Pre-requisites

AR641 Creative Practice Foundations: Drawing OR AR643 Creative Practice Foundations: Painting

Co-requisites

None.

Learning Outcomes

On successful completion of this unit, the student will be able to:

• Critically analyse the historical development of aesthetics and the visual arts.

• Demonstrate a sound knowledge of the philosophical and aesthetic underpinnings of the notion of beauty

• Evaluate and interpret works of visual art through integrating Christian faith, spirituality and current issues of society.

• Explore and synthesise elements of aesthetics including taste, judgments, appreciation, experimentation and social acceptance and sensibility

Unit Description

This unit will explore in greater depth some of the topics that were raised initially in AR54 Arts and Creativity and AR546 Arts and Spirituality, which it will combine with developing practical and technical knowledge of the aesthetics of the visual arts. This unit will examine the concept of beauty as it operates in visual culture from a range of historical and contemporary perspectives. It explores the idea of ‘beauty’ in the everyday sense of the word and also in relation to philosophy and aesthetics. Students will develop critical and analytical thinking in regards to some of the questions and issues which aesthetics raises. The unit will cover such topics as: what is beauty?; standards of taste; what is an aesthetic response to art?; and what is the relationship between art and representation, expression and emotion? This unit approaches all these topics and questions also asking the underlying question of how the Christian faith and spirituality influences these questions and answers. The unit will also include some practical components for students to personally explore the concepts presented and discussed in class time.

Topics

• Aesthetics of Visual Arts
• Issues of aesthetics
• Defining beauty
• Standards of taste
• Expression and emotion
• Christian faith and spirituality

Teaching Strategies

Teaching strategies include: face to face lectures; workshops and tutorials; class discussions; presentations of instructional material in the form of printed documentation, DVD, video, audio, web pages; presentations and online interaction; personal study; preparation of assignments; group project presentation; and student presentations.

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Unit offerings

Independent/Flexible: Semester 1, 2024 and Semester 1, 2025 (Every Year, Semester 1)

Please note

The Unit Offerings listed above are a guide only and the timetable for any year is the final authority. The College may vary offerings based on demand, regulatory requirements, continual improvement processes or other conditions.

This unit may be available in different modes of delivery i.e. online and face-to-face as listed above. The unit content will not differ between these modes of delivery. There will possibly be a difference in the schedule and/or the prescribed assessment tasks, however both will cover and assess the same content.