cardiff school of art & design magazine - issue 4

magazineSummer 2013 Edition 4

Cardiff School of Art & Design

CSAD MAGAZINE

Contents

Cardiff School of Art & Design 3

“What we wanted to work out is how to takeand transplant the feeling of Cardiff School ofArt & Design onto the Llandaff Campus.When you walk through Howard Gardens,you can smell and sense the activity going onin each zone: screen printing, oil basedpigments, casting facilities, things burning,wax, the wood shop. Is it possible totransplant that into a new build? You can'tbottle it and take it with you, but you canmake a space that is truly flexible so thatstudents can create work from the word go.”

“One of the key parts of the brief to thearchitects at the beginning was 'How do youcreate a building that still says from theoutside: Cardiff School of Art & Design?' I think they've done that with the saw-toothroof with the north facing roof lights floodingthe top floor through some small atrium voids.There's natural light and ventilation. It's areally good design that says School of Art &

Design,” he explains. While he's keen toensure that the new building is instantlyrecognisable as a School of Art & Design,Morris is also aware that it would be veryeasy to play to the stereotypes of an artschool when choosing furnishings for thenew space.

“It's easy to get carried away and specify LeCorbusier sofas for the reception area orCharles + Ray Eames chairs for the tutorialrooms. That would be lovely… in a perfectworld that’s the correct fit for what we do!But, we're realists. Part of my remit is to offerideas for the way that we want to use spaces,”he says. “There's a space in the centre of thenew building called the Heart Space. Thatallows everyone in the School to cometogether, interact socially, as well as worktogether. It will be a space where there willbe performances, lectures and film showings,so we have put in a stage area. We're

currently looking at how people should beseated in that area. It's very easy to getcarried away with a project like this, but youare reined back by the purpose of the space.We want it to look good and inviting andattractive, but at the same time it must behighly serviceable and comfortable."

It's evident from talking to Morris that theteam behind the design decisions that go intothe new building at Llandaff are intimatelyaware of the problems they must overcomein order to make the new building as good aspossible. It's also easy to see that it's not justexisting problems to which they can offersolutions, but that they are also thinkingahead, trying to make the building as futureproof as possible and that's exciting.

2 Cardiff School of Art & Design

CSAD MAGAZINE

Building an art anddesign school requires a

dizzying amount ofdetailed planning. It's notjust the bricks and mortar

that go into the structurethat matters. What's also

needed is a heap ofthinking, plus a bunch of

great ideas, about howstudents will best use the

new facilities.

With the School of Art & Design's plans formoving to the new accommodation on theLlandaff Campus well underway, RichardMorris, whose background is in furnituredesign, is the perfect person to explain what'shappening at this stage in the build.

“I've been Head of Undergraduate Studies forthe last two years and Director of Enterprisesince September 2012,” he explains. “I’m onthe CSAD Project Group, working with thearchitects, Austin-Smith:Lord, theUniversity’s Estates Department and a teamof specialists, creating the brand newLlandaff Campus location for the whole ofCardiff School of Art & Design.”

“Gaynor Kavanagh, Dean of CSAD, MartinWilliams, CSAD’s Resources Manager and Iare all on the Project Group and we bringtogether the specialist conversations andsome of the quirky things that are naturallynot within the remits of the architects and thefacilities and estates departments,” heexplains. “As a School of Art & Design, weneed vast open spaces, where students cancreate work that is not dictated by scale ormateriality. We need spaces where they canlet their creative imaginations run riot. Myresearch background in design and highereducation has been about that. My interest inlearning space and spaces for creativity issomething that is a natural fit for this project.”

A really interesting and, indeed key part ofthe planning is the idea that you can designspaces that inspire work and promotedifferent ways of thinking.

“We're building a school that is three largefloors of studio spaces over a ground floor ofworkshop facilities. The studios are as open

and as flexible as we can make them. We arecreating spaces that will work for ourstudents, because they can be reconfiguredand adjusted with multiple variables. Forexample, every year, six or seven weeksbefore the date of the graduating summershow, we have to collapse everything we doto get spaces ready," he continues. “We'vetried to think about how best to use furnitureand spaces to meet all kinds of needs andeventualities, including the radical transitionto the summer show.”

