Visual Arts 2018 HSC exam pack

No matter the expressive form, all students should:

• make informed curatorial choices by considering the whole submission and its cohesion
• provide clear instructions for the display, set up and curation of the body of work
• choose titles that are relevant to the intention of the body of work
• be aware of the limitations on the size, materials and duration of works outlined in the HSC course requirements
• be aware that, while NESA takes every care with your body of work, we are not responsible for loss or damage incurred at the marking centre or in transit. Please insure your work if you are concerned.

Students should:

• demonstrate an extensive knowledge of ceramic processes and building techniques
• apply a wide range of surface treatments to enhance the concept of the work
• demonstrate understanding of traditional and/or contemporary ceramic practices synthesising the use of materials and conceptual intention.

Trends included:

• a dominance of sculptural forms referencing functional ware
• a revival in the application of acrylic paint and heavily engineered surfaces
• subject matter included animal welfare, references to popular culture, narratives about displacement, environmental concerns, the impact of technology and explorations of cultural heritage and identity.

In better bodies of work, students were able to:

• apply a wide range of surface treatments using a variety of mark-making tools as well as the use of glazes, stains, underglazes, slips, oxide washes and acrylic paint to support and elaborate the concept
• employ strong curatorial strategies through the use of plinths and grouping of vessels in specific arrangements to provide layered meanings for an audience.

Areas for students to improve include:

• ensuring the control of rims and bases when constructing the work
• demonstrating an understanding of the technical aspects of drying, joining and firing processes
• refining the use of gloss glazes, stains, slips, oxides and non-traditional ceramic surface treatments.

Students should:

• make informed curatorial choices when selecting artworks for their final submission
• consider the use of an artist statement to open up dialogue with the audience, elaborate conceptual intent and move beyond description
• iterate rather than repeat a technique across the body of work
• use titles that allow the audience to interpret the work on a number of levels.

Trends included:

• a large number of pieces submitted that included 2D, 3D and time based forms
• an exploration of collage and layered surfaces
• references to issues that included the environment, religion, family, culture, social media, animals and mental health and scientific references and the use of petri dishes to display images
• the inclusion of AV components such as audio files and time based forms.

In better bodies of work, students were able to:

• demonstrate a solid understanding of artworld agencies
• demonstrate an awareness of artists’ practice from a range of different contexts
• develop a level of sophistication and technical resolution across all expressive forms within the submission.

Areas for students to improve include:

• providing clear instructions for the display, set up and curation of artworks
• considering the importance of selection, refinement and curatorial choice within the body of work
• ensuring that students are aware of the limitations on the size, materials and duration of works outlined in the HSC course requirements for a body of work. 

Students should:

• consider how designed objects demonstrate an understanding of the broader artworld in their conceptual intent and/or material practices.

Trends included:

• an increase in the number of constructed environments and architectural models
• applications of digital technologies such as laser cutting, 3D printing and CAD drawing systems to realise and produce components as a whole or in part
• LED lights and light boxes combining graphic design elements as a strategy to layer concept
• direct reference to the art world with a particular focus on modernity.

In better bodies of work, students were able to:

• synthesise technologies as a means to realise products or interpret issues relating to a contemporary world.

Areas for students to improve include:

• developing their material and conceptual practice rather than relying on a statement to communicate their artistic intentions.

Students should:

• provide clear instructions for the display and curation of the body of work
• develop a clear understanding of the documented form
• make informed curatorial choices when selecting components for their final submission
• extend rather than repeat ideas and concepts
• consider the impact and relevance of sound in the AV component
• refine camera craft and post production skills (still or time based) when documenting works.

Trends included:

• the inclusion of sculptural forms including freestanding, frontal and relief works, assemblages, hanging works and installations
• multi-modes of documentation through photography, time-based forms, books and found objects
• connections to the environment as a source of inspiration and documentation
• references to social concerns and environmental issues.

In better bodies of work, students were able to:

• demonstrate a solid understanding of the agencies of the artworld
• display an engagement with contemporary practice and emerging technologies to document concepts
• curate works with sensitivity and restraint
• explore and push the boundaries of what constitutes a Documented Form.

Areas for students to improve include:

• submitting time based forms with a soundscape that adds conceptual layering
• using titles that allow the audience to interpret the works on a number of levels
• consider the use of an artist statement to open up dialogue with the audience, elaborate conceptual intent and move beyond description
• understanding the role of curatorial practice and the importance of selection
• ensuring that students are aware of the limitations on the size, materials and duration of works outlined in the HSC course requirements.

