hanginghangingmoreandmorestuff

So after the private view at NUA, which I think went well. I thought the space was excellent but I had little feedback and you never know if you are pleasing everybody/anybody - students/parents/family/staff/academics/industry and past/present/future/prospective/proto students, it has been a week in London - Tuesday hanging work at the Business Design Centre for the BA Textile Design students at New Designers and then Friday was being in the space at the show talking with 'independent designers' rather than students, although the transition is awkward for both sides, watching individuals taking responsibility is always interesting to observe. The work and stand look ok and as ever New Designers is gloriously overwhelming and every second or first year student who is serious about being a designer should go to experience the awe and fear that is seeing the work of people who have worked harder, make more work and will try and are setting out to try and take your job. I'm always a little stunned when a persons first time at New Designers is when they exhibit.

Wednesday and Thursday was all about curating and supporting the students work for the MA Book Art Exhibition at Camberwell.  

http://events.arts.ac.uk/event/2018/7/12/Camberwell-MA-Visual-Arts-Summer-Show-2018/ The show is very specific and focused with each student developing a truly individual body of work that they own from initial research to the final pieces. Whilst supporting the hanging of the Book Art I noticed some interesting printmaking worth seeing. The shows will look great - the private view for the MA is on the 12th put it in your diaries, its always a roadblock so maybe come the following day to see the work, although that is the day of the Anti Trump march so you might be busy. 

Saw the textiles and sculpture degree shows at The Royal College - textiles had lots of interesting material exploration well displayed and sculpture was full of stuff. 

Went to the Barbican to see the truly fabulous Taylor Mac: a 24 decade History of Popular Music. It was chaotically beautiful, engaging, great fun with full-on gently serious politics - I loved Taylor's take on fear and disgust and the general desire of the audience to get on with each other, to support and share. A marvellous great night out - cant wait for the 24 hour version. https://www.whatsonstage.com/london-theatre/reviews/taylor-mac-24-decade-history-popular-music-barbican_46983.html

Read this at a friends house in a book about Pompeii - seems apt.

Now the crickets pierce the thickets with their repetitive cry, now even the speckled lizard takes shelter in the coolness. If you are wise, lie back and make a libation with summer-weight glassware, or, if you wish, we'll bring out the new goblets of crystal. Come, you are weary, rest in the grape and bind your heavy head with a chaplet of roses. Cull kisses from a tender maid. Forget about those who raise old-fashioned eyebrows! Why keep fragrant garlands for ungrateful ashes? Do you want your bones to lie under a garland-carved stone? Set out the wine and the dice. To hell with him who cares for the morrow. Death plucks your ear and says 'Live now, for I am on my way!'

buildinginvisiblespaces

the textile design degree show at Norwich is up and looks good - we created a pulley system that enabled us to work with the full height of the room. this has meant that some of the students full ambitions have been realised by taking up the opportunity to create work 5m in height. there is some stunning work within a system of walls and tables that have been designed and created in an attempt to be invisible, thus celebrating the work itself. come see - Tues 25 - Sunday 1. Next week is the continuation of the mountain - private view at NUA, building the space and hanging work for NUA at New Designers (stand  T43) and hanging work at Camberwell for the MA Book Art final show. The Berlin Biennale beckons - can't wait and have started the planning http://www.berlinbiennale.de/  . I'm speaking/running a workshop at Making Materials Matter Conference for teachers - looking at the role of art practice within a science context. I'm building the presentation today.https://www.oxfordandcambridgeoutreach.co.uk/events/making-materials-matter-2018-tea  meanwhile Rampage is great when the rock and the gorilla are on screen, I could watch an hour of that but the rest is truly banal.  

lifeworklifeanda#proundparentmoment

well a busy couple of weeks and we are still in it - assessments on the Textile Design at nua was smooth with some wonderful work -  the show at nua is almost up - we have built an extraordinary series of structures, creating an environment  to show off the work to its best - I've been north working on the assessment for OCA on the MA Fine Art Course and staying in the Premier Inn in Barnsley, there was some really excellent thinking underpinning great work. The next two years graduation shows could potentially be wondrous. The Degree Show Private View at Chelsea was gloriously old school - a packed space of randomly dressed individuals all enjoying being there - some excellent textiles and of course fine art - highlight was a #proundparent moment - Bob Bicknell-Knight. meanwhile A very English Scandal https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p065sk93 was tragically funny but I spent most of the time marvelling over Hugh Grants stunning performance. I got to see Solo - https://www.imdb.com/title/tt3778644/ wonderfully geeky - with something for everyone - great back story infilling alongside swashbuckling set pieces. Christopher Brett Bailey https://christopherbrettbailey.com/  was the standout session at Pulse 18 last weekend - I cannot recommend him enough - I think this was my 5th outing and he just gets better. Meanwhile Snape Festival had a new opera - a kind of brutalist Jacques Tati set in a Kafkaesque modern space with a nod to the Truman show aesthetics. The Appalachian Spring session by the BBC Symphony Orchestra with Huw Watkins on the piano and conducted by Oliver Knussen was viseral. Playing Coplands Music for a Great City, The world premiere of The Book of Ingenious Devices by Philip Cashian, Feldman Structures and Coplands joyous Appalachian Spring one was swept away. On the way to see the Pavillion next to the Serpentine Gallery ..............I bumped into Christon next to the Christo in the Serpentine which was and which is fantastic and worth seeing offline.

