A Guide to Picking Your Theme

GCSE-A levels ART and Design

Jose Ortega

Brainstorm

Even if you had an image inside your head from the moment your art
course theme was announced, don’t fail to explore other avenues
too. You may come across an idea that is way better than you could
have imagined, especially after a year or so of added experience and
practice.

Start by writing down all subjects, themes, places, songs, things

or issues that you feel are personally relevant (because any art
course must have some personal meaning or connection to be
successful) and that matter to you as an individual. Don’t feel
embarrassed about being too ‘deep’, the idea of the art curriculum is
for you to explore yourself and your feelings whilst also examining
artists and art.

Remember, the purpose of the coursework and final piece put

together is to communicate a message, no matter how big or small.
It could be about something that has happened to you in your private
life or it could be your way of screaming at the world about a global
issue.

If there is no meaning or emotion behind the work, there is no driving

force and nothing will be able to move this forward, only sideways
with no destination to reach.

Be sure to include topics that are a bit ‘out there’ (unusual,

challenging, controversial, or inspiring subject matters) as those are
often the ones that spur the most passion.
Students who extract an emotive response from the examiner by
selecting issues that they really believe in are much more likely to
achieve better results than those who simply choose aesthetically
pleasing but somewhat superficial subjects. So, try to make the
markers and moderators sit up and take notice of your work!

Evaluate

Think carefully about the topics that you have written down during the
above activity and now start to filter through your options.

Eliminate those which are insignificant and lacking in

substance, along with those that are out of reach (i.e. themes
relying on others or on equipment you simply can’t access). Remove
the topics for which the source material is too simple and won’t
provide enough visual variety to explore for two academic years.

Get rid of those topics for which the source material lacks any
aesthetic appeal. This doesn’t mean it needs to be obviously ‘pretty’,
as often the beauty of art is finding the beauty in the ordinary or
mundane.

Most importantly, however, dismiss any topics which are common

or over-done, especially if someone in your class is already
attacking one of them. Unless you have a unique angle, you may feel
that you are comparing your work or playing catch up the whole time
if you know someone else is working along the same lines. It’s really
easy to get disheartened and feel you disappointed that you didn’t
think of something first because you put so much emotion into the
course.

Finally, as mentioned, ensure that the topic you choose is

something that you really care about and that will keep you
interested for a year or more. If you have more than one topic left on
your list, pick the thing that you are most passionate about.