International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB) Group 6: The Arts (Visual Arts) Syllabus

Group 6: The Arts (Visual Arts) syllabus — full chapter and topic list

Expand any chapter to see its topics and sub-topics. This is the whole examinable outline for Group 6: The Arts (Visual Arts) in International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB), not a summary of it.

1. 1

   Visual Arts in Context

   3 topics

   • Examining art across time and culture
     • Cultural and historical influences
     • Function and meaning of artworks
   • Investigating artists and movements
     • Comparative analysis of practitioners
     • Personal influences and inspiration
   • Visual literacy and interpretation
2. 2

   Visual Arts Methods

   3 topics

   • Materials, techniques and processes
     • Exploring media and tools
     • Experimentation and risk-taking
   • The formal elements and principles
     • Line, shape, colour and composition
   • Developing technical competence
3. 3

   Communicating Visual Arts

   3 topics

   • Curatorial practice
     • Selection and presentation of work
     • Exhibition rationale and coherence
   • Articulating artistic intentions
     • Resolved versus exploratory work
   • Audience and viewing experience
4. 4

   Assessment Components

   3 topics

   • Comparative Study
     • Analysing and comparing artworks and artists
     • HL: connections to own practice
   • Process Portfolio
     • Evidence of experimentation and development
     • Reflection on skills and ideas
   • The Exhibition
     • Curated body of resolved artworks
     • Curatorial rationale and exhibition text

Group 6: The Arts (Visual Arts) flashcards for International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme (IB)

20 of 51 cards from the Group 6: The Arts (Visual Arts) deck — real questions with worked answers.

1. In the IB Visual Arts course, what are the three core assessment components and their weightings?

   Comparative Study (20%), Process Portfolio (40%), and The Exhibition (40%). The Comparative Study and Process Portfolio are externally assessed; the Exhibition is internally assessed and externally moderated.

2. What is the Comparative Study task at Standard Level (SL) in IB Visual Arts?

   SL students analyse and compare at least 3 different artworks by at least 2 different artists, presented across 10-15 screens, examining formal qualities, function/purpose, cultural significance, and the work's contexts.

3. How does the Comparative Study differ between SL and HL in IB Visual Arts?

   HL students must additionally produce 3-5 screens analysing the connections between the studied artworks and their own developing art-making practice; HL submits 10-15 screens for the comparison plus the extra reflection screens. SL has no such reflection requirement.

4. What is the Process Portfolio in IB Visual Arts, and how many screens are required at SL and HL?

   It is a selection of materials evidencing experimentation, exploration, manipulation and refinement across art-making activities. SL submits 9-18 screens; HL submits 13-25 screens, and HL must show work in at least 3 art-making forms.

5. In how many art-making forms must SL and HL students show evidence in the Process Portfolio?

   SL must show at least 2 art-making forms; HL must show at least 3 art-making forms, each drawn from separate columns of the art-making forms table (two-dimensional, three-dimensional, lens-based/electronic/screen-based).

6. What are the three columns of the IB Visual Arts art-making forms table?

   (1) Two-dimensional forms (e.g. drawing, painting, printmaking, graphics); (2) Three-dimensional forms (e.g. sculpture, ceramics, designed objects, site-specific/ephemeral); (3) Lens-based, electronic and screen-based forms (e.g. photography, film, animation, digital/new media).

7. What does The Exhibition component require of SL and HL students in terms of number of artworks?

   SL exhibits 4-7 resolved artworks; HL exhibits 8-11 resolved artworks. Both select coherent works that demonstrate resolution, technical competence and conceptual qualities.

8. What is the curatorial rationale in The Exhibition, and its word limit at SL and HL?

   A written statement explaining the selection, arrangement and curatorial intent of the exhibited works. SL: maximum 400 words; HL: maximum 700 words.

9. What are the exhibition text (label) requirements for each artwork in The Exhibition?

   Each selected artwork is accompanied by exhibition text stating the title, medium, size and an optional intention/statement, with a maximum of 500 characters per text.

10. Define 'visual literacy' as used in IB Visual Arts.

    The ability to interpret, decode and construct meaning from visual images and artworks by reading their formal elements, symbolism, context and conventions, rather than relying on text alone.

11. List the commonly taught formal elements (the 'visual elements') of art.

    Line, shape, form, space, colour, value (tone), and texture. These are the basic building blocks an artist manipulates to create a work.

12. List the principles of design used to organise the formal elements.

    Balance, contrast, emphasis (focal point), movement, rhythm, pattern/repetition, proportion/scale, unity and variety. They describe how elements are arranged for effect.

13. What is the difference between a formal 'element' and a 'principle' of art?

    Elements are the basic components or building blocks (line, shape, colour, etc.); principles are the rules or strategies that govern how those elements are combined and organised (balance, contrast, rhythm, etc.).

14. In colour theory, what are the primary, secondary and tertiary colours?

    Primaries: red, yellow, blue. Secondaries (mixing two primaries): orange, green, violet. Tertiaries (a primary mixed with an adjacent secondary): e.g. red-orange, yellow-green, blue-violet.

15. What are complementary colours and what is their visual effect?

    Colours opposite each other on the colour wheel (e.g. red/green, blue/orange, yellow/violet). Placed together they create maximum contrast and vibrancy; mixed together they neutralise toward grey/brown.

16. Distinguish hue, value and saturation in describing colour.

    Hue is the colour's identity/name (red, blue). Value (tone) is its lightness or darkness. Saturation (chroma/intensity) is its purity or vividness versus dullness/greyness.

17. What is the difference between additive and subtractive colour mixing?

    Additive mixing combines light (RGB), where adding all produces white — used in screens. Subtractive mixing combines pigments/inks (CMY), where adding all approaches black — used in paint and print.

18. Define 'composition' in the visual arts.

    The deliberate arrangement of visual elements within the frame or space of an artwork to guide the viewer's eye, create balance and emphasis, and convey meaning.

19. What is the rule of thirds in composition?

    A guideline dividing the picture plane into a 3×3 grid with two horizontal and two vertical lines; placing key subjects along these lines or at their intersections tends to create a more dynamic, balanced composition than centring.

20. Explain linear perspective and the role of the vanishing point.

    Linear perspective is a system for creating the illusion of depth on a flat surface using converging lines. Parallel lines receding from the viewer appear to meet at a vanishing point on the horizon line; one-, two- and three-point perspective use one, two or three vanishing points.

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