IB Art Exhibition 2019

Quality British Education in Milan from nursery to university

The British School of Milan

Via Pisani Dossi 16 - Milan, Italy - Tel. +39 02 210941 info@bsm.school - www.britishschoolmilan.com

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International Baccalaureate

Visual Arts, Students’ Show

Quality British Education in Milan from nursery to university

ABOUT THE BRITISH SCHOOL OF MILAN Creativity enriches the life of the mind. It is also a necessary skill in the modern world, where imaginative solutions are required for complex problems. The British School of Milan celebrates creativity in all its forms - intellectual, imaginative and aesthetic. The school’s Art department enjoys an outstanding reputation in this respect. It was identified as ‘exceptional’ by the most recent Inspection; it has been recognised as a Centre of Excellence by the Edexcel Examination Board, and examples of the high standard of artwork achieved by our students are on display throughout the school. The IB Art Exhibition provides the Art department with a unique opportunity to show the local and international community in Milan some of the finest work produced by our graduating Year 13 students, some of whom will progress to Art and Design courses at prestigious universities and colleges around the world. We are delighted to showcase the art in this brochure. We hope that you enjoy looking at it and appreciating it as much as we do.

Chris Greenhalgh Principal & CEO The British School of Milan

THE ART DEPARTMENT KATE MICHAEL In 2013, Kate returned to The British School of Milan as a teacher of Art and Head of Yearbook publications.

After the retirement of Dennis Cooper in 2015, Kate took over the role as Head of Art and has since successfully led the small department identified as ‘Exceptional’ in the 2017 ISI inspection. As noted by the ISI, the Art department has achieved some of the highest marks worldwide with certificates awarded by Edexcel in 2016.

We have also been fortunate to have our work recognised in the recent IB Visual Arts Cambridge textbook, the 2017 GCSE 9-1 training material for Edexcel and the 2016 IB Visual Arts Extended Essay exemplar material.

Our IB average is typically 6.4 with a 98% A*/A (9-1) range. Many IB Art students go on to further study in the arts, in particular Central Saint Martins and Goldsmiths; while Parsons Paris, and Bournemouth have become increasingly popular with our students. The Art department wishes our four Year 13 students well in their future pursuits and the BSM looks forward to hosting and celebrating their excellent artwork in our 2019 annual IB exhibition.

CHRISTINA GEORGIOU After studying Fine Art at the University of the Creative Arts, Canterbury, Christina launched straight into her teaching career qualifying as a teacher at Canterbury Christ Church University in 2008. Since then she has worked across the globe in a variety of schools, beginning with four years at school in Kent, where she held the post of Head of Art and Photography. Christina then decided to travel to Rome where she worked at St. George’s British International School and her love for Italy flourished. Subsequently she moved to Greengates School in Mexico City, where she led the Art Department, before returning to Italy and joining The British School of Milan last year.

DENISE COLAIANNI Soldier Head Plaster, Acrylic, Nuts and Bolts 28cm x 11,5cm x 21cm

Identity Acrylic & Oil on Canvas 40cm x 30cm

Confusion Oil on Canvas 50cm x 40cm

Life vs Death Oil on Canvas 50cm x 40cm

EDOARDO MICHELETTI Composition of Balena Acrylic on Canvas 59,5cm x 30cm x 4cm

Squared light Plaster, Acrylic, Lamp, Spray-paint, Wires 20cm x 20cm x 40cm

Balena Acrylic, Balsawood, Ironbar 71cm x 20cm x 20cm

Portrait of Edoardo Metal, Tread, Spray-paint, Iron, Tyres 93cm x 33,5cm x 33,5

MICOL LICASTRO

Rovescio Oil on Canvas 31cm x 24cm

Miracle of Solitude Graphite, Tempera 35cm x 34cm

Subdued Acrylic 51cm x 50cm Ideal of Invention Acrylic 51cm x 40cm

VIOLA SFORNI

Embryo Acrylic on Canvas 40cm x 40cm

Blank Graphite 18cm x 30cm

Birdy Ink and Acrylic on Paper 58cm x 70cm

Pins & Needles Photograph 40cm x 40cm

EDOARDO MICHELETTI

DENISE COLAIANNI

My Visual Arts course could be summarised by this quote by Debasish Mridha, an American philosopher who

“The mind has exactly the same power as the hands; not merely to grasp the world, but to change it” - Colin Wilson.

believes in the deepest truths that affect human destiny. Living in a turbulent time such as ours, the theme of war

I would describe myself as conceptual artist. I have always been intrigued by the world that surround’s me, not only

has influenced my thoughts and my Visual Arts journey. A worrying time to live in and echoing in WW2, the era

looking at the physical environment, but also the ideologies that shape the society that I live in. Within the pieces

of my grandfather. Losing my grandfather was a great loss as he was a significant figure during my childhood

that I create, my aim is to form an interaction with people, going beyond the superficial and using a conceptual

years. He has never spoken to me about the war in detail, I believe, due to the horrible experiences that occurred

mindset. Throughout my works there is clear repetition of clean and minimalistic design. This is because the main

which had created in him a sense of duty towards me as it was as if he wanted to protect me. From WWII, we can

influences of my inspiration come from Achille Castiglioni as well as Nicola Salvatore and Rachel Whiteread. Despite

draw parallels to the situations that are occurring nowadays in our world such as Trump, the Italian Republic’s

the contradiction of Castiglioni’s design with Salvatore’s work. I found myself in a complete sympathy with these

arguments and Isis, wars in Afghanistan and other places. There are still cruel events that continue to occur,

artists using minimalist shapes combined with organic forms. The piece that suggests this the most is the sculpture

and we are always stuck between them. The most important piece that explores these issues is found in my

