AP Art Classes

Recommended Placement: A passing grade for both semesters of Advanced Drawing and Painting. (or teacher approval).  Students must submit an application and portfolio. ‘C’ or better required for 1st semester to continue to 2nd semester.

Credits: 10 (Weighted Grade)

College Prep Course

This is an intensive drawing and painting course for students to work toward the development of a comprehensive  portfolio which will demonstrate three major components: quality, concentration, and breadth. Portfolios are submitted to the college board in May. Students will expand on their knowledge of the application of the elements and principles of design while working with a variety of media, including pastel, pencil, acrylics, or watercolor. The study of art history will continue through participation in lectures and discussion of fine art reproductions. Discussions will also include conversations about aesthetic concepts and art criticism.

Course Objectives

The student will:

1. Express original ideas through an understanding of the elements of art and principles of design, as verified by the development and completion of assignments.

2. Demonstrate advanced skills necessary to work independently with a variety of art media in the development and completion of two dimensional art projects. Additional emphasis will be on good craftsmanship, as verified by completed projects.

3. Develop the ability to make informed aesthetic judgments about works of art, nature, and objects in the total environment.

4. Read instructional materials related to art, write and make mathematical computations necessary in assigned activities, as verified by projects.

5. Participate and display original art work in the school art show.

6. Develop a portfolio suitable for submission to the College Board by the 1st week of May.

7. Photograph and digitally edit photos of personal artwork.

Recommended Placement: A passing grade for two semesters of Advanced Visual Imagery/Photo, or Advanced Computer Graphics.  Teacher approval required.

Credits: 10 (Weighted Grade)

College Prep Course

This is a full-year course developed to accommodate students who have demonstrated a strong interest and commitment to excel in their computer graphics and/or photographic artwork. Students will complete an AP 2-D Art and Design portfolio with an emphasis on computer graphics and/or photo-based media. 

The Course will emphasize 3 Skill Areas: 1) Inquiry and Investigation 2) Making Through Practice, Experimentation and Revision, 3) Communication and Reflection

Course Description:

• Research, field trips, regularly oral and written critiques will be integral parts of this course. All students will submit a portfolio at the end of the course that has followed the AP Art and Design Portfolio Submission requirements. With direct teacher instruction, the emphasis will be placed on the development of the AP Portfolio. The students will complete both sections (Sustained Investigation and Selected Work Quality Section) of the portfolio. 

• This course will emphasize ongoing documented experimentation with design concepts, composition, and media. Students will document their research, planning, practice, experimentation and ideation as part of their Sustained Investigation of their creative process. 

• As a part of this course, students must develop their own personal VISUAL voice. Mastery of concepts, composition, execution, varied art mediums, mixed media, and themes, concepts, subject matter, and content are an expected outcome. Students will understand that creating and developing art is a constant, ongoing activity that involves personal decision making. Students will understand that in order for their artwork to achieve quality in concept, composition, and execution, it includes much risk taking, experimenting, and research. This process will be documented in their Sustained Investigation work, leading to their final 5 Selected Works 

• Artistic Integrity, copyright, professional ethics, moving beyond duplication, and plagiarism will be discussed on an ongoing basis and are embedded throughout the course, and in core instruction of the course. 

• Throughout the course students are encouraged to work from their individual direct life observation of things in their world, their environment, their dreams, and their experiences. 

• Students will digitally submit 15 Sustained Investigation works and 5 physical Selected Works to the College Board in May.

For more info: https://apcentral.collegeboard.org/courses/ap-2-d-art-and-design/portfolio

 https://irvinehighvisualarts.org

Recommended Placement: A passing grade in two or more semesters of Ceramics and teacher approval.

Credits: 10 (Weighted Grade)

College Prep Course

This class is an intensive challenge to build a portfolio for submission to the College Board or to create a professional artist website. Students will use the internet to read instructions for a summer assignment and 12 breadth projects and 8 pieces on a theme of their own choosing. Students must be ready to work independently for a sustainable amount of time. Students must be capable of asking for help, completing research, taking and applying criticism before entering the class.

The AP 3D Design portfolio can include many different kinds of three dimensional works.

Course Objectives:

The student will:

1. Use the internet to read instructions for the summer assignment.

2. Express original ideas through an understanding of the elements of art and principles of design, as verified by the development and completion of assignments

3. Use advanced skills necessary to work independently with a variety of art media in the development and completion of two dimensional art projects. Additional emphasis will be on good craftsmanship, as verified by completed projects.

4. Develop a historical perspective in art by recognizing varying individual and cultural themes and styles, as verified by completed assignments.

5. Develop the ability to make informed aesthetic judgments about works of art, nature, and objects in the total environment, as verified by teacher observation.

6. Demonstrate understanding and use of vocabulary and terminology associated with art as verified by observation, assignments and tests.

7. Read instructional materials online related to art assignments, write and make simple mathematical computations necessary in assigned activities, as verified by projects.

8. Participate and display original art work in the school art show.

9. Submit a portfolio to the College Board or create an artist website.

10. Photograph artwork, edit, and upload artwork in the appropriate format.

11. Demonstrate an understanding of copyright laws as it pertains to art and digital imagery.

12. Work safely and appropriately online using various platforms.

Grade Level: 10-12

Recommended Completion or enrollment in an AP or Honors course, 

or Advanced or AP level in a Visual Arts studio course.

Credits: 10 

College Prep Course

AP Art History is a survey course that introduces students to discover the diversity in and connections among forms of artistic expression throughout history and from around the globe. Students learn about how people have responded to and communicated their experiences through art making by exploring art in its historic and cultural contexts. The AP Art History has a specified number of works of art students are required to understand in order to support their in-depth learning, critical analysis skills, and discovery of connections among global artistic traditions. The AP Art History course welcomes students into the global art world as active participants, engaging with its forms and content as they research, discuss, read, and write about art, artists, art making, and responses to and interpretations of art. This class requires a high degree of commitment to academic work. As students study works of art in the image set, they apply the essential art historical skills within the learning objectives, such as visual, contextual, and comparative analysis. The content of the course requires a certain level of maturity due to the study and depiction of the human form, and understanding context regarding historical and contemporary social and political issues.

The curriculum and content of the course are based on three sets of big ideas and essential questions intended to encourage investigation of art throughout time and place and to foster students’ understanding of the discipline of art history.

Big idea 1: Artists manipulate materials and ideas to create an aesthetic object, act, or event.

• Essential Question: What is art and how is it made?  

Big idea 2: Art making is shaped by tradition and change.

• Essential Question: Why and how does art change?

Big idea 3: Interpretations of art are variable.

• Essential Question: How do we describe our thinking about art?

Students will also make connections with other subject areas such as Literature, Music, History, Mythology, Religion, and Sciences and the concurrent art and/or architecture produced during a particular period. Students will be prepared to take the College Board’s Advanced Placement test.