Fresh newsletter by University of Wolverhampton

Spring 2012

Fresh

News magazine from the University of Wolverhampton

School Of Art AND Design

3D Design • Animation • Ceramics • Computer Games Design • Design and Applied Arts • Fashion and Textiles • Fine Art • Glass • Graphic Communication • Illustration • Interior Design • Photography • Product Design • Video & Film Production

01 FRESH

Welcome... Message from the Dean

Upcoming events:

Welcome to the latest edition of the Fresh newsletter. Since our last issue the School of Art & Design has been a hive of activity and we have lots to update you on.

Focus on Imaging

In September we held our MA Show in The Public in West Bromwich for the first time. This exhibition is the culmination of the excellent work undertaken by our Masters students over the last year or two and shows the diversity of creative thinking, skills and professional approach to practice that they have achieved in that time. You can see our student’s work from the show on pages 3-6. I’m also pleased to bring you an update on the exciting Leonardo da Vinci Innovation Transfer Project in Ceramics that the school and I have been involved with (see opposite page). Also inside we’ve got all the latest news and success stories from our students, our graduates and our staff. I hope you enjoy it! Dr. Bryony Conway Dean – School of Art & Design

4-7 March 2012 NEC, Birmingham, B40 1NT www.focus-on-imaging.co.uk

Sewing for Pleasure

22-25 March 2012 NEC, Birmingham, B40 1NT www.thenec.co.uk/whatson/ sewingforpleasure

The Royal Photographic Society – 154th International Print Exhibition 26 March - 20 May 2012 The School of Art & Design, University of Wolverhampton www.rps.org/international-printexhibition/The-154th-InternationalPrint-Exhibition-2011

Degree Show

2-9 June 2012 The School of Art & Design, University of Wolverhampton www.wlv.ac.uk/artanddesign

New Blood

26-28 June 2012 Old Spitalfields Market Brushfield Street, Spitalfields London, E1 6AA www.dandad.org/talent/new-blood

New Designers

27-30 June 2012 Business Design Centre, 52 Upper Street, London, N1 0QH www.newdesigners.com

University Open Days 2012 Front cover image: Shaoqing Bian ‘On the Job’ The Royal Photographic Society’s 154th International Print Exhibition.

Saturday 3 March Friday 15 June Saturday 18 August www.wlv.ac.uk/opendays

FRESH 02

Leonardo da Vinci Innovation Transfer Project in Ceramics

are developing a design curriculum as part of the project, their work is also featuring on brick carving and direct screen printing as part of the training videos.

The Leonardo da Vinci Innovation Transfer Project in Ceramics is an exciting international project based on the production of pedagogic tools for ceramics and features a bespoke website: www.eu-ceramics.eu

They led a three-day design seminar with teaching staff from the partner institutes. Using their established and proven design methodology, fundamental in the teaching of skills-based subjects, they employed practical workshops, group seminars and individual tutorials to encourage innovation, originality, creative thinking, personal identity, and an understanding of the market and context of the work.

The project has four partners, the lead institution is CNIFOP (National Centre for the introduction, training and improvement in pottery and stoneware) Saint Amand en Puisaye, France which is well known for its technical instruction and specialist courses on ceramic techniques and skills; Keramike Studio Jarmily in the Czech Republic, which is a private ceramics school run by Jarmila Tynerove taking groups of students throughout the year who are taught by well-known Czech ceramicists such as Jindra Vikova; Vidéoscop at the University of Nancy, France who are producing the website and the videos, and the University of Wolverhampton. Vicky Shaw and Gwen Heeney, senior lecturers at the School of Art & Design,

The philosophy of the Leonardo project is to address a number of issues highlighted by French and European studies. Expertise in pottery and ceramics is disappearing throughout Europe. The lack of highly skilled manpower is having a significant negative effect on innovation. Many potters are solitary, self employed and geographically isolated. The profession also suffers from a lack of public profile and income can be low often due to competition from low cost countries. The creative/ design culture is not apparent in training beneath degree level in the partner countries.

