Art Practice 3, BA Fine Art, Level 6
Introduction
The Fine Art course supports an exceptionally wide range of art practices and encourages individual development and creativity. The Manual for Practice task reflects this and gives you the opportunity to choose and develop a line of inquiry that is relevant to your studio work (practically, theoretically and professionally) allowing choice both in how you undertake your research and how you present it.
The task requires you to undertake an independent, open and questioning approach to your study. Of central importance is the use of primary and secondary research to identify a line of inquiry, explore ideas, test out theoretical and practical positions or perspectives, reflecting upon your on-going development, to form a critical base for your practice – a “support structure”.
The key emphasis will be to build on your knowledge gained during Art Context 1 and Art Context 2 testing out the relationship between both practice and theory. However, it is expected that your Manual for Practice will be an integrated core of your Art Practice 3 module, between making artworks in the studio and developing a critical narrative that supports the problems, contexts, methods, results and discussions generated out of, or in support to, the production of the artwork.
We will use holistic assessment for three reasons, a) the nature of art and design work often results in divergent or ‘open’ responses – there is no single ‘right’ answer; b) our approach to assessment is concerned with the process (how you get there) and the outcome (the thing you produce); and c) our large modules often consist of multiple projects (a body of work).
The task will address all aspects of the learning outcomes outlined in the Art Practice 3 module guide, specifically addressing 1) a coherent body of your own work, 2) relevance of contemporary contexts, other artists and artworks, 3) sustained critical investigation and evaluation across the year, 4) testing concepts and theories, and their analysis and application.
Delivery
The task will be supported through a range of group and individual taught sessions to suit the various stages of your progression throughout the task.
● Lecture Programme will give an introductory outline to the task and assessment procedures.
● Group Seminars to guide you through more focussed support towards the module task. These will be a variety of workshop-based exercises and focus group work.
● 1-2-1 Tutorials with your CRIT TUTOR to guide you in specific areas of content in your field of study, arranged at a convenient point in your development.
● Super Crit Presentation Exercise with two Crit Groups, presenting work in progress, alongside some critical reflection, in written form and oral presentation.
Super Crit Presentation Exercise
To support your development in critical writing skills, we will ask you to present your writing, alongside a presentation of new work, during your Super Crit Presentation.
You will need to write 600 minimum – 1200 words maximum, (approx 5-10 min presentation) about the work you present, by asking the following three questions:
1) Describe the artwork, the idea and concept, your aims, and any discoveries during the making?
2) How does the artwork relate to other existing artist’s artworks, and make a direct comparison?
3) What are the wider ideas and concerns in the artwork, and consider the key concepts or theories that support this?
By answering these questions, alongside your work, you will begin the process of critically evaluating your own artwork, and how your research begins to speak in dialogue. These and other questions will form and develop, during your contact with tutors, to help shape your final Manual for Practice.
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Assessment Task – The Manual for Practice
Total of 3000-4000 words, illustrated
Produce a report for your art practice in the form of a scholarly “how to” guide, setting out a practical and theoretical framework for your research interests and studio enquiry. The manual should highlight your analytical and reflective awareness of the wider context of what you make, what it does, and what impact it might have.
Your contextual research should draw from a wide range of resources available in books, magazines, exhibitions, museum displays, archives, websites, digital media platforms etc. This also includes reflection on the critical impact of any of the course content including lectures, workshops, projects, conferences, events, and trips you take part in during this course.
The content should contain the rolling integration of the following three areas of critical reflection including:
a) your own practice and discoveries in the process of production,
b) the work of other artists and artworks, and
c) concepts and theories that outline the broader themes and concerns in the practice.
Think broadly and creatively in your approach however, use this as a guide to managing the work, content and focus of each chapter:
● ARTISTIC STATEMENT – approx. 250 words
Create a short professionally-focussed artistic statement that will bring a coherent relationship between a knowledge of your own practice (as expressed through your studio report), and the wider context (as explored in your context essay). Be concise, and consider your audience when writing. Your artistic statement should be an extension of your own interests and concerns, and express the sensibilities you bring to your own practice.
● STUDIO REPORT – approx. 3750 words, illustrated
Create a critical reflective report of your practice throughout the year, highlighting the key discoveries made from initial thoughts and sketches, development drawings and diagrams, testing and sampling materials, workshops, lectures, trips, preliminary, secondary and completed works, presentation and exhibition display. Use your own critical self-reflection to consider the process of making, and how this might relate to existing knowledge and research of artistic practice.
Relate to the wider concerns in your practice by using contextual research by other key artists, critics, curators, philosophers and other sources relating to your practice, whether the conventions and traditions of art making, and/or the wider historical, social, political, cultural context.
You will submit the final results of The Manual for Practice as a digital PDF submission via BB (max 250MB file), using Power Point Presentation or Word doc to format your text and illustrations.
For Assessment, the content should demonstrate:
● Relevance – the topic you choose to study should bear direct relationship to your current art practice, artworks made in the studio for your Art Practice 3 module, and an awareness of the themes and concerns of contemporary art practice.
● Selection and Appropriateness – the choice of topic should register your awareness of appropriate working methods. For example, direct encounter with artworks, artists, engagement with theory, and/or involvement with social/political issues?
● Focussed Research – evidence of a substantial search for source material and understanding and use of sources to establish a well-rounded context for the topic.
● Critical Analysis – interpretation of sources, the identification and
development of an argument and the critical/theoretical assessment of
source material, coming from your own critical perspective.
● Academic Presentation – evidence of structure and organisation of the material, the use of coherent and appropriate language to the topic, the use of illustrative, supportive material (visual or textual) and a format using abstract, introduction, chapters, conclusion, bibliography, appendices and footnotes. Please include a word length at the end of the script.
Assessment Task Requirements
● Cover Page – including name and title.
● Acknowledgements – acknowledge those people or organisations, outside of this institution, which have been of particular help.
● Contents page – this should list everything – illustrations, sections/chapters,
appendix, showing page numbers.
● Reference for illustrations – you should label every illustration, diagram or figure, map, etc. with relevant information e.g.. title, date of work, name of maker, location (where it can be seen if appropriate), source of your illustration and so on. Including a brief caption. Presence of illustrations should be indicated in text as (Fig.1).
● Footnotes or Endnotes: A list of textual references. When you refer to someone else’s work or ideas this must be referenced i.e. acknowledged by referring to the author and date of publication. Where direct quotations are used, the page number must also be included. The citation/reference system we would ask you to use is the Oxford System (see Style Guide for details).
● Bibliography – is a list of your sources of information. It should include all
books, periodicals, catalogues, interviews, visits, web sites, or any other material you have made use of. The bibliography is placed on a separate page at the end of the study. It is organised alphabetically by author’s surname and it may be divided into sections: books, periodicals, films, web sites, etc. This is included at the end of your study (page numbers are omitted here), and this may include material you do not cite in the text. You are expected to have gathered more sources than those from which you quote (see Style Guide for details). It needs to be doubled spaced (see below) and should be at least one page long.
● Appendices – documents which are relevant to the core text, indicated in text as
(App. A.).
● Word Count – at the end of the text please include a word count (this does not include appendices, endnotes, bibliography – it is just a count of the words from the beginning of the Introduction to the end of the Conclusion).
Manual for practice.docx
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