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Unit 3: Investigating and interpreting art and ideas |
This unit focuses on making personal art responses through a broad and innovative investigation including exploration and experimentation
within selected art form(s) and/or media. Throughout the unit students will develop art techniques, ideas and aesthetics in their folio
and refine a sustained body of work which is worked on for both semester 1 & 2.
Students are introduced to the frameworks to interpret artworks produced before and since 1970. The frameworks will be used to respond
critically to artworks, to interpret their meanings and messages and as a basis of comparisons between them, in written essays.
Area of Study 1:
Investigation and interpretation
This area of study focuses on the preparation of a sustained body of work within selected art form(s) e.g. Fashion, Drawing and General
and/or media in which personal art responses, concepts and observations are presented. It encourages the exploration of ideas through
trialling and technical experimentation of materials and techniques.
The area of study involves documenting and consolidating thinking and working practices, on selected chosen themes and demonstrating
the refinement of concepts, ideas, directions, technical skill and aesthetic awareness. The exploration and progressive realisation
of concepts and observations may have a number of starting points and multiple solutions. For example the theme Human form could explore,
portraits of family members, nude body forms, stereotypes, eating disorders. Students develop technical skills e.g in accurate observational
drawing, cartoon style images, painting and collage. The ability to document their body of work with appropriate visual and written responses
and evaluations is essential. Correct health and safety practices should be used in the development of the body of work.
Outcome 1
On completion of this unit the student should be able to undertake a broad and innovative investigation, trialling materials and techniques
within selected art form(s) and/or media to explore ideas, directions and personal concepts in a considered and insightful way.
To achieve this outcome the student will draw on knowledge and related skills outlined in area of study 1.
Key knowledge
This knowledge includes
- effective visual language that contributes to an innovative and sustained body of work.
- the formal elements.
- an understanding of tools, materials and techniques, including correct health and safety practices to enable the exploration of selected artform(s) and/or media.
Key skills
These skills include the ability to
- make personal art responses in selected art form(s) and/or media through innovative exploration, investigation and experimentation with ideas, concepts and skills.
- progressively develop and refine art ideas with appropriate written and visual material.
- describe the manner in which ideas, concepts and/or observations are realised through progressive written documentation of thinking and working practices.
- translate concepts and observations into effective visual solutions, through responses andevaluations that demonstrate interpretation and individual qualities and give insight into thethinking and working practices of the student.
- demonstrate considered and appropriate use of formal elements.
- develop effective visual solutions leading to the realisation of concepts, observations and directions.
- present a sustained body of work reflecting innovative exploration in selected art form(s) and/or media which demonstrate the development of work practices.
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Area of Study 2:
Interpreting art
This area of study focuses on using interpretive frameworks to respond critically to artworks.
Interpretive frameworks are methods that are used to interpret aspects of an artwork. The framework of formal interpretation is used to analyse how an artworks formal elements contribute to its meanings and messages, while the framework of symbolism helps viewers to appreciate how artworks can also refer to general and/or abstract ideas as part of their meaning. The historical context framework can be used to identify the influence on an artwork of the time and place in which it was made. The framework of psychoanalysis can be used to shed light on how artworks can also reflect an artists more personal feelings and life circumstances. Other frameworks can be used to interpret how artworks comment on political issues, cultural issues, gender issues and Postmodernist perspectives. Viewed together, these frameworks help viewers to appreciate how an artwork contains many different aspects
of meaning from the formal to the political, and from the historical to the cultural. Students understanding and skills in using interpretive frameworks to critique artworks is developed through a study of artists and their artworks produced before and since 1970.
In this study art dating from 1970 is considered to mark a shift in art practice and theory away from the emphasis of modern art on originality and uniqueness, towards a more self-critical and diverse series of approaches which have come to be known as Postmodern. This art represents the expression of our own culture and so offers a relevance and accessibility to students, together with a topicality and currency of artists and issues. At least two artists who have produced work before 1970 are also studied.
