The HSC Art syllabus: fundamentally flawed. (1 Viewer)

[sambeatty]

Frankly, the HSC art syllabus is terrible: the teaching of useful artistic skills is never adressed in the syllabus, and now art analysis is 50% of the actual HSC art mark (not the case a few years back).

HSC art analysis destroys what makes art interesting; It breaks art down into logical, rigid entity, as exemplified by the use of the frames (subjective, postmodern, cultural, structural, as well as artist, artwork,world, audience) to somehow explain what an artwork 'means', as if what we write about a work is ever absolute.

The mere fact that one can easily get good marks by making things up about an artwork (eg 'the red strokes express the artist's anger and frustration, while the subject matter reflects a personal struggle against blah blah') shows that the syllabus itself is geared towards producing middle management (curators etc.) and not facilitating genuinely creative people, who may be great artists, but are perhaps unable to jump through the analytical hoops of the HSC syllabus.

So, 2008 students, to do well in HSC art you will need to be able to turn one hell of a sentence, because you cannot rely on your creativity in this course, but shitty prelim should have taught you that.

 

[Captain Gh3y]

haha

I didn't do art and I know nothing about it but you're probably right. You should see the physics syllabus, you spend more time on the history of physics than actually doing some physics.

No big surprises. Just learn to play the game (i.e. tell them what they want to hear) and work on your own thing, whatever kind of art you're into.

 

[mad-triste]

But it has to accommodate all art students. I took art merely because I adore the theoretical and analysis work. I am completely visually untalented and I despised tje creation of my major work.

Most people take visual arts because they think they've got their hand at being an artist, and its the lack of electives within the course that is the fundamental flaw, I believe.

 

[blktiger]

Maybe they should divide the subject into an art theory elective and then an art practise elective, but then the art theory elective would prob have no one in it. xD

 

[em21]

Maybe they should divide the subject into an art theory elective and then an art practise elective, but then the art theory elective would prob have no one in it. xD

Hahahahahaha so true - believe me there is absolutely no way that i would be in it......lol
- suprisingly though out of the 7 people who were in my visual arts class there was only two of us who really despised it - me and my friend - probably only cause we were so damn bored and couldn't concentrate on what the teacher was saying

 

[lorikeet]

See, I'm the opposite - I love looking at, thinking about, talking about art, and I'm really good at art essays, but my practical skills are average.
And I don't think the art analysis part has to kill it. Sometimes, after you've taken in the general impression of a work, contemplating and analysing it can really deepen your appreciation for it.

 

[sambeatty]

See, I'm the opposite - I love looking at, thinking about, talking about art, and I'm really good at art essays, but my practical skills are average.
And I don't think the art analysis part has to kill it. Sometimes, after you've taken in the general impression of a work, contemplating and analysing it can really deepen your appreciation for it.

That's not the opposite, it just proves that the The HSC needs to teach some practical skills.
It's not that I was bad at art analysis, in fact my final art mark was 95, with my essays usually in the 90+ range. The simple fact was that I, like all those who got good theory marks, learned the language of the syllabus and hammered it into every essay.

My problem witht this system is that one does not really learn how to write in an interesting way, but rather to repeat syllabus language such as "the work reflects...", "reveals the artist's attitude towards...", "challenges the conventions of...","raises the issue of", "challenges the percieved role of women", All of that shit, that boring insufferable wank which makes every student essay the same.

 

[bassistx]

My problem witht this system is that one does not really learn how to write in an interesting way, but rather to repeat syllabus language such as "the work reflects...", "reveals the artist's attitude towards...", "challenges the conventions of...","raises the issue of", "challenges the percieved role of women", All of that shit, that boring insufferable wank which makes every student essay the same.

God, did that make me laugh. Couldn't have said it any better. 100% true.
To be honest, one of the 8 mark questions I think it was, I got 7/8 and all I did was answer in 3 bullet points about each art work. I swear to God, just in bullet points with like 5 word sentences. But I wrote what they wanted to read. And that was the end of it. You don't even need to elaborate, as long as the "analytical language" is there.
That being said, Visual Arts would be the easiest subject. You can literally memorize your essays because you not only have so many questions to choose from (one is bound to suit your essay), but because it's also the same questions every time. They just change one or two words, but the meaning of the question is unaltered. For that, thank God I did Visual Arts lol.
But when it comes to the prac, which is worth 50%, then yeah, that's where I'm screwed. You can't exactly recycle works from past HSCs lol.
I heard from a friend (of a friend of a friend of a friend) that this guy handed in an empty cardboard box on the day of the HSC and got a band 6. No joke, this is actually true. But he slacked off, did absolutely nothing, and still got a band 6 because his essay used all that crap we've memorized from the prelim course. So in the end, this is to our benefit, whether we want to be curators or not. So long as you justify your BoW with a good essay, then you're all set

 

[Bruce Wane]

i find it amusing that you choose to degrade the purpose of having art theory using their terminology all along. don u reckon its essential to understand other art works and the process the artist went through?..(forgive me) appropriation for example is every where and frankly unescapable, the frame works are there so as to help our brains out in getting a logical insight in steps to discover the creators ideads.......

wow i just bull crapped and thats what came out...and thats why i can dig it ....sometimes

 

[Briq.]

Yeah, I agree. I just seriously make the artwork, and then "decode" it myself (take the most miniscule visual clues and make a concept out of it).
It works.
But I agree. It kills "art".
Which is hilariously ironic, if you think about it.

