References to student responses have been captured verbatim; any errors in spelling or grammar appear as they do in the original handwritten response. AP Art and Design 3-D Selected Works 2020 Scoring Commentaries The Selected Works section of the AP Art and Design portfolio is scored according to a five-point rubric. Review the rubric for details on the criteria associated with each point on the scale. Sample 1 Student work and written evidence: Work 1 Ideas: I designed a series of installations that people can play Materials: Balloons, dowels, wood, string, needles Processes: Installation– viewer participation Work 2 Ideas: I designed a game inspired by a horse race Materials: Hamsters, hamster tubing, milk, cups, wood Processes: Installation– viewer participation Work 3 Ideas: installation to break eggs such that whoever breaks an egg first wins Materials: Plexiglass, fabric, eggs Processes: Installation– viewer participation Work 4 Ideas: Players choose a "weapon" to scratch a word off a blackboard.
The winner is the first to erase a word Materials: Chalkboard, wood, dowels, fake fingernails, metal combs, forks Processes: Installation– viewer participation Work 5 Ideas: Powerful beauty Materials: Paper, string Processes: Wearable piece made by folding and sewing paper Selected Works score: 5 Scoring Commentary 3-D Skills This work demonstrates advanced skill in working with a range of sculptural materials, including paper, wood, plastic tubing, and found materials. The scale and construction of each piece has been considered with human action and interaction in mind, particularly in Works 3 and 4, in which participants drop eggs into the plexi boxes (Work 3) or write on and scratch small chalkboards (Work 4). In terms of design choices, color has been used selectively and purposefully to communicate a sense of playfulness or to indicate something about how a game functions. Materials, Processes, and Ideas The artist has used the idea fields for most of these works to explain that Works 1-4 are intended to be played as games, including “a game inspired by a horse race,” “a series of installations that people can play,” and “an installation to break eggs.” In the case of the work that is not a game, the student included an idea in the form of a title: the wearable piece is called “powerful beauty” (Work 5).
These ideas and functions are clearly reflected in the artist’s choices of materials and processes, from connecting clear tubing intended for hamsters to run through in the horse-race game (Work 3) to folding and stringing together delicate paper forms meant to communicate themes of power and beauty (Work 5). In creating these works, the artist has almost certainly stepped outside of their previous experience to explore and experiment with new materials and processes that can most accurately convey the selected ideas: considering, for example, the best tools for creating a scraping mechanism for chalkboards (Work 4), or how to thread paper together in a way that allows it to retain a linear form without collapsing (Work 5). Writing Materials, processes, and ideas are defined for each work. Processes are defined in the most general terms – describing most works as “installation” – and additional information on the process of creating the work (i., processes employed in the building/construction of the games, or in the manipulation of paper and string to make the wearable work) might have been informative here.
The artist did make good use of the process field in noting that viewer participation is a part of most of these works, but once again, the process field might have offered information on the process of the games themselves, and how they are played. SAMPLE 2 Student work and written evidence: Work 1 Ideas: Idea of female beauty and suffering Materials: Silver, silver wire, Barbie, sapphire Processes: Blend of attachment methods to join metal and found materials Work 2 Ideas: Shiny trophy, a trophy wife Materials: Barbie, Precious Stones, Ribbon, 3-D Printed Stand Processes: Blend of attachment methods to join metal and found materials Work 3 Ideas: Pressure of society creates for women and beauty Materials: Needles, Botox, leather, brass Processes: Blend of attachment methods to join metal and found materials Work 4 Ideas: Idea of female beauty and suffrage Materials: Botox, perfume, curtain cord, tassels, lipstick, silver, brass, glass Processes: Blend of attachment methods to join metal and found materials Work 5 Ideas: "Procedures to correct imperfections." Materials: Botox, curtain cord, needle, mirrored plexiglass, plexiglass Processes: Blend of attachment methods to join metal and found materials Selected Works score: 5 Scoring Commentary 3-D Skills The visual evidence in these five works show advanced 3-D skills, combining found and unconventional materials with highly developed sculpture and metalwork techniques. In Work 1, the student makes effective use of proportion, scale and contrast though the elegance of the silver ring and sapphire with the found object of the Barbie hands. In Work 5 the student explores 3-D planes and forms, while making effective use of the transparency of the chosen material.
In all five works, the student considers balance, proportion, and scale in considering the function and wearability of these large-scale pieces. Materials, Processes, and Ideas The visual relationships among materials, processes and ideas are clearly evident and fully integrated with one another. The student artist consistently selected and used materials and processes most appropriate to a dynamic exploration of societal ideas about beauty. This consideration of beauty is multi-layered: the materials of silver, sapphire, precious stones and plexiglass are beautiful in themselves, but are then brought into powerful contrast and juxtaposition with other tools and symbols of societal beauty standards – doll parts, Botox syringes, and cosmetics.
In Work 3, for example, a necklace is constructed from leather, Botox, and needles to represents societies’ ideals of beauty and the length to which women will go to achieve this ideal. The use of Botox as a jewelry material push these ideas forward in a way that more subtle or symbolic representations with more traditional materials would not. The absurdity of societal standards might also be reflected in the absurdity of the oversized scale of many of the pieces as well, which would be difficult to wear for any extended period of time. Writing In all five works, the student artist clearly identifies the materials, processes and ideas used in creating the visual work and is able to articulate their conceptual idea of creating “luxury items” that represent the social pressures on women to be beautiful.
