Art essay complications (again)

[dcesaona]

My art teacher told me that writing about 4 artists in an exam is stretching the essay too thin. He says it'd be better if I go in with 4-5 artists up my sleeve, but write about 3 artists with one artwork each or 2 artists with two artworks each. I'm not sure how I feel about this because the feedback I've received on atarnotes and from looking at band 6 responses, all students have talked about 4 artists. I feel so conflicted and I'm not sure what to do.

[beatroot]

Hey there!

At the end of the day, it really is a matter of personal preference on how many artists you want to do for your essay. It is expected to do at least three or four artists though you are more than welcome to do five or six if needed.

Obviously the less artists/artworks you do, the more you have to write. And the more artists/artworks you do, the less you have to write. At the end of the day, you do have 45 minutes to write in Section 2. People just happen to do four artists because 10 minutes = 1 artist/artwork and the other 5 is used to do the intro and conclusion. It is expected to fill up the entire booklet. However, quality does trump quantity.

Do whatever you’re comfortable with What artists were you planning to talk about?

[annabellez]

 

My art teacher told me that writing about 4 artists in an exam is stretching the essay too thin. He says it'd be better if I go in with 4-5 artists up my sleeve, but write about 3 artists with one artwork each or 2 artists with two artworks each. I'm not sure how I feel about this because the feedback I've received on atarnotes and from looking at band 6 responses, all students have talked about 4 artists. I feel so conflicted and I'm not sure what to do.

Hi, I'm in the same boat as you, but I reckon it's alot more important for you to go into the exam having considered which artworks will fit in with each frame/conceptual/practice area and how they will work with each other. If you notice some of them overlap, then you can begin to cut down on the artworks you need to memorise. This all depends on which artworks you have been studying as some of them are particularly versatile to use.
Hope that made some sense!