Art in the Diploma Programme

Art in the Diploma Programme

Students new to the MBIS community will always find “fitting in” a very important task that quickly needs to be realized for the best possible outcome. Harvey Bebbington Jones  immediately took advantage of an assignment in his IBDP Higher Level Visual Art course by creating his first two-dimensional work of art. To fulfill the expectations, Harvey used his love for photography and chose to complete a self-portrait that was more than just a charcoal drawing.

In this first unit, we engaged in sketching from life by using students in class as models.

Harvey’s ideas and intentions for a work of art do seem to come to him very quickly. His ability to discuss and share ideas for reflection and consideration are definitely a strength and help to fuel his creative thought process.

As a culminating task the DP1 class was assigned a critique and it just so happened that this critique fell on a day when the teacher wasn’t in class. So, the students were asked to record their interaction. If you listen to the recordings you will hear a very sincere group engaged in authentic discussion.

Harvey pipes up and says, “This portrait is based on a picture that my old art teacher took when we were on a trip in Oxford. And I thought because I am holding a camera and you cannot see my face and I’m wearing bracelets that I bought in India so that’s another part of me. Photography is my thing…” Talking about art can be a real challenge for some because it is personal and during the process of expression artists can find themselves revealing ideas that could be met with criticism. The “critical eye” is exactly what Harvey seems to enjoy because he is the student who sits up and takes note of feedback related to his work. Being able to consider and discuss feedback in a mature manner is a skill that drives this Diploma Programme 1 student’s strong artistic expressions.

As you can see in this self-portrait using charcoal as a medium for exploration, Harvey stands behind a camera with lens sharply focused on you, the audience. If you see Harvey on campus ask him what he is up to in studio. I am sure he will be eager to discuss his next venture!