Meet our student interns Simon Brough, Graduate Intern, Employability In 2011 Simon completed his first short film ‘Drive’ and graduated with a BA (Hons) Video and Film Production. He is now working as a student intern and told us: “the hands on experience and business skills, as well as my supportive colleagues, are preparing me for the next steps I need to continue along my career path”. Cat Fuller, Graduate Intern, Student Support Cat graduated with BA (Hons) Photography in September 2011 and soon found herself with a graduate internship within the School. Cat loves her new position; “University gave me so many opportunities and experiences, and I was keen to help others get as much out of their time as I did. When the Student Support Internship came up it seemed ideal – using skills I had from my previous employment and matching it with my knowledge of the School.”

Welcome to new staff Donna Hughes, School Finance Officer Donna has a degree in Economics from Australia National University and was Faculty Management Accountant at the University of Cape Town before moving to the UK. She spent eight years in banking in Australia before moving to the UK and from there to South Africa. Audray McAdams, Senior Technician, Fashion Audray is a Wolverhampton graduate and has a mix of design and teaching experience, at both Stafford College of Art and SAD. Paul McAllister, Senior Lecturer in Applied Arts (Ceramics) Paul has a HND in Studio Ceramics from the University of Derby and an MA in Ceramics from the University of Wales Institute Cardiff. Most recently he has been Associate Lecturer in Applied Arts (Ceramics) at the University of Coventry and Course Director BA (Hons) Applied Arts.

The team (left to right): Rekha Narula (interpreter), Ian McGarr (interpreter), Gwen Heeney, Jean-Louis Marck, Catherine Claus-Demangeon, Svatoslav Gosman, Vicky Shaw, Jarmila Tyrnerová, Dr. Bryony Conway, Catherine Souissi

Tim Baker, Technician (Equipment Store) Tim has a BA (Hons) Multimedia and Sonic Arts from the University of Central Lancashire. He has spent the last five and a half years as Centre Resources Assistant at the Light House Media Centre.

03 FRESH

MA show 2011 For the very first time we held the exhibition at The Public gallery in West Bromwich. The work of over 40 graduating Masters students together with the work of some of our practiceled PhDstudents was on public display until October 9. Both full-time and part-time students joined the MA programme from a variety of backgrounds and experiences to contribute to the debates and extend their individual practices. A good proportion of these were international, offering an enriched cultural understanding of art and design. It was therefore, a particularly lively show from the three courses of Fine Art, Art and Design, and Design for Advertising, With multi-disciplinary work ranging from painting, sculpture, print, illustration and photography toaudio-visual pieces, animation, glass work and installation.

A A T S A

N S A I

The School of Art & Design opened its annual MA Show on Sunday 25 September 2011.

N S A I

A A T S A

Showcasing talent

Following on from this exhibition and graduation, we wish our students continued success in their endeavours and future plans whether this is to further develop their individual practice, work in the creative industries, teach, or continue to research at doctoral level. We hope that the MA experience has left them well-equipped to prosper and make their mark on the world. Prof. Dew Harrison Associate Dean for Research and Postgraduate Studies

FRESH 04

11 10 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12

MA show Marinos Thoma - Fine Art Muneer Hamed - Design for Advertising Jon Banks - Graphics Communication George Clark-Roden - Fine Art Annelise Linneman-Schmidt - Ceramics Gabrielle Rucinski - Glass Kayleigh Young - Glass James Bettany - Fine Art Andri Sheittani - Illustration Tamara Joseph - Textiles Sarah Moran - Textiles

05 FRESH

13 01

MA show

FRESH 06

13 Andew Fellows - Product Design 14 Stephan Hoennekes - Graphics Communication 15 Matthew Evans - Fine Art 16 Judith Hammersley - Textiles 17 Sid Turner - Ceramics 18 Michele Coxon - Ceramics 19 Laura Dicken - Illustration 20 Joseph Coulman - Illustration 21 Ulusal Sozen - Interior Design 22 Yvonne John - Graphic Communication 23 Simon Francis - Fine Art

2011

07 FRESH

Ed Ruscha visits the School of Art & Design Renowned US artist Ed Ruscha visited the School of Art & Design last October to meet Fine Art students. The Los Angeles-based artist is thought of as one of the most consistently inventive American artists of the last 50 years. Since the early 1960s he has channelled his fascination with language and American West Coast culture into books, print-making, photography, drawing and painting. His visit coincided with the end of the Artistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Rooms exhibition at Wolverhampton Art Gallery. The exhibition displayed an impressive collection of Ruschaâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s paintings, prints, photographs and books. Ruscha shared his insights with the students, before they proudly showed off their work to him in the fine art studios.