Students should:

• display discernment through a range of materials and mark making practices
• show selectivity in their approaches to drawing conventions to support conceptual intention
• demonstrate an awareness of how audiences interpret meaning.

Trends included:

• a range of subject matter foregrounding portraiture, animals and environments
• approaches to traditional and contemporary drawing practices and styles, including hyper-realistism, photo-realistism and illustration
• awareness of graphic approaches, referencing stylisation, digital media and conventions of poster layout
• the use of graphite, coloured pencil, felt tip markers
• references to physiological states, pathos and introspection.

In better bodies of work, students were able to:

• demonstrate cohesion and an awareness of curatorial choice
• present a range of viewpoints when composing and/or cropping artworks
• elevate the intent of the body of work through the synthesis of sophisticated material and conceptual practice.

Areas for students to improve include:

• considering the overall coherency of the whole submission
• demonstrating consistency of drawing practice including, selectivity of imagery to build layers of meaning
• ensuring size and scale is not overly ambitious
• using relevant and supportive statements that elaborate the conceptual intent, moving beyond description.

Students should:

• acknowledge the expansive and diverse genres of graphic design, ranging from traditional book illustrations to contemporary manga design and utilitarian functions.

Trends included:

• innovative digital approaches to graphic illustration
• use of light boxes and light pads for aesthetic and functional intention
• digital compositing of sourced, drawn and/or photographic imagery within a submission
• tablet drawing, to explore themes of politics and propaganda, relationships, protest, nostalgia and fantasy worlds
• multiple panel submissions or a single scroll.

In better bodies of work, students were able to:

• acknowledge the expansive and diverse genres of graphic design, ranging from traditional book illustrations to contemporary manga design and utilitarian functions
• synthesise the selected graphic genre, aesthetic conventions and paper stocks
• understand the conventions of illustration, typography and graphic design and restrained colour palettes
• refine graphic illustrations through sophisticated application of digital software programs.

Areas for students to improve include:

• selecting and integrating typography; placement, scale, font and consideration of aesthetic and conceptual intention
• considering file management and image resolution for scaled output, and post-production
• attending to the importance of selectivity and curation
• ensuring an awareness of the limitations on the size, materials and duration of works outlined in the HSC course requirements for a body of work.

Students should:

• investigate painting techniques including underpainting, blocking-in, sgraffito, dry brushing, glazing and the use of mediums
• integrate collage proficiently and intentionally
• consider scale in the presentation of artworks.

Trends included:

• investigations of colour that were expressive, rich, dynamic, ephemeral and symbolic
• bold and gestural paint application
• exposure of raw surfaces such as plywood and unprimed canvas
• the use of objects and soundscapes to extend material and conceptual intent
• realistic and abstracted artworks presenting a subjective narrative.

In better bodies of work, students were able to:

• refine and explore the full range of the colour palette to extend concepts
• create cohesive compositions across multiple surfaces maintaining a sophisticated painting practice
• multi-layer concepts through a sustained material practice referencing historical and contemporary art.

Areas for students to improve include:

• curation of the body of work ensuring coherence of the material and conceptual practice
• use of statements to open up a dialogue with the audience
• titles that support the intention of the artwork.

Students should:

• apply their understanding of contemporary photographic styles and traditional conventions to synthesise conceptual and material practice
• refine curatorial choices
• ensure submissions that include a time-based component remain within the prescribed three minutes.

Trends included:

• reportage that was further extended through the photobooks published online
• subject matter including portraiture, landscape, still-life referencing Vanitas and momento-mori
• post production to create new worlds and composited imagery of histories and family and dystopian environments
• subjective investigations and critiques dealing with the students immediate world
• increased knowledge and understanding of how contemporary photographic practice can be explored through a variety of analogue and digital approaches.

In better bodies of work, students were able to:

• demonstrate competency with camera craft, studio and natural lighting, as well as, post-production techniques and processes to refine images
• discern between different types of paper stock to enhance the conceptual intent of the submission
• understand the rich diversity of photographic genres and discriminate when curating final images.

Areas for students to improve include:

• developing a concept that moves beyond an obvious interpretation
• understanding how best to integrate text within the submission particularly in photobooks
• selecting appropriate file management and image resolution for scaled output, and post-production.

Students should:

• select materials and processes that are empathetic with the main themes or concepts
• select appropriate paper stock, fabrics or affiliated grounds as a print surface
• ensure layouts or numbering systems are provided for complex works and/or where there is a narrative intent.

