07.03.14 - "This is Graphic Design"

"This is Graphic Design" is the upcoming show featuring a range of work from year 2 level 3 extended diploma Graphic design students, a group that I have been covering this academic year. The exhibition is split into two parts featuring work from their recent Paul Smith exhibition  that works on the promotion of his recent retrospective at the design museum and their previous Tachen book project that explored themes such as portraits, exploring London, typography and toys. 

These students have been working incredibly hard and with this being their first ever public exhibition they wanted to make a mark within the College campus gallery. It is fair to say that the exhibition truly supported their personalities with colour, scale and some really interesting design solutions to the projects. Some very articulate and professional work had been produced on both projects, that in m own opinion would give some of the BA degree students a run for their money. 

With the Final Major Project soon to be underway, this exhibition has hopefully now given the group some confidence and a huge boost in the right direction for what so many of the individuals can achieve going onto degrees next year.

05.03.14 - West Suffolk College Visit

Back in January at the university of Arts London conference I was sat next to the head of school and Foundation Diploma lecturer Derek Johnson based at West Suffolk College. Throughout the day we found ourselves discussing current issues we both shared with our current foundation models and environments in which we work in. We deiced that as part of our sharing good practice scheme we would visit each others institutions and tour the facilities as well a meet with the students to enable professional reflection upon what/how we were doing. The visit was a great opportunity to see how another college was delivering the Foundation Diploma, the spaces and facilitates and the type of work being produced on site. West Suffolk College is not within my own catchment area so there was no real issue with competition and "taking ideas". 

Having worked on the Foundation Diploma for a few years now it was interesting to see the different formats and the way in which work was carried out and projects completed. I personally felt there was more of a traditional quality with Derek's students comprising of drawing and illustration, as oppose to maybe the more computer/printmaking folios that my own students have. During the afternoon, there was an opportunity to join in with a final major project critique where the students were to discuss initial ideas before the Easter breaks, this was great to be part of; as my students had not started this final phase of the course. Plans for Derek to visit South Essex College have been arranged for the end of the month.

14.02 - 18.02.14 - Foundation Diploma Visit Berlin

An educational trip was in order this year with the Foundation Diploma students and where best to take them than a place that holds countless interventions of culture, historical outbursts, brutal architecture sweeping through the landscape, creating an entire environment in 50 shades of concrete. Yes, Berlin was to be our destination and was the basis for their upcoming project entitled "Capture". The trip comprised of a heavy itinerary visiting some of the most iconic spots the City had to offer. As a degree student myself, I visited Berlin back in 2007 and worked on a public landscape project in the area of Alexander platz, I found it exciting to have the opportunity to revisit some of the galleries and museums that perhaps as a student I didn't fully integrate and reflect upon. 

The trip started with a visit to the Berlinische Galerie just outside the Potsdamer Platz area. The main exhibition was a retrospective of Franz Ackermann, and his over sized mixed media work that scaled the walls of the 3 story void. The rest of the gallery wasn't neglected either with a high volume of different artworks on show with a multitude of subjects discussed. 

We then moved towards the infamous Jewish Museum, a building known for its architectural form designed by architect Daniel Libeskind that splices through the terrain, with shards and split openings posing questions and feelings of depression before entering the complex. As a former architect student I have visited many spaces and buildings that are impressive in form, status and are forever remembered, but none come to close to the emotion evoked when walking around this complex, the way the space moves you closer than ever into the devastation that commenced is supernatural. It was impressive to say the least at how mature the students took on board the information and how they started to realize the in depth nature of those past events. 

We also booked ourselves into a guided tour of the Bauhaus archives, a place that many of the students as well as lecturers had waited to visit with the close connections of this design movement and school system that was the underlining model for the Foundation Diploma course that we teach on now. The tour took us through the entire collection studying the school itself and those working in and around the fabric of architecture, arts and crafts with iconic products and furniture that still holds a key within contemporary furniture design to date, and then back into the school system looking at the way in that experimentation was the ultimate key to uncovering and learning. Personally I felt this was a huge benefit to the students giving them clarification into what their subject is about, why it is that we teach in a exploratory and experimental manor and how their subject has evolved. 