One of the ideas that the architects at Austin-Smith:Lord proposed, in order to try toreduce the amount of disruption that theSchool experiences when it needs to stopwork and clean up for the summer exhibition,takes the form of 'disposable' wall linings.

“All of the spaces are having special linings, sothat if the wall is damaged or we cut a holefor a monitor, we can just replace it for thebeginning of the new academic year. We'rejust preaching the obvious: we don't need tomake the spaces look like office spaces,"Morris explains. “What students should beconcerned about is not the space they'reworking in, but the work that they're making.It's adaptable, flexible and more thananything, a space that is not treated in anoverly precious manner. That means we don'tdictate the scale of student work.”

There's no ignoring the fact that manygenerations of artists have spent some of thebest years of their lives in the Cardiff Schoolof Art & Design campus at Howard Gardens.It's natural that there's an emotionalattachment to it, but fortunately, Morris issomeone who understands that attachment.

RichardMorrisFurnishing the future

CSAD Feature

Reception desk.

CSAD’s new building plans.

Caption to go here.

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“I like topics like that and I pick up stuff aboutthe internet and online world. I'm interestedin awareness of boundaries in the digitalworld: you find yourself doing things onFacebook and you're being sort of stalkerish.If you apply that to the real world, I'minterested in what's right in an online worldand what can be applied in the real world.”

Despite his scepticism about the intrusion ofsocial media into the everyday lives of all ofhis peers, Pierce freely admits the hypocrisythat's lying just behind his work,

“I contradicted myself. I wrote an essay onhow much Facebook is taking over our livesand how much we're broadcasting: butequally, I use Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr,”he says. “I have so many arguments against it,but it's about getting a balance. You couldportray yourself as anyone you like.”

Although it's hard to see any of Pierce's workwithout also noticing the ideas ofpsychoanalysis that go into the work itself, heis reluctant to blindly accept the ideas that heis interested in.

“I can't say I believe in all of the Freudiantheories, but they are fun to play with. At theend of the day, we are all animals and we'll dowhat we need to do. Playing withpreconceptions of what we are is interestingfor me,” he laughs. “A lot of our theoriestoday are based on feminism, so it's quite funto get a reaction from people who think thatthe ideas in my work are wrong. I'm a big fanof mixed reviews. Creating things thatunsettle me is the best thing.”

Interestingly, the (normally) unpleasantfeeling of coming across something uncannyis the thing against which Pierce measuresthe quality of his work.

“That's the most important thing for me - andmost of the time it's a dark one. I like thefeeling of creating something and getting theuncanny feeling myself,” he says. “I knowthat I've created something good then. It'ssort of scary because you startpsychoanalysing yourself.”

Asked where he might like to take hispractice next, Pierce answers almost straightaway.

“I want to move into video. I've always saidthat an image can capture so much that youdon't need video. Images can do it all!“ hesays. “But I also like proving myself wrong, soI'm going to try and move into film and seewhere it takes me. I might lose the uncannybecause it gets lost in everything else, but I'mkeeping my options open.”

Pierce's world-view is incredibly interesting. It is rare to meet someone who takespleasure in uncanny experiences and enjoystranslating them into their work. Good art israrely produced by people holding middle ofthe road world-views.


CSAD MAGAZINE

Stephen Madoc Pierce isfrom Porthmadog,

a very small town inNorth Wales. Not a lot

happens on Porthmadog'smain high street, which is

set at the feet of theSnowdonia Mountains

and surrounded by marshland on one side. Growing

up in a sleepy townprobably goes a long way

to explain the dynamic,energetic personality of

this young illustrator.

“It's weird. I started off by doing maths,chemistry, physics and biology at A-Level. I think I was a bit too spontaneous to dosomething like that. It didn't work out,” heexplains.

“I did an Art Foundation at Coleg Menai andthat pushed me in the right direction. I wassort of rebelling against my family thing: dadwas an artist and my sister got a distinction inher MA Illustration. I always said to myself,I'm not going to do that! I thought I wouldstick to the academic stuff, but then all of asudden I'm here and I love it!”

Pierce's path to becoming an illustrator was,he says, the result of a series of happyaccidents.

