YEAR 11-12
VCE Art Making and Exhibiting
Subject Area
Visual Arts
VCE Units
1-4
About the Course
VCE Art Making and Exhibiting introduces students to the methods used to make artworks and how artworks are presented and exhibited.
Students use inquiry learning to explore, develop and refine the use of materials, techniques and processes and to develop their knowledge and understanding of the ways artworks are made. They learn how art elements and art principles are used to create aesthetic qualities in artworks and how ideas are communicated through the use of visual language. Their knowledge and skills evolve through the experience of making and presenting their own artworks and through the viewing and analysis of artworks by other artists.
Visiting and viewing exhibitions and displays of artwork is a necessary part of this study. It helps students understand how artworks are displayed and exhibitions are curated. It also has an influence on the students’ own practice, and encourages them to broaden and develop their own ideas and thinking around their own art making.
A strong focus on the way we respond to artworks in galleries, museums, other exhibition spaces and site-specific spaces is integral to study and research in VCE Art Making and Exhibiting. The way institutions design exhibitions and present artworks, and also how they conserve and promote exhibitions, are key aspects of the study.
UNIT 1
Explore, expand and investigate
Area of Study 1: Explore – materials, techniques and art forms
How do artists use materials and techniques in their art making?
In this area of study students are guided through an inquiry learning process to experiment with a range of materials, techniques and processes in specific art forms. They develop new ways of thinking, as they investigate the characteristics, properties and application of particular materials and how they can be manipulated to create visual language and expression in an artwork. Students are introduced to different techniques and ways of trialling them. Students experiment with a range of techniques and approaches, developing skills that foster curiosity and creative thinking and inspire new working practices. They engage with artists and artworks to understand the different processes used to make artworks in specific art forms.
Students document and record their findings from their exploration and experimentation in their Visual Arts journal, to use as a reference throughout Unit 1. They use annotations and experimental exercises to record and reflect on their experiences, their use of techniques and the manipulation of each material used. Students also document the meaningful connections they make between materials and techniques, subject matter, and the communication of ideas and meaning in art making.
Understanding the inherent characteristics and properties of materials, their purpose and the historical development of their use in specific art forms enables students to manipulate materials when making their own artworks. Students investigate the appropriate health and safety practices related to each art form they explore.
Area of Study 2: Expand – make, present and reflect
How do artists use materials and techniques to represent ideas and achieve a style in their artworks?
In this area of study students explore the characteristics of a range of art forms. They explore how materials, techniques and processes are used in the making of finished artworks. They are guided through the development and making of individual artworks based on a set theme. Students use the knowledge they have from their experimentation with materials in Area of Study 1 to make decisions about how materials can be manipulated in at least one finished artwork in Area of Study 2.
Through making their finished artwork, students develop skills using the materials, techniques and processes of a specific art form. They explore how these things work together as they refine and resolve at least one finished artwork.
By working through an inquiry process students develop new ways to develop subject matter, represent ideas and communicate meaning in artworks. They continue to document, annotate and record the making of finished artworks in their Visual Arts journal. Students write a reflection statement about their experiences and the learning involved in making at least one finished artwork. They also write an artist’s statement about their art making and how at least one finished artwork has effectively achieved their intentions.
Area of Study 3: Investigate – research and present
What role do artworks and their presentation play in society?
In this area of study students investigate the artworks of Australian artists from different contexts, and the materials, techniques and processes they use to make artworks. They investigate the impact of these contexts on the communication of ideas and meaning in artworks and how contexts have influenced how artists make artworks.
Students focus on artworks by Australian artists, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists. Students research a range of resources to support the discussion of materials appropriate to the artists’ artworks. They are encouraged to view the artworks in a range of presentations throughout Unit 1, including those in galleries, museums, other exhibition spaces and site-specific spaces. The artworks can be selected from the recommended list of exhibitions in the VCE Art Making and Exhibiting Exhibitions List, which is published annually on the VCAA website.