Trends included:

• merging multiple processes either within a submission or within a single piece
• printing on digitally constructed grounds
• small scale works configured as composites or joiners to form a larger image
• bleed printing
• investigations of traditional etching processes using safer processes: copper sulphate on zinc plates.

In better bodies of work, students were able to:

• acknowledge printmaking conventions but manipulate these for expressive purposes: combining hand burnishing with passes through the press, exploring free wipe and a la poupee
• sympathetically relate colours to the subject matter and intent
• manage the registration process effectively when reduction or multiple plate printing
• show innovation, control and restraint in all aspects of the printmaking process, including the etching/carving and printing of the block/plate.

Areas for students to improve include:

• awareness of the importance of curatorial selection of pieces for submission
• demonstrating an understanding of conventions and structural devices when constructing compositions, and in particular, in relation to the size and dimensions of the block/plate.

Students should:

• explore sculptural materials and processes through the use of traditional and/or non-traditional materials to communicate meaning
• demonstrate a knowledge of conventional and contemporary sculptural practice through multi layered references to artists and historical movements.

Trends included:

• approaches including freestanding, frontal, relief, hanging works, assemblages, cabinets for display and plinths or bases
• investigations of space through reductive and additive processes using collage, carving, casting, welding and 3D printed objects
• the repurposing of natural and recycled materials and the creation of highly contrived surfaces using rust paint or heavy patinas
• celebrations of the natural and built environment, explorations of personal and cultural identity, comments on the impact of social media and concerns about animal welfare and global warming.

In better bodies of work, students were able to:

• investigate and understand the importance of spatial relationships
• transform and manipulate found and manufactured materials to communicate meaning
• manipulate the scale of their works to engage the audience from a variety of viewpoints.

Areas for students to improve include:

• showing refinement in the application of glue and collaged elements
• adhering to the subject rules of size, weight, duration, and dangerous and prohibited materials
• making critical curatorial judgements about the inclusion/non-inclusion of some pieces.

Students should:

• understand how the selection of textile and fibre materials and techniques affect meaning.

Trends included:

• making statements about current issues through the repurposing of contemporary materials including commercially produced plastic products
• creating visually engaging and layered surfaces using innovative processes that reinterpret craft traditions
• using digital transfer of images and laser etching, to further develop symbolic codes and meaning on a variety of textile surfaces.

In better bodies of work, students were able to:

• confidently fashion threads and fibres into complex compositions and sculptural forms
• produce works that engage and capture the audience’s attention through both macro and micro views.

Areas for students to improve include:

• considering the appropriateness of framing devices such as embroidery hoops in relation to the composition.

Students should:

• demonstrate effective synchronicity of sound, vision and continuity in the body of work
• clearly label USB submissions
• ensure edited submissions do not exceed 6 minutes including titles and credits.

Trends included:

• a variety of animations from hand-drawn illustration to computer graphics and stop motion demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of cinematic techniques
• the exploration of a range of approaches and techniques including the narrative, thriller, conceptual, documentary, montage and music video genres
• parallel and non-linear narratives which provided conceptual complexity to many submissions
• themes exploring mental health, identity, family, the environment and the influence of social media
• multi-layered soundtracks, sound effects and soundscapes to enhance visual imagery and pace the unfolding narrative.

In better bodies of work, students were able to:

• develop pre-production plans and scripts to optimise characterisation and extend the conceptual and technical approach of their submissions
• apply effective post-production techniques through software programs to edit narratives and construct soundscapes
• engage in social media, current technology and contemporary issues to create critical narratives and montages.

Areas for students to improve include:

• attending to the stabilisation of the camera for panning and tracking shots
• demonstrating a deliberate use of different shot types, camera viewpoints and cinematic tools to storyboard narratives
• making subtle use of filters and post-production techniques.

Question 1

In better responses, students were able to:

• use the source material to demonstrate an understanding of how Jennifer Kemarre Martiniello reinterprets design elements
• explore concepts of reinterpretation.

Areas for students to improve include:

• developing a response that progresses from identification of design elements to a discussion addressing the Frames
• examining artist practice through an analysis of the source material.

Question 2

In better responses, students were able to:

• address all aspects of the question through a well-informed analysis of the artworks
• refer to both plates to present an informed explanation of aspects of the artworld through different perspectives and contexts
• develop an informed discussion that demonstrates an understanding of how artworks are linked to and informed by the world and society.

Areas for students to improve include:

• developing knowledge of the metalanguage that can be used to analyse qualities of artworks
• using the source materials to identify features of artists’ practice and artworks.