Student focu

FRESH 08

Work experience not to be sneezed at... Graphic Communication student Deepak Garcha has recently completed work for Walsall based business, Allergy Protect UK. Allergy Protect UK aims to provide a chemicalfree dust mite removing solution to domestic customers who wish to be assured that it is safe for their familes, children and the elderly. The company used council grants to employ Deepak who came up with the company name: Allergy Protect UK, design a brand identity and apply to a full colour leaflet. Deepak’s work is pivotal to launching the business to potential customers, residential homes, old peoples homes and small hotel chains. Deepak said, “Allergy Protect UK were so pleased with the work that I had done that they asked me to continue being the designer for the company and have vowed to keep in contact after my graduation.”

National prize for illustration student A creative student has clinched a runner-up prize in a national competition.

BA (Hons) Illustration student Blair Frame was awarded the prize in the student category of the Cheltenham Illustration Awards 2011. Blair, from Dudley, is in the third year of his degree at the School of Art & Design and won £500. The 27-year-old said: “The pieces I submitted were a selection of images and spreads from a story book I produced for a second year project entitled ‘Reynardine’. The story follows that of an old folk tale (reworked into a song by Fairport Convention), about a werewolf who lures young girls away to his castle. I wanted to make the tale into contemporary story with relevance. The main theme of the story became about the world of trafficking young girls into the sex industry.” Course Leader for Illustration, John Clementson, said: “The Illustration staff team are delighted at Blair’s success, his original idea and the quality of the artwork deservedly won recognition in this prestigious national competition.”

Image right: Blair Frame’s ‘Natural Beauty’

Further to this success, Blair has also had a full page illustration published in the inaugural edition of Twofold Magazine, an independent magazine focusing on illustration and typography. The brief from the magazine was open, so Blair took inspiration from some old magazines and adverts; “There were lots of 1950s adverts to do with beauty. So I decided to make my own advert playing around with the notion of natural beauty. “I came up with the idea of making a tree with lipstick growing out of it, and it sort of grew from there.” For more information about Blair Frame’s work, visit: www.blairframe.co.uk

09 FRESH

Celebrity sketching raises £900 Fine Art students teamed up with Wolverhampton Art Gallery; Castle Galleries and Promise Dreams to support a charity auction last November. Roger Baker, Jenny Joyce, Ben Harris, Angela Jones, Michelle Piper, Anna Smith, Nigel Langford, Caroline Bailey, Tosca Lahiri and Charles Egornu were all tasked with painting portraits of local celebrities; Wolves legend Steve Bull MBE, 80s pop sensation Jaki Graham, and Wolves favourite Matt Murray. The paintings were then presented to the celebrities, who signed them before they were sold, raising £900 for the charity which helps make dreams come true for seriously and terminally ill children. Top: Steve Bull signing student Nigel Langford portrait.

Right: Jaki Graham with Charles Egornu

Justine Davy, fundraiser at Promise Dreams said, “We are always looking for different and innovative ways to raise money and it’s a pleasure to host events that raise awareness of the charity whilst people have a good time.” To find out more about Promise Dreams and the families they support please visit: www.promisedreams.co.uk or call: 01902 212451.

Graphics student comes 3rd in Evisu competition Congratulations go to Daniel Dean, a graphics student who came 3rd in Evisu’s ‘Don’t Panic; Make the Rules’ competition last December. As part of their 20th anniversary, the premium denim brand asked artists to design a piece of artwork that shared the understanding of what it means to ‘Make the Rules’. They were looking for an artist to express the theme and demonstrate their understanding of the phrase through their own style.

Right: Daniel Dean Evisu Poster Entry and Daniel Dean Evisu Exhibition

Daniel was among the 20 top-rated pieces from all of the entries and his work was showcased at an Exhibition Party, attended by celebrities, socialites, media, press and VIPs in Shoreditch, East London. Daniel made the journey down to London to view his work in the exhibition and enjoy the party; which included live DJs, Sushi Bar and hand painting artists for EVISU jeans. Daniel told us: “I was extremely excited and proud to learn that my design was selected to feature within the top 20, especially considering that I only became aware of the competition two days before the closing deadline. The Graphic Communication degree which I am currently undertaking has provided me with the determination to succeed as well as the desire and drive to produce innovative design, which conveys the intended message in a straight forward and minimalistic manner. The experience of viewing my exhibited piece and communicating with creatives from the industry was highly inspirational. The most uplifting moment was when professional heavyweight boxer David Haye approved my design!” If you would like to see more of Daniel’s work please visit his website: www.cmykstudio.co.uk

