Final Pieces coming on well...

A few of the 2nd Year paintings taking shape, some ambitiously scaled work...

2nd Years - Art "Personal Study"

Sample Personal Study page.

As part of your A2 Coursework Unit you are required to complete a 3000 word extended Essay exploring an area of Art and Design that is clearly related to the practical work you have completed this term (this could be either the Portraiture or the set of work you complete between now and the end of January) .

This piece needs:

• Plenty of good Illustrations (Good quality colour prints outs of works by relevant Artists).
• Word processing to ensure legibility and so you can save and edit.
• An Introduction that outlines what theme/Artists you are investigating and how they relate to your work (it may make sense to write this once you are well underway with your research).
• Quotations from recognised sources (online or printed).
• Written content that demonstrates you have identified and understood the Artist’s intentions and the historical context in which the work was made.
• Detailed analysis of specific Artworks.
• Some visual responses to Artist’s work should be produced, but these should be included in your practical sketchbook.
• A conclusion that summarises what you have learnt from your research and how it has impacted on your own work.
• A Bibliography of all your sources, this MUST include books as well as online resources. Get into the habit of noting down your sources as you access them.
• Care taken over spelling and grammar.
• Effective presentation and binding.

By Friday 4^th November: Decide on a working title and complete the slip distributed in class with a title (often this is best in the form of a question) and some initial research sources (we will do a round of 1:1s after half term to gather this information).

Between now and Christmas you should be working on this piece alongside your developing your second practical set of work. Please ask staff for guidance when you need it, we are happy to read draft sections and help ensure you are on the right track.

We hope to run some Art History sessions that will encourage you to think and talk about Art in a more informed way, which should consequently benefit your personal study.

Straight after Christmas we will expect to see a draft version of your Personal Study.

Final Draft will need to be submitted with all Coursework in early February.

Some general guidelines:

RESEARCH

Read about the Artist’s whose work you are including. When does it date from? Find out what influences the Artist was responding to (e.g. other Artists/Art movements, historical events, social commentary, classical or religious themes, events in the Artist’s personal life etc.).

ANALYSIS

Make meaningful personal commentary on use of colour, tone/contrast, composition, technique /brushwork, scale, mood/atmosphere etc. Explain what is happening in the images you research and attempt to identify how individual Artworks relate to the Artist’s ideas and intentions.

OPINION

Give an opinion on the Artworks, but ensure you justify what you say. Avoid simple value judgements (‘I really like/dislike…’) or vague, meaningless statements (’This piece is really effective’). Comment upon how successful or unsuccessful you find each artwork, and give specific reasons why you hold this opinion.

RELEVANCE

What is the relationship between this work and your own? Identify and explain connections between each Artist’s work and your own. How does looking at this Artist’s work help inform or develop your own studio practice?

1st Year - Collage/Mixed Media Artist Research

To prepare for work we will be doing in class you need to research and analyse a range of works by at least 2 different Artists/Illustrators who work in mixed media or collage. Your research should be thoughtfully presented over a minimum of 4 sketchbook pages. Some suggested Artists to research include:

Martin O'Neill (Illustrator), Eduardo Recife (Illustrator), Robert Rauschenberg (Artist), Kurt Schwitters (Artist), Joseph Cornell (Artist), Mark Powell (Illustrator), Tim Marrs (Illustrator), Nazario Graziano (Illustrator).

Joseph Cornell

Kurt Schwitters

Mark Powell

Martin O'Neill

Robert Rauschenberg

Eduardo Recife

Tim Marrs

RESEARCH

• Identify each Artist.
• Find examples of artworks –get good copies, list dates, dimensions and media used.
• If you can find them, include quotations from the Artist. Try www.artquotes.net

ANALYSIS

• Give a detailed description of the artwork.
• Analyse – comment on use of tone, line, composition, technique, scale etc.

YOUR RESPONSE

• Give an opinion on the Artworks, but ensure you justify what you say. Avoid simple value judgements (‘I really like/dislike…’) or vague, meaningless statements (’This piece is really effective’). Comment upon how successful or unsuccessful you find the artwork, and give specific reasons why you hold this opinion.
• What is the relationship between this work and your own? Identify and explain connections between this artist’s work and your own.

VISUAL RESPONSE

• It is important to also include your own visual responses to artists’ work. This can either be a copy of an artwork (or a detail of a work) with the purpose of analysing technique; a diagram or study that investigates certain formal elements of the artwork (composition, brushwork); or a piece of your own work that clearly uses some of the techniques, methods or aspects of this artist’s work. In your response use the same materials as employed by the original Artist wherever possible.

OVERALL PRESENTATION

• Take pride in the overall presentation of your research, it should not be rushed. Consider each element carefully:  type/text, layout, titles, backgrounds, visual responses etc.

To give you the opportunity to complete this work to a high standard we will be collecting it in for assessment in your first lesson back after half term.

2nd Year - COURSEWORK Part 2

As we are approaching the end of our time on the Final Pieces for Part 1 of your Coursework and sketchbooks are due in for assessment on Monday 31st October we need to start thinking ahead to what comes next.

Over half term you need to plan a photoshoot to kickstart part 2 of your Coursework. 