Question 3

In better responses, students were able to:

• demonstrate understanding through clear explanations of the conceptual and material choices made by Jason de Caires Taylor
• provide insightful and knowledgeable explanations of the significance of the artist’s decisions about process, materials, forms, curatorial choices, location and collaboration
• explain the significance of artmaking decisions in the context of the history of art and contemporary practice
• use all of the source material provided to justify the artist’s choices.

Areas for students to improve include:

• developing an extensive understanding of contemporary art practices, for example: site specificity, non-traditional audience interactions, collaborative practices, transient art forms, and sustainability
• developing a deeper understanding of how to analyse and interpret the artist’s conceptual practice, through an articulation of the ideas, aims, influences, and motivations of artists.

Question 4

In better responses, students were able to:

• construct complex responses that successfully integrated the influence of traditions and conventions on artists’ practice
• clearly identify and explain the significance of artworks with reference to influential factors such as gender identity, cultural mores, political change and artists’ philosophical approaches
• demonstrate depth and breadth of understanding through comprehensive analyses of artworks, including sophisticated reference to art historical traditions and conventions, connected to contemporary art.

Areas for students to improve include:

• addressing how traditions and conventions can influence artists’ practice by presenting a clear, detailed analysis of the structural qualities found in each artwork
• explaining the significance of examples by clearly showing how the artist has been influenced by traditions through their material and conceptual practice
• expanding their case studies to include study of artists from a variety of time periods.

Question 5

In better responses, students were able to:

• sustain a complex explanation of a range of artists’ practice and the highly informed artistic decisions artists make
• identify and articulate factors that make artworks sophisticated and challenging, demonstrating comprehensive knowledge of the artworld and artists’ practices
• address modern, post-modern and contemporary performance and installation practices to exemplify the transformation
• discuss how different philosophies, ideologies and political systems inform artists’ transformation of ideas into artworks.

Areas for students to improve include:

• examining the relationship within artists’ practice between ideas, material transformations and the reception by other artists, wider audiences and the artworld
• understanding that meaning in an artwork is not singular, is not limited to one explanation and can be layered through art historical, social, cultural and political contexts
• understanding the significance of critical interpretation from artworld authorities and how this can contribute to discussion.

Question 6

In better responses, students were able to:

• persuasively establish a direct relationship between the notion of value and how it is interpreted in relation to artists and their artworks
• provide a comprehensive analysis of artworks that demonstrate detailed understanding of the relationship between value and the conceptual framework
• synthesise their understanding of the context of value in the artworld through a sophisticated and integrated analysis of artworks.

Areas for students to improve include:

• examining the interrelationship between the agencies of the Conceptual Framework for specific forms of artworks
• understanding how a synthesis between material decisions and conceptual ideas can deepen analysis.

Question 7

In better responses, students were able to:

• present clear investigations and insightful accounts of relevant artists who actively attempt to create a more humane world through their artwork
• articulate the connection between an artist’s intentions and the impact that an artwork has in communicating understanding about social, cultural and political issues
• identify the power of an artwork to expose injustices and encourage the audience to engage in dialogue that promotes a more humane society
• connect each artwork to its historical context and link it to social, political and cultural conventions to demonstrate depth of understanding
• provide a broad understanding of how an audience's interpretation of an artwork can change in different contexts
• link artists in thematic ways to provide convincing arguments.

Areas for students to improve include:

• examining and applying the interrelationships between agencies of the Conceptual Framework to a variety of artists
• building an argument in response to the quotation and the question by using appropriate visual language supported by evidence from selected artworks.

Question 8

In better responses, students were able to:

• contextualise discussion from historical eras within the parameters of what it may mean to be ‘contemporary’
• explicitly address the artists’ intentions in repurposing identified aspects of the past
• demonstrate deep understandings of artists’ contemporary contexts as well as the stimulus for their artmaking
• comprehensively address each component of the question supported by a synthesised and selective analysis of appropriately selected examples.

Areas for students to improve include:

• practising writing extended responses that apply examples to diverse styles of examination questions
• analysing a carefully selected range of artworks to demonstrate knowledge of contemporary practice and how it is repurposed from the past.

Question 9

In better responses, students were able to:

• comprehensively address the question and support their argument with in-depth analysis of artists and artworks
• provide a sophisticated investigation into the ways in which both art and the artist’s role have evolved in response to social, cultural and historical contexts
• explicitly demonstrate their knowledge and understanding through the Frames to explore the evolution of art and the role of the artist.

Areas for students to improve include:

• developing an understanding of how the role of the artist evolves over time and the way in which the visual language used by artists also changes
• tailor case studies to the demands of the question, using the visual evidence in artworks to support a point of view.