FRESH 10

Fashion students at the Clothes Show Live Last December Fashion and Textiles students showed off their work at the Clothes Show Live, running two successful catwalk shows at the event, under the following themes: Eclectricity (ec·lec·tric·i·ty) A sensation of extreme excitement, glorious anticipation, most pleasurable stimulation, induced by exposure to potent concoctions, hedonistic creations and intoxicating drama especially when feeling, sensing and experiencing vibrant ranges, bold forms and powerful mixtures of spectacular styles, dynamic patterns and intense colours. Etherealisation (e·the·re·al·i·sa·tion) To give the appearance of reality to the extremely delicate or exceptionally refined; to embrace the wonders of mystical kingdoms and the enchantment of cosmic or natural domains and creatures; to create splendour, beauty and delight from dreams, hopes and visions of an exquisite future, for example, heavenly fabrics, divine prints and celestial fashion. Fashion lecturer Michael Rutley said: “Our students committed themselves to the project with great energy and enthusiasm and the prints, styles and outfits created were a shining testament to their creativity, imagination, originality and hard work! We had more visitors to our stand than ever before and an extremely positive reaction to our outfits shown on the catwalk.”

Photography and Fashion students work with Hasselbad Fine camera equipment producers Hasselbad, held a photography workshop at the School of Art & Design last December. Over 70 external photographers attended the event, along with our own photography students, as Hasselbad introduced them to new high-end equipment, including the Broncolor, and gave hands-on training on their new equipment specifically for lighting techniques. Fashion students also took part by modelling their new design collections for the snappers to capture. Su Fahy, divisional leader for Fine Art and Photography, said: “This is a great event for the School and our students to be involved with. Hasselbad offer high-end technical input to our students at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels and this introduces them to industry standard equipment.”

Fine Art study visits Fine Art students have been all over the country in recent months enjoying several study visits. Here are some photos showing their visits:

Top four images: The Clothes Show Live Images above: Photography and Fashion students working with Hasselbad Images below from left to right: The Hepworth, Wakefield - Clare Woods ‘Unquiet Head’ Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford - Something Canny Yorkshire Sculpture Park, Wakefield - Jaume Plensa Installation

11 FRESh

Animation graduates set up award winning company

Guardian shortlist for photography student

Sector5 Studios is a brand new animation company set up by 2011 graduates Matt Ayris, Gary Jones, Ravi Maheru and Sandro Nicholas. During their final year of the animation course they realised that they didn’t want to lose the great atmosphere they had at the University and casually thought up the idea of forming a studio so that they could always work together. The idea became a serious proposition as the year came to an end.

2011 Photography graduate, James Marsh, was one of five students shortlisted in the prestigious Guardian Student Media Awards last November, in the ‘Photographer of the Year’ category. He submitted three images demonstrating his specialism of sports photography. The images were all linked by the notion of the defining moment within a sporting movement. The images submitted covered the sports of downhill cycling, canoe slalom and tennis.

They sought advice from several places such as SPEED and Access2business and officially opened the company in August. Since then their focus has been on networking and creating contacts as well as submitting to as many festivals as possible. They completed their first project as a company last year which was a sting for FLIP international animation festival 2011, held in October 2011.

Alumni Far left: images from sting for Flip Far left below: Images from Caged Left: James Marsh

Also at FLIP festival the company were awarded an award for their short film: Caged

James, who is now working between a photography studio in Birmingham and a sports photo agency in Leicester, said: “It is a massive honour to be shortlisted for such an award. I have experimented with numerous different styles and subjects of photography since my college course five years ago, but sports and sports photography have always been a passion of mine.” Senior lecturer in Photography, Dr Peter Day, said: “This is an outstanding achievement and profiles the success and quality of the Photography BA (Hons) programme on both the national and international stage. To be recognised for the Student Photographer of the Year by the Guardian by a judging panel that reflects the best in the industry and from over 648 entries from universities across the UK, is a top achievement in itself. It places the course profile up there with the top art and design and journalism courses in the UK university sector.” James’ work can be viewed at: www.jamesmarshphotography.co.uk

