ARTEXPRESS Virtual is an initiative of The Arts Unit of the NSW Department of Education. The Arts Unit provides a state wide infrastructure for arts education that engages more than 500,000 students and teachers in its programs annually.
ARTEXPRESS is a joint partnership between the New South Wales Department of Education and the New South Wales Education Standards Authority. It is an annual showcase of exemplary art works from the previous year’s Higher School Certificate that celebrates the remarkably high standards reached by NSW Visual Arts students.
The creative arts have a fundamental place in education and are invaluable for student engagement and self-expression. Learning through the arts develops creativity and innovative thinking. Through visual arts education, students share their unique perspectives and make connections with the artistic and wider community. The artworks selected for ARTEXPRESS demonstrate the informed and insightful creativity of contemporary youth, exploring themes and issues that affect today’s HSC students, encompassing personal experience and encouraging us to consider issues that connect people around the globe.
Selection
The inaugural ARTEXPRESS Virtual exhibition includes 50 bodies of work across the 12 expressive forms within the NSW Visual Arts HSC syllabus. In 2020, there are seven ARTEXPRESS exhibitions showcasing 231 outstanding Bodies of Work from the 2019 Higher School Certificate Visual Arts practical examination. Each exhibited Body of Work was selected from 8,552 artworks submitted for the practical Visual Arts examination last year
3D imaging
In the imaging phase, several distinct modern imaging methods were utilised. Photogrammetry is a 3D imaging method that involves taking many photos of an object from multiple angles and processing them into a 3D object that can then be rotated and inspected. More than 20,000 photos were taken of the dimensional works which represented 95 individual work components. Structured light scans were also taken of some of the more intricate objects and also to serve as a reference for scale. Processing of this data into the finished models took six weeks.
2D imaging
A process called orthomosaic was used to photograph 2D artworks which is technically a similar process to photogrammetry. Many overlapping images of a 2D work are captured and then orthorectified to enable an extreme resolution 2D image output, sometimes in the hundreds of megapixels. The result offers far greater resolution than a standard digital camera can achieve. This was supplemented with full frame SLR photographs. As with the 3D components, several thousand photographs were taken and processed over a 12 week period.
Acknowledgments
Congratulations to the 2020 ARTEXPRESS Virtual artists for their commitment to creating outstanding artworks which are truly inspiring. We hope you continue to create and share your art into the future.
ARTEXPRESS Virtual would like to thank visual arts teachers for their support and dedication to their students and their advocacy of the arts in education. We also extend our appreciation to the principals and members of the school communities for the important work they do.
Thank you to NESA for their partnership and to the many people who contribute to the program throughout the year.
Our sincere appreciation to the galleries who are part of the ARTEXPRESS 2020 exhibitions for their support of this project: Art Gallery of NSW, Hazelhurst Arts Centre, The Armory at Sydney Olympic Park, Griffith Regional Art Gallery, Margaret Whitlam Galleries and Goulburn Regional Art Gallery.
Production
ARTEXPRESS Project Officer
Jenny Beachum
ARTEXPRESS Support Officer
Shannen Rowland-Clarke
ARTEXPRESS Administration
Emma Jefferson
Rampe Realistic Imaging
Michael Rampe – Main Project Producer, Principal Photography, 3D imaging, 2D imaging, Co-curator
Peter Reeves – Web Development and VR Lead
Curator and Consultant
Ron Pratt – Head Teacher, Creative and Performing Arts, Wyndham College
Student Interviews
Daniel Repeti – Teacher, Visual Arts / Photography / Film / Digital Media, Wyndham College
HSC Visual Arts Marker’s Commentary
Audrey Juska – Head Teacher Creative and Performing Arts, Homebush Boys High School
Craig Malyon – Visual Arts Coordinator, Loreto Kirribilli
Karen King – Leader of Learning, Creative Arts, Caroline Chisholm College
Jane Poiner – Head of Visual Arts | Head of Design and Technology, The Macdonald College
Maree-Louise Smith – Educator and Teacher in Charge, Visual Arts, St Clare's College, Waverley
Lisa Gascoigne – HOD of Visual Arts and Technology, St Aloysius' College
Additional Photography
Robert Edwards