This course is designed for 11th grade students who are seriously interested in and committed to the practical experience of visual art. AP Studio Art is not based on a written exam; instead the course guides students through the rigorous preparation of a portfolio (in either Drawing, 2D Art & Design, or 3D Art & Design) to be submitted for evaluation at the end of the school year. The AP portfolio review requires that each student design and conduct a Sustained Investigation guided by questions. It involves practice, experimentation, and revision using materials, processes, and ideas and results in a meaningful body of work. Class and homework time is spent making artworks that fulfill each student’s chosen portfolio, viewing images, discussing contemporary art, and participating in peer critiques. Inspiration from occasional slide presentations, visits to museums and galleries, and meetings with professional artists will further encourage students to make creative, well-crafted and conceptually strong art, and to understand how the contemporary art world functions. All students create a digital portfolio of their artwork that may be used for college admissions.
In the spring term of AP Art, students worked to finish their portfolios to submit to the College Board. While the focus was still on the practice of making new pieces of art, daily activities broadened to include editing their collection of work for content and flow of ideas, writing their Sustained Investigation Statements, modifying and reiterating works to show pathways of thinking, and strategizing their submissions.