The last day was a send off with no smiles as we took the train out to the west to the very last station to visit the Sachsenhausen concentration camp. An ultimate shift in emotion unlike anything that you could personally describe or talk to someone about. even reflecting upon the visit and looking at the photographs doesn't come close to the atmosphere you face when you walk through those gates. For me I feel the trip was of high success with students gaining wider knowledge of culture, creative context and the experience of visiting some of these iconic places that inform you on so many levels. I am very much looking forward to seeing how this trip has now informed the students on a creative level and what they will take forward as a primary source to work on throughout the duration of their "capture project"

05.02.14 - Scope

"Scope" the new exhibition from level 3 year 2 fine art students was showcased this week in the campus gallery space. A course that had a particular reputation for installing extremely professional shows with colleague Maria at the former helm of it all. The show was an emulsion of visual arts showcasing an eclectic and refreshing approach to contemporary art. With only a small group of students, some may have felt the gallery was going to look empty, but not with this lot. Every surface, crook, corner and floor tile was immersed in print work, photography, sculptures of different scales and materials, video projected performance art and an industrial light show that gave the gallery space a real mysterious warehouse feel like we were in the depths of the east end. 

Each project although repeated in techniques at some points was completely individual to the owner delivering richness in context and content. By far some of the most diverse and interesting sculpture work I have seen presented in the gallery in a long time. This super army of young professional artists now led by new course leader Andy really put on a show to be proud, and can now certainly sit in a high place as they embark on the final stages of their course preparing for the Final major project showdown.

30.01.14 - Mental Mondays

Well not just Mondays for that matter, no time to even post any of the amazing work that has been happening in the studio and now February is here! so what has happened in the last month since returning from x-mas break. 

I visited Chelsea school of art a few weeks ago for a UAL annual conference to discuss any updates in regards to FAD courses being delivered, sharing good practice and meeting the other faces who are in the same role. The conference was extremely informative and got me and the Course leader really thinking about what we would like to modify and change to put us in a great position thinking about next year already. The foundation courses have always been identified as those pushing boundaries both conceptually and creativity but in the process have sometimes lost some of the fundamentals and key areas that perhaps HE institutions are looking for. We want to try and deliver an even balance of both so that students are able to be highly conceptual and expressive in the work they produce with an understanding of why. I also made a few contacts and I'm the process of organizing site visits to see how some of the other institutions are delivering the qualification, structuring their program alongside looking at the type of student/student work they are producing and their facilities, this is a prime opportunity to analyse further good practice and consider recommendations to management. 

On another note interviews have taken place, and have been happening very quickly "a little too quickly" as a foundation student now has to showcase themselves and attempt to make a positive impression based upon a few months of work explored. We have however had some great feedback and a majority of the students have received conditional and unconditional places reassuring us that we are on track and delivering a creative and challenging program. I will start to collect some of the strongest pieces of work from portfolios and post them up. 

Apart from that, we are off to Berlin in just under 3 weeks and this will be integrated into our forthcoming project and exhibition "Capture". I have also been interviewing for our own new intake "September 14" and have had some great applicants. We are currently on 50% of our target with another big interview coming up. Other than that its fast, creative, loud and still going!

24.12.13 - End of 2013 review

Well it's fair to say that this has been an intense 1st part to the academic year with a new course, new role, new team and OFSTED!. I have thoroughly enjoyed every minute so far, being a big part of the Foundation Diploma course and having some amazing colleagues "we are a design family" I feel I have found the perfect course and level of learning that suits me having to be animated, vocal and creative 247. My introduction onto the BA Graphic Design course has also given me that alternative edge of delivery working across level 4 & 5. 

This year has seen the introduction of our fellow Chinese students and embracing this new culture of student, we had an amazing introduction to the course with "360" and a real high standard of work produced for our first exhibition. Big draw was brilliant and really provided us with a platform to start showing people what we are all about, and now the guys and girls are in their own pathways and just enjoying everything being thrown at them "literally". there is definitely that higher level of creative demand compared to the level 3 courses I have previously taught on, with each student hungry for more and wants that constant challenge despite getting stressed. 

