BRIT School Visual Arts and Design

The Option Collective Exhibition

2011-06-10T14:58:00.002+01:00

Please come and support our GCSE and BTEC Certicificate Option courses on their collective exhibition in the art studios. There is a wide range of work across both art and design specialisms and we are incredibly proud of what the students have achieved. Looking forward to seeing there.

Dulwich Picture Gallery Exhibition In Progress...

2011-04-28T17:57:00.008+01:00

Our Year 10 strand students are currently working extremely hard on putting together a joint exhibition with the GCSE students for a one-night-only showing at Dulwich Picture Gallery! Following on from an exploration of all things site-specific (focusing on sculpture, and including boats carved from soap setting sail in a public bathroom sink, breezeblock hands seemingly clawing their way out from beneath the school field, and plaster-cast decorative plaques filling the knots in trees), students are now taking inspiration from the street artist Slinkachu, whose tiny scale figures depicting a whole range of characters and happenings can be spotted in nooks and crannies around London (if you have super Eagle Eyes!). With the whole of Dulwich Picture Gallery grounds as their oyster, students have chosen little secret areas to create individual scenes and characters for. I do not want to give everything away, but viewers can expect to find little people from the 19th Century all the way up to the modern day (there may even be a few who are from another world...).

Students discovering the location for their site-specific miniature sculptures...

Students are working extremely hard as you read this to create an exciting and inspirational exhibition, and hope to see you there on Wednesday 8th June (more details to follow)!

STUDENT QUOTES ABOUT FORTHCOMING DULWICH PICTURE GALLERY SHOW:

‘It’s going to be exciting and adventurous’

‘I can’t wait to work in the gallery with the final piece’

‘I find it truly inspiring’

‘Working with Dulwich Picture Gallery has been exciting as it’s a beautiful gallery full of history... I didn’t realise making mini sculptures would be so hard, however it was really fun and enjoyable. I can’t wait for the exhibition!’

‘I didn’t think making mini people would be this cool!’

‘I’m looking forward to working at Dulwich picture gallery, because it will be a new experience’

‘I’m really excited to see how my scene turns out in Dulwich Picture Gallery’

‘I am very excited to have my work at Dulwich Picture Gallery, as it will be one of the first times that my creation will be in quite a well-known art gallery in London’

‘Dulwich Picture Gallery is a very appropriate area for us to do our show because it is a classic ‘picture’ gallery, so it is nice to have sculpture there. It’s perfect!’

BRAND

2011-04-15T12:25:00.012+01:00

The year 12 Visual Arts and Design students are currently working on an exciting live project with twin live clients. This project is all about creating an exciting and workable brand image for the interior and exterior of a building, students are being required to consider a range of factors including; wayfinding, colour, atmosphere, logo and motif design, spatial design and integrating existing construction restrictions with newly designed architecture. All of these factors are having to be balanced against the needs of the clients... that is coupled with the fact that they are designing for the refurbishment and construction of the new building which will be housing VA&D from 2012!

The primary contact client in the project is Kim Lodge from the architectural firm Aedas who is currently designing and finalising plans for the redevelopment of one of the BRIT School buildings alongside the construction of an adjoining theatre and performance space. The second client in this scenario is the School itself and all ideas, concepts and plans will be needed to be submitted and presented to these clients in a professional manner.

Not only is this an exciting project for the students in the fact that they are working for real, live, clients but that also there is the possibility that they could go on to shape the future of the school space in which they are currently studying.

All of our students are using blogs to document their progress and they can be found through the links below, as well as some more info on the architects.Aedas

http://www.designbuilding.tumblr.com/

http://www.riannaanoff.tumblr.com/

http://samtemplemilnes.tumblr.com/

http://lizbrit.blogspot.com/

http://www.hollyaimee.blogspot.com/

http://www.oliverroberthumphreysmason.blogspot.com/

http://www.charliepetit-jean.blogspot.com/

http://www.designanyamooney.blogspot.com/

http://www.joephillips-brit.blogspot.com/

http://sakilebrit.blogspot.com/

http://mialeodesign.blogspot.com/

http://tasharrr1.tumblr.com/ http://www.tashieee1.blogspot.com/

http://larniphoenixatbrit.tumblr.com/

http://design-for-brit.tumblr.com/

http://www.britdesignelana.blogspot.com/

http://www.deadkatdesign.co.uk/

http://samwrayeaston.blogspot.com/

http://artnicolehylton.blogspot.com/

http://www.jenmason93.blogspot.com/

http://www.infographlottie.blogspot.com/

www.alibrucey.tumblr.com

www.pennyburrows.tumblr.com

www.jessdesignbrand.tumblr.com

www.kittywallacedesign.tumblr.com

www.joshuamacpherson.blogspot.com

http://abrahambranding-design.tumblr.com/

http://www.kumidesignproject.blogspot.com/

http://spetherb.tumblr.com/

http://tessamackenzie.tumblr.com

http://www.ellieruby.blogspot.com

www.joysdesignproject.blogspot.com

http://hkxxx.blogspot.com/2011/04/architecture.html

http://www.jessier-brand.blogspot.com/

http://www.kerryryanbrand.blogspot.com/

http://santego.tumblr.com/

http://aliceroudenkoartblog.blogspot.com/

http://finleysbrandproject.blogspot.com/

Myth: Folklore: Legend at Horniman museum 31st March 2010

2011-03-30T10:36:00.008+01:00

So here's the photos from the final show which was a brilliant experience and a great success, and builds on our previous site-specific work at Dulwich Picture Gallery and in Shop.

Some things students working on the project said;

"A really good site-specific experience, bringing the community together"

"The venue was amazing"

"Good for our parents to see our work in a professional context"

"Organisation- we got a chance to take control"

"A real confidence booster"

"Now I understand site-specific work better"

"Great experience: first real Year 12 show"

"Good to interact with members of the public"

Stuart Worden, Assistant Principal said, " Thank-you for the Horniman last night. Once again I see the VAD team pushing boundaries, working in exciting places and producing high quality work. I felt that the work benefited from clear subject matter and was impressed by the level of creative and intellectual engagement. I particularly loved the use of film and the piece with the children's clothing will stay with me for some time.
Brilliant commitment and thank-you for the vision and the energy."

