VCO4001*

Project studies (visual communication honours)

12 points - 8 hours lectures, tutorials and studio, plus 16 hours independent study per week - First semester - Caulfield - Prerequisite: Admission to honours program - Corequisites: none - Prohibitions: none - Core for BVisComm(Hons)

Objectives On successful completion of this subject, students should (1) be keen to perfect their practice in visual communication with excellence in technique and to perceive a relationship between technical excellence and the visionary aspirations of their discipline; (2) be able to pursue an area of studio practice with a strong sense of direction and commitment and an equally strong curiosity for the possibility of redirecting their practice; (3) feel some confidence defending their chosen direction in studio practice against informed challenge and criticism; (4) be resolved to find the 'logical' extension of their practice, whether through higher degrees of technical refinement or refusal of established aesthetic criteria or critical regimes; (5) seek to extend their practice with reference to the history of the particular genre in applied arts which is their specialization, empowering them not only with the knowledge of authoritative precedents but the practical advantage of technical and iconographic cues; (6) be keen to relate critically their chosen direction in visual communication to the terms of contemporary discourse; (7) find an appropriate balance between intuitive processes underlying their practice and critical reason or analytical thought.

Synopsis Studio at honours level in visual communication is research-oriented and is non-prescriptive in the terms of its content. Successful research in visual communication is necessarily contingent upon individual interests and passions; and these would be difficult to foreshadow. Students are expected to produce a proposal at the beginning of the semester; but they are free to carry out their work with any number of deviations from their original plans, provided that they keep their lecturers informed and solicit their opinions prior to any changes. Both the intentions of students and the results of their work are debated in group discussions and critical sessions.

Assessment Assessment is by folio. Initial project or work-in-progress is assessed in the first part of the semester and contributes a weighting of no less than 20% to the final assessment.

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