What We Talk About When We Talk About JAPR/BFA

In the spirit of demystifying what we as a faculty look for in your JAPR/BFA presentation, here is a summary of the rubrics we use to evaluate your work and you talk. First, here's the JAPR/BFA rubric (we'll go over this in class):

Criteria for Fine Art Students

The faculty and committee will be looking for the following during the Junior Portfolio Review and in reviewing the BFA exhibition:

Consistency – The student’s art will display an understanding of the relationship between different mediums. The student will have a similar body of ideas that are explored through their medium. Their art should be a cohesive body of work rather than an eclectic collection.

Craftsmanship – The student’s art will demonstrate a mastery of the tools of their trade. This includes a professional presentation of their artwork.

Form – The student will demonstrate an understanding of the fundamental formal qualities of his or her artwork. The student will be able to explain how the physical appearance of their work applies to the content/meaning of the work.

Content – The student will be able to communicate what his or her art is about (formally
and/or conceptually). He or she will begin to recognize and articulate the fundamental
problems in his or her art.

Quality – The overall impression of the work and the student’s presentation demonstrates a high grade of artistic achievement.

Oral Presentation – The oral presentation has a compelling central message, language choices are imaginative, memorable, and compelling, and the speaker appears polished and confident.

Our schoolwide rubric for Oral Presentation looks at the following elements (I've included the "highest level of achievement" of each element):

Central Message: Central message is compelling (precisely stated, appropriately emphasized, memorable, and strongly supported.)

Organization (specific introduction and conclusion, sequenced material within the body, and transitions): Organizational pattern is clearly and consistently apparent, is skillful and makes the content of the presentation cohesive.

Supporting Material (explanations, examples, illustrations, statistics, analogies, quotations from relevant authorities): A variety of types of supporting materials make appropriate, relevant reference to information or analysis that significantly supports the presentation and clearly establishes the presenter's credibility/authority on the topic.

Language: Language choices are concise, imaginative, memorable, compelling, and enhance the effectiveness of the presentation. Language in presentation fully engages the audience.

Delivery (posture, gesture, eye contact, and vocal expressiveness): Delivery techniques make the presentation compelling. Speaker appears polished and confident.

You can download the JAPR/BFA rubric and the full version of the Oral Communication Rubric here:

JAPR/BFA Rubric

Oral Presentation Rubric