Juan Cruz is now Director of Liverpool School of Art & Design which is the home school for the BA (Hons) History of Art programme. See: http://www.ljmu.ac.uk/NewsUpdate/index_123272.htm
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The History of Art programme Dissertation Prize 2012 has been now been awarded. This was presented to final-year student, Jessica Pepper. Jessica will graduate this summer and has applied to study an MA in either Conservation or Contemporary Curating. The dissertation prize consisted of a voucher for Amazon of £50 value, and this will undoubtedly prove helpful to Jessica with her future studies. On receiving the prize Jessica stated, “It was such a lovely surprise and completely unexpected.”
Jessica’s dissertation was entitled ‘Fashion as Art? Can Clothing be Considered an Art Object?’ The dissertation covered topics such as cloth being used as a surface for the display of art, garments as spectacle and theatre, and the curating of clothes and accessories in museums and galleries. One of the garments discussed included the mussel shell bustier by Alexander McQueen (see image), as well as items by Elsa Schiaparelli (see image).
The staff team agreed that Jessica’s prize was well-deserved and Programme Leader, Dr. Emma Roberts, said: “We congratulate Jessica heartily for her achievements and wish her continued success with her future postgraduate studies. This dissertation also shows that we encourage and appreciate study of history of art in the widest sense- to also include every form of design.”
Last Thursday (3rd May) several of the History of Art students either helped out at or just visited the private view of The Art Show at Camp & Furnace. This was curated by artist, Matt Ford, who also had a big selection of his art works on show. Pictured are Emma (course leader) with level 5 student, Elena Skensberg and both are in front of two of Matt Ford’s prints. The other pictures show the TV cameras that were there that evening and one of the works on display. The event was filmed for Sky TV and was attended by actor, Alan Cummings. As well as Matt Ford’s work, the other artists whose work was on show were Blacksoup, Daniel John and John Whitelaw. The a cappella group, Sense of Sound, were also there to sing and add a nice atmosphere. It was a great evening and it was nice for some students to gain experience of helping out at events and for others just to attend and enjoy the event.
In an unprecedented move, the Peggy Guggenheim Museum in Venice have this year selected TWO History of Art students from level 5 to undertake placements at the museum! This is wonderful news as both students will have a life-changing experience and will be able to put such an impressive entry on their future CVs. The students are Sarah Fallon and Beverley Turner (both pictured). Upon hearing the good news, Sarah stated: “I'm really excited to be living and working in one of the most culturally beautiful places in the world. It's an amazing opportunity and I look forward to one of the best months of my life." Sarah will be spending the month of September in Venice and, like all the interns there, will have to present talks to the public, conduct research in the archive, and learn about behind-the-scenes activities in the museum.
Beverley will be in Venice for December, and will spend Christmas there which, in itself, should be a magical experience. This is because, in the summer and in September, she will also be working in the Queen's Gallery and the State Rooms at the Royal Collection in Buckingham Palace! Beverley said: "I cannot wait to start work at both Buckingham Palace in London and the Peggy Guggenheim Collection in Venice this year, where I will be lucky enough to experience two amazing art collections."
I am sure that all of us in Liverpool are very excited to hear how both students get on with their time in Venice!
It was a lovely surprise this week to receive a letter from the Student Union to say that I, (Emma, the Course Leader), have been nominated for an Amazing Teacher Award in the category of Outstanding Teacher! I had no idea that such a letter was coming so it was a great pleasure and surprise. Of course, the nominations are anonymous and so I have no idea whom to thank. I am very grateful though. I do take great pride and pleasure in work and so it is most gratifying to see that it is appreciated! It probably goes without saying that I will do my best to continue in the same way next academic year!
As teaching has now ended, it was delightful and surprising to receive some lovely thank you cards and presents from the students! These included the two beautiful bouquets and cards that are pictured. It was lovely working with all the students this year and the staff team are very happy that they enjoyed it too.
