Art and Design in action across the year levels

A number of immersive Art and Design excursions have taken place across many year levels and disciplines over the last few weeks. The following reports detail some of the exciting experiences of our Year 10 Art and Year 11 Art, Media and VCD students.

Feature image: Year 11 IB Visual Art students in an oil painting workshop at the Victorian Artists Society.

Friday 19 May saw Year 10 Art students travel into Federation Square and explore the much-anticipated Melbourne Now exhibition at the National Gallery of Victoria. Set over three floors, this extensive exhibition celebrates new and local art and design from across a diverse range of artforms – from painting and photography to fashion and sculpture. Students enjoyed the challenge of locating a number of nominated artworks and undertook a series of written responses, appreciating the opportunity to experience contemporary artworks in real life. Amongst the highlights were Troy Emery’s imposing large textile-based work 'Mountain Climber' made out of colourful pom-poms, and James Lemon’s interactive art installation titled 'Swarming' that invited the students to consider what it is like to be a bee inside an interactive ultraviolet hive! Students came away with an understanding of how artists can use diverse materials and technologies to realise their intentions, along with a greater appreciation of the vibrant creative culture that exists here in Melbourne.

Ruth McDonald
Year 10 Art Teacher

Our talented Year 11 IB Visual Arts students recently visited the esteemed Victorian Artists Society and participated in an inspirational oil painting technique workshop led by renowned Victorian artist, Gregory R Smith.

Over his artistic career, Gregory has held 43 solo exhibitions and has received some 200 art awards for still life, portraiture, landscape and life work. Gregory believes in his practice that all paintings become valuable lessons in observation and hence a higher quality of artwork.

The excursion was but one example of our ongoing commitment to providing students with immersive experiences to broaden their understanding of artistic techniques and expose them to the work of established artists. The Victorian Artists Society, well-known for its historical significance and dedication to promoting artistic excellence, proved to be the perfect setting for this experience.

Under Gregory’s expert guidance, our young artists learned alongside mature, practicing oil painters as invaluable insights were shared into the artistic process and mastery of the medium. Gregory encouraged students to build a strong foundation in traditional techniques including colour mixing, tonal value, proportion and application.

Upon returning to the classroom, students applied this knowledge to their own practice, experimenting with oil painting underpainting trials with emphasis on tone, composition and form. The experience has supported their technical skills and fostered personal growth, instilling confidence and a desire to further their artistic capabilities.

Georgia McClure
IB Visual Arts Teacher

Year 11 VCE Media students recently attended a guided tour of the 100 Faces exhibition at the Museum of Australian Photography in Wheelers Hill. This ‘pre-learning’ excursion provided much inspiration for their upcoming portraiture unit next term. The exhibition features Australian and international photographers such as Ricky Manyard, Atong Atem and Bill Henson, including portraits of celebrities, cultural figures and anonymous individuals from the last 150 years. Every portrait distribution form, from posed portrait calling cards to selfies, is included in this exciting exhibition. Above is a posed portrait of our students making it 110 faces!

Kim Baumann
Senior School Media Teacher

Year 11 Visual Communication Design students were engaged in a cultural design experience with Aboriginal speaker Casey Atkinson on Monday 15 May. Casey is a proud Bangerang/Wiradjuri man from Shepparton, Victoria. Students were exposed to the ownership, intellectual property and culturally appropriate practices that Casey deals within his design work. They learnt about the histories and traditions of First Nations designers, and how Casey creates his design work. Casey brought a range of his design works, paintings, carvings and digital works to show the students.

The students will take this knowledge and write a report on Casey’s design practice then design their own personal iconography using information about Aboriginal symbols and iconography.

Casey has worked with Monash University and MUMA in past years and created Deadly Learning portal, an online resource designed to help art teachers and school students see the world from the point of view of some of Australia’s leading contemporary Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander artists and designers.

The Visual Communication Design First Nations incursion is part of the Art and Design learning area’s Artist and Designer in Residence partnership program. This program fosters a recognition of industry professionals working collaboratively with students and teachers in the Art and Design curriculum and is co-created with MUMA education.

Mrs Nicki Llewellyn
Visual Communication Design Teacher