Art Extended Essays

2 examples of very good or excellent essays in Visual Arts

Essay 1


Essay 2


Read them through!

Recomended Exhibitions

Dino Valls at Il Polittico





Marc Quinn and Christian Boltanski at MACRO

Summer Holiday Task for Pupils Beginning I.B. Art in September 2006

Your summer holiday task forms the beginning of your I.B. Art practical work and research studies coursework upon which your entire final grade is based. It should therefore be completed to a very high standard of presentation and content.

The first part of the task is to produce written and illustrated research in your Research Workbook. The Research Workbook records your personal investigations, practical experimentation, historical and contextual studies and developing studio work in the form of essays, illustrations, notes, photographs etc. It accounts for 30 % of your final grade. From September onwards you will be expected to complete around 4 sides in this book each week.

· First get yourself a Research Workbook ! They Must be A4 size (30cm x 20cm approx.) hard bound (usually in black ) with 140 pages (280 sides). They normally cost around €15. I know it seems a bit mean expecting you to buy your own, but if I bought everyone a book then we’d have less money for paint, paper, clay etc. etc…. Also I feel students are less likely to leave their book on the bus, or drop it in the river if is their own.

The Research tasks:

Part One : During the summer you are to visit at least one gallery or exhibition (it doesn’t have to be in Rome). Write and illustrate a review of your visit. It is often better to write about work that you have seen which you like - but it isn’t essential. Whether your critical writing is positive or negative, it must be thoughtful - not just “I don’t like this, it’s boring” or “ I like this because it’s realistic”. You’ve all done critical writing in your G.C.S.E. Art course - remember?!!! Over 6 sides of your RWB consider issues such as:

· Scale - how does a work of art’s size affect the viewer (and how is seeing an actual work of art different from seeing a reproduction in a book or on the internet for example?)

· Materials - what is it created from ?- why? - what effect does the material give?

· Content - what does the work represent ? Narrative - does it tell a story ? Does the time and place in which the piece was made affect the style and intended meaning of the work? give your personal interpretation.

· The Artist - Who ? When ?

· Even basic descriptions of colour, shapes etc. are useful - how is the mood or atmosphere of a piece affected by the artists use of colour, texture, line, pattern etc. ?

· Value judgement - is the piece successful ? Why ?

· Why was this piece of Art created? Who paid for it? Why? What task does this piece of Art hope to perform? Instruction etc?

· Part Two : Research for IB Coursework Project

Your first school-based project will begin with the creation of a sculpture taking the form mask or head-dress that will be the final outcome of your research into a wide range of existing examples and other relevant inspiration and references. Therefore you will fill at least 6 sides with drawings, paintings, photographs and notes which will form the basis of your research. For example:

Native American headgear, gas masks, gimp masks, Japanese theatrical masks, motorcycle helmets, Venetian carnival masks, traditional tribal masks from various African nations, cricket masks, hockey masks, armour, skulls of animals, fish and birds, diving masks and helmets, welding masks, Egyptian burial masks, etc etc etc….

Part Three: Design and create a poster for World Food Day. (This is a coursework project)

The theme of the poster is ‘Investing in Agriculture for Food Security’. This must be written clearly on your poster (in any language) Your poster can be between 30 x 40 cm and 50 x 70 cm (see me for paper). Aim to illustrate the idea of self help rather than hand outs to the poor. Have a look at www.fao.org/wfd/ and also www.feedingminds.org for more ideas. Do a couple of pages of research and studies in your book before making the final poster. Be bold – which posters do you remember most clearly? which were most effective in communicating their message to you?

Remember lots of nice drawings, clear legible notes, a few photographs - this is the start of your Research Workbook - make it look attractive and interesting. Total 14 sides minimum, split between the three tasks.

http://saintgeorgesart.blogspot.com/ is the Art Department Weblog. I add useful ideas, information and links to this fairly regularly so check it out.

NO PART OF THIS WORK IS ‘OPTIONAL’ !!! HAVE A GREAT SUMMER G. MORGAN 2006

Year 12 IB Art Holiday Task

The Research Workbook tasks:

Part One : (5 sides) During the summer you are to visit at least one gallery or exhibition (it doesn’t have to be in Rome). Write and illustrate a review of your visit. It is often better to write about work that you have seen which you like - but it isn’t essential. Whether your critical writing is positive or negative, it must be thoughtful - not just “I don’t like this, it’s boring” or “ I like this because it’s realistic”. You’ve all done critical writing in your G.C.S.E. Art course - remember?!!! Consider issues such as:

· Scale - how does a work of art’s size affect the viewer (and how is seeing an actual work of art different from seeing a reproduction in a book ?)

· Materials - what is it created from ?- why? - what effect does the material give?

· Content - what does the work represent ? does it tell a story ? give your personal interpretation.

· The Artist - Who ? When ?