FRESH 12

Left: Matthew Evans heraldry work

i success Heralding a new design

Matthew Evans recently gained a distinction in MA Fine Art and now finds himself amidst an innovative new project. He read an article in the Sunday Express newspaper by Royal Correspondent Camilla Tominey about the journalist’s desire to have a bespoke coat of arms like the newly wed Duchess of Cambridge. Matthew wrote to Camilla offering to create one just for her. His design was triangular to symbolise Camilla’s two children and husband, featured a rabbit, Wonder Woman, Rioja and a boiled egg with soldiers. The design was printed in the newspaper in July – a great showcase for the graduate’s talents. Since then, he has been commissioned by Birmingham’s Royal Orthopaedic Hospital to create heraldic designs for a corridor in a new wing. Matthew gathered information about the people’s feelings and thoughts about their time at the hospital. Participants included a surgeon, a dinner lady, a porter, a matron and a 10-year-old girl who had broken her leg. The designs are now on display in the hospital. “It is amazing how much information people are willing to share if you ask. They buy into the idea as it is bespoke and just for them,” Matthew explains. This success has now led to other commissions including one of the committee members at the hospital, someone in New Orleans and he is currently working on one for someone who used to work on Wall Street. Matthew’s main technique for the heraldry is drawing, enhanced by laser etching to burn the designs on to wood. His other interests include the ‘readymade’, print and photography. He describes his practice as ‘exploring codes or inclusion and exclusion, interpretation and understanding’. Matthew has just got his first studio space in Digbeth, Birmingham and continues to work on new projects and build his portfolio from there. For further information visit: www.10bearsart.co.uk

Richie Doyle’s Television Ratings Success Video and Film production graduate; Richard Doyle is a TV Producer/Director and owner of Creative Productions; an innovative full service television production company based in Ireland. His first TV3 commission ‘SOS: Save our Shops’ was aired in Ireland on Friday 25 November 2011. The show was about failing retail establishments who called upon the retail expertise of Lisa Fitzpatrick to guide participants onto the road to recovery. SOS averaged160,000 viewers over its three episodes to-date. And altogether 618,000 individuals in Ireland have tuned into one of the three episodes of SOS at some point over its first season run. On the back of its success Richard was commissioned by TV3 to make a Christmas Special called: ‘Dublin Airport: Coming Home for Christmas’ which was centred around the arrivals gate at Dublin Airport. The show focused on reuniting loved one’s in time for Christmas. For this show Richie worked as producer-director and had a full team to work with, which is real recognition of his talents and the success of ‘SOS: Save our Shops’. The show aired on 21 December and received over a quarter of a million viewers, making it the highest rated in-house production for TV3 to date. For more information visit Richie’s website: www.creativeproductions.ie

13 FRESH

Right: Michele Coxon’s piece entitled, ‘My Mother’ Below: Michele Coxon at work Overleaf top: Andrew Webber Overleaf bottom: Matt Zarandi at his place of work

MA Star for Ceramics student Michele Coxon has been awarded an MA Star for her work at the School’s annual Postgraduate Degree Show. MAstars is an annual online selection of the most promising artists from the UK’s leading MA courses. Each year a team of curators, academics and arts professionals choose different MA degree shows across the UK to visit and from these select artists to be featured on the AXIS website. Michele, who has now started up her own studio, said: “I was so proud to grain a distinction in my MA and also be awarded a MAstars award, I was guided throughout by some wonderful tutors, who not only helped me creatively but also with the technical challenges of ceramics. Since leaving college I have been part of The Art of Protest in Manchester, held a Christmas exhibition at The Willow Gallery in Oswestry, had my sculptures on show at The Potteries Museum in Stoke-on-Trent and the Wedgwood Museum has commissioned a limited edition of Madonna of the Jungle.” To see Michele’s work or for further information visit her website: www.nakedchrist.co.uk

FRESH 14

Award-winning Andrew Webber Andrew Webber; a Video and Film production graduate, has been busy since graduating. He is now Head of Post Production at OHTV Studio, and has set up his own company: AWBroadcast. He started out as a director’s assistant for the BBC and Channel 4, and quickly worked up the ranks to become senior editor for a number of independent media companies and broadcast channels. Over the last five years he has been credited for over 200 longform broadcast programmes and a vast collection of music videos and promos as an editor/director. 2011 was arguably his most successful year yet; he was film editor for two films that featured in the Cannes Film Festival and he won a ZAFAA film award for film editing, on the film: ‘The Mirror Boy’. This photo (see left) shows Andrew holding the 2011 Zafaa Award. Congratulations Andrew! For further information please visit Andrew’s website: www.aw-broadcast.tv

