MONASH UNIVERSITY FACULTY HANDBOOKS

Art & Design Handbook 1996

Published by Monash University
Clayton, Victoria 3168, Australia

Caution
Copyright © Monash University 1996
ISBN 1320-6222

Authorised by Academic Registrar, April 1996


OUTLINE OF UNDERGRADUATE STUDIES - GIPPSLAND


Bachelor of Arts (Visual Arts)

Course code: BV

Content

The degree course in visual arts, involving three years of full-time study or the equivalent in part-time study.

The course at present offers study in the studio areas of painting, sculpture, printmaking, ceramics, drawing and photography, and in history and theory of art. The course subjects have been structured to allow students to select and design an individual course from the range of major and minor studio offerings and supporting disciplines. After a common first semester of introductory studies, the student's course is developed in consultation with the appropriate lecturer(s), selecting from or combining those areas listed above. Up to two approved subjects from other courses offered by the university may also be included in the course as non-art elective subjects. Part-time students may choose to undertake certain subjects in history and theory of art and other subjects not from the visual arts by distance education.

Objectives

The objectives of the BA(VisArts) degree are to provide an opportunity for students to achieve a professional level of skill and knowledge concentrated in one art practice, and a broader level in at least one additional art practice, chosen from several offered in the course. Supporting studies provide the fully rounded tertiary education which will enable graduates to continue as practising artists. Within the course students will extend their artistic talents by facing the challenges provided in terms of new techniques, art forms, ideas and values, and in inculcation of critical self-reflection. Graduates in visual arts are expected:

+ to demonstrate that they have attained the skills and mastered the technical resources required for a high level of practice in one or more areas of the visual arts;

+ to attain mastery of practical and research skills (including reading, written communication, computing skills, and oral presentation) which are necessary to operate effectively in the student's chosen spheres of interest and study;

+ to indicate a capacity for imaginative and innovative thought, for recognising and solving problems and for developing an understanding of the social, historical and theoretical contexts of their practice;

+ to indicate an understanding of aspects of the history and theory of the visual arts and visual culture generally, and the importance of these studies for the full development of the professional artist, and to indicate an involvement in and concern for informed critical inquiry during their studies;

+ to indicate an awareness of the place of the visual arts, and the role of aesthetic appreciation, within the broader cultural frameworks of society, community, and nation;

+ to demonstrate an awareness of the professional responsibilities of art practitioners to their own cultural environment and the society in which they dwell, and to demonstrate the flexibility needed to cope with the demands of artistic and intellectual life within a rapidly changing world;

+ to show a capacity, in individual cases, for professional development which will lead to the pursuit of further formal learning and artistic research.

Selection of students

Students will be selected on the basis of enrolment information and a pre-selection interview. During interviews prospective students will be able to discuss their background, previous general education and art education to date. Specific interests in this type of course and other related questions can also be discussed. Candidates should bring a selection of recent art work to the interview.

It should be understood that, after acceptance, the first semester will be considered introductory, exploratory and provisional, to determine each student's suitability and specific direction within the course.

Credits and exemptions

Students who are transferring from another university or who have already gained some tertiary education may be granted credits and exemptions.

Student workload

Major studio subjects normally require two days of studio practice per week. Minor studio subjects are normally one day studio practice per week. Non-studio subjects are usually equal to one two-hour lecture, one tutorial session and/or one film/video session per week. Detailed contact hours for each subject are provided in the subject study guide, and are arranged to suit the school's timetable.

Distance education studies

At present only a limited range of subjects is available by distance education. Distance studies in history and theory of art are intended to provide home study opportunities for those unable, by distance or employment, to attend a regular campus-based lecture program. Intending students should be enrolled in Monash Gippsland's Bachelor of Arts (Visual Arts) degree course, or in another degree course which approves these subjects, or should apply for enrolment as a non-course `single subject' student. Completed applications are to be forwarded to Student Administration, Monash University, Gippsland Campus, Churchill, Victoria, 3842. For further information contact the administrative officer, Gippsland School of Art, (03) 9902 6261.

Course rules

1 General

(a) Each student's study program shall be approved by the head of the Gippsland School of Art or the head's nominee for that purpose.

(b) Each student's study program shall consist of 144 points taken over at least three years of full-time study. Part-time students will progress through the course over a more extended period.

(c) The subjects of the degree course shall be taken in the numerical order in which they are listed for each visual arts discipline, and prerequisites as indicated in the subject descriptions in each case shall be observed.

(d) Successful completion of the course under the provisions of these regulations will enable a student to apply for the award of the degree of Bachelor of Arts (Visual Arts).

(e) In exceptional circumstances, a student may apply for a course regulation to be varied where such variation will enable the student to make satisfactory progress within the terms of the overall aims and assessment requirements of the course, and where otherwise considerable disadvantage to the student could occur.

2 Studies in the first semester of first year

The first semester of the first year of the course shall consist of GVA1002 (Foundation 2D), GVA1003 (Foundation 3D), GVA1001 (Foundation drawing) and GVA1553 (The classical tradition in art).

3 Major study subjects

(a) Beginning with the second semester of the first year of the course, each student shall undertake a study program with a total of sixty points taken in subjects offered for major study within one of the studio areas of painting, printmaking, ceramics or sculpture.

(b) In exceptional circumstances a student may apply for permission to undertake a major study consisting of forty-eight points within one of the studios listed in 3 (a) above.

4 Minor study subjects

Each student's study program may include up to twenty-four points taken in subjects offered for minor study. Minor study subjects shall not be selected from the same studio as the student's major study (unless with permission under 3 (b) above), until the student has completed thirty-six points in the major studio discipline.

5 Non Bachelor of Arts (Visual Arts) subjects

A study program may include not more than twelve points in subjects chosen from approved courses offered outside the Gippsland School of Art.

6 Theory study subjects

Each student's study program shall include at least twenty-four points taken in history and theory of art subjects.

7 Professional practice subject

A single subject of professional practice shall be included in each student's study program. This subject shall normally be taken in the final semester of the course. This subject carries six points.

8 Assessment: all subjects

Individual subjects within the degree course shall be assessed as indicated within each subject description. The grades awarded by the examiners appointed by the head of school shall be reported to the board of examiners in the Gippsland School of Art. Final assessment in any subject shall be recorded in the form determined by the regulations on assessment.

Course structure

Six semesters of full-time study; 144 points.

Level one

First semester

+ GVA1001 Foundation drawing (6 points)

+ GVA1002 Foundation 2D (6 points)

+ GVA1003 Foundation 3D (6 points)

+ GVA1553 The classical tradition in art (6 points)

Second semester

+ Major studio (12 points)

+ Minor studio (6 points)

+ GVA1554 Romanticism, realism, modernism (6 points)

Level two

First semester

+ Major studio (12 points)

+ Minor studio (6 points)

+ GVA2553 Modern art 1900-1940s (6 points)

Second semester

+ Major studio (12 points)

+ Minor studio (6 points)

+ GVA2554 Art since 1945 (6 points)

Level three

First semester

+ Major studio (12 points)

+ Minor studio (6 points)

+ GVA3551 Theories of art (6 points)

Second semester

+ Major studio (12 points)

+ GVA3552 Art research paper (6 points)

+ GVA3660 Professional practice (6 points)


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