MS Art Portfolio2009intro

Art & Design Yokohama International School (Middle School)

Student Portfolio Frank Curkovic & James McCrory

Name:

Table of 1. Why Study Art & Design?

2. MS Art Aims 3. Assessment 4. Analysing Art Work 5. MS Art Projects Grade 6-8 Grade 6 Project One Look At Me: Portrait Drawing Students examine the measurements and proportions of the human face to create a realistic self-portrait using only pencil.

Grade 6 Project Two Express Yourself: Portrait Painting Students continue examining the human face to create an expressionistic portrait using paints. Focus is placed on expressive colour, brushwork, painting techniques and effects. Various artworks throughout history will also be examined.

Grade 7 Project One Drawing Foundation: Line Drawing Students create a composition that incorporates texture using only line techniques. Emphasis is placed on organising a composition and using measurements to draw accurately. Works by Van Gogh, Durer and Rembrandt will also be investigated.

Grade 7 Project Two On & On: Printing Students create an interesting design with softoleum prints utilising positive and negative space. Various cultural designs and prints are also investigated.

Grade 8 Project One My Surrealist Room: Drawing in One Point Perspective Students investigate drawing in one point perspective and apply these rules to creating a room of their choice in the theme of Surrealism. Works by Magritte and Dali are also investigated.

Grade 8 Project Two The Shape I’m In: Ceramics Students create cups and plates with clay and a hand-wheel.

Emphasis on design is placed on both forming and glazing techniques. Various international ceramic works are also investigated.

Frank Curkovic & James McCrory

*Units are subject to change

Why Study Art and Design?

We are shaped by the Arts and through them, societies reflect and create culture, present issues, teach, persuade, entertain and decorate.

Unfortunately, most people think they are not creative or cannot draw. Art & Design involves much more than this and has several benefits to consider in a curriculum.

The arts can communicate our ideas, feelings and concepts to an audience.

They allow us to convey a message that can be practical, educational, cultural or personal. The arts are a creative, emotional and thoughtful interpretation of the world that are influenced by cultural and personal experiences. Methods and means change and evolve with the participant or the audience. It is a universal language that allows us to communicate within and across cultures and time periods. It allows creative choice, which can convey powerful messages that can be personal, useful, educational or cultural. The arts allow self-reflection, synthesis and evaluation. The arts are also simply rewarding on a personal and emotional level.

The visual arts challenge and empower. It is a means to foster knowledge, thinking and connections. With personal perceptions, it allows students to make choices, decisions and comments at whatever level, in a visual way. It does not simply mean to be creative, but is a formative educational process that encourages self-discovery and self-reflection that will contribute to the person, the community and to the culture of the environment. Art education teaches, fosters and contributes to students’ lives. The arts utilise both hemispheres of the brain and are a common experience. Creativity is an essential part of intelligence and problem solving.

However, creating is not simply making things. To create is to be in thought and is developed through intellectual engagement. Creative attributes are required to resolve disputes, to understand others and to be equipped. We need creative thinking to generate the new, but critical thinking to judge it.

The arts involve both critical and creative thinking.

Art and Design is becoming increasingly prominent in the twenty-first century. Art and Design can lend themselves to an integrated curriculum and help improve test scores and problem solving skills. Arts learning can also improve motivation, concentration, confidence, self-esteem and teamwork. .

“We all know that art is not truth. Art is a lie that makes us realise the truth.�

(Pablo Picasso) Frank Curkovic & James McCrory

Aims of the Middle School Art Program The aim of the Middle School Art & Design course is to not just improve practical drawing skills, knowledge of art history, theories and concepts, but to involve the student in their learning from conceptual development to being a creative and critical thinking art student.

Artists and designers are not only creative thinkers. Critical thinking skills are used to develop, evolve and evaluate their own work and the work of their peers. Using both thinking skills allows them to continually improve. By looking at the work of others as well as their own work, they are able to find inspiration, areas of improvement, investigations and interpretations of new themes, techniques and set personal goals.

As a student, you too need to learn how to reflect on what you do and how you do it. Setting goals for yourself leads to motivation, discipline and helps you improve both conceptually and technically. Art and Design involves process, commitment and motivation. If done effectively, you are guaranteed to become a better Art & Design student

Students should address issues, solve problems and fashion products that will raise new questions within themselves.

Frank Curkovic & James McCrory

Assessment Assessing the visual arts is one of the most difficult and challenging aspects as an educator. How do you evaluate a person’s creativity? How do you evaluate their interpretation?

There is no one right answer in the arts. However, as in other disciplines, process and techniques do play an important role. To grow as an artist, new techniques and challenges need to be attempted. Students are evaluated on their process, their end product and their reasoning for their artistic choices.

Failures are guaranteed to happen. At times, it is these failures and attempts that lead to greater work. The visual arts is a continuing and ongoing process of challenges, goals and outcomes.

In class, students are expected to take part in discussions during the process, creation and reflections of their learning. This encourages collaboration and involves students in their work and that of their peers. Brainstorming, idea exchanges and reviews are used to enhance and contribute to artistic awareness, planning and creation phases. Creative and critical thinking skills are used to gain insights into the creative process and the choices made by artists.

A rubric as well as an artist statement or self-reflection are used in every project.

Frank Curkovic & James McCrory

Analysing

Art Work 1. DESCRIBE (What do you see?)

•Landscape, portrait, people, still life, animals, religious, historic, etc.

•Foreground / background / middle ground •Time of day, season •Place or setting / inside or outside •Abstract / realistic •Horizontal / vertical •Old vs. modern / historic vs. contemporary •Action - what is going on?

•Story?

3. INTERPRET (What is happening?)

•The artwork is about...

•It makes me think about...

•The artist is saying...

•Mood and feeling: calm, violent, sad, joyful, angry, hopeful, scared, etc.

•The artists wants you to see...

•The artist wants you to think about...

•The artwork reminds me of...

•I want to know...

•If I could ask the artist a question, I would ask...

•Symbols, metaphors •Meaning, context •What is the relationships between all the individual parts of the work?

Frank Curkovic & James McCrory

2. ANALYSE (How is the work organised?)

•Line: strong, dominant, thin, directional, broken, outline, structural, curved •Colour and value: warm, cool, light, dark, solid, transparent, bright, dull, monochromatic, realistic or abstract •Texture: smooth, rough, coarse, soft •Space: perspective, foreground, middle-ground, background, point of view •Form: 2D vs 3D form on flat surface, sculptural form •Contrast, emphasis, rhythm, pattern, movement, balance, unity, repetition •How do the elements and principles of design work together?

•How does the artist use the elements / principles to get your attention?

•Composition 4. JUDGE (What do you think about the artwork?)

•The best part of the work is...

•The strengths of the work are...

•The weaknesses of the work are...

•The artist communicates ideas by...

•I learned...

•I like___because...

•I dislike ___because...

•I would(n’t) choose to hang this work in my room because...

•Other people should study this work because...

•This work has survived the test of time because...

•Why do different people see and understand artwork differently?