The Form 7 Art and Critical and Contextual Studies students took the train to London on the 6th February to kick start their Externally Set Assignment. All the students are working in response to an exam paper set by the exam board, which is full of exciting starting points for a new project.
The visit was a chance for the students to draw, take photos and make notes to take back to the classroom to help them to develop their own work. The students spent much of the day at the Tate Modern, which has a very broad collection of work on display.
At the moment, El Anatsui’s beautiful, sculptural installation is on display in the Turbine Hall entitled ‘Behind the Red Moon’. This work is made of thousands of metal bottle tops and metal fragments stitched together to created large, panels that fill the space.
The students visited the Phillip Guston exhibition too, which guides the viewer through the artist’s life and influence. These are dark paintings, which confront some difficult subject matter, but they were inspiring in their intensity.
In the afternoon, we moved on to Somerset house to visit the ‘Cute’ exhibition. Exploring everything from plushie toys to video games, this exhibition brought together contemporary art and culture to explore the term ‘cute’.
There were lots of interactive elements to the show alongside objects, ephemera and artworks. It was a hugely valuable day offering lots of inspiration.