| [7]. POTENTIAL: Are you working to your full potential? This varies considerably from person to person. I should know most of you well enough by now to know if your work looks like it matches the quality of work that you are capable of. True, everyone has bad days, but your work should have a consistency to it, and if it does change, it ought to get better. |
| An explanation of the criteria I use in evaluating student artwork |
| Art is a very personal experience. The evaluation of art is rather subjective. You generally like or dislike art because of your own personal likes and dislikes, personal tastes, sense of aesthetics and beauty, and your educational and emotional maturity.
In order to make the evaluation of your art less subjective and more objective I have a list of criteria that I will use when grading your work. Your work will be judged in these general areas for evaluation. |
| [1]. CREATIVITY: Art is about problem solving � creative problem solving. There is not a single formulaic equation used to come to an absolute, irrefutable solution as there is in some subject areas. There are myriad possible pathways that guide the student to a conclusion that fits his own individual personality. A student should attempt to find a solution that is original and unique and says something about that student's personal beliefs and interests. Good work avoids the trite, the obvious, clich�s, and stereotypes. |
| [2]. CRAFTSMANSHIP: All artists should strive to be master craftsmen. Precision and accuracy are always considerations even in work that is "loose" or "abstract". Jackson Pollock painted by dripping and splattering paint onto the canvas, yet he was a skillful enough craftsman that he could use this technique to paint portraits. What I will look for in your work, overall, is
� NEATNESS (no smudges, erasures, rips and tears, wrinkles, scribbles etc) � PRECISION (crisp edges, round circles, sharp corners, straight lines) � ACCURACY (perspective and proportions are correct, shapes/forms are accurate). |
| [3]. AESTHETICS: Did you follow directions? How effective is your finished product? Does it do what it was supposed to? Did you follow the rules and guidelines of art design? Did you create a work of art? Is there something inherently 'art-like' about your work? There is something about finished art that makes it art, and not just a bunch of lines or scribbles. Some call it AESTHETICS, some GESTALT, some INSPIRATION. Whatever you call it, there is a quality to artwork created by humans that make it ART. |
| [4]. TIMELINESS: Was your work turned in on time, or was it late? It's as simple as that. We all have deadlines and we either make 'em or break 'em. |
| [5]. EFFORT: It is not always apparent how much effort is put into a piece of art. Some people put as much effort as they can into a project and it doesn't come out as well as others that put much less effort into their work. Or it turns out worse than something that you did yourself, in a hurry. This is natural and it happens to everyone. But what IS usually apparent, is when someone doesn't care about what they are doing and just hacks something out to get it done (so they can sit and talk to their friends). |
| [6]. COMPLETENESS: This is how finished a product is. Did you take the time to paint in the backgrounds, are all the details included, is the surface smoothed and finished, etc. If you turn something in, and it is only 3/4 complete, you are obviously not going to get as good a grade as you would for something completely done - no matter how good it is. |
| The next page is the rubric that I use to evaluate student work, whether I do it formally, with the rubric sitting right there, or in a less formal setting - this is what I think about and look for in student work. ART GRADE RUBRIC |
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