Thanks very much to The Horniman museum for letting us loose in their fabulous museum- we hope to be back :)

Myth: Legend: Folklore

2011-03-05T09:04:00.002Z

Myth: Legend: Folklore is a site-specific showcase of live art, printmaking, video and sound art work at the Horniman Museum, Forest Hill, made by Year 12 BTEC National Diploma Art and Design students. Students have responded through real and fictive narrative and installation works interwoven amongst the multi- cultural collection of weird and wonderful artefacts, and galleries and spaces around the building. Take a journey to another world inside the lift, tell your story of a mask to camera, try to find the 1940s missing polar bear. Students will be on hand for guided tours to bring the event to life. Refreshments will be available. Artist Lottie Leedham has collaborated with us on this project.

Love to see you there. Will be an enchanting night!

Hope you can make it to our student show! Please do send onto interested friends and colleagues.

Monday 28th March, 7-9pm FREE

Present and incorrect 2010 show - feedback and photos

2011-01-06T07:08:00.002Z

Hello- our show was a great success-thank you if you came along and joined in the art fun and festivities- see for yourself what people thought and the photos of the event. Leave a comment too. Our show blog can be found here and photos here

Present and incorrect: our show @ Rag Factory, off Brick Lane, 10-12th December

2010-11-19T10:24:00.003Z

WOW! we're now all madly preparing for our annual showcase- more to follow, but click on flyers for information!

Private view 5-9.30pm Friday 10th December

Show open Saturday 11th December 11-7pm, Sunday 12th 11- 4pm

We are photogirls! Fashion photography shoot inspired by Charlotte Mann

2010-11-05T16:16:00.006Z

Today we had the brilliant 'We are photogirls!' in for the day for Year 12 and 13 BTEC National Diploma students 'Geek-Chic' One-Day Fashion Photography Workshop.

Students learnt about the different roles within fashion photography, and split into groups taking on roles transforming themselves into a creative team, becoming photographers, art directors, stylists, hair and make up designers and models.

They were introduced to the work of Charlotte Mann and introduced to techniques she uses to make her fashion backdrops, and design and drew their own fashion backdrop for the afternoons shoot.

We will have these and more photos on display in the forthcoming Rag Factory show, 10-12th December.

Croydon Regeneration project with McAlpine Construction

2010-11-01T21:59:00.004Z

Over the first 5 weeks of this year our year 13 Design Pathway students have been working on a project for a live client, McAlpine Construction.
Their brief was simple - Create a series of inspiring images that presented the regeneration of Croydon in a positive light.
These images were then submitted to the client and are to be displayed at the Davis Training Suite in central Croydon which overlooks the site of the Council hall the is currently under construction. Not only will they be on display inside the building but some were also selected to be displayed on the hoardings around the building site and to be part of the visitors guide book.
The work has also been taken on by the Croydon Clocktower and will go on display as part of their Are we here? A Festival of Place. Their work will be on display in the Balcony Bar area of the Croydon Clocktower from the beginning of November.
This project has been an amazing experience and an unbelievable opportunity for our students to work with such a high profile client on a live project that has an enduring outcome.
I would like to offer our thanks to McAlpine Construction and Janine Jasper and the Croydon Clocktower and Sam Hunt.
Here is a little taster of what will be on display in and around Croydon:

Year 13 BTEC National Diploma Art and Design Trip to Berlin

2010-11-01T20:32:00.008Z

Last month we took our year 13s to Berlin for 4 days between the 3rd and the 6th of October. Having been to Berlin two years before we were all very excited with the prospect of returning and getting to re-visit the city with a new set of students.

The students spent their 4 days in Berlin exploring the Art and Design heritage of one of europes oldest and most vibrant capitals with a main focus on using their experience to inform their upcoming specialist pathway projects. It wasn't just the Art and Design side of Berlin that we experienced but rather we made the social and historical sides of the city a major part of the trip with visits to the Check Point Charlie museum and the Jewish museum.

Berlins rich and diverse heritage gave our students a broad range of influences and start points for their projects with the Visual Arts pathway focusing on craft practices and social history whilst the Design pathway focused on the range of design styles influenced by Berlins East and West history. Not only did we get to see it's historical past but one of the highlights of the trip was a visit to Tacheles Gallery which is an artist commune that has taken over a derelict shopping mall in the Scheunenviertel area of Berlin. With all of the ethical, moral and recycling elements of the Design pathway project this was particularly useful for them.

All in all it was an amazing trip, the students and staff had a great time and enjoyed it thoroughly, with no problems other than a slight hiccup with some luggage on the way out it was one of the smoothest school trips we've ever taken!

Year 10 students explore the diversity of East London

2010-10-11T08:19:00.008+01:00

Recently, our Year 10 BTEC course spent the afternoon recording the hugely diverse area around Whitechapel, Brick Lane and Spitalfields Market...

They photographed...

They produced some collaborative drawings (which gathered quite a bit of interest from admiring passers-by)...

And they viewed other art works around the area...

In the coming weeks, students will be taking inspiration from the rich variety of sights they recorded during the trip to produce some creative printmaking and illustration, and some contemporary urban-influenced jewellery...

The work which will be produced as a result of this exciting trip will be shown at our forthcoming show at the Rag Factory (December, more details to follow)!

New Year 12 students 'Get Together' in the canteen- Year 12 Visual Arts and Design students offering a helping hand with little art interventions....

2010-09-06T17:08:00.002+01:00

Having only been here for 3 days, Year 12 Visual Arts and Design students are already having a show- making fun and participatory art pieces encouraging students in the canteen 'get together' to make friends through the power of art- it was a great way to start conversations and break the ice, here are some examples;making friendship bracelets, mapping memories/encounters of the site so far, sharing chit chat over a cuppa with a builder, finding match made friends in a tent, finding a partner who has the same handmade pendant as you,making a friendship tree with students thumb prints.

