2017-2018 AP Art Summer Assignments

Summer Assignments:

All assignments can be done in any medium, technique and style you desire but should be entirely original (do not use other people’s pictures, characters, or content in any way) and fit the AP Test you are planning on taking (Drawing, 2D, or 3D).  Part I and II should be shared before August 1 if you want feedback and Part III can be shared when school begins.

Part I: Breadth Assignments:

(these assignments should be shared with me via social media (twitter/instagram to @timneedles with #NeedlesClass) or email tneedles@smithtown.k12.ny.us by August 1 at the latest for feedback. These works will also  be critiqued during the first weeks of classes.)

1. A mixed-media portrait – Create a portrait using various media in monochrome or in color. Feel free to use any medium you desire (ink, collage, newspaper, paint, & other mixed media) and as many media as you like. The style may be handled in any way you wish: realistic, abstract, expressive, impressionistic or cubistic, etc. This portrait should reveal something significant about the model. Hands, torso and face are important features and should be included in the work. Try an unusual surface. The portrait may be done on any flat smooth unbreakable surface such as cardboard, mural paper, plywood, masonite, plexiglass, homasote board, etc.

2Antediluvian- Read the definition below and create a work that has a theme of Antediluvian in some way. 

adjective “of or belonging to the time before the biblical Flood.” meaning: outdated, outmoded, old-fashioned, antiquated, behind the times, passé, ex: Humorous ridiculously old-fashioned."they maintain antediluvian sex-role stereotypes"

3. Man vs. Self- Create a work showing the contrast between man vs self. This too can be personal or social (environmentally, philosophically, ect) and literal or figurative. Try to stay away from the cliché imagery and find a unique take on a very ancient theme.

4. Inspiration- Take a look at this catalog of art from the 2016 Armory Show in NYC from Art.sy and choose any artist that interests you then create a piece responding to (not copying or in their style) their work.  The list includes everyone from artist who use traditional media such as: Andy Warhol, Joan Miró and Marcel Duchamp to contemporary artists like: Douglas Coupland, Marina Abramović, Francisco Vidal, William Kentridge, Jim Campbell, and Claire Tabouret .

5. “INVISIBLE CITIES” - A Strange Relationship With Memory

In the book entitled, Invisible Cities,the author, Italo Calvino, beautifully spins a tale of an imaginary encounter between Marco Polo and Kublai Khan, in which Polo describes all the cities of his long travels.  "Kublai Khan does not necessarily believe everything Marco Polo says when he describes the cities visited on his expeditions, but the emperor of the Tartars does continue listening to the young Venetian with greater attention and curiosity than he shows any other messenger or explorer."

So begins Italo Calvino's Invisible Cities, a compilation of fragmentary urban images. As Marco tells the khan about the marvelous places he has seen or visited, it may be that he is actually creating them all out of his imagination, or perhaps he is recreating details of his native Venice over and over again, or perhaps he is simply recounting some of the myriad possible forms that a city might take.

In truth, the book is a magnificent study or examination of our strange relationship with memory. As Polo tells Khan, "It is not the voice that tells the story, but the ear." The author of the book notes that the best way to really maintain and preserve our memories is to leave them be. Only in this way can we avoid the temptation of returning to them and likely distorting and warping them from their original state. As Italo Calvino skillfully reveals the slow and hidden crumbling of our memories. Create a piece of art in any media based on this without using words.

Part II: Choice Assignments:

Create a series of 65 works (about 1 piece a day during the summer).  Feel free to experiment creatively and use different media, the subject matter is also your choice but I'd suggest that you both work from life and you imagination.  If you get stuck and are at a loss for what to do I suggest using creative promts such as my own #TERPart or some of my favorites like JJCommunity for photography and Illustration Friday for drawing or #31nights which can work for anything!

If you use a sketchbook that would mean 65 pages or if it's photography that would mean 65 images.  This work shows process so not every piece would be totally completed but rather a resource to pull from for ideas and creative experiments in the future.