· Even basic descriptions of colour, shapes etc. are useful - how is the mood or atmosphere of a piece affected by the artists use of colour, texture, line, pattern etc. ?

· Value judgement - is the piece successful ? Why ?

Part Two : (5 sides) Record a visit to a specific building, built environment or monument. Examples: Piazza Navona, The Pantheon or Trajan’s Column etc. etc. They don’t have to be “old”, but it’s probably best to avoid writing about “the porchetta stall near my house” !

In your written and illustrated report, record your observations whilst considering issues such as:

· Scale - how does the building, monument or built environment relate on a “human scale” - does it “dwarf” people - why? (to impress, to accommodate a specific use, to inspire fear, devotion etc.)

· Inspiration/style - can you see any connections with art or design movements (Art Nouveau, Neo Classical, Art Deco, Modernism? Etc.)

· Decoration - is it decorated ? Why? - Why would you decorate a building? In what style ? Describe - organic (plant forms etc.), geometrical simplicity etc .

· How well does the space, monument or building fulfil its intended role ?

· How does it relate to the location in which it is placed (natural environment, other buildings etc.?)

Part Three : Preparing for Year 13 Coursework Projects

At least 10 sides relating to images, artefacts, techniques, experimentation observations and artists’ work connected with your chosen theme for you first personally directed project. Good preparation is essential for a successful project. Take loads of photographs, make loads of drawings – even stuff which is too large to fit in your book. Go nuts – develop an obsession!

Remember lots of nice drawings, clear legible notes, a few photographs - this is the start of your second Research Workbook - make it look attractive and interesting. Total 20 sides upwards, split between both tasks.

AND FINALLY:

At least one major piece of NEW studio work relating to your chosen theme. This could be a large drawing, painting, sculpture etc. It could be a project in its own right or a high quality ‘study’ leading up to an even more ambitious piece of work. It should be at least equivalent to your Tuscany canvas in terms of quality and time spent on it.

Work to the best of your ability. You will be amazed how fast those 2 remaining terms of IB Art will go. Don’t forget – there’s no final exam in this course. It’s just you and your Research Workbook and the studio work that get the final grade…

An ex-student of Mr Morgan's

The Design Museum A fantastic source of ideas for all of you!

click HERE

Year 12 I.B Art

Easter task (included in RWB work from 10^th April – 10^th may)

Critical & Contextual Research

Writing about and comparing the art & artefacts of a diverse range of peoples and cultures is often an aspect of the course which many students find difficult. Through your ongoing research into the work of other artists, designers and craftspeople you need to develop and display an understanding of the interactive relationship that exists between the sculptures, paintings, clothes, films, buildings, teacups, masks etc that have been made by and the people that made them and for whom they were made.

For example: Italian Futurist Art was inspired by the technology of the heavily mechanized era in which it was created. Electricity, aircraft, racing cars etc were all exciting new phenomena at the start of the 20^th Century. Artists such as Balla and Severini made works that expressed the energy and movement of the new world around them. This mood of optimism was killed (along with many of the artists that made up the Futurist movement) by the horrors of modern warfare that began with the First World War in Europe. Could you imagine artists working in the polluted 21^st Century making painting that praised the motorcar?

Part One: You are to produce 8 or more new pages of writing, diagrams and illustrations in which you answer the following critical and contextual question:

‘How do religious buildings from a variety of cultures reflect their function and the context within which they were created?’

You should focus on buildings that you have first hand knowledge of including the temples, churches, cathedrals, synagogues, mosques, chapels and other places of worship and religious gathering that you have visited in your life. Rome can offer you plenty of examples from a diverse range of cultures and religions if you have not visited such buildings elsewhere.

Talk about how the forms of the buildings (shape, height, scale in relation to humans, orientation (facing a specific direction) are related to their function. Explore how the decoration (or lack of it) reflects the beliefs, views and teachings of the people for whom the building was constructed. Is the building adorned with images of gods, and other representational imagery or geometrical patterns? Is the building elaborate or plain embellished with precious materials or kept simple? What is visible inside the structure? How does this relate to the processes of worship, prayer, gathering etc? Are there works of art inside? What is their function in the context of the building? Altars? Tombs? Monuments? Pulpits? Lecterns? Seating?

Links (to start you off...)

Gothic

Islamic

Ancient Greek

Hindu Temples

Synagogues

Japanese Buddhist Temples

BUT DON'T COPY AND PASTE DIRECTLY FROM THIS STUFF!

Part Two:

Visit an exhibition or gallery. I particularly recommend the current exhibitions at MACRO (go and see for yourself). Respond to the works on show visually and through writing. Bear in mind the criteria that I have given you in previous handouts (‘How to look at a work of Art’ etc.) and the sort of things that you will be considering in Part One. You don’t have to ‘like’ something to respond successfully to it in a critical sense!

