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Art and the Botanical (FINA20044)

Undergraduate level 2Points: 12.5Online and On Campus (Southbank)

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Overview

Availability(Quotas apply)
Summer Term - Online
Summer Term - Online
Semester 1 - Online
Winter Term - On Campus
July - On Campus
Semester 2 - Online
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This practice-based drawing subject focuses on developing skills and techniques in botanical drawing, using drawing and watercolour media. Students will be introduced to specialist botanical drawing techniques, working from live plants and botanical specimens and engaging with the University Cultural Collections (including the University of Melbourne Herbarium (MELU) and the University of Melbourne System Garden).

Lectures and writing tasks that explore the botanical in historic and contemporary visual art will complement the drawing program. By the end of the subject, students should have developed a comprehensive folio of exercises and finished works exploring the botanical in both its living and preserved states, highlighting how artistic practice can be used as a space for exploration and discovery.

Though this subject is designed for students who have little or no drawing experience, it will also suit students who have previously undertaken a visual art Breadth subject or similar.

Students will participate in classes, and engage with content including demonstrations, discussions, tours and lectures. Ongoing feedback will be provided.

Intended learning outcomes

On completion of this subject, students should be able to:

  • demonstrate drawing skills required to effectively represent the botanical in both living and preserved states from direct observation;
  • discuss how plant material has been represented in both historical and contemporary art and in the field of botany;
  • use pictorial and technical experimentation to explore visual and conceptual ideas relevant to the representation of plant material;
  • show technical development and proficiency in manipulating a range of media through practical experimentation and set tasks;
  • demonstrate independent research into historical and contemporary art in relation to botanical subject matter;
  • evaluate drawing processes, creative outcomes and their own development.

Generic skills

On completion of the subject students should be able to:

  • display an awareness of the graphic possibilities of a variety of concepts, materials and practices;
  • exhibit evidence of skill development both pictorially and technically as a means of independent image making;
  • indicate evidence of individual research in the relevant area of practice;
  • demonstrate practical skills in respect of critical analysis, problem solving;
  • demonstrate capacities for artistic imagination, creativity, transformation and interpretation;
  • demonstrate an open, independent and inquiring attitude towards contemporary cultural developments and new ideas.

Last updated: 15 February 2024