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How to talk about Contemporary Art. Understanding it better

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How to talk about Contemporary Art. Understanding it better

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In collaboration with Skillshare, Artsy's Learning Team and Gallery Partnerships Manager Jordana Zeldin have created "How to Talk about Art: A Beginner's Guide" as an "Art 101" for our era. The class opts for straightforward language that everyone, even those who have felt lost or skeptical about contemporary art, can use in their search to engage with art.

Each lesson brings ideas to life with examples from Artsy's partner galleries, museums, and even public spaces. In these four lessons, you'll learn how to:

Identify what you're looking at

Look closely, ask questions, understand context, and discuss specific works of art

Approach art exhibitions in different spaces

The goal of this class is to empower you to approach artworks that may seem intimidating, and to give you tools to experience the art you love in a thoughtful and satisfying way.

-Artsy's Learning Team and Jordana Zeldin. Jordana Zeldin is a Gallery Partnerships Manager at Artsy, a docent at The Whitney Museum of American Art, and an independent artist representative.

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How to Talk about Art: A Beginner's Guide

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In collaboration with Skillshare, Artsy's Learning Team and Gallery Partnerships Manager Jordana Zeldin have created "How to Talk about Art: A Beginner's Guide" as an "Art 101" for our era. The class opts for straightforward language that everyone, even those who have felt lost or skeptical about contemporary art, can use in their search to engage with art.

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Conceptual Art

Discover how Conceptual artists used language, performance, and instructions to fuel creativity, and sought alternatives to institutional settings.

Language and Art
Outside the Museum

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Discover how Conceptual artists used language, performance, and instructions to fuel creativity, and sought alternatives to institutional settings. Language and Art Outside the Museum

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Examples of Self Identity portraiture on Pinterest

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Find and save ideas about Identity art on Pinterest, the world's catalog of ideas.

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Course Overview and Hours dedicated to various components

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Course Overview and Hours dedicated to various components

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This years student example..

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This is a fine example of a Comparative study that received a 7. Agata looks at a selection of artworks by two artists from different cultural contexts, Katarina Fritsch and Anish Kapoor, making relevant and well supported connections.Although English is not her mother tongue, Agata has organized her information very clearly, and used simple but effective graphic tools and visuals to demonstrate her thinking.

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Shanghai American School IB Visual Arts 

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Shanghai American School IB Visual Arts 

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This CampusPress site is unavailable. Please contact the CampusPress team for more information.

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Great work book page examples

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This article features the International Baccalaureate artwork of Iris Cheung, completed as part of the IB Visual Arts Diploma Programme at Sha Tin College, Hong Kong, 2012. Throughout her Investigation Workbook and Studio Work, Iris challenges perceptions of identity using paint and photography.

We were lucky enough to interview Iris below:
Your IB Visual Arts project contains rich and varied subject matter that has been investigated in depth. Talk to us about the ideas that you have explored in your work.
My work aims to examine and challenge perceptions of identity through paint and photograph. Using people as the predominant subject matter of my work, the idea was to create 'distorted' or 'off' portraits that work against our normal expectations of someone of a particular age or gender. The portraits that I did of my grandma are my favourite - she's animated, lively, and bold, contrasting how the elderly are often perceived. Although I wanted the pieces to be as dynamic as possible, it was important to retain her age in the painting process; following the likes of Lucien Freud, I focused on emphasizing the wrinkles on her face through demonstrating the cooler undertones in her flesh and creating texture.

The best part of the project was getting creative! I loved exploring a range of ideas before focusing on one issue. I was interested in reflecting Hong Kong's 'cosmetics culture' and unhealthy obsession with beauty, and did so though examining the visual effect of repetition in creating an overwhelming (and near sickly) sense of affluence. (In the painting process, however, it was a massive technical challenge for me to get all the objects identical). I also tried painting from photographs of crumpled editorial portraits, which was inspired by Nigel Tomm and a fascinating way of distorting the face.
Your project contains a range of highly personal, exciting portraits. How did you ensure that you approach a common subject matter in an innovative and fresh way?
Whenever I began the process of creating a new portrait, it felt natural to begin with photography. It was important to use people I knew in real life as my subject matter, and building a rapport with whoever I was going to paint really helped me to encapsulate their identity on a deeper, more personal level. Taking photographic portraits prior to painting enabled me to explore a wide range of poses and facial expressions before choosing the most visually compelling images to work from.
Your workbook contains excellent annotation and analysis of artwork. What advice do you have for others who are struggling in this area?
A useful tool for art analysis is having a structure that can be followed regardless of the work. Having a structure ensures that you cover all aspects of the work, and that you are really scrutinizing the details. Analysis was much easier when I could split up my observations into components: composition, colour, and form, for example. If you struggle with accurately applying art vocabulary (as I did!), it might be helpful to develop a list of art-annotating terms that you can keep referring back to.

