Home > Assessment tasks > Task matrix > Self portraits

Learning area: The Arts

Level: Years 9 and 10

Self portraits

1   Nature of the assessment task

Students will investigate the ways in which artists represent their identities through self portraits by analysing and interpreting the visual aspects (use of art elements and principles, materials and media, techniques, processes), and the context (social, cultural and historical) of a range of artist self portraits. The contexts used to evaluate how the artists' identities are represented in this task are referred to as dimensions. Students will be offered several options regarding the form of the assessment task, including written and oral responses incorporating analysis and interpretation.

The definition of a self portrait should be developed by the class. It is expected that teachers could present students with artworks that reflect many different art forms including both traditional and contemporary works. Students should also research further self portraits and examine them in terms of the dimensions.

The completed assessment task is expected to demonstrate the following qualities:

• the ability to analyse and interpret ways in which artists represent their identity in self portraits
• an understanding of how the dimensions (physical, social, gender, cultural and historical) influence how artworks can be interpreted
• the ability to use relevant language conventions and art terminology.

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2   Links with State and Territory curriculum

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3   Prior teaching and learning

For this task, students need to have an understanding of ways of evaluating the visual aspects of artworks through description, visual analysis and interpretation (including reference to art elements and principles and use of media, materials and techniques).

In addition, students should be able to:

• use relevant art terminology
• use relevant information and communication technologies to research information about artists and artworks
• use written, oral and/or multimedia skills to present their report.

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4   Teacher preparation

Student resources

• Student analysis sheet with sample artwork analysis and discussion starter questions
  This resource could be photocopied onto an A3 sheet for ease of use.
• Reference list of suggested stimulus artworks
• Student task sheet
• Student rubric for self portraits assessment task
  

  The student rubric can be used:
  (a)		to make certain that students are aware of the criteria against which they will be assessed by the teacher
  (b)		to provide a focus for student self assessment.

Teacher resources

• Teacher rubric for self portraits assessment task
• Catering for students with special needs
• Annotated worksample

Teachers might find it helpful to examine an annotated worksample for the task. Further information about worksamples and how to use them can be found at this link.

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5   Scaffolding: Preparing students for the task

The scaffolding activities will provide an opportunity to informally assess for learning and to offer feedback to students on their progress.

Inform students that the task will be to present their understandings of how artists communicate meanings about their identities through reference to the various dimensions. Discuss the Student rubric for self portraits assessment task with them so that they are aware of how they will be assessed on this task.

Activity One

Discuss with students the definition of a self portrait:

• What are the ways of defining a self portrait?
• What might be some reasons why artists create self portraits?

The following questions could be used in developing a class definition:

• Do self portraits have to have just the human face as the focus of the artwork?
• Could self portraits be artworks that reflect something about the identity of the artist but include more than just the physical representation of a face?
• Do they have to be two-dimensional artworks?

Introduce the dimensions that will be used to analyse the self portraits. (These dimensions are contexts that allow ways of interpreting the visual and contextual elements of artworks.)

Analyse and interpret at least one sample artwork in the light of the relevant physical, social, cultural, gender and historical dimensions of the work. Brett Whitely and Wendy Sharpe examples are provided on the Student analysis sheet. There will be a need to provide some background information about the artist so that students can analyse the relevance of both the dimensions and the visual aspects. Background information about other artists as well as links to their works can be found on the Reference list of suggested stimulus artworks.

Emphasise that different artists' work will reflect different emphases within these dimensions, and that not all dimensions will be relevant to all of the artworks.

Activity Two

Students work in groups or pairs to research and discuss a number of other self portraits, using the dimensions as a basis for that discussion. The self portraits could be those suggested in the reference list or others nominated by the teacher or suggested by the students. Several of the same artworks should be discussed by each group to allow comparisons of group findings.

Photocopy the Student analysis sheet onto A3 paper to assist in ease of use.

It is recommended that teachers demonstrate to students how to extract from the research material relevant facts (rather than extensive but irrelevant biographic details of the artist etc). This might be most effectively done by analysing material (perhaps from a website) on an overhead transparency. This would facilitate the identification and highlighting of relevant facts so that the process is modelled for the students.