Students select three different Australian artists for Area of Study 3 and present information on a proposed exhibition of their artworks in a format such as a catalogue, website, brochure or didactic information for a gallery, museum, other exhibition space or site-specific space. The students present their research to an audience. The research for the information is documented in their Visual Arts journal. In their presentation of research students:
select three artists, including one or more Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander artists, and at least one artwork by each artist
provide information and an overview of each artist, including background information and the influences on their art making, including where the artist was born, lives/lived and works/worked
provide an overview of the artists and their works selected for exhibition
explore how each artist has applied materials, techniques and processes to make each artwork
explain how artists represent ideas and use subject matter to communicate meaning in each artwork.
UNIT 2
Understand, develop and resolve
Area of Study 1: Understand – ideas, artworks and exhibitionÂ
How are thematic exhibitions planned and designed?
In Area of Study 1 students investigate the intentions of artists and the different characteristics of their art making. They understand how artworks are displayed, and how subject matter and ideas are represented to communicate meaning and the intentions of the artists to viewers. The exposure to artworks in an exhibition and the investigation of how artists make artworks enables students to see the different ways specialists in the industry work in preparing and presenting artworks for display.
Students investigate artists and artworks in a thematic exhibition. This exhibition could be in a gallery, museum, other exhibition space or site-specific space. They also research the connections between the artworks in the exhibition. Students visit an exhibition and investigate the theme of the exhibition, how it was selected and how each of the artworks relate to the theme. It is important for students to view an exhibition that demonstrates considerations of display, design and aesthetics such as lighting, hanging of works and the flow of visitors through the space. The exhibitions for study can be selected from the recommended exhibitions on the VCE Art Making and Exhibiting Exhibitions List, which is updated and published annually on the VCAA website.
Students visit an exhibition space and select three artworks to research. These artworks must be different from the three artworks researched in Unit 1 Area of Study 3. They then add three artworks they have personally selected, from other sources, that complement the artworks from the exhibition. They discuss how these artworks relate to each other and the reasons for their selection. These additional three artworks are connected to the theme or ideas of the exhibition and should be selected from different contexts. Students then plan and design a thematic exhibition of the six artworks and document the planning in their Visual Arts journal.
Area of Study 2: Develop – theme, aesthetic qualities and style
How does an artist develop aesthetic qualities and style in artworks?
In this area of study students are introduced to the use of art elements and art principles in art making and how they contribute to the aesthetic qualities in an artwork. They trial materials and techniques and develop ideas around a theme that is either selected by the teacher or is formed after a class investigation and discussion. Students understand how to use materials, techniques and processes in combination with art elements and art principles to create aesthetic qualities in their experimental artworks. They discover and understand how each of the art elements and art principles can be used and how they can come together to represent ideas in their own and others’ artworks. They also investigate how the aesthetic qualities contribute to style in their own and others’ artworks.
Using their knowledge of art elements, art principles and aesthetic qualities, students develop subject matter and ideas in their own art making. Responding to the selected theme, students research and develop ideas and subject matter in their Visual Arts journal. They reflect on their understanding of the materials, techniques and processes appropriate to a specific art form, and the techniques and processes used in the making of artworks. Students document their art making to make meaningful connections to their ideas and to inform their exploration. They also document and record their investigations of aesthetic qualities used in artworks. The documentation and reflection provides students with the opportunity to keep their ideas and thinking visible and connected to their experimentation.
To investigate and develop subject matter and ideas, students explore influences and sources of inspiration. They combine these with their knowledge of art elements, art principles and aesthetic qualities to make artworks. This gives them the opportunity to explore artists and their artworks and understand how they have used art elements, art principles and aesthetic qualities in visual language. Students produce studies, such as sketches, models, maquettes or other initial preparatory work, to contribute to the development of their artworks. They document how their ideas and subject matter have developed and expanded, and how these are represented in their artworks.
The development of student work in Areas of Study 2 and 3 can be linked to the research conducted in Area of Study 1.
