Your HSCVisual Arts, Body of Work
What will I need to hand in
by the end of HSC Visual
Arts course? Completed and named Body
of Work Visual Arts Process Diary
Artist Statement (optional
and no more than 300
words)
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How much does my BoW weigh in regards to my final overall mark for my HSC for Visual Arts?
The work is weighted at 50%.
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How will I be marked for my BoW
and VAPD?
Your VAPD will first be handed in for
marking in Week 8 of Term 4.
Your BoW will be marked this same
week via a Statement to explain your
concept and vision. In Term 1, Week 3, your BoW and
VAPD will undergo another session of
marking aimed at evaluating your
progress. In Term 3, Week 7 your BoW and
VAPD should be completed, and will
undergo a final session of marking to
evaluate the final product.
Finally, you will receive an external
mark from a panel of four markers.
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What can my BoW be
made out of? Your BoW will fit into
one or more of a list of
12 art forms. When classifying your work
upon completion, you
will select the expressive form that
best and most suits your BoW.
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What expressive forms are
available here at AIM? We can accommodate
Drawing, Painting, Documented Forms,
Collection of Works, Photomedia, Graphic Design,
Designed Objects, Sculpture
and Time-Based Forms.Please note thatthere are somematerials, technologyor tools that you may
need to source yourself.
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So can I make an 8 foot
tall bronze statue of my
interpretation of a taco? Well no… There are a
number of weight and
scale restrictions that you
must abide by when
creating your work. You
will all be given a handout
in regards to this, as well
as a digital copy that will
be on the Visual Arts Year
12 Wikispace.
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Is there anything I can’t use? Yes! There is an extensive list
of materials and items that you
cannot use in your BoW.
However, these are for safety
reasons, and must be
understood and obeyed in
regards to your work.
Therefore, it is important that
you familiarise yourself with it,
so you do not plan to use a
material or object that you
cannot.
Hypodermic syringes must not be included in any submitted works. This includes new or used syringes, with or without needles.
Bodily secretions and blood products must not be included in any submitted works.
Food and/or perishable materials (including rice, pasta, dried beans, coffee grounds, confectionary, tobacco) and objects must not be included in any submitted works.
Liquids in any form must not be included in any submitted works.
Medications in any form, including tablets and capsules, must not be included in any submitted works.
Glass in any form must not be included in any submitted works. This includes unbroken glass such as bottles, mirrors or any other form. The use of plastic LED lights is advised. Teflon coated light bulbs may only be used within a sealed light box.
Any materials that have sharp or jagged edges (barbed wire, fish hooks, corrugated iron, broken machinery etc.) must not be included in any submitted works.
Live, blank and dummy ammunition casings must not be used in any submitted work.
Electrical wiring that has not been certified by an electrician must not be included in any submitted works.
Submissions requiring a high voltage electrical current (Eg. 240 volts) must have a certificate for electrical safety attached. Any electrical wiring necessary for artworks should be undertaken by a qualified electrician. Details and records of such work should be noted in students’ diaries.
FAQ
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Woah, woah, woah! You
just gave me a LOT of
information! Yes. Yes I did. So where do I start?!
What if I don’t have an
idea yet!
Don’t panic!I’ll explain…
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This is your own artmaking process, which
will be the marriage of an
idea with an expressive
form.
When you ‘marry’ two
things together, they
need to complement
each other and support
each other.
Your BoW is no different.
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The HSC is not a time to try
out completely new materials, but rather a time
to demonstrate the things
that you’re good at in new
ways.
Decide, or find out, what
materials you work best with. You may already know, you
may need to experiment.
Start with what you like.
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Find artists and works that you like.
Experiment with different
materials.
Write down what themes and
concepts you’re interested in and
how you might explore them. The best ideas are authentic ones.
For example, if you’re doing a
culturally influenced work, don’t do
it on a culture that is not your own.
And where do all these things
go…?
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In a VAPD?
Yes! A Visual Arts Processing Diary –
preferably A3 in size. This is where you must document all
your experiments, ideas
development, inspirations, and
progress.
It is important that you keep this
book entirely for your BoW and not
for normal classwork or study. You must also NOT write your name
anywhere on or in this book. You
must label it with an image of
yourself.
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Alright then, well what should I make my
BoW about?
The syllabus describes the production of a
BoW as a response to the student’s
environment. This can mean your physical,
social, religious, political, emotional,
psychological, racial or gender
environment. The boundaries of what
constitutes your world and environment are
wide and full of creative potential. It is up to
you to determine what constitutes your
environment in terms of your study. Your
BoW should reflect an interest, concept or
issue that you relate to and feel strongly
towards and wish to incorporate as a visual
statement. Try to avoid cliché concepts. Be
honest in relating your art work to your
genuine interests and not what you think the
markers want. Use your VAPD to explore
issues and concepts that interest you and
attempt to figure out how to create an
artwork(s) that presents these ideas in a
thoughtful manner. Your BoW should reflect
these interests.
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Oh ok, so I make a work
with acceptable materials
to an acceptable scale and
weight, document my work
using a VAPD, and then I’m
done?
Not quite, but almost! When
making your work you need
to consider things like how
will your work be packaged –
so things like fragility need to
be considered. You also must
take into account how you
want the markers to view
your work – and how it might
be displayed to an audience.
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Right! Well, I have lots of time so I guess I
could get started in the next few weeks…
Nope. You need to start now. What?! Why? It seems like a lot of time, but in reality isn’t
not a lot of time at all. Consider that you have
many other subjects to attend to, perhaps
other major works, commitments at home,
maybe even a job, and you know that little
thing you like to call your social life?
Yeah…?
If you want to hold on to that, you need to start
now, and keep working and constantly work bit
by bit until it’s done. This is not something you
can leave until the last minute. You will save
yourselves so much stress and so many freak
outs if you start now and get the ball rolling.
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I suppose I’ll start now then. That’s exactly right. First step is
research and deciding what
expressive form you’d like to use.
And I’ll need to put in extra
work out of class time? Yes, but if you do, it must be well
documented with photographs
etc. in your VAPD, and you must
constantly keep your teacher up
to date. Though 80% of your BoW
should be completed in class
time.
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Alright, do you feel ready? Sort of… Yes and no. Good, that’s how you’re
supposed to feel. No one is
pretending it’s an easy task –
it’s a very challenging aspect
of HSC, but as long as you
choose something that you’re
passionate about and
interested in, the easier it will
be, and while it will always be
labour, hopefully it will be a
labour of love.
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Any more questions?
Please feel free to ask…