Developed a Sustained Investigation

How to Help Students Develop Their Sustained Investigation Topic

Helping students develop a sustained investigation topic of AP Studio Art that exits them and guides their work, isn’t always easy. Students are often used to being told what to create, or coming up with an idea, creating a piece and moving on. Exploring an idea throughout a course and creating multiple works around it can feel hard. It can also be fun.

The hardest part is often learning to ask questions and to make them clear enough to guide research and creation. A sustained investigation is about asking questions in written format and developing answers to those questions visually.

Developing your Sustained Investigation

• Ask questions instead of making statements
• Ask questions and then develop your answers visually through the work that you create
• Research: You’re asking questions about things that you’re interested in, but don’t know all of the answers.
  • Look at other artists
  • Explore books on the topic
  • Watch related videos
• Document: As you research, document what you find in your sketchbook or visual journal. 
  • Create sketches of ideas 
  • Cut out images that inspire and relate to your idea
  • Explore colors
  • Write down notes

Example: Statement turned into questions:

Statement: The result of nature is dependent on humans. Life of organisms on earth is life for us. 

Possible questions related to the statement:

What is the result of nature and human interdependency?

How do nature and humans interact to survive?

Do nature and humans need each other to survive? Can either exist on their own?

Words that signal a question

• What
• How
• Why
• Who
• Which

• Step 1: Select a Topic and turn it into a question

Topic: This should be something that you’re interested in, curious about, and want to learn more about.  Write your topic:  Turn it into a question: Example: I’m interested in textiles and how we use them to express ourselves. Question: How do people use textiles to express themselves?

• Step 2: Take your question and get specific

Your topic question gets you started, but it’s not the one question that you’re trying to explore for every piece. Often a topic question is to board to attempt to answer in one work of art. Below you’ll work on developing more specific questions to respond to. 

How do people use textiles to express themselves?

Looking at your topic question, what parts could be more specific?

Example: I highlighted in yellow areas that can be more specific, here’s what I mean. 

People	textiles	Express themselves
women	clothing	For work
men	Accessories like scarves and hats	To their friends
teenagers	pillows	For a party
Explore specific cultures	blankets	customs
	Wall hangings	house
	carpets	apartment
	curtains	College dorm
	Interior design	bedroom

Having well thought out questions helps support your written evidence:

1	2	3
Written evidence identifies an inquiry but visual evidence does not relate to that inquiry. ORWritten evidence does not identify an inquiry	Written evidence identifies an inquiry that relates to the sustained investigation. ANDVisual evidence demonstrates the sustained investigation.	Written evidence identifies an inquiry that guides the sustained investigation. ANDVisual evidence demonstrates the sustained investigation.

• Step 3: Now, I can take those ideas and start to write questions. 

Examples

How do women use clothing to express themselves for work?

Why do only some men wear accessories like scarves and hats to express themselves for work?

How do the Amish use clothing to express themselves to their friends?

Your Turn

Develop at least 3 questions.

1.

2.

3.

• Step 4: Research and Document

Now that you have some questions, you need to do some research. Select 1 question.

• What reference images do you need to help guide your drawing? Collect 3-5
• Create sketches based on your reference images
  • How do you want to arrange the composition?
  • What colors do you want to use and why?
  • What techniques might connect to your work? 

Example: Why do only some men wear accessories like scarves and hats to express themselves for work?

If the above was my question, I would collect images of the following:

1. Men in suits
2. Offices
3. Scarves
4. Hats

Next, I would practice sketching the men, making sure that I understood proportion, and thinking about where I want to place them, and how I want them to interact. I would also spend time exploring what kind of colors and patterns I want to create on the scarf.

Since I’m exploring textiles, I might play with paper weaving, sewing, fabric collage, and embroidery. 

The research and sketching supports these 2 areas of the college board rubric

Visual evidence of practice, experimentation, OR revision; however, visual evidence does not relate to a sustained investigation.	Visual evidence of practice, experimentation, OR revision relates to the sustained investigation. ANDWritten evidence relates to the visual evidence of practice, experimentation, OR revision.	Visual evidence of practice, experimentation, AND revision demonstrates development of the sustained investigation. ANDWritten evidence describes how the sustained investigation shows evidence of practice, experimentation, OR revision.
Little to no evidence of visual relationships among materials, processes, OR ideas.	Visual relationships among materials, processes, OR ideas are evident.	Visual relationships among materials processes AND ideas are clearly evident and demonstrate synthesis.

Student Example:

Question: What is Southern Identity?