HSC Visual Arts case studies
HSC Visual Arts · Put your knowledge to work in context.
HSC Visual Arts is a Stage 6 Creative Arts course in New South Wales, delivered under syllabuses set by the NSW Education Standards Authority (NESA). NESA describes itself as setting "syllabuses, assessments, teaching and school standards for all schools in NSW," and the Higher School Certificate is the credential it awards at the end of Stage 6. The HSC Visual Arts case studies are 5 cases and about 2,790 words.
1The Mural Commission That Outgrew Its Wall
A Year 12 student, Priya, is completing her Body of Work as a site-specific mural for the school's canteen. Her proposal, approved in Term 1, promises a 4-metre by 2.5-metre painted panel addressing food waste, using acrylic on marine ply.
626 words, about 3 min2The Appropriation Dispute in the Studio
A student, Marcus, is building a Body of Work about colonial memorials. He has digitally collaged 19th-century surveyor's maps, a photograph of a public statue, and a fragment of a well-known contemporary photographer's image of the same statue, which he found online.
545 words, about 3 min3Reading the Same Work Through Two Frames
A class is analysing a single Body of Work: a series of six large photographs of a suburban backyard at dusk, each printed at 1.2 by 1.5 metres, with the same fence line visible. The artist's statement says only: 'I photograph what is left after the family goes inside.' Two students disagree.
566 words, about 3 min4Resolving a Body of Work That Keeps Growing
A student, Elena, has been making ceramic vessels for her Body of Work since February. By September she has 23 pieces in varying states: 11 glazed and fired, 6 bisque-fired but unglazed, 4 leather-hard, and 2 still on the wheel.
522 words, about 3 min5Audience, Site and the Ethics of Participation
A student, Tomas, plans an interactive Body of Work for the school's annual exhibition: a wall of 200 small cards on which visitors write a secret about their family, then pin them face-down. The concept is 'private knowledge in public space'.
531 words, about 3 min