“I didn't have a clue when I finished my A-levels. I thought I would just do an ArtFoundation to see how it worked out. Mywork just fell into illustration straight away,”he explains. “It's not very illustrative in thenarrative sense, but my work contains a lot ofnarrative in one image. The images don'tillustrate a story, it's the other way around. I use the underlying topics that the imageshave in them, rather than the imageillustrating a narrative.”

What's interesting about Pierce's illustration isthat despite his bright, bubbly character, hiswork paints a very dark and disturbingpicture.

“When you see my work you notice a darkundertone even though the images are quitehappy. It was a bad thing when I started outbecause when I was given projects inFoundation, I would always give this uncannyfeeling,” he explains. “Now, I'm trying toembrace that feeling. I want to take thedisturbing things away from an image, butalso leave the feeling behind.”

What Pierce is trying to do is to portray theFreudian idea of the uncanny: something isnot quite right, but it's unclear what is awry.

“I am trying to create a disturbing image that isnot disturbing. I want to create somethingthat sticks in people's minds,” he explains.

“I don't want it to be something that you lookat and forget, but something that you look atand the feeling of the image hangs aroundand inside you. Either an unsettling feeling orone that throws you off.”

This is a notion that has been theorised foralmost a century. Its relevance is nowaugmented by a technological era in whichit's possible to be watched without proximitybeing an issue.

“I did one image and there's a girl sitting in apicnic scene and in the background there'san image of a paedophile/predator. It's areally simple image - I think it only took me aminute to make it. The idea is about thepower of social media and how you can findsomeone's location easily,” he says.

StephenMadoc PierceIllustration (2010 - Present)

CSAD Current Student

pages 8 - 9

Cardiff School of Art & Design 1514 Cardiff School of Art & Design

CSAD MAGAZINE

What’s a typical day at CSAD like for you?There are no typical days in CSAD! I workclosely with the Dean and my work verymuch depends on the type of work she iscurrently involved in. However, a typicalweek would involve answering emails, typingup minutes, answering, sometimes quiterandom queries from staff, students and thepublic, scheduling meetings and receivingcalls from people wanting Podiatry! I’m alsoinvolved in the design of the office spaces inthe new building, which is extremelyexciting!

What is your favourite piece ofart/design/making/architecture?My new favourite piece of sculpture is Verityby Damien Hirst. Verity is mounted on thepier at Ilfracombe Harbour and has causedquite a stir amongst the locals! The statuefeatures peeled back skin which revealsmuscles and an unborn baby. The amount ofdetail is incredible. When seen from the rightangle with the light behind her, her silhouetteappears magical. Oh, and I love her feet!

Is there a book/film/album/artwork thathas had an impact on your life in someway?There isn’t a specific book that has had animpact on my life, but my all-time favouritebook is Bird Song by Sebastian Faulks. Itfollows an English soldier, fighting in thetrenches during World War I and hisforbidden love for a French woman. I’ve readBird Song several times, and fresh aspects ofthe story are revealed with each read. Irecently saw the stage play and it was trulymoving.

Five records for a desert island?My favourite records change every minute!My list of records changed several timeswhilst writing this! Chicken Payback - The BeesOne Day Like This - ElbowDrive - IncubusCalifornication - Red Hot Chili Peppers Mr Blue Sky - ELOBy the time you read this I will have changedmy mind again!

What’s the best bit of advice you’veever been given?Best bit of advice from my Dad: “life is not adress rehearsal.”

Name one of your heroes and tell us why?A very dear family friend, Lynne Price, is myhero. She suffered with cancer, on and off,for 20 years and I never heard her complain.She lived life to the full and was always happy.She was an inspiration and I admired her forher bravery and courage.

Name one your villains and tell us why?I don’t have any time for people who takeadvantage of the vulnerable. Just becausesomeone isn’t strong enough to stand up forthemselves, it doesn’t give someone the rightto shatter their dreams or cause them harm.

What’s the best thing about working for CSAD?I feel proud to be working with such creative,passionate and talented people, both staffand students. Watching the studentsblossom over their time with CSAD andseeing their parents explode with pride atgraduation - you wouldn’t get that anywhere else.

Senior Administrator:Finance and Resources.

