Visual Arts
HSC Art Criticism and Art History
Examination Questions from Section II of the HSC Written Paper 2001-2005
In their examination responses, visual arts students are instructed to:
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Present a well-reasoned and informed point of view
Apply their understandings of the different aspects of content as appropriate
(Practice, Conceptual Framework, and the Frames)
Use relevant examples
PRACTICE
2001
 Technological advances have transformed the practices of artists. Discuss this
statement
 How is interpretation emphasised in the practice of art critics and art historians?
 Discuss how modernity has influenced the practice of artists and/or art critics
and/or art historians
2002
 Discuss how the practices of architects and/or designers are shaped by material
and conceptual choices
 Assess the effect of time on the practice of artists
 Art critics and art historians create myths and generate debates. Do you agree or
disagree? Give reasons for your views
2003
 Unforeseen events are often responsible for new directs that artists take.
Evaluate this view in relation to practitioners you have studied.
 Examine the ways different accounts of practice build our understanding of
what artists do. Refer to specific examples, which could include curatorial
essays, exhibition reviews, documentaries, interviews and publications.
 Discuss how characteristic aspects of practice enable artists to be identified as
members of particular groups, styles or movements in the art world.
2004
 Explain how artistic conventions shape artists’ practice.
 Art historian Michael Baxandall argues that:
A fifteenth-century painting is the deposit of a social relationship. On the one
side there was a painter who made the picture, or at least supervised its making.
On the other side there was somebody else who asked him to make it.
Discuss the significance of social relationships to the practice of architects/
designers and/or other practitioners.
 Compare and contrast bodies of work by two artists you have studied. In your
discussion, address the significance of intentions to their practice.
2005
 Examine how popular perceptions of the artist as hero, eccentric or misfit
influence artistic practice.
 Explain how artists’ knowledge and use of materials have determined the
outcome of their practice
 Exhibitions manage your emotions (Griselda Pollock, art historian) Discuss this
statement using examples from exhibitions and/or collections you have studied.
Conceptual framework
2001
 Artists interpretations of the world are constrained by their time and place
 Interactive and virtual works challenge our understanding of what art is.
 Evaluate the importance of artists’ intentions in the production and meaning of
artworks
2002
 As the audience changes, so too does the meaning of artists’ works. Argue a
case for or against this statement.
 Explain how a particular view of the world is represented in an exhibition you
have seen or read about.
 Explain how contemporary art has shaped our understanding of the different
roles of artists.
2003
 Examine the significance of relationships between curators, artists and the public
to the popularity of exhibitions.
 Assess the importance of time and place to interpretations of works such as
installations, happenings and site-specific works.
 Artists deliberately set out to provoke audience reactions. Argue a case both for
and against this statement.
2004
 Why do contemporary artworks make particular demands on audiences?
 Consider the following view: Artists often say what would otherwise remain
unsaid. Discuss this view using examples of artists whose functional role is to
challenge mainstream values.
 Evaluate the contribution of an art critic or art historian to the formation of a
particular style or movement. In your answer, consider the role and function of
artworld agencies.
2005
 The artist does not draw what he sees, but what he has to make others see
(Edgar Degas (1834-1917) artist. Examine how artists represent their world.
 Artists are no longer the makers of their art but have become managers and
coordinators. Argue a case for or against this statement using artists, and/or
architects, and/or designers and/or filmmakers
 Analyse the role of audiences in the changing reputation and significance of
artists and their works over time. In your answer you could consider audience to
include the public, critics, and/or historians, patrons, sponsors and curators.
Frames
2001
 How does art communication as a system of signs and symbols? What are the
limitations to this view of art
 Why is appropriation a significant issue in the visual arts?
 Explain the ways in which social identity is addressed in the work of artists
2002
 The making of art is an intuitive act rather than a planned process. Evaluate this
statement.
 Evaluate the view that art reflects the social values of a particular time and place.
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How does a postmodern point of view challenge the idea of art as unique and
precious?
2003
 What I like so much about contemporary art now is its ambiguity, its uncertainty.
It is precisely this quality that engages and unsettles us. How does this view
challenge traditional ideas about art? Discuss particular examples of artworks to
support your argument.
 Evaluate the ways different artists represent ideas and interests in the
world through the development of a visual language.
 The great artist retains an ever-renewing sense of discovery and expresses that
feeling to his or her audience. (John McDonald, art critic). Do you agree or
disagree with John McDonald. Present your point of view using evidence,
including artists and their works.
2004
 Discuss the significance of irony and humour to postmodern practice.
 You have been asked to curate an exhibition called ‘Experience and
memory’. Use the subjective frame to explain your choice of artists and
their works.
 It is wishful thinking to suppose that we all see art in the same way; contexts
change, and so do our perceptions. (Alan Krell, art historian). Manet and the
Painters of Contemporary Life, 1996. Account for the ways beliefs and attitudes
shape our perceptions of the art of the past
2005
 Cultural identity is constructed and challenged by stereotypes. Evaluate
this statement referring to artists and/or designers and/or filmmakers and/or
other practitioners.
 Explain how the understanding of the audience can differ from the intentions of
the artist.
 Using the structural and cultural frames, interpret the work of an artist you have
studied.