Area of Study 3: Resolve – ideas, subject matter and style
How does an artist develop ideas and a personal style in artworks?
In this area of study students expand on their experiments with materials and their understanding of techniques and processes explored in Area of Study 2. From their initial experiments, students refine their use of art elements and art principles to create aesthetic qualities and to achieve a desired style in finished artworks. They develop a range of subject matter and ideas based around the selected theme identified in Area of Study 2 and expand on these in their Visual Arts journal. Students also develop and refine their visual language to communicate ideas and meaning in at least one finished artwork. They record their exploration of ideas and subject matter in their Visual Arts journal, reflecting on their personal expression and responses to their selected theme.
Students develop skills in the use of techniques and processes in a specific art form. Each finished artwork should demonstrate the relationship between the use of materials and techniques and the ideas of the selected theme. It should also demonstrate the resolution of visual language and the aesthetic qualities that contribute to an emerging personal style.
UNIT 3
Collect, extend and connect
Area of Study 1: Collect – inspirations, influences and images
How do artists use selected art forms and ideas to create visual language?
In this area of study students research and develop an understanding of the inherent characteristics and properties of materials in specific art forms. In their Visual Arts journal, students collect a variety of ideas from a range of sources to inform their experimentation and exploration of subject matter, ideas and technical skills. Students develop their ideas and subject matter as they explore materials, techniques and processes. They also expand their knowledge of art elements, art principles and aesthetic qualities.
Students use their Visual Arts journal to document their developing visual language, reflect on their art making and further investigate and plan artworks. They also document their experimentations with materials and techniques and justify reasons for selecting them.
Seeking influence and inspiration from artworks can help students to develop subject matter and ideas and to understand how materials, techniques and processes are used to make artworks. Students select three artists to research and use as inspiration throughout their art making. For Outcome 3, they plan an exhibition of the work of the same three artists. Students reflect on the contexts in which artists are working and their use of subject matter, art elements, art principles, aesthetic qualities, materials, techniques and processes. They investigate how artists represent ideas and communicate meaning through the use of visual language. They also reflect on the artists’ personal experiences and the influences they have on the student’s art making. Students record the documentation of these artists in their Visual Arts journal to demonstrate the connection to the artworks they develop.
Area of Study 2: Extend – make, critique and reflect
How are ideas, reflection and feedback used in art making to develop artworks?
In this area of study students make artworks that are developed from the experimentation and investigation in their Visual Arts journal in Area of Study 1. This area of study also focuses on the way students manipulate materials and apply techniques and processes to develop an individual style in their artworks. Students demonstrate how they have integrated the inspirations and influences of other artists and expanded on their ideas in their own artworks. They also develop their use of visual language to communicate ideas in their artworks.
Students present their work for critique by their peers, in order to reflect on their art making. This also provides students with the opportunity to reflect as a group on the artworks they have made. Students explain and evaluate their art making in a presentation to their peers. They share a selection of their developmental work from their Visual Arts journal, as well as at least two artworks. These artworks may be a result of experimentations, in the process of development or finished artworks. The critique enables students to reflect on the use of subject matter and the ideas represented in the artworks they have made. They use critical and reflective thinking to consider the successes of their art making and artworks, and further improvements they can make. They also consider how they can further develop their art making and artworks in Unit 4.
Area of Study 3
Connect – curate, design and propose
How are artworks selected and presented for exhibition?
This area of study focuses on the role of the curator in a range of exhibition spaces. Students investigate how curators plan exhibitions and prepare and display artworks. The curator may be part of a larger team or could be working alone in a smaller exhibition space. Students visit a range of galleries, museums, other exhibition spaces and site-specific spaces and connect these experiences to their own ideas for exhibiting artworks. Exhibitions studied must be from different art spaces, to give students an understanding of the breadth of artwork in current exhibitions and to provide a source of inspiration and influence for the artworks they make. Students must select a different exhibition space for study in Unit 3 Area of Study 3 to the exhibition space studied for Unit 4 Area of Study 3. The exhibitions can be selected from the recommended list of exhibitions in the VCE Art Making and Exhibiting Exhibitions List, which is published annually on the VCAA website.
