The SACS Art studio is an upper story, 160 m², and spacious room with a southern facing dome to cater for natural sunlight.  Needless to say – the view of Table Mountain and of the campus from the art room cannot be anything but inspiring. 

The art class is not only equipped with all the necessary items e.g. standing- and desk easels, drawing boards, large tables, etc. but also modern computers, projectors, DVD player & monitor, video tape player & monitor, a powerful audio system, spotlights, a light-box and a work bench [with tools].  An adjacent secured [CCTV] store room provides storage for the senior [Grs. 10 – 12] artists’ art works.   

Every Grade 8 interested in Art as a subject, has to submit an art portfolio at the end of Grade 7 to qualify for Art in Grade 8.  Boys can select one of the following subjects: Art, Music, French or Xhosa.  The commitment to the subject is two years and at the end of Grade 9, only the top twenty learners will get first choice in selecting Art as their subject of choice for their FET phase [Grade 10 – 12]. 

Grade 8 Art is mostly technical and they focus on colour theory, linear perspective, design principles and a variety of drawing techniques.  They also do one oil painting as an introduction to oils.  In the theory lessons Gr. 8’s study our most important South African heritage sites and the artists included in our magnificent SACS Art Collection: Maggie Laubser; Walter Battiss; Gregoire Boonzaier; Marjorie Wallace and many more.   

In Grade nine, the focus shifts more toward design projects and group assignments.  Book covers, DVD covers, posters, stamps, logo’s for brands, mandala’s, cartoon strips, story boards, etc. are typical assignments.   In the theory lessons the Grade 9’s cover different theme studies, e.g. Women in Art, Food in Art, Violence in Art and also look at the history of architecture. 

From Grade 10 until Matric, the senior boys are all expected to do one homework assignment and one class assignment every term.  These assignments/topics are given one term in advance.  The homework assignments have abstract themes and the boys are encouraged to express themselves more freely and ‘conceptually’ – only one limitation: It must be original!  It is not foreign for many individuals to explore new digital technology and other alternatives in art making.  Stop motion animation, 2D animation and 3D design [CAD] are a few of the popular preferences pursued.  Some students focus on film making.  More and more boys are also leaning towards sculpture as a medium of choice.  The class work assignments are more traditional and the focus is on techniques and skills e.g. painting, drawing, printing, carving, etc. 

In Grade 11, learners set their sights on their final Gr.12 exhibition. The practical projects are similar to what will be expected from the Education Department the end of the year.  The themes are all ‘concept’ based and involve a vast amount of research and processing.  Research and planning constitutes for 50% of the marks! 

The Matrics exhibition the end of the year, always display a vast diversity in interests, styles and themes.  The past couple of years the Matric Art average has been a B+.  In 2010 the class average of 18 learners reached a staggering A+! 

The Art Department’s annual highlight is the delightful SACS All Grades Art Exhibition, scheduled early in November.  It is a cheese-and-wine, semi-formal event with live music.  Parents, learners, artists and other educators attend the event to witness the 170 art students work produced in the past year!  Previous special guests included artists Hyme Rabinowitz, Bill Davis and Theo Kleynhans.

 Hugo de Villiers

Head of Art Department