Differences: art making

Unit 1 asks you to make art about differences. The syllabus names differences that arise from cultural diversity, place, gender, class and historical period, and also differences between art forms, media and conventions. A difference is useful in the studio because it creates a question: why does my grandmother’s kitchen look so unlike mine, why is one suburb fenced and another open, why does a portrait in oil paint feel more formal than the same face drawn on a phone?

Inquiry begins when you turn a noticed difference into a question that can be investigated visually. The contexts suggested in the syllabus, such as tradition and innovation, reality and illusion, or realism and abstraction, are examples only; your teacher may set others.

Drawing is the main engine of inquiry. Four approaches are named for this unit; the syllabus does not define them, so the descriptions below are working definitions. A representational drawing records how something looks, using observation, proportion and tone. An expressive drawing uses the speed, pressure and direction of marks to carry feeling. A decorative drawing uses pattern, repetition and ornament to enrich a surface.

A symbolic drawing uses signs or images that stand for ideas, such as a key for belonging or a broken fence for division. Trying more than one approach on the same subject shows you which one carries your idea best.

Every artist develops a particular way of making marks, and that mark-making conveys a personal vision. A hesitant, broken contour suggests uncertainty; a fast, continuous line suggests confidence. When you study other artists’ practice you can adopt, extend or reject what you see. To develop and refine work, change one variable at a time: viewpoint, scale, crop, medium, or the combination of sources.