CSM is 20
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In the first of a regular series in which CSM staff reflect on their time at the college, graphic design’s Geoff Fowle salutes the spirit to dare
Digging over the Turf 20 years of Graphic Design at Central Saint Martins Why would a college want to celebrate the past 20 years of a course that was at times vilified for its difficult and wayward character, making it seem so different from the rest, even calling it ‘Fortress Long Acre’? Was it a kind of wilful, academic delinquency, which set it against the corporate trend to be quantifiable and predictable? Is the very subject ‘graphic design’ so diverse, changeable and even objectionable, that it mitigates away from a regular and stable curriculum towards shifting values, flexibility and constant adjustment? Was it (and is it) to do with the kind of people attracted to this everGeoff Fowle. © Geoff Fowle changing and pervasive subject, perhaps not the types to favour a more fixed discipline? This kind of attitude makes design a frontline activity; front line, where disaster and failure are easy to cop, like a bullet in Never set in its ways, willing to adjust, modify, experiment, the head. Designers are at their best when they are on the edge be both daft and wise, inventive and often a bit irksome, the of crucial tipping points, where catastrophe holds opportunity. spirit of the BA Graphic Design course at CSM was (and is) Cosy certainty, out of the line of fire, where survival by the to encourage the blunder and understand the insecurity of hour is alien, is not the place for hair-standing actions. Cosy, the unassured; to welcome uncertainty and the fruits of polite safety has some benefits in terms of protection, while exploration where established aesthetics can be disregarded; studying, but too much security blunts design distinction. to think, examine and ask again; to contemplate the unthink able; to see around corners others cannot; to dally with a Certainties and fixed attitudes have no place in a time of thought, savour and reject; to conform with nothing laid change. We are living in a time of rapid change, where old down; to question the predetermined and never be drawn to values are like jelly beans being shaken up in a bag and its conclusions of convenience. Never. contents thrown across a table top. Attitudes which are flexible can deal with the flow and erratic nature of change. Political Like Spartan warriors, dedicated to the body as a killing determinates are directing change in art schools where they machine, continually sharpening their discipline, attitude, are being normalised to fit nicely into recognised grading approach and skills, the students and staff at their best systems. Tidy regularity may be the aim of bureaucrats, but demonstrated an uncompromising focus, often ruthless, the measurable (or miserable) must not push out the raw and witty and quite deadly. It is still there, still being practised, exceptional. Art schools are naturally about change; their still with grime and grit, still defiant. students understand being ‘different’ and consequently want to explore difference without seeking permission or approval. This also describes some of the essence of ‘art school’, and They do it without consideration for the possible loss of certainly the style, ethos and everyday attitude of the BAGD reputation, and certainly they should not seek normal course at Central Saint Martins. More, it describes the sprit to academic accolades embodied in a marking system. The tame dare. Daring and its partner, danger, are the opposite of safety. are only interested in grades. Students: try madness before ‘A safe pair of hands’ implies a dull but trustworthy employee. marks. A daring attitude will mean a tirelessly continuing spirit to try things out, to do something for the thrill of it. Bang. The coming event ‘Digging Over The Turf’ featuring the BA Graphic Design course should examine attitude as against Disturbing and unsettling as this will feel to the institution discipline and should prove entertaining, even enlightening. alised teacher, educational manager or regulator, this attitude Perhaps some surprises. is part of the design persona. Designers are nothing if they cannot innovate and assimilate positively. There is a living and Geoff Fowle taught for some 30 years in BA Graphic Design and promulgating attitude here with an almost spiritual content. MA Communication Design. This is an excerpt from his forthcoming This transcends the reasoned logic of consequential thought. book Fowle Language. Such an attitude is an antidote to ‘design geriatrica’, the evidence of which is all around like some dreadful virus. For ‘Digging Over The Turf’ event details see p26.