Page for teacher use

The following guidelines are supplied to enable teachers to carry out valid and consistent assessment using this internal assessment resource.

Teachers need to be very familiar with the outcome being assessed by Visual Arts Achievement Standard 91306. The achievement criteria and the explanatory notes contain information, definitions, and requirements that are crucial when interpreting the standard and assessing students against it.

Context/setting

“Memento mori” loosely translates as “remember you will die” and describes a group of artworks designed to remind people of their own mortality. In painting, it represents a sub-genre of still life, initially known as vanitas or vanity painting.

This activity requires students to demonstrate an understanding of the methods and ideas used by two vanitas artists by analysing two works by each artist (four works in total). The students create a recorded presentation of their findings, which is posted on the web. The activity can be readily adapted to include paper- or digital-based outcomes.

One artist should be “traditional” and one should be “contemporary”. In the context of this activity, traditional and contemporary refer to modes of practice, rather than to a chronological timeframe.

This activity should be done in conjunction with a programme of teaching and learning focusing on still life painting in general, and vanitas painting in particular. Images for this may be sourced from a variety of places, including the Internet, books, or resources held within the school’s art department.

Ensure that students have a good understanding of the “why” and “how” of analysis. See page 15–26 of Saying What You See (Annals, Cunnane and Cunnane, 2009) for additional support.

This standard is significantly different from its predecessor and represents a major step-up in expectations. Because of this, the pre-learning activities outlined in the attached teacher resource are critical preparation for students.

A useful analysis template and list of prompt questions can be found at: http://www.nzqa.govt.nz/qualifications-standards/qualifications/ncea/subjects/visual-arts/levels/

Access to digital recording equipment.

Additional information

None.

Lead a discussion on the “why” and “how” of analysis. Provide a guided learning experience to your students, so that they learn to analyse artworks. Stress that the unpacking of an artist’s work, through the process of analysis, will lead to a greater understanding of the artist’s pictorial and/or social intentions.

The headings that you use for this exercise include (but are not limited to): line, tone, colour, composition/arrangement, texture, subject, lighting, balance, space, contrast, compare and contrast, metaphor and symbolism.

Give a presentation on still life painting in general, and memento mori painting in particular. During this presentation, expect your students to take notes in which they outline a historic overview of still life painting. This overview will give them a context for the information they collect later.

Guide your students through an initial analysis of one artist’s work. They should paste the provided image onto an A3 page, leaving room around the image for their notes. For each heading provided, they write a response.

Ask students to share their ideas in a class discussion. They should note other responses and add them to their own sheet.

This process will model for students a way of analysing artworks, and will give them a template for the tasks that follow.

Paired analysis

Give the students another image and ask the students to work in pairs to analyse it. They discuss with their partner the points that seem to be important to the artist’s intention.

They then paste the image onto an A3 page and write notes around it. These notes will relate to line, tone, colour, composition/arrangement, texture, subject, lighting, balance, space, contrast, metaphor and symbolism.

Internal Assessment Resource

Achievement Standard Visual Arts 91306: Demonstrate an understanding of methods and ideas from established practice appropriate to painting

Resource reference: Visual Arts Painting 2.1 v2

Resource title: Memento mori, the stillness of life (vanitas and the still life tradition)

Credits: 4

Achievement	Achievement with Merit	Achievement with Excellence
Demonstrate an understanding of methods and ideas from established practice appropriate to painting.	Demonstrate an informed understanding of methods and ideas from established practice appropriate to painting.	Demonstrate an in-depth understanding of methods and ideas from established practice appropriate to painting.

Student instructions

Introduction

Through this activity, you will gain an overview of still life painting in general, and memento mori and vanitas in particular. You may later go on to use the understandings you gain in connection with Achievement standard 91311 and 91316.

This activity requires you to research and analyse the methods and ideas used by two vanitas artists.

You will submit your findings in short filmed presentation (of approximately 5 minutes).

You will be assessed on the depth of your understanding of the ideas and methods that the selected artists have used.

You will have 24 hours of in-class time to complete the pre-learning and the assessment activity.

Teacher note: Adjust the time allocation if necessary to meet the needs of your students.

Task

Select and analyse

Select two artists whose work you would like to research and analyse. One must be a traditional artist and the other a contemporary artist. For a list of possible artists see Resource A.

Select two paintings by each artist. Analyse the four paintings in order to demonstrate your understanding of the methods and ideas used by each artist. You should aim to identify at least ten features in each painting and explain how and why each feature is used. Headings that you might use include (but are not limited to): line, tone, colour, texture, subject, lighting, balance, space, contrast, compare and contrast, composition/arrangement, metaphor and symbolism.

Compare and Contrast

Compare and contrast the two artists’ works. Identify and note the ways they are the same or different and why these similarities and differences have occurred.