Graduate gives back Recent graphics graduate Lisa Barratt has been in touch to update us on her progress, and pass on a heartfelt thanks to our teaching staff. Lisa is now working at the agency Sixth Story in Digbeth and loving it; “I am getting used to presenting to clients now and actually find I enjoy it quite a lot especially when you leave them feeling happy and excited about what you are creating for them. Being in a small agency is great and feels right, I enjoy the variety of projects - we even created a mobile website for Ebay last month. I am very grateful for the encouragement and expertise of all teaching staff and Martin Evans at the University of Wolverhampton. You are very inspirational and hope that one day I will be one of those successful graduates that you name-drop in lectures.” Thanks for getting in touch Lisa, we don’t know whether you’ve been mentioned in lectures, but here’s your moment in Fresh magazine! If you’re a past student and want to get in touch with us to share your story email us on: art-design@wlv.ac.uk

Matt Zarandi Matt Zarandi, Graphic Communication graduate, has also gone on to great endeavours. Following his graduation, Matt moved to London for his current role: his dream job; working as Digital Designer for The Football Association.

“My role consists of creating digital assets across The FA and Wembley Stadium whilst also having a responsibility in maintaining the appearance of the organisation in this environment. I therefore get to work on plenty of exciting projects

such as the current redesign of TheFA.com and motion videos to be played on the Wembley big screen during England matches. I feel very privileged to be in the position I am, and to be able to combine my favourite sport and hobby into my work life. Every day when I get off the train and out of Wembley Park station, I have to pinch myself as I see the enormous Wembley arch spanning the horizon which always fills me with excitement for what lies ahead!” Matt attributes his time at the School of Art & Design as a great starting point for his career. “The staff and students were great but most of all, and probably most importantly, so was the course. I always find through speaking with others who have studied graphic design elsewhere, that this course gave students a greater depth of education. Whilst the design industry is very competitive and tough to break into, if you know what you want and are willing to go out there and get it, then anything is achievable.”

15 FRESH

Staff focus Shrewsbury Museum Heritage Project

Samantha Moore, senior lecturer in Animation has been commissioned by Shrewsbury Museum and Art Gallery to make a short animated film about their pre-historic collection. The short animated film will depict objects, uses and contexts relating to Shrewsbury Museum’s pre-historic collection. Outlining the chronology of the objects presented to give the viewer an idea of the scale of the collection, whilst making the collection accessible to a general audience. Samantha tells us that she recently visited the museum and was allowed to look at the objects up close for the first time. “I’ve been sketching and drawing them through the glass over the past month or so, but it was a very special opportunity to finally get to hold them in real life. Plus I had to wear CSI style gloves! Cool!” Samantha says the most interesting object that she has sketched so far has been a hand axe (pictured left) from early Palaeolithic times, by far the oldest object in the collection. It would have been used before the end of the last ice age, as a general all-purpose tool, for anything from cutting wood to skinning an animal.

Picasso in Palestine – Dr. Andrew Conio Senior lecturer in the School of Art & Design, Dr Andrew Conio, recently spoke at one of Palestine’s most important art events. The International Art Academy in Ramallah, at which Andrew recently held a research fellowship, brought an original Picasso masterpiece Buste de Femme (1943) from the Van Abbe Museum in Eindhoven to a specially built ‘Museum’ in the West Bank. The opening of the project, the first of its kind, was attended by the Palestinian Prime Minster who said: “this event is an important milestone in the creation of a Palestinian state”. Bringing Picasso to Palestine involved creating new intuitional structures where none had previously existed and tested the capacity of a

