Taipei American School | 800 Chung Shan North Road, Section 6, Taipei, Taiwan | blueandgoldonline.org | VOLUME XXIV, ISS. 05 | March 23 2018
AP Studio Art students prepare for a professional exhibit in April
By Kelly Phil (‘20)
The Taipei American School AP Studio Art Exhibit will take place on April in the Multi-Purpose Room. The exhibit will feature pieces from the students in AP Studio Art, a year-long course where students complete one of three portfolio options: drawing, 2D design, or 3D design. The AP Studio Art students have to be prepared to do a significant amount of work outside of regular class time either after school, during free periods or at home. A minimum of 24 pieces of art are required to complete a portfolio.” Teachers and students work closely to develop the portfolio, but the student must be able to work independently and devote their full attention to making art. Student work is assessed as to whether it reflects college-level thinking in terms of the use of composition, cohesion, use of class time, craftsmanship and creative solutions. Students explore ideas and record their reflections while maintaining a blog. In order to assist them, students are introduced to different aspects of the Adobe Creative Suite to create sophisticated imagery that goes beyond the simple application of filters, layer blending and special effects. Students are also encouraged to use a workbook to plan
compositions throughout the year; their works can be seen on the AP Studio Art website. The students need to have three portfolios in order to complete the course: Drawing,
2D Design, or 3D Design. The Drawing Portfolio addresses broad interpretation of drawing issues and media. Students can complete this requirement by drawing two-dimensional
medium or process including graphic design, digital imaging, photography, collage, fabric design, weaving, illustration, painting, and printmaking. The 3D Design Portfolio is a
sculptural requirement that can involve interactive art pieces or architecture. Students are expected to have a consistent theme in all of their works. When choosing
a theme, students often look towards their interests. Yuka Miyazaki (‘20) chose sports to represent her art. She says, “my theme is sports because I thought it would be interesting to express movement with paintings. So I painted people playing volleyball, swimming, and dancing. I think that the way art interacts with motion is really interesting, so I thought that it was worth pursuing for my project.” Fellow student Ashli Huang (‘18) says, “I chose nature to be my theme because I think that a lot of art is reflective of nature and the world around us. Also, because nature encompasses a broad topic, it can be interpreted differently depending on the artist. The wooden structures I want to present use wood as a symbol of nature and my design is suppose to emphasize its beauty.” Students also explore different artistic styles in their works. Ashli says, “I do 3D design and material structures among other things. I think this style is particularly interesting because it allows me to go beyond what a pen or pencil can do by using technology and expressing myself through physical structures. I think that the 3D apsect of my design also helps with my theme by making nature look more three dimensional and interactive and not just static.”
Beginning next year, semesterlong introductory courses will be more specialized: Broad introductory computer science courses have been replaced with courses on narrower topics like microcontroller electronics and game programming. The department made this move to allow teachers to teach topics with more depth over a short span of time, and allow students to learn about topics that might more fully complement their interests. “Student interests are diverse,” says department teacher Dr. Allan Bayntun. “Someone
interested in learning about a specific topic or building a mechanism can do so more efficiently, and spend more time doing things they’re interested in.”
concepts using simple math language, and I enjoyed giving students a little bit of exposure to cool ideas that students will see in their lifetime.” These ideas will range from machine learning to quantum computing, and will give students introductory insights into high-tech innovations of the future. “What I’d like to do is introduce students to what that means and how you can access that without going into fourth-year undergrad in physics,” Dr. Bayntun says.
In the English department next year, Mr. Henry Chuang will open two new English elective courses: the Writing Workshop & Seminar and Honors Writing Workshop & Seminar. The course will follow the format of a traditional writing workshop, where students discuss their original creative writing and learn about literary craft. “There are incredibly strong writers at Taipei American School that don’t have a consistent opportunity to share or receive feedback for their work—at least, not in the capacity that a sustained writing seminar
would offer,” says Mr. Chuang. “And creative writing is something that I hold very close to my own heart.” He is a poet by trade, but hopes to further discover prose work over the course of the seminar. Mr. Chuang hopes to support TAS’ young writers by offering a supportive space for original work. “I want to place an emphasis on building an accountable and supportive community,” he says. “Most stereotypes of writers involve something along the lines of being lonely or isolated. I don’t think it has to be that way at all.”
Yuka Miyazaki (‘20) (left) and Ashli Huang (right) (‘18) create art for their AP Studio Art class. [TAS
UPPER SCHOOL ART WEBSITE]
New classes added to the Upper School curriculum By Shereen Lee (‘19)
Every year, the faculty at Taipei American School expands its fields of instruction to offer students access to new aspects of learning, from piano performance to technological innovation. Take a look at some classes that will be added in the 2018-2019 school year.
Microcontroller Electronics, Mechanical Engineering, Media Arts & Technology, Robotic Engineering, and Java Graphics & Design
The computer science and robotics department has heavily reworked classes.
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Honors Computer Modelling
Advanced courses are also being rebooted in the computer science department, in the form of next year’s Honors Modern Topics in Computer Science course. “The course came out of another advanced course I’m teaching this year,” says Dr. Bayntun. “Throughout the year, I found that it’s possible to teach these very high-level physics
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