Office of Curriculum, Technology, & Assessment

SD Content Standards: Visual Arts

• Introduction
• Standard One
• Standard Two
• Standard Three
• Standard Four
• Glossary

The visual arts are an integral part of the human experience and have roots i n every culture and historical period throughout the world. Visual art provides students an immediate picture of an era and its people. Knowledge of the cultural and historical context of visual art helps students recognize connections among all aspects of living and learning. Through the visual arts students are provided an opportunity to discover, develop, and actualize their unique potential. The visual arts assist students in developing the many facets of multiple intelligences while providing meaningful learning opportunities and the development of critical and creative thinking.

Visual art is holistic in nature and visual arts education is fundamental if students are to become informed and contributing members of the world community. Engagement in the visual arts permits students to become active initiators rather than passive receivers of information and fosters creative self-expression and aesthetic awareness. Students must be granted opportunities to use the visual arts standards as targets which provide a foundation for setting goals and achieving personal fulfillment.

1. Students will understand and use visual arts as a means for creative self- expression and interpersonal communication.
2. Students will understand the, media, techniques and processes used in the production of visual arts.
3. Students will understand the relationship between visual arts and history, culture, and society.
4. Students will demonstrate a capacity for critical and sensitive response to various visual arts experiences.

* All asterisked words and phrases appear in the Glossary at the end of this section.

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Students will understand and use visual arts as means for creative self-expression and interpersonal communication.

RATIONALE: Visual arts production provides a means for creativity and self-expression. Creating visual art provides a way for students to actively use traditional materials and contemporary techniques to demonstrate personal interpretations of feelings, thoughts, and ideas. Integration of visual art with other disciplines helps students see relevance and connections among all curricular areas and increases their knowledge base, self-esteem, and personal confidence.

1. Understand that art tells stories, expresses moods, or conveys ideas.
2. Explore a variety of media to create artwork to reflect personal ideas, objects or events.
3. Explore how art is used in other activities and events.

1. Describe how visual arts tell stories or express moods or ideas*.
2. Use selected media* and processes* to express ideas or personal topics of interest.
3. Describe how visual arts media and processes can be used in other disciplines.

1. Interpret the concepts, stories, moods, or ideas in various works of art.
2. Express personal ideas, experiences, or emotions through various media, processes, and techniques.
3. Use visual arts to communicate themes and concepts from other disciplines.

1. Analyze how visual arts may express concepts, tell stories, evoke moods or emotions, and symbolize ideas.
2. Communicate personal ideas, experiences, or emotions through a variety of visual art media, processes and techniques.
3. Use artwork which communicates an understanding of themes or concepts from other disciplines.

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Students will understand the media, techniques and processes used in the production of visual arts.

RATIONALE: Understanding various media and a variety of production techniques and processes provides students with knowledge of how to use a diversity of appropriate elements and principles to solve visual arts problems. This knowledge-base provides students the background to effectively interpret and portray emotions and ideas. A well-grounded understanding of its many components builds a foundation for life-long engagement in and enjoyment of visual arts.

1. Recognize various media* and materials* which may be used in artwork.
2. Experiment with selected techniques' to improve the presentation of artwork.
3. Understand various art elements* can produce different visual effects.

1. Explore various media and processes* used in the production of visual arts.
2. Understand selected techniques which give artwork detail.
3. Choose appropriate elements and principles* to solve visual arts problems.*

1. Describe the various media and processes used to create a variety of art forms.
2. Describe various techniques which give artwork definition and detail.
3. Apply appropriate compositional elements and organizational principles* to solve specific visual arts problems.

1. Analyze the various media and processes used in creating a variety of art forms.
2. Analyze a variety of techniques which give artwork definition and detail.
3. Determine and apply the appropriate compositional elements and organizational principles to solve specific visual art problems.

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Students will understand the relationship between visual arts and history, culture, and society.