“The truly amazing thing about it though is that it wasn’t used by humans, it was used by homo heidelbergensis, the most ‘recent’ relative of homo sapiens. I held it in my hand and the edges were all really sharp, until I eventually found the one position where it sat comfortably in my palm. You would have cut your hand using it in any position but one, and that one allowed you to access all the cutting edges from lots of different angles. It was incredible to think how long ago someone else had the same thought processes I had about how to use it.” Images from top left clockwise: Iron Age spoons Bronze Age sword Sam Moore handles Bronze Age sword Neolithic leaf shaped arrowhead (l-r) Phil Scoggins, Sam Moore, Emma-Kate Lanyon, Dr Andy Wigley discuss a Bronze Age longboat

people without a country to create some of the crucial institutions of state. Putting into place insurance, transportation and security systems entailed many months of negotiations with governments and security forces, and exact interpretation of the Oslo accord. It tested the extent to which a people without sovereignty can guarantee the safety of a hugely expensive work of art. Andrew spoke at one of the opening events about how this work can be understood as a work of art itself. Like an artwork, this project required ingenuity, tenacity, and creativity and it is also a composition. In this case the artwork was composed out of a people’s struggle for self-determination, institutional structures, and the political difficulties of living under military occupation. Andrew said: “this painting takes a modernist painting from the Van-Abbe museum and gives back and new definition of art and what art can do”.

Image above: IAAP director Khaled Hourani holds a hand-drawn postcard from a Palestinian political prisoner currently held in an Israeli jail, depicting Picasso’s Buste in a gesture of protest, June 2011. Photograph by Charles Esche

Fresh 16

Su Fahy awarded Associateship of Royal Photographic Society

Dean Kelland – Living Room Series (Episode 2): The Desperate Hours

Su Fahy, divisional leader for Fine Art and Photography, has been awarded an Associateship of the Royal Photographic Society.

Dean Kelland, senior lecturer in Photography opened his new exhibition at the internationally recognised Ikon Gallery, Birmingham in November.

The Royal Photographic Society (RPS), founded in 1853, is the most prestigious international photographic society. As part of her associateship Su has organised for The Royal Photographic Society’s 154th International Print Exhibition to visit Wolverhampton for the first time in its history. It will be shown at the School of Art & Design and the Wolverhampton Art Gallery from 26 March to 20 May 2012. Dean’s interest lies in the language of popular culture; song lyrics, newspaper and magazine articles, scripts, and in particular the British sitcom. He works with performance, photography, film and appropriation to explore portraiture, producing engaging observations of our collective cultural identities. Su told us: “I am delighted to have been awarded a distinction from the society and also to have a print selected for the 154th International Print Show. Bringing the exhibition to Wolverhampton is an excellent opportunity for students and the public to view this show for the first time and will found our first ‘wlvfotofest’ which we hope to run as an biennial event within Wolverhampton to showcase photography in the region and create a forum for discussion.” For more information on this event follow us: @wlvfotofest

Left from top: Shaoqing Bian ‘On the Job’ Steve Brabner ‘Buffalo Road’ Vic Attfield ‘RooftopTree’ Justyna Neryng ‘Nell GOLD’

The show, was Dean’s most high profile exhibition to date. It showed his 2010 film Living Room Series (Episode 2): The Desperate Hours, in which he is represented in the guise of comedy character Harold Steptoe of the legendary Steptoe and Son. Jonathan Watkins, the Director of the Ikon Gallery said upon seeing the show ‘looking at the work was like a thunderbolt, and I knew straight away that I had to show it before anyone else did’. In-character, Dean repeatedly voiced Steptoe’s most memorable catchphrase. With each new repetition taking the audience further into the identity of Steptoe whilst simultaneously investigating the mechanics of performance and portraits of masculinity. In the lead up to the show Dean spent a day with ‘Steptoe and Son’ writers Ray Galton and Alan Simpson. Although in their 80s now, Dean recalls how they were ‘pin sharp with every script and line they’d ever written’. Dean says the time spent with them was invaluable for the characterisation of his performance. The opening night of the show was fantastically well attended and Dean told us that the support from his friends and colleagues at the School of Art & Design was superb, like playing to a home crowd! Dean is currently working on his next work which he tells us will be based around ‘Whatever Happened to the Likely Lads’. So watch this space!

17 FRESH

Creative employabil Illustration students bring Telford tales to life Six Illustration students were recruited to bring to life a series of stories developed by pupils from Telford schools. ‘Find your Talent’ and ‘Creative Partnerships’ funded this ambitious literacy project for the Abraham Darby Academy and their feeder primary schools. Pupils in different year groups worked with professional author Jonathan Collings to create ‘Unexpected Tales from Telford’ which is being published and distributed to local families to encourage reading at home. The stories feature a range of ideas linked to places close to the schools including, animals, fantasy adventures, pirates, and even a royal wedding. Vice Principal at Abraham Darby Academy, Ann O’Brien, co-ordinated the project and commented “this is a great example of partnership working and has already involved over 150 young people. The opportunity for them to meet and work alongside a range of professional people linked to design and publishing is seen to raise aspirations, and we are sure the completed books will prove to be really popular with pupils and their families”. The students who took part in this project were: Maria Forrester, Blair Frame, Matt Jones, Anita Olsen, Fifi Sharplin, and Toni Williams.

