I wrote this piece about Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art's Degree Show for last Saturday's Herald Arts section. It's been a busy week, so only just posting now.
Dundee Degree Show 2012
Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art and Design
13 Perth Road, Dundee
01382 388828www.dundee.ac.uk/djcad/degreeshow/
May 19-27
(Mon-Fri, 10am-8pm, Sat-Sun, 10am-4pm)
May 19-27
(Mon-Fri, 10am-8pm, Sat-Sun, 10am-4pm)
A lone ‘piper’ in full Highland regalia on Martin Creed’s Scotsman Steps in Edinburgh underwhelms passers by with his mournful dirge, before ‘becoming Elvis’. Literally. A horse lover brings her intimate knowledge of horses to bear by creating huge sheets of 'paper' from manure and spun and knitting a blanket made from horsehair. A self-declared Serendipidist makes a coracle with an in-built drawing machine. A dog-lover has entered into the portal of her pet’s jaws and made art from its mouth and teeth.
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| A rather forlorn-looking Elvis (Matthew Corden) is in the building |
It can only be Degree Show time. Step forward Elvis (also known as Matthew Corden - see left), Tiril Planterose, Joanna Scott and Eilidh McKay, who alongside almost 300 fellow final year students will be revealing their work to a waiting world at Duncan of Jordanstone College of Art’s Degree Show, which opens this Friday night in Dundee.
DJCAD Degree Show is always the first in the calendar out of all Scotland’s art schools and is one of the highlights of one of the city's cultural year, attracting almost 10,000 visitors.
This year’s Degree Show is part of an umbrella event between organisations across Dundee, Angus and Fife, called Ignite, a 10-day celebration of creativity and culture orchestrated by V&A at Dundee in partnership with the One City Many Discoveries, the city council’s new marketing initiative.
Ignite aims to offer up a snapshot of the kind of cultural activities which take place across the region and where better to start than Dundee’s art college, which has a reputation of producing some of the finest talents to emerge from Scotland.
Recent success stories include Turner Prizewinner from 2010, Susan Philipsz, who studied in Dundee from 1998 to 1993 and and Luke Fowler, who has just been nominated for this year’s Turner Prize. The Glaswegian artist graduated from Dundee in 2000.
Recent success stories include Turner Prizewinner from 2010, Susan Philipsz, who studied in Dundee from 1998 to 1993 and and Luke Fowler, who has just been nominated for this year’s Turner Prize. The Glaswegian artist graduated from Dundee in 2000.
Degree Shows are not all about finding the next Turner Prize winner and Duncan of Jordanstone’s show is no exception.
With the all-important nerve-wracking assessments having taken place last week, the students work is now on show and awaiting its public in a raft of different disciplines. At DJCAD, there are 11 subjects to look to: Animation, Art, Philosophy, Contemporary Practices; Digital Interaction Design; Fine Art, Graphic Design; Illustration; Interior Environmental Design; Jewellery & Metal Design; Product Design; Textile Design and Time Based Art & Digital Film.
This year, a special Associates Preview took place last night (Thursday 17 May), at which high profile guests and students took take part in talks and tours during the day and evening.
With the all-important nerve-wracking assessments having taken place last week, the students work is now on show and awaiting its public in a raft of different disciplines. At DJCAD, there are 11 subjects to look to: Animation, Art, Philosophy, Contemporary Practices; Digital Interaction Design; Fine Art, Graphic Design; Illustration; Interior Environmental Design; Jewellery & Metal Design; Product Design; Textile Design and Time Based Art & Digital Film.
This year, a special Associates Preview took place last night (Thursday 17 May), at which high profile guests and students took take part in talks and tours during the day and evening.
Among the high profile names who took part were 2011 Turner Prize winner Martin Boyce, leading Microsoft designer, the cartoonist, Gerald Scarfe, V&A at Dundee director, Philip Long and the fashion designer Helen Storey.