South Carolina
Visual Arts
Curriculum Standards
Introduction
The South Carolina curriculum standards for visual arts are aligned with the national standards for art education and have been developed from the previous state standards and the national standards. While the previous South Carolina standards organized according to the four fundamental components of discipline-based art education (DBAE)—creative expression, aesthetic perception, historical and cultural perception, and aesthetic valuing—the new standards are organized on the basis of six curriculum standards. The four components are still included, however, and are listed with the appropriate curriculum standards. The component “creative expression,” for example, is subsumed under the content standards “Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes” and “Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter, Symbols, and Ideas.”
Several of the curriculum standards are repeated across the grade levels. Teachers should understand that these standards need to be reinforced throughout these grades as the students begin to use more advanced tools and media as well as more complex terminology and begin to study of art concepts in depth.
I. Understanding and Applying Media, Techniques, and Processes
Creative Expression. Students will develop and expand their knowledge of visual arts media, techniques, and processes in order to express ideas creatively in their artworks.
Students will
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9–12 |
9–12 Advanced |
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A. Communicate ideas through the effective use of media, techniques, and processes in their artworks. |
A. Demonstrate mastery of at least one visual arts medium through the effective use of techniques and processes in the communication of ideas.
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B. Apply media, techniques, and processes with skill, confidence, and sensitivity sufficient to make their intentions observable in their artworks.
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B. Identify, define, and solve challenging visual arts problems independently. |
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C. Demonstrate the skillful, safe, and responsible application of a variety of media, tools, and equipment.
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II. Using Knowledge of Structures and Functions
Aesthetic Perception/Creative Expression. Students will demonstrate a knowledge of the elements and principles of design and show an aesthetic awareness of the visual and tactile qualities in the environment that are found in works of art.
Students will
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9–12 |
9–12 Advanced |
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A. Identify and describe the interrelationships among the elements and principles of design that communicate a variety of artistic perspectives and purposes.
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A. Compare and contrast the structural organization of various artworks and defend their interpretation. |
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B. Create artworks that use appropriate structures and functions to solve specific visual arts problems. |
B. Address specific visual arts problems by creating multiple solutions that demonstrate effective relationships between structural choices and artistic functions.
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C. Evaluate the effectiveness of artworks in terms of structure and function. |
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III. Choosing and Evaluating a Range of Subject Matter, Symbols, and Ideas
Creative Expression/Aesthetic Valuing. Students will use a variety of subjects, symbols, and ideas in creating original artwork and will evaluate the use of these elements in the artworks of others.
Students will
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9–12 |
9–12 Advanced |
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A. Make personal choices and formulate interpretations regarding symbols, subject matter, ideas, and expression in artworks. |
A. Analyze the origins of specific
images and ideas and explain why these elements are of value in their
own artworks and in those of others.
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B. Use the appropriate art vocabulary and concepts to make and defend aesthetic judgments about the validity of the source and content of their own artworks and significant artworks of others. |
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IV. Understanding the Visual Arts in Relation to History and Cultures
Visual Arts Heritage. Students will demonstrate a knowledge of artists, art history, and world cultures and will understand how the visual arts reflect, record, and shape cultures.
Students will
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9–12 |
9–12 Advanced |
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A. Describe how the subject matter, symbols, and ideas in various artworks are related to history and culture.
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A. Analyze and interpret artworks, as critics, historians, and artists, to determine relationships among form, context, and purposes. |
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B. Explain how a variety of artworks, artists, and visual arts materials represent and reflect the history and culture of South Carolina. |
B. Analyze, evaluate, and interpret characteristics of the visual arts that exist across time and among diverse cultural and ethnic groups.
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| C. Describe the function and explore the meaning of specific artworks from various cultures, periods, and regions of the world. | |
V. Reflecting upon and Assessing the
Merits of Their Work and the Work of Others
Aesthetic Valuing/Visual Arts Heritage. Students will use thorough analysis, interpretation, and judgment to make informed responses to their own artworks and those of others.
Students will
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9–12 |
9–12 Advanced |
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A. Analyze the intention of the artist in a particular work and justify their interpretation of that intention.
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A. Correlate viewer responses to artworks with various artistic techniques for communicating meanings, ideas, and intentions. |
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B. Make complex descriptive, interpretive, and evaluative judgments about their own artworks and those of others. |
B. Use complex descriptors and analogies to explain how visual and tactile qualities are perceived aesthetically.
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C. Formulate criteria for interpreting and evaluating their own artworks and those of others |
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D. Present and defend a portfolio of personal artwork. |
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VI. Making Connections between Visual Arts and Other Disciplines
Visual Arts Heritage/Integration. Students will demonstrate a knowledge of the connections among the content of visual arts, other disciplines, and everyday life.
Students will
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9–12 |
9–12 Advanced |
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A. Compare the materials, technologies, media, and processes of the visual arts with those of other arts.
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A. Compare concepts and techniques in the visual arts with those in other disciplines and express the connections either orally, in writing, or in a work of art. |
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B. Compare and contrast issues and themes in the visual arts with those in the humanities or the sciences. |
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C. Identify specific visual and performing arts careers and describe the knowledge and skills required for these careers. |
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Visual Arts Glossary
aesthetic/aesthetically. Of or pertaining to the standards on which judgments are made about the beauty or creative merit of a work of art. Aesthetic awareness and perception can be both intellectual and emotional.
analysis/analyze. The process of a dividing a whole into its component parts and examining the relationships between and among them.
art history. The field of study that identifies and classifies works of art in cultural and chronological contexts.
elements and principles of design. Color, shape, space, line, form, texture, emphasis, balance, proportion, movement, unity, variety, contrast, pattern/repetition in artworks.
expression. The act of putting thoughts or feelings into images in works of art.
interpretation/interpret/interpretive. The process of explaining, clarifying, or decoding the meaning of a work of visual art.
subjects/subject matter. The particular aspects of the human condition—the object, circumstance, event, experience, or entity—that the artist focuses upon and elucidates in a work of art.
technique. A way of using creative materials and approaches to achieve a desired artistic result.