More photos can be found here

Artist lead felt making workshop

2010-07-30T10:58:00.005+01:00

This summer YR12 BTEC Nationnal Diploma Visual Arts & Design students worked with crafts-practitioner Izzy Norwood for three days to produce a series of experimental felt pieces including felt jewellery and accessories. This will feed directly into portfolios for progression.All had a great time exploring new skills.

Living Gallery 2010 at Dulwich Picture Gallery

2010-07-30T10:51:00.003+01:00

What would you do if you knew the world was coming to an end?
Who would you save?
What would you keep?
How did the world start?
How will it end?
And what will happen when silence falls?

Living Gallery is an ambitious collaborative project between Brit School YR12 BTEC National Diploma Visual Arts & Design and Dance strand students in partnership with the Dulwich Picture Gallery. Students have explored the history of the gallery and the surrounding area as well as bringing new contemporary interpretations to the painting collections in order to produce a series of site specific artworks and physical theatre performances. The theme this year is Life and Death with a particular current of interest in the ‘end of the world’.

More photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/britvisualarts/sets/72157624614656706/

YR10 Strand's community project

2010-07-05T15:41:00.003+01:00

For the last few months YR10 strand have been working in collaboration with children and staff from Selhurst Early Learning Centre to produce a series of 'Space' inspired children's stories and story props in the form of puppets.

This is the first time Visual Arts and Design have worked on a community project with a pre-16 group and we are very excited about devloping this after the success of this project!

See more images at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/britvisualarts/sets/72157624426831934/

Exhibition Success...

2010-06-10T11:01:00.005+01:00

Last night the Visual Arts and Design Department had yet another exciting and innovative show. This time it was for our option and Additional Studies students who have been working extremely hard to produce energetic, touching and memorable work...

Nature:Nurture versus The City: gallery

2010-05-21T14:47:00.004+01:00

Phew! Here are more photos from our show last night. A great night with our friends and families, with much to celebrate from our Year 11 and 13 BTEC Art and Design students eclectic mix of work.

Nature: Nurture v The City, Year 11 and 13 BTEC Art and Design shows

2010-05-14T14:27:00.002+01:00

Hello, our end of year strand shows are on Thursday 20th May 4.30-8.30pm, visual arts studios, click on flyer for more information.

Following our great off site success in YBsA at The Rag Factory, off Brick Lane, East London, (reported here in East London Lines and images in our flickr gallery here) you are warmly invited to come to our Year 11 and Year 13 BTEC First and National Diploma Art and Design end of course shows, the former group has responded to the theme Nature:Nurture and the latter, The City.
Students are showcasing their Final Major Project work through a wide range of visual arts and design disciplines, from animation to painting, to video, printmaking, performance art, sculpture and fashion illustration. Year 13s will have browsers displaying their final portfolios and also sketchbooks will be accompanying the show for the Year 11s.

Hope to see you there!

Barcelona March 2010

2010-04-25T21:56:00.005+01:00

On the 11^th of March 2010 the VAD Year 13 and A2 Art and Design students accompanied by Harry and myself descended on Barcelona for a 3 day feast of Artistic, cultural and historical exploration.

Having been warned by a parent just prior to departure of some freak wintry weather conditions in Spain we were a little concerned that we may not have packed sufficiently suitable clothing and footwear. Fortunately on arrival in Barcelona these fears seemed to be unfounded and although there was a slight nip in the air we were greeted by glorious sunshine. After a short walk from the central station up to our Hotel we were able to leave our luggage and embark on our first excursion of the trip. Our first port of call was the famous ‘Ramblas’ area on the edge of the old quarter, such a busy area full of market stalls and people offered numerous opportunities for students to sample some of the local food and get to the serious business of visual recording.

Having spent a couple of hours exploring the area we moved on to the CCCB gallery just up the road where we saw their ‘Art in the City’ exhibition which offered an eclectic and diverse range of contemporary work by current artists all exploring what the city means in the 21^st century. This provided some excellent support for the year 13’s whose Final Major Project title is ‘The City’ this year. By the time we left the gallery it was getting on for eight o’clock and we were all starting to feel the effects of having been up since 4 that morning. Tired and hungry we made our way back to the hotel for dinner and a well earned rest.

Friday greeted us with a grey, drizzly light and it seemed that our good fortune of the day before wasn’t going to hold and even more frustratingly this was the day that had been earmarked for all of our outdoors visits, undeterred we set off for Montjuc and the Olympic park. Despite the mist that hung over the city we spent an enjoyable and worthwhile morning exploring the castle at the top of the hill and the views it offered of the city before moving down the hill to walk around the legacy of Barcelona’s summer Olympics.

By lunchtime we were back down in the town itself to sample more Spanish cuisine before moving on to a tour of the Old quarter and the amazing range of twisting alleyways and gothic architecture. That afternoon the sun managed to break through a little more and we were able to enjoy the wonders of Parc Guell where we spent a long time taking in the inspiring work of Gaudi and Jojul. Afterwards the students we able to head back into central Barcelona and explore further before heading back to the hotel for dinner. That evening we ventured out once more, this time to see the city at night and in particular the wonderfully lit Casa Battlo.

Saturday morning provided the students with an opportunity to identify a particular area of the city that related to their own work and explore it in more depth. We also went to the Tapies gallery to see the collection of work and artefacts by one of Spain’s most innovative artists. All that remained after that was for the students to enjoy their last few hours in Barcelona before we headed back to the airport for our flight home.

Our three day trip to Barcelona was a real whirlwind tour and it was a shame that we had to make so many tough decisions about what we could and could not get to see. The students were brilliant from start to finish and behaved in a manner that was a real credit to them.

Rag Factory 2010 show: in progress and on now!