We all look forward to seeing the students again in September and thank the students very much for their kind and lovely gifts.On Wednesday and Thursday last week (28th and 29th May) the final-year BA (Hons) History of Art & Museum Studies students presented their Symposium at Tate Liverpool. This is an assessed final project, but it is also open to any interested members of the public who would like to learn more about art and design. Indeed, quite a few members of the public did attend.
Entitled 'Representation', the students each presented a researched 15-minute paper to the audience. Topics were diverse and fascinating. Some examples include: 'Depictions of Christ in Art'; 'Shunga: Japanese Erotic Art from the Edo Period' and 'Castration and Anxiety: Sexuality and the Dominant Female'. Many other topics were also covered and they were all most interesting and very well presented. The Module Leader, Professor Colin Fallows, stated at the end that he believed this year's Symposium was the best yet! The events have now been running for nearly a decade and are a great way for students to showcase their research skills and ability to present work in a professional manner to an audience at Tate Liverpool. This is a unique module and is one of the things that makes History of Art at LJMU so unusual.Derbyshire, Chatsworth House is Fantastic!
Recently, level 5 student, Elena Skensberg, made a visit to Chatsworth House in Derbyshire. Here is her report on the visit: "Located in the Peak District, the house is the current home of the 12th Duke of Devonshire and houses an extensive art collection. Chatsworth also hosts a number of permanent and temporary art exhibitions, as well as events and workshops. It is the most beautiful place I have ever been. House is more of a museum piece than a house. The grandness of it is wonderful with beautiful ceilings and an awesome gem collection. A little busy but that does not spoil it and it is one of the finest pieces of architecture ANYWHERE. Gardens are amazing. Brilliant. What more can I say? With the fun maze, gorgeous borders as well as some excellent statues, a fantastic view to the house and the amazing mining tunnel which you can walk through: these are the highlights. The farm - all the animals are well kept and the adventure playground is awesome!!! Overall, Chatsworth is excellent and well worth a visit." Elena photographed the famous trompe l'oeil violin painted on the back of a door and the sculpture gallery, as well as lots of images of the house and garden. Here are just a selection of her images.M.Res Symposium at Tate was a Great Success
On Tuesday this week (27th March), the Masters in Research students (M.Res.) held their symposium at Tate Liverpool. This was a highly professional event, accompanied by a detailed programme and chaired by special guest, Dr. Suzanne May. Two students who presented at this symposium are former students from the History of Art course at LJMU (then called History of Art & Museum Studies). These were Elizabeth Heague, whose talk was entitled ‘Counter-Covers: The Art of the International Times’, and Emma Ashman, who spoke on ‘Youth of Today: Tate of Tomorrow’. Both gave very deeply-researched presentations that were the result of over six months’ primary and secondary research. These will now be written up as part of the MRes Art and Design Research Project towards the Master of Research qualification.
Last week on the Collaboration with the Contemporary Art module we visited the new Martin Creed exhibition at Tate Liverpool. One of the first things to greet visitors was a large ‘Don’t Worry’ neon sign on the wall. Martin Creed formed a band and likes to play popular songs such as the Bobby McFerrin Don’t Worry, Be Happy song from 1988. We all agreed that he wished us to think of this song when viewing the sign. We also talked about how it emphasised the architecture of the room as the sign went across two sides of the space. One of the most controversial aspects of the exhibition was the video installation that depicted six different people in the act of vomiting! We had a lot to say about this. Many people found it disturbing, but we still discussed the precedents that have been set in art over the last few decades for this art work. Everyone agreed that we liked the 21 very colourful pictures that were made out of felt tip pen. (pictured) It was amazing to see the texture and depth of colour that can result from such an everyday medium!
After we had finished with the Martin Creed show, we also popped upstairs to see the Tate’s ‘This is Sculpture’ Exhibition. We had all seen it many times before but there is always so much to say about it! We discussed in particular Rachel Whiteread’s Untitled: (24 Light Switches) 1998 and Richard Patterson’s Painted Minotaur, 1996-7. (pictured).
It was a good visit, and a beautiful day at the Albert Dock with perfect blue skies.
