MICHAELMAS TERM 2024
SKETCHES FROM THE ART DEPARTMENT
Official Newsletter of the Art Department
Edited by Amelie Bacon
Year 10 trip to University Museum of Zoology
BY JO ZHOU
Recently, Year 10 Art students were taken on a trip to the University Museum of Zoology and the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge This was an excellent opportunity for us to develop photography skills and drawing from life, which are both essential skills for the GCSE coursework, as well as an opportunity to converse with likeminded art students
The first museum that we went to was the Museum of Zoology, where we were able to study many different natural forms, which is also the theme we are currently studying within our coursework. We were able to experiment with many ways of drawing such as straight-line drawing and one-line drawing Personally, this museum has inspired me to investigate themes of Memento Mori and Vanitas in my future work
The second museum was the famous Fitzwilliam. Here, we mainly focused on Vanitas paintings and human portraiture. Many students also drew from the collection of marble statues that the museum houses This was also an opportunity to start thinking about what sort of artists we would like to research and do experimentation on in our first artist research page - I decided to focus on portraiture artists, and as a result I am currently working on an oil painting.
This trip was really fun and provided an excellent foundation for us art students to start our coursework and artist experimentation Thank you to all the teachers who made this trip possible!
Photo of the Month PAGE 03 AND 04 Year 13 Trip PAGE 05 Upcoming Events PAGE 06 Year 9 Trip PAGE 02
Year 9 Trip to Sainsbury’s Centre
BY DAISY HUANG
Upon arrival at the centre, we were first captured by the range of sculptures outside, and I was particularly captivated by the beast collection, especially ‘Beast Alerted I’ by Lynn Chadwick They were made simply from dull grey metal and complied of plain rigid geometrical shapes. While clearly structured, they had this resemblance to life within them; they could easily be interpreted as different animals such as a whale or a bear by some of my peers The beasts were stood in a circular formation and were surprisingly large, almost imposing, and seemed almost like predators, encircling its prey This added an element of life, as they seemed to interact with the environment and each other That was very interesting to me, and so that was my favourite piece from outside.
Further research of the beasts and Chadwick, I found that Chadwick was heavily inspired by abstract shapes, animal and human forms throughout his artistic career. He often revisited themes of ‘beast’, depicting how many of his sculptures ‘often shown stalking their prey or lifting their head to howl or roar The animals are captured in states of action, latent energy and raw power ’ (Sainsbury Centre website, 2021) This description of Chadwick’s common theme aligns with my initial interpretations, where I felt an imposing, almost predatory sense of fear through the simplistic shapes because of their size However, this new information suggests that the pose and action of the sculpture, as well as its size, can help emphasise its mightiness.
Another interesting experience of this trip was the virtual reality experience that was happening in the feature exhibition ‘Why Do We Take Drugs?’ If I could study one artist from the exhibition, it would be Jan Kounen, the artist who created the VR, an immersive experience of ayahuasca Many indigenous people in South America use hallucinogenic drugs as part of their cultural ceremonies. I have many questions for the creator – I want to know more about their travels, Kounen travelled to South America and experienced the drug first hand, and what inspired their travels as well It was so captivating as it is not something that is commonly seen or heard of within the art I have explored; this drew me to the piece even further When looking at the piece it was hard to not wonder how it was created and did the producers of the VR have to have the drug before creating the piece or was it based completely off descriptions of it. All these pictures and drawings of being under the drug in the exhibition but a virtual reality of it seemed to me to be extraordinary In addition to this, it would be fun to see Kounen’s other pieces and maybe find a common theme through them Therefore, if I had the opportunity to study an artist, it would be Jan Kounen