2010-03-27T13:08:00.001Z

Show is open 27th and 28th March......see here for putting it up and other delights

Yr12 Dialogue Show

2010-02-26T13:10:00.004Z

Dialogue show 19^th Feb 2010

After 7 weeks exploring the theme of ‘Dialogue’ via video, performance, live art and sound, the year 12 VAD students shared their findings with the school at their exhibition in ‘The Space’. Visitors were treated to an eclectic and exciting mixture of work that ran the full spectrum from Performance and interactive live artworks, through to installed video and sound pieces. All of the students worked incredibly hard to put the show together and a big thank you also needs to go out to the TTA students for sorting out all of the lighting and stage-work. The feedback by those who attended was amazing and all of the students involved should be extremely proud of what they produced in the time allotted and with the numerous technical issues that always arise when dealing with video and sound.

YBsA: YOUNG BRIT SCHOOL ARTISTS show in East London, 27&28th March 2010

2010-02-17T15:35:00.009Z

YBsA flyer above: click to enlarge

Hello! You are invited to come along to our forthcoming annual show, this year at The Rag Factory, off Brick Lane, East London- details as follows;

YOUNG BRIT SCHOOL ARTISTS is a showcase of work by 14-19 year old artists and designers, experimenting with painting, photography, drawing, craft, jewellery, fashion illustration, graphics, textiles, print, live art, video, sculpture, installation, community projects, interdisciplinary arts.

YBsA @ The Rag Factory16-18 Heneage Street, London, E1 5LJ

Private View with live events (£4/£2)

Saturday 27th March 2010 5-9pm

Includes the alTURNERtive prize judging with special guest judges Oliver Evans, Assistant Director at Maureen Paleys Gallery and Arts correspondent for Dazed and Confused, and Artist Yara El-Sherbini at 7pm

Additional opening times (free entry)

Saturday 27th March, 11am-4pm

Sunday 28th March, 11am-3pm

At the Private View, come hang out in East London with the new up and coming YOUNG BRIT SCHOOL ARTISTS. Vote for the people’s prize in alTURNERtive painting and photography, browse the wares in a crafty market stall, and take part in a collaborative tribute to Alexander McQueen. You could win a young artists work in the art raffle, participate in live art events, enjoy a cupcake or a few iced gems, washed down with a glass of fizzy pop or two......Wear your best party frocks!

Please note:

Tickets for the Private View on the door only, arrive early to avoid queuing.

More to follow soon.....watch this space

Year 13 visit 'The Turner Prize' and Tate Britain

2009-11-11T14:06:00.006Z

Just before the October break the Year 13 Visual Arts and Design Strand students took a trip up to Tate Britain to visit the Turner Prize. Although this years nominees have been seen by many as not as controversial as in previous years, the work still prompted a huge response from the students including the inevitable 'What is Art?' debate. Students have used this important and thought provoking exhibition to inspire further development in both their current projects based in painting and photography. The contemporary and thematic content of the work served drive our students into questioning in moredepth the reasons behind why they are creating art and also served to help push the boundaries on how this work can be presented in a non-traditional and conceptual fashion.
Students also seemed to be completely divided on which artists work they preffered and although Lucy Skaer seemed to be quite popular, all four nominees recieved support by different students. You can make your own decisions by visiting the website here or by making the trip up to Tate Britain yourself.

Marketing Markets: YR10 Strand present work at assesmbly

2009-11-10T18:41:00.002Z

YR10 Strand Visual Arts & Design presented their project "Marketing Markets" at the Language Assembly in term one. For this project students went on a trip to East London and selected a market stall each from Whitechapel market. They have spend the folowing weeks designing a brand and logo and a series of paper bag designs for their market stalls. Above students hand out paper bags at assembly.

Year 10 trip to East London

2009-11-06T15:28:00.003Z

The Year 10 Visual Arts and Design students recently visited East London to gather visual research for two projects they were beginning. The first project is a painting project exploring artists like Jock McFayden, investigating composition and mixed media to produce individual outcomes. The second is a bag design projects where students have looked at processes such as print and embroidery to produce bags for fictional market stall based on the ones they saw on the trip. The students had a great time and got to see a diverse, creative and multicultural part of the city.

How Do You ?

2009-09-04T15:23:00.000+01:00

Year 12 Visual Arts and Design students worked extremely hard this week to produce a huge number of interactive and hand crafted objects and events based on the theme of 'How Do You Do?'. The students wanted to create an opportunity for students from other strands to introduce themselves to each other and make friends. Guests were greeted with the Info Desk and given a programme of the activities taking place. Guests could have their tarot cards read by Aoife, receive a gift and a hug from Jamsine and go on a speed date with Ruby and Matt. All activities were designed to encourage students to interact and learn about each other. The event was a huge success and we would like to thank everyone for coming.

Felting Making Workshops

2009-07-20T14:01:00.009+01:00

Last week students from Visual Arts and Design department were visited by Isabel Norwood who came to give a felt making workshop. Izzy showed us examples of her work and we made samples of some of the technques. Over the week, students began to design and produce a bag. There was a variety of different purposes and techniques used and the students were very impressed with what they learnt and in turn produced. Check out the pictures here.

Here are some of the students comments:

"I really enjoyed making the bag - something i'd consider doing as a career."

"Genuinely i think it was a very useful and fun workshop."

"I enjoyed being able to create our own designs quite freely."

" I had a great time learning something new so thank you Izzy!"

Ex-student Michelle Begley's degree show- Goldsmith's College of Art

2009-05-23T14:59:00.000+01:00

Calling alumni! With the degree show season upon us, Michelle Begley has got in touch for us to post information about her forthcoming BA Fine Art show at Goldsmith's University 18- 22nd June:

‘Anecdotes of illusion in transitional space.’ 2009

In a space where foundations are made porous, she provokes her identity to its limitation and negotiates the concept of time and ʻdwellingʼ. Projections of desirable places intervene her experiences and impose upon her body, separating the mind from the heart.

Sculpture 100cm x 50cm

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

About the BA Fine Art show from the Goldsmith's website:

BA Art Show

A platform for the emerging artists, the Goldsmiths 2009 Undergraduate Degree Show will showcase a broad spectrum of work by students graduating from BA Hons Textiles, BA Hons Fine Art, and BA Hons Fine Art and History of Art. Dealing with the minutiae of life as well as more fundamental issues, exhibits will include a broad spectrum such as photography, sculpture, painting, digital media and performance.
When: Private View: 18 June 6-9pm, Public View: 19 June - 22 June (inclusive) Open 10am-5pm except Sun: 12-4pm
Where: Goldsmiths, University of London
Admission: FREE
Contact: For more information, call 020 7919 7671 or e-mail art@gold.ac.uk.
See further information on the Art website."

