Visual Arts and Design
Our Visual Arts and Design programs introduce students to the processes and skills required to produce various works of art and design. These may include projects in computer graphics, relief printing, fashion, photography, ceramics, sculpture, painting, drawing and activities as diverse as model making and poster design.
Students will be encouraged to develop a better understanding of the roles visual arts and design play in the wider community. By observing and analysing works of art and design, students will also develop an awareness of their own culture and identity.
Visual Arts Facilities
The Visual Arts Centre is a substantial facility and includes the following separate studio areas:
- Space purpose built for small and large sculpture
- Studio for drawing and painting and exhibition
- Suite of computers for design and photography courses
- Ceramics area
- Printmaking area
- General purpose area
Visual Arts Program
Students can choose to do Art as an elective subject from Year 8 with no pre-requisites to enter at any year level.
Key points include:
- Students learn to understand the process of being an artist or a designer and are well equipped to follow their own ideas and concepts.
- Student and professional art exhibitions allow students to be exposed to many original and varied artworks around the Visual Arts Centre and the School in general, providing excellent opportunities to learn from valued members of the wider art community.
- The faculty is well equipped and resourced.
- Courses can be developed to match a student’s interest and strengths, requiring individually tailored teaching to help maximise student development in this subject.
- Historic aspects of art and artists are taught in order to understand and create works of art founded on this knowledge.
- All our teachers are practising artists who have individual expertise in areas such as sculpting, painting, drawing and photography, and their dedication clearly flows over into the classroom.
- The Art faculty is seen by students as a complete unit, a community within a community, not as individual teachers taking individual classes.
- In the Preparatory School, art is taught based mainly on technique, creating a strong foundation in this subject for those students wishing to continue their study in this area.
- The Year 12 students visit Melbourne and/or Sydney each year to look at other student and cultural exhibitions to inspire their own work.
- Every two years students go on an overseas art tour, usually Europe, but sometimes New York, to broaden their understanding and horizons.
- An Art Club exists within the School’s co-curricular program, requiring individual and group projects to be created.
- Problem solving exercises and simple briefs are used to make students think outside of a two dimensional range, and find creative solutions in three dimensions.
- There are opportunities for students to have creative involvement in projects happening within different areas of the School, thus providing a variety of excellent learning experiences for the students.
Design
Design is available from Year 8 and aims to develop ideas, concepts and processes and an understanding of the materials around which various design disciplines are built.
Design is about encouraging idea generation and the critical challenge of being able to understand and interpret drawing as well as might be expected from a computer. An illustration course is included to assist with this. Many experts are invited to the School to inspire and generate ideas amongst the students. Students wishing to make a career based on design can continue to study design at tertiary level, including industrial design, graphic design, fashion and jewellery design.
Key points specifically about Design include:
- An excellent range of computer generated design programs is employed, including Adobe design software such as Illustrator and Photoshop.
- A wide range of disciplines is covered, including architecture, fashion, project design, graphic design, product design and environmental design
Photography
As many as 60 students are currently doing some photography in Years 10, 11 and 12 and a major exhibition is held each year in which the School community can vote for the ‘People’s Choice’.
Key points specifically about Photography include:
- It can be studied in Year 12 as a separate subject.
- A darkroom for wet photography is still available, but the major focus is now on digital photography.
- Students are helped to understand the camera and how to maximise its potential. This includes instruction in manual mode operation, studio work, landscape, portrait and night photography.
