L.C. – Art

Leaving Certificate Art has been designed to further develop the learning of those who have previously studied Visual Art at Junior Cycle. However, it also addresses the interests and needs of learners who wish to study Art at Senior Cycle for the first time. Art can fuel a lifelong passion in learners as they enter further education or the world of work, which includes work related to the creative arts and other industries.   

By its nature, Art is the language we use that gives our ideas form. Studying Art gives the student diverse knowledge, skills and values by experiencing a wide variety of ideas, practices and media. It promotes creative and critical thinking, supports the development of problemsolving skills, and strengthens the student’s ability to communicate ideas through their own work to an intended audience.   

The structure of Leaving Certificate Art is based on three interconnected strands, Research, Create and Respond and all work (Art Practical and Visual Studies) is explored through these three stands.   

There are three assessment components:   

• Practical Coursework (50%) The coursework assessment includes two related but separate components – practical coursework and a practical examination – which will be completed in the final year of study. The practical coursework component is designed to test the learner’s ability to use the knowledge, concepts and skills developed in their study of Art to produce a realised work, from a stimulus, over an extended period. The use of primary sources, including observational drawings, life drawing and drawing from the imagination are important.   

• Practical Examination (20%) The practical examination component will take place after the completion of the practical coursework component and within 5 hours of a single day. Learners will create a second realised work for this examination, based on the same stimulus and the ideas and work they researched and developed during their overall coursework project.   

Visual Studies (30%) The study of the visual expressions of all aspects of culture, created by past, recent modern and contemporary societies, is called Visual Studies. By researching, creating and responding, learners will learn to know and understand the work they make as well as works by other artists. The term art is taken to include the areas of fine art, design and craft in a range of traditional, contemporary, new and/or digital media. Using appropriate critical and visual language, students of art will be enabled to consider the area/s of practice and use of media these works have been expressed in and through, including understanding the ideas and contexts that underpin their creation. It is also important that students understand their own role as artist.