Art 370

AP Art & Design Syllabus: Drawing, 2-­D Design & 3-­D Design

Shawn Kathleen Gardner - Room 370

shawn.gardner@cmcss.net   931-648-5675 ext. 1370

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Welcome to AP Studio Art

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General Learning Outcomes

• Choose which exam portfolio program is appropriate.

• Review and practice traditional drawing techniques.

• Learn new techniques and skills, in a variety of media.

• Develop a series of 15 works of art.

• For each of the 15 works, record and reflect on your creative process in a written response.

• Select five top ­quality artworks for presentation.

• Explore postsecondary options.

 

Course Content

This course has been developed to accommodate students who have expressed an interest in completing either the AP Drawing Portfolio Exam, the AP 3­D Design Portfolio Exam, or the AP 2­D Design Portfolio Exam. Therefore, all content meets the requirements as stated in the student exam brochure. Through studio practice, application of design concepts, and informed decision making, students will assemble a body of artwork that demonstrates a high level of quality and growth over time, of content, technique, and process.

 

Students will design, create, revise and then reflect on a series of 15 artworks. In addition, students will compile five works that exemplify a high level of skills and knowledge. Students will submit all twenty images to the College Board for scoring and possible college credit. Students will be challenged to develop their own personal work, and will develop mastery of concept, composition, and execution of their personal ideas and themes. Students will also understand that art making is an ongoing process, that uses informed and critical decision-making to determine outcomes to problems. Students will be expected to develop a comprehensive portfolio that addresses each of these issues in a personal way. Formulaic solutions to problems are discouraged.

 

Artistic Integrity

Students are expected to use artistic integrity throughout all aspects of their art making. Work that is based on published photographs or the work of other artists MUST move beyond duplication to illustrate an original idea. It is unethical, constitutes plagiarism, and often violates copyright law simply to copy an image (even in another medium) that was made by someone else and represent it as one’s own.

 

 Student Learning Activities and Strategies

• Units of study will facilitate the development of the knowledge, skills and technique expected of fourth-year art student work. Students will use a variety of media, techniques, and approaches to the art making process to develop concepts and ideation.

• Critiques and displays of work are ongoing. Students are expected to participate in class critiques of their personal work as well as the work of their peers and master artists. The vocabulary of art will be used to engage in written and verbal critiques of these works.

• Individual student critiques with the teacher will help students learn to analyze and discuss their own artworks and artworks of their peers.

• Individual conferencing will assist students in the development of fifteen related works. Students will develop a body of work that is an investigation of an idea or theme that is of personal interest to them.

• Students will work on writing about the creative process, to recognize and develop their artistic voice.

• Ongoing instructional conversations with the teacher will help students develop their work, assessing the strengths and weaknesses in their images, and will provide feedback on how they can further develop their ideas. This will also help students learn to analyze and discuss their own artworks and the works of their peers.

• Admissions officers from a variety of postsecondary institutions are invited to present candidate information and to evaluate portfolios.

Drawing  

Students will expand their drawing and design skills, and advance their visual communication skills, by exploring a variety of design processes and techniques, and compositional and aesthetic concepts. The Drawing portfolios addresses the drawing process, mark-making, using traditional, contemporary and interpretive techniques and media. The student will complete a written reflection for each of fifteen related works.

 

2­D Design Portfolio

Students will expand their drawing and design skills, and advance their visual communication skills, by exploring a variety of design processes and techniques, and compositional and aesthetic concepts. The 2-D portfolios addresses a range of processes and media. These include digital art, photography, painting, printmaking and collage, using traditional, contemporary and interpretive techniques. The student will complete a written reflection for each of fifteen related works.

 

3­D Design Portfolio

Students will expand their design skills, and advance their visual communication skills, by exploring a variety of design processes and techniques, and compositional and aesthetic concepts. The 3-D portfolios addresses a range of processes and media. These include ceramics, found objects, assemblage and other sculpture techniques and media, using traditional, contemporary and interpretive techniques. The student will complete a written reflection for each of fifteen related works.

 

Student Objectives

• Maintain a strong work ethic throughout the entire year

• Work through and solve visual problems effectively

• Refine the ability to draw/render what you see

• Understand how art elements and design principles communicate content

• Increase awareness of the creative process

• Increase knowledge of historically relevant art works

• Refine art making skills and knowledge of media, processes and techniques

• Refine curating and critiquing skills to improve art making

 

Assessment

Student grades will be divided into two categories: Summative (75 percent) and Formative (25 percent). Summative grades will include classwork and all projects that students complete. Formative grades will include students’ daily progress (use of time), participation in group and individual critiques, preparation for final projects, taking and uploading images of completed work, etc. AP students can earn a semester grade of up to 105%, because the AP courses require more outside work than regular classes. In order to earn an excellent grade, students must use class time efficiently and complete all assignments by the deadlines.

 

Evaluation

Work is evaluated in progress and in the finished state through critiques with teacher and peers, in ­group and individually. The AP Art & Design rubric, which is published by the College Board and distributed separately, provides the scoring criteria.

