Semester 1 Final Exam PaperDue: Monday, January 26
As a Final Exam project, students will compose a 4-5 [full] page self assessment paper which focuses on how he or she progressed through the semester; Art Majors may submit papers at 3-4 pages in length due to fewer works completed. The paper should be written in complete sentences, use paragraph form and should be spellchecked. Each paper should at the minimum address the questions on the following list and should correctly use the art vocabulary we work with in class. All papers should be double-spaced and written in a 12 point font Times New Roman.
Components of the Paper:
- Introduction: Who are you as an artist? Base this information on facts about your art or self-perceptions. This should serve as an introduction to your art. Reach out and welcome your audience into your portfolio. Why do you make your art? What inspired you to make it? What does your art signify or represent? How do you make art? What is your art made of? What does your art mean to you? Be personal: write in the first person (for example, “I am...”, “I do...”, “I make...”, etc). Be specific and avoid obscure references.
- How many works do you have completed? Name them, either by description only or by title and description, if desired. Have you completed all of the pieces necessary to submit a quality breadth portfolio? What independent steps have you taken to ensure a completed breadth portfolio, considering time constraints, illness, and/or natural disasters? If not all works are completed, discuss the progress of these incomplete pieces. Why are pieces incomplete? Did you face discouraging difficulties during production that prevented you from finishing, either technically or emotionally? Keep in mind, I realize that one of your works is not due until January 19 and will, almost inevitably, be incomplete at the time you write this. I expect that.
- Which three pieces from your breadth portfolio are most successful? Explain why. How long, in approximate hours, have you spent planning (sketchbook) and completing these works? What have you done especially well? What makes these three works the focal point of your portfolio? Have your techniques or approaches been innovative? How could you apply these exceptional concepts, techniques, or materials to other works to make them stronger?
- Which three pieces from your breadth portfolio are least successful? Explain why. How long, in approximate hours, have you spent planning (sketchbook) and completing these works? Are there areas of the works that are successful, in spite of your dissatisfaction with the overall works? What could you do, as an artist, to improve these works? Are these reasonable assumptions? How long would it take you to make these adjustments? Most importantly, would you be willing to spend the time improving these less-successful works?
- Rate your overall breadth portfolio based on the AP / Art Major Studio Art Grading Rubric used during class critiques; give specific numeric grades or written language (strong, moderate, weak, etc.) for each of the five criteria. Why have you evaluated your portfolio in this way? Is there one area (using the rubric) of your portfolio that is especially successful? Which area is it? Explain why. Is there one area of your portfolio (using the five criteria) that is noticeably weaker than the rest? Which area is this? Explain. What steps can you, and I, take to improve these weaker areas?
- Growth: The breadth portfolio should demonstrate student mastery of the two-dimensional elements of art (line, shape, color, value, texture, space) and principles of design (unity/variety, balance, emphasis, contrast, rhythm, repetition, proportion/scale and figure/ground relationship). Look at your portfolio chronologically, to the best of your ability. Does your overall portfolio show evidence of conceptual, perceptual, and expressive development, as well as technical skill? Have you become more explorative or inventive? Cite specific examples of growth. For example, “In my third piece...I realize that my facial proportions are skewed. However, in my ninth piece... my facial proportion has not only improved, but I also gained a strong send of foreshortening to add additional dimension to the work.”