Senior Studio Projects and Exemplars
Year A

Modules

1.a. OBSERVATIONAL DRAWING (2 weeks)

Fundamental to perception, critical thought and observation is the ability to see things as objectively as they really our -- on their own terms. The first 2 weeks of this course will be spent drawing from life:

landscapes & skies for nuance and atmospheric depth (lets draw outside ;))
figures for form, massing and movement. (iPad animation & full figure)
still life for form (light) and texture (i.e. eggs, bugs, rocks, twigs zoomed in)
spaces for composition (i.e. interior, stairwell)

Submit your best 3 studies for assessment, do at least one in a wet and another in a dry media (brush & ink / graphite / black liquid ink pen)

1.b Self Portrait

Adv Art 11 will make a self portrait through still life forms

Art 12 will make a self portrait to include their own likeness from a reflective surface.

The self portrait is expected to be 22x30" and thoroughly resolved, representing 5-10 hours of work.

RESOURCES: Mickelwright,Keit. Mastering the Language of Visual Expression.

LEARNING / ASSESSMENT TARGETS are here.

Consider lighting and figure along with ground.
SEE EXAMPLES HERE .
More student examples.
Also see Baroque Paintings for examples of mastery in dramatic lighting.

1.b. SUBJECT AND EXPERIMENTAL MEDIA (2 Weeks)

Select an organic object which embodies visual or physical properties of sequence, rhythm, advancing and recessional space, harmonic colour, proportion, etc. Create four drawings of this subject, each drawing using a different form of graphic representation (e.g. line, ink, hatching, stippling, other media) Each of the four drawings should also focus around one of these concepts: rhythm, personification, explosion, or abstraction. Also, try a different medium for each. In the end, each drawing will attempt to focus on a different fact of the subject and each one will be done in a different medium or mode of expression. You will be assessed on the following criteria (see link).

Vincent Van Gogh

mask
Alex Church

jmb
JM Basquiat

nadar Circa 1865:
« Revolving » self portrait by Nadar.

Explode a drawing

Take an existing sketch or artwork you made on small scale (8x12"). Fasten it to a larger surface and explode into a larger artwork. See David Salle, Rob Rauschenberg

Xerox to Drawing. Working from two Xerox images in part or in whole, work as a team to connect the images. Use graphite to complete this drawing which the Xerox images began. Assessment Targets (docx).& student examples.

EXPERIMENTAL DRAWING (2 weeks)

Basquiat Inspired. Watch Jean-Michel Basquiat: The Radiant Child. From this documentary, identify 5 strategies JMB used to create art. Select one strategy and design a work that expresses something sincere about your life or environment.

Social Justice, Environmentalism and Pluralist understanding through mixed media.

Take an issue or a value we appear to tolerate but should not and address it.

The issue may be social (race, gender, cultural equity, political) or environmental.

Consider looking at an issue through the eyes of someone from an oppressed or underrepresented group. I.e. why is art always examined through western eyes, why not look at a Modern Art painting through the eyes of a native? How might it be perceived?

See details

See examples by Carl Beam

INDEPENDANT 1: THEME "THE BODY" (2 Weeks)

The human figure has been used in all art genres, from ancient Egyptians, to classical sculptures and pottery, mosaics and frescos about God, triumphal propaganda, human to document our passions, catastrophes and struggles, or merely to observe form and movement. We have been constructed, deconstructed, post-structured, modernised and post-modernised. Our bodies provide the most versatile and timeless structure.

Using the Body as a your subject, construct an artwork that expresses something about who you are and where you are at. This can be literal, figurative, abstract or conceptual.

Key considerations

Material choices
Scale
Composition and point of view
authenticity / personal relevance. (It cannot be cliche)
Rigor and follow through provide authority.
Include preliminary sketches
Include an artist statement

(UNDER REVIEW)
See here for the full assignment and assessment structure. See this collection of self portraits. And these from past students.
Also check out these Davinci sketches / studies of the human figure.

RITUAL PROJECT (2 Weeks)

Introductions: Dada Music and sound

Unlock Performance Art

100 years of Performance Art introduction (movie)

Hugo Ball on Dada

Beuys with Coyote

Create an artwork that is, or is in service of, a ritual of personal significance. This artwork can be based on a a ritual that is overtly or covertly significant. Clipping toenails may be as significant to some as the first Holy Communion is to others. It is your task to establish this significance. Also, explore all of the aspects suggested by the word RITUAL (e.g. routine, time, chronology, spiritual, etc..) These elements should be evident in our work if it is to truly read as a significant ritual.
Rituals occur in space and real time. Thus, this project should appear as a sculpture, ready-made, artistic installation, movie, or performance piece. There are no material restrictions, except choose a material and scale that BEST brings us to your ritual.
Resources to explore:
Assessment follows this rubric.
See Recent examples - time based
2 Dimensional versions of this project HERE - 2D

Advanced Art students:

Develop a proposal that will outline your rationale for the creation of Two artworks. These works should grow from personal drives or interest.

Please remember that though you are articulating your area of concentration as statements, you should explore your subject or theme as a question. art works are the results of questions asked of a theme, phenomenon or media.

This statement needs to articulate:

the conceptual framework, theme or subject matter. What ideas do you want to explore?
the materials you plan to employ or investigate.
provide a rationale for your decisions.
Ideally, also include references to two artists that can inform your creative pursuit
include a possible thumbnail for each work.
Please type, date, and title your document.
Due on the third class of Term 2.

ALTERNATE: Shoe Project.

Here is a collection of well fleshed out projects from Ontario

PAST PROJECTS:

Artist trading cards. See Assignment and Rubric. Also, See here for more details
Complete four directly observed studies of a still life or figure in an interior. Each art work should be dominated by an artistic element that is appropriate to the content (To count as a portfolio work each panel should be 12"x12" min.)*
Art in the Community. Source out and negotiate a space in the public to exhibit one of your art works. Find a space that is appropriate to the work, document through photographs, and explain your process and rationale in writing.
Create a portfolio of 6 works based on a particular theme you explore. This portfolio needs to represent a variety of processes, including a work in each of: colour; grey scale; mixed media (beyond magazine clips); abstraction; a series of post cards; a book cover; and a reflection for each work and the process. (A project from Lori Whitman).
In a medium of your choice, create a work that uses a personal event as the occasion or subject of the work. Sketches and studies should be completed as needed. Also include and artist statement* See examples here

Develop a proposal that will outline your rationale for the creation of three artworks. These three works should grow from personal drives or interest.