On a personal note I feel the "visual communication pathway" have really developed in a short amount of time with some incredible work being produced from the mass and some excellent and upbeat feedback from peers and students on higher level courses. The new year is going to be no different really with those progressing into HE having interviews, Chaos PT2 and other fast paced briefs taking place, and just as January comes to an end we set off to Berlin for 4 days and host another exhibition at the end of March. The team have been great and we have come together with a real insight of each others strengths! 

I plan to have a part relaxing Xmas break with a few references left to send off and a couple of task sheets to create. "Merry Xmas and bring on the new year"

22.12.13 - Sound of the week

There has been so much playing in the studio over the last few weeks, we have had Euro disco pop mixed with Xmas songs, xxyyxx and big bass mixes but a personal that keeps on being played both at work and at home is "Alive" by Chase n Status. Another absolute "tune" form the duo and another very interesting take on a music video. The last of the year, enjoy.

18.12.13 - Chaos PT 1

As time slowly ticks away and as both the students and teaching team prepare for their Xmas break we decided that we would mix things up and hit them with a 5 hour brief on the last day of term that would get them moving fast, being creative and would generally confuse the hell out of most. This was a team effort in response to "Chaos" we wanted to unleash something at random with minimal guidance, short amount of time and limited materials. Some would say a rather mean attempt to "piss off" your students before Xmas, I would say "It's Foundation Diploma". So as we started the day in good spirit with  the luxury of watching Monty Pythons "life of Brian" we went on to deliver the following:

By 4:30 you will have produced 30 creative outcomes, that will be photographed and presented using only the following. . . . Toilet roll.

an interesting afternoon to say the least, this to me is a great opportunity to stand back and witness who has that creative drive, determination and creative clock ticking constantly in their brains.

16.12.13 - "Art under attack" Tate Britain

As a prequel to the new brief "chaos kicking off in January I decided to take the "visual communication" group up to Tate Britain to view one of its new exhbition entitled "art under attack". This is the first exhibition that has even displayed "iconoclasm" in British history documenting a selection of public artworks and the attacks on them. The exhibition was broken up into 3 individual topis: Religion, Politics and Aesthetics, each discussing the events, what sparked them and the artwork that was targeted. 

The exhibition started from 1536-40 all the way through to 2000's with contemporary works from Kate Davis, John Stezaker, Chapman brothers and others. The exhibition was an opportunity to really gain inspiration from the wider sources, displaying to the group that you should be inspired by more than contemporary graphic design work, and that having a greater level of contextual knowledge allows a wider scope for creative response. 

I thoroughly enjoyed the exhibition with its real vast and expansive range of work on show in the form of photography, installation, print and video. Its interesting discussing the work exhibited with what I would cal the "Google" generation and uncovering that image breaking and deconstruction in art etc has been active for centuries "Banksy wasn't the first i'm afraid". The team have now been set up with a challenge of sourcing a piece of artwork over the Xmas holidays that they "dislike" and will embrace a 1day brief to attack this piece in response to chaos. 

Despite being told off by security for taking photographs please find below a selection of images "the ones I got away with". the exhibition ends in the 1st week of January so if you are off over the Xmas break I would recommend going and witnessing this showcase of damaged artwork.

06.12.13 - Wooly bodybag

As the winter term slowly comes toward an end ready for the x-mas break, final bodies of work have also come in ready for summative assessment. On Friday I had an opportunity to see in person a piece of work that I had been waiting for "ever since the concept and idea was discussed with the student". Now the idea of creating a body bag could ask questions as to "what the project was about" and "what seeds am I planting into my students heads?", however responding to a project entitled "Alternative" the concept behind the work was to take an existing product and create a replacement that created an alternative in visual form, appearance and notion to the original function. 

The woolly body bag or as I preferred "Cocoon" captures the ever portrayed theme of beauty and death, a creative aspect that has been captured by many well known artists. The quality of the outcome has amplified the standard of work we now expect to come fourth and the final photograph where the students had photographed the body bag in an existing morgue with the designer inside pays absolute tribute to the dedication behind the work produced. My Friday kick started with me getting into my new must have fashion accessory and causing some rather original facial expressions, as my students witnessed their tutor on the table wriggling around like a giant caterpillar.