thecompetitionisoutthere

A busy week at NUA putting together the finishing touches to our stand for New Designers which starts next week. There’s some exciting work being made by NUA students specifically for the show. NUA have their degree show at the same time as New Designers so new work has to be made – the students have made some of their best work, scaling up and pulling together ideas that they have been working/thinking about for a year. Chelsea and Central St Martin’s students don’t have this issue as their show closes before. I went to see their final years work on Saturday to see what the competition is doing. Chelsea Textiles was excellent as ever – inventive use of traditional techniques, especially knit and weave, some intense use of hand stitch, bold use of colour and strong design skills. Unsure about Fine Art – I am sure they have a policy about the quality of students work in relationship to where they are hung. There is a wide range of work in terms of quality and actual making and the general level of thought or care is mixed – maybe it’s great to be a student there, next to the Tate, but the final show always feels a little underwhelming, unlike Graphics which is scarily organised – tight and professional. Back at Kings Cross Menswear Fashion at Central was a highlight but I found the Women’s wear a little tacky and theatrical, although the Look Books were exciting and full of inventive ideas. Jewellery at Central was ingenious, new uses for traditional techniques, exciting use of established materials and some new materials. The same went for the Jewellery at the RCA but just that little bit more polished. The RCA show as a whole was just so dam good – a real pleasure to walk around – excellent, totally creative work alongside a professional attitude. The work in the Sculpture Space has to be the highlight of the work at Battersea although I did enjoy the Glass and Ceramics work in the Dyson Building.

I hope that year 2 students at NUA get to New Designers to see what’s out there - their competition is very good and they need to know. Or not!!

listeningthinkingandlooking

A most excellent day in London - at Camberwell – Symposium 2 on the Book Art Course was full! It was made up of a range of student presentations that illustrated diverse individual relationships to the book. Ranging from the voice accompanied video performance, new work shown large for the first time, promos for books, chronological narratives and     The session is an outcome, evidence for a moment of reflection on the course – for me it was a great pleasure to see the development of the students practice and I left with a note book full of starting points to research. One student – Joanna Brinton back from a residency in Japan is in a show titled Down the Dori - The Cookhouse Gallery at Chelsea College of Art, London July 2 – 5, 9 – 8pm – to see more of her work ... http://camberwellmabookarts.blogspot.co.uk/search/label/Joanna%20Brinton

Amber Ablett also back from Bergen - http://www.amberablett.com/ had an interesting body of new work. another link to a personal presence on the web. http://feltbug.blogspot.co.uk/

Then off to the BA show at Camberwell – two stand-out shows - Drawing was very eclectic and made one rethink the idea of drawing and Illustration, usually lost on me as a concept – it was very professional with some engaging work. Then off to Cork Street to see Laurence Edwards show at Messums – http://www.messums.com/artist/162/Laurence-Edwards/  Laurence’s work is very exciting (for Bronze casting!!) and thought provoking. I of course take all the credit for his ‘truth to materials’ aesthetic and engagement with the Bronze casting process that came out of conversations during our collaboration on the Louth Art Trail. http://www.commissionseast.org.uk/html/casestudies/louth/Louth.htm But seriously see the work on his web site if you can’t get to see the work in the flesh. 

http://laurenceedwardssculpture.com/  

  

thebeginningoftheprotestblocked

A busy day in London – the beginning of discussions about the final show for the Book Art students  - http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/final-show-2013 then off to see Cornelia Parker show at Frith Street Gallery. http://www.frithstreetgallery.com/artists/bio/cornelia_parker  A beautiful exhibition of exquisite pieces that really works in the space. On the way back to Liverpool Street I got caught up in the storming of the G8 protesters space. I have never seen so many police in such a small space – blocking off a street in central London supported by helicopters and numerous back up vans in surrounding streets and squares. 

crackleandoooooooooohmrs....pop

SNAP at Snape - where I saw 2 giant penis's and a man covered in milk - artists from previous SNAP exhibitions had been invited again - this time to contribute works related to or inspired by Britten and as ever the work was fantastically obscure and wonderfully impenetrable - To quote the web site - Exactly to whom or what Fuller’s and Lucas’ strange ritual is directed remains uncertain...........very old school in this 'new audiences, public funded, accessible landscape'.  My favourite moment was attending the opening of the exhibition and not being allowed to see some works as there was a rehearsal on in one of the rooms........ If you go make sure that you see the film by Benedict Drew – the best work in the show http://www.benedictdrew.com/ and check out Ryan Gander's witty twitter feed of Benjamin Britten’s baton - very Benny Hill/Frankie Howard Oooooooooh Mrs .

