AP Art and Design Study Guide

AP Art and Design Study Guide **This guide is based off the college board AP Art and Design course guide** There are three course skills for AP Art and Design: 1. Course skill 1: Inquiry and Investigation 2. Course skill 2: Practice, experimentation, and revision 3. Course skill 3: Communication and reflection Course skill 1: Inquiry and Investigation Investigating materials, processes, and ideas Generating ideas for an investigation ● Sustained investigation: ¨Sustained Investigation is the concept of producing a series of sequential visual forms—forms growing from forms—to explore in greater depth a particular visual concern.¨ (AP Central) ● To create a sustained investigation, think of your dislikes, passions, ideas, and opinions in order to begin to explore a topic that interests you ● A sustained investigation is not an emotion or an object; it is an idea that is personal to you (it can be about an experience or a passion) Describing how inquiry guides/relates to your investigation ● Essential Question: ¨Open-ended queries intended to provoke thought, inquiry, discussion, and understanding related to the big ideas.¨ (AP Central) ○ Creating inquiry/essential questions when investigating are good ways to further and deepen your understanding ○ Creating inquiry/essential questions can also aid in giving you more ideas (materials, lighting, editing etc.) ○ EXAMPLE: ¨How can I use light/shadow in film photography to show isolation/loneliness?¨ Describing and investigating how process and materials relate to your investigation ● There are many different materials/processes that can be used in your investigation, ranging from film, digital, paint, oil pastels, and different types of lighting ● Research on these different types of materials should be done ● These different materials/processes can help create conceptual photography, or photography that illustrates an idea ● EXAMPLES: famous photographer Frank Ockenfels draws/sketches over his work: Course skill 2: Make art through revision, experimentation, and practicing Formulate questions that guide your investigation ● To dig deeper into your investigation, you should create questions and inquiries that will guide your work ● Your questions can help to navigate/investigate one particular idea, such as ¨the effects of different lighting techniques¨ or ¨how can I show movement?¨ Conduct a sustained investigation that shows proof of revision and experimentation ● Sustained investigations will usually be revised and reworded many times before finalized ● After brainstorming ideas, to write your sustained investigation, you must go into depth, since it is an ¨investigation¨ ● When exploring, use many historical artists and modern artists for reference and inspiration ● Many people also create pinterests boards of inspiration that they later paste into their journals ● EXAMPLE: inspiration from pinterest or books made by photographers: ● Your sustained investigation cannot be a broad idea such as ¨my sad emotions¨ or ¨plants¨, and instead be much more concentrated. ○ For example, focus on point of view, expressiveness, lighting etc. Make works of art that demonstrate use of materials, process, and artistic skills ● After background research/planning and a good understanding of your ideas, you can create your works of art ● Your work will evolve and be revised as you change your investigation and get more inspiration ● You can use different elements and materials ranging from digital photography to film, underwater cameras, cell phones, etc. Course Skill 3: Communicate opinions and ideas surrounding art Identify writing questions/inquiry that guided your investigation ● The last part of the investigation is the submission of the portfolio to College Board ● Along with your artwork, you must send written statements that explain your intent, materials, process, revision, and experimentation ● This written statement will be 1,350 characters maximum (it was changed to 1200 for the 2020 AP submission) Describe in writing how your sustained investigation shows evidence of revision and experimentation through inquiry ● In your written statement, you can explain your revisions/experimentation in detail ● You can also refer to specific images when explaining your revisions ● You can refer to specific images to show your experimentation and describe the process/ideas behind it and its effects ● You can include pictures of your journal, showing planning, sketching, ideas, designs, etc. In writing, show the materials and processes used in your artwork ● This can also be explained in your written statement ● Additionally, under each photo you submit, you can include processes and materials in 100 characters (maximum) ● In these writings, make sure to keep your writing as concise as can be and only focus on the non-obvious and necessary information to explain ● EXAMPLE: Say you have submitted a photo of a blue car. In your process, do not say ¨I shot this photo of a blue car with my camera when it was parked on the street in daylight.