and problem-solving in future work and life.

 

Courses

Year 11 ATAR Course

Unit 1 - Differences

The focus for this unit is differences. Students may, for example, consider differences arising from cultural diversity, place, gender, class and historical period. Differences relating to art forms, media and conventions may also provide a stimulus for exploration and expression.

Students explore ways of collecting, compiling and recording information and documenting thinking and working practices. They explore approaches to drawing and develop awareness that each artist has his or her particular way of making marks to convey personal vision. Students examine how visual language and media choices contribute to the process of conveying function and meaning, and use a range of media and technologies to explore, create, and communicate ideas.

Students recognise that visual artwork is subject to different interpretations and appreciate that informed responses should take into account the varying contexts within which a work of art is created. They develop awareness of styles of representation, examining distinctly individualistic approaches of artists in different times and places.

Unit 2 - Identities

The focus for this unit is identities. In working with this focus, students explore concepts or issues related to personal, social, cultural or gender identity. They become aware that self-expression distinguishes individuals as well as cultures. Students use a variety of stimulus materials and use a range of investigative approaches as starting points to create artwork. They develop a personal approach to the development of ideas and concepts, making informed choices about the materials, skills, techniques and processes used to resolve and present their artwork. Students develop understandings of the personal and/or public functions of art in the expression of identity, for example, spiritual expression, psychological expression, therapy, ceremony and ritual, and the purposes of art, such as narrative – telling personal stories or exploring myths. They understand that art may give form to ideas and issues that concern the wider community.

Assessments
  • Production
    50%
  • Analysis
    15%
  • Investigation
    15%
  • Examination
    20%

    There will be examinations at the end of each semester and/or unit.

Year 12 ATAR Course

Unit 3 - Commentaries

The focus for this unit is commentaries. In this unit, students engage with the social and cultural purposes of art-making to produce a unique and cohesive body of work. Broad and innovative inquiry includes the conceptualisation and documentation of experiences within contemporary society. Students transform ideas and develop concepts using innovative approaches to art-making and presentation. They document their thinking and working practices, having the flexibility to work across media and art forms.

Students research artwork providing critical comment on the meaning, purpose and values communicated. They examine their own beliefs and consider how the visual arts have reflected and shaped society in different times and places.
Consideration is given to the roles of artists in different societies, for example, hero, outsider, commentator and social critic. Students investigate the social functions of art, for example political and ideological expression, satire, social description or graphic communication. They address the relationship between form, function and meaning and develop understandings of how artists are influenced by pervasive ideas, events and circumstances, and how re-contextualisation contributes to meanings and messages in artwork.

Unit 4 - Points of View

The focus for this unit is points of view. Students identify and explore concepts or issues of personal significance in the presentation of a sustained, articulate and authentic body of work. They engage in sustained inquiry, exploring ideas and developing concepts to communicate a personal point of view. Students investigate a range of solutions using visual language and document the progressive resolution of thinking and working practices. Skills, techniques and processes are combined in the pursuit of new art forms, innovation and personal style.

Students use critical analysis frameworks to develop an understanding of the practice of art-making and art interpretation. They research and analyse factors affecting points of view such as time, place, culture, religion and politics, synthesising this knowledge to express a personal viewpoint or position. In the analysis of their own and others’ artwork, students reflect on the relationship between artwork, audiences and contextual factors, and consider how these contribute to the development of different perspectives.

Assessments
  • Practical Component
    50%
  • Investigation
    30%
  • Examinations
    20%

    All students enrolled in the Visual Art ATAR Year 12 course are required to sit the WACE examination. The examination is based on a representative sampling of the content for Unit 3 and Unit 4. The Visual Art WACE examination includes a practical (Production) submission by candidates of resolved artwork(s) and a written examination of 2.5 hours.