Students must undertake:
- a study of at least two artists who have produced work before 1970 and at least two artworks of each of the two artists chosen for study.
- a study of at least two artists who have produced work since 1970 and at least two artworks of each of the two artists chosen for study.
- a contrast and comparison of the artworks of the selected artists who have produced work before 1970 and the artworks of the selected artists who have produced work since 1970.
- a study of the formal interpretation framework and at least two additional interpretive frameworks.
Note that in the case of an artist who has produced work before and since 1970, the study should
focus on either works produced by the chosen artist before 1970 or works produced since 1970, but
not both.
Outcome 2
On completion of this unit the student should be able to interpret different aspects of an artworks meanings and messages and compare artworks
through the application of intepretive frameworks. To achieve this outcome the student will draw on knowledge and related skills outlined in area of study 2.
Key knowledge
This knowledge includes
Formal interpretation, including:
- visual analysis: the formal elements of an artwork, such as line, shape, texture, colour, movement, surface composition and the depiction of space, modelling and tonal structure in an artwork.
- style: the stylistic qualities of an artwork and the ways in which these qualities relate to other artworks.
- technique: the technical skills and approaches used by artists working in a particular medium to achieve a specific effect; for example, techniques of printmaking.
- how formal, stylistic and technical elements contribute to the meanings and messages of an artwork.
And at least two of the following additional interpretive frameworks:
Cultural:
- the ways in which artworks can be interpreted in terms of cultural issues; for example, their influence on the work of Frida Kahlo and other Mexican Modernist artists, or the influence of Buddhism on the arts of Asia.
- how artworks from different cultures interpret ideas, beliefs and/or themes in ways that reflect different cultural perspectives and/or understandings of cultural identity.
- how cultural ideas, beliefs and/or themes contribute to the meanings and messages of artworks.
Gender:
- the ways in which artworks can be interpreted in terms of issues of gender and/or sexuality; for example, the issue of the influence of gender and/or sexuality on the work of Baroque or
Postmodern artists (such as Caravaggio, Artemisia Gentileschi, Judith Leyster, Keith Haring),
feminist art and criticism, or male representations of female beauty in the Japanese Floating
World print.
- how gender issues contribute to the meanings and messages of artworks.
Historical context:
- the social, political and/or religious contexts of an artwork; for example, the influence of the rise of Nazism on the work of the German Expressionists, the significance of religious and historical factors in European Renaissance artworks, the rise of new media and the challenges to traditional art practices in late twentieth century early twenty-first century Australian and international art, or the Silk Road and the transmission of cultural influence across Asia.
- how social, political and/or religious factors contribute to the meanings and messages of artworks.
Political:
- the ways in which artworks can be interpreted in terms of political issues, such as class, power, colonialism, race, environmental issues (for example, land-rights, social equity and other political issues in urban and traditional Aboriginal art), the representation of non-aristocratic social groupings in eighteenth century English art, postcolonial interpretations of Gauguin and other nineteenth and twentieth century representations of the noble savage, documentary photography and politics (for example, Sebastio Salgado, Walker Evans, Mario Merz, Giulio Paolini and the Arte Povera group), Environmental art (for example, Christo and Jeanne-Claude, Robert Smithson, Walter De Maria, Richard Long), the work of dissident Chinese artists since the Cultural Revolution, or art and the Russian Revolution.
- how political issues contribute to the meanings and messages of artworks.
Postmodernism:
- the ways in which artworks can be interpreted in terms of Postmodernism.
- the ways in which artists use parody, irony, satire, quotation, appropriation and/or non-traditional art practices and art forms in order to question and challenge traditional understandings of art and its significance; for example, the ways in which artistic collaboration in performance, installation and conceptual art can be seen as challenging traditional ideals of artistic genius and individuality, the ways in which recent digital and online art can be seen as challenging traditional ideals of the importance of viewing and experiencing object-based art in museums and galleries, or globalisation and the issue of cultural integrity in Asian art practice and theory.
