Visual Arts Stage 6 Syllabus (2016)

The Visual Arts Stage 6 Syllabus (2016) is for students in Stage 6. Find out more about the syllabus and access teaching and learning support materials.

Read the record of changes to learn about updates to the syllabus and assessment. View all Creative Arts syllabuses on the NSW Curriculum website.

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About the course

Students investigate artists, artworks, worlds and audiences from a range of cultural, political, historical and social perspectives and use these to inform their own artmaking practices.
Course description

Visual Arts involves students in artmaking, art criticism and art history. Students critically and historically investigate artworks, critics, historians and artists from Australia as well as those from other cultures, traditions and times. Students develop their own artworks, culminating in a 'body of work' in the HSC course.

What students learn

Preliminary course

The Preliminary course is broadly focused, while the HSC course provides for deeper and more complex investigations.

Preliminary course learning opportunities focus on:

  • the nature of practice in artmaking, art criticism and art history through different investigations
  • the role and function of artists, artworks, the world and audiences in the artworld
  • the different ways the visual arts may be interpreted and how students might develop their own informed points of view
  • how students may develop meaning and focus and interest in their work
  • building understandings over time through various investigations and working in different forms.

While the course builds on Visual Arts courses in Stages 4 and 5, it also caters for students with less experience in Visual Arts.

HSC course

HSC course learning opportunities focus on:

  • how students may develop their practice in artmaking, 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, artworks, the world and audiences within the artworld and apply these to their own investigations
  • how students may further develop meaning and focus in their work.
Course numbers and exclusions

Board Developed Course

Course number(s):

  • 11380 Visual Arts (2 units – Preliminary)
  • 15400 Visual Arts (2 units – HSC)

Prerequisites: Nil

Eligibility: Nil

Study via self-tuition: No

Exclusions:

  • 16650 Creative Arts Life Skills (2 units – Preliminary) (where Visual Arts is undertaken within the course)
  • 16650 Creative Arts Life Skills (2 units – HSC) (where Visual Arts is undertaken within the course)
  • 16658 Visual Arts Life Skills (2 units – Preliminary)
  • 16658 Visual Arts Life Skills (2 units – HSC)

Projects developed for assessment in one subject are not to be used either in full or in part for assessment in any other subject.

Course requirements

Preliminary course:

  • artworks in at least two expressive forms and use of a process diary
  • a broad investigation of ideas in artmaking, art criticism and art history.

HSC course:

  • development of a body of work and use of a process diary
  • a minimum of five case studies (4–10 hours each)
  • deeper and more complex investigations in artmaking, art criticism and art history.
Related industries

The knowledge and skills developed in this course can be applied across a range of career pathways.

Industries related to this course include, but are not limited to, the following outlined on the Your Career website:

