Exemplar for internal assessment resource Art History 3.4A for Achievement Standard 91485 Exemplar for Internal Assessment Resource Art History Level 3 Resource title: Interviews with Renaissance artists This exemplar supports assessment against: Achievement Standard 91485 Examine the impact of media and processes on art works Student and grade boundary specific exemplar The material has been gathered from student material specific to an A or B assessment resource. Date version published by Ministry of Education December 2012 To support internal assessment from 2013 This activity requires students to create fictitious interviews with 3 Renaissance artists in order to examine the impact of media and processes on the style and meaning in 3 art works (1 art work by each of the selected artists). Crown 2012
Exemplar for internal assessment resource Art History 3.4A for Achievement Standard 91485 1. Grade Boundary: Low Excellence For Excellence the student is required to examine, perceptively, the impact of media and processes on art works. This involves evaluating the impact of media and processes on style and meaning in art works, using supporting contextual evidence. The Excellence of this response is apparent in the first section of the first page of this exemplar, which contains important contextual information linked to Giotto's interest in portraying characters like Mary and Joseph as human beings, just like you and I, for a greater emotional impact (Student 1, quote one). Although this contextual evidence is not used to support explanations or evaluations of the impact of media and processes, it does begin to demonstrate the perception that is required for Excellence. The second section of this page is introduced by a question which directly addresses the requirements of this standard. The subsequent response provides several good examples of both explanatory and evaluative writing. For example, the blue background in Flight into Egypt now has visible divisions showing the outline of each giornate I used, which also highlights the slight difference in the blue tone of the giornate. However, this does not take away from the single colour aiding in limiting the depth of the artwork to a single stage-like setting to focus attention on the subjects of Mary and baby Jesus on the donkey, on their flight into Egypt (Student 1, quote two). Although this statement is a little awkward, it provides a detailed explanation of the impact of the giornate process on the blue background as well as a brief evaluation of the impact of the single colour on the setting. Evidence of the impact of media and processes on style can be found in quote four of this exemplar, in which the impact of gilding is briefly addressed and then evaluated in terms of the texture that can be produced by punching, or the use of sgraffitio. For example, Although volume is lost and texture is not, overall there is a flat effect in The Annunciation due to gilding (Student 1, quote four). Many of the evaluative comments are not linked directly to contextual evidence, however it is possible to link some comments to explanations of contexts, such as the commissioning of religious artwork for the purpose of either instilling fear into the masses...or inspiring awe of the great divinity of God (Student 1, quote three). These connections are sufficient to demonstrate use of supporting contextual evidence in order to reach Excellence. Overall, the evaluation of the impact of media and processes on style and meaning in art works in this response demonstrates sufficient perception to meet the requirements for Excellence. More consistent use of contextual evidence to support more extensive evaluative discussion would be required to reach a more secure Excellence. Crown 2012
Exemplar for internal assessment resource Art History 3.4A for Achievement Standard 91485 2. Grade Boundary: High Merit For Merit the student is required to examine, in depth, the impact of media and processes on art works. This involves explaining in detail the impact of media and processes on style and meaning in art works. This response addresses the requirements of the standard concisely and avoids lengthy digressions into irrelevant aspects of the art works. Explanations of some of the processes used in each of the three selected art works are included, and the response contains brief but detailed explanations of the effects of media and processes on both style and meaning in details in the art works. Merit level understanding is shown by the relevance of most of the interview questions, which are used to introduce responses which directly address the requirements of the standard. For example, How do you feel the use of colour has impacted your art work? (Student 2, quote five). Merit level understanding is also apparent in the consistent explanations of effects which are linked to specific details in the selected art works; however these explanations lack the supporting contextual evidence that is required for Excellence. For example, The rich ultramarine of Mary's cloak (Student 2, quote six) is followed by a brief explanation of specific stylistic details achieved by Duccio's tempera techniques, and then linked to particular effects in the following art works This technique allowed me to expand my variety of colour. The soft, luminescent tempera also allowed a certain subtlety; the amount of paint could be controlled resulting in great visual effect. The result of this media