Visual Arts

Through the study of Visual Arts in Stage 6 students investigate and engage in artmaking, art criticism and art history. Students develop their own artworks, culminating in a body of work in the HSC course. Students explore the history of art from Australia as well as those from other cultures, traditions and times by examining artworks, artist’s practice as well as the practice of art critics and art historians and art curators.

The Year 11 course is broadly focused. Students will study artworks in at least two expressive forms and use a process diary. They will also undertake a broad investigation of ideas in artmaking, art criticism and art history. The learning opportunities focus on:

● The nature of practice in artmaking, art criticism and art history.

● The role and function of artists, artworks, the world and audiences in the art world

● The different ways the visual arts may be interpreted and how students might develop their own informed points of view

● How students creatively develop concepts and problem solve to convey meaning, and develop artmaking skills to engage an audience

● Building understandings about the myriad approaches in creating artworks through various investigations and working in different forms.

The HSC course provides for deeper and more complex investigations. It requires the development of a body of work and use of a process diary. It includes a minimum of five Case Studies, (4–10 hours each), and deeper and more complex investigations in art making, art criticism and art history. The learning opportunities focus on:

● How students may develop their practice in art making, art criticism, and art history

● How students may develop their own informed points of view in increasingly independent ways and use different interpretive frameworks in their investigations

● How students may learn about the relationships between artists, art works, the world and audiences within the art world and apply these to their own investigations

● How students may further creatively develop meaning and focus in their work