<p>Hello</p>
<p>So, I'm a junior in high school, getting ready to become a senior, and have already selected 2 AP courses for my senior schedule (AP Literature and AP Spanish). I have an intense interest for visual arts, but was not able to take visual arts for all my previous years of high school. Scheduling in my freshman year created difficulties, and I was unable to take Visual Arts I...</p>
<p>However, since my sophomore year, I've been taking visual arts classes and have been really enjoying it. A typical "art-intersted student" art schedule for all 4 years of high school, at my school, is:</p>
<p>9th grade
Visual Arts I</p>
<p>10th grade
Visual Arts II</p>
<p>11th grade
Advanced Art (visual arts III)</p>
<p>12th grade
AP Art</p>
<p>Is it true one must have taken art for all three previous years of high school in order to take AP Art? Furthermore, should students whose primary academic interest is art take AP Art? See, I really enjoy visual arts, but is by no means what my eventual career path will be, and I don't plan to apply to any art schools (i.e. Pratt, RISD, Parsons). I guess the only real gain I see in taking AP Art is just the artistic challenge of it and the fact it would look good on a college resume (of course, so would Advanced Art.)</p>
<p>Should I take AP Art? What does it entail? Does one really need to have a strong artistic inclination and extreme talent to thrive at the course?</p>
<p>bump</p>
<p>wow, this board moves rather quickly</p>
<p>Onilawliet - yes you should take AP Art History. It can be a truly great course. Needless to say it helps to have a dedicated well informed teacher. No, you do not need any artistic talent. The course is NOT about your artistic talent! Good luck. Best books are Gardner for your text and REA for review!</p>
<p>^^ i think the OP is talking about AP Art 2D rather than AP Art history. lol</p>
<p>Yes, the OP was most likely refering to one of the AP Studio Art courses and not Art History. I'll be taking it next year but since one section of Advanced Art at my school shares the period with the AP students, I witnessed them working on it all year, so I can give you a little information. So, here goes:</p>
<p>For AP Art, instead of taking an exam like most other APs, you spend the year preparing a portfolio and submit that in May. There are three categories of portfolios that you can submit, depending on the nature of your art. There's Drawing, which involves any sort of drawing or painting medium and usually involves still lifes, portraits, etc, and 2D Design which again involves a 2D medium but is more focused on design aspects and can be more abstract. The line between these two is fairly thin and you need to make your best judgement when choosing your category. The final one is 3D design which involves anything in a 3D medium (i.e. sculpture, ceramics, metal, wood, etc).</p>
<p>Each of these requires a portfolio of three sections: Quality, Breadth, and Concentration. The quality can contain pieces from the other two categories and really just is what it seems to be -- your 5 best pieces. For 2D and Drawing, the actual pieces are submitted. For 3D, you submit slides. The next section is the Breadth which is also basically what it seems to be -- a wide selection of pieces. For this section the most important thing to keep in mind is variety. They want to see that you are able to produce a range of work in both medium, subject matter, and approach. For this section, I believe about ten pieces are required (not positive though) and you submit them in the form of slides. The final section is the Concentration which requires a bit more thought. This is where you choose a specific subject matter or technique to focus on and create a series of works surrounding that. For this section they're looking for depth of thought, development and growth of an idea, and how well you are able to create a coherent series. I think you also submit ten pieces in the form of slides for this one. Some examples of concentrations I've seen: dolls that are presented in some way that gives them life, self portraits, exploring masks in the figurative and literal sense, etc. Next year I'll be doing 3D work so I've narrowed it down to two choices: a series of jewelry exploring unconventional methods of stone setting or a series of necklaces focusing on important aspects of my childhood. You must write a statement explaining your concentration idea and how it developed. It may be a good idea to start at least thinking about your concentration over the summer and definitely get a couple of pieces done for your breadth section. Your teacher may give you specific assignments or it may be up to you -- it varies by school. </p>
<p>Check out collegeboard and APcentral for more information. Hope this helps!</p>