The portfolio underlines how society has merited beauty as the most important factor of a woman and how her role is to just be beautiful or at least try to be. SAMPLE 3 Student work and written evidence: Work 1 Ideas: I utilized water to erode negative spaces into the clay body Materials: Porcelain Processes: I experimented with masking portions of the vessel to protect them from the erosive effects. I applied a layer of shellac and allowed the water to affect the layers below Work 2 Ideas: I utilized water to erode negative spaces into the clay body. Materials: Porcelain Processes: I experimented with masking portions of the vessel to protect them from the erosive effects.
I applied a layer of shellac and allowed the water to affect the layers below Work 3 Ideas: I explored chemicals such as sodium silicate, which dramatically dehydrates the clay in a natural and unpredictable way Materials: Porcelain Processes: I airbrushed original patterns onto a simple form to create a subtle design on the piece Work 4 Ideas: I explored chemicals such as sodium silicate, which dramatically dehydrates the clay in a natural and unpredictable way Materials: Clay Processes: Raku firing Work 5 Ideas: Beyond water, I found that marbleized clay mimics the effects of wind erosion which is visible on exposed layers of sediment Materials: Marbleized porcelain Processes: I airbrushed original patterns onto a simple form to create a subtle design on the piece Selected Works score: 5 Scoring Commentary 3-D Skills The ceramic artworks in this portfolio provide visual evidence of advanced 3-D skills in craftsmanship, execution, and sensitivity to volume and space as the student explores the concept of erosion. The forms are elegantly constructed and intentionally eroded in sophisticated and creative ways (Works 1 and 2). The addition of glaze, color, and patterns enhance the ceramic forms (Works 3, 4 and 5) with subtle intention allowing the viewer to appreciate the technical mastery exhibited by the student artist. Materials, Processes, and Ideas The student artist masterfully experiments and manipulates clay bodies to visually exemplify the idea of erosion through the effective integration of materials, processes, and ideas.
Each artwork shows the viewer a successful variation of how the student artist “explored several varieties of erosion, including literal and conceptual.” Works 1-4 demonstrate how the artist utilized and controlled “water to erode negative spaces into the clay body.” Work 3 showcases how the student artist “explored chemicals such as sodium silicate, which dramatically dehydrates the clay in a natural and unpredictable way.” And, Work 5 deals with the erosion of the glaze, “instead of eroding the clay body, I experimented with erosion during the glaze application stage. The force of the airbrush eroded the cut paper stencils allowing for the glaze to create soft designs.” Writing The written evidence provided by the student artist speaks to the materials used (contained within the captions for each artwork), and the processes used to manipulate the materials: for example, “I utilized water to erode negative spaces into the clay body” (Works 1 and 2). The ideas that drove the decision-making process for each artwork are explained, as well. In the case of Work 5, for example, “Beyond water, I found that marbleized clay mimics the effects of wind erosion which is visible on exposed layers of sediment." The clear and concise writing in this portfolio gives the viewer a complete explanation as to the artwork showcased, thereby allowing the viewer to enjoy the rationale and ideation of each ceramic sculpture.
SAMPLE 4 Student work and written evidence: Work 1 Ideas: A strange snow-white dimension, no one else in there. I was walking down the stairs. I kept jumping across the blocks. Materials: Organza, organdy, cotton Processes: Organza wrinkle to represent the stairs, and it is also fabric from ballet, which represents the jump.
Work 2 Ideas: My inspiration comes from daily life: new cities just traveled to, new ideas towards issues in society or of art. Materials: Cotton, wool yarn Processes: Different colors used to express my emotions of that day. Work 3 Ideas: Represent the paradoxical self, which is away from minimalist, it is inspired by the 60s. Materials: Cotton, organza Processes: Dream is like a reflection of our real life.
Each block is an obstacle. Work 4 Ideas: Fashion and society impact each other: in ancient surgery, doctors or nurses were all men at the beginning. Materials: Cotton, paint Processes: Inspired by the research I did last year: women’s nursing costumes in the 19th century. Work 5 Ideas: How fashion and society impact each other: evolutionary change in the feminist movement back to the 1920s Materials: Taffeta, cotton, silk, organza, matchsticks, ribbon, pearls Processes: Garment design and fashion photography Selected Works score: 5 Scoring Commentary 3-D Skills This portfolio shows advanced 3-D skills, as well as highly considered and successful 2-D Images that serve as documentation of the work.
The asymmetrical, de-constructed and/or vintage-inspired dresses employ 3-D elements to exemplify the most contemporary in editorial fashion. The repetition of color, shape, line, and texture in Works 1, 3, 5 emphasize unity and balance. Meanwhile, Works 2 and 4 rely on whimsical proportions, movement, and variety to highlight the juxtaposition of physical forms, functions, and time periods. Garments are asymmetrical as is the model reminiscent of distortions within dreams.
Most noteworthy in this portfolio is the student’s use of props and background to further activate the 3-D space and take full advantage of figure/ground relationships within the photographic documentation.