Matanzas High School

Course Description

Students develop and refine technical skills and create 2-D compositions with a variety of media in drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, and/or design. Student artists sketch, manipulate, and refine the structural elements of art to improve mark-making and/or the organizational principles of design in a composition from observation, research, and/or imagination. Through the critique process, students evaluate and respond to their own work and that of their peers. This course incorporates hands-on activities and consumption of art materials.

Course Number: 0101310

Course Description

Students experiment with the media and techniques used to create a variety of two-dimensional (2-D) artworks through the development of skills in drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, and/or design. Students practice, sketch, and manipulate the structural elements of art to improve mark making and/or the organizational principles of design in a composition from observation, research, and/or imagination. Through the critique process, students evaluate and respond to their own work and that of their peers. This course incorporates hands-on activities and consumption of art materials.

Course Number: 0101300

Course Description

Prerequisite: 2-D Studio Art 2. Students demonstrate proficiency in the conceptual development of content in drawing, painting, printmaking, collage, and/or design to create self-directed or collaborative 2-D artwork suitable for inclusion in a portfolio. Students produce works that show evidence of developing craftsmanship and quality in the composition. Through the critique process, students evaluate and respond to their own work and that of their peers. Through a focused investigation of traditional techniques, historical and cultural models, and individual expressive goals, students begin to develop a personal art style. This course incorporates hands-on activities and consumption of art materials.

Additional Information

Advanced courses require a greater demand on students through increased academic rigor.  Academic rigor is obtained through the application, analysis, evaluation, and creation of complex ideas that are often abstract and multi-faceted. Students are challenged to think and collaborate critically on the content they are learning. Honors level rigor will be achieved by increasing text complexity through text selection, focus on high-level qualitative measures, and complexity of task. Instruction will be structured to give students a deeper understanding of conceptual themes and organization within and across disciplines. Academic rigor is more than simply assigning to students a greater quantity of work.

Course Number: 0101320

Course Description

For more information about this Cambridge course, visit the curriculum page of the Cambridge Assessment International Education website. 

The key concepts for Cambridge International AS & A Level Art & Design are:

• Communication: An essential purpose of any piece of art and design is to communicate, from the simplest sketch to the most complex work. Artists and designers need to understand that the relationship their work builds with the audience is influenced by many things, including their chosen media and methods. Effective communication is also essential for operating in today’s art and design world, which demands collaboration and engagement with wider cultures and movements.
• Creativity: Creativity is at the heart of an artist or designer’s processes. It pushes them to question, investigate, experiment and take risks to create work that is original and meaningful. Creative practitioners use curiosity, imagination and innovation to solve art and design problems in new ways.
• Intention: An intention is the starting point of any project, from which an artist or designer starts to develop ideas. An intention or purpose can come from a brief, proposal or research, while at other times it might begin as an idea or feeling. Though an intention is the reason to start a project, it is important to understand that the intention can evolve as work develops.
• Materials and processes: Experimentation with materials and processes builds confidence, and helps develop awareness of spatial, textural and color relationships, which are fundamental to art and design. A skilful artist or designer selects the materials and processes that communicate their message in the most effective way.
• Critical reflection: Critical reflection is the ongoing process that helps artists and designers to learn what works and what doesn’t. Artists and designers need to evaluate how the materials, techniques and processes they choose affect how their work communicates meaning. This process can help work become more relevant and coherent.
• Research and context: First-hand research helps artists and designers to develop their ideas and refine their practice. Actively researching and responding to other practitioners, cultures and creative movements gives the artist or designer a broad view of the world. An artist or designer can use this to improve their practice and understand how their work connects with its intended audience.

Additional Information

Students must sit for the AICE exam in the spring, which may occur after the end of the school year.

Course Number: 0101370

Course Description

AP 2-D Art and Design is an introductory college-level two-dimensional design course. Students refine and apply 2-D skills to ideas they develop throughout the course.The AP Art and Design course framework is composed of course skills, big ideas, essential questions and enduring understandings, learning objectives, and essential knowledge. AP Art and Design skill categories delineate overarching understandings central to the study and practice of art and design. Each of the three skill categories consists of skills that encompass foundational to advanced learning over the span of the course. Students need to develop, practice, and apply these skills in a variety of contexts.

Additional Information

The AP Art and Design framework included in the course and exam description outlines distinct skills that students should practice throughout the year—skills that will help them develop inquiry around the thinking and making of art. Skills 2 and 3 are specifically assessed in both portfolio sections. The framework for the AP Art and Design courses is made up of three big ideas. As always, you have the flexibility to organize the course content as you like.

• Big Idea 1: Investigate materials, processes, and ideas.
• Big Idea 2: Make art and design.
• Big Idea 3: Present art and design.

Course Number: 0109350

Course Description

AP 3-D Art and Design is an introductory college-level three-dimensional design course. Students refine and apply 3-D skills to ideas they develop throughout the course.The AP Art and Design course framework is composed of course skills, big ideas, essential questions and enduring understandings, learning objectives, and essential knowledge. AP Art and Design skill categories delineate overarching understandings central to the study and practice of art and design. Each of the three skill categories consists of skills that encompass foundational to advanced learning over the span of the course. Students need to develop, practice, and apply these skills in a variety of contexts.

Additional Information

The AP Art and Design framework included in the course and exam description outlines distinct skills that students should practice throughout the year—skills that will help them develop inquiry around the thinking and making of art. Skills 2 and 3 are specifically assessed in both portfolio sections. The framework for the AP Art and Design courses is made up of three big ideas. As always, you have the flexibility to organize the course content as you like.

• Big Idea 1: Investigate materials, processes, and ideas.
• Big Idea 2: Make art and design.
• Big Idea 3: Present art and design.

