Providing Valuable Education: GCSE Art and 3D Design— Importance of Further Research
By: Precious Eclipse
Tags: Education, Research, Art, 3d Design, Teaching

Expand research to create mind expansive projects.

From being an Art Student to Creative Arts Teacher, I am thankful to be in the position to teach the knowledge that I have acquired in a digestible fashion for students of all abilities. I, for one, am dedicated to providing mind expansive projects, resulting in students cultivating the necessary skills and passion for higher studies and personal studies.

Tasked with the challenge of complying (creating) all three-dimensional design resources for GCSE level, the decisions of what would be sufficient to receive certain grades had to be heavily pondered. For this article, an explanation of the benefits to the expansion of artist research, we will be using the Kandinsky project to demonstrate the importance of the expansion.

Below, is the artist research acceptable for a high-grade sketchbook for GCSE Art in 2013.

Basic information about the artist, images of artworks, and minimal annotations.

This is the amount of Kandinsky research required for my A grade in GCSE Art. The words 'synesthesia' and ‘abstract’ required to be pointed out and explore to a basic level with other pieces of work — which would be classed as GCSE level.

Below, is the example that I use to support students in achieving top marks for GCSE Art and Design: 3D Design. Students will complete WWW (what went well?) and EBI (even better if?) tasks of this example sketchbook page, and will explore what findings they could insert when reading Kandinsky’s book.

Further research using videos and Kandinsky’s book. Evidence of developing ideas through investigations, and demonstrating critical understanding of source through written text.

Assessment objective 1 (AO1) is about developing ideas through investigations, demonstrating critical understanding of sources. Artist research comes under this assessment objective with a few other tasks (transcription, and drawing studies to name a couple). The further research example fits flush with the description of AO1 to an ‘exceptional’ level.

This example is achievable for GCSE level, this is required to support the remaining assessment objectives. It would be difficult to highly mark abstract final pieces (AO4) without glimpsing the depth of understandings acquired by the students. If no depth understandings of abstract art or Kandinsky has been acquired, it is a greatly missed opportunity, and perhaps a failure in the education system for these art students. To break the stereotypes about artist and art studies, valuable education must be provided and easily accessible to all students. Creativity and knowledge are a recipe for success, exploration and refinement of personal ideas make for meaningful creations. As the world is constantly building towards new and greater complexity, equipping students with the skills needed to create, compete, and invent will make for a great sense of fulfillment and purpose in the younger (next) generations, and kinder solutions to problems [read Complexity increases Kindness].

Ride the wave of complexity, and help others surf too.

“Once more, the metaphor of the piano. For “colour” or “form” substitute “object.” Every object has its own life and therefore its own appeal; man is continually subject to these appeals. But the results are often dubbed either sub — or super-conscious. Nature, that is to say the ever-changing surroundings of man, sets in vibration the strings of the piano (the soul) by manipulation of the keys (the various objects with their several appeals).” — Wassily Kandinsky.

Grasping complexity can be challenging, and may take months or years. As someone responsible for the development of the students and their skills, the ability to understand the complexity of art in relation to the makeup of the universe, has been the antidote to many developmental and academic needs of the students. For generations, these relations have been left out when teaching art. As the valuable understandings of art have been absent in compulsory art lessons, it has led to the negative view of pursuing artist studies.

“THE ARTIST MUST HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY, FOR MASTERY OVER FORM IS NOT HIS GOAL BUT RATHER THE ADAPTING OF FORM TO ITS INNER MEANING.” — Wassily Kandinsky.

'Concerning the Spiritual in Art’, a book written by Wassily Kandinsky, displays his mind’s understandings of art and spirituality. Kandinsky experienced the neurological condition called synesthesia, he strongly sensed colours when listening to music, and sensed music when viewing colours. This condition played an important role in his spiritual development, the search into the mystery of how his condition was possible enabled access to spiritual findings.

When I completed a Kandinsky sketchbook in 2012 (Year 10), I was completely unaware of his major art theories and findings. Now, as a teacher, I have observed how that lack of knowledge has limited and slowed the development of my art style. My focus was on the combination of the visual elements and the mastery of form. Now, after advanced exploration of my mind through meditative techniques, I have something to say. To my surprise, it led to the same and similar findings as Kandinsky. In regards to development and creativity, early exposure to Kandinsky’s wisdom would have significantly benefitted me. It is of great significance that we do teach them (our pupils) early what we learned late.

For creative subjects, the focus of research is to understand more, not to memorize information. It is to become inspired by understanding the works of others, the minds of others. For these understandings will lead to great personal and academic development. Recall a research lesson that you have carried out, were the students actively engaging, exploring and retaining information or on autopilot or bored? Well, students mentally branching out to explore the unknown to drawing their own understandings of the subject, while uniquely voicing their perceptions to the teacher and their peers, is how research lessons should be for success.

To many students, understanding ‘Concerning the Spiritual in Art’ can be a difficult task, this may be due to the old English used, and lack of development in their willingness to look beyond their set boundaries. Regardless, differentiation will solve this matter. This sort of differentiation requires a quality that many interviewers admire in job-seeking teachers, the quality of going above and beyond. Creating resources to simplify the advance takes time, but aids in producing the valuable education that many of us preach about. This addition to the teacher workload positively transforms the classroom reality and echos school values. Reduction in design fixation, creative exhaustion, lack of engagement is strongly evident through increasing the bounds of the research necessary for each project.

Visit preciouseclipse.co.uk for Kandinsky Research Resources.

Recommended Projects for 3D Design and Art: Kandinsky, Geometry, and Illusions.