Foundation show - CSM (Central St.Martin's)
In English again.... Sorry... This post is for my own purposes.
Just a few words about the St.Martin's foundation show this year. It is not as impressive as it was last year. Maybe this is due to the fact that I am comparing it to the last year one when they were running the show for all levels and faculties at the same time, so it was much more extensive. This year the foundation show was held during the last week of May up till the 2nd of June. For me Saturday was the only option, as on weekdays they close at 1800. Unfortunatelly, they closed at 1400 on Saturday, so despite our early arrival we had only several hours there and did not manage to see the upper floor (((. They deprived us of the greatest amusement of looking through the sketchbooks, as there were a small number of them presented this year. I hardly had time for that anyway.
The most important thing about this event is that you can see what other guys do throuout the foundation year and judging form the outcome they present at this show you can make a preliminary decision regarding the probable direction for yourself. So I proved once again that architecture and spacial design are not for me. It is too technical (no emotions whatsoever) and I do not like the idea of making detailed maquettes and numerous schemes, plans and diagrams. Among those pathways I consider as interesting for me are film and moving image (post-production is my priority as of today), fine art, sculpture, illustration, animation, performance design... maybe product design, but I am not sure though if I will be able to generate innovative design throughout my career, as you have to have some special kind of nonstop creativity and competitiveness to work in this field. As to jewellery and fasion, well... it is hard to say until you try it and I have neither sewing nor knitting skills, so I really do not know. As to photography, there were no photos or maybe they were on the floor we did not see, but I strongly doubt if I have any flair in it...
My likes are as follows:
1) the most impressive was a linal graphic story-board about the students' life on the foundation course. The work is full of humor. Some pieces are even a bit scary. The first year at the CSM is shown as a conveyer belt with prospective students going through the interview procedure, those who are not accepted are filtered and thrown away to a large art-waste heap at the bottom (and this cruelty persists throughout the year at the stages of various tests, so tough competition is a reality there)... if you manage to get there you will be hot-stampted with CSM brand (wow... this is exciting)))... then you are connected to the idea-generator (funny piece where students are depicted with flashing lamps instead of their heads)... then you struggle for the rest of the year up till the final show... you can find yourself on the hill with the inscription "what a hell am I doing with my life", which supposedly symbolizes constant doubts we all have.. then some more art-waste... and here we are... next level (BA)... go through the same cycle once again )))
2) before you enter one of the rooms, you see a notice "please do not hesitate to step onto the vagina" Hmmm... Sounds wierd... Then you spot the rug on the floor at the entrance and it is actually a... huge vagina, made of rubber and probably some kind of plastic... Obscene? Well, yes it is obscene ( if you turn you head, u can see another notice "do not hesitate to jump on the vagina )))" But it is damn funny... and it really feels like jumpin' on a vagina )))
3) a short movie ... unusual presentation (made by means of animation) and comic situations that is what I liked about it...
4) some organic and art-nouveau curvy shapes in some jewellry items (it was interesting to trace modernism influences in the sketch books)
Now about dislikes: I did not like a huge number of kitch-works, especially in fashion... It seems that people just use different materials, harsh colors to make their works catchy, but forget about style and aesthetics. Textiles are very plain this year... Nothing special... I have seen loads of similar staff before... There was one work which was so disgusting that I could hardly look at it, so I even can not recall if it was a photo or a painting or a multimedia one... Had such a nauseous feeling, cause it was all about torn flesh, digs and pussies, sprinkled with blood... Phew... And one more thing. Titles and explanations (which are really necessary for understanding the concept of some works) are missing... And how are we supposed to understand this? Some pieces look just like a pile of rubbish without it.
So in general that is it ... We will see what BA and MA students made this year. The shows are to start from the 16th of June and to be held at different CSM locations. I am sure it will be much more exciting than raw foundation )
Just a few words about the St.Martin's foundation show this year. It is not as impressive as it was last year. Maybe this is due to the fact that I am comparing it to the last year one when they were running the show for all levels and faculties at the same time, so it was much more extensive. This year the foundation show was held during the last week of May up till the 2nd of June. For me Saturday was the only option, as on weekdays they close at 1800. Unfortunatelly, they closed at 1400 on Saturday, so despite our early arrival we had only several hours there and did not manage to see the upper floor (((. They deprived us of the greatest amusement of looking through the sketchbooks, as there were a small number of them presented this year. I hardly had time for that anyway.
The most important thing about this event is that you can see what other guys do throuout the foundation year and judging form the outcome they present at this show you can make a preliminary decision regarding the probable direction for yourself. So I proved once again that architecture and spacial design are not for me. It is too technical (no emotions whatsoever) and I do not like the idea of making detailed maquettes and numerous schemes, plans and diagrams. Among those pathways I consider as interesting for me are film and moving image (post-production is my priority as of today), fine art, sculpture, illustration, animation, performance design... maybe product design, but I am not sure though if I will be able to generate innovative design throughout my career, as you have to have some special kind of nonstop creativity and competitiveness to work in this field. As to jewellery and fasion, well... it is hard to say until you try it and I have neither sewing nor knitting skills, so I really do not know. As to photography, there were no photos or maybe they were on the floor we did not see, but I strongly doubt if I have any flair in it...
My likes are as follows:
1) the most impressive was a linal graphic story-board about the students' life on the foundation course. The work is full of humor. Some pieces are even a bit scary. The first year at the CSM is shown as a conveyer belt with prospective students going through the interview procedure, those who are not accepted are filtered and thrown away to a large art-waste heap at the bottom (and this cruelty persists throughout the year at the stages of various tests, so tough competition is a reality there)... if you manage to get there you will be hot-stampted with CSM brand (wow... this is exciting)))... then you are connected to the idea-generator (funny piece where students are depicted with flashing lamps instead of their heads)... then you struggle for the rest of the year up till the final show... you can find yourself on the hill with the inscription "what a hell am I doing with my life", which supposedly symbolizes constant doubts we all have.. then some more art-waste... and here we are... next level (BA)... go through the same cycle once again )))
2) before you enter one of the rooms, you see a notice "please do not hesitate to step onto the vagina" Hmmm... Sounds wierd... Then you spot the rug on the floor at the entrance and it is actually a... huge vagina, made of rubber and probably some kind of plastic... Obscene? Well, yes it is obscene ( if you turn you head, u can see another notice "do not hesitate to jump on the vagina )))" But it is damn funny... and it really feels like jumpin' on a vagina )))
3) a short movie ... unusual presentation (made by means of animation) and comic situations that is what I liked about it...
4) some organic and art-nouveau curvy shapes in some jewellry items (it was interesting to trace modernism influences in the sketch books)
Now about dislikes: I did not like a huge number of kitch-works, especially in fashion... It seems that people just use different materials, harsh colors to make their works catchy, but forget about style and aesthetics. Textiles are very plain this year... Nothing special... I have seen loads of similar staff before... There was one work which was so disgusting that I could hardly look at it, so I even can not recall if it was a photo or a painting or a multimedia one... Had such a nauseous feeling, cause it was all about torn flesh, digs and pussies, sprinkled with blood... Phew... And one more thing. Titles and explanations (which are really necessary for understanding the concept of some works) are missing... And how are we supposed to understand this? Some pieces look just like a pile of rubbish without it.
So in general that is it ... We will see what BA and MA students made this year. The shows are to start from the 16th of June and to be held at different CSM locations. I am sure it will be much more exciting than raw foundation )