Sustained Investigation Portfolio
CONCENTRATION: A body of work unified by an underlying idea that has visual coherence.

What makes a Sustained Investigation Portfolio?

  • VISUAL COHERENCE
The 12 works of art are visually unified. This could be caused by a consistent medium, repeating motifs across compositions, limited color palette across compositions, etc.
  • TYPES OF IMAGES
Some of your images may show details, second views, or process documentation. "Works" can include fully resolved images and forms as well as sketches, models, plans, and diagrams.
  • WORKING THROUGH A VISUAL IDEA IN DIFFERENT WAYS
Reorganize, restructure, or use more than one approach to solving the visual problem. Make different organizational decisions across works. The works should feel like siblings from the same parents. They speak to each other, but are not the same. 
  • INVESTIGATION STATEMENT
As you create art, record an account of how your work is evolving. You will use this record to inform your statement at the end.

2D Design

  • UNITY
  • VARIETY
  • RHYTHM
  • PROPORTION
  • SCALE
  • BALANCE
  • EMPHASIS
  • CONTRAST
  • REPETITION
  • FIGURE / GROUND RELATIONSHIP

3D Design

  • UNITY
  • VARIETY
  • BALANCE
  • EMPHASIS
  • CONTRAST
  • RHYTHM​​
  • REPETITION
  • PROPORTION
  • SCALE
  • OCCUPIED / UNOCCUPIED SPACE
  • TIME​

Drawing

  • LINE QUALITY
  • LIGHT & SHADE
  • RENDERING FORM
  • COMPOSITION
  • SURFACE MANIPULATION
  • ILLUSION OF DEPTH
  • MARK MAKING
  • USE OF COMPOSITIONAL SPACE (ELEMENTS OF ART / PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN)
  • DECISION MAKING AND INTENTION
  • ORIGINALITY, IMAGINATION, INVENTION
  • EXPERMENTATION, RISK-TAKING
  • CONFIDENT, EVOCATIVE WORK ENGAGING THE VIEWER
  • TECHNICAL SKILL
  • STUDENT VOICE
  • GROWTH (Concentration Portfolio)
  • BROAD RANGE OF DESIGN PROBLEMS IN CONTENT, STYLE, AND PROCESS (Breadth Portfolio)
  • USE OF COMPOSITIONAL SPACE (ELEMENTS OF ART / PRINCIPLES OF DESIGN)
  • DECISION MAKING AND INTENTION
  • ORIGINALITY, IMAGINATION, INVENTION
  • EXPERIMENTATION, RISK-TAKING
  • CONFIDENT, EVOCATIVE WORK ENGAGING THE VIEWER
  • TECHNICAL SKILL
  • DIGITAL PROCESSES, DOCUMENTATION OF VIRTUAL OR TIME-BASED WORKS
  • STUDENT VOICE
  • ACTIVATION OF SPACE
  • GROWTH (Concentration Portfolio)
  • COMPOSITION, CONCEPT & EXECUTION
  • DECISION MAKING AND INTENTION
  • ORIGINALITY, IMAGINATION, INVENTION
  • EXPERIMENTATION, RISK-TAKING
  • CONFIDENT, EVOCATIVE WORK ENGAGING THE VIEWER
  • TECHNICAL SKILL WITH DRAWING MEDIA
  • DIGITAL OR PHOTOGRAPHIC MEDIA
  • STUDENT VISION

Concentration Examples

2D

3D

Drawing
Kate Shapiro
Nathan Mabry
Keith Tyson
Eske Kath
Liz Larner
Joana Choumali
Arturo Herrera
Katrín Sigurdardóttir
Kerry James Marhsall
Jason Meadows
Leonardo Drew
Despina Stokou
Valerie Lueth & Paul Roden
Paul Donald
Raymond Pettibon
Peregrine Church
Maya Lin
​Amy Bennett
Ilya Milstein
Architecture for Animals
William Kentridge
Morag Myerscough
Calvin Seibert
Lari Pittman

Things You Should Know

  • Define your idea early so the work you submit has the focus required for a sustained investigation.
  • Present conceptually related works that show growth and discovery.
  • You are encouraged to include images that document the processes of thinking and creating, as well as detail views, sequential storyboards, or film or performance stills - not only discrete, finished works.
  • Present images of your work in a sequence that best shows development of your sustained investigation.
  • Digital image size: 3 MB max, recommended: 780 pixels max, largest side

Written Statement

QUESTION 1
1.    Identify the question(s) or inquiry that guided your sustained investigation.  (600 characters maximum)
QUESTION 2
2.    Describe how your sustained investigation shows evidence of practice, experimentation, and revision guided by your question(s) or inquiry.  (600 character maximum)​
  • Clearly and simply state the central idea of your portfolio.
  • Write a concise description of you sustained investigation idea.
  • Short. Clear. Articulate. Your work will be graded really quickly. Ask for help with your writing if you need it.
  • Focus on the technical/visual ideas that link your works stylistically. 
  • Explain how the work in your portfolio demonstrates your intent and the sustained investigation of your idea. You may refer to specific images as examples.
  • As you create art, record an account of how your work is evolving. Growth is part of the concentration grading criteria.
  • At the end of your concentration, read through your notes about how the work evolved. From this, write a specific and concise statement in response to the second prompt.