Visual Art

The AGS Art Department offers courses from Year 9 to Year 13 in both NCEA and Cambridge pathways.

Courses in the Art Department

Year 9

All year Nine students have at least one or two lessons of art per week, over the course of the year they will have the opportunity to work with drawing, painting and printmaking, as well as elements of digital design. This provides a good foundation for those students wishing to maintain Art as one of their option choices higher up the school.

The Year Nine program is taught by all the Art staff.

Year 10

In Year 10 students may select from Visual Arts, a pure Fine Arts course which builds on the year nine course or Art Graphics, a visual art and graphics based course. Year 10 students have one lesson of Art per day.

Year 11

In Year 11 Students may continue with IGCSE Visual Arts. The course focuses on drawing and painting as well as working with aspects of printmaking and sculpture.

Senior Art

At the Senior Levels students may specialise further by selecting from Photography, Painting, Design or Printmaking. All courses are dual pathway and continue to Level 3 or Year 13.

The Department

Each senior course within the department is taught by a specialist teacher, most of whom make and exhibit their own work.
Last year's results were outstanding in all fields in both NCEA and Cambridge with many students being awarded top marks and Excellence. For many students entering the Art Department their Art result proved to be their highest.

The Department offers students many opportunities beyond the classroom. Each year senior students may enter work for selection into the Auckland Grammar Art Exhibition. This eagerly awaited event in Auckland's calendar is a chance for the students to exhibit alongside many of New Zealand's most prominent artists. There is also a bi-annual Art trip to Europe which takes in key Art locations across Europe.

At the conclusion of each year an exhibition is held of the senior students' final submissions. This is a showcase event that inspires students moving through the department, and is testament to the talent of our students and the dedication of the staff. Many of our students move on to study in a variety of artistic fields both in New Zealand and overseas.

Staff

Caroline Pegg - Design and Painting (Head of Department)
Blair Heaton - Printmaking
Justin Boroughs
- Painting
Sarah Davis - Design and Art History
Rebecca Greenslade - Design
Nichola Barnden - Photography 

Art History

Art History is a rich and engaging area of study. It may be taken by all students not just those with a Fine Arts background. The study of Art History will enrich a student's perception of the visual world and demand of them thinking and analytical skills that will stand them in good stead for any area of further study. Art History is run by the Art Department as a dual pathway course. Students may take Art History in the 7th from as an NCEA subject. Cambridge students may take Art History at AS Level in the 7th form or in 6A or 6B.

This is an academic subject and a high level of English is a significant advantage. Students study artists and the periods in which they lived as well as the philosophies and political concerns of the day. The courses always take in a range of topics from the Renaissance to the Modern.
Having run a successful trip to Europe in 2006 and 2008 the Art Department is currently planning a trip for 2010. It is an excellent opportunity for the boys to experience first-hand the rich cultural heritage of Western Art.

Staff

Sarah Davis