PHOTO OF THE MONTH WINNERS
SEPTEMBER : SPLASH
HIGHLY COMMENDED: ALEXANDER WALKER (9M)
HIGHLY COMMENDED: IRINA
WINNER:
OCTOBER : FOOD AND DRINK
WINNER:
OLIVER HAYES (10N)
VASILCHENKO (7M)
SOPHIA HARDCASTLE (7N)
PHOTO OF THE MONTH WINNERS
NOVEMBER : COMFORT
PLEASE SEND IN YOUR SUBMISSIONS FOR A CHANCE TO WIN AND HAVE YOUR PHOTOGRAPHS DISPLAYED IN RECEPTION, ALONG WITH THE PREVIOUS WINNERS
WINNER: JESSIE HILL (7L)
Sixth Form Trip to Henry Moore’s Studio
BY ELSPETH OWEN
The 6th form art students in both year 12 and 13 went to see the Henry Moore Studios and Gardens in Perry Green, Herefordshire As part of this group can I say how wonderful it was to see his sculptures in person after so many of us have studied his work in relation to our own personal pieces and portfolios Moore (1898–1986) was a renowned British artist celebrated for his monumental abstract sculptures He was inspired by both organic forms such as rocks, natural landscapes, skeletons, driftwood and seeds as well as human figures both singular and featuring multiple people; for instance one of his most famous subject matters ‘mother and child’
His home and studio was both a workspace, a home and an inspiration to Moore Surrounded by gardens that display many of his iconic works, you can see his life in art throughout the space The Henry Moore Studios & Gardens are now a public site, offering insight into his creative process and showcasing his sculptures Visitors can explore the studios which have been curated to feel as if Moore has just left them - filled with tools, maquettes, and drawings
When we arrived at the visitor centre we were greeted by two wonderful guides who took us around the gardens We first visited the top / etching studio which was left as Moore would have used it, several sculptures made in various mediums and in various stages of completion were on display to show the breadth of his process Next was the maquette studio where all the small scale ‘3D sketches’ of his concepts for his sculptures Also in this studio were artefacts and curiosities of the natural world that he had collected or been gifted including an impressive and eclectic collection of skulls In more recent years a barn has been constructed to showcase Moore’s tapestries; whilst the building itself is a work of art, it gives a space that brings attention to a medium he is less well known for and are so beautifully crafted. Throughout all the studios we made drawings in small sketchbooks. Doing these small quick sketches is always a valuable exercise as you focus un capturing the form in front of you without overthinking it and with the benefit of multiple perspectives.
Afterwards we made our way out into the gardens, as the fog was still fairly thick across the lawns in the morning, the sculptures were framed against an almost clear background and they emerged as we walked towards them Moore designed the sculptures to be monumental and appear to be coming out of the landscape so the weather in fact did him justice instead of being a hinderance! The gardens stretch back past light woodland behind the house where we collected rocks from the stream in order to use later for a small task As I have mentioned, Moore was inspired by organic objects and shapes so we took a leaf out of his book and used our collected rocks as a base for making small sculptures We used clay to sculpt around the stone and find humanoid shapes within the natural contours, resulting in our own maquette – style pieces which we took out into the gardens and photographed By altering the perspective and frame of the images we could manipulate the interpretation so that a viewer would see them as large sculptures in the landscape Moore used a similar process with premade backgrounds to see how his own maquettes may have looked Overall it was a fantastic trip that showed us more about Henry Moore’s life and was very useful for all of our books and inspiring possible next steps I would recommend Perry Green to anyone who is a fan of Moore / art / sculpture and thank you to the wonderful staff and teachers who took us there and showed us around!
UPCOMING EVENTS:
THE LENT TERM SEE'S THE RELEASE OF THE FIRST PERSE PORTRAIT COMPETITION:
A CHANCE TO SHOWCASE YOUR PORTRAIT DRAWING SKILLS IN A RANGE OF MEDIA - OPEN TO ALL YEARS AND FINALISTS WORK EXHIBITED IN THE PAC GALLERY
LOOK OUT FOR INFORMATION TO FOLLOW NEXT TERM!
Within the Art Department: Around Cambridge:
MORE INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND ON THE KETTLE’S YARD WEBSITE