When you have completed this comparison, identify and explain how these works fit into the broad context of still life in general. The following focus questions may help you.

• 
  In what context could these works have been seen (private, public, commemorative, religious)?
  
• 
  Who would have seen the works (family, church congregation, public, aristocracy, middle-classes, priesthood)?
  
• 
  What significance, value, or function would these works have to the people seeing them?
  

Once you have completed your analysis, develop and write your presentation, and then film it. You may use any of the digital recording tools you have access to (for example, phone, web-cam, or digital video camera). Your completed film should be approximately 5 minutes long.

The information you present is the critical element that determines your final grade. It should be clear and concise and should show your understanding of the ideas and methods that the selected artists have used. You will not be assessed on the quality of your filming.

Teacher note: A full recording of the presentation is required for moderation purposes. A PowerPoint file (formatted as key headings) does not in itself present the entirety of the student knowledge and understanding.

A conventional written assignment is entirely appropriate where audio-visual equipment is not available.

Resource A – Artists

Appropriate artist models for this resource include but are not limited to:

Barthel Bruyn

Pieter Claesz

Harmen Steenwyck

Hendrik Andrieszen

Adriaen Van Utrecht

Willem Claeszoon Heda

Philippe de Champaigne

Albrecht Durer

Leonardo Da Vinci.

Paul Cezanne

Pablo Picasso

James Ensor

Georgia O’Keefe

Carol Bierach

Freda Kahlo

John Coult

Salvador Dali

Jean-Michel Basquiat

Jim Dine

Picasso

Steve Makse

James Hopkins

Paul Wonner

Neil Driver

Damien Hurst

Andy Warhol

Gabriel Orozco

Jude Rae (NZ).

Assessment schedule: Visual Arts Painting 91306 Memento mori, the stillness of life (vanitas and the still life tradition)

Evidence/Judgements for Achievement	Evidence/Judgements for Achievement with Merit	Evidence/Judgements for Achievement with Excellence
The student gives a presentation on four relevant artworks and demonstrates understanding by identifying and documenting information about methods and ideas from established practice, with reference to the context in which the artworks are made, viewed, and valued. The information presented is relevant and to the topic of still life, and to the works selected for analysis. Ten key features of each painting are identified. For example, in relation to tone for the work Still Life With Kiwi Fruit by Jude Rae: Jude Rae uses tone to show form and also to show the direction of lights. She has a mostly white background and two of the five objects are white too. She balances this by using some darks also. She uses tone well. Morandi's still life paintings have a similar tonal range and this artist might have seen his work.	The student gives a presentation on four relevant artworks and demonstrates informed understanding by identifying and documenting particular information about how methods and ideas from established practice are used, with reference to the context in which artworks are made, viewed, and valued. The information presented is specific and relevant to the topic of still life, and to the works selected for analysis. Ten key features of each painting are identified and explained. For example, in relation to tone for the work Still Life With Kiwi Fruit by Jude Rae: Jude Rae uses tone in a variety of ways. She models form with it, as well as using it to indicate the complex reflective and opaque surfaces. The painting is mostly painted in lights, but the use of darks does provide contrast and pictorial interest for the viewer. The still life seems to have more than one light source, which makes it a bit confusing. Traditional still life paintings would generally have only one light source. A traditional vanitas painting would have some reference to decay and death such as a skull, or fruit that will eventually rot. This is a contemporary painting which appears to be more formal than symbolic.	The student gives a presentation on four relevant artworks and demonstrates in-depth understanding by identifying and documenting particular information through the analysis of methods and ideas from established practice, in order to explain how and why art works are related to the context in which they are made, viewed, and valued. The information presented is specific and relevant, and comes from detailed analysis of the selected works. Ten key features of each painting are identified, explained, and contextualised. For example, in relation to tone for the work Still Life With Kiwi Fruit by Jude Rae: Jude Rae uses tone in a variety of ways. Firstly, tone is used to model form, rendering objects strongly into the illusionistic space. Secondly, high key contrasts provide focal points for the composition, allowing the negative spaces to be activated within the overall image. Tone is also used compositionally to shift the viewers eye around the composition, as well as providing areas of light and dark. Given the overall lightness of the composition, this links to the earlier work of Morandi. Tonal information also provides us with information as to the use of multiple light sources on the objects – cast shadows indicate at least two different light sources, both clearly above the objects. This has the effect of flattening out the image, although the space is still believable and convincing. In most traditional vanitas works this would rarely occur. Normally a single light source provides the strong chiaroscuro traditionally associated with this type of painting. Although this contemporary still life painting does not use conventional vanitas iconography, the gas cylinders and fire extinguishers can be interpreted as being a source of both life and death.

Final grades will be decided using professional judgement based on a holistic examination of the evidence provided against the criteria in the Achievement Standard.