WACE ATAR Visual Arts case studies
WACE ATAR Visual Arts · Put your knowledge to work in context.
The WACE ATAR Visual Arts course is a Western Australian senior-secondary study in the visual arts, administered within the Western Australian Certificate of Education framework overseen by the School Curriculum and Standards Authority (SCSA). It is designed for Year 11 and Year 12 students who want a rigorous, practice-led study of art-making and critical analysis, and who may be using the subject toward an Australian Tertiary Admission Rank pathway. The WACE ATAR Visual Arts case studies are 5 cases and about 2,157 words.
1The Gallery Wall That Would Not Hold
A Year 12 student has built a 2.4 m × 1.8 m mixed-media work on a 12 mm plywood panel, combining acrylic paint, torn newspaper collage, and a protruding section of found metal weighing roughly 6 kg bolted near the upper third. The school gallery specifies that all works must hang on a rail-and-hook system rated to 15 kg per hook, with a maximum of two hooks per work.
479 words, about 2 min2Interpreting a Marking Guide Under Pressure
A student is preparing a 1,500-word investigation into how two artists use colour to construct mood. They have gathered 14 secondary sources, of which 9 are gallery wall texts and 5 are peer-reviewed articles.
406 words, about 2 min3The Print Run That Failed Registration
A student is producing a three-colour reduction linocut edition of 12. The design uses a pale ochre background, a mid-tone red figure, and dark blue linework.
441 words, about 2 min4Curating a Thematic Hang
A student curator must hang five works in a 6 m × 4 m room with one 3 m entrance wall, one 6 m long wall with a large window at its centre, and two 4 m end walls. The works are: a 2 m × 1.5 m dark, high-contrast painting; a 40 cm × 30 cm delicate pencil drawing; a 1.2 m square textile work in muted tones; a freestanding 1.8 m sculpture; and a video projection requiring a dim surface.
450 words, about 2 min5When Appropriation Becomes a Problem
A student's major work samples a recognisable motif - a stylised wave pattern - from a living Indigenous Australian artist's painting found online, incorporating it into a digital print about coastal erosion. The student credits the artist by name in the work's label and argues this makes the use respectful.
381 words, about 2 min