Studio Art

Studio Art

Level 10 -12
Prerequisites - FIVA prior to grade 10, unless waived
Full year - 1 credit

1. Course Description

Studio Art students focus on work in a variety of media (drawing, painting, sculpture, etc.) that is designed to guide their growth and personal development in the visual arts. Using a range of approaches to art making, the student will be able to incorporate skills and techniques which reflect a study of art that spans cultural and historical viewpoints. A studio environment in which students work independently while sharing ideas, work methods and opinions is established and fostered.

2. Course Components

Studio Work

Students work intensively in a variety of media, themes, approaches, concepts and styles as they learn to make art that is both personal and reflective of an increased understanding of the many aspects of art and art making. The course builds thinking and creating skills in a variety of ways.

In Studio Art, as in all art courses, students must learn to draw on some of the basic sources for continuing growth and development throughout their lives: observation, memory, imagination, innovation, interaction, reflection, and independent thinking. The skills to use these resources are embedded in the work of the Studio Art class.

The focus of the course is to provide the students an opportunity to work in a studio environment, sharing ideas, frustrations, discoveries and knowledge as a way of supporting and helping each other grow as art makers and thinkers. The student is encouraged to be serious about his/her growth, not necessarily in terms of an art career, but as a person interested in using other ways of thinking and expressing his/her ideas.

The nature of this course involves an understanding of how to do an in depth
investigation in the areas that are being studied. This is developed through short term exercises and longer assignments. The actual work may evolve from a study of many possible focuses. These include:

subject matter or themes such as landscape, portrait, still life, animals, narration, fantasy, allegory, etc.
a specific art discipline such as drawing, painting, sculpture, ceramics, printmaking, etc.
work in a certain art style such as realism, abstraction, expressionism, formalism
study in and work that echoes an art historical influence such as Gothic, Renaissance, Neoclassicism, Impressionism, Dada, Surrealism, Pop Art, Post Modernism, Conceptual art, etc.

The work itself takes many forms, but always includes a thorough and sustained investigation of at least one media as well as a broad look at many media. By so doing the student begins to see a relationship between the idea and the possible ways to express that idea. Work with some professional grade art materials help the student in producing high quality works as his skills increase. The student begins to understand his choices as an art maker, and to see his ideas come to life in the form (media, style, etc.) of his choosing. An example might be that the student is assigned to produce a work or body of work which involves the theme of the relationship between man and nature. The student would begin by focusing his ideas or concepts. This would be done by sketching possibilities, writing down ideas, looking at various responses to this theme by artists throughout time in a variety of art disciplines. This could range from the Impressionists work in nature observing changing light, to the Hudson River School painters, to environmental artists such as Christo who have forced us to see the landscape differently. This learning affords the student the opportunity to investigate a theme, a period in art history, specific artists, and encourages the development of his/her individual artistic and conceptual growth.

Students learn about visual thinking processes through regular sketchbook assignments. The sketchbook serves as a visual and verbal journal, in which students record their experiences, observations, responses to readings, and other information which they may draw upon in developing their own approach to art making as a means of personal expression. Students also put their work on exhibition in the school library or display cases and are responsible for written statements about their work which accompany these exhibits.

Historical and Cultural Heritage

Within the study of any art form, students must learn and understand the significance of specific artists, movements, technological developments and cultural influences affecting our perception of that art form. The teaching of these areas must be woven within the studio and art criticism framework to create a balance that provides the student with a rich foundation of knowledge to use in the making, analysis and appreciation of art.

In Studio Art students learn about the relationship of art to humanity through various readings, lectures and magazine reviews. They keep a sketchbook in which drawings and notes of ideas for ways of working are kept.

Reviews of slides, videotapes, books and magazine articles spanning topics which cross cultural and historical barriers give the student a true and broad perspective of how art has been used in the past and is being used today throughout the world.

Students view slides, video tapes, visit museums and galleries and read articles on art works from a comprehensive collection of books and magazines. They keep a journal/sketchbook in which they record ideas, collect images and draw sketches for future work. Students write responses to articles on various historical, cultural, technical topics as well as study the work of artists in order to see the relationship between technique, idea, content and production.

Criticism

Students participate in a variety of forms of art criticism. This includes description, analysis, interpretation, and judgment of works of art and other forms of visual expression from historical and cultural sources. Students discuss and practice ways of analyzing works in terms of their use of visual elements and principles, interpreting the intent and meaning of these works, and making thoughtful, informed responses to the work from more than one point of view. Students also read and respond to reviews by art critics, and may write their own review of an art show in a local gallery or museum as a result of a field trip to that show.

Testing

Testing is done on a regular basis. Students are tested in a variety of forms, both written and oral, and also must demonstrate their understanding of course content through application of learned concepts and techniques. Another form of cumulative periodic examination is the portfolio review, in which the student and teacher evaluate the student's demonstration of understanding of art concepts through application in his studio work.

Students are tested on their knowledge of the technical aspects of the study of the various theories, media and techniques they have been using. They are asked to write about art and artists from a historical, analytical and cultural sense. Students need to be able to demonstrate facility with their artistic endeavors via the work produced and descriptive instructions for various techniques, and to interpret their own work as well as that of other artists.
Student evaluation is continuous throughout the course as work is being made. Individual conferencing and grading is done for work made, usually many times throughout its production.