(5 sides or more)

Part Three:

Continue to develop your current project – write & illustrate a record of how it is proceeding and how it might develop in other ways. Make sure that you have done adequate additional research for your next project. The research and development work is graded along with the studio work itself – you have to show where your work came from and how and why it evolved.

(Total 20 sides or more) Use the links at http://saintgeorgesart.blogspot.com/ for extra help

If you are interested in

a) fairies

b) mechanisms

c) interesting sculptures

click on this link


????????????

SGBIS Art Department scoops most prizes at RISA Exhibition

Saint George's students were awarded 8 prizes in the 2006 RISA show (Marymount only got 3!)

Picasso Museum

Gaudi Info

some monkeys


No excuses!

Year 12 IB Art Half Term Checklist

By Monday 6^th March you should have completed:

Title	Completed?	Grade?
WORLD FOOD DAY POSTER
GRAPHITE A1 MASKS STUDIES
A1 DESIGN SHEET FOR MASK
SCULPTURE (MASK, HEADGEAR ETC)
CHARCOAL A1 PORTRAIT SHEET
PAINTING WITH MASK ON HARDBOARD
PRINTING WORK: MIN. 4 A1 SHEETS TO 3 STAGES + 7 A3 SHEETS
SCULPTURE WITH CLAY HEAD
RWBS UP TO DATE (INC BARCELONA + PLANNING NEW PROJECTS) MINIMUM 150 SIDES TOTAL

Planning your next projects.

After the holiday you will complete 3 A1 studies based on imagery from Barcelona (Graphite, Collage, Ink etc)

Then you will start your own projects developed from your Barcelona work.

Brief

Plan, research and create 2 or more major studio pieces inspired and developed from your Barcelona trip and associated studies.

Available media:

Clay, Batik, Cardboard. Wood, Oil Paint, Acrylic Paint, Lino Printing, Digital Media, Wire, Chicken Wire, Latex, Stucco, Plaster, Ink, Graphite, Fabric, Paper, Adhesives, Found Objects, Watercolour, Collage Materials, Dyes.

You can sculpt, sew, print, paint, assemble and draw in any combination of the above media in both 2 and 3 dimensions.

Your work might explore:

Colour, texture, line, form, surface, light, pattern, movement, and structure in relation to the imagery, artefacts and environments that you explored

You will need to adopt a developmental and experimental approach in order to achieve the best result. Don’t just think of one idea and stick to that. Be wild, develop an obsession – push your ideas to the limit! Devote 10 sides minimum to the planning of your own ideas for this project – explain your ideas and decisions in detail.

Miro Foundation

Have a look at this site - we should be visiting this museum on Thursday afternoon.

One month until Barcelona

Here is a bit more info on the hotel:

Hotel

Year 12 IB Art Project 2 (until half term)

Visualisation of a character described in a song leading to relief sculpture and block printing.

Initial Research in RWB (from now until January 9^th)

Part 1: Choose a passage from a song that describes an individual character (possible examples below)

Do not choose a song and then do a picture of the actual singer (no Kurts, Bobs or Jimmies please!!!)

Part 2: Find lots of images of people that fit your conception of that character. This may be from your own photographs, magazines, newspapers, paintings by other artists etc.

Part 3: Draw and paint these images in various media. Be experimental. Use collaged photocopies and magazine pictures cut up and pasted together (certainly by hand and also possibly using PhotoShop etc). Work and rework the existing faces to create something new. Work over images in paint, pencil etc. Photocopy the final images and work over them again.

The above work should fill at least 9 sides in your book.

Make these pages funky and busy – they should be working pages – integrate notes, lyrics and imagery.

Also 3 sides (minimum) illustrated research into printing techniques including: Linocut, Silkscreen, Etching and Woodcut.

Studio Work (Jan 9^th onwards)

Parts 4 & 5: (simultaneous): Using the final image to develop a block print that will be taken to at least 3 colour stages.

4 A1 sheets + multiple A3 & A4 experiments. You will also make a relief sculpture centred around a 3-dimensional realisation based upon your image. The ‘portrait’ sculptures will expand/be framed/explode outwards so as to continue the idea of the character at the centre (look at previous year 12s’ project for a clearer understanding of this)

