Course Description for UWCT Diploma Program Visual Arts
DP Visual Arts HL/SL at UWCT Instructor: Mr. Dale Meier Email: [email protected]
Course Description The IB Diploma level art course at UWCT aims to enable students to: Develop an understanding of visual arts from local, national and international perspectives. Build confidence in responding visually and creatively to personal and cultural experiences. Develop skills in, and sensibility to, the creation of works that reflect active and individual involvement. Take responsibility for the direction of their learning through the acquisition of effective learning practices.
The DP Visual Arts course stresses practice in the use of various media, the acquisition of techniques, the mature development of creative ideas and the ability to relate to all form of art in their many social and historical contexts. Students will be given the tools necessary to help them understand their own visual surroundings and to develop an international perspective of the arts through their research of contemporary trends in the arts and their exposure to the importance and function of the arts in other cultures.
They will explore different ways of expressing themselves and communicating with others. The students, which in our school come from many different countries, will discuss standards for judging art and how those standards change within countries, cultures or art forms.
Over the two years of the course, the students will be working in a variety of techniques and media to develop their skills and understanding of the elements of the visual arts in both two and three-dimensional form. They will develop and maintain a close relationship between investigation and their creative process in their Investigation Workbooks.
Students will produce personally relevant works of art that reveal evidence of exploration of ideas that reflect cultural and historical awareness while developing a personal style. In the second year of the course students will develop their own themes and will have the opportunity to choose media preferences.
All of the efforts of the student lead up to the final assessment at the end of the two-year course. The students must then exhibit their studio work, show their investigation Journals and discuss their development during an interview with an external examiner. The DP Visual Arts course stresses practice in the use of various media, the acquisition of techniques, the mature development of creative ideas and the ability to relate to all forms of art in their many social and historical contexts.
In year 1 of the 2 year Diploma Level Visual Arts course the students may be given specific assignments or themes to deal with to get them started. By the second year the students will be expected to find a personal direction and theme(s) as well as choose the various media that they wish to work with. This personal work will lead to developing a portfolio and presenting a body of work in an exhibition at the end of the course which will be evaluated by an outside examiner.
Along with the studio work the students will be expected to keep an on-going series of written and visual art journals (Investigation Journals) to: plan, record progress and critique their studio projects (ongoing reflection) research other artists, cultures and periods of art history that relate to their theme(s), record gallery and museum visits focusing on specific works that interest them develop a personal direction/ define individual interests and theme(s) make their own artist’s statements. Visual Arts journals may be done digitally.
What are the DP art aims? 1. Enjoy lifelong engagement in the arts. 2. Become informed, reflective and critical practitioners in the arts. 3. Understand the dynamic and changing nature of the arts. 4. Explore the value of diversity of the arts across time, place, and cultures. 5. Express ideas with confidence and competence. 6. Develop perceptual and analytical skills.
What are the DP visual arts aims for SL and HL? 1. Make artwork that is influenced by personal and cultural contexts. 2. Become informed and critical observers and makers of visual culture and media. 3. Develop skills, techniques and processes in order to communicate concepts and ideas.
What kind of students should look into the Visual Arts? The course is designed for students who want to go on to study visual arts in higher education as well as for those who are seeking lifelong enrichment in the visual arts.
What is the difference between SL and HL in the Visual Arts? The main differences are the assessment criteria and the amount of teaching times. There are additional assessment requirements in the HL that allow for a greater depth and breadth in the teaching and learning. Assessment tasks require HL students to reflect on how their own work have been influenced by exposure to other artists and allow them to experiment to a greater depth with art making media, techniques and forms. HL students will also be expected to produce a larger body of work and to demonstrate a deeper consideration of how their work communicates with the potential viewer.
How many hours are given for SL and HL students? At least: SL -150 hours HL-240 hours
What does the Extended Essay in the visual arts look like? Students may want to choose to write their essay pertaining to the visual arts but are not required to do so. Writing an extended essay in the visual arts allows students an opportunity to undertake independent research into a topic of special interest. The research may be generated or inspired by the students direct experience of artwork, craftwork or design, or interest in the work of a particular artist, style or period. It may be related to the students own culture another culture. Personal contact with artists, curators and so on is strongly encouraged, as it the use of local sources.