¨ ○ INSTEAD say something like ¨I brought the focus to the driver's seat by taking the photo at a downward angle, along with edits of exposure and contrast to emphasize the steering wheel.¨ Questions to guide your work: 1. How can I use [insert subject] to explore [insert theme] in my [process(es)], using [insert a type of media]? 2. How can I show the relationship between [theme or subject] and [theme or subject] through my [process(es)]? 3. How can I show the juxtaposition of [theme or subject] and [theme or subject] in my [process(es)]? 4. How could I [action] my art to push the exploration of [theme or concept] in my [process(es)]? 5. How could my [media process(es)] highlight the presence of [concept] in [theme]? (Nicholis-ali, 2020) According to the College Board, identifying an inquiry for sustained investigation can include: 1. Reflecting on documentation of experiences 2. Thinking about past and current experiences/works, as well as knowledge, skills, intentions, and goals 3. Inquiry about materials, processes, and ideas 4. Open-ended queries that begin with what if, how, and why 5. Focusing on questions that can guide thinking and making 6. Envisioning possibilities for investigation within and beyond the disciplines of art and design 7. Organizing questions by grouping similar ones together 8. Evaluating and ranking questions according to their potential for discovery 9. Exchanging constructive feedback about clarity and the potential for each other’s questions to inspire in-depth investigation over time THEMES: To help brainstorm! https://www.pinterest.com/pin/732820170607595846/ ● Values ○ Love ○ Identity ○ Relationships ○ Family ○ Politics ○ Spirituality ● Events and experiences ○ Historical events ○ Personal experiences ○ Childhood ○ Traditions ○ Conflicts ● Civilization ○ Cultures ○ Countries ○ Cities ○ States ○ Communities ○ Neighborhoods ● Industrial ○ Current events ○ Pop culture ○ Literature ○ TV ○ Architecture ○ Fashion ○ Photography ● Surroundings ○ Landscapes ○ Buildings ○ Forest ○ Outer space ○ Planets ● Nature ○ Plants ○ Animals ○ Fruits ○ Trees ○ Weather ○ Seasons ● Make-believe ○ Mythology ○ Dreams ○ Imagination ○ Other worlds ● Human life ○ Portraits ○ Emotions ○ Moods ○ Family ○ Friends ○ Children ● Conceptual ○ Abstract ○ Illusions ○ Patterns ○ Symmetry ● Activities ○ Fitness ○ Sports ○ Exercise ○ Theater and drama ○ Dance Journaling Journals are very important in AP Art and Design for many different reasons: ● When it comes time to submit your portfolio, you are able to submit ¨process¨ photos that can come from your journal ● Your journal is a great way to document your revisions/experimentation and overall progress ● Your journal is necessary for planning your ideas What should be in your journal? (optional of course) ● Mindmap ○ A mind map is a form of planning where you write all your ideas down and how they connect to each other (like a regular map) ○ Usually, several of these are done throughout the whole investigation as your ideas and plans evolve ○ A mindmap can take many different forms! ○ A mind map can be color coded, done with post its, a drawing, or photos ○ EXAMPLES: ● Contact Sheet ○ You can create a contact sheet to paste into your journal ○ This contact sheet can show the progress of your work (as you create more images and print more contact sheets) ○ You can explain your ideas with your images, which can help you brainstorm ○ Lastly, just having your photos in your journal is a good idea to observe and document! ○ EXAMPLE of a contact sheet ● Photoshoot plans ○ In your journal, you can create detailed plans for specific shoots ○ This is a good way to efficiently take photos and have a plan and schedule ○ Along with this, you can have lists of goals/ideas to go along with plans to get every photo you want ● Inquiry Questions ○ You can document your inquiry questions in your journal ○ This is very helpful as you can often look back and reflect on those questions Research ● There are many different forms of research ● Research is very important in helping grow your ideas and create inspiration ● Research can come from videos on Youtube, photography/art books, websites, podcasts, blogs, Pinterest, etc. ● Many people will focus on key artists that they find interesting or inspirational ● Depending on the teacher, you will most likely have to write a few reports and/or present information on your form of inspiration ● Research is not only finding inspiration, but also new techniques and materials ● For example, learning to use new cameras/equipment or trying a new edit in Photoshop will take research Research Template: 1. Introduce the artist a. Dates b. Places c. What they are known for d. Kind of work 2. Explain how this artist is relevant to your work a. Explain why you chose this artist/artwork for research b. Explain what you admire or find inspiring about their work 3. Include a picture of the artist or artwork 4. Include pictures of their work that are related to yours a. Include titles, dates, materials, etc. 5. Analyze a. Subject matter: What is taking place in this photo? What is the point of view? b. Mood and atmosphere: What are the colors, textures, materials, etc.? c. Ideas: What is being understood and portrayed through the artwork? 