Broad canvas allows students display talents

Yesterday's art papers presented Leaving Cert students with a broad canvas on which they could display their talents. TUI subject representative Ms Helen Comiskey, a teacher at Dunshaughlin Community College in Co Meath, commended the morning's history and appreciation of art papers as "superbly laid out". Both ordinary and higher-level papers were very good, she said.

The ordinary-level paper covered all the main periods. The illustrations were wonderful and she liked the way the questions were broken down into specific points, she added.

The art in Ireland section was topical with Newgrange and the Casino in Marino making an appearance, said Ms Comiskey, while the questions in the European art section were general enough to allow students to choose topics that they would be familiar with. Students were also happy with the appreciation section. Overall, the questions were simple, direct and good. Ms Maureen Roche, also a TUI subject representative and a teacher in Ballyhale Vocational School, Co Kilkenny, said the ordinary-level paper was fine. But, she noted a new development on the paper where students were asked to identify artists from their illustrations (questions 5 and 15). For those who are still wondering, the paintings in question five were by Walter Osborne and Roderick O'Connor. This could be off-putting for ordinary-level students, said Ms Roche.

Questions 11 and 19 might have been better suited to higher-level students. Questions 16 and 17 asked students to use "the necessary art vocabulary" in their answer. This was new and ordinary-level students might find it off-putting, she added. Ms Campbell also said ordinary-level students might have found this difficult. The language in question 19 was also a little difficult, she added.

At higher-level Ms Roche said students were very pleased with a good selection of questions. However, certain sections were quite lengthy. For instance questions 10 and 21 consisted of two parts and she said it might have been more appropriate to ask them to choose between these parts rather than having them answer both.

ASTI subject representative Ms Jane Campbell said that the paper would have taken about 15 minutes to read - it contained 23 questions from which students chose three. Some of the questions were overly specific. Ms Comiskey said the higher-level paper was very good. The Ireland section covered all main periods. Students would have been delighted with the appearance of Masaccio, Titian and Vermeer in the European section. Question 14 was a wonderfully open allowing students to pick an artist they had studied.

The appearance of pop artist Andy Warhol was topical after a recent exhibition in Dublin which, Ms Roche noted, almost every student would have seen. Part of that question which asked students to refer to two works by fellow pop artist Roy Lichtenstein might have caused problems. Ms Campbell, who teaches in St Joseph's, Navan, Co Meath, also referred to the "sting in the tail of this question".

Blackrock College, Dublin, Leaving Cert student Jack Carty rang Exam Times to ask why two "very American" artists - Warhol and Lichtenstein - appeared in the European art section of the paper. (The Oxford Illustrated Encyclopaedia of the Arts classifies them both as US artists). Yesterday afternoon, students painted from objects or descriptive passages - the imaginative composition and still life papers were given to students on June 12th. Ms Comiskey said so much description gave plenty of choice at both levels in still life or imaginative composition. Ms Roche described the afternoon papers as excellent with a good choice. The descriptive passages contained "terrific variety compared to other years".