is a great refinement and colours with glowing richness (Student 2, quote seven). The concluding paragraph contains a similarly concise but detailed explanation of the impact of media and processes on meaning The small decorative lines...used to create the intricate expressions on the figure's faces [which] were made possible through the tempera process and small brushstrokes (Student 2, quote eight). These explanations clearly demonstrate in depth understanding of the impact of media and processes on art works' as required to achieve Merit. The overall consistency of the explanations and the use of supporting evidence place this response at High Merit level. In order to reach Excellence the student needs to evaluate as well as explain the impact of media and processes, using supporting contextual evidence. Crown 2012
Exemplar for internal assessment resource Art History 3.4A for Achievement Standard 91485 3. Grade Boundary: Low Merit For Merit the student is required to examine, in depth, the impact of media and processes on art works. This involves explaining in detail the impact of media and processes on style and meaning in art works. Although this response includes some detailed information about the aims of artists, much of this is unrelated to the requirements of this standard. At the top of the first page of the exemplar a question addressing one of Duccio's well-known stylistic characteristics is followed by a lengthy response which includes several brief explanations of effects of media and processes, supported by references to specific details in the selected painting. For example, The panel method requires a tiny brush with this I make a series of tiny, meticulous cross hatches, in order to portray more tonal variety, this can be seen in the Crucifixion, with the drapery across Mary the virgin Mother, the ease of how the drapery falls and creates form is eye catching to the viewer (Student 3, quote nine). Although this explanation lacks coherence, the references to meticulous cross hatches, tonal variety and drapery fall add detail to the explanation of an effect which has been observed in the painting. Question 4, in the second page of this exemplar, addresses meaning by asking Martini about portrayal. The response begins with a general comment about Martini's use of line to define the figures as well as the story (Student 3, quote ten), then proceeds to give a specific example of the effect of this technique in the selected work For example in The Annunciation the virgin sways back and my intention is that the viewers see from her that this is a reaction of fright, sadness and isolation (Student 3, quote eleven). Similar explanations linking effects to both the media and processes and specific details in the selected art works can be found throughout the response. These explanations provide sufficient evidence of the in-depth examination of the impact of media and processes on art works required reach Merit. Overall, the links between effects and specific details in the art works are somewhat inconsistent, and although the response totals eight pages it is dominated by generalised, irrelevant contextual information which does not address the requirements of the standard. This reduces the overall effectiveness of the response. In order to gain a more secure Merit students are expected to focus on the requirements of the standard, providing consistent explanations of the effects of both media and processes on both style and meaning supported by information from the art works. Crown 2012
Exemplar for internal assessment resource Art History 3.4A for Achievement Standard 91485 4. Grade Boundary: High Achieved To achieve this standard the student is required to examine the impact of media and processes on art works. This involves explaining the impact of media and processes on style and meaning in art works, using supporting evidence. Although each of the three interviews in this response contains some irrelevant contextual information about the artist's life and period, there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate understanding of the impact of media and processes on art works. The first page of the exemplar examines the medium of fresco as used in Giotto's Arena Chapel. The interview questions focus on the artist's intentions, rather than the effects of media and processes, however it does contain several identifiable pieces of relevant evidence. For example, I wanted to portray very sculptural and monumental figures and because of the thick brush I had to use as a result of the fresco method, I was able to give a very solid look with big thick lines and contours (Student 4, quote twelve). This sentence clearly explains a stylistic effect of fresco painting, using supporting evidence in the art work, but it lacks the detail needed for Merit. Similar evidence is apparent in the rest of the exemplar which also contains information which is not directly relevant to the standard. However, some appropriate explanations of the effects of media and processes can be found throughout. For example, I decided on the halos and scratched out where they would go, underneath the gold I applied a coat of red bole so over time, the gold would not have a green tinge and looking at The Crucifixion now, the background has no green tinge (Student 4, quote thirteen). This clearly links the impact of gilding processes to Duccio's style. Overall, the evidence in this response clearly meets the requirements for the achievement of this standard. Although there is considerable detail about the context and processes used in the selected art works, this is not related to the effects of media and processes as required for Merit. In order to reach Merit, detailed explanations of the impact of media and processes on style and meaning in art works are required. Crown 2012
