Tag Archives: art
Nottingham Trent University’s MA art and design showcase 2009
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Last Saturday I went to this year’s MA art and design expo at Nottingham Trent University – this year called Work the Way the World Works. From the NTU website:
Projects, by postgraduate students from the University’s School of Art and Design, will represent a range of disciplines including fine and decorative arts, fashion design, knitwear and textiles, fashion marketing and communication, photography, graphics, multimedia and product design.
There were less exhibits (is that the right word?) than the undergraduate shows I wrote about previously, but the quality was really high. I think I must have missed some stuff too, because I took home a book that has around 120 graduates in it and I don’t think I saw all of them.
I couldn’t stay too long, but here are a few things that caught my eye.
Chia-Chia Hung
Extremely happy tea.
Isabelle Way
I thought these were great even before I read closely. Which I guess was the intention. They are nicely sly though, which appeals to me… ‘Ooh look! A nice picture of a tractor. Makes you think it’s local free range produce, doesn’t it? IT’S NOT’.
There’s more on Izzy’s website.
There was a paricularly strong showing from the Fashion, Knitwear and Textile Design graduates, as you can see below.
Jia Ye Cai whose designs are influenced by paper folding.
Yang Yang Huang who had probably the prettiest work, embellished with repeating patterns of cut material.
Nina Richardson who created a traditional look that is right at home on the allotment (there were wellies).
Last, but not least was Dimitra Grigoriou’s, well, fake self.
Strategically located next to the doors to the MA office to provide maximum double-take value, the dummy had previously been placed around Nottingham, with a hidden camera filming the reactions of passers-by. I caught a bit of it on my iPhone on the showreel that was hidden downstairs.
While I’m on the subject – what is it with the Bonnington Building? I think the architects may have been thinking too much about Escher when they designed it. I’ve been in it a bunch of times and still have no idea where I am at any given moment.
Anyway, a good show and well worth a visit if you’re able. It’s on until Saturday 18 July. Just leave a trail of crumbs behind you if you ever want to get out of the building again.
Nottingham Trent Art and Design degree shows
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This week is the annual show for undergrad art and design students at NTU. I went last year and enjoyed it so made a point of going again this year. It also gave me the opportunity to take my new Panasonic TZ6 camera for a spin (more on that at the bottom).
The main event is held at the Bonnington Building, with the following courses represented:
- BA (Hons) Decorative Arts
- BA (Hons) Fashion Design
- BA (Hons) Fashion Knitwear Design and Knitted Textiles
- BA (Hons) Fine Art
- BA (Hons) Graphic Design
- BA (Hons) Photography
- BA (Hons) Textile Design
Decorative arts
Below is the main decorative arts section, in the centre of the maze-like building.
I guess there are likely to be themes in each graduating year. Last year there seemed to be a lot of ceramic work in decorative arts, this year there was far more work with textiles. All the work was of a very high standard, but a couple of pieces caught my eye particularly.
Katie Smith’s ceramics:
And this piece from Anna Byers:
Fine arts
I’ll admit to being disappointed by last year’s fine art exhibit. Amongst a couple of stand-out pieces, a lot of the material felt derivative and, frankly, a bit amateur. This year’s work felt far more complex and skillfully put together, with work from Nicola Jennings, Kyran Gregson and Adam Berriman particularly ringing out to me.
Nicola Jennings’ (who has a blog, Inside the Cabinet of Wonder) found-object birds and rats inside a cage showed vision, skill and humour.
Adam Berriman’s destruction by basketball (‘Epicentre’) also brought a smile to my face – it reminds you that you’re not alone in the secret desire to smash things that have taken hours of effort to produce. At least it did with me…
Incidently, the camera performed superbly. It really is a great piece of kit and well worthy of the great reviews it’s been getting (look at the detail on the photo of the bird above – that’s at 1/40, handheld). Aside from a bit more noise and a bit less detail, I doubt the results using my D200+35mm f/2 combination would have been all the much better.
One last piece, from David Bance:
