Visual Arts - external exemplars Level 3 2018 - Photography

Show: External Exemplars

The resources below contain examples of candidate work submitted in 2018 for assessment for the Visual Arts Achievement Standard 91457 Produce a systematic body of work that integrates conventions and regenerates ideas within photography practice. The purpose of this resource is to assist art teachers prepare their teaching programmes and their students for assessment.

Excellence

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Panel 1 (JPG, 468KB)	Panel 2 (JPG, 540KB)	Panel 3 (JPG, 412KB)
Entire Folio (JPG, 1.3MB)

The drawing on panel one clearly defines the proposition undertaken and establishes a documentary approach to a man working in his shed. The man appears very invested in his work and unaware of the camera. He has a commitment to his space while demonstrating his craft. There is a comprehensive engagement of study and ownership in the selection of ideas with compositions being varied; panel one introduces the space, while panels two and three document the relationship the figure has with his space.

Strong photography skills are demonstrated through the selection, ordering and sequencing of images. Details of tools and machinery parts and reflections from oil all contribute to the documentary aesthetic. Different viewpoints support the ability of the viewer to move in and out of the figure’s activity.

There is a clear fluency in photographic methods and capturing limited lighting in a space that blends natural and artificial light sources. A quiet mood has been established, while formal pictorial devices such as composition, framing, depth of field and viewpoint are used with confidence and support the regeneration of ideas through the connections with the objects and the space.

Selection and prioritising of the sizes of photographs has been well considered to form many hierarchical stages over the three panels. Through the appropriate selection of artistic references, the candidate has been able to demonstrate a depth and range of picture-making devices to document moments of making and details of tools and machinery being used. The submission offers an explorative approach to a documentary proposition as decisions have been made after capitalising on the time invested in being able to revisit the site. A genuine connection between subject and photographer has been successfully communicated.

Merit

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Panel 1 (JPG, 432KB)	Panel 2 (JPG, 321KB)	Panel 3 (JPG, 396KB)
Entire Folio (JPG, 1.1MB)

The photographs in this submission have been purposefully generated and imagery has been selected to create a portfolio that begins with an observational documentary approach with abstract studies of materials, to later have the figure reappear. The proposition investigates a joiner in his workshop, where he measures, and cuts materials to support what he makes. Subject matter exists within the workshop where the detailed making is documented, showing close-ups of corner joins and piles of shavings. The figure returns to clean up after a day at work.

A systematic approach offers the development of ideas with use of pictorial devices. A dedicated relationship between the joiner and his craft is evident, despite the move away from a documentary approach towards the abstraction of his materials; panel three, however, returns to the joiner to possibly communicate one’s interests/hobbies or activity to earn a living.

The candidate demonstrates a proficiency with the processes and procedures they have used. A restrained colour palette has been generated from the subject matter to form a selected aesthetic. Purposeful use of pictorial devices drives the phases of working with a strong sense of seeing, use of depth of field, close details including the candidate moving in and out of the space to document the figure’s behaviour.

To have gained Achievement with Excellence it would have been advisable that the candidate document more from the sequences on panel one; the exterior of the workshop, through to the interior and physical making. More shifts between the phases of working were required for Excellence, as panels two and three have elements of repetition.

Achievement

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Panel 1 (JPG, 378KB)	Panel 2 (JPG, 351KB)	Panel 3 (JPG, 350KB)
Entire Folio (JPG, 1MB)

The candidate has sustained an investigation in the genre of documentary photography displaying the routines of farming life. Camera handling is demonstrated adequately and sequencing is used to record passages of time. The readily available subject matter enables the candidate to explore rural life and work, with panel one consisting of formal studies. The submission moves from dawn to dusk and the colour palette shifts over time. Regeneration is achieved through time periods and the perspective of different spaces on the farm.

Sound technical skills have been used to document farm equipment on panel one through to panoramic views of farmland where the sun is setting. An understanding of compositional devices is demonstrated through the evidence of a range of viewpoints, framing, close-ups, and sequencing to document the candidate’s proposition. Close-ups enable textures to be explored, including water to activate reflections of a farmer at work.

The ideas explored on panels two and three analyse and clarify the life of dairy farming. The sequencing between the panels has allowed the candidate to explore the physical farmland through to documenting the herding of stock and moving into the milking shed. The relationship between the farmer and his farm could have been explored in more depth to captivate and clarify a sense of belonging and ownership.

Greater shifts between phases of working were required to have gained Achievement with Merit, as some sequences are repetitive to the previous one and shifts are small. A more in-depth investigation of the site and relationship between farmer and farm would have provided greater opportunities to clarify and regenerate this documentary submission.