Visual Arts and Design: Final Shop show 14th May 2009

2009-05-16T08:40:00.004+01:00

Images from Final Shop Show on our Flickr gallery

Hello! Our final show had over 350 people exploring our Shop, not only family and friends but, the less usual art audience of passers by out shopping in the Whitgift, or going to catch a tram or bus, or those on a lunch break from work. This real engagement with the community was fantastic for our students where the artist in a traditional gallery situation, is absent upon the audience's viewing.... To read more see our Shop blog

Year 11 BTEC and GCSE Art and Design final show

2009-05-09T22:18:00.002+01:00

On Tuesday the 12th of May up in the Visual Arts and Design studios 704, 705 and 706, we are holding our Year 11 show.
Come along and celebrate with us the great work they have produced over their respective courses during their 2 years here.
There is a huge range of work this year, ranging from beautiful paintings to origami based installations via post apocalyptic dioramas and knitted textiles.
Show opens at 5 and runs until 8pm, refreshments will be available.
See you there!

Year 13 Final Show: 23/24/27th April 2009

2009-04-20T18:02:00.002+01:00

Please come and join us in celebrating the achievements of our Year 13 BTEC National Diploma Art and Design students for the Private View this Thursday, 5-9pm or 10-4pm Friday 24th and Monday 27th, in the Whitgift Centre, near the middle of it, opposite Pumpkin Patch, CR0 1LP.
The show, which turns an empty shop into a temporary white cubed gallery space, promises to be an array of work across the breadth of Visual Arts and Design including graphics, illustration, painting, sculpture, textiles and video. Students have responded to the theme Presence of Absence in creating their final pieces.

Hope to see you there. Entry £1 on the Private view.

[Please note this is different to the Year 12 BRIT Visual Arts Shop project currently in the old Legends site]

Visual Arts and Design department

Propaganda

2009-02-24T09:21:00.002Z

Yr12 students have used Propaganda as their starting point for a graphics project. Under this umbrella students have been producing work in a variety of formats tailors to their own brief and client. Check out the photos here.

Conversation

2009-02-06T10:01:00.004Z

Year 12 have been working on a new media project entitled 'Conversation'. They have been exploring sount art, video and projection, text & image and live art. Check out the photos here

After Gillian Wearing

2009-01-04T22:05:00.000Z

Our photography experiment was inspired by Gillian Wearing, and took place outside of a classroom, enabling us to approach a variety of people, where it was the member of the public’s story or expression that was captured. We simply the question “What were you thinking?” and presented the questioned with a blank page and marker pen. While most responses consisted largely of, “I’m cold!” or “I’m freezing!” some of the responses were thoughtful and it was these that made the approach worthwhile.

However, even the brief encounters gave us a lot of information about a person; whether they were shy or confident, how they spoke and what was important to them in life at the moment. My favourite response was that of a man who took a long time to pen the words: “Just going to call my girl to say ‘I love you’”. He, like many others, seemed to find the project really interesting – at one point all the people on the bus were staring at us while we were talking to a mother and child. I suppose while it wasn’t such a normal thing to see on the street, it was the only place to get some real responses and interact with people.

I really enjoyed this project, as it not only provoked some interesting responses in an artistic sense, but helped build confidence personally.

Gillian Wearing

2009-01-02T11:26:00.003Z

In the past we had all done a live art piece based on Gillian Wearing, however the one we had done was restricted to certain questions. This time around it was open and the participants were free to write anything that they wanted whether from how they were feeling that day to what their reactions were to the live art piece; one man asked us was this really art.

At first I was a bit unsure if anyone would participate because I know how I am when I am approached by salesmen but all the questions that we were unsure of, wouldn’t be answered until we went out their and did it, and surprisingly enough people participated. Once in our first spot we scanned the people to see who we would think take part, already we a having expectations of whether a person is going to do it and what they may say. As a group we tried different approaches, somewhere straight to the point and others more detailed. One that often worked was firstly saying ‘Hi’ or ‘Hello sorry to disturb you, but…’ once we had their attention we then went on to ask if they would take part in out live art piece, it will only take a minute. In some cases we had to write for them as they were in a rush for the bus or to go on with their day bringing live art and it’s meaning together. The more people we asked the more easier it became, the sites were also important we had a lot by the bus stop and by Tesco Metro however I feel it would work a lot better in central London. Overall I really enjoyed the experience and I would look at different ways of approaching people to possibly gain more responses.

students shelter from the rain

2008-12-17T12:50:00.001Z

Year 10 GCSE Art & Design students draw from bunk beds to shelter from the rain

On 3rd December Year 10 GCSE Art & Design students visited Tate Modern, where they experienced Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster’s Turbine Hall installation; TH.2058 and explored the Idea and Objects and the Material Gestures Collections.

Dominique Gonzalez-Foerster’s Turbine Hall installation TH.2058 looks 50 years into the future, as inhabitants of London take shelter in the Turbine hall from never ending rain mixed with a collection of homage’s to artists who have exhibited in the past in the Turbine Hall.

The students wondered the installation, crawling under giant sculptures of flowers and spiders and climbing into bunk beds to draw what they could see! There was plenty discussion whether what they were experiencing, particularly the bunk beds, was art or not and whether it was important whether the artist made all the pieces themselves or employed assistants.

Next the students visited the two collections, paying particular attention to the works of Paul McCarthy, Sophie Calle, Martin Creed and Marlene Dumas. Many students found McCarthy’s work shocking and ‘rude’, Creed’s work clever but pretentious, Dumas’s work beautiful and Calle’s work fascinating. There were also comments made by students at the end of the trip that despite enjoying their visit, they preferred the Brit School’s Strand Visual Arts & Design Year 13 show, which was quite a compliment to Year 13, (well done!).

