Investigation

An in depth study of one or more artists each semester will help inform the development of your own resolved artwork and expression of your ideas. This will refute the examination of historical, social and cultural issues and concerns related to when and where the artist worked and lived and the way the work was made.

Select an artist or two who relate to your work in some way. It may be that they are working on a similar idea, or in a similar way; it may be they are using similar materials or techniques. Try to include an Australian artist and an international artist. This will give you a broader understanding of the art world.

Choose an artist that has some documentation in several areas. They may have a website, a gallery representing them and a review of their work in an art magazine. If you can't find more than their own personal website, you may have trouble looking at their work with the necessary differentiation, so choose someone else.

Find out about their personal history, where they were born and raised, where they have lived, at what they have worked. All of these details are only interesting when related back to their artwork. How have these things influenced their work? Are there any physical, emotional, spiritual restrictions on the development of their ideas or work? How has their work changed over the length of the artist's working life? Go deeper than what you can find on a general encyclopaedia-style website.

What other artist or people have influenced their work? Has another artist influenced them or have they been inspired by another person to make their art in a particular way?

What world events ​have influenced their work? Is there a culture of which they are a part? Major events? Major ideas being developed around them: science, inventions, wars, religion and gender? Refer all of this back to the artwork.

Finally: Has the work itself had a life that has influenced or changed the way that it is considered? What other ideas have come to be associated with the work?

This case study becomes a large section of your external exam so it is important that you understand what the artist was about and how other people places and ideas influenced the development of their work. Become familiar with two or three of the artist's works so that you will be able to refer to them during the exam, even if the image is not in front of you.

Assessment type: Investigation

Conditions: In class and out of class time required: 6 weeks

Part 1: Research – includes class time and requires out-of-class work time

Part 2: In-class Essay

Task weighting: 17.5%

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Task 3 and 7: Investigation (60 marks)

This assessment task is modelled on Section Three of the WACE written examination paper and is designed to provide you with opportunities to prepare for that examination.

Part 1: Research the work of an artist of your choice from a provided list. (10 Marks)

IMPORTANT – for the purpose of the Visual Arts written examination, it is recommended that the artist be of national or international repute and have something to say about the world and his/her place in it.

• Commence your investigation/research by constructing a research table. Choose two artworks by the artist you have selected. You will complete the research table by responding under specific headings and referring to the same two artworks. Headings such as ‘influence (social, historical, cultural), subject matter, intention.

• Use the research table to record the information you have gathered.

Part 2: In-essay (50 Marks)

With reference to a prompt (this could be a quote or artwork) discuss the social, cultural and historical context of your researched artist, explain the purpose and meaning of his/her artwork. Your response will be captured as an in-class assessment.

What you need to do in your essay:

Reference the prompt and use of art terminology

Provide an insightful reference to the prompt when discussing social, cultural and historical links of your artists work.

Use fluent art terminology within your essay response.

Social Cultural and Historical context

Express how the time and place of an artist influenced their work with reference to more than one of the artists artworks.

Discuss how the context of the artist informs the choices made in relation to their art practice.

Use the information provided in your research table to briefly outline how the artist’s background, influences and artistic training have influenced his/her art making.

In your opinion, how important is the artist’s work in defining new directions in art or influencing others?

Support your argument by giving reasons for your opinion.

Style, technique and artistic approach of artist

Analyse and contextualise the style and artistic approach of an artist of your choice, use visual language and terminology to describe their work and the elements and principles used.

Meaning and purpose

Artist’s intention

Discuss the meaning and purpose of the artworks. What ideas are communicated, or concepts challenged, by the artists in his/her work?

Consider political and social comment, dissent, protest, critique, alternative points of view.

Discuss those related to the selected artist’s work.