6. Compare and contrast a. You can create a venn diagram between works of art or even your own to find the differences and similarities 7. Document your work a. Document your work as you do more research in order to see how your work develops Presentation ● Presentations will likely occur frequently in class ● Feedback and constructive criticism are very important to grow your work ● It is very common to do peer reviews and grade a partner’s artwork ● Most work can be presented on a Google Slide ● List the materials (100 characters), process (100 characters), image size (height by width by depth) ● Many shots will fall under different projects such as disruption or conceptual art Materials ● There are many different materials that can be used in photography! ● One can use a range of different cameras such as film, digital, underwater, disposable, etc ● To make your photos look more sophisticated, you can use a studio to shoot. ● You can use numerous photoshop applications (most common is Photoshop on a Mac desktop) ● Get creative with your materials! Use household items to enhance your art such as water, saran wrap, tin foil, plastic, bottles, etc. Submission ● When submitting your images to College Board at the end of the year, 60% of your grade will be your sustained investigation and 40% will be selected works ● You will submit 15 photos for your sustained investigation (it was changed to 10 for the 2020 AP submission) ● You will submit 10 photos for selected works (it was changed to 5 for the 2020 AP submission) ● With each photo, you will submit your ideas, process, and materials ● Along with your submission of photos, you will also submit written statements explaining your work (as mentioned before) Sustained Investigation Ideas ● Here is a list of more sustained investigation ideas/inspiration. It is included at the end since it is a very long list. ○ This list is taken from and given full credit to: chromeextension://bpmcpldpdmajfigpchkicefoigmkfalc/views/app.html ● Patterns & Actual Texture ● Multiples ● Repeated Serial Forms ● Grocery Store ● Scale in Landscape – Extreme Depth ● Restaurant ● Light Sources ● Cooking ● Organic Repeated Form ● Dishes ● Layers & Meaning – Hung Liu ● Manifest Destiny ● Found Object Incorporation – ● Transition Rauschenberg ● Recession ● Surface Pattern Textile Design ● Climbing Out ● Symbolic Narratives ● Waiting ● Landscapes – Macro ● Pathways ● Figures in Space ● Travel ● Birds ● Instruments in Life ● Holidays ● Jazz – Bearden, Picasso, ● Furniture as Art ● Movement & Light ● Light Source & Color – Monet Saunders ● Effect of Light & Motion in Urban Settings ● Point of View ● Urban Decay ● Children in Motion ● Macro vs. Micro ● Color in the City – Abstraction ● Color/Texture Triptychs ● Quiet Landscapes ● Sign Posts ● City through the senses ● Shorelines ● Self-Portraits ● Fault Lines ● Reflection of Light on People/Things ● Farmer’s Market ● Abstracting Symbolism ● Reflections in Water or Metal ● Addressing time effects on an Object ● Lamps as Family Groupings ● Develop recurring motif ● Book Cover Designs ● Motion effects of Wind – Make it ● Effects of Placement of Visible ● Sent Messages horizon line on ordinary objects ● Nests ● Side view Landscapes ● Buckles & Clasps ● Abstracted shape with detail ● Contents of Purses/ Backpacks ● Silhouettes ● Abstract Landscapes – ● Object as Chair Diebenkorn ● Costume Design ● Construction Machinery ● Set Design ● Parks & Playgrounds ● Vertical Spatial Composition ● Personal Spaces ● Figure/Ground Relationships ● Closets ● Make a Zine ● Shoes ● Graphic Novel – Maus, The ● After Dinner Visitor ● Refuge ● Resting Places ● Out ● Childhood Fears ● Power Over ● Exaggerated Portraits ● Quiet ● Working with Hands ● Fly Fishing ● Nature in Urban Landscape ● Kayaking ● Power Tools ● Swimming ● Breakfast/Lunch/Dinner ● Family Traditions ● Comfort Food ● Color Theory Exploration ● Vegetables ● Figures in Costume – Narrative ● Mosquitos Dramatic Weather Landscapes ● Nets ● Environmental Impact ● Corners ● Modern Portraits as Ukiyo-e ● Fishing Lures ● Musical Instruments ● Things that Unravel ● Bicycles ● Ribbons ● Life of a Raindrop ● Glasses ● Glory of Food ● Horses ● Stuff that Happens to Me ● Cowboys ● Chrome, Reflection ● Currency Design ● Busy Bodies – Stretch & Motion Kitchen ● Animals ● Stove ● Bananas or Fruit ● Fusion ● Seasons ● Marbles ● Contours ● Boats ● Mirrors ● Within the Jar ● Openings ● Woven ● Peeling ● Zippers ● Inside my Shoes ● Buttons ● Watches ● Work ● Rusty