Artists: Assemble, AP 2D Art Class Awaits
By Samantha Sun
STAFF WRITER
The Advanced Placement (AP) 2D Art and Design class, introduced at Andover High School this year, requires students to create a portfolio that incorporates 2D pieces to show off their art skills and depth of understanding on a chosen topic.
This course helps students “create a portfolio to get [them] into college or to pursue a career, the kind of thing you would show in an interview,” said Meghan Michaud, who teaches the class. “This [class] could be about pushing that study further so that you are prepared for advanced study beyond getting into the program.”
Usually, after Portfolio I, in which students create a similar portfolio, students would move onto Portfolio II. This year, Portfolio II was replaced by an AP class, which is a plus for those desiring to pursue art beyond high school. The prerequisites for AP 2D Art and Design are Portfolio I and 1.5 credits in fine arts.
“The big difference this class has from other art classes is that it’s much more self-directed,” said Abby Clement, a senior at AHS who is taking the course this year. “We create our sustained investigation question and the ideas for each project.”
In the course, students choose a sustained investigation question to explore. A sustained investigation is a body of work in response to that question. Students research, read articles, and refer to visual examples, artists, trends, and compositions. “They pick their own topic, but we spend a great amount of time brainstorming and making sure there is research to back up those ideas before we pursue it and all the different tangents that a possible question could go into,” said Michaud.
Students are to be accurate and put effort into both their artwork and information.
“Rather than completing assignments, we can use our own creative liberty to explore other topics,” said senior Alva Yanowitz. “[For] my topic, I chose to investigate human relationships and human connection.” She is creating art that expresses what it is like to have a relationship with someone who is struggling with mental health or addiction.
Alva Yanowitz works on an art piece.
Students are allowed to use any type of 2D mediums at their disposal, and the limits are very loose, giving room for creativity. “I’ve done one [piece] digitally, one in crayons, and one in pen and then scanned and edited digitally,” said Clement. “It’s been fun experimenting with mediums I haven’t worked with before, like crayons.”
The class is very fast-paced and engaging. By the end of the course, students are expected to submit a portfolio of what they have created: a sustained investigation that includes 15 high quality works, documents of research to explain each piece, and 5 additional works that show the depth of their progress. AP 2D Art and Design is highly recommended for “students who are wishing to pursue a career in the arts and have the kind [of] dedication and creativity [to dive deep] into the content and pursu[e] all the possibilities,” said Michaud.
