This section of the AP Art and Design Portfolio Exams offers students the opportunity to make and present works of art and design based on an in-depth investigation of materials, processes, and ideas done over time.
Drawing Portfolio: For this portfolio, students address all drawing issues and mark-making concerns. They can submit not only work in traditional drawing media - pencils, ink, pastels - but also many kinds of painting, printmaking, and other forms of 2-dimensional expression. Consider: - Line quality - Light and shadow - Rendering of form - Composition - Surface manipulation - The illusion of depth - Mark- making - The relationship of ideas, materials and processes. - Abstract, observational, and non objective works may be submitted - Think about the range of marks used to make drawings, the arrangement of marks, and the materials used to make the marks
Sustained investigation is guided by questions. It involves: 1. practice, 2. experimentation, 3. revision using materials, processes, and ideas.
You will be developing work for the entire year based on an idea/an INQUIRY QUESTION (IQ) and creating a SUSTAINED INVESTIGATION of the idea through making artwork. What is an inquiry question?
INQUIRY QUESTION: - is NOT a question that can be answered with YES and NO - is arguable with multiple answers - raises further questions - sparks discussion and debate - demands evidence and reasoning because varying answers exist - points to bi ideas and pressing issues in your life, the world, the community - recurs throughout the year - can and will change throughout the year (usually to become more specific) ` and mostly is ONGOING AND EVOLVING
The Sustained Investigation section is expected to demonstrate skillful synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas. Works from the Sustained Investigation section may also be submitted in the Selected Works section, but they don’t have to be. Along with each work, students are required to submit written responses to prompts about the work. Responses to these prompts are evaluated along with the images that students submit. The most successful responses in terms of assessment are those that are clearly related to the images of work submitted; that directly and completely address the prompts; and that provide evidence of inquiry-based sustained investigation through practice, experimentation, and revision. Responses are not evaluated for correct spelling, grammar, or punctuation. The concentration should show investigation, growth, and discovery involved with a compelling visual concept. 12 pieces are required.
A sustained investigation is defined as “a body of work unified by an underlying idea that has visual coherence.” In scoring sustained investigations, there are four major areas of concern:
Coherence and/or development. Is the work presented actually a sustained investigation? Quality of the concept/idea represented. Is there evidence of thinking and of focus? Degree of development and investigation that is evident in the work. Is there evidence of growth and discovery in the work? Quality of the work in both concept and technique.
You need to think of a RESEARCHABLE idea to take you through the year. Think of something that you are passionate about/interested in/is affecting your life. Then use these prompts to develop the IDEA into an INQUIRY QUESTION:
Who
What
Where
Why
How
What if
Why not
OR
How important was…?
When should we….?
When shouldn’t we…?
In what context…?
What’s the value of…?
How does…?
Where do we…?
For example, if your SI is about body image, your IQ could be:
How does peer pressure inform a sense of self?
How does social media culture affect self-worth?
Who is affected by unrealistic beauty standards?
What external factors affect body image?
Consider:
Personal identity, strengths, interests and passions.
Areas of “unique” knowledge/experience in which you have a personal voice.
Exceptional skill sets, accomplishments, and successes in Drawing, 2D Art and Design, or 3D Art and Design. Can you build on these?
Future directions, ambitions may provide links to guide the inquiry.
Research already underway that you can piggybank onto;
Capstone inquiry question
Sustained Investigation Question of focus in another Studio Art AP Portfolio
Post-secondary application assignments.
Can any of this form the basis of a start for further/visual inquiry?
Remember:
Rise above merely selecting a topic or theme.
Move into question forming and inquiry planning. What is a burning issue within your idea? Have a view, suspicion, or aspect you want to research further. What is it that you want your viewer to notice/understand?
Be able to explain how your idea might relate to a big picture topic.
THINGS TO CONSIDER: 1. You will need to create 15 cohesive pieces. 2. A theme does not mean that they all look the same. 3. Show a full range of contrast. 4. Point of View – An interesting point of view can have a powerful impact 5. Have unique compositions: a. Asymmetry is better than Symmetry b. Create movement that leads to your area of emphasis/interest c. The eye likes thirds d. Diagonals are more exciting than horizontal or vertical lines e. Avoid a central composition – A bull’s eye does not move the viewer’s eye f. Consider both positive and negative space as well as background 6. Work with references: a. Best – Observation from life b. 2nd Best – Combine 3 photographs to create a unique composition OR use an image from a shot that you set up. c. 3rd Best – Enlarge a small section from a photograph d. NEVER – Copy an existing photograph that you did not take. 7. The work should be no larger than 18”x24”. If it is larger than those dimensions, it may not be sent in as a Quality work.
Guiding Development Questions: Personal: What does the investigation mean to you? How do you define it? What is your personal reaction to the investigation (your feelings and emotions about it)? What is its significance to you personally? What are other words or synonyms fo your investigation? What are other definitions or explanations or interpretations of your investigation? What formal properties are particularly important to your theme (e.g. colours, shapes, textures, lines, tones, and so forth?? What are three connections to the them?
Contextual: What are design principles might you want to emphasize? What are the connections with the Investigation? What are scientific or practical characteristics of your Investigation? What symbols or iconography related to your Investigation? What metaphors might you associate with your Investigation? What are related issues or problems? What artists, artworks, or art movements can you connect to your theme? How do they relate? What multicultural Investigation can you make? What literary or text Investigation can you make? What words might be interesting to include in your image?
Practical: What idea might you propose as a solution to your Investigation? Can you think of several different possible solutions? In what stye might you work to develop your Investigation? What media and techniques might you explore? What are possible research sources (artists) and materials?