artists of the week!

It's that time of the week again when we are excited to share news from the Art, Design and Photography department, and to proudly celebrate the students who they have chosen as their Artists of the Week.

As you will see from the lead montage and below, Charlotte and Tommy have produced amazing pieces of work, and Head of Department Mrs Nanvadazeh explains the requirements of the course and the inspiration behind the students' work:

Year 12 Photography Student Charlotte Bean

Modernist and contemporary photographic responses to things, and to their surfaces, including the photograph itself, is the starting point for the Year 12 Photographers Foundation Unit. 

William Carlos Williams's famous phrase "no ideas but in things" reflects a major concern of modern art - and of poetry and photography in particular - that the job of an artist is to show us the thingness of things directly, honestly and without dressing them up with unnecessary symbolism.

This Surfaces project is designed to get students to think about the relationship between photography and the surface in two senses: 

1. how the surface texture of the real world, especially objects, can be documented through photography. 

2. how photographs themselves have a surface - their own material reality - and how this surface can be interrogated.

Charlotte has explored three photographs to inform her work so far:

Jerry Reed - an English photographer whose work was inspired by Francis Bruguiere's paperwork. Reed claims his objective is to capture and sustain the interest of the viewer through his photographs, and to achieve this he focuses heavily on lighting to create a dramatic two-toned effect within his images, between the light on the paper and the dark shadows that dominate the edges of the photograph.  

Letha Wilson - an American contemporary artist and photographer known for her innovative exploration of the intersection between photography and sculpture. Born in Honolulu, Hawaii, in 1976, Wilson earned her MFA in photography from Hunter College in New York City. Her work often involves printing photographs onto various materials like metal, concrete, or wood, which she then manipulates and incorporates into sculptural installations.

Angela Glajcar - a contemporary German artist renowned for her distinctive sculptures and installations made primarily from paper. Born on October 22, 1970, in Mainz, Germany, Glajcar's work blurs the boundaries between drawing, sculpture, photography and architecture. She studied fine arts at the Academy of Fine Arts in Mainz, Germany, and is best known for her work with paper as the central medium. She creates intricate sculptures and installations by meticulously layering and shaping translucent sheets of paper.

Year 13 Photography Student Tommy Crompton

Year 13 Component 1: Personal investigation

The A-Level Personal Investigation in Photography is a practical investigation supported by written material.

Students are required to conduct a practical investigation into an idea, issue, concept, or theme, supported by written material. The focus of the investigation must be identified independently by the student and must lead to a finished outcome. 

The investigation should be a coherent, in-depth study that demonstrates the student’s ability to construct and develop a sustained line of reasoning from an initial starting point to a final realisation.

The investigation must show clear development from initial intentions to the final outcome. It must include evidence of the student’s ability to research and develop ideas and relate their work in meaningful ways to relevant critical/contextual materials.

The investigation must be informed by an aspect of contemporary or past practice of photographers.

Tommy talks us through the inspiration behind his investigation: 

An exploration into Architecture by Tommy Crompton 

The theme I aim to explore is architecture, delving into the minute details that are usually dismissed by our naked eye, which come together to construct impressive designs. 

For nearly the entirety of my life, I have been fascinated by the architectonic planning that is behind the buildings that we take for granted.

This fascination will be further investigated through creative work and research, which I plan to conduct thoroughly throughout my course. As a result of my research, I wish to gather a deeper understanding into how the photographers that feature in my course use physical and manual edits, as well as technical manipulation, to reveal the message within the human constructions behind their lens. 

Scouting various websites, galleries of vibrance, and different informative disclosures, will allow me to unlock an insight into my photographer’s career development and course of success.

During my initial section of artist research, my indulgence into architecture left me intrigued initially by the work of Bauhaus artists such as Keld Helmer-Petersen and László Moholy-Nagy.

Really well done both, with huge thanks to the students and to the department for sharing their truly impressive work.

And for rolling news and up-to-date information on Art, Design and Photography at UGS, follow the department on:

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