Can you give some examples of topics covered in Visual Arts extended essays?
An analysis of the extent to which African influences are evident in the work of Henry Moore.
A critical evaluation of the ways in which Wassily Kandisky used colour.
What is the CAS and how is it related to the Visual arts? CAS stands for Creativity, Action, and Service.
Students can participate in a range of creative activities within the school, such as art projects for school productions, designing publications and promotional materials, and exhibiting at showcase events. Students can work with local organizations by designing projects within the local community or creating artwork with other local schools target at a specific audience with specific needs.
What is the TOK? TOK stands for Theory of Knowledge. The TOK is the fabric of the DP 2 year course. It requires students to reflect on the nature of knowledge and how we know what we claim to know.
The course identifies 8 ways of knowing which are:
Reason
Emotion
Language
Sense Perception
Intuition
Imagination
Faith
Memory
Students will explore these means of producing knowledge with the contexts of various areas of knowledge which are:
The natural sciences
The social sciences
The Arts
Ethics
History
Mathematics
Religious knowledge systems
Indigenous knowledge systems
What does the TOK in Visual Arts look like? Students in Visual Arts study the various artistic ways through which knowledge, skills, and attitudes from different cultural contexts are developed and transmitted. This allows students to investigate and reflect on the complexities of the human condition. By exploring a range of materials students should aim to develop an understanding of the technical, creative, expressive, and communicative aspects of the arts.
What are some examples of TOK visual arts questions?
To what extent is artistic knowledge something, which cannot be expressed in any other way?
To what extent doe imagination play a special role in the visual arts?
What moral responsibilities do artists have?
What are the standards by which we judge artworks?
Do the arts have a social function?
How do the Visual Arts recognize International-mindedness in the DP? The arts provide a unique opportunity for students to recognize the dynamic cultural influences around them. The program allows students to study a wide variety of visual arts disciplines and forms. Students are expected to explore and engage with art from a variety of contexts.
Through art making, investigating, and critically analyzing and appreciating different art forms, students can deepen their understanding of the visual arts as well as their knowledge, understanding and experience of the visual arts within the global community. Students will become more informed and reflective.
Are students required to have a visual arts journal? Yes, throughout the two-year course students of both SL and HL levels will be required to maintain a visual arts journal.
What is the visual arts journal used for?
Development of art-making skills and techniques.
Experimentation of media and technologies.
Personal reflection
Responses to first hand observations.
Creative ideas for exploration and development.
Students evaluation of art practices and art-making experiences
Reponses to other artists and their work.
Detailed evaluations and critical analysis.
Records of valued feedback received from the teacher.
Challenges they have faced and their achievements.
What External Assessments are there? Part 1: Comparative study Students at HL analyze and compare different artworks by different artists. This independent critical and contextual investigation explores artworks, objects and artifacts from differing cultural contexts. HL students submit 10–15 screens which examine and compare at least three artworks, at least two of which need to be by different artists. The works selected for comparison and analysis should come from contrasting contexts (local, national, international and/or intercultural). HL students submit 3–5 screens which analyse the extent to which their work and practices have been influenced by the art and artists examined. HL students submit a list of sources used.
Part 2: Process portfolio Students at HL submit carefully selected materials which evidence their experimentation, exploration, manipulation and refinement of a variety of visual arts activities during the two-year course. HL students submit 13–25 screens which evidence their sustained experimentation, exploration, manipulation and refinement of a variety of art-making activities. For HL students the submitted work must have been created in at least three art-making
What Internal Assessments are there? This task is internally assessed by the teacher and externally moderated by the IB at the end of the course. Part 3: Exhibition Students at HL submit for assessment a selection of resolved artworks from their exhibition. The selected pieces should show evidence of their technical accomplishment during the visual arts course and an understanding of the use of materials, ideas and practices appropriate to visual communication. HL students submit a curatorial rationale that does not exceed 700 words. HL students submit 8–11 artworks. HL students submit exhibition text (stating the title, medium, size and intention) for each selected artwork.
HL students may submit two photographs of their overall exhibition. These exhibition photographs provide an understanding of the context of the exhibition and the size and scope of the works. While the photographs will not be used to assess individual artworks, they may give the moderator insight into how a candidate has considered the overall experience of the viewer in their exhibition.