AP Art & Design Unit 1 Cheatsheet: Investigate

Experience = event or occurrence (actual surroundings, abstract concepts, communication, research).

• Reflecting on experiences sparks questions and investigation
• Document by recording observations and perceptions

Documentation formats: images (drawings, photos, diagrams, videos), material samples, models, verbal description, sound.

Key purpose: Documentation shared with viewers affects interpretation and generates feedback, deepening artist/designer understanding.

Interpretation = understanding based on personal experiences and perspectives.

Feedback = information about how someone responds (spontaneous/informal or formal/structured; conversation, written, nonverbal). Ideally constructive.

Viewers include the artist/designer themselves.

Selection can be:

• Intentional: based on experiences, interests, material/tool availability
• Spontaneous: open to experimentation and discovery
• Strategic: focused on a question, hypothesis, or goal

Consider attributes:

• Inherent (observable, physical)
• Interpreted (determined by context, personal and cultural perspectives)

Expand possibilities: Investigate materials, processes, and ideas beyond traditional use. Research how diverse thinkers and makers work.

Interconnection: Selecting one component (e.g., material) leads to questions about others (processes, ideas, connotations).

Document selections with images, material samples, models, verbal identification, questions, rationales, sound—becomes a resource and can be shared or presented as part of sustained investigation.

Sustained investigation = inquiry-based, in-depth study of materials, processes, and ideas over time.

Expands awareness of possibilities for making; includes research across and beyond art and design disciplines.

Guided by questions: who, what, when, where, why, how, what if, why not.

Investigation involves: perception, curiosity, examination, discovery, imagination, interpretation, description, conversation.

Outcomes: Confirms and challenges thinking; reveals connections and opportunities.

Research examples:

• Indirect: examine how a designer's work shows evidence of inquiry
• Direct: talk with practitioners about their questions and investigative processes

Document: questions, lines of inquiry, investigative processes (practice, experimentation, revision), outcomes (learning, new questions).