#top arts

[nikki-on-edge]

My 2019 Tumblr Top 10

1). 396 notes - 02 November 2019

2). 267 notes - 23 April 2019

3). 236 notes - 09 May 2019

4). 201 notes - 28 October 2019

5). 180 notes - 04 October 2019

6). 119 notes - 03 October 2019

7). 86 notes - 22 October 2019

8). 78 notes - 20 September 2019

9). 76 notes - 29 August 2019

I'M NOT CRYING... YOU'RE CRYING...

10). 68 notes - 13 December 2019

(Created by TumblrTop10)

(Check my masterlist or my DeviantArt page for more art! ♥️)

[ourmacc2013-blog]

سارا الخطيب

[zandegoop]

I saw your work (and your folio) in Top Arts on Friday. I was seriously impressed by your comic. ;u; It also made me feel a lot better about my own work, because most of my classmates are of the opinion that cartooning and digital art aren't "real" art, but seeing your work there helped convince them otherwise. But honestly, your comic was incredibly well drawn and of impeccable quality, and I'm super glad I managed to stumble across your website thanks to it. *u*

hey, thank you so much, i’m so glad you liked it!! it’s meant so much to me to get these messages from people who are studying VCE art and have gone and seen the exhibition. <3

also, i have no idea why your classmates would say that! what a dated way of thinking! there are SO many amazing digital artworks, comics, cartoons, illustrations, etc. that are worthy of respect & praise. in being a digital artist, you’re a part of an ever-evolving (and relatively new) medium, which, of course, follows the natural course of all art forms: to expand and become ever more diverse and unique. the definition of art has been debated for as long as art has existed, but, honestly, there’s so much quality digital artwork out there that i find it hard to believe that anyone could question its status as art. 

i kinda went on a tangent there whoops but i’m super glad you enjoyed my work and that it had a positive influence on you - that was the goal of dullahan in the first place, so i’m super stoked! have a lovely day <3

[luciformwriting]

Article: Top Arts and the Rest

Image credit: https://www.ngv.vic.gov.au/exhibition/start-up/ By K. on March 20th, 2015 Every year, from roughly autumn through to winter, the nationally-renowned National Gallery of Victoria holds what is officially described as ‘one of the liveliest and most visited exhibitions on the NGV calendar’. I am talking about, of course, the purported holy grail of secondary school art studies in Victoria - the Top Arts exhibition (now known and referred to as ‘StArt Up’). Each year, as they have done for decades, a selection panel sifts through hundreds upon hundreds of entries to determine what makes the best fit for the program, with a key selection criteria based on ‘interesting conceptual focus, use [of] visual language in an exciting manner and...technical skills relevant to the particular media in which the students...work’. The quality of the development folio is also a key factor, alongside the degree to which the work aligns with the official subject guidelines set out by the VCAA. The concept of Top Arts is, in theory, a productive and exciting one - rewarding the finest artworks and hardest working students with a place in a prestigious exhibition dedicated solely to their achievements.

However, has anyone stopped to consider the message Top Arts is really sending the next generation about the purpose of art?

Often, students studying VCE art can be quite lost for direction - art is a beautiful, complex and infinite thing - and are frequently encouraged to turn to ‘the best of the best’ as a guide for the direction they should take. Therefore, many students feel pressured to emulate the styles and working processes of those who they believe to be the ideal to work towards - through this model, we stand the risk of endlessly replicating a certain social standard for ‘good’ art, which inhibits the creative and exploratory processes of young artists. For an example, a student may believe that the ‘correct’ way of doing VCE art might be photorealistic drawing, a photography series about identity, or conceptual artwork they do not necessarily feel passionate about, as these are the examples of the ideal. (I speak from my own experiences as a VCE art student, as well as a VCE art educator.) A student I had felt like exploring his passion for tattoo art was not appropriate, and another felt as if her intricate comic drawings were not ‘real art’ as neither of these practices were represented in Top Arts. I believe it is the duty of institutions such as the National Gallery of Victoria to encourage artmaking as a passionate, complex and community-based practice, rather than give the students the impression that art is about competition, technicality and fitting into a subjective criteria for selection. Although efforts have been made to diversify the artworks in Top Arts, and it is not realistically possible to represent every style and method, further emphasis should be placed on the idea that personal artistic exploration is good, no matter what form it takes.

In secondary schools all across the state, Top Arts is frequently encouraged and pushed by teachers as a form of motivating their students to achieve. The message is there, whether we realize it or not: if you work hard and pour all your love into your creative endeavor, you will be rewarded with your own dedicated exhibition and the chance to get your name out there. Now, imagine, all of the students who poured absolute love and attention into their work, only to be rejected from what is deemed to be the ‘best’ of the cohort - the loss of self-esteem for these students can be phenomenal, and have a definite impact on their desire and ability to pursue artistic practice and education in the future. It is highly possible that a student who may not be the most technically proficient interprets this rejection as being useless to the only thing that matters in the arts - being celebrated and better than your peers. Imagine - we may never know how many potentially brilliant curators, critics, gallery administrators and historians are being discouraged from the arts because they do not meet the ‘ideal’ of admission into a highly subjective, technical and prestigious exhibition. (And while it is true that students learn about these roles in their classes, very rarely are students given the chance to experience and value the skills necessary to fulfil them.) Although Top Arts is not problematic in concept, I believe that there should be broader artistic ideals and education for students to aim for, complementary to the Top Arts program rather than outright replacing it. Perhaps it would be a good idea to do a yearly exhibition and retrospect on VCE arts students and the artistic careers they ended up in - not limited to those who received a high study score or ATAR either. Sending out a positive and hopeful message to the artists, curators, writers and historians of the future is an important aspect that we should be encouraging in the arts to ensure the survival of a fruitful, exciting and diverse artistic scene.

[zandegoop]

Just saw you comic "dullahan" at the top arts today and i also got to see your portfolio just got to say your super amazing!! all my friend agreed you were one of our favorite artists there.Good luck!!

aaah, that’s so awesome! thank you! i’m so glad you enjoyed my work! <3 you are all lovely. it’s really rad to hear people liked my folio, too!

stay cool my friend, and good luck with your own journeys in art! :}

[zandegoop]

I saw your Dullahan at the Top Arts exhibition. It's really good. Your folio was really impressive too. Keep up the good work, man.

hey buddy, thank you for the message! i’m so glad you liked it!

for those of you who don’t know the top arts exhibition is now open - due to recent circumstances i haven’t had a chance to take photos or make a post, but you can find all of the relevant details on my website - there are links, details, and more!

[patronsaintofthedenial]

guys im applying for top arts and i have to post off my application by tomorrow, and its pretty much all sorted, but im not sure whether to print out the photographs of my pieces onto plain paper or photo paper. it didnt really say. what do you all reckon ??