Gillian Wearing: The Aftermath

2008-12-05T09:29:00.003Z

So, our task was to go out and convince the lovely inhabitants of selhurst to come and aid us with our project. Our project being the re-creation of the work of photographer Gillian Wearing. Armed with a camera, a large stack of paper and a marker pen, we headed towards the daunting prospects of talking to people that weren't from school (a nightmare, i know).
In retrospect, it went really well; we emulated the geurilla art aspect of Wearings work to a good degree, and I think this was what made it so good. The range of people we managed to drag in to participate is reflectd well in the answers we got e.g. ''SUZUKI GSXR 1100''...Perhaps standing outside Halfords for participants was not wise, a lot of the answers were vehicle based.
I think that Wearings use of composition, coupled with her subjects, creates impact through a single image. I would hope that we have given justice to the way in which she works, and now I know never to say the line...''Hello, I'm an art student, could I have a few minutes of your time.''

After Gillian Wearing.

2008-12-05T09:28:00.004Z

In our lesson we decided to go down the road to a big road junction and do some art research in a similar style as a survey. We copied the style of Gillian Wearing's art by walking around (in and out of shops) asking people what was on their mind/what they were just thinking of and then getting them to write it down so we could take a picture of them with it.

First of all we decided how we could go round asking these questions without having people run away from us or just walk straight past. We thought the better way of getting peoples attention was to ask them if they could quickly write down what they were thinking on a white piece of paper for our art project. This got most people interested then after this we asked if we could take a picture of them holing up what they had written.

After this we set off down the road to see what was on peoples minds. Most people seemed open to having a go but didn't necessarily get the whole point and most just wrote down that they were cold or that they were thinking about getting home or would do something completely different like draw a little picture.

We found that men and people in shops were more open to doing this. I'm not too sure why this was, maybe women are more busy and have places to be on a Thursday around 4 o'clock or maybe men are just less scared of a group of teenagers.

Overall I thought it was a good exercise and we got some very interesting answers, I'm now thinking of ways I can incorporate this with my work.

After Gilian Wearing

2008-12-05T09:18:00.002Z

As a group we explored Wearing’s techniques of live art by asking random people on the street what they were thinking and writing it down and then taking a photo of them.
The purpose of this experiment was to practically explore another form of live art. This type of live art engages with a wider audience and we could find out quite a lot from people by the answers they wrote down for us.
We approached different types of people to get a varied response: black, white, Asian, old, young. We approached people at bus stops, in shops and at garages to get a wide range of people. We did not approach people who seemed busy, stressed or had children with them because we did not want to draw too much attention to ourselves as this could distract others away from us.
I felt that the experiment was very successful and it proves that live art can connect or engage with everyone unlike something personal like a painting or a 2d or 3d object.

After Gillian Wearing

2008-12-01T10:19:00.002Z

This activity was interesting and enjoyable we had the chance to work with the community and find out a bit more about the different people who live in the area. We tried to keep our question as open ended as possible and tried not to probe people to direct there answer in any direction. This was a good activity to start us of with getting used to working with the public. Often we judge people by how they look which makes us think they will respond in a certain way, this activity shows the opposite the people you think that would respond in a negative way where the most positive and enthusiastic. This enabled us to meet and talk to new people and find out a bit about there character.

This work was inspired by Gillian Wearing who uses this method within one of her live art projects, I found her photographs very compelling and they really inspired me to create some work with similar connotations. It would be interesting to pursue this social experiment further, using different ages groups and areas to see what sort of responses I get.

2008-12-01T10:17:00.003Z

Gillian Wearing

We were given the task to go around Croydon, and ask people what they were thinking at that exact time, inspired by Gillian Wearing’s work. It was important to ask people that didn’t look that busy, so we were most likely to have a positive response. My group asked people of all different ages, both male and female, to get a varied response. Most of the people were happy to write down what they were thinking at that time; however one person was not happy with us taking a picture of them holding their response next to their chest.

Most of the people wrote quite obvious answers to begin with- that they were feeling cold, couldn’t wait to get home etc. So we decided to change the question slightly and ask them what was on their mind/ personal thoughts. This gave us more information as to who they were and what they were doing with their lives. One man wrote that he hated his job, another that he could wait to go and see his grandson.

I enjoyed this exercise because it gave me to opportunity to talk to people I wouldn’t normally, and find out what their thoughts were.

Tosin Year 13 BTEC National Art and Design

Gillian Wearing inspired.

2008-12-01T10:16:00.001Z

We were set out to ask people we had never met, to write down an expression or a quote of some sort inspired by there initial thoughts or inspirations of the day, then take a picture of the person holding up their message. I found approaching people was hard at the beginning, as I was stuck on what to say, however it became easier towards the end. I felt the experience was successful we achieved a better knowledge and experience of live art and also interacted the live art experience to the public we met in Selhurst.
Our approach was friendly, firstly we asked if they would be interested in interacting in a live art project, adding that it wouldn’t take long if they decided to. If they were interested we encouraged them to write down a quote, a thought etc. We had a mix of reactions some people were interested in participating and others didn’t want to be bothered by us.
It was an interesting perspective of art. If I was to repeated this live art experience I would perhaps do it in an area that was more busy and had a larger range of people which I could ask.

after gillian wearing

2008-12-01T10:14:00.002Z

Our task was to go to a public place and ask people what they were thinking and ask them to write it on a piece of paper so that we could take a picture of them with their thoughts. We also asked them for email addresses.We decided to go to Tescos in Selhurst as we assumed it would be a busy public piece. We started to ask random people making sure that we gave them the purpose of this exercise and also assured them it was strictly for educational purposes. We found that people were very anxious to participate and as soon as we mentioned taking a picture we found they were less inclined to do so. We tried different tactics of approaching people and found that if we mentioned the BRIT School earlier on in the conversation then we got a positive result.I found this research interesting as people seemed to use the excuse they were too busy. The task would have taken them three minutes and I could not believe that people couldn’t even give up that amount of time in their day. However 13 people did participate making it a very worthwhile task. by Luke Jonas Yr13 BTEC National art and design