Assessment and exam information and support

7:25

HSC Visual Arts Marking

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Video transcript

HSC Visual Arts Marking

Visual Arts is the most popular subject with submitted work and the 12th most
popular subject overall. Bodies of work and marked by 78 markers at corporate and
itinerant centres during the first 4 weeks of term 4. Marks are awarded to
the body of work by distinguishing qualities that demonstrate the standards
identified by benchmark works, the marking guidelines, syllabus outcomes,
written judgments about the benchmark works explaining their placement and the
critical dialogue. Markers always begin by checking the student number, name of the work,
number of pieces and the expressive form. They ensures the work is displayed according to
the student's instructions.
So we've got two large pieces and then we've got these four. The student wants us to view them down the sides.
They orient themselves to the work through an initial descriptive exploration of the visual codes, clues and qualities,
discussing the approach to subject matter.
It's a cityscape. They haven't told us which cities they are. They've left it kind of generic but you get the feeling...European.
Yeah, yes like Italy or Spain or something. The cobblestones really accentuate that. Maybe that was water. Could you see that as water
potential of materials and where they identify evidence of material resolution.
They consider the use of visual language, the overall coherency of aspects within
the work, looking at the compositional devices and relationships
within and between the panels.
This graffito is very successful. It's interesting how they left the boats black,
but I think there's been a black under painting under the whole piece. Can you see that?
Then put the ....um. It's a blue isn't it? Yeah and it's picking up blue up there. Really dark and they really want you to see that.
There's been a deliberate intention...It gives it an almost illustrative effect. The subtle colour palette is very successful within this work
it holds it together. It really makes it cohesive doesn't it? Beautiful gestural mark making
the line work over the top...They've used a lot of different materials here as well...like
..they've left the pencil mark through but then they got colour pencils. Look at this beautiful
magenta lines. There's a bit of charcoal here as well.....and that's like some shellac that they've let drip....There's a use of
decayed wood and the, yeah, the peg board. For me this really extends the material practice of the student.
The dialogue then moves from description to analysis. Markers look for evidence of
such things as consideration of audience acknowledging how artworks may be read for meaning
and for the intentional use visual devices to position the audience
and draw them into the work. There's a vitality isn't there. It works really well...a vitality. Even though there's no people in the image
like it's a city...It allows you to enter into it because of the strong diagonals. It pulls you in.
These lines around the light show kind of the gleaming light. Gives you that feel that
there are people in there, somewhere. Markers evaluate the sustained exploration of the expressive potential
of materials and they examined the relationship between individual items
looking for overall coherency within and between works and for evidence of
curatorial practice. There's a real confidence in working with the materials that err...They've been really ambitious.
But I get the impression that this isn't the first time they've done this like there's been a lot of work
....lead up work...decision making....and evaluating. So they've really curated this really well this really to say these are the best pieces. This is the summation
of what we've learnt...So you can see the success within these two panels
and then I suppose then we look at these smaller more intimate views...I think
they are meant to be seen as individual compositions yeah. I think they stand on their own as little miniature artworks.
The dialogue then becomes more diagnostic. Markers look for further evidence of qualities to
support accurate reliable judgment.
For me this really extends the material practice of the student.
It's exploring more than just that one viewpoint. It's taken another element
It's almost like an abstracted view of some of the elements of the cityscape....and it's what you see when
you go to a lot of these European places
You are taken in by some of the decayed areas...where you take those close up photos of texture.
Markers use the marking guidelines referring to the assessment criteria for the body of work
conceptual strength and meaning and resolution and the standards represented by the
benchmark works to award an individual mark.
It does evoke a sense of memory....keying into those places and also that material practice that confidence...consistent...refined...sensitve....
but looking at the guidelines there areas that are a little less successful. I think the perspective in this panel is a little more convincing
so there are inconsistencies that are coming through but overall it's really successful. And these add to it. I think that they are an integral part
aren't they of the works. Yeah it's about that reiteration. It's elaborated...reiterated...so even though it's totally different it's much more
textured, using found objects perhaps, it's still enforcing the thing that the student is trying to tell us
about the cities. The markers each record their marks independently. The final mark is an
average of the two. The critical dialogue is always undertaken by two markers to
ensure there is a comprehensive analysis of each student's body of work. The critical dialogue is absolutely pivotal. Everybody brings their own knowledge
base to marking center so it's really important to have that dialogue and
conversation to bring out all of the positives in the work and also a
lot of the limitations of so we can evenly place it against the guidelines. really essential
It's really essential to have those two people come with their strength, their knowledge and
come together to really look out and draw out as much as you can
conceptually and materially within the body of work.

Teaching and learning support

Use these support materials to guide and plan your teaching and assessment.

HSC exam papers

HSC standards materials

Sample work

Sample work Visual Arts Year 11: Activity 1 Figurative Sculpture

Sample work Visual Arts Year 11: Activity 2 Portraiture – Painting

Sample assessment schedules

Visual Arts Stage 6 (2016): Sample assessment schedule – Year 11 – A (DOCX 16.21KB)

Visual Arts Stage 6 (2016): Sample assessment schedule – Year 11 – B (DOCX 16.5KB)

Visual Arts Stage 6 (2016): Sample assessment schedule – Year 11 – C (DOCX 16.79KB)

Visual Arts Stage 6 (2016): Sample assessment schedule – Year 12 – A (DOCX 22.78KB)

Visual Arts Stage 6 (2016): Sample assessment schedule – Year 12 – B (DOCX 20.31KB)

Visual Arts Stage 6 (2016): Sample assessment schedule – Year 12 – C (DOCX 20.16KB)

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