Machinery ● Turtles ● Tricycles ● Teeth ● Hats ● Nuts & Bolts ● Storms ● Roots ● Wings Bridges ● Barriers ● Ripples & Waves ● Crustaceans ● Cocoons & Life Cycle ● Restrictions ● Shattered ● Staplers ● Out of Focus/ In Focus ● Typewriters ● Pockets ● Eggs ● Inside of Fruit/Nuts/Vegetables ● Boxes ● Ropes ● Fences ● By the Waterfront ● Containers ● Soda Can ● Package/Industrial Design ● Wrapped Food ● Gum ● Geography/Topography ● Kites ● Dark Alleys/Hallways ● Wheat Fields ● Fish ● Windows ● Underwater ● Coverings Fortune Cookies ● Sounds ● Program & Poster Design ● Luggage ● Image & Text Incorporated ● Tea/Coffee ● Illustrate a Poem ● Divers ● Groups of People ● Feathers ● Cancer/Disease ● Drop ● Abandonment ● Easels ● Chores around the House ● Ladders ● Tea Party or Dinner Party ● Piles ● Daily Rituals ● Forgotten Things ● My Life in Small Moments ● Combinations Tree Forms, Structure ● Feet ● Abstracted Figure ● Holes ● Chairs as Portraits ● Morning ● Personal Totems ● Endangered Species ● Dreams Personified ● Garbage ● Uncommon/Unusual ● Oxymorons ● The Mannequin ● Maps ● Close-ups of Old Cars ● Weights ● Enlarge to Abstraction ● Snakes ● Unrelated Imagery – ● Tunnels Rosenquist ● Numbers Butterflies ● Cracks ● Insects ● Hairdryers ● Inside Looking Out ● Races/Jumps ● Design in Nature ● Pieces ● Triptych Devotional ● Things in my Car ● Things in my Refrigerator Paintings ● Architectural Renderings ● Balloons showing (exploring) the ● Rocks interior and exterior space ● Crumpling with a strong focus on light, ● Screw on Lids perspective and structure ● Tupperware ● Exploration using realistic and ● Inside Out non- objective animals ● Altered Book (stipple technique….a series ● Closure of black and white ink ● Gloves drawings moving into color) ● Wheels ● Sit ● Interior Spaces ● Process piece showing the making and baking of a cake ● “The Wedding” from the ● Exterior Spaces engagement ring to the ● Illness & Injury sealing kiss ● Interior as Contour Line ● “The Attic” the ● Roller Coaster childhood ● Skateboards experiences ● Impact of War ● An exploration of design ● Social Ideals textures related to nature – ● Abstract Shapes Art Nouveau ● NonObjective as Real ● Culture in the Classroom ● Rectilinear/Curvilinear ● Community in the Lesson ● A Positive or Negative Shape ● Second Languages ● Trompe L’oeil in Life as a Metaphor ● Personal History ● Tactile Textures ● Who Are We? ● Aerial Space ● Bicultural Ideals ● My Space/Perspective ● Notions of the Ideal ● Amplified Perspective ● Unity through Proximity ● Emphasized Foreground ● Scale: Human Referencing ● Memorializing ● Transnational Identity ● Designing Memorials ● Color as Emphasis ● Ofrendas & Altars ● Family Ideals and/or ● What is Enemy? Realizations ● What is Empowerment? ● The Multicultural Family ● Representing War ● The TV Family ● Representing Community ● Color as Emotion ● Representing Family ● Generational Attitudes ● Psychological Color ● Timeline as Design ● Multigenerational Culture Differences ● Skin and Structure ● Color as Balance ● Contradicting a Form ● Value as Space ● Activated Surroundings ● What is a Family? ● Light as Medium ● Emphasis through Value ● White on White ● Emphasis through Place ● Growth/Decay ● Contextual Placement ● Arbitrary/Symbolic Color ● Repetition as Unity ● Framing Audience ● Horizontal/Vertical Balance ● Foreshortening as Metaphor ● Balance Using Pattern ● Place as Metaphor Space as Balance ● Erasing ● What is Personal Balance? ● Advertising Campaign ● Textural Balance ● Power of the Word ● Radial Balance ● Personal Relationships ● Progressive Rhythm ● Making an Object Speak ● Rhythm as Motion ● Trees – Growth/Fertility/Structure – ● Alternating Rhythm Mondrian ● Lines Defining Contour ● Figure Distortion – Schiele ● Direction through Line ● Boxes ● Value as Line ● Portraits with Text ● Epidemics: Past & Present ● Anatomy ● Natural/Distorted Realities ● “My Cultural Icons” ● The Natural vs. Ideal ● Fears ● Imagining War ● “The Power of Words” ● Communities & War ● People That Have Influenced My ● Women & War Life ● Organic Abstractions in Mixed Media ● Men & War ● Children & War ● Bend, Faith Ringold ● Illustration of Bible Stories with References ● Signage ● Doors ● Canterbury Tales in Anime ● Exterior Design ● Electronic self-portraits and figures ● Clothing from realism to abstraction ● Black and white photographs of buildings interiors and exteriors ● Toys and the idea of what a toy is to different people and age groups ● Japanese patterning (Japanese student) ● Mechanical Illustration ● Transportation - trains, planes, autos ● Pattern in Nature ● Distortion ● Radial Composition ● Melting ● American quilt patterns – Gee’s ● Logos ● Food ● Media Package ● Historical Events ● Illustration of a Fairy Tale ● Analytical Sketchbook – daVinci ● Invent a Toy ● Automotive Design ● Calendar w/ a Theme ● Asymmetrical Composition ● Page Layout ● Portraits as Pattern – Klimt ● Life Cycles