What’s a typical day at CSAD like for you?My day can be extremely varied, for exampleI can either be out at meetings all day, givingtraining or working on a project. I also tend tospend a lot of time sorting out problems ortrying to find out the best way to make thingswork.

What is your favourite piece ofart/design/making/architecture?My favourite piece is the bomb on my safe(not a real one, it is a student installation). It isalways quite amusing when people cominginto the office notice it for the first time!

Five records for a desert island?This is really difficult as my favourite musicchanges all the time. If I had to chooseanything it would have to include somethingbouncy like MSI, Florence and the Machine(can't choose a song), my long runningfavourite band Soundgarden and Simon andGarfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water(reminds me of my happy childhood).

What’s the best bit of advice you’veever been given?Life is what you make it.

Name one of your heroes and tell us why?I really admire my Mum's old teacher. She was one of the first woman universitylecturers and did so many amazing thingswith her life. She is currently a vicar and anarchivist but has been a teacher and anauthor, but was also involved in the war. The stories she told about being dropped behind enemy lines in France were hair-raising!

Name one of your villains and tell us why?I don't really believe in villains.

What’s the best thing about working for CSAD?The people and the variety. I never get boredworking here!

Senior SchoolAdministrator.

Louise PadfieldWho are you?

MichelleBrown

Who are you?

Meet our Administration Team Meet our Administration Team

pages 14 - 15


CSAD MAGAZINE

about telling a story that is relevant. If yousaw a news story about elderly abuse in carehomes, you might think it was awful, but thenif your Grandma got hit in a home, you'd feela lot more outraged. You can relate to it.”

Asked if she might eventually like to move toLondon to continue client work, she replies:

“Hopefully, not eventually! Hopefully, prettysoon! The absolute dream would be to get astudio and start a collective, illustrating forcharities. The reality is that I'll probably beworking in McDonalds,” she laughs. “I wasoffered a job yesterday decorating biscuits

part-time - I don't think I'd like to end-updecorating biscuits. A friend and I have beentalking about setting up an events business.That's option B if illustration doesn't work out.I'd also like to try floristry.”

Nicholas looks to have a promising future byusing her skills to illustrate problems that themost vulnerable parts of our society faceregularly. She believes this is important andthat illustration has a big role to play in that.

Nicholas in closing says, “Make the most ofuniversity, especially your final year, make asmany contacts as you can, talk to everybody,be creative and have fun. Use it as a platformand make the most of every opportunitybecause you really miss it when it is over.”

Since this interview was originally published,Nicholas has been voted 'Highly Regarded'by The Guardian for her entry into thenewspaper's If film competition. She is alsocurrently working on a commission for theRoyal National Institute of Blind People(RNIB).

Lauren Nicholas is anillustrator from

Southampton. She graduated from

Cardiff School of Art &Design last year with

a BA Illustration underher belt.

“I've just finished a YMCA commission whichwas great. I did some work with them while Iwas at Uni and then afterwards they askedme to make them a short video for childrenabout recycling,” she says. “At the momentI'm just doing some work for a woman who'sopening a new art café and I'm giving hersome ideas. Other than that, I'm doing workexperience at Hattie and Flora. They're anevents company and they make everythingthemselves. Hopefully they'll employ mesoon, but they haven't yet.”

Nicholas has long had an interest inillustration, but she traces it back to thebeginning of her degree in the School of Art& Design.

“I think my interest really began when I choseto do illustration after foundation. I went toCardiff School of Art & Design and mylecturer Amelia Johnstone really encouragedme and I got on with her well,” she recalls.

“That helped a lot because when someoneunderstands where you're coming from, itgives you motivation. Probably not until lastyear did I really start enjoying it completely.”

Nicholas' work is a warm mixture ofillustration and stop motion animation, whichfrequently deals with topics such as old ageand ecological ideas.

“I started trying to make my own animationsnearer to the end of my degree, but I'm notgreat at it technically. I just enjoy it,” she sayswhen asked about how she came uponfinding this particular style of illustration. “Ithink it's because my dissertation was aboutobjects and how things are attached to them.

Then I started using the objects and trying tomake animations out of them. At the time Iwas trying to help my Granddad experiencemy work because he is blind. It needed to be interactive.”

