Dancing Phalange's guide to success in the 'bludge' subject of the HSC

[dancing phalanges]

Visual Arts has a reputation for being a ‘bludge’ subject and personally, I do not deny that, for in my recent Trials, it was certainly the subject that I spent the least time studying for. However, despite that, I was able to achieve 48/50 in the paper and there are a couple of simple tricks that I used which am going to share with you in order to achieve high marks in both Section 1 and 2 of the paper. 

SECTION 1:
This part of the paper is made up of three different questions, typically worth five, eight and twelve marks respectively. While the images given to you may be unseen, there are certainly proven ways to ensure that you are well prepared for this section. Firstly, I highly recommend simply opening up an art book and just selecting one artwork and writing about it! It is that simple! Yet, to centre what you are writing about, attempt to come up with a focus for each artwork. For example, keep in mind aspects of the Conceptual Framework, Frames and Practice. Questions such as: How does (insert artist’s name) use the structural frame to communicate ideas in their artwork... or How does (insert artist’s name) explore the relationship between artwork, world and audience in their artwork? Of course, there are plenty of Visual Arts past papers which can be found on the NESA website that are also great for practicing unseen images! (http://educationstandards.nsw.edu.au/wps/portal/nesa/11-12/Understanding-the-curriculum/resources/hsc-exam-papers).

Another effective way of preparing for Section 1 is to create an Art Movements Timeline! This simply involves listing key art movements and information such as their dates, important artists and the significant ideas and ways of thinking that are expressed in their artworks. For example, for Post Modernism, ideas such as breaking the barrier between high and low art, experimentation with material, appropriation and the questioning of the role of art and the artist should appear. This is crucial as it allows you to put the unseen works into a context. For instance, the 12-marker often involves three different works from different time periods and asks you to evaluate how they express one similar idea. As an example, in this year’s CSSA Trial Paper, the last question of Section 1 was focused on the concept of the Sublime. However, what some students may have missed was the fact that each work was from a different art period – Caspar Friedrich’s being from Romanticism, René Magritte’s being from Modernism (Surrealism to be specific) and Yayoi Kusama’s being a Post-Modern installation. Therefore, one of the key ideas that could have been discussed was how the depiction of the Sublime changed over time, for example, with reference to different mediums used. In addition, it is critical that you read the citations that appear under the artworks in Section 1 carefully! This often gives important hints as to some of these key ideas, including the date of the work (which can help you work out its place in the Art Timeline and therefore, its key ideas) as well as the medium used, which is particularly useful for Post-Modern works, which typically challenge the boundaries of art.

SECTION 2:
While you may not be able to predict the questions for Section 2, it is certainly quite achievable to prepare thoroughly for this part of the exam. Section 2 involves an extended response and therefore is your chance to show off the in-depth knowledge that you have about particular artists and their ways of thinking and communicating their ideas. However, before you go looking for artists to use – stop! If your art teacher is a good one, it is extremely likely that you have all the ammunition you need for Section 2 already! For instance, for my extended response in the recent CSSA Trial Paper, three of the four artists I used were ones we had studied in class. Therefore, I highly recommend that you look back at both your Preliminary and HSC theory book and select specific artists you have studied that you feel comfortable writing approximately eight pages in total about. After that, you are more than welcome to look for other artists! For example, I felt like I needed an artist who covered the ‘provocative and pushing boundaries’ side of art and therefore chose Damien Hirst.

In order to succeed in this section, however, you cannot just have a basic understanding of each artist. Rather, I suggest compiling a one-page summary on at least five artists with information on two works. Now, you may be wondering what you need to include here. In my opinion, the following should appear in some form in your essay in order to achieve top marks:

1. You must know the specific years of each artwork! Nothing says “I don’t know my artist that well” like an incorrect date! The same goes for the artist’s name and their works! For instance, I had to memorise the title of this Hirst artwork for my Trial response – ‘The Physical Impossibility of Death within the Mind of Someone Living’.
2. Secondly, in order to give your essay that extra sophistication, find two to three quotes by critics, art historians or even the artists themselves on their works. Typically, I prefer short ones like this one by Ian McLean on artist Gordon Bennett - “Bennett is not the chronicler of Australian history, but its exorcist.” If you are not familiar with Bennett, his work is concerned with voicing the silenced history of the Aboriginal people. Therefore, in this context, you can use McLean’s reference to Bennett as an “exorcist” as a way of exploring how Bennett, like an exorcist, casts the demons out of Australian history, in this case being the mistreatment of the Aboriginal people.
3. Links to other artists and art movements are also a clever way of demonstrating your breadth of knowledge. For instance, when referring to Bennett’s work, he used splashes of paint over artworks such as ‘Possession Island’ (1991) which act as ‘disturbances’ which invite the audience to look closer (and consider the truth of Australian history) as the disturbances prevent a clear viewing of the artwork. Here, in my extended response, I referred to how Bennett, in his slashes of paint, mimicked the style of artist Jackson Pollock. Just simple references such as these are effective ways of showing the marker that you are aware of the art world and this is particularly relevant for Post-Modern works which have an interest in appropriation.
4. Finally, as always, make sure that you answer the question. I personally avoid Practice questions in Section 2 of the exam as if you do choose Practice, you must ensure that this is the focus of your essay. For instance, you need to know the specific details of artist’s techniques and their process. Therefore, there is less of a focus on aspects of artworks that students are typically more familiar with such as the artwork’s meaning and ideas. In addition, quotes often pop up as stimuluses for responses. There is no need to mention or reference the quote directly ten times in your essay. Rather, it is more effective that, after the introduction, you rephrase the quote and mirror its ideas in your argument. For example, this quote was used for a Conceptual Framework question in the 2014 HSC Exam:

Art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable. (Banksy, artist)

In this case, using the example of Bennett, you can indirectly reference the quote throughout your response by writing statements such as:
Bennett confronts/challenges/provokes the accepted notion of Australian history in his artworks, thus providing Aboriginal Australians with a voice against injustice. Here, I have used words such as ‘confronts’ and ‘challenges’ to replace disturb, ‘the accepted notion’ to reflect the comfortable nature of Australia’s history and ‘voice against injustice’ as a reference to the comfort the Aboriginal Australians receive.

Just another warning, recently, both the Trial and HSC Papers have included questions which have been followed by the statement: Argue FOR or AGAINST this statement, or sometimes BOTH. So, firstly, make sure you read the question carefully and secondly, be prepared to have artists at your disposal who may not convey similar ideas but conflicting ones – this can actually make a very interesting read!

And there you have it! While Visual Arts may not receive a reputation as one of the hardest subjects in the HSC (contrary to the belief of my teacher who believes it is the “most difficult subject in the HSC), success is not as straight-forward as it may seem! Yet, with practice and preparation, you can easily gain great results in a subject that is so rewarding.