I n t r o d u cti o n The AP Studio Art portfolios are designed for students who are seriously interested in the practical experience of art. AP Studio Art is not based on a written exam; instead, students submit portfolios for evaluation at the end of the school year. The AP Studio Art Program consists of three portfolios — 2-D Design, 3-D Design and Drawing — corresponding to the most common college foundation courses. AP Studio Art sets a national standard for performance in the visual arts that contributes to the significant role the arts play in academic environments. Each year the thousands of portfolios that are submitted in AP Studio Art are reviewed by college, university and secondary school art instructors using rigorous standards. This College Board program provides the only national standard for performance in the visual arts that allows students to earn college credit and/or advanced placement while still in high school. The AP Program is based on the premise that college-level material can be taught successfully to secondary school students. It also offers teachers a professional development opportunity by inviting them to develop a course that will motivate students to perform at the college level. In essence, the AP Program is a cooperative endeavor that helps high school students complete college-level courses and permits colleges to evaluate, acknowledge and encourage that accomplishment through the granting of appropriate credit and placement.
Congratulations! If you are in this class, you are a dedicated artist with at least two years of art or a strong body of past work, and you want to take your work to the next level. You are awesome for taking on the challenge! AP (Advanced Placement) Drawing is a program administered by the College Board to provide highly motivated high school students with an opportunity to earn college credit in art with a drawing focus. Students will submit a drawing portfolio to the College Board with work that focuses on the use of mark-making, line, surface, space, light and shade, and composition. AP Drawing is not based on a written exam; instead, students submit a portfolio in May to include five selected works (demonstrating drawing skills and synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas) and 15 sustained investigation images (demonstrating drawing skills, practice, experimentation, and revision, as well as synthesis of materials, processes, and ideas) based on an investigation of the student’s choosing. Students should consider marks that can be used to make drawings, the arrangement of marks, the materials and processes used to make marks, and relationships of marks and ideas. Students can work with any materials, processes, and ideas. Drawing (analog and digital), painting, printmaking, and mixed media work are among the possibilities for submission. Still images from videos or film are accepted. Composite images may be submitted. Students will be encouraged to develop a strong personal artistic voice. The year will culminate with a gallery show. Throughout the year, students will document/photograph and write about their processes and finished work. This year will be about truly becoming an artist in terms of inquiry, the content and quality of your work, your work ethic/practice, and the opportunity to share and sell your work to the public. Let’s make some art!