 

Expectations

The process of developing a portfolio requires a great deal of time and effort. Our five, 45-­minute sessions per week together are inadequate to create the amount of work necessary for each portfolio. Open studio time after school until 4:00 pm will be available after the first quarter, however, students must use class time efficiently.

 

Homework

Students should plan on one hour of homework each week for every hour that is spent in class (3.75 hours). This is a typical expectation of a college-level course. You need to have a place to work on your art work in your home.

 

Sketchbook

Students will use a sketchbook as a visual journal to work through ideas, to practice drawing and design skills, and to record their journey through the development of their portfolio and their journey through this year. It is expected that students will use their sketchbooks as tools for developing and recording their ideas.

 

Critiques

Though the majority of class time is spent making artwork, students will be expected to participate in group and individual critiques throughout the year. In addition to these critiques, individual instructional conversations with the teacher will also help in portfolio development. Critiques and conversations will assist each student in assessing strengths and weaknesses in their own images and provide feedback on ways to further develop their individual and unique drawings, compositions, and creations. In turn, these conversations will help the student discover ongoing ways to improve their art making.

 

Supplies, Tools & Resources  

Most supplies needed will be provided by the school. Students must have a sketchbook or other visual journal that can be utilized throughout the year. Drawing Portfolio students are encouraged to purchase a set of drawing pencils. 2­D Design Portfolio students are encouraged to purchase a set of brushes for their painting work. An apron and a thumb drive are also recommended.

 

The Drawing, 2-D or 3-D Art & Design portfolio exam fee is $94. Due now.

 

 

There are several books in the art room and in the school library that students may to use for reference. Students are expected to have their charged laptop available every day; cell phones are not to be used for any reason during class time. Resources and assignments are posted on each Google classroom for Drawing, 2-D and 3-D. There are 11 Mac desktops, two scanners and two Wacom graphic tablets. Students have access to all supplies, tools, and equipment in the art room and are expected to clean and store these properly after use.

 

Course Schedule

Students will primarily be working on building skills and mastering art-making techniques of the portfolio during the first quarter. These activities are teacher­-driven. Students will be able to use a variety of techniques and media to develop and illustrate their ideas. Assignments will vary from year to year; individual, unique responses to these assignments is encouraged with all work. The assignments made are based on a variety of collected problems commonly encountered in college ­level Studio Art courses. The students have specific in­-class and out­-of-­class assignments, and they are expected to complete certain in-­class work outside of the normal classroom time (dependent upon the schedule of assignments).

 

Examples of Possible First Quarter Projects for the Drawing Portfolio, 2­-D Design Portfolio or 3­-D Design Portfolio:

• Abstractions or metamorphosis

• Altered surface artwork

• Animal Drawings

• Color Symbolism

• Contour drawing with weighted lines

• Design related to historical, psychological, or narrative events

• Drawing of an unusual interior

• Explorations with mixed or multiple media

• Floral Drawing or Design

• Game board and game pieces

• Mechanical objects

• Psychological use of color 

• Self-­portrait with specific emotion

• Story, poem, or song lyric illustration

• Observation Drawings

• Watercolor Landscape

• Altered Books

• Artist-­Inspired Sculpture

• Assemblages of found materials

• Body extension/distortion sculpture

• Cardboard Sculpture (utilitarian or intrinsic)

• Combined organic/geometric forms

• Thrown clay (on the potter’s wheel) emphasizing inventive form

• Hand-built clay sculptures

• Found Object Insect

• Hats, bags, gloves or clothing constructed from woven fibers

• Organic sculpture

• Sculpture designed to target a specific sense

Students will transition into more open-­ended and exploratory work for the fifteen related works in a series section of the portfolio the second, third and final quarters of the year. Some work may be completed before this time; students are encouraged from the beginning of the year to formulate ideas and begin working on those ideas in their studio classes.

Examples of Starting Points for the Related Works Series:

• A series dealing with light and shadows in cityscapes

• A series of illustrations based on the Seven Deadly Sins

• A series of welded metal sculptures that investigate formal design elements and principles

• A series of portrait heads sculpted from clay

• A series of abstract carved plaster sculptures

• A series of “combines” inspired by the work of Robert Rauschenberg

• A series of figures created from old appliance parts

• A series of figure studies fashioned from clay

• A series of organic sculptures carved from wood

• A series based on abstracted architectural forms

• A series of “soft” sculptural forms, inspired by the work of Claes Oldenburg

• A series of sculptures reinterpreting themes and deities from world religions

• A series about changing the function of common objects

 

Students will complete the written response for each work before beginning the next work in the series. Students will photograph (or scan) and upload all images – by the last week in April 2020. Digital portfolios are submitted to the College Board, via the school’s AP coordinator, before the exam deadline of May 8, 2020. Students will choose their best five works to send in to the College Board in a physical portfolio. Artwork will be returned to the student in mid-July.

 

Please contact me via email shawn.gardner@cmcss.net or phone call 931-648-5675 ext. 1370 with any questions or concerns.

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