Another activity could be to watch a video about an artist's life and have the students identify one dimension of the artist's life – eg cultural influences. A discussion could then focus on how this dimension is evident in the artist's self portrait.

Following the group activity, conduct a class discussion to share ideas and opinions.

When discussing students' feedback, the teacher should ask whether every dimension was equally relevant for each artwork. Were there some dimensions that were not in evidence in some artworks? Were there some dimensions that were less or more important in some artworks?

Activity Three

Assist students to find examples of self portraits to be used in the assessment task. Depending on school resources, the teacher might provide a range of sample self portraits and related contextual information for the students to use. The teacher might also provide a list of publications and other resources, such as websites, that would allow students to locate relevant artworks. The Reference list of suggested stimulus artworks could be used as a starting point.

Students could be encouraged to find artworks that are not just paintings or drawings but also three-dimensional pieces or works that have been generated using contemporary technologies. (If this option is used, teachers could consider including one such example for discussion in Activity 2 so that students have some practice.)

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6   The task

The actual assessment task provides students with several options (see Student task sheet).

Students can choose one of the following options:

• Write an introduction to a catalogue for an exhibition of self portraits. (It would be useful to show students examples of exhibition catalogues so that they understand the genre.)
• Deliver a speech for the opening of an exhibition of self portraits.
• Provide an oral or written statement/rationale with a series of annotated sketches for their own proposed self portrait.

The final option allows students to relate their understanding about self portraits to themselves and their own artworks. They can therefore choose to prepare a rationale or statement for their own planned artwork. This should be accompanied by a series of preliminary sketches with annotations, and could be presented in either written or oral form. The planned artwork should communicate something about the student with reference to more than one of the dimensions, eg physical, social, cultural, gender etc.

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7   Professional advice

Teachers could use the following diagnostic grid to record student performance on each of the expected qualities, thus obtaining a snapshot of those areas in which students will need further instruction. The teaching and learning activities that follow the grid are also related to each of the expected qualities and suggest some ways in which teachers could consolidate or extend performance. Click here to view how the grid might be completed.

Teaching and learning activities linked to the expected qualities listed in the rubrics, and in the diagnostic grid, can be found at the following links:

• Teaching and learning activities: Ability to analyse and interpret ways artists represent their identity in self portraits
• Teaching and learning activities: Understanding of how the dimensions (physical, social, gender, cultural and historical) influence how self portraits can be interpreted
• Teaching and learning activities: Ability to use language conventions and art terminology

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Ability to analyse and interpret ways artists represent their identity in self portraits

1. If students performed at a low level on this aspect of the task, identify the meaning of the words analyse and interpret and show them how these processes are different, yet interrelated in the activity.
   The following questions could be used to encourage student engagement with the processes:
   Analysis: How is the artwork designed or presented? How do the defining features affect how the image is viewed?
   Interpretation: Why has the artist arranged the work in this way? What could be communicated by this form of arrangement/presentation?
   List these questions and the responses where students can see and refer to them.
2. If students performed at a high level on this aspect of the task, provide them with another self portrait and encourage them to compare and contrast the visual aspects of self portraits.

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Understanding of how the dimensions (physical, social, gender, cultural and historical) influence how self portraits can be interpreted

1. If students performed at a low level on this aspect of the task, work through the questions on the analysis sheet with another sample self portrait. Choose a range of self portraits, each of which is mainly influenced by a different dimension. Use this to illustrate, via discussion, how the different dimensions are evident.
2. If the students performed at a high level on this aspect of the task, ask them to find another self portrait that has been influenced by different dimensions. For example, the first portrait might communicate more about the artist's social identity and the second might communicate more about the artist's physical and/or gender identity.

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Ability to use language conventions and art terminology

1. If students performed at a low level on this aspect of the task, provide them with a plans to scaffold future responses (eg Introduction: Paragraph one introduces … ). Analyse their own tasks in the light of such scaffolds. Provide and discuss model responses. Encourage students to build up a word list of terminology that could be used in the critique of the artworks.
2. If students performed at a high level on this aspect of the task, encourage them to draft questions to interview another student relating to the other student's response, and to use the material gained from the interview to write a short report about the imaginary exhibition for an arts magazine.

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