VA5007 - Art Practice 3: Thinking Through Making

You will learn through a blend of practical and traditional academic teaching. The teaching will be constructive and offer you experiential learning opportunities to test and apply the skills you will be expected to develop. Practical experimentation and development will take place in the studio, where you will be expected to work independently. Critical discussion will take place in the studio and project spaces. Aspects of deeper research skills and critical analysis will be taught through subject specific seminars. You will be tasked with the production of a critical statement on material specificity and the presentation of an artwork as part of a group exhibition. Studio practice will be interwoven with contextual and theoretical studies, delivered through an initial discussion to introduce the main themes at the beginning of the module, followed by four sessions on a fortnightly basis. These sessions will comprise of a short lecture outlining key issues and examples, followed by group seminar discussion and workshop activities. Emphasis will be on identifying key issues and artistic strategies and evaluating them in relation to your own thematic concerns. Sessions will employ workshop tasks and critical reflection upon your own practice.

You are supported by an academic team, and by a module lead who will introduce the module at the start of the semester and offer guidance throughout. You will receive constructive, critical guidance from your studio tutor and will develop your critical engagement through peer-to-peer critique. Technical support will offer you the opportunity to deepen your understanding of a specific material process. Your learning is mapped out for you in a module guide given to you at the start of the semester that includes your assessment brief, guidance notes and key dates for the semester to help you organise and plan your time. Teaching materials, notices and guidance will be made available to you through our online electronic learning portal, which is accessible online both on campus and externally. You will have university email that we contact you through, and all course timetabling is published on your electronic timetable. You will have twenty-four-hour access to the university library. To support you we will provide you with on-going formative feedback through the teaching you receive and will provide you with assessment criteria by which you might understand and meet the module learning outcomes. Learning materials for seminar and workshop sessions – such as examples, relevant texts to read, and worksheets - will be provided in advance of the teaching sessions.

All modules at Northumbria include a range of reading materials that students are expected to engage with. The reading list for this module can be found at: http://readinglists.northumbria.ac.uk
(Reading List service online guide for academic staff this containing contact details for the Reading List team – http://library.northumbria.ac.uk/readinglists)

Knowledge & Understanding:

1. Produce a range of artworks, through an ongoing visual and material enquiry, that develop a critical understanding between content and method
2. Conduct independent research that demonstrates a sustained engagement with relevant contemporary art practices

Intellectual / Professional skills & abilities:

3. Conduct research that critically assesses specific theories and lines of enquiry in relation to your studio practice.
4. Evidence a critical understanding of appropriate technical and conceptual strategies for the production and presentation of works.

Summative Assessment (100%):
You will be tasked with the production of a written critical statement (1000 words) and the presentation of an artwork as part of a group exhibition. It is expected that this statement will be informed by the practical, theoretical and contextual material of the module.

Summative Assessment Feedback
You will receive verbal feedback from your studio tutor within seven days of the submission deadline. Feedback is individual and provided in the context of the assessment criteria given to you at the start of the semester in the module guide. Written feedback on your written statement is delivered within 20 working days via the eLearning Portal.

Formative Feedback:
To prepare you successfully to undertake the summative assessment(s) on this module, formative assessments will be set by the module team. These may take the form of in-class tasks or projects, developmental activities undertaken between classes, or learning exercises/activities set over a longer period. Feedback (written and/or oral) will be provided to help you learn from, reflect on, and develop in light of these formative assessments.

MLOs: The summative tasks address all the MLOs.

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This module will build on your initial explorations established at Level 4 and will allow you to develop your independent critical practice. Having established some general knowledge and understanding of the material, historical, cultural and political contexts of contemporary art in Level 4, this module will guide and support you to develop your own independent interest in such topics where you will learn to identify and explore the specific material and critical forms that you value.