Exemplar for internal assessment resource Art History 3.4A for Achievement Standard 91485 5. Grade Boundary: Low Achieved To achieve this standard the student is required to examine the impact of media and processes on art works. This involves explaining the impact of media and processes on style and meaning in art works, using supporting evidence. This response contains very little relevant evidence because the student has focused on explaining processes involved in applying the media of the selected art works, rather than the effects of these media and processes. Although student understanding of media and processes is implicit in this standard, the demonstration of this understanding is not part of the criteria of this standard. Additionally much of this response consists of vague, generalised comments about observed effects which are not linked to specific details in the selected art works. For example, I faced many disadvantages while painting the Rucellai Madonna. These included that the wood could have warped, over time it would rot and also could have wood worm (Student 5, quote fourteen). This observation is not supported by evidence because it has not been linked to a specific detail in the selected painting. An appropriate explanation of an effect linked to a stylistic detail located in the painting can be found further down the page. For example, Because of where my painting was placed, the candle soot dirtied the art work which was then rubbed with harsh cleaners that started taking off some of the paint. This can clearly be seen in the faces of Mary and Jesus' body where green under paint is now showing through (Student 5, quote fifteen). The second page of the exemplar describes the media and processes used in Simone Martini's Annunciation. Very little of this information is directly relevant to the achievement criteria of this standard; however some snippets of appropriate evidence can be identified. For example, The gold has affected the emotion of the viewer by the fact that there is just so much gold in the art work that it is overpowering and makes the whole art work breath taking and gives a sense that the viewers are in the presence of a Heavenly Realm (Student 5, quote sixteen). Although this observation is a little vague, it does link the impact of media to the meaning of the selected art work and contributes to the decision that this response has managed to achieve the standard. This decision is supported by the careful reading of the whole response to identify explanations of the impact of both media and processes on both the style and content of more than one art work. In order to gain a more secure Achieved grade all explanations of the effects of media and processes should be supported by references to specific aspects of the art works in order to demonstrate the explained effects. Crown 2012
Exemplar for internal assessment resource Art History 3.4A for Achievement Standard 91485 6. Grade Boundary: High Not Achieved To achieve this standard the student is required to examine the impact of media and processes on art works. This involves explaining the impact of media and processes on style and meaning in art works, using supporting evidence. This response is close to reaching achievement because it contains 3 fictitious interviews with appropriate artists about the use of media and processes in 3 appropriate art works. The interview responses contain many comments about both the media and processes used in an appropriate selection of art works; however these comments do not reach the level of explanation required for achievement. The student has not explained the impact of media and processes on style and meaning in art works. For example, this exemplar contains a discussion of iconographic meanings in Duccio's Rucellai Madonna. This discussion focuses on the symbolic meanings of the colours used in the panel and does not provide any evidence towards the achievement of this standard because it does not provide explanations of the links between the meanings of the colour and the media and processes used by Duccio. For example, the student describes painting the skin area with terra verde, which was a light, green colour (Student 6, quote seventeen), and goes on to describe the use of cross hatching strokes to achieve...delicate paintings which gave it more of a tonal range (Student 6, quote eighteen). Although these points are accurate and relevant to the requirements of the standard they are descriptive rather than explanatory. The student mentions Giotto's wish to create a realistic human emotion in this painting [The Flight into Egypt], as with all my other paintings (Student 6, quote nineteen), and describes Giotto's naturalistic depictions of human emotions with reference to supporting evidence in the fresco. These comments are accurate; however they do not provide an explanation of the effects of the fresco medium and the style and meaning of the selected art work. In order to achieve the standard, explanations of the impact of media and processes on style and meaning in art work are required. Crown 2012