The Beatles - Eleanor Rigby Eleanor Rigby, Picks up the rice in a church where a wedding has been, Lives in a dream. Waits at the window, Wearing the face that she keeps in a jar by the door, Who is it for?	The Sex Pistols – Anarchy in the UK I am an antichrist I am an anarchist Don't know what I want But I know how to get it I wanna destroy passers by Cause I Wanna be Anarchy No dogs body
The Happy Mondays – Kinky Afro Son, I’m 30 I only went with your mother ‘cause she’s dirty And I don’t have a decent bone in me What you get is just what you see yeah I should so I take it free yeah And all the bad preserves be things that feed me I never help or give to the needy Come on and see me	PIXIES - Ed Is Dead Her head is in a bitter way Her brain's on fire She's just looking for the perfect wave It's her brain's desire I'll think of her when I walk the strand
Rolling Stones - Sympathy For The Devil Please allow me to introduce myself I'm a man of wealth and taste I've been around for a long, long year Stole many a man's soul and fate And I was 'round when Jesus Christ Had his moment of doubt and pain Made damn sure that Pilate Washed his hands and sealed his fate Pleased to meet you Hope you guess my name But what's puzzling you Is the nature of my game	BLUR - Country House He's got morning glory; life's a different story Everything going jackanory, in touch with his own mortality He's reading Balzac, knocking back Prozac It's a helping hand that makes you feel wonderfully bland Oh it's the century’s remedy For the faint at heart, a new start

Tuesday Lunchime Art Club

I have no idea either!

Giger


Most of you lot will really like this stuff (because you are wierd!)

The Turner Prize

Have a look - see who you think should win

will it be the buttocks or the bicycle?

Research Workbook Task (the next 20 sides and beyond)

‘True art takes note not merely of form but also of what lies behind.’

Mahatma Gandhi

In the next stage of your project you will observe and record yourself in a range of 2-dimensional media. As always you will link your Studio Work with your Research Workbook studies. By next marking day you must have completed:

At least 8 sides of portrait observations of yourself in materials including, but not limited to: PENCIL, PAINT, COLLAGE, PHOTOGRAPHY, CHARCOAL, OIL PASTEL, and BIRO (PEN).

Some pages may be a compilation of rapid studies, others might be longer, more precise single images. Use several mirrors, try drawing yourself from unusual angles, in the back of a spoon etc! Do some ultra detailed close up studies of eyes, mouths, noses etc. Do several continuous line drawings on the same page from different angles.

At least 12 sides of research into portrait painters and painters of the human figure. This should include studies from their work in appropriate media (thick, impasto brush marks if you are working from Van Gogh for example). You should compare the work of 3 or 4 different artists. You should choose painters who have approached the portrait in diverse ways. For example the dynamic, heavy, slow expressionism of Frank Auerbach compared to the delicate precision of Albrecht Durer.

Your writing should explain when, why and how the portraits were made. How does the time and place in which they were painted affect the final painting? Is it an image of a King painted by a well-paid official court portraitist or a group of 19^th Century Dutch peasants painted by an artist with an interest in describing social problems and poverty? Your notes are as important as your images – your RWB is not just a sketchbook. Write about brushwork, style, technique, colour, mood, composition, realism versus caricature. How do the pose and the costume of the person being painted tell us a story of their life, status and character? Are they naked on a bed or gazing down at us in full battle armour on the back of a horse? Are they placed higher or lower than the other people in the painting? Does the painter aim to flatter them or to show them as they really are - ‘warts and all’? Why?

Consider if there is still a place in the world for the painted portrait in the age of photographic and digital imagery. Can a painter tell us something about the subject that a photographer can’t? How?

Do you agree with the quote by Gandhi? How can a painted portrait show us what is underneath or inside of the character of the person being painted – or is painting only meant to act like a camera: recording the image created by light reflected from the object/person in front of it?

Some Names: Frank Auerbach, Frans Hals, Picasso, Rembrandt, Jenny Saville, Frida Kahlo, Tom Wood, Berthe Morisot, Artimesia Gentileschi, Lucian Freud, Gwen John, Matisse, De Kooning, Georg Grosz, Hans Holbein, Gilbert & George, Giotto, Klimt, Hundertwasser, Munch, Roualt, Francis Bacon, Durer, Gauguin, Modigliani, Giacometti, Chardin, Dubuffet, Caravaggio, Botero, Egon Sciele, Goya, Van Gogh, Velazquez, Otto Dix, Alice Neel, etc.

Some Useful Web sites:

http://www.artquotes.net/ Quotes about Art (yes writing!)

http://www.npg.org.uk/ The national Portrait Gallery

http://saintgeorgesart.blogspot.com/ Art at Saint George’s

http://www.artchive.com/artchive/F/freud.html Lucian Freud

http://www.artcyclopedia.com/index.html

http://www.nationalgallery.org.uk/

http://members.aol.com/fridanet/kahlo.htm Frida Kahlo

http://www.geocities.com/craigsjursen/index.html

Site about Jenny Saville (work shown above)

http://www.ibiblio.org/wm/paint/auth/rembrandt/

(Mr Morgan’s favourite – Rembrandt!)

‘I paint self-portraits because I am so often alone, because I am the person I know best.’

Frida Kahlo

Hooray for Jessica & Renesa!

Jess won first prize and Renesa got third in this year's FAO poster competition (fourth year in a row that SGBIS has won first prize in the senior category)