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Home > Visual Arts > Course Content > Conceptual Framework > Artmaking practice and the expressive forms

Art making practice and the expressive forms

Expressive forms

Drawing
Painting
Printmaking
Photography
Digital media
Graphic Design
Sculpture
Ceramics
Textiles and fibre
Designed objects and environments
Film and video

Drawing

Drawing is an important part of the process of exploring and developing ideas. It is an immediate and accessible way to document observations, sensations, ideas and associations. Drawing can also form an artwork in its own right as seen in drawings by James Gleeson.

Graphic qualities of drawing vary according to media use; ink, graphite, charcoal and oil pastels. Drawing can be used to explore different visual qualities such as contour, proportion, movement, volume, depth and pattern. Drawing can focus on the elements of line, tone and texture in representing subject matter.

A variety of graphic forms can be investigated such as expressive, figurative, cartoon, abstract, topographic, diagrammatic and architectural drawing. Drawing can be combined with other forms such as collage, assemblage, printmaking and painting.

Painting

“ The more I paint, the harder it gets, because I know more and I am harder on myself...”

Painting is the most popular form of artmaking practice presented for the HSC. This is probably because of the rich and diverse range of styles, techniques and material that can be employed to produce an artwork. The issue of technical proficiency is important in the consideration of painting. Whilst the equipment is often very simple, it is the skill in the manipulation of the materials that is of chief concern. Oil or acrylics can both produce art works of a high standard; it is not the material but the knowledge of selecting the right medium and development of skills in painting techniques. Practice is the key activity to ensure the success of a painting.

The Australian painter Fred Williams suggested that to resolve your art practice you need to do a number of preparatory works. Williams suggests that for every good painting of his there are about 200 studies. This highlights the need to develop skill in painting application and the use of glazes.

Recognising and thoughtfully developing a style is another important issue in painting. Fortunately there are a number of resources, varying from a visit to the art gallery to studying art books, that provide a range of examples of styles to consider. As an art student you are advised to examine and select work that suits your ability and interest. Painting is like a spoken language, the more you practise it, the more proficient and fluent you become in its usage.

Style refers to the particular qualities which identify one artist, or a group of artists, as distinctive and identifiable. Style can can be generated from adaptations of visual conventions (eg. realistic or abstract), it can derive from technique (eg. painterly to minimal), and it derives from from the artist’s choice and treatment of subject.

Themes, issues and ideas should act as the catalyst for your painting; the subject matter should compliment the style and technical finesse. By selecting the appropriate medium (oil, acrylics, encaustic, watercolours, airbrush etc) coupled with an idea you want to express or analyse, you then need to demonstrate technical accomplishment in your use of paint.

Different media offer different qualities and it is important that you choose a medium that suits your skill and artistic intentions. A sound knowledge through experimentation is important. To recognise the qualities in an artist’s work is one thing but to imagine you can work with oil painting without any training or experience is like taking a musical instrument and expecting to be a competent musician. Good painters make the activity of painting look deceptively simple. Good students develop skill through practice and by exploring the qualities of paint.

Oil paint

Oil paint is the most traditional medium of painting. It offers flexibility in terms of application and manipulation. It can be applied in a number of ways and offers a broad range of visual possibilities, from detailed work employing dry brush technique to the expressive qualities offered in painterly application. Characteristics of particular colours and the use of glaze extend the complexity of painting with oils. This is coupled with the long drying times, noxious odours and problems with storage whilst the painting dries. However in return for those who experiment with this medium, study other painters’ techniques and construct specific themes, the results can be highly satisfactory.

Acrylics

This medium is a fairly modern invention, which was developed to allow the artist more time to work on the process of painting and less time waiting for the painting to dry. The paint ranges in cost and brushes can be cleaned with water. This is a popular medium with schools because it is relatively inexpensive and safe, and because of the speed at which the painting dries. With additives such as glaze or impasto medium, the flexibility of acrylics has been greatly increased.

Watercolours

This offers a different approach to painting in which washes of colour are slowly built up as a process of staining to construct the image. The colour pigment can vary accordingly to mixture of colour and water. There are a variety of techniques that can be applied and the style of painting can range from gestural to realistic.

Printmaking

Printmaking is a method of transferring ink from a screen, plate or block onto a surface such as paper or canvas. Almost any surface can, in fact, be printed upon. It is the selection of the printing process that is important. A variety of materials, from stone (lithography), zinc (etching) and silk (screen-printing), have been used as primary methods for printing.

There are four main categories of printmaking:

• relief: including block printing or linocut prints, woodcuts, collagraphs, embossing and lithography
• intaglio: including engraving, dry point or etching
• serigraphy: including screen printing and stencilling
• monotypes or monoprints.

