Explaining decisions made during art making is a distinct skill from evaluating outcomes. In VCE AME Unit 4 AoS 2, students must be able to articulate why specific decisions were made throughout the making process — not just what was made. This demonstrates that art making was a conscious, intellectually engaged process.
Art making involves decisions at multiple levels:
Conceptual decisions
- Why this subject matter and these ideas?
- Why this level of abstraction or representation?
- Why these references and influences?
Material decisions
- Why this medium, this support, these specific materials?
- Why this size and format?
Technical decisions
- Why this technique (wet-into-wet, alla prima, impasto, dry-brush)?
- Why this process sequence?
- Why were certain techniques changed or abandoned during making?
Visual language decisions
- Why this composition?
- Why this colour palette?
- Why this approach to edge quality, texture, mark-making?
Developmental decisions
- Why were certain explorations pursued further?
- Why was a direction abandoned and replaced?
- Why was feedback acted on or not acted on?
Display decisions
- Why this hanging height and spacing?
- Why this framing approach?
- Why this lighting?
The intention-decision-outcome structure
For each significant decision, explain:
1. What I was trying to achieve (intention)
2. What decision I made (decision)
3. Why I made that decision (justification — based on material knowledge, research, feedback, experimentation)
4. What it produced (outcome)
Reference to research and influences
Decision explanations are strongest when grounded in research: “I made this compositional decision after studying how Marlene Dumas’s off-centre placement of figures creates psychological unease.”
Reference to journal documentation
Point to specific journal pages that show the thinking behind key decisions: “As documented on page 34 of my journal, I decided to abandon the oil technique after the third session because…”
Honest acknowledgment of uncertainty
Not all decisions are fully planned. Some emerge from materials or accidents. Explaining these honestly (“This direction emerged unexpectedly when…”) demonstrates authentic engagement with the making process.
Decision explanations should be integrated naturally into the presentation narrative — not delivered as a list. Move through the work chronologically or thematically, explaining key decisions at each stage.
Use precise art terminology:
- Not: “I decided to make it darker”
- But: “I decided to intensify the tonal contrast in the lower register, shifting the value scale from mid-tones to deep shadows, to create a greater sense of psychological weight in that area”
APPLICATION: “The decision to shift from a representational to a semi-abstract treatment of the figure was made after my Unit 3 critique, where peers noted that the literal depiction was closing off the viewer’s imaginative engagement. I wanted the work to invite interpretation rather than describe, so I simplified the figure to its essential contours, removing the identifying facial detail.”
VCAA FOCUS: VCAA assesses students’ ability to explain decisions — not just describe outcomes. Examiners are looking for evidence that the student was making conscious choices throughout, not simply reacting to materials.
EXAM TIP: Before the exam, write a short decision log for your finished artwork: identify 5–6 key decisions made during its creation, and for each write a concise justification. This becomes the raw material for examination responses.
