About the show
The BA Illustration course at The Cass has achieved another extremely successful year. Our students have experienced a distinct range and thematic approach to visual communication within the role of commercial illustration. Students practiced a broad range of illustration exploiting the full vocabulary of traditional and digital technologies within dedicated studios. These student-focused environments included children’s book illustration and storytelling, editorial and persuasive advertising, fictional narrative and comic books, each encouraging a highly personal understanding in observing, recording and visualizing the stories of our complex culture and society.
During the year students were continually encouraged to move between conventional illustration and modern graphic communication enabling a rich and enthusiastic learning environment with particular emphasis on communicative and expressive drawing, screen-printing, printmaking, bookbinding, letterpress, through to industry-standard digital and 3D illustrative practices. This years Summer Show is a celebration of the outstanding work produced by our talented students.
The BA Illustration course at The Cass encourages a personal, imaginative and reflective approach to visual communication. This years Summer Show demonstrates once again a distinct range of approaches to the creation of images; students establishing through their work the ability to perceive, challenge and exhibit a clear understanding of the signs and meanings of visual language associated with commercial illustration, intellectually and practically.
Our BA Illustration Summer Show 2013 is a excellent opportunity to view the creative and innovative work by our level two and graduating students, on display is an incredible range of visual work that informs commercial practice through the interrogation of both graphic communication and conventional illustrative approaches. Undoubtedly a showcase of student work that demonstrates an individual tone of voice that identifies and expands upon current professional boundaries.
The collection of work has been constructed within our newly established and dedicated studios in which students experience a broad scope of illustrative practice exploiting the full vocabulary of traditional and digital technologies. These student-focused environments included areas such as children’s book illustration and storytelling, editorial and persuasive advertising, fictional narrative and comic books, each encouraging a highly personal understanding in observing, recording and visualizing the stories of our complex culture and society. Each studio being lead by a dedicated team of practitioners including Bruce Ingman - winner of the prestigious Mother Goose Award - and supported by commercial illustrators such as Laura Carlin – the Quentin Blake Prize winner two years in a row. These newly formed studio settings enabled BA Illustration students to investigative their own approach towards a personal, imaginative and reflective styling across all levels of the course.
Constant feedback between staff and students supported a rich and enthusiastic studio practice that enabled level two and graduating students to also establish excellent working partnerships with the British Film Institute and BFI Futures Film Festival under BFI Chief De- signer Piccia Neri - their designs were displayed on banners at the BFI headquarters on The South Bank and were featured at a BAFTA Networking event; a collaborative project headed by the Goethe Institute Paris; a live project with Kieran Dowling of The Contract Hub and the Secret Cinema to work on pre-promotion for their next major event under Secret Cinema’s head designer Susanne Oliver, to name but a few.
Our graduating students have also been involved with professional organisations such as the Design Museum, RSA, Design and Art Direction Awards.
Our level one students have again had a successful year having a close relationship with the BA Graphic Design programme, a Year Long umbrella project entitled 'Memory Palace' based on the concept of a 15th Century mnemonic device. This concept was used to introduce them to a wide range of technical and conceptual approaches - including exploring different typefaces; Modernist Design principles, grids, photography, typologies, typography, drawing and print techniques, one day projects, lectures on Modernism and Post-Modernism, the notion of the studio, the notion of 'the author', visits to The Design Museum, Science Museum, V&A, Pick Me Up at Somerset House and The British Library; dark-room photography; studio photography, the computer-suite [Photoshop]; typographic de-construction, illustrative techniques; an introduction to semiotics and de-coding imagery; letterpress and screen-printing amongst other activities -delivered through a combination of studio practice, talks and rotating workshops and a series of on-going mini-projects.
Student’s within level one then had to distil these experiences to create their own personal 'Memory Palace', based on one particular strand of their own memories - and deliver these in four specific outcomes -- A1 diagrammatic mind-map; set of texts; set of images; and a 3D model -showing different skills/techniques/style in each yet linking them through their particular personal approach.
On completion of their year, our students are equipped with the skills and attributes required to succeed in the complex and varied world of Illustration or postgraduate education, the work on display is a celebration of new creativity as our students take their first steps into the creative industries.
Exhibition details
| P.V. | Thursday 13 June 2013, 6-9pm |
| Opening | Fri 14 - Sun 23 June 2013 Mon-Fri 10am-8pm, Sat 11am-5pm, Sun 11am-4.30pm |
| Venue | Central House (4th Floor) |
| Course | Illustration BA (Hons) |
Images