Alongside Part 2 of your Coursework you will need to produce an Extended Essay exploring an aspect of Art and Design related to your practical work. This is the "Personal Study" which forms an important part of what you are assessed on in this Unit. More detail on this to follow soon.

Still from film based on Edward Hopper's "Office at Night"

Option 1 You may choose to build on your portraiture work in which case you must get new source photography to work from. This could be related to the imagery you have investigated so far, or a change in direction. Developmental possibilities include dealing with more than one figure (see the Human Relationships starting point), setting your figures in a more complex environment or introducing a narrative element to your imagery.

As usual remember that the quality of your source photos goes a long way towards generating a successful body of work. It is essential that you return after half term with imagery ready to work from, you have a shorter period of time to produce the second part of your coursework so you must hit the ground running.

Option 2

Alternatively you may choose to explore an entirely new direction. In which case you will also need new source imagery, this should be a set of at least 20 photographs of your subject matter taken specifically for this set of work. Again consider formal aspects and experiment with unusual viewpoints.

Starting Points

Bill Jacklin - Seashore bathers

• Figures in Space. Look at the relationships between figures in crowded spaces such as shopping malls, beaches, markets, train stations or sports stadiums. You might choose to investigate movement by emphasizing the contrasts between static surroundings (e.g. Architectural features, shop fronts, advertising slogans) and dynamic figures.                    References: Bill Jacklin, Umberto Boccioni, Andreas Gursky.

Edward Hopper - Office at Night

• Human Relationships. Examine the emotional tension between people in awkward or intimate situations. Consider how you might use composition and lighting to enhance the narrative qualities of your images.                   References: Edward Hopper, Eric Fischl, Paula Rego, Edgar Degas.

David Tress - Welsh Landscape

• The Landscape. Seek out dramatic viewpoints that accentuate spatial aspects of the landscape. Use tone and/or colour carefully to help describe foreground, middle distance and horizon. Attempt to select compositions that explore the relationship between horizontal planes such as fields and vertical elements such as woodland.        References: Ivon Hitchens, Michael Honnor, Richard Diebenkorn, David Tress.

Cathy Read

• Modern Architecture. Look at the abstract elements of modern buildings by cropping imagery, zooming in and selecting unusual viewpoints. Reflections, geometric forms and repetition may be elements you investigate.                                                                References: The buildings of Norman Foster, Richard Rogers, Frank Gehry, Santiago Calatrava and Mario Botta.

Ian McKeever

• Erosion and Decay. Focus on the surface qualities of items such as rusting machinery, derelict buildings, lichen covered rocks or trees, driftwood and shoreline debris. Zoom right in and produce careful studies that describe the rich textures.               References: Antonio Tapies, Anselm Kiefer, Therese Oulton, Ian McKeever.

Albert Irvin's studio

• Colour and Composition. Select a brightly coloured collection of objects such as flowers, toys, sweets, packaging etc. From these objects create a still life from which you can make a series of studies. This starting point lends itself well to developing abstract outcomes.                                                                                            References: Hans Hofmann, Albert Irvin, Howard Hodgkin, Cy Twombly.

Tim Marrs

• Youth Culture. Explore objects that symbolise youth culture such as skateboards, guitars, clothing and footwear. Thoughtfully arrange these items and consider integrating elements such as logos, slogans or symbols into the imagery you produce.     References: David Carson, Robert Rauschenberg, Jean Michel-Basquiat, Tim Marrs.

1st Year A Level Art Trip to London

To inspire your next project around the theme of "City" we will be taking a study trip to London. On the trip we will visit the permanent collection at Tate Modern http://www.tate.org.uk/visit/tate-modern before spending some time in central London gathering photographic source imagery for your work.
Letters regarding this trip will be distributed in class this week and payment needs to be made via the Alton College Online store http://store.altoncollege.ac.uk/ the cost (to cover your return rail journey) will be £14.00. Your parents will also receive an email requesting medical and emergency contact details, this needs to be completed in order to allow participation in the Trip.
Payment and forms need to be returned before half term, so that is by Friday 21st October.
Before the Trip we will give you a briefing on the project that should help you to decide what to look for in your photography ...more details to follow.

Exciting New Work Taking Shape

This week second year A Level students began final pieces for the Portraiture Unit, great to see the studios coming to life with some ambitious work.
Early days, but here are a few things starting to take shape:

Camilla Langdon

Olivia Thornton

Jasmine Anwar

1st Year A Level Homework

Annotated Monoprints.

Homework this week is to make sure all the work you have done to date is effectively mounted, annotated and presented in your sketchbooks. We will have a look through books as a group in a lesson next week.
Once you have put it all together you should have all the following in your book:

• Contact Sheet with all your journey photos.
• A selection of the best photos (around 6) printed out larger (A5 or A4).
• Sustained drawing/s done in class (make sure these are fixed).
• Homework drawing of journey objects (again, fix it).
• Timed drawings done in class.
• Your Monoprint/s.
• Your gold card prints and the plate.
• Research homework into drawing/printing Artists.

All this work needs to be thoughtfully mounted, keeping it simple is the way to go. Also you should briefly annotate the work to explain decisions taken and techniques used.