Printmaking allows for multiple copies to be produced; the number of copies produced is known as an edition. Each process listed above has many variants within its form. Following is a brief explanation and a list of artists that have used this media in their art practice.

Etching

Etching is the process of creating etched lines into the surface of a plate. These incised lines would later be filled with ink and the surface of the plate wiped clean leaving only ink trapped in the incised lines. The plate is then placed under immense pressure created by the press and the ink is transferred onto the paper to create an image.

There are a number of techniques for scratching into the surface of the plate. These are “drypoint” which is using a sharpen tool that can scratch into the surface or “acid biting” in which either soft or hard grounds are placed on the plate and then part of the ground is removed to allow acid to burn into the surface of the plate to create an incision on the surface.

Block printing

A number of materials can be used for block printing. Most common is wood and lino, however metal, plastics, rubber or MDF are also suitable materials. This process differs from intaglio in the fact that ink is placed on the surface of the plate and it is the areas that have been carved away that appear white. A rubber stamp best demonstrates how relief printing works. Lino is commonly used in the classroom whilst some students prefer wood for block printing.

Lithography

This is an uncommon practice in high school due to the complexity of the process and specialised equipment. It is the process of using ink and water to repel each other in order to transfer a print onto paper. Traditionally stone was used for this process but metal or paper plates are now in use.

Screen-printing

Serigraphy is the process of using a screen mesh and a stencil to apply flat areas of colour onto the paper or printed surface. Initially developed for commercial printing, it was the Pop artist, Andy Warhol who best demonstrated its fine arts usage.

Monotypes

This is a form of relief printing in which ink is placed and manipulated on the surface of the plate. The marks left on the plate are transferred onto paper by means of pressure exerted by the press. As the name of this process suggests there can only be one print: monotype.

Unique prints

These are “one of a kind” prints that experiment with a variety of printmaking processes to create a one off: a “unique form”. Robert Rauchenberg created a number of unique form prints that utilises both commercial and fine arts processes.

Photography

The medium of photography is going through radical changes with the advent of digital photography and postmodern theories. The traditional photographic conventions such as pictorialism, documentation and abstraction are being reassessed. Photography is being manipulated in a variety of ways both in its form and the concepts generating the artwork. The practice of photography is one medium that clearly demonstrates the synthesis between technical proficiency and conceptual definition.

Technical proficiency includes competent camera skills and good understanding of processing and manipulation techniques. The results of good photographic work are similar to any artistic practice and it is one that requires a developed knowledge of all equipment.

Conceptual meaning is the other aspect that is highly important for successful photographic work. Identifying the need to take good pictures is one thing but to communicate to the viewer sophisticated and or emotional issues is what gives an outstanding photographic work another facet in the reception of the work to the viewer.

Style and techniques are wide and varying within photographic practice. What is important, is knowledge of historic and contemporary photographers, coupled with an appreciation of their craft and recognition of their aesthetic sensibility. Identifying and developing your own aesthetic sensibility is important. Experimenting, manipulating and resolving ideas and techniques are the basis of good photographic work.

Some photographic techniques and terms include:

• photographic documentation: photographs which tell a story or, in some form of sequential ordering, develop a narrative
• pictorialism: the convention of creating a photograph that resembles the composition of a painting. This style was popular when photography was in its infancy and now in a contemporary context enjoys a renewed popularity.
• abstraction within photographic work varying in technique and approach ranging from the photograms of Moholy-Nagy, solarisation of Man Ray and the photographic montage of El Lissitsky or Hoch. Some photographs attempt to depart from the expectation that the camera can only capture realistic moments Such photographers search for abstract norms in composition and photographic manipulation.
• mixed media within the photographic practice refers to the extension of the technique to incorporate other materials to strengthen the meaning or develop a more evocative image. This may be utilised in photographic montage where photographic and other 2D materials are glued together or the development of photo media sculptures or installations.
• digital photography: the technological extension of this medium. Primarily it differs from digital graphics in terms of its photographic conventions and the intentions of the artist. Digital photography creates a hybrid form that is often difficult to classify and relies heavily on the classification of the producer. Digital photographers include Anne Zahalka, Yasamura Morimura and Rosemary Laing.

Digital media

This is the most recent development within the practice of visual arts. It is a hybrid form that assimilates all other practices to create a new form. Digital media has been referred to as “technomedia art” in an exhibition titled Digital Aesthetic in Sydney 1996, suggesting an association with technology and contemporary aesthetics as two components within its structure as an expressive form.

