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Home > Visual Arts > Course Requirements > Strategies for Examination preparation: Body of Work, Art Criticism and Art History > The Visual Arts HSC written examination:

THE VISUAL ARTS HSC WRITTEN EXAMINATION: “UNPACKING” SECTION 1  

The Visual Arts HSC Art criticism and art history written examination aims to test your knowledge of the artworld. It assesses your ability to make judgments about artists and artworks, audiences and interests of the world, and how you address aspects of syllabus content in a reasoned and articulate way.

When thinking about artworks you should consider a range of expressive forms and not only painting and sculpture. You should remember that the Visual Arts syllabus also asks you to consider areas such as:

• Architecture
• Craft
• Designed objects
• Interactive Design (including such areas as web page design and computer games)
• Photography
• Film and video

Specifically, the examination is designed to allow you to demonstrate your knowledge of visual arts content in terms of:

• Practice (art making and art criticism and art history
  • What artists do
  • Why they do it
  • How they do it
  • Who they do it with
  • Who they do it for
    
    
• The Conceptual Framework
  • The artwork
  • The artist
  • The audience
  • The world
    
    
• The Frames
  • Subjective
  • Structural
  • Cultural
  • Postmodern

The HSC written examination paper for Visual Arts is divided into two sections:

Section 1 consists of 3 short answer questions (1a, 1b, and 1c).

You will be given specific source material for each question.
This material may include:

• Images of artworks, craft, design objects or architecture
• Images of artists/designers/architects/craftspeople engaged in their practice
• Critical and or historical writings about the artist/designer/architect/craftsperson
• Writings and annotations by the artist/designer/ architect/craftsperson

This information is important and should help to inform your response.

READ EVERYTHING.
Ask yourself:

• What does it mean?
• What aspect of syllabus content is this question relating to? Is it about practice, the conceptual framework or the frames?
• What is the relevance of this source material to the question?

WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A SUCCESSFUL AND A LESS SUCCESSFUL EXAM RESPONSE?

Higher level responses address all aspects of the question and use the source material provided as evidence to support arguments or conclusions. Lower level responses tend to describe the images rather than address the question.

READING CITATIONS

A “citation” is the information that accompanies an artwork when it is exhibited in a gallery or accompanying an image of the work in a text. When the work is in a gallery the citation is most often presented as a plaque or label on the wall near the work.

As a member of the gallery audience, we use this information to help us to interpret the artwork. It gives us information both about the artist and about the artwork.
We can find out:

• What it is called
• Who did it
• When it was done
• What it is made of
• How much it costs if it is for sale in a commercial gallery.

When an artwork is reproduced in a catalogue or in a book, the citation can help us to understand what the work is really like. We always need to remember that we are seeing a re-presentation of the original work – not the actual object.
 
When we view a reproduction of Jackson Pollock’s “Blue Poles”, it is a different experience to standing before the actual work. The real work is on a monumental scale, and draws a great deal of its expressive power from its ability to elicit a subjective response from the viewer.
The viewer can adjust his or her viewpoint, standing back to take in the whole work, moving in closer to appreciate the surface qualities of the work.

The citation which accompanies the work in an examination can provide clues to the physical properties of the work. It is important to visualize the work in its original scale.
You could think about:

• How you would respond differently to the work if you could experience its actual scale  
• What materials were used to produce it
• The processes and techniques the artist used

If you are looking at a reproduction of a 3D object such as a sculpture, a designed object, or an architectural structure, think about how the work exists in the world.

• How does it relate to its environment?
• Is it designed to be viewed from all sides?

ARTWORK CITATIONS FROM PAST HSC VISUAL ARTS EXAMINATIONS

In looking at the citation information in past papers, the following information is usually included:

• The name of the artist, designer or architect.
• The date of their birth and (if appropriate) of their death.
• The country in which they live and/or practice.
• The title of the artwork. This is written in italics. Where the image is of a design object, this may be replaced with a description.
• The date when the artwork or object was made.
• The materials from which the work was made. In the case of product design this may also include the name of the firm that produces the object for the designer.
• The dimensions of the work.

Additional technical or biographical information including quotes may be provided to supplement the citation.

Past HSC Visual Arts examination papers can be found on the Board of Studies website http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/hsc_exams/ or can be sourced through your school.

WRITING ABOUT AN IMAGE OF A PAINTING

Remember that you are referring to a painting, not a “picture” or a photograph.

It is important to remember that an artist has created the original artwork in the image. They have made decisions about technique, media, scale, and subject matter. You need to consider the artist’s intentions, processes and practice in the context of information provided about the original work.

Always refer to the citation to find out more about the painting, particularly in relation to its size.

• Try to visualise the image.
• Is scale an important aspect of the artist’s intention?
• Does it make the work more intimate? More impressive?
• What would it be like to stand in front of it?
• How would the surface of the work feel?

Think about the style of the work. Some considerations may include:

• Does the work attempt to portray pictorial realism?
• Does the work employ conventional techniques of perspective?
• Is the work representational or non representational?
• Does the work manipulate objects in an abstract manner
• Does the work manipulate elements of visual language such as colour, shape or line without referring to objects or pictorial realism?

Consider:

• What is the work of?
• What is the work about?

As in your own artmaking, consider the technical resolution of the work and its conceptual strength and meaning. What is the artist trying to do?

Do not simply describe what you can see. Unpack the work based on the requirements of the question and use terminology that incorporates terms or techniques relevant to painting.

WRITING ABOUT AN IMAGE OF A SCULPTURE

Essentially sculpture is 3-Dimensional. Remember that you are looking at a flat image of the actual work.

