Can art studios ever look like home? by Haiyi He

CAN ART STUDIOS EVER LOOK LIKE HOME? Introducing the design intervention into the college space of Chelsea College of Arts, in the art studio B219.

Installation shots, 2023.

WHY ARE ART STUDIOS SO FAR FROM THE IDEA OF HOME, AND HOW ARE THEY DIFFERENT FROM THE TRADITIONAL STUDIOS?

Tr a d i t i o n a l l y b e f o r e t h e r i s e o f modernism, ar t studios had been heavily decorated with wallpaper or they had deeply coloured walls, such is shown in the paintings of Henri Matisse who frequently painted the subject matter of art studios. However, contemporary art studios in art colleges look and feel very different, as they are often characterised by white walls and versatile chipboards that encapsulate an empty space for artmaking. Because art is now supposedly to be displayed in a 'white cube' to remove distractions from the external world. C o n te m p o r a r y a r t s pa c e s c a n b e daunting to enter and unwelcoming. Has it also become harder for ar t students to feel attached to the place where they make art in due to its

glaring whiteness and void? My thesis looks specifically at the subject of Chelsea College of Arts (Chelsea) and the influence of its space on the educational experiences of the BA Fine Art students. This booklet is an extension to the ideas explored in my thesis. It documents the design intervention by myself into the space of Chelsea. It aims to redesign the art studio such that the studio feels more supportive and homely for the art students, perhaps with a slight uncanniness to also question the politics of white space.

I chose to intervene the space in the art studio B219 at Chelsea College of Arts located at Millbank. It was the studio where I carried out my field research. The studio has a pleasant atmosphere because of the sheer number of students working in it at the same time when I visited, students’ works were nicely distributed across the room, and some potted plants were being used for decorations – it is close to the idea of a home, in comparison to the other studios.

CHOOSING A WALLPAPER FOR THE ART STUDIO

My intervention is to cover the walls of an art studio with patterned wallpaper for a period of time, so as to remove the whiteness of the studio wall. The form of the artefact is likened to a piece of artwork, to echo the subject of art education and its learning space explored in my thesis. It sets up a phenomenon in the situation, which corresponds to the phenomenological approach undertaken in my research. The colours of the wallpaper were chosen in response to the objects and artworks that were found in the studio, as I did not want the wallpaper to feel out of place with its environment. This sets a coherent look in the studio space and asks whether that would change the feelings of working and perceiving in that space.

INSTALLATION

Execution shots.

ENCOUNTERING

I designed the intervention to be only taken down upon students' request. I wanted to see how well they feel around it. The students encounter the work for an uncertain duration, similar to how we were forced into making art at home during the pandemic without knowing how long it was going to last. When the students finally saw the wallpaper, they responded very well Katharina, who shared her space for the wallpaper to be installed, told me that she wanted it to be there for at least a week, because it looked nice and it was interesting to see her work placed in this context. The work serves to ask – what happens if the college art studio looks like a home studio? I also hope for it to close in the mental distance between the art

studio and the students working in it - that they feel more attached to their learning environment. From this, we can start seeing the college space with a new vision that aligns with the heart of the art students. To ensure that there is no waste for this work, the unused wallpaper were given to the students to use as material for making. The wallpaper, once taken down, will also be trimmed into sheets of paper and donated to the technical workspaces. The unusable bits will be recycled in the trash recycle bin.

In my thesis research, natural light is a prominent concern in studio space, it brings about a pleasurable embodied experience and makes students more attuned to their physical sensations while making art. As Katharina fondly mentioned:

When I am in my studio, I can see the sunshine and the shimmering light on water. It is certainly something that I really enjoy about my studio. When the light shines, the wallpaper interacts really well with the light toning down the light and making it appear even warmer; the atmosphere looks beautiful with the interplay of light and shadow on the wallpaper. The wallpaper also interacts well with the found objects in the studio, such as a pair of slippers, a plate of dried rose, little paintings made by Katharina, and many more.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

I am very grateful to have been able to execute my idea in the actual space of Chelsea. It made me better understand and connect with the space where I once studied in whilst applying the knowledge learnt through my thesis research. This project could not have happened without the help of the GSA team under the Fine Art department, who so kindly assisted me in my installation process and taught me how to do things. My heart goes out to all the students who are in studio B219, who kindly let me experiment in their studio space, especially Katharina, the exchange student from Germany. They were very welcoming of the idea and gave enthusiastic responses to the work. I am also very thankful to Ben Fitton, the Fine Art year two leader, for allowing me to conduct this experiment.