It is a temporal medium, which is to acknowledge that such work resides within a space and time framework. Presentation and navigation become two important aspects within the construction of a multimedia work. Some multimedia artists choose to develop a sequential format which constructs a linearity to the way the work unfolds whilst navigating. The other structure is a fragmented format, which allows the viewer to select their own path, the artist can enhance this by “architecture of the frames” within the multimedia work. The key aspect to multimedia work is its interactivity with the viewer or user and the skill of the crafting of the work.

A multimedia work considers a number of contingencies within its visual conventions. These include the format of the work. Will it be a web site (if so, what scripting will be used), CD-ROM or another digital format? The design or aesthetic appearance is crucial to the appeal of the work; a multimedia work may contain excellent content but may not be complimented by the overall design and look of the work. With the ease of navigation and the layering of sites, multimedia offers a compression or extension of events, concepts and images. Successful multimedia work identifies the sophistication of viewing temporal work and extends the traditional vocabulary of art to embrace this form. The success of multimedia work reflects the “value” the artist has placed on the user. In essence it is the balance between technical prowess and aesthetic sensibility: “it has to look good and work well”.

This expressive form is still evolving in terms of an artistic idiom. Perhaps the best place to explore its potential would be on the World Wide Web or in recent CD ROM projects. Digital media has a particular aura in terms of its perception to the viewer. However the computer is just a tool for constructing an art work, similar to a pencil. Multimedia is dependent on the virtuosity by which the artist can manipulate the tool.

Graphic design

This refers to the manipulation of image and text to communicate ideas or concepts. The combination of pictures and words provides an immediate structure that can readily transfer meaning. Successful graphic design goes beyond the process of communication to reflect social and culture concerns such as style and taste. Graphic design can incorporate drawing, illustration, photography, digital manipulation and typography.

Sculpture

Sculpture is probably the most immediate expressive form that can be used by students. Almost any material can be employed to produce a sculpture. Sculpture enjoys a long and important history; often being associated with the belief and traditions of the culture in which it was made. From the ritualistic sculpture of the “Venus of Willendorf” to Rauchenberg’s collection of debris known as “combined sculptures”, sculpture can take many forms and employ traditional or non-traditional materials.

As previously stated, there are a number of ways a sculpture can be produced. They can be broadly classified into the following:

• modeling
• construction
• carving
• casting
• installation.

Modelling refers to the manipulation of the material in terms of changes to its physical appearance. Using clay, wax or plaster generally employs a modelling technique, as the form is shaped in the material through physical manipulation. With other materials such as metal, modelling techniques such as forging are applied. Modeling is probably the most immediate process to produce a sculpture.

Construction or assemblage refers to the construction of a sculpture by a means of constructing and joining material to create a form. A number of artists have used this technique to create artworks and the materials have ranged from precious metals to discarded objects and material. The use of glues, epoxy resins and soldering/welding have allowed for a rich diversity in the range of constructed forms.

Carving refers to the process of taking away from the raw mass of material to create a form, often this process is identified with wood or stone carving. This process has a long tradition and a variety of techniques.

Installation refers to a sculpture which has been created for a specific site and which usually employs forms that utilise aspects of the site. Installation can employ sound, light, time, movement as the medium or aspects of the work. It can be ephemeral (formless), monumental, a performance, documented action, miniature or multi-dimensional or have a number of froms. There is sometimes nothing to differentiate ‘sculpture’ and ‘multi-media’ or ‘digital media’.

Ceramics

Ceramics can be used for many different purposes ranging from large scale works to small items such as jewellery. The conventions used in ceramics relate to the shapes of utilitarian and sculptural forms, the use of clay, construction techniques and surface treatment and firing processes, all of which can contribute to expression in artworks. The properties of different types of clays such as earthenware, stoneware and raku can be used to support intentions. Construction methods include pinch, coil, slab, thrown and cast forms. Surface treatments range from from slip and wax-resist to burnishing and dipping. Resolution of ceramics works can depend on the relationship between the three-dimensional form and surface treatment.

Ceramics is often combined with other forms, such as printing with oxides onto slabs, and with other materials such as wire, wood, metal, fabric, fibre and plastics.

Textiles and Fibre

Different fabrics and fibre have powerful cultural and symbolic associations such as status, class, ritual and gender. The qualities of fibre lie in the tactile and surface possibilities. Fibre can also be used in three-dimensional works. The conventions used in weaving, tie dyeing, screen printing, painting, embroidery, sewing, knitting, batik and applique. These can be applied to a range of products including clothing, accessories, wall hangings, furnishings and banners.