In fact, it was this train of thought and theresulting work that lead Nicholas to beawarded First Prize at the Shape OpenAwards in 2012 for her piece An AgeingThing which deals with the daily life of her Granddad.

“It was lucky because in our third year thelecturers told us to enter every competitionthat we could. I had started making a pieceabout disability and about my Granddad,”she says of the prize-winning work. “Ientered it into the Shape Open Awardscompetition and they were really nice. I wentup to see the exhibition and there were quitea few people from Cardiff, which was good,because it was in London. I got to know a lotof people through that. And I won! Theyshowed the work on a big screen. It was veryexciting to see my work up there.”

For Nicholas, illustration could be anythingthat relates a feeling or idea to a person in away that they can easily understand.

“I think that's why it's so hard to get astraightforward job. Illustration isn't reallyone thing. It's sort of tapped into everything.I think there's a wide range of possibilities forillustration. I don't like the thought of it beingonly decorative. It's important. I think what Iwant my work to do is to look at a big pictureand tell personal stories from it. I want peopleto look at something and feel personallyconnected to it,” she explains. “Illustration is

LaurenNicholasBA Illustration (2009 - 2012)

CSAD Graduate

pages 20 - 21


another new song with all of that stuff. Iencouraged people to replace words in thesong too.”

Her interest in communication and languageis fitting, given her background and status asan international student.

“I really like it when you create something orwhen you look at a piece of work - forexample, a designer who hangs pens on atree and then makes a drawing with thewind,” Arnaud-Guerin explains. “Also, when Ifirst arrived here and wanted to saysomething, I would go to translate the Frenchexpression directly and people would tell methat what I had said meant nothing. It's a mixof those ideas.”

Her final piece of work relates to these ideasby taking the songs which she has createdfrom her 'consequences' exercise, illustratingthem and creating a textiles collection basedaround them.

“For the first piece, I'm illustrating 'Sounds ofSilence' and that brings out lots of shades ofwhite for me, with maybe some stitchedwhite,” she says, excitedly. “For the secondone, I might add some more colour (becausethe song is more playful) and some imagestoo. I'll illustrate things like that and putpatterns onto fabrics.”

Arnaud-Guerin is a great example for peoplewho wish to come to CSAD to study on ayear abroad of their own.

“I think what I can say about Wales is thatthere was a lot of funny stuff that I had tolearn. Sometimes I don't understand whatpeople are saying or people don't understandme,” she says. “A lot of French expressionsdon't translate exactly: ‘I'm going to turn intoa goat’ (I'm going to go crazy) or ‘I had awhite night’ (I didn't sleep last night).Learning about the difference between thosethings was fun. That's why I want to be in the UK.”


CSAD MAGAZINE

Justine Arnaud-Guerinstarted her time in

Cardiff as an Erasmusstudent in 2011. She came

on the Erasmus (the European Union'seducational exchange)

programme from herhome institution in Paris.

“I come from France, originally Toulouse. I studied there and did my A-Levels there inart,” she says in the Textiles space on theLlandaff Campus. “Before that I studiedeconomics. In Paris, I went to a school of artcalled Ecolé Duperré. I did more weavingthan textiles.”

Arnaud-Guerin joined the thousands ofstudents who make the exciting move tostudy abroad each year through the Erasmusprogramme. Her school of art in France offered her anErasmus placement at either Cardiff or Leeds.She says, ‘I didn't know really, but I thoughtmaybe Wales would be different to Englandand that I would try it. I'm really glad that Idid.”

“Cardiff is really nice. I like small cities and it'sthe perfect size. There are lots of students,”she says. “It's pretty much the same size asToulouse.”

However, unlike the majority of students(who are nearly always sad to leave theirErasmus placements), Justine decided not toreturn to Ecolé Duperré, but to stay at CardiffSchool of Art & Design. She explains,

“In Wales, there's a lot of help for students,because the government is really good. I managed to get a grant to stay this year, butif I was in England it would be impossible.”

“My Erasmus year was really amazing. Youmeet a lot of people from around the world.It's not just English-speaking people, butthere are also people from Spain etc.,” shesays of her experience. “I think that I wasfrustrated by the thought of going back toFrance. I wanted to continue