Visual Arts General

Conrad HoggNovember 30, 2017February 11, 2020

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.

Year 11 General Course

Unit 1 - Experiences

The focus for this unit is experiences. Students develop artworks based on their lives and personal experiences, observations of the immediate environment, events and/or special occasions. They participate in selected art experiences aimed at developing a sense of observation.

Students discover ways to compile and record their experiences through a range of art activities and projects that promote a fundamental understanding of visual language. They use experiences to develop appreciation of the visual arts in their everyday lives.

Students acquire various skills using processes of experimentation and discovery. Imaginative picture-making is primarily concerned with experiences of the self and of the immediate environment, including aspects of family life, social activities, communal occasions and other shared activities. Ample scope for free, imaginative interpretation and experimentation with materials is provided.

Unit 2 - Explorations

The focus for this unit is explorations. Students explore ways to generate and develop ideas using a variety of stimulus materials and explorations from their local environment. They use a variety of inquiry approaches, techniques and processes when creating original artworks.

When exploring ideas and approaches to art-making, students investigate the work of other artists. They learn to identify stylistic features of art forms from different times and places, and explore ways to manipulate art elements and principles to generate, develop and produce their own artwork.

In developing subject matter for artworks, students explore ways to express personal beliefs, opinions and feelings. They manipulate a variety of media and materials in a range of art forms, recording and reflecting on their artistic achievements.

Assessments

Production
100%
Assessment is based on production of a body of resolved artwork and documentation of thinking and working practices, analysis of artworks and case studies involving research and visual analysis focused on Australian and/or international visual arts practice.

Year 12 General Course

Unit 3 - Inspirations

The focus for this unit is inspirations. Students become aware that artists gain inspiration and generate ideas from diverse sources, including what is experienced, learned about, believed in, valued, imagined or invented. The breadth of this focus allows choice of learning contexts that are related to students’ interests.

In this unit, students develop their knowledge and understanding of visual language and apply this to both art-making and art interpretation. Through exploration, investigation and experimentation, they develop skills in inquiry, recording observations and manipulating media to create artworks in selected art forms.

Students, through research and/or first-hand experience of artworks and art-making, actively engage in perception, research, reflection and response and consider the ways in which artists, past and present, have been inspired to develop artworks. They are given opportunities to present or exhibit their work, to describe their source(s) of inspiration and to evaluate the process and success of their finished artworks.

Unit 4 - Investigations

The focus for this unit is investigations. Students explore and develop ideas through the investigation of different artists, art forms, processes and technologies. Students investigate spontaneous and analytical styles of drawing, experimenting with a range of media and techniques. They further develop their knowledge and understanding of visual language and apply this to both art-making and art interpretation.

In particular, students explore the expressive potential of media techniques and processes, considering their inherent qualities in the development and presentation of their artworks. They investigate ways to document their thinking and working practices, refining their reflection and decision-making skills.

In this unit, students investigate a variety of artworks and media to further develop their understanding of the creative process and learn how to apply new analytical and production skills and techniques in the communication of their own ideas.

Assessments

Production
85%
Assessment is based on production of a body of resolved artwork and documentation of thinking and working practices, analysis of artworks and case studies involving research and visual analysis focused on Australian and/or international visual arts practice.
External Assessment
15%
Students will be required to complete an externally set task (15%) developed by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority.

Courses