- how Postmodernist perspectives contribute to the meanings and messages of artworks.
Psychoanalysis:
- the ways in which artworks can be interpreted in terms of an artists personal experiences and preoccupations; for example, the influence of early family relationships on the work of an artist or the influence of dreams, traumas and/or the inner worlds of the subconscious in the work of an artist.
- how psychoanalysis contributes to the meanings and messages of artworks.
Symbolism:
- general and/or abstract ideas and principles referred to by the use of symbols in artworks; for example, the skull as a symbol of death, the trident in Hindu art as symbolic of past, present and future and the God Sivas threefold character as creator, preserver and destroyer, rarrk (crosshatching),
Islamic art and/or the place of the Mosque, motifs used in Australian indigenous art to evoke music and aspects of sacred ritual, or any personal symbol created by an artist.
- how symbols contribute to the meanings and messages of artworks.
Key skills
These skills include the ability to
- compare and contrast artworks made before and since 1970.
- describe and analyse the formal elements of artworks.
- develop interpretations of artworks through the application of the formal interpretation framework and at least two other interpretive frameworks.
- discuss the meanings and messages of artworks.
- substantiate interpretations about art with reference to specific artworks and by using appropriate terms and vocabulary.
ASSESSMENT
The award of satisfactory completion for a unit is based on a decision that the student has demonstrated achievement of the set of outcomes specified for the unit. This decision will be based on the teachers assessment of the students overall performance on assessment tasks designated for the unit. The Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority will publish an assessment handbook which will include advice on the assessment tasks and performance descriptors for assessment.
The key knowledge and skills listed for each outcome should be used as a guide to course design and the development of learning activities. The key knowledge and skills do not constitute a checklist and such an approach is not necessary or desirable for determining the achievement of outcomes. The elements of key knowledge and skills should not be assessed separately.
To demonstrate satisfactory completion of Unit 3 Outcome 1, students must present evidence of a broad innovative investigation, the trialling of materials and techniques and the documentation of thinking and working practices in their body of work.
Assessment of levels of achievement
The students level of achievement in Unit 3 will be determined by school-assessed coursework, a
school-assessed task and an end-of-year examination.
Contribution to final assessment
The school-assessed coursework for Unit 3 will contribute 10 per cent to the study score.
The school-assessed task for Units 3 and 4 will contribute 50 per cent to the final assessment.
The level of achievement for Units 3 and 4 is also assessed by an end-of-year examination, which
will contribute 30 per cent to the study score.
School-assessed task
The school-assessed task, which constitutes the assessment for Outcome 1 in Unit 3 and Outcome
1 in Unit 4, will be initially assessed by the teacher using criteria published in an assessment handbook
and will be subject to external review by a panel appointed by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment
Authority. Details of the school-assessed task are set out on pages 27 and 28 of this study design.
VCE STUDY DESIGN 23
ART Unit 3
Outcome Marks allocated* Assessment tasks
Outcome 2
Interpret different aspects of an artworks meanings
and messages and compare artworks through the
application of interpretive frameworks.
Total marks
*School-assessed coursework for Unit 3 contributes 10 per cent to the study score.
Any one or a combination of the following formats:
- a written report.
- an extended response.
- short responses.
- structured questions.
- an annotated visual report.
- an oral report.
- another appropriate format.
School-assessed coursework
Teachers will provide to the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority a score representing an assessment of the students level of achievement.
The score must be based on the teachers rating of performance of each student on the tasks set out in the following table and in accordance with an assessment
handbook published by the Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. The assessment handbook will also include advice on the assessment tasks and performance
descriptors for assessment.
Assessment tasks must be a part of the regular teaching and learning program and must not unduly add to the workload associated with that program.
They must be completed mainly in class and within a limited timeframe. Teachers must ensure that the tasks are comparable in scope and demand.
Teachers should select a variety of assessment tasks for their program to reflect the key knowledge and skills being assessed and to provide
for different learning styles.
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