3.Course Materials

Studio Materials

In Studio Art a broad range of materials in a variety of media is required. These materials include paints, such as watercolor, acrylic, oil and tempera as well as colored pencils, oil sticks and pastels. A range of drawing, printmaking and sculpture materials are also required.These include pencils of various grades and types, graphite, charcoal. Printmaking supplies include, Serigraphy screens,squeegees, a variety of inks, plexiglass, etching tools, and papers suitable for many media.

For the most part these materials are shared with other studio courses, however a small selection of professional quality materials are necessary to accommodate the scope of this curriculum. These include papers that are acid free, good quality brushes, and colorfast pigments.

Equipment such as easels, drawing boards, painting tools, a printmaking press, inks, brayers and other tools, and ceramic materials are also used.

Reading Materials

Books and magazines - There is an extensive collection of titles ranging from art texts to instructional information, to monographs of artists, art historical surveys, books which focus on particular art styles, movements, media, or cultures as well as writings by artists available in the studio area. These magazines and books serve as a constant resource of information and exposure to the expansive realm of the study of art. In fact, they serve as a text because students are required to use them constantly.

Audio Visual Materials

Visuals - Examples of work done in either the concept being studied or the techniques being used are available for motivation and appreciation.

Videos, slides, filmstrips - Because art is, after all, a visual activity, high quality visual media are vital in the presentation of artist's work, working techniques, and in understanding the varied expression of ideas. A collection of videos representative of a broad range of artists, art styles and movements helps students understand the process an artist works through in formulating and expressing ideas in various media, as well as exposing the student to images of the artists' work. Slide reproductions of art work from throughout history are often used to examine work from different periods, to compare and contrast works of art in terms of content, meaning, style, and media, and to examine art in formal terms of composition.

Actual art works - Examples of work done by students as well as professional artists which have been given to the department as gifts illustrate various media and processes.

Field Trips

A necessary component of all art classes is the field trip to a museum or gallery to see actual art work. The experience is two-fold: not only are students able to respond to the size of the work and the quality of the print, but they also learn about the function of a museum or gallery. Understanding that these places are available to them will encourage a life-long relationship with art.

Trips to Bowdoin College Art Museum, The Portland Museum of Art, Olin Arts Center, etc. as well as trips to Brunswick galleries to see contemporary art work is an important facet of this course. This affords the student the invaluable opportunity to see real art work in its original state, not as a slide or print in a book. Visits to the studios of area artists is also encouraged.

4. Student Expectations

Attendance

Most course learning requires that students are actively involved in the process of making art. Students must demonstrate satisfactory participation in class activities, including studio work, lectures, demonstrations, critiques and discussion. Since the studio experience cannot be reproduced, students are expected to be present in class. Following an absence, it is a student's responsibility to ask for makeup work and to spend time in the studio making up missed work, if necessary.

Time

Work each week outside of class is expected, both on long term and short term assignments. It is expected that work in the sketchbook/journal be an ongoing time commitment each week. Time spend during class must be spent on the processes of making art.

Presentation of Work

Students are expected to keep in a portfolio or other means of storage each work they create. Work from this portfolio is appropriately presented by matting, framing, or building a suitable display base, etc. Work is presented to other class members in critiques and is periodically put on display in the cases outside the library and art room, or in a special exhibit in the library or art room. A written statement will periodically be required to accompany the display of work to focus both the student/creator and the viewer on the objectives, ideas and intent of the piece.

Sketchbook/journals are presented periodically for evaluation of specific assignments and ongoing work.

Behavior

Appropriate behavior includes respect for other learners, school property, their own work, that of their peers, and the learning environment set by the teacher. Learning is the central activity in the classroom; student actions are expected to contribute to and support the plan for learning. When student actions detract from the learning situation, an offending student's grade will reflect the negative impact his/her actions have on the learning of other students in the class as well as his own.

Care of Books, Materials, Equipment

A student who loses, abuses, or destroys a book or any other course material or equipment that has been assigned to his or her care is responsible for its replacement costs. Students may be able to work in the art room to compensate for monetary losses when appropriate.

5. Evaluation

Grading Standards

In this course, student thinking, development of visual acuity, problem solving, and demonstration of skills in studio work are at the center of class activity. Grading is viewed in this context. Because the critique process is an important part of learning about art, students are expected to participate in the evaluation of their own work, as well as the work of others. As students become more aware of the language and process involved in making and looking at art, they will become more comfortable with self-assessment.
Teachers will assess student performance and progress, as evidenced by studio work, in class task commitment, homework, and daily preparation.
Work is regularly reviewed to give students the opportunity to learn more through looking at their own work and the work of other students from different points of view.

The usual A B C D F system is used to grade student work each quarter. Work handed in late is subject to the penalty of a lower grade, or loss of credit for that work, as specified by individual teachers.

Student Outcomes

Students will understand the technical processes of working in a variety of art media.
Students will understand ways artists from various cultures and historical periods have used these materials and tools as an expressive medium.
Students will be able to recognize art works from various periods, and understand how these works reflect the culture and time in which they were created.
Students will apply this understanding to create original works of various subjects or themes as solutions to technical or visual problems, or as an expression of an idea.

Course Evaluation

This course is evaluated through input from students and art department faculty. This includes discussions among teachers, students, parents and administrators. Teachers keep updated to new practices affecting their teaching area and methods through attending conferences, readings, and networking with other art educators.