Fibre constructions employ a diverse range of traditional and non-traditional materials. They can incorporate mediated images, plastics, paper, found and recycled fibres and objects. Fibre can be used in other forms such as collage, sculpture, jewellery and painting.

Designed objects and environments

Design is everywhere in our every day activities. It is what gives an appearance to the taste and style of a culture. It reflects the status of the individual through the charisma of the object, often in the context of good design it becomes the “bench-mark” of style and often alludes to a type of charisma for the owner of the design. Design reflects the style and technology of its time. It reverberates the unique quality, which communicates a sense of prestige, and demonstrates how technology can shape the world.

The HSC has divided design into two expressive forms; graphic design and design objects and environments.

Both these categories for expressive forms highlight the operation of design as a utilitarian device which has a particular usage. Frequently design has had a particular objective identified before its production. Particular considerations in terms of its usage are generally articulated in the design brief. The production of all expressive forms have a clear intent of production but it is within design that students can submit with their design support material in the form of a ‘brief’ to ensure its intention and that the aims of the design are clearly understood by the markers.

The process of good design is often invisible with only the designed object or graphic providing the evidence of this process. Success of a design is measured in its usage. It could be argued that there is no such thing as bad design work, only poorly employed design theories. As a designer you must consider the technical proficiency and the concepts that inform the structure, style and use of the design. The resolution of ideas, concepts and technical prowess should reside in your design work.

Object design

This refers to the construction of functional objects that range widely in usage from products, industrial objects, jewellery and furniture. It refers to objects that have been produced with a utilitarian purpose in mind. Form and function are two very important considerations for design objects. Form is the overall shape and appearance of the design whilst function refers to the use value of the object. It is the combination of form and function that give the designer the basis of their rationale for developing and manufacturing objects. Design objects should reflect personal concerns, stylistic considerations, and practicality of usage as well as ease of producing the object.

Design objects reflect the practice of art as well as craft. It is equally important to know how to construct as well as design an object. The production of the object refers to the craft of manipulating material in order to produce an object that reflects your initial intentions.

Environments

This in its broadest sense could be interpreted as the planning and construction of a space with particular consideration with the site. Architecture, town planning, set design and public sculpture fit within the category of environments. The suggestion of it being a design alludes to a functionary form with specific reasons for its construction that go beyond aesthetic considerations.

Film and video

These two expressive forms are concerned with using aspects of space and time to create an artwork. It is often referred to as a temporal field and it is within this context that these expressive forms differ greatly from all other forms except for multimedia.

Film and video have been referred to as sculpting in time and space. Their characteristics extend upon visual convention found in all other media. The compression of time and events are used to create a particular viewpoint or create a specific aesthetic experience. Both film and video have certain styles or what is commonly referred to as genres. These include:

• documentary or narrative: The film or video could be a documentary account of other events such as a performance work. It may be structured as a narrative, which constructs a story.
• installation: Film or video can be used in a sculptural sense to create an artwork.
• experimental: This refers to the exploration of the aesthetic qualities and visual conventions and how they can be manipulated to produce an artwork. Often such visual qualities are presented in either a realistic or abstract form and highlight the difference of film and video as art rather than craft.

Because of the expense of film, most temporal works submitted for the HSC are usually produced on video as either analogue or digital. Both Super 8 film and all forms of video must be transferred onto a high quality VHS tape.

Both video and film are very difficult forms of expression to use and go beyond the simple aim and shoot scenario. “Cinematography” and “videographics” are sophisticated aesthetic forms, which require considerable skill and knowledge to ensure their uses are optimised. It would be advisable to experiment with the equipment as well as critically review other films and videos to ensure you have a competent understanding of how you wish to convey meaning and what type of “look” you would like your video or film to communicate to the viewer.

Film and video have structural concerns in terms of their production. You might consider the following in terms of your own work:

• Development of a viewpoint. Will this be intimate, suggesting a personal, psychological or even spiritual account or could it be more objective suggesting a documentary or non-biased account or stylised into an aesthetic forms very similar to many music videos?
• Examination of what codes and conventions you wish to present in your work. Will the work attempt to break particular expected conventions such as a parody of conventional filmic genre (such as westerns, musical, action movies etc)? Will the work attempt to utilise a more experimental aim in terms of exploring these expressive forms as pure aesthetic experiences (such as developing a video installation or working with post-production effect to generate an aesthetic effect)?
• Planning of production and postproduction. Making a film or a video is a long and laborious process, which requires time and planning. Storyboards are excellent for planning and developing the work. There is also the need to recognise the importance of allowing plenty of time for postproduction work such as special effects and editing.

Craig Malyon, Visual arts teacher