“Balena”. For the creation of this sculpture I used balsa wood, an iron bar and acrylic paint. I was truly inspired by

painted observational study, where I have included old objects which I have taken from my grandfather such as

the forms present in nature. Especially focusing on the exterior and the interior of whales, I used the shapes of the

the hats, the poppies which he always took with him wherever he went and his calculator that he used for his

bones of the whale to assemble a balanced sculpture. I looked at the symmetry and thickness between each bone

precise work which he loved. The ‘Soldier Head’ influenced by Adolfo Wildt’s “Ritratto di Ferraris”, has been a

and understood how it can be interpreted in a sculptural vision. I was then intrigued by the Japanese characters and

recurring theme within my work. The head is symbolic of the confusion that soldiers and people at the time were

how each form creates a balance with another. Moreover the work which influenced me the most is that of Berto

experiencing during the war and it is reinforced by the screws and the bolts that explode out of the “brain”. This

Lardera. Once again, the geometric shapes and the use of negative spaces, gave me the essentials to work on a

is further explored through explosive abstract works that exist as shards or explosive parts, or non-representable

well balanced structural sculpture. Therefore the entire motif of this sculpture is to develop the harmony between

shapes – almost the fallout from such disasters. My work has been influenced by many artists such as Giorgio De

natural forms and geometric shapes.

Chirico, Wassily Kandinsky, Adolfo Wildt and many others who have highlighted my main themes regarding war, destruction and chaos. However, my main preoccupation has been to create a road which unites these concepts by bringing them towards a happy ending such as hope and peace. Influenced by my comparative essay, I have associated the geometric forms found in my artworks to represent an expressive function transmitting a harmony and peace through structure and composition.

VIOLA SFORNI

MICOL LICASTRO

Art has always played an important role in my life and has determined the way I understand the world. It has

The IB course of Visual Arts has challenged my whole conception of what I thought Art was. I had come from

always had a wide definition and my main belief was that anything can be art. Throughout the IB course, I initially

a different school where I had studied IGCSE Art. The approach I had learned meant that at the time I had to

focused on the belief that art can be anything, including the things that are generally discarded in society. This

take a more classical approach. Starting the IB course at the BSM has pushed me to break boundaries and start

led me to artists such as Keith Arnatt and Arman where there were aspects of the beauty in rubbish such as their

to process images and objects in a different manner. I had to learn to observe and imagine these in different,

use of colour or composition. This idea became an exciting one. How could I make rubbish or everyday objects

contorted ways through a series of processes. The procedure was completely unfamiliar to me. This lack of

beautiful? How could I change the perceptions of the audience using mundane and discarded objects. This led

knowledge made me ill at ease, especially when trying to complete my Process Portfolio. I had to start planning

me to follow a path that has defined most of my course. I have experimented with vibrant uses of colour and

my work in an orderly and coherent manner in order to produce a certain result. Studying Art these past two years

composition, combining this idea of beauty and the mundane. For example, in my trash series, I created multiple

has driven me to acquire new skills to become an artist. Recently I had to define what Art was. The most obvious

photographs of trash assembled in a certain way with a strong light source. This then became a painting where

answer that came to mind was anything visual that provoked an emotion in the audience. These past two years,

again I confronted this idea which generated unusual results. John Baldessari also became a fascination for

both my experiences within the IB and the courses I took outside school have led me to unconsciously follow a

me, firstly his quote ‘ I will not create boring Artwork’ attracted my attention, as what do we define as boring?

path: Insects, Childhood and Pain. I have enjoyed using my previous skills shown evidently with the observational

What would be considered exciting? However, I loved his combination of unusual pairings, for example the bright

of the doll. I then transformed this into a story of ‘hybridity’ linked to pain. Here I realised that I had reached a new

coloured circles placed over his photography. This almost creates a disturbance for the viewer that I wanted to

potential to be a creative, innovative storyteller through a series of pictures that impelled me to be more abstract

emulate within my work. Much to the despair of my teachers, I therefore placed rubbish into my beautiful painting,

and graphical. The course has allowed me to become a more rounded artist with a series of different skills and a

composed my paintings in a central mundane way to break conventions that define beautiful art. The exploration of

deeper visual knowledge also inspired by an array of different artists.

the many mediums of art, allowed me to express my passion for this subject. Furthermore, due to the demanding IB visual art course, I have developed the valuable skill of perseverance, commitment and this has enriched my understanding of the theoretical and practical areas of art. Overall, art is a tool that allows anybody’s most extravagant ideas to come to life.

GCSE ART AND DESIGN STUDENTS Pietro Lombardo GCSE Year 11

Sofia Rombelli Gcse Year 11

Caroline Cremona GCSE Year 11

Arianna Recordati GCSE Year 11

Matteo Ponti GCSE Year 11

Nella Solero GCSE Year 11

Riccardo Munari GCSE Year 11

Isabella Romeo GCSE Year 11

SPECIAL THANKS Kate Michael and Christina Georgiou for preparing and organising the exhibition The BSM for hosting the event The San Martino Banqueting for offering and organising the cocktail.

Giardini Galbiati for the flowers.

Amie Louie and Ruth Greenhalgh for assistance with the catalogue, marketing and invitations.