It helps to remember that good analysis is not necessarily positive; being critical of artwork enables you to develop your own stance and style as an artist. Where historical or social context has influenced the artist's decisions, try to explain how it has impacted the art work.
Do you have any other advice for high school Art students who wish to gain excellent grades?
For me, art is really about getting inspired. It's important to be exposing yourself to as much art as possible, and the type of art that you want to see in a gallery is potentially the type of art that you want to be creating. Student life can be hectic, but make time to go to the galleries and exhibitions. It helps to be learning from accomplished artists because seeing their talent and energy helps to pitch a high standard for when you're thinking about how to develop your own work.

Be open to both ideas and criticism. Listen to your friends and teachers!
More information about Ian Murphy can be found on his website. The journal pages above reference work by Lucien Freud and Chuck Close.
What is so successful about this investigation is the way that Iris is able to explore her concept in a broad ranging way that connects and develops ideas in a genuine process as the ideas have grown. She has not stuck with one successful formula; instead she has pushed her ideas around and taken risks by exploring different possibilities. You can see her learning from her experiments and building on her successes in this thorough investigation.

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This article features the International Baccalaureate artwork of Iris Cheung, completed as part of the IB Visual Arts Diploma Programme at Sha Tin College, Hong Kong, 2012. Throughout her Investigation Workbook and Studio Work, Iris challenges perceptions of identity using paint and photography.

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Video art can sometimes be associated with indecipherable, conceptually obscure or simply sleep inducing footage in dark rooms with insufficient seating...but this stunning exhibition in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi ( until Mid July 2017) might change your mind. Although not without it's dramatic moments, this is slow, graceful viewing, poetic and contemplative.

In this show, Bill Viola 's videos are displayed next to several of the Renaissance works that inspired/ informed these in some way. The artist spent time in Florence in the 1970's where his video career began, and it is fitting that his work is shown here with the original sources of inspiration.

Bill Viola, Video artist

Viola ( American, born in 1951) is a contemporary video artist who works with sound and image technology, in meditative, often moving pieces "video paintings" that explore deep human experiences such as consciousness, spirituality, time, birth and death.

The human being is at the center of his work: whether through facial expressions, hand gestures, barely perceptible movements or moments of extreme anguish, Bill Viola explores what it means to be human. His style is symbolic, visually opulent, and openly references classical works of art as clearly demonstrated in this exhibition.

Watch The Crossing, Bill Viola, 1996

IB Connections abound

Curatorial Practice

The way this exhibition is curated, showing the Renaissance paintings alongside the contemporary video pieces, not only highlights their individual connections but also ties together art history, making the viewer feel the continuity and fluidity of ideas/ themes/ and visual language across time and cultures.

Comparative Study

This show presents a great example for the Comparative Study: here is an artist drawing his inspiration from art works form a different era and in an entirely different medium. Although the time periods ( Renaissance vs today) and mediums ( fresco or egg tempera vs video installation) may be as far apart as imaginable, the themes, the human experiences that he explores so vividly were as relevant then as they are to us today.

Form and Format.. over time

Ideas and form cross over between media... Viola works in the contemporary medium of video and sound installation, but here we observe how he revisits the format and the formal concerns of the Renaissance artworks that he absorbed.

Catherines Room, 2001, is a meditative video installation presented as a sequence of screens that record a day and the seasons in the life of a woman. Saint Catherine was a 14th century mystic and Viola's piece could be a modern day St Catherine, it was inspired by the Predella of Saint Catherine by Andrea di Bartolo ( below). A predella is a series of small narrative images, often part of a larger altarpiece.

"In Viola's piece, the five scenes from Catherine's life are shown not in slow-motion but take place in real time, performed very slowly and meditatively. ... like a kind of ritual or prayer. .... They take place during different hours of the day: morning, afternoon, sunset, evening and night. And through the window we can see how they are also set during different times of the year. From left to right the four seasons are represented, while the fifth is enveloped in darkness. It is the fifth screen, in which the woman makes her bed and lies down to sleep, that completes the natural cycles of a day and a year, and there is more than a hint that what we are watching is the woman's death." -read more here
Andrea di Bartolo's Predella di Santa Caterina, 1400s

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IB Visual Arts: Bill Viola, Electronic Renaissance

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Video art can sometimes be associated with indecipherable, conceptually obscure or simply sleep inducing footage in dark rooms with insufficient seating...but this stunning exhibition in Florence at Palazzo Strozzi ( until Mid July 2017) might change your mind. Although not without it"s dramatic moments, this is slow, graceful viewing, poetic and contemplative.In this show, Bill Viola "s videos are displayed next to...

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A good task for Grade 11 Identity Unit

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interesting ways to critique each others work

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interesting ways to critique each others work

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Hey art teachers, Bored of your normal standard critiques? sick of dragging the kids to the front of the room  and leading them through each others artwork one by one, while they sit there, eye’s glazed as you work hard coaxing them to talk?

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How many pages for each criterion for Process portfolio and how to evidence it?

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How many pages for each criterion for Process portfolio and how to evidence it?

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Crit A and B

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How many pages are required for Process Portfolio and how to best evidence it?