After Gillian Wearing

2008-12-01T10:13:00.001Z

Gillian Wearing is a mixture between live art and photography. One of her most well known pieces of work is Signs that say what you want them to say and not Signs that say what someone else wants you to say. This consists of a series of photographs, each showing a member of the public who Wearing had stopped on the street and got to spontaneously write something down on a piece of paper. Wearing then photographed the people holding the paper. Some of the results are a little surprising: a smart young man dressed in a business suit holds a sign which reads "I'm desperate", while a police officer has written the single word "Help!". In Wearing's words, "A great deal of my work is about questioning handed-down truths".
Wearing uses techniques of documentary and photography, film and television to frame the concerns, words and actions of ordinary people. As well as these pieces which concentrate on individuals, Wearing has made pieces that concentrate on groups of people. One, Sixty Minute Silence (1996) is a video of people dressed in police uniforms sitting as if for a group photograph for an hour. Their initial stillness eventually gives way to fidgeting. Her film Drunk (2000) is of four drunk men staggering around a studio.
In response to her work we went out in groups into Selhurst and spontaneously asked people to write down anything they felt like writing down. A lot of people we asked did not want to participate in the art experiment however those who did provided interesting responses. Some wrote what they were doing, others wrote how they were feeling, some political statements, while others wrote random words.

I found the responses interesting and amusing and were I to do this again in a different area I feel the responses would be different. I really enjoyed this piece of live art and enjoyed the play between live and actual art.

After Gilian wearing

2008-12-01T10:10:00.003Z

It’s Thursday 27th November and we as a class have left the comfort of our school grounds and are on a pursuit to Whitehorse. This is in aid of what can only be described as a cross between performance art and a social experiment. "What are you thinking?" A question that echoed throughout every group to the public. Stationed along Whitehorse, my group including Tosin and Eloise, we were directed to ask individuals surrounding the petrol station what they were thinking.
In order to document the people and their responses, we asked them if they could write their thoughts down and hold it up as we photographed them. This is an experiment also conducted by the artist Gillian Wearing, who we were working in the style of.
I really enjoyed this experiment and had no queries with going up to people. I found it worked best to ask individuals if they had time to spare, why I was doing it and to blurt out the question, giving them no time to come up with a though-out response.
People were keen to interact and although we got less exciting answers like "I'm tired" or "I'm cold." We got equally interesting and random thoughts like "I like running for buses" and "Why are you so beautiful?" Proving when you address people politely and with respectfully they can always spare a minute

Biannca Nugent- Visual Arts and Design BTEC student

Inspired by Gillian Wearing

2008-12-01T10:09:00.008Z

On a thursday afternoon we decided to conduct an artistic experiment. The artist Gillian Wearing was the inspiration for the project after she did the same piece. We copied her art on the streets and in the shops of Selhurst. We went out and asked people to write down what they were thinking before we approached them or a statement. It was a broad question which left some of the people wondering what they should write down. Then if they were willing we took a photo of them holding up what they had written. Most people who agreed to helping us out were willing to have their photo taken. It was only really the young girls that didn't want their face in the photo.
We found that men were the easiest to approach and most women didn't really want to participate. Middle-aged women were the least likely to say yes.
As time went on it seemed the question became more narrowed down. When we asked what people were thinking before we started talking to them people found it easier to answer as it was more specific. We even asked what people thought of before they went to bed. This seemed a bit too personal, and many could not recollect. It was easier to shake people's short-term memory. Generally people were very positive and interested by the idea.

Sophie McKay yr13 BTEC National Diploma

2008-12-01T08:50:00.003Z

Year 13 BTEC National Diploma Art and Design: afternoon lesson re-enacting Gillian Wearing's work, Thursday 27th November 2008

As part of Unit 59, Multi-Disciplinary work in Fine Art, students are developing approaches to Live Art exploring different methods of engaging with their audience, both on and off site. In Year 12 for Open evening November 2007, students undertook this work with the prospective students but we were keen to consider with them how the work would change out in the public domain in the schools locality at a junction including areas around shops such as Halfords, Staples, a barbers, bus stops, Tescos.

Posts which follow this entitled 'After Gillian Wearing' are the students recording of the experience.

Some background information:

Wearing’s work demonstrates a complex understanding of the alternately comic and tragic experiences of everyday life. She uses the techniques of documentary photography, film and television to frame the concerns, words and actions of ordinary people, often in everyday situations slightly and often subtly displaced in context. This repositioning creates an uneasy sense in the viewer - it forces us to question our preconceptions in face of the image Wearing presents to us. [Taken from British Council website ]

Thoughts we discussed prior to the re-enactments:

Evaluating examples of Gillian Wearing's work
Where? Who to ask, what to ask, how to frame the experience? Ask for email addresses?
Watching the use of the site first, considering where to ask eg going into and/or out of the station? How does change of site affect responses?
Short term public engagement, community, social, what are we learning?
Spontaneous approach
Strangers more honest than people you know?
Passers by- transient community?
Highlighting the human connection between us?

A-Block- the show! Comments welcome:)

2008-11-26T09:49:00.001Z

see photos from our show here.

we'll be wrting more as staff about the hugely enjoyable show, but meanwhile, we'd love to have your comments and reflections on the event.

About A-Block: The programme

2008-11-19T15:57:00.001Z

Visual Arts and Design OBIE showcase 2008: A-Block

Year 10 BTEC First Diploma Art and Design: The Built Environment
Using an exhibition at the Hayward gallery, Psycho Buildings and particularly the works of Rachel Whiteread as our inspiration students have produced their own sculptural houses. With the structure of their own home as a starting point they developed the pieces expressing how they felt about their house, family members and local community. The result is an eclectic mix of sculptures giving us a wonderful insight in to the minds and family life of our Year 10 strand!