 

[songs4thesadman]

my art teacher has done nothing baout teaching us analyse art or anything
all we get is a case study and she just tells us to do it
and we either get a good mark or we dont

i have my half yearly and im not looking foward to it


no help at all

grr

nd i cant even complain to anyone cos she is also my year advisor

 

[scaredytiger]

halfway through last year i came from qld. *hides from imminent projectiles* and that was the last time i actually did an art essay - they use a completely different theoretical framework.

so my art exam is in less than a week.

im an excellent bullshit artist. but im not familiar anymore with the frames. i havent done them since grade 9.

im screwed.

but yes. there should be separate art theory and art practise courses, or at least - a choice on how they are weighted.

english also messes with creative writers.
due to the fact i had a tendency to allude subtly to things my teachers dont pick up on it. i can give my story to my boyfriend, and he will get all the things they missed. i think its because they teach too many dufusfaces.

 

[cherry.blossom]

dude i totally agree. the theory part of the exam shits the hell out of me, especially the contemporary sections. i hate having to describe artworks and artists intentions and its this kind of boring dribble that makes me despsise the theory of art. it would be fantastic if they had a theory of art and a practise of art elective.
i sometimes wonder if the artists we have to crap on about really intended what it is the teachers tell us they did.
i.e: my mentor who is a well known artist around our parts had a painting in an exhibition that was in an editorial by some journalist in a sydney paper. the painting was of a dog herding cows on an aerial view. the journalist said (this is gold) that the dog symbolised the female ovum and the cows were the male sperm and that the artist was an overtly sexual painter.
well, the 'overtly sexual painter' rang up the journalist and told him that he is a twat.

i wonder if some of the artists we talk about nowadays are turning in their graves because of the shit we have to spit out about their works. its so FRUSTRATING.


MAN i love catharsis.

 

[amandine]

i used to hate the theory aspect of visuals art too, but now for some reason i really like it! I'm pretty sure im the only one in my class that thinks so. Maybe because i get good marks n come 1st but i think its mainly because my crazy art teacher is soo enthusiastic. like some one said their teacher just hands it to them and sez do it... i have that for bio which sucks anus! lol my teacher is screwed asked for help so many times n he makes up some lame comment. i reakon tecahers can either make or break a subject which sucks when they it fuck up!!!

 

[pezdog]

dude i totally agree. the theory part of the exam shits the hell out of me, especially the contemporary sections. i hate having to describe artworks and artists intentions and its this kind of boring dribble that makes me despsise the theory of art. it would be fantastic if they had a theory of art and a practise of art elective.
i sometimes wonder if the artists we have to crap on about really intended what it is the teachers tell us they did.
i.e: my mentor who is a well known artist around our parts had a painting in an exhibition that was in an editorial by some journalist in a sydney paper. the painting was of a dog herding cows on an aerial view. the journalist said (this is gold) that the dog symbolised the female ovum and the cows were the male sperm and that the artist was an overtly sexual painter.
well, the 'overtly sexual painter' rang up the journalist and told him that he is a twat.

i wonder if some of the artists we talk about nowadays are turning in their graves because of the shit we have to spit out about their works. its so FRUSTRATING.


MAN i love catharsis.

Kinda like the story about all these art critics looking a blank space in an art gallery and saying how deep and meaningful the work was. Then the security guard came back and put a 'artwork removed for cleaning sign' in the space lol

 

[MadamGuilia]

That's not the opposite, it just proves that the The HSC needs to teach some practical skills.
It's not that I was bad at art analysis, in fact my final art mark was 95, with my essays usually in the 90+ range. The simple fact was that I, like all those who got good theory marks, learned the language of the syllabus and hammered it into every essay.

My problem witht this system is that one does not really learn how to write in an interesting way, but rather to repeat syllabus language such as "the work reflects...", "reveals the artist's attitude towards...", "challenges the conventions of...","raises the issue of", "challenges the percieved role of women", All of that shit, that boring insufferable wank which makes every student essay the same.

I want to get better marks for the theory, have any suggestions? I got 21/25 for my trial exam essay but I want close to or full marks for my theory! i'm looking through the syllabus more closely right now.. making sure that i get the stuff i need to know drilled into my head so i can analyse everything quite sufficiently.

 

[MadamGuilia]

'He who loves practice without theory is like the sailor who boards ship without a rudder and compass and never knows where he may cast' - Leonardo da Vinci.

 

[SH33P]

Art is all about expression and interpretation.... art is ultimately a form of communication... what they teach, what you think, what I think, whatever everyone else thinks is what constructs the concept of art


Let me define "creativity" to you in my own words... it means creating different ways of solving a problem... how an artwork is interpreted is the creativity! Do you get it? art works on such a deep level ... it’s not just about making random marks or putting a toilet on its side and calling it art.... it provokes an emotional response, arouse audiences interests and create an understanding and interpretation --> that is creativity that is art! Art is the process of creating not the end result

 

[SH33P]

I want to get better marks for the theory, have any suggestions? I got 21/25 for my trial exam essay but I want close to or full marks for my theory! i'm looking through the syllabus more closely right now.. making sure that i get the stuff i need to know drilled into my head so i can analyse everything quite sufficiently.

yes... i got one, pick artists you can personally work with and not ones that are straight from text books... you have to be the critic and support it with your own ideas CAUSE THATS WHAT ART IS ABOUT!

also reinforce it with other ppls stuff... good luck!

 

[SH33P]

lets conclude with the fact that english is shit and art is good!