Course Number: 0109360

Course Description

Students work in a self-directed environment to develop a portfolio showing a body of their own work that visually explores a particular artistic concern, articulated and supported by a written artist's statement.

Artists may work in, but are not limited to, content in drawing, painting, printmaking, mixed media, traditional photography, digital photography, and/or new media and emerging technologies that demonstrate understanding of design principles as applied to a 2-dimensional surface. Students regularly reflect on aesthetics and art issues individually and as a group, and manipulate the structural elements of art and organizational principles of design to create 2-dimensional works of art that are progressively more innovative and representative of the student's artistic and cognitive growth.

In keeping with the rigor expected in an accelerated setting, students' portfolios show personal vision and artistic growth over time, mastery of visual art skills and techniques, and evidence of sophisticated analytical and problem-solving skills based on their structural, historical, and cultural knowledge. Students are self-directed and display readiness for high levels of critical thinking, research, conceptual thinking, and creative risk-taking. This course incorporates hands-on activities and consumption of art materials.

Additional Information

Co-Requisite: Art 3/AICE/AP

 Advanced courses require a greater demand on students through increased academic rigor. Academic rigor is obtained through the application, analysis, evaluation, and creation of complex ideas that are often abstract and multi-faceted. Students are challenged to think and collaborate critically on the content they are learning. Honors level rigor will be achieved by increasing text complexity through text selection, focus on high-level qualitative measures, and complexity of task. Instruction will be structured to give students a deeper understanding of conceptual themes and organization within and across disciplines. Academic rigor is more than simply assigning to students a greater quantity of work.

Course Number: 0109320

Course Description

Students work in a self-directed environment to develop a portfolio showing a body of their own work that visually explores a particular artistic concern, articulated and supported by a written artist's statement.

Artists may work in, but are not limited to, content in clay, wood, wire, glass, metal, jewelry, fabrics/fibers, fashion design, green design, industrial design, and/or objects for interior design or architecture that integrate 3-dimensional design issues in a purposeful way. Students regularly reflect on aesthetics and art issues individually and as a group, and manipulate the structural elements of art and organizational principles of design to create 3-dimensional works of art that are progressively more innovative and representative of the student's artistic and cognitive growth.

In keeping with the rigor expected in an accelerated setting, students' portfolios show personal vision and artistic growth over time, mastery of visual art skills and techniques, and evidence of sophisticated analytical and problem-solving skills based on their structural, historical, and cultural knowledge. Students are self-directed and display readiness for high levels of critical thinking, research, conceptual thinking, and creative risk-taking. This course incorporates hands-on activities and consumption of art materials.

Additional Information

Co-Requisite: Art 3/AICE/AP

Advanced courses require a greater demand on students through increased academic rigor. Academic rigor is obtained through the application, analysis, evaluation, and creation of complex ideas that are often abstract and multi-faceted. Students are challenged to think and collaborate critically on the content they are learning. Honors level rigor will be achieved by increasing text complexity through text selection, focus on high-level qualitative measures, and complexity of task. Instruction will be structured to give students a deeper understanding of conceptual themes and organization within and across disciplines. Academic rigor is more than simply assigning to students a greater quantity of work.

Course Number: 0109330

Course Description

Students explore how space, mass, balance, and form combine to create aesthetic forms or utilitarian products and structures.

Media may include, but are not limited to, clay, wood, plaster, and paper maché with consideration of the workability, durability, cost, and toxicity of the media used. Student artists consider the relationship of scale (i.e., hand-held, human, monumental) through the use of positive and negative space or voids, volume, visual weight, and gravity to create low/high relief or freestanding structures for personal intentions or public places. They explore sharp and diminishing detail, size, position, overlapping, visual pattern, texture, implied line, space, and plasticity, reflecting craftsmanship and quality in the surface and structural qualities of the completed art forms.

Students in the sculpture studio focus on use of safety procedures for process, media, and techniques. Student artists use an art criticism process to evaluate, explain, and measure artistic growth in personal or group works. This course incorporates hands-on activities and consumption of art materials.

Course Number: 0111310

Course Description

Students explore spatial relationships through the use of non-objective, abstract, or representational forms, products, or structures.

Media may include, but are not limited to, clay, wood, metal, plaster, paper maché, and plastic with consideration of the workability, durability, cost, and toxicity of the media used. Sculpture artists experiment with and manipulate space-producing devices, including overlapping, transparency, interpenetration, vertical and horizontal axis, inclined planes, disproportionate scale, fractional or abstracted representation, and spatial properties of the structural art elements. Craftsmanship and quality are reflected in the surface and structural qualities of the completed art forms.

Students in the sculpture studio focus on use of safety procedures for process, media, and techniques. Student artists use an art criticism process to evaluate, explain, and measure artistic growth in personal or group works. This course incorporates hands-on activities and consumption of art materials.

Additional Information

Prerequisite: Level Art 1

Course Number: 0111320

Course Description

Students communicate a sense of 4-D, motion, and/or time, based on creative use of spatial relationships and innovative treatment of space and its components.

Students address 4-D, the inter-relatedness of art and context, and may also include installation or collaborative works, virtual realities, light as a medium (i.e., natural, artificial, or reflective), or flexible, entered, or activated space. Sculpture artists experiment with processes, techniques, and media. Craftsmanship and quality are reflected in the surface and structural qualities of the completed art forms.

Students in the sculpture studio focus on use of safety procedures for process, media, and techniques. Student artists use an art criticism process to evaluate, explain, and measure artistic growth in personal or group works. This course incorporates hands-on activities and consumption of art materials.

Additional Information

Prerequisite: Level Art 2

Course Number: 0111330