Year 10 Option GCSE Art & Design: Post-it note installation
The Year 10 GCSE students have been exploring the theme Plants with Attitude working so far with 2D processes, drawing, collage and print-making. Throughout Art History artists have ascribed meaning to plants through a variety of media, means and conventions. For example plants have been given magical, medical, spiritual and romantic associations. Each student has selected and researched a specific plant twinned with a theme of interest, such as roses and love. For the OBIE students have produced a collection of narrative mono-prints revealing an often subverted story inspired by this research and presented on the everyday post-it-note as if to suggest these stories are everyday occurrences.

Year 11 BTEC First Diploma Art and Design: Self Portraits
The Year 11 students have been exploring the portrait. They have investigated the meaning of a portrait through history and understand meanings of symbolism and the link between colour and emotion. The students spend a great deal of time investigating the meaning behind their work and how they would make a portrait that represented them accurately. They explored devices and formal elements such as pose, expression, composition, mark making, paint application etc. This project will now evolve into an Alter Ego project, exploring themselves as a ‘celebrity’.

Year 11 Option GCSE Art and Design: Personal space, built environment.
The year 11 Option GCSE group have been looking at the theme ‘Built Environment’ since Term 5 last year. Using their visual enquiries as a start point they have been combining the spaces in which they inhabit when relaxing and when at work to create a purely ‘Personal Environment’. The group have had the freedom to choose the most appropriate media for the job taken from the range they have explored over the last year, the only restriction they have had for these pieces is that it must fit onto a 30 x 30cm tile.

Year 12 BTEC National Diploma Art and Design: The Body
Our Yr 12 strand students have been exploring the theme of The Body in a wide and varied array of materials and techniques. Students have explored Photography, Sculpture, Textiles and Painting; they then developed their own take on the body specializing in one or two techniques.
The result is a wide and varied response to what at first appears to be a narrow subject. This being the first time we have allowed our students to be self directed early in their BTEC and it has given them invaluable experience in developing their organization, opinions and skills.

Year 13 BTEC National Diploma Art and Design: Mixed Media Storybooks
The Year 13 students have been exploring mixed media image making in depth, using traditional and non traditional materials and techniques. They have looked at the use of mixed media imagery in art, design and illustration and selected the most appropriate effect to illustrate a story they devised themselves. The storybooks each comment on a social issue that the students find important. It was vital for them to communicate their message as clearly as possible through the making and presentation of their storybooks in order to fully reach their audience.

Year 13 BTEC National Diploma Art and Design: Fashion Visualisation / Film Genres
Fashion visualization influenced by film genres. Students explored fashion illustration through mixed media to produce male or female clothing collections.

Year 13 BTEC National Diploma Art and Design: alTURNERtive Painting Prize
The Year 13’s have been working towards these painted outcomes since Term 5 last year. The project started with a range of workshops based on contemporary and traditional painting practice and was in informed thematically by the ideas and concepts of the artists entered for this years Turner Prize. The students have since explored these themes visually through a broad experimentation with paint and developed these outcomes with a view to them being exhibited for an externally judged prize. These paintings will be judged by Art Professionals Laura Green (contemporary painter) and Deirdre Kelly (Deputy Director of Chisenhale Gallery) as well as being subject to a live public vote on the evening of the OBIE Show.
The project was inspired by the alTURNERtive prize at The Welling School.

AS Graphics: Graphic Illustrations
So far this year, the AS Graphic students have been exploring graphic illustration, using a range of materials and techniques, including photomontages, mixed media image making and computer generated collages. They have been working with the theme of Fairy Tales, investigating illustration through history and different cultures, as well as contemporary styles of illustration. Each student chose a scene from a fairy tale to illustrate, produce an individual response to the narrative and well as designing specific typography to accompany the image.

Year 11 BTEC First Diploma Art and Design and Yr 12/13 BTEC Diploma Art and Design:
Video and Animation Work
A collection of the lens based moving image work made by students over the last academic year. Work has been produced in response to a number of topics, year 11 work was for end of year celebrations, Year 12 was a response to their fashion illustration project, and year 13 work was for their final major project. The work showcases a wide variety of practical techniques ranging from stop- motion to live filming and including hand drawn roto-scoping and puppetry.

Wish Translator
Yr12 students invite you to share a wish (in the wish translator cabin) and will translate it to make it come true.

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More on the show to follow!

Preparing for A-Block show next Wednesday

2008-11-14T15:41:00.008Z

The excitement is mounting! Things are really hectic getting ready for our big show next week- sourcing lampshades, writing the programme, buying the prizes for the alTURNERtive prize, organising our fab judges - artist Laura Green and Deputy Director of Chisenhale Gallery Dierdre Kelly, building our confessional style boxes for our Art translator....amongst many many other things. As we get out the rollers and into our painting overalls, many students are mucking in transforming the OBIE theatre into an art show alongside the fantastic technical theatre team who've built our gallery.

Here's a selection of the work in progress:

More images can be found on our flickr account here

Year 13 student Jake Roberts is combining graphic, painting and assemblage techniques for his entry for the alTURNERtive prize

Grainne Mears-Bullen (above)Year 13 is exploring memory and perception visually using contemporary oil painting techniques.

Helena Dillon (above) is exploring themes of mortality exploring traditional techniques in oils on paper for the alTURNERtive prize

Luke Jonas, Year 13 is exploring contemporary culture and issues of race in his piece for the alTURNERtive prize.

Year BTEC First ART and Design students are working on their built environment installation inspired by the Psycho Buildings exhibition at the Hayward earlier this year.

Rebecca Pillans is exploring issues of the body and age for her Year 12 BTEC National Diploma outcome for the show.

Crockery is arriving and becoming part of a big cafe-tea room installation that the Year 13s have organised. The audience will be having tea and cakes and reading their graphic novels.

With most of the painting of white walls and plinths unexpectedly completed today, Monday and Tuesday as a team of staff and students start early and finish late hanging the show....and in between get baking cakes too.

First up- our annual showcase!!

2008-11-12T16:56:00.000Z

more to follow on this-work in progress photos and about the work in the show....

love to see you there!

Old news posts

2008-11-10T16:40:00.001Z

some old news posts on 2007-8 shows from the main BRIT school news feed click here

december update for info: a couple of comments posted on this have been removed as they were meant for other posts