Traditionally 3D forms are either in the round, consisting of a free-standing work that can be viewed from all sides or in relief, with areas standing out from a ground, which is attached to a wall.

Traditional techniques include:

• Modelling using pliable materials such as clay
• Carving using materials that can be cut away such as stone, marble or wood
• Casting using moulds and molten metals

Contemporary techniques may include:

• Construction or Assemblage consisting of combining different objects or components
• Kinetic works which incorporate movement
• Casting with materials such as plastics and resins
• Site -specific works which are created for a particular site which may be in an interior or exterior location. They may include installations, performance or earth works.

New technologies are expanding the field and blurring the distinctions between categories.

Always refer to the citation to locate information about the sculpture, particularly in relation to its size.

• Try to visualize the image.
• Is the scale an important aspect of the artist’s intention?
• What materials have been used?
• What is the artist trying to do?

Consider the technical resolution of the work and its conceptual strength and meaning.

Do not simply describe what you can see. Unpack the work based on the requirements of the question and use terminology that incorporates terms or techniques relevant to sculpture.

WRITING ABOUT AN IMAGE OF ARCHITECTURE

Be clear about what you are being asked to write about in relation to the architectural structure depicted. The question and the citation will help you with this. Look for the name of the building and the architect.

The American architect Louis Sullivan is famous for the 1896 quote “form follows function”.. By this he meant that in functional design including architecture, it is important to first consider the purpose of an object or structure. Only after this condition has been met should issues of aesthetics and decoration be considered.

While this statement has been debated ever since, it does serve as a reminder that you need to consider different criteria when writing about architecture.

It is important to remember a building must first serve a purpose as a shelter or protection from the elements.
Is it a place to live? to meet or assemble? for storage or display? for business or manufacture?

Consider the aesthetic and symbolic qualities of the structure:

• How has it been designed?
• How do the elements of its design reflect its function? Does it try to impress? To inspire?

Look closely at the photograph of the building provided for you and analyse it carefully. Does it provide you with any clues about the site or the scale of the building? 

Christian churches from the Gothic period provide us with a clear demonstration of the symbolic qualities that can be expressed in architectural design. Look at buildings such as Chartres Cathedral (1194-1260) as an example.

Gothic churches were built on a monumental scale so that they dominated the skyline of the towns and cities in which they were sited. This could be seen as a concrete demonstration of the power of the church.

The plan of the buildings also reflected their purpose, being designed on a floor plan that resembled the Christian crucifix.

Internally, the soaring arches and high ceilings were designed to create a sensation of awe for the viewer, causing them to raise their eyes “heavenwards”. This theatrical quality was an important consideration for the architect.

The physical function of the church – to house a congregation – could have been achieved with a low, flat-roofed structure. The symbolic function demanded other design considerations.

Other buildings, such as Kauffman House (also known as Fallingwater) designed by American architect Frank Lloyd Wright in 1935 were constructed in response to a particular site. Kauffman House is integrated with its surroundings and is built over a waterfall which flows beneath it.  

Do not simply describe what you can see in the photograph of an architectural structure. 
As with sculpture, remember that a building is a 3-dimensional object. Unpack the work based on the requirements of the question and use terminology relevant to architecture.

WRITING ABOUT A PHOTOGRAPHIC IMAGE

It is with a reproduction of a photograph that you get perhaps the truest indication of the nature of the work.
Photographs may reflect traditional darkroom techniques or contemporary technology utilizing digital media.
You may consider:

• Compositional devices such as viewpoint to create a particular mood or effect or the use of the elements of visual language such as tone and colour in traditional black and white or colour photography.
• The manipulation and layering of images in digital media works  

Photographs are, increasingly, printed onto a wider range of surfaces such as canvas, backlit transparencies, and 3D objects. They may be projected images within the context of a gallery space.

As with all images, the size of the work is important. Consider the way in which a viewer would engage with the work. Are they asked to come in close, or does the work “confront” the senses. Think, for example, of the intimate works of William Yang as compared to the billboards of Barbara Kruger.

Unpack the work based on the requirements of the question and use language that incorporates terminology relevant to photography

WRITING ABOUT A DESIGN IMAGE

Design images can take a number of forms, including:

• Product Design
• Industrial Design
• Advertising Design
• Fashion Design

Remember, as in all areas, that you are looking at a mediated image – a re-presentation of the artwork to be considered.

As with writing about architecture, an analysis of designed objects must take into consideration both the form and the function of the object

• What is it for?
• How does it look?
• How has the balance between form and function been achieved?

A teapot, for example, must meet certain design requirements – to be successful it must hold a volume of liquid, it must be stable, and it must pour the liquid without dripping or spillage.

You should consider issues such as:

• The practice of the artist/designer. Do they design and make their objects in a traditional way (artisans or craftspeople) or do they design for mass production or for industrial purposes?
• Are the materials traditional or do they represent emerging trends in art and in manufacture?
• What is the intended audience or market for the product? Is it designed for limited sale or intended for wide distribution?
• If the design image is for an advertisement or brochure, what devices are used to persuade the audience? You could consider both the image and the text in considering this aspect of the design.

Do not simply describe what you can see. Unpack the work based on the requirements of the question and use terminology that incorporates terms or techniques relevant to design.

OTHER ARTWORKS MAY ALSO BE SELECTED FOR SECTION 1 PLATES, AND MAY INCLUDE DRAWING, PRINTMAKING, TEXTILES, CERAMICS or FILM/VIDEO STILLS.
You may like to consider how you could analyse these forms using relevant information from the above expressive forms