Visual Arts  

That’s a wrap! 🎬

As the sun begins to set on Term 2, Koonung’s Year 10 Media Class have been hard at work crafting stories that explore the playful landscape of genre conventions. In collaborative groups, students followed the Media Production Process, to apply their knowledge of genre codes and conventions to create a short video in a selected genre. 

Bodie Funnell, starring in “Bandits”

From the ten-gallon hats and holsters of Westerns to unrequited love of Romance, our budding filmmakers have left no genre unexplored. Each short film was a testament to students’ creativity, dedication, and passion for storytelling. 

Sean Browne and Zach Watkins, “Bandits”

Below is a short video “Bandits”, which in exploring the codes and conventions of the Western genre that turned Koonung’s oval into the O.K Corral!

Emma Crimmings

Media and Art Teacher

Year 12 Media 

Our Year 12 Media students are coming to the end of a busy semester, finalising their pre-Production Design Plans. The majority of students are working on producing a short film for their School Assessed Task (SAT) and are currently finalising their scripts/shotlists/storyboards and devising a Production Schedule for shooting their films over the mid-year holidays, which will require high levels of organisation and collaboration. Term 3 will see them editing their productions for submission by end of term.

The other focus of this semester has been the South Korean Academy Award winning film, ‘Parasite’, directed by Bong Joon-ho, which the students have studied and analysed in depth, completing a written SAC and a Video Essay of analysis around the film’s Narrative and the Context in which it was made.

Peter Scott 

Year 12 Media Teacher 

Artist of the Week 

Each week we celebrate the work of enthusiastic artists. Congratulations to the following recipients:  

Bailey Allen 10A

Bailey completed this design artwork  as part of his Visual Communication classwork assessment task, "Laneway Poster" Bailey was nominated for Artist of the Week by Ms Briffa.

Please read what Bailey has written to describe his art piece.

For the Laneway Festival posters, I decided to focus on hip-hop and rap, a genre I'm really into. Instead of just making one poster like we were supposed to, I got carried away and made two! One featured Kanye West with his iconic Graduation Bear, and the other showcased Travis Scott with his Astroworld theme. It was so much fun bringing these artists and their vibes to life on the posters.

Audrey McRobbie 8F 

Audrey completed this perspective drawing as part of her Visual Communication classwork assessment task, "One Point Perspective Technical Drawing".  Audrey was nominated for Artist of the Week by Mr Henson.

Please read what Audrey has written to describe her artwork.

My 1-point piece is of a laneway in a subway station. The laneway is inspired by Flinders Street station.

There are numerous posters that share some significance with me, an example being Saul Bass’ Anatomy of a Murder poster which was a part of a previous assessment. 

The alley is dark with the only light source(s) being the fluorescent lights. The graffiti is mainly tags, I added deliberate dripping down from them to convey the messy, rushed narrative of a tagger.  There are 2 lanes to turn into on either side, the shading for them is dark and does not have an obvious light source.  

In the end, with a fine liner I added lines protruding to the vanishing point to portray the darkness in the lane, not just in light but in the sense that the artwork has a dull tone to it.

Helen Briffa 

Visual Arts / Technology Teacher

Visual Arts Domain PLC Leade

Artspace lunchtime  activities

This week in Art Space, students created neurographical chalk drawings! Using markers, we drew out freeform lines on the page, then applied splashes of various colours with oil pastel. Using water, the colours were then blended to create lovely gradients!

Estelle Lau and Romy Simpson 

Arts Captains 

Whitehorse Art Show, Rotary Box Hill Burwood 

Students are asked to contact Ms Briffa if they are interested in entering the Whitehorse Art Show. Ms Briffa's email is Helen.Briffa@education.vic.gov.au

Helen Briffa

Visual Arts / Technology Teacher

Visual Arts Domain PLC Leader

 VCE Art Creative Practice – Oil Painting Workshop

In the early weeks of term 2, VCE Art Creative Practice students participated in an Oil Painting workshop.

This workshop was an introduction to the medium of Oil Paint, with students learning and applying skills such as colour blending, tonal painting, observation, and detailing. 

To make the workshop more interesting, students were required to paint still life compositions consisting of colourful ribbons, coiled and folded, wrapped up and spread out. The complexity of these compositions required students to refine their ability to communicate accurate 3D form and texture, while also creating a visually interesting work of art.

The students have proudly added these to their visual journals, with some still refining their practice in the medium over the course of term 2. 

Fantastic work!

Christopher Henson

Arts and Technology Teacher

Year 10 2D Art – Excursion and Self-Portraits

In term 2, the year 10 2D Art students visited the NGV, viewing portraits from the collection. This coincided with the students’ development of their own self portrait paintings.

In front of both historical and contemporary works, students had the opportunity to analyse meanings and messages, and discuss the various ways artists produce works across different art forms.

The students viewed stand out works from the collection such as John Brack’s Collins Street 5 pm and Sidney Nolan’s Footballer as well as lesser-known paintings such as Hilda Rix Nicholas’ In Picardy and Marshall Claxton’s An emigrant's thoughts of home. 

Following their visit to the NGV, the students continued their self-portraits, studying and refining colour theory, proportion, observation and creating symbolism. The resulting paintings are diverse in their subject matter and personality, and attest to the unique ways in which the students have explored their sense of identity and self.

Well done Year 10s!

Christopher Henson

Arts and Technology Teacher

Year 8 Visual Communication – Perspective Drawing

Throughout term 2, students across year 8 have continued to develop their skills in drawing. 

The students were introduced technical drawing, with a focus on One Point and Two Point Perspective. The task required students to develop compositions which accurately depict 3-dimensional space on a 2-dimension surface. 

For their One Point Perspective drawings, the students in 8F applied their skill to render interior spaces. Some students recreated a view from their own home, while others rendered architecturally stunning interiors and urban spaces full of character.

In their Two Point Perspective drawings, the students moved from indoor spaces to the outside, adding further complexity to their work. Some opted to communicate the hustle and bustle of city street corners, whilst others refined their skills to create inviting houses and architecture.

Great work year 8s!

Christopher Henson

Arts and Technology Teacher

Year 7 Linocut - Water Theme 

Students were asked to develop a concept using the theme of water to create a series of prints.  Open the attachment to view some of the finished works from students. They are amazing and have such wonderful titles that convey the concept. Congratulations 7D!

Amy McLellan

Director of Curriculum 

Visual Arts/Technology Teacher