Exams / Documents

What to study?

The aim of this examination, whether they have or have not studied particular artists throughout the year, is for students use their critical mind. They will show an ability to formulate their own ideas, finding their own opinions through their interpretive writings.

As I have mentioned in my introduction, the ideas of the individual artist are important because interpretations of an artist's work may be overly critically evaluated by others. We will teach students to evaluate and consider other world views and historical events, sifting through information on the internet and in theoretical art books.

This will allow and encourage students to:

  • write in a concise and a well reasoned way

  • present an informed point of view

  • use plates and other sources and materials to provide the best answers

In Section one Question 1a (In Conjunction with Year 7/8 Term 2 Exam 2009)

Define the meanings of the frameworks:

1) Subjective Framework how does it affect artworks in general?

2) Explain the Structural Framework and how does it affects artworks in general?

3) Explain the Cultural Framework within artworks in general?

4) Explain the Postmodern Framework within artworks in general?

The questions above allow us to view artworks in a particular way in this case four frames which help us to articulate our responses.

The definitions are:

Subjective frame: Your first impressions, feelings, thoughts, intuitive thinking etc, about any artworks.

Structural frame: The different art aspects that make up the composition of the artworks such as, colour, tone, depth, perspective, signs and symbols, geometrical shapes, light and dark, art techniques, type of materials, etc.

Cultural frame: is about the issues involved in the artworks. They could be religious, political, technical, gender, environmental, technology, commercial, relational, ethnicity, moralistic, immoralistic etc.

Postmodern frame: asks the question how do the artworks relate to us today? Do they have significance today?

Long Answer Questions:

Students don’t need to study specific artworks in general but have an understanding of articulating artworks within their powers of observation. Some questions will have a personal response from the "frameworks" to write their answers. For example:

· What is your personal response to the installation sculpture?

So this question requires a personal interpretation of a subjective answer. This is a personal answer but not a one line sentence. For example:

2008 student response – “I don’t like this artwork because it suxs.”

This response is not concise or articulate, it does not justify the reasoning of their response. Students are taught to respond in an articulate manner which describes why their response is negative. For example:

2007 student response – “Symrn Gill’s artwork “Road Kill” 1999-2000 allows the audience to be captivated by the hilarious notion of squashed objects recreated to challenge and create a negative comment on society.”

Most questions are personal and are similar. They aim to help the students to articulate and to have the confidence to answer artworks that they have not seen nor studied.

Extended responses: are the student’s ability to read and gather information through exerts given. Whether they have or have not studied that particular artist. The student should be able to interpret and find most of the answers within the passages given.

The aim of this exam is to build on top of what they already know and have observered:

  • write in a concise and a well reasoned way

  • present an informed point of view

  • use plates and other sources and materials to provide the best answers

Year 8 - Class Activities Term 2 — Year-8-Class-Activities-Term-2 : Prep for Exams