FRESH 18

Next Retail Ltd meet our Fashion and Textiles students

lity Overleaf: Illustration by MA student Matt Jones from the story “Spike Gets Grumpy” Above: Arin Sotoudeh, still from his ident Top middle: Fashion and Textiles students play the Next business game Right: Fashion and Textiles students with Vanessa Brown

Representatives from British high street retailer Next came to meet final year Fashion and Textiles students. Organised by the Creative Employability Studio, it was an opportunity for students to meet a regional graduate recruiter and learn about how their trainee programme is organised. Recruitment Co-ordinator Annie Jones and current trainees Laura Hudson and Emily Little, gave the Next Trainee Scheme ‘Stand out from the crowd’ presentation and played a business game with the students based on men’s shirts. Senior lecturer Sharon Watts commented: “it is so important for our students to interact with industry and gain an understanding of how corporations such as Next operate. They were very impressed with the presentation and many of them are now considering careers in buying and merchandising”.

Animation students work on CiTV idents

Competition to design new sculpture for Keltruck

Students from the Animation course have been working on a live brief to create idents for the ITV children’s channel CiTV. In December Dave Hickman, CiTV Creative Director, came back to view the final student submissions. Expecting to take about three student idents back to the CiTV approval board, Dave was thrilled to have five pieces ready and offered another eight students the opportunity of re-submission in January, following some very minor amendments. When asked how the brief had gone Arin Sotoudeh, Animation student said: “I am thrilled to have been given the opportunity for my work to be broadcast whilst studying. I have really enjoyed the process and learnt so much about presenting ideas to clients. The students have really supported each other on this brief, and this work will look great in my portfolio”.

Fine Art and Applied Arts students from all levels have been invited to take part in a competition to design a sculptural installation for Keltruck’s new headquarters in West Bromwich. Due to open in March 2012, the entrance to the company will be through a three storey atrium which is where their new sculpture will be sited.

Anyone for tennis? Fashion and Textiles students have worked on a ladies tennis collection with Vanessa Brown from Chicini. The company supplies branded crew clothing to venues, but Vanessa’s real passion is tennis; a former Welsh international at junior and senior level and currently a tennis coach. Vanessa approached the School because she was keen to develop a tennis range suitable for the ladies that she coaches. Seven students worked on the tennis brief for six weeks, with Vanessa visiting once a week to see their sketchbooks and discuss their ideas. At the end of the brief the students presented their collections and Vanessa chose two runners up: Bhavik Sharma and Abbie Crane, and the winner, Hayley Rock. Hayley will now have the opportunity to work with Chicini to sample her collection.

Keltruck’s Managing Director, Mr Andrew Jamieson, came to the School in November to talk to interested students about the company and share the architectural images of the building. Students have since been visiting the site to help them with their designs. The competition will be judged in early 2012, please visit: www.wlv.ac.uk/artanddesign for the latest news on this project.

Contact us The School of Art & Design University of Wolverhampton MK Building, City Campus North Molineux Street Wolverhampton WV1 1DT

Tel: 01902 322058 Email: art-design@wlv.ac.uk Website: www.wlv.ac.uk/artanddesign

Receive Fresh direct to your inbox:

Join our e-subscription list for Fresh magazine and get each issue emailed directly to you as soon as it’s published. Send your name and email address to: art-design@wlv.ac.uk stating ‘Fresh Subscription’ in the subject line. Alternatively scan your smartphone here:

Recommend Fresh to a friend:

If you’ve enjoyed reading Fresh magazine and would like to share it with your friends please send their name and email address to: art-design@wlv.ac.uk stating ‘Fresh for a Friend’ in the subject line. Alternatively scan your smartphone here:

You can keep up-to-date with all the latest news and events from the School of Art & Design by following us on Twitter: @WLVArtandDesign or visiting: www.wlv.ac.uk/artanddesign