RATIONALE: When students are given the opportunity to study and experience visual arts which represent other cultures and time periods, they gain a deeper understanding of their own as well as other cultures. Knowledge of the interrelationships between people and their art, and the influence one has on the other, helps students develop an appreciation for and tolerance of differences. The visual arts provide a better understanding of and a common bridge among cultures throughout the world.

1. Understand that history has been recorded through the arts.
2. Explore ways art reflects culture and society.
3. Understand that different artists create different forms and types of art.

1. Describe how selected works of art have recorded and preserved history.
2. Describe the functions and uses of visual arts in a variety of cultures and societies.
3. Explain how different artists have influenced or contributed to the world of visual art.

1. Investigate how the visual arts record, preserve and highlight history.
2. Investigate ways the visual arts reflect and influence the culture and societies in which they were created.
3. Describe the influence of selected artists on the evolution of various forms of visual art.

1. Analyze how the visual arts record, preserve, highlight and symbolize the history of humanity.
2. Analyze the role of visual arts in reflecting and influencing the culture and societies in which they are created.
3. Analyze the influence of significant artists on the evolution of the various forms of visual arts.

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Students will demonstrate a capacity for critical and sensitive response to various visual arts experiences.

RATIONALE: By describing, analyzing, and evaluating various processes, production techniques, and media used, students develop the ability to more fully appreciate the visual arts. Students develop the capacity for critical and sensitive response to the effort of others by using appropriate criteria to evaluate various forms of art work. Students must establish criteria to assess their own art work and view self-evaluation as an opportunity for personal improvement.

1. Recognize various artworks which express similar artistic concepts and ideas.
2. Express personal likes and dislikes of various works of art.
3. Describe the quality of personal artwork.

1. Compare various art works in terms of artistic concepts, ideas, or intentions using criteria appropriate for the style or form.
2. Explain likes and dislike for various works of art.
3. Describe the quality of personal artwork using specific criteria.

1. Analyze various artworks in terms of artistic concepts or ideas using criteria appropriate for the style or form.
2. Defend visual art preferences using personal aesthetic* criteria.
3. Determine the quality and effectiveness of personal artwork using specific criteria.

1. Evaluate works of art in terms of artistic concepts, ideas, or intentions using criteria appropriate for the style or form.
2. Justify visual art preferences using personal aesthetic criteria.*
3. Evaluate the quality and effectiveness of personal artwork using specific criteria.

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Aesthetic: relating to or dealing with the beautiful; appreciative of or responsive to the beautiful; having to do with the nature of beauty, the nature and value of art; syn: artistic qualities or experiences derived from or based upon the senses and how they are affected or stimulated.

Aesthetic criteria: standards used for assessing the effectiveness of fine art forms. These may include the quality of physical perception, emotional makeup of the participant, and the context in which the particular art form is being experienced.

Compositional elements: see elements.

Create: to produce works of visual art using materials, techniques, processes, elements, and analysis; the flexible and fluent generation of unique, complex, or elaborate ideas.

Elements: visual arts components such as line, texture, color, form, value, and space.

Expression: a process of conveying ideas, feelings, and meanings through selective use of the communicative possibilities of the visual arts.

Ideas: a formulated thought, opinion, or concept that can be represented in visual or verbal form.

Materials: resources used in the creation and study of visual art, such as paint, clay, cardboard, canvas, film, videotape, models, watercolors, wood, and plastic.

Media: broad categories for grouping works of visual art according to the arts materials used.

Organizational principles: see principles.

Principles: underlying characteristics in the visual arts such as repetition, balance, emphasis, contrast, and unity.

Process: a complex operation involving a number of methods or techniques, such as the addition or subtraction process in sculpture, the etching or intaglio process i n printmaking, or the casting or constructing processes in making jewelry.

Techniques: specific methods or approaches used in a larger process; for example, graduation of value or hue in painting or conveying linear perspective through overlapping, shading, or varying size or color.

Visual arts problems: specific challenges based in thinking about and using visual arts components.

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