Faculty of Art Media and Design
10-13 July 2007
Peter Randall-Page DArt RSA RBS RWA
Amanda Wood
Drawing Quarters – Practise-based Symposium
Hosted by the Advanced Centre in Drawing (a.c.i.d.) at the Bristol, School of Art, Media and Design, Drawing Quarters 2007 will run from the 10 – 13 July and will offer an opportunity for potential delegates to work in the company of a selected artist for an intensive four-day period. The event will take place in dedicated studios at the Bower Ashton Campus with each artist leading a group of practitioners through a four-day project designed to explore certain aspects of drawing; as a means of recording information, exploring ideas, developing visual language and building narratives.
Drawing Quarters also includes presentations from Quarter Leaders and studio seminars to introduce ideas related to drawing practice. On the final day of the symposium, the Drawing Quarters will come together in an Open Studio exhibition at Bower Ashton. The event will conclude with a symposium summary.
Amanda Wood
Biography
Having worked for the BBC World Service as a script editor Amanda Wood went on to train in design and illustration at Camberwell College of Arts (London University of the Arts) during the 1980’s after which she worked as a designer and Art Director for Time Out Publications, London. In 1991 she became a Course Director of Graphic Design at the London Institute of the Arts and later joined Manchester Metropolitan University as Head of the School of Communication Media. In 2001, Amanda became Associate Dean (Academic) at the University of the West of England, Bristol. Having written and developed many courses at both degree and postgraduate level in subjects such as Book Arts, Design, Illustration and the Applied Arts, her more recent preoccupation has been with the development of student facilitated learning within the design and applied arts and most particularly with the teaching and learning of drawing.
Her own practice has been concerned with the observational interpretation and documentation of landscape and naturalistic environments. This work has explored not only the conceptual manipulation and interpretation of forms from 3D to 2D but has also lead to a deeper consideration of the act of drawing. To what extent does drawing transcend the observation of the selected subject and how does memory and individual interpretation affect the way in which an artist presents selected subjects? How much of what we draw is based on what we see and how much on what we know or believe? More recently the monochromatic interpretations of favoured sites in the United Kingdom, the Dorset coastline and the Derbyshire Peak District, have been replaced by an exuberant foray into the world of the highly coloured and insect-infested world of the Charente Maritime - South -West France where Amanda is now resident. Amanda has exhibited in exhibitions throughout the United Kingdom and the European Union and has engaged with travelling exhibitions in the Indian and Australian sub-continents.
The Workshop
This workshop will focus on the relationship between, walking as a physical act of recording information and the interpretation of such information within the studio environment. The first hand experience of many artists to the landscape has been through the act of walking, a phenomenological experience which is unique to the walker. Delegates will be invited to consider the way in which the synergy between the physical experience of a series of places, initially determined and linked through walking, and the subconscious record of information and emotion subsequently experienced may be revealed through drawing. The drawing will therefore act not only as a record of the 'journey travelled' but also as a physical response to the 'memory' of a specific walk made at a specific time and the related memories engendered by the experience of that journey. Delegates will be required to do some preparatory work prior to the four-day workshop.
Peter Randall-Page DArt RSA RBS RWA
Biography
Peter Randall-Page studied sculpture at Bath Academy of Art from 1973-77. During the past 25 years he has gained an international reputation through his sculpture drawings and prints. Peter has undertaken numerous large scale commissions and he has exhibited widely. His work is held in numerous public and private collections throughout the world including Japan, South Korea, Australia, USA, Eire, Germany and the Netherlands. Closer to home, a selection of his public sculptures can be found in London, Edinburgh, Manchester, Bristol and Newbury and he is represented in the permanent collections of the Tate Gallery and the British Museum amongst others.
His practice has always been informed and inspired by the study of organic form and its subjective impact on our emotions. In recent years his work has become increasingly concerned with the underlying principles determining growth and the forms it produces. In his words “geometry is the theme on which nature plays her infinite variations, fundamental mathematical principle become a kind of pattern book from which nature constructs the most complex and sophisticated structures.”
The Workshop
This workshop will focus on the inter-relationship of selected small scale domestic implements or natural forms with the human figure. The notion of objects as being either ‘votive’ or symbolic of the life and interests of a person dates back to pre-history. During this workshop delegates will initially work with the life model and form a series of small-scale selected objects to make two discrete sets of drawings.
These drawings will be used as a starting point from which delegates will start to develop a series of larger works investigating ideas relating to scale, rotation and the inter-relationships of objects with or without a figure. The workshop will promote the consideration of sets and series of images and the organisation of information within such formats. Delegates will be required to do some work prio to the event.
To view the Provisional Programme for Drawing Quarters 07 click here.
The total cost of the event will be £350 (£325 if booked before the 1 May 2007). This excludes accommodation.
A list of suitable hotels and guest houses can be supplied upon request.
To download a booking form please click here.
Bower Ashton Redevelopment Project
The Master Plan
Bristol School of Art, Media and Design and UWE have secured planning permission to redevelop Bower Ashton Campus. Outline planning permission has been granted for a 10-year master plan and detailed planning permission has been given for Phase 1 which includes a new building, the refurbishment of B Block and improvements to the landscaping of the campus.
Project work beginning June 2007
The refurbishment of B Block (the Tower Block) will see the replacement of the windows with a mixture of double-glazed windows and cedar-clad panels. Not only will this make the building less drafty in winter and cooler in the summer, but the external appearance will be improved and enable the tower to blend into its surroundings a little more effectively than the current design. The buildings wiring and heating system will also be upgraded.
Disruption: please bear with us
Clearly the redevelopment is great news for students and staff but we won't hide from the fact that the building process is likely to cause some disruption.
The majority of the large car park by D Block will have to become part of the building compound for Building 1 from summer 2006 until Autumn 2007. This means there will be a limited amount of car parking spaces at Bower Ashton and staff and students are encouraged to leave cars at home and to travel to Bower Ashton by alternative means where possible.
Disabled access
There will be no wheel chair access to the main building during this stage of the redevelopment project. We would like to take this opportunity to apologise in advance for this inconvenience but it will not be possible during the summer (end of June until end of September 2007) to gain access to stairlifts or ramps within the Bristol School of Art, Media and Design.
Programme
Tuesday 10 July 2007
09.30 - Registration and Coffee
10.15 - Welcome and Introduction
10.45 - Presentations by Quarter Leaders
13.00 - Lunch
14.00 - Studio
16.00 - Tea and coffee
16.30 - Studio
18:30 - Drinks
Wednesday 11 July 2007
09.00 - Studio
11.00 - Tea and coffee
11.15 - Studio
13.00 - Lunch
14.00 - Studio
16.00 - Tea and coffee
16.15 - Studio
17.30 - Depart to Royal West of England Academy
18.00 - Drinks and Exhibition Viewing
19.00 - Presentation - Dr. Nigel Hurlstone
Thursday 12 July 2007
09.00 - Studio
11.00 - Tea and coffee
13.00 - Lunch
14.00 - Studio
16.00 - Tea and coffee
17.30 - Drinks
18.30 - Presentation - Roger Conlon
Friday 13 July 2007
09.00 - Studio
11.00 - Tea and coffee
13.00 - Lunch
14.00 - Open studio
15.30 - Plenary session
16.30 - Close
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