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How many pages are required for Process Portfolio and how to best evidence it?

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CRITERIA C and D

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Top in the World: Stunning Self-Portraits by an A Level Art Student

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This outstanding Painting and Related Media Coursework project was awarded Top in the World for the CIE examinations. It explores self-portraiture and ‘Identity

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Some brief examples of comparative studies to inspire some examples for you. 

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Some brief examples of comparative studies to inspire some examples for you. 

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Visual arts Module 2 - Activity 4: Comparative study padlet wall

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1. Read through the comparative study information in the guide. 
2. Select two artworks from different times and cultures. 
3. Either visually or in writing (or both) identify some similarities and some differences. 
4. If possible indicate on the artworks (annotate) the points you are making. 
5. This could take the form of a flow chart, a diagram, an illustration or a mind map.
6. If it is not an electronic file (that is, if it has been written by hand on a piece of paper) either scan it or photograph it to turn it into a digital file. 
7. Upload to the Comparative study Padlet Wall.

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How students must source in IBDP Visual Arts

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How students must source in IBDP Visual Arts

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Subscription websites for IB teachers & their classes

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A reference is a way of indicating to the reader, in an orderly form, where information has been obtained. References must be cited because they acknowledge the sources used, and enable the reader to consult the work and verify the data that has been presented.A reference should provide the information needed to find the original source material.Students need to understand why and how to cite their sources and make this...

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Alternatively, you can request a one month free trial.

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DP Visual Arts: Referencing and Citing Sources

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A reference is a way of indicating to the reader, in an orderly form, where information has been obtained. References must be cited because they acknowledge the sources used, and enable the reader to consult the work and verify the data that has been presented.A reference should provide the information needed to find the original source material.Students need to understand why and how to cite their sources and make this...

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Process Portfolio layout tips and teaching strategies

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Process Portfolio layout tips and teaching strategies

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IB Visual Arts: Design and Layout Skills for the Process Portfolio

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Design & layout of Process Portfolio screens by Guest Teacher Rachel Swinburne After gaining my first class honors in BA Textiles at Goldsmiths College, University of London, I coordinated Art gallery education programs and creative partnership projects with a number of Primary and Secondary schools in the UK.

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Art Specific websites that are great and very reputable to use for your research

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Art Specific websites that are great and very reputable to use for your research

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The teacher is the most important source of information without a doubt, and the teacher"s knowledge will be the single most useful resource the students have available. However, not all teachers have an extensive knowledge of art history, or a wide ranging knowledge of art from traditions and cultural backgrounds other than their own, and we all need good sources to consult.Students need help finding appropriate art...

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Click the free stuff button on the home page to access free pages or check the blog (which is also free).

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The teacher is the most important source of information without a doubt, and the teacher"s knowledge will be the single most useful resource the students have available. However, not all teachers have an extensive knowledge of art history, or a wide ranging knowledge of art from traditions and cultural backgrounds other than their own, and we all need good sources to consult.Students need help finding appropriate art...

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Best Contemporary Art Galleries in Cambodia to visit

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Best Contemporary Art Galleries in Cambodia to visit

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The Best Contemporary Art Galleries in Cambodia

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Discover the treasures of Cambodia's defiant and dynamic art scene with our guide to the 10 best contemporary art galleries in Phnom Penh.

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Whats going on in the Arts scene this week in Phnom penh. Things to visit and see guide

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Whats going on in the Arts scene this week in Phnom penh. Things to visit and see guide

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A table listing possible ways you could generate questions for your Comparative Studies tasks

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A table listing possible ways you could generate questions for your Comparative Studies tasks

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Teacher assessment grade boundaries sheets to print and to use to mark each component throughout course

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Teacher assessment grade boundaries sheets to print and to use to mark each component throughout course

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These self assessment rubrics are designed for students to be able to understand and see what are the expectations in terms of final assessment. The column titled examples explains what each criteria might actually look like in practical terms.Presentation and VocabularyThis criteria, present in both the CS and PP, is often overlooked and yet it is an easy one to meet if some effort is made.

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Criteria Guide with Grade bands and percentages

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Criteria Guide with Grade bands and percentages

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Assessment criteria on one page with the Math to average for the PG-- predicted grade (average of CS, PP and EX)

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Assessment criteria on one page with the Math to average for the PG-- predicted grade (average of CS, PP and EX)

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Helpful for averaging scores.

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IB new guide assessment criteria with grading for IA and EA-on 1 page

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assessment criteria for all three components on one page

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IB Visual Arts: Assessment Criteria 2016 on a Page

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IB Visual Arts: Assessment Criteria 2016 on a Page

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found on the OCC

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Mini Comparative Study Task that could be good for grade 11

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Mini Comparative Study Task that could be good for grade 11

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Mini Comparative Study (CS): Compare and contrast the artworks of at least 2 different artists. Preferably of similar subject matter from 2 different cultures and or time periods. Use the sections and the guiding questions in the chart below to help your CS. Use the art vocabulary link to ensure consistent use of terminology throughout your CS.