Students focus on planning an exhibition of artworks from the artists they researched in Area of Study 1, using the three artists studied and selecting two artworks by each artist. They select the artworks by identifying connections between them and they present the artworks in an exhibition proposal.
In this area of study students:
research the characteristics of a range of exhibitions and develop an exhibition of artworks
research a range of artworks by each artist and select appropriate artworks for the exhibition
research a range of exhibition spaces and define the characteristics of the space where the artworks are exhibited
research the responsibilities involved in curating an exhibition and propose an exhibition design that has a curatorial intention
research and write didactic information that is used throughout the exhibition and that connects the artists and their works.
UNIT 4
Consolidate, present and conserve
Area of Study 1: Consolidate – refine and resolve
How do artists refine and resolve artworks?
In this area of study students refine and resolve at least one finished artwork based on the ideas explored in artworks in Unit 3. All finished artworks demonstrate the consolidation of ideas and the use of materials, techniques and processes in at least one specific art form. All finished artworks demonstrate the connections from previous works and demonstrate the way artists, artworks and other influences have inspired and extended the student’s ideas and style. The student’s skills in the use of materials and techniques are refined, and subject matter, ideas, visual language and aesthetic qualities are resolved in artworks. All finished artworks should be influenced by the nature, the scale and the complexity of the art form undertaken by the student.
Students document the characteristics and properties of the materials used in the finished artworks, and the techniques and processes used to make them. Students investigate the methods used for the conservation and care of their artworks and record them in their Visual Arts journal.
Area of Study 2: Present – plan and critique
How are ideas presented in finished artworks on exhibition?
In this area of study students present and critique their finished artworks. From their research of exhibitions and spaces where artworks are displayed, students plan their presentation for a specific space. Students select an exhibition space that complements the ideas in their finished artworks. They select the size of the space and how the artworks will be positioned and displayed. The methods used for display, the relationship of works, and lighting are considered and documented in their Visual Arts journal.
Students present a short overview statement about the finished artworks and their intentions, as didactic information. The statement also forms the preparation work for the critique, where students discuss the subject matter and ideas developed in their finished artworks, their use of visual language, and the materials, techniques and processes used to make the artworks.
The presentation of the finished artworks is discussed in a critique. The critique is a record of the student’s thinking and art making. A key aim of the critique is to make explicit the decisions throughout art making, including the development of ideas and use of visual language and the resolution and refinement of their finished artworks. Students present their artworks to a group and reflect on written or verbal feedback.
Area of Study 3: Conserve – present and care
What role does conservation and care have in the presentation of artworks?
In this area of study students engage with and explore galleries, museums, other exhibition spaces or site-specific spaces where artworks are displayed. They examine a variety of exhibitions and review the methods used and considerations involved in the presentation, conservation and care of artworks. To successfully complete this area of study students must visit at least two different art exhibitions in their current year of study. The exhibitions studied must be from different art spaces, to give students an understanding of the breadth of artwork in current exhibitions and to provide a source of inspiration and influence for the artworks they make. Students must select a different exhibition space for study in Unit 4 Area of Study 3 from the one selected for Unit 3 Area of Study 3. The exhibitions can be selected from the recommended list of exhibitions in the VCE Art Making and Exhibiting Exhibitions List, which is published annually on the VCAA website.Â
Students analyse the ways specific artworks are presented and demonstrate their understanding of conservation and care methods used for these artworks. They apply this knowledge to the presentation, conservation and care of their own artworks. Students investigate how conservation and care methods have been used in both an artwork selected from an exhibition and a finished artwork of their own that is displayed in their presentation for Unit 4 Outcome 2. Advice regarding the considerations for the presentation, conservation and care of artworks is included in the Support materials.