STUDNTS at the RCA

RCA student, artist and engineer ALYSE STONE , who works in the genre of Afrofuturism, is currently completing her Master’s degree in Contemporary Art Practice. The artist strives to combine the principles of contemporary art, technological development and archival work in her large-scale mixed media projects. Stone is the second Black student in the history of the RCA to receive a Global Talent Visa .

Alyse decided to attend the institution to complete her ambitious project, which has now been three years in the making. According to the artist, her “moonshot” project represents “a ten-year plan to correct the historical record on the history of Black Americans” using the latest technologies such as artificial intelligence. For the project, Stone has developed a new methodology that includes auto-science-fiction writing, archival research and storytelling. The artist is expected to present the first chapter of her project at the RCA's final exhibition in the summer of 2023.

Speaking of her experience at the RCA, Stone says: “The network at the RCA is like being a part of a global family. The resources, opportunities, and connections you make during your time at the institution and then after graduation are unparalleled. It’s reassuring to be integrated into an ecosystem recognized across the arts and design community.”

Another student at the RCA, CHERYL WONG , is soon to complete her Master’s degree in Architecture, graduating in the summer of 2023.

Her large-scale project is inspired by the disappearing sheet metal craft that originated in Hong Kong. According to her, knowledge of the metal craft is becoming increasingly rare in Hong Kong due to the lack of proper documentation. As a result, the artform is preserved mainly through oral exchanges in apprenticeships that last for decades. The artist says that her project, thus, “investigates the decline of metal craftsmanship in the ever-gentrifying city of Hong Kong”.

“Studying at the RCA has opened up the medium of my work to much more than the conventional architectural outcomes you see in other schools. For instance, this has also bled into animation and film which has been so refreshing,” – Cheryl describes her experience at the RCA.

RCAの学生であり、アフロ・フューチャリズムの 分野のアーティスト兼エンジニアでもあるアリス ・ストーンは現在、現代美術の修士課程に在籍。

現代美術の原理と技術開発、そして古文書を組み 合わせた大規模なミクストメディアのプロジェク トに取り組んでおり、グローバルタレントビザを 取得したRCA史上2人目のアフリカ系の学生で もあります。

精力的に取り組んできたこのプロジェクトを完成 させるために、RCAへの入学を決意したストーン 氏。取り掛かって3年となる彼女の「ムーンショ ット（困難だが、実現すれば大きなインパクトを もたらすこと）」プロジェクトは、人工知能など の最新テクノロジーを使って「アフリカ系アメリ カ人 の歴史の記録を修正する10年計画」です。

このプロジェクトのために、自動SF執筆、古文書 の調査、ストーリーテリングなどの新しいメソッ ドを開発。2023年夏のRCAの卒業展示でプロジ ェクトの第一章を発表する予定です。

RCAでの経験については次のように語ってくれま した。「RCAのネットワークは、まるでグローバ

ルな家族の一員になるようなもの。在学中も卒業 後も得られる援助や機会、人脈は他とは比べよう のないもので、美術界で圧倒的に認知されている 組織にいることができるのはとても心強いです」 また、シェリル・ウォン氏は、2023年夏に建築学 の修士号を修了し、卒業予定のRCAの学生です。 彼女が取り組んでいる大掛かりなプロジェクトは、 今日では姿を消しつつある香港発祥の板金工芸から アイデアを得たもの。香港では金属工芸に関する知 識に関する資料が残されておらずますます貴重にな っており、その手法は何十年も続く見習い制度のな かで、口頭で引き継がれているのだそう。ウォン氏 は自身のプロジェクトを「富裕化が進む香港の街で の、金属工芸の衰退の調査」と語ります。

「RCAで学んだことで私の作品技法は大きく広が り、他の学校で見られるような従来の建築物をは るかに超えるものになりました。例えばアニメー ションや映画までにも広まっており、とても新鮮 です」ウォン氏はRCAで得たことをこのように話 してくれました。

ARTIST DAVID STANLEY HEWETT FINDS INSPIRATION IN JAPANESE MARTIAL HISTORY

Elegance, Discipline and Passion

上品さ、規律、そして情熱

日本の武道の歴史にインスピレーションを受けたアーティスト、デビット・スタンリー・ヒューエット

Artist David Stanley Hewett, known globally for his large, powerful paintings in gold leaf, focuses on themes of bravery, courage and loyalty and is inspired by events in Japanese martial history. Hewett works in many genres, from ceramics, kimono design to gold leaf painting. Born in the United States to a family of artists, Hewett grew up surrounded by various forms of art, giving him a love of the creative arts from an early age.

“My mother is an artist, a printmaker. I grew up painting in her studio. I have two older brothers –one is a jazz singer and the other one is a sculptor and architect. The whole family are artists, so it’s kind of a family business,” – he says, smiling.

When Hewett was only four years old, he started learning the art of ceramics in his mother’s studio. He took his passion for this craft further and continued to study ceramics in both school and university. Later in life, Hewett began to explore different forms of art, eventually coming to be introduced to his signature gold leaf technique that brought him international recognition.

In our conversation with David Stanley Hewett, we found out about the artist’s sources of inspiration, his fascination with the Japanese culture, as well as some of his upcoming projects.

The artist recalls that it was his exposure to Japanese ceramics during university years that led him to Japan. “In the world of ceramics, a lot of artists end up in China, Korea, or Japan. Personally, I got attracted to a particular type of pottery from Northern Kyushu called Takatoriyaki (stoneware ceramic art made in Fukuoka Prefecture), of the Korean families brought to Japan in the 1500s,” –Hewett explains.

According to Hewett, Takatoriyaki ceramics are famous for being “symmetrical, thin and highly tuned”, which was something that impressed the young artist from the beginning. Seeing those delicate works, he made the decision to continue learning the craft of ceramics in Japan, first – by going to Hokkaido University as an exchange student. Soon after that, Hewett came back to the country for four more years to learn the art of Japanese pottery – and stayed.

In 1992, Hewett, who already had his own small studio in Tokyo, started arranging his first shows. His first one was dedicated to figurative human drawings on Washi paper (traditional Japanese paper from local fibre, pressed by hand). After submitting his work for a competition, the artist received his first major commission: 108 paintings for the Imperial Hotel in Tokyo.