Welcome back everyone, we hope you are ready for this new half term. For the second years, you are in a final push for your component 1 and the first years have your first assessment at the end of term. Exciting times if you can stay organised and on top of your workloads. This week, I've put together a wide range of ideas and potential ways of working to reflect the broad ambitions we hope you all have. I've also tried to reflect artists who use other 'subjects' to inspire their work, whether that be math or geography to science. Are you using your wider knowledge and understanding to inform your own artwork? if not, could that be a way forward. Plenty of people and organisations to like and subscribe to and an exhibition opportunity too. Good luck this half term. we are so excited to see what you do.
ARTIST: ZEHRA DOGAN
Zehra Dogan is a Kurdish artist and Journalist you found herself in prison for displaying artwork that showed the devastation in the predominantly Kurdish town of Nusaybin, southeastern Turkey, following clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish insurgents. (below)
Her powerful, energetic and personal paintings and performances are often painted onto newspaper that discusses the political situations that she paints about.
Does your work reflect something that you feel strongly about? Would you be prepared to get in trouble to make a point creatively? It's an interesting debate. What is the role of an artist?
ARTIST: HIMALI SINGH SOIN
Himali Singh Soin won Frieze Artist Award at Frieze London in 2019 for her thoughtful and provocative work, that encapsulates, text, performance and film. Based between New Dehli and London, her work reflects stories and lore about her experiences with different cultures and speculates about aliensd and space. In her ongoing work, 'We are opposite like that.' she explores the north and south pole, creating work that documents the changing nature of these fragile spaces.
Her written work often reflects memories and jounrneys and she uses video and simple overlay technology to place herself in a space that best suits her work.
She is really good for her DIY aestectics, so a good one as students to show being resourceful with everyday technologies and stories can garner award winning art.
TV: OUR PLACE IN SPACE
Artist, Illustrator and writer Oliver Jeffers, (who you might know, for some great kids books) has produced this scale model of the solar system that you can explore. Initially in Northern Ireland the trail shows the vast scale of our solar system with each arch housing a scale model of the planet and it's moons.
I've not seen the work personally, but these short TV shoes and the website make for fasicnating viewing. showing just how small we really are in our solar system, nevermind the total universe.
Well worth and explore, a great use of Maths in Art too.
NEW MUSIC: YOUNG FATHERS
A great new song from the Scottish Hip Hop artists and Mercury Prize winners. This coincides with a new tour they have announced. A great videos too, full of arresting videos, great costume and cinematography. Something for everyone.
TV: FIRST CONTACT: AN ALIEN ENCOUNTER
This programme was on on wednesday and was a fun insight as to what might happen if alien contact was made. From political responses to panic buying.
The programme is cut with real events and what happened such as the WOW frequency etc. and then back to the fictionalised theories. sometimes it is hard to tell what is real and what is drama.
A great excercise in knowing what the coverage would look like and then using old footage with new meanings and making new work to make the work believable.
A great creative exercise, using scientific information.
YOUTUBE: ARCHITECTURAL DIGEST
For all you budding architectures and Interior designers, Architectural digest is the channel for you. From tours of peoples houses to breakdowns of great buildings.
With it being Halloween this week there are a couple of themed videos. A fun one breaking down the architecture in horror films.
and one about the Bat Cave. All these places although fictional, need to be designed and created, film companies will employ architects to develop fictional spaces.
Another career you could have, but maybe didn't know existed?
EXHIBITION: BOLTON OPEN
We are looking for ALL students to put some work together to exhibit at the Bolton Open exhibition. This is an exhibition that all students, residents and workers of Bolton can enter to showcase your experiences.
There is no theme, just for you to reflect and enter a work.
It costs £3 to enter and work should be framed. If you need to use a frame, you can get cheap frames from Wilko or Home and Bargain or we can provide some through college then that is great. We just want as many of you to enter as possible.
This is a great opportunity to get your work displayed in a major exhibition in your home town. really cool.
DEBBIE RECOMMENDS:
To all Graphic Students and those students who enjoy working more graphically or want to get better at your presentation and preparation. This is the section for you.
Graphic students must follow these links on Dribbble to explore 101: Tips & tools for laying the right design foundations
and The Ultimate Guide to User Journey Maps
Also here are some Instagram accounts that you should be following, you should look at his stories titled WIP for inspo on analogue typography/lettering techniques.