patternandmarvelouschaosinthetheatre

a fabulous 2 days and one night at Pulse Festival http://www.chinaplatetheatre.com/pulse-festival in Ipswich - the opening night and then Suitcase day and Testing Ground - my two favourite sessions where experimental work is experimented. It saw me watching 23 pieces of theatre. Highlights were Nikki's extraordinary strength in KNOT, the disco energy of Dan Watson in Venus, The storytelling in Sophie Woolley's Augmented and Not Now collective's http://notnowcollective.com/ Pepper and Honey. The deconstruction of Invisible Flash's http://www.invisibleflash.co.uk/ The blind traveller, Fig's in wigs https://www.figsinwigs.com/ production values is always excellent and Brick Wall's https://www.facebook.com/brickwalltheatre/ Henry 5th was just storming good. Meanwhile I'm watching the pattern and chaos conversation that is happening in my garden as the work for Chelmsford is rusting nicely and been taken over by random growth.

itsallgoingon

it's been a busy few days but full of really interesting moments - Book Art Symposium 2 at Camberwell was so extraordinarily profession, the students truly owned their practice and presented a fully engaging morning of ideas and work, so much so that my timing was almost a full 45 minutes off and as students had only 7 mins to present and 3 minutes for questions you can see how interesting it was. In the afternoon we went to Kingsland Projects http://www.kingsgateworkshops.org.uk/43-billboard to see the work of and talk with Fox Irving & Katarina Kelsey. They have been collaborating and evidence of this can be seen in the thoughtful billboard that can be viewed from the surrounding street and park.

Turn the page - https://www.turnthepage.org.uk/  the wonderful Book Art Fair organised by equally wonderful Rosie Sherwood, Alumni of The Book Art MA at Camberwell at The Form Norwich was really interesting, full of excellent work and committed makers. I missed the symposium, assessments and marking had overtaken my life. But the work at NUA is some of the most professional I have seen in my years of teaching. The students practice submitted for assessment leads me to believe that this year could be one of the most exciting final shows I have been involved in.

gogogogogogogogoitsallogogog

our blue heaven - the story of Ipswich Towns FA Cup Victory at the New Wolsey https://www.wolseytheatre.co.uk/whats-on/upcoming/ is a triumph - it's a complete sell out so you will have to wait for its revival in 60 years time!! will the whole squad turn up on Saturday? still deep into assessments - by the end of the whole thing I will of written over 7,000 words and checked numerous boxes - every word from my team is carefully considered, I hope the students manage to read the comments.

The CSM final year show felt like you were at the epicentre of people engaging with what it is to be cool alongside slightly confused parents - it was full of the most excellently beautiful looking individuals - the work was also interesting - full of collaborative groups working together - the future is bright. You still have till Saturday to go see it - make sure you check out the basement and The Sculpture Garden http://sidandjim.blogspot.co.uk/.  Turn the Page - the fantastic Book Art Fair is on in Norwich on Friday and Saturday - it's a must see https://www.turnthepage.org.uk/ Looking forward to PhotoEast https://www.photoeast.co.uk/ at the weekend. Meanwhile its back to assessments and then building a presentation for PALs for Wednesday. Undergraduate courses have a system of peer support known as Peer Assisted Learning or PAL. This means that Year One students have ready access to trained Year Two students from their course, from before they arrive through to the end of the first year. The advice and support given by the PALs is directly relevant to first year students and is delivered by Year Two or Three students who have had similar experiences themselves. This extra layer of support for first year students has been found to be very effective in helping to smooth the transition to higher education. Looking forward to the symposium on Tuesday at Camberwell. Its a point where the students journey is really captured as one is able to reflect on their first symposium in year 1.

assessmentassessmentassessment

assessment, assessment, assessment - yes it's still that time of year - but meanwhile I have managed to be enthralled by Seven Brief Lessons on Physics by Carlo Rovelli. It is quite beautiful with a great set of drawings which detail our relationship to where we are - wonderful. late to the party but I am deep into Westworld season 1 - it really is brilliant and asks some excellent questions about existence. Who are we, are we real, what is it to exist???? Game night https://www.imdb.com/title/tt2704998/?ref_=rvi_tt was almost good - some interesting moments almost is harsh but.....