But the highlight of the weekend was untouchable – a glorious film about what it is to be alive - http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1675434/

optionsarebeinginvestigated

I love the idea of - options are being investigated. sign found in Colchester - and another boarded up space from the Yarmouth visit.

A long weekend with a chance to catch up with some films – Star Trek into darkness in 3D was loud and fast but/and I found the 3D a distraction with hyper focused elements sandwiched between the blurred and the out of focus. I'm beginning to sound like the wonderful Mark Kermode. I spent most of the time looking at the representation of material within the film - some excellent fabrics and the protective suit Spock wears is marvellous, Sightseers was disturbing and wonderfully odd. The lack of empathy and random violence within places I have visited added to the general unsettling tone. Gojoe - a Samurai film which explores the idea of pacifism and Buddhism with a supernatural flavour, and finally managed to catch up with Woman in Black but felt it was dull, obvious and generally made up of horror/supernatural clichés.

A day at Camberwell - mid-year part-time - discussing work within a group whilst the maker observes the rest of the group - a sobering experience and not for the faint hearted as your work is discussed often within a context or framework that you had not considered. The afternoon was a 'finishedness' whole group workshop - attempting to create an equation/diagram for a finished piece of work - impossible yet the point is the conversations that lead you to a conclusion. http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/finishedness-2013

The exhibition at Smiths Row in Bury St Edmunds - the Suffolk Showcase has a range of interesting work - worth the time to drop in when you are in the area. http://www.smithsrow.org/index.php/exhibitions/archive_details/suffolk_showcase/
Working at Colchester Institute with post-grad Design and the Book students running a workshop around creating artist's texts. Being in the Minories was fabulous – an old school experience of art education – as a visiting lecturer I had no responsibility or paperwork just art, ideas, thinking and talking. http://www.slideshare.net/l.bicknell/colchester-presentation-2013-22132222 The show downstairs in the exhibition space is most excellent – Keith Albarn – a dizzying experience of pattern, system and structure eventually leading to philosophy – inspirational. http://www.colchester.ac.uk/art/minories/event/pattern-and-belief

lookingthinkingandmorelooking

spent a day last week working at NUA on the PAL scheme. Peer Assisted Learning - a wonderful project that aims to enable the outgoing year one students the possibility to formally support the new year one students arriving in September and generally the scheme engages with the good in people. It was a room full really positive individuals who have volunteered to give of their time and share their experiences of being a first year. I was brought in to chair(ish) the day and run ice-breaker-type workshops between sessions and to generally deconstruct the idea of being a PAL, giving the students tools to own the idea. Fun and worthwhile - whats not to like?
Today has been a day in London with MA Book Arts students visiting two shows to look at the meaning of display and the context of the gallery as a site for work. The Whitechapel Gallery had several exhibitions within the venue and we explored a range of subjects including – Hanging and Display - how it informs and directs our understanding of the artworks. Everyday objects as visual metaphor – how the character and qualities of objects can be used to explore or represent ideas. Practice as Process as Outcome – when does one become the other? If and when Design becomes Art. The idea of the Design Classic. Collection and curation as art practice. Recognising book-like qualities within display.  Defining the role of the embalmer/educator as practice. After a swift walk and lunch it was Whitecube at Bermondsey - it really is a stunning building and I never cease to marvel at its excessiveness - we had some interesting discussions around the role of texts within a gallery and its relationship to the work. (Whether they have been written by the curator or artist). 

Meanwhile two new examples of smoking architecture.

boardedupspaces

a day in Great Yarmouth with year 1 Graphic Design students from NUA enabled my collection of blocked up spaces and smoking architecture to grow considerably - some examples here that document the very physical scaring experience of change.