Visual Arts

(Grades: 9,10,11,12)

 

This course is intended for students who are serious about learning drawing techniques and their application to two-dimensional design. Projects include skill-based experimentation leading to projects in a variety of media. Emphasis is placed on gaining technical skills, particularly in graphite and colored pencils. This course provides the student with a firm foundation for further artistic growth and a connection to innate creative abilities.

Art II: Innovations in Drawing and Intro to Painting
(Grades: 10, 11, 12)
 
This course builds upon the basic drawing skills mastered in Art I, introducing new drawing materials, styles and techniques, as well as painting media. Students will develop a deeper understanding of color theory, utilizing it to create many works in full color. Students will begin an introduction to Art History, learning about periods from the Paleolithic through the Baroque through films, documentaries, lectures and online research. Students’ basic art and design vocabulary will be supplemented by art historical terms and concepts. Students will utilize this vocabulary in class critiques, self-evaluations, and written responses to artistic works.

Art III: Creative Expression Through Advanced Drawing and
Painting
(Grades 11, 12)
 
This course builds on students’ knowledge of the historical, conceptual, and technical foundations of art to develop visual literacy and creative expression. Lecture and discussion will support students’ investigation and evaluation of the role of art in the Modern period, including the Realism, Impressionism, Expressionism, Surrealism and Abstract Expressionist movements. This analysis is designed to enrich a corresponding practice in innovative form and content. Students broaden their approach to style and content by completing assignments in response to the Modern movements. This class prompts experimentation and empowers students in
developing a unique, personal body of work.

 

AP Art: 2D Design
(Grade 12)

This course, equivalent to a first-year college art class, is designed for the serious and skilled high school art student who will dedicate time and energy to the creation of an AP Studio Art portfolio consisting of twenty-four original artworks. Broken into two parts, the portfolio includes twelve works demonstrating ‘Breadth,’ selected from student’s artwork completed in Art I, Art II, and Art III. It also requires the creation of a ‘Concentration’ of twelve works developed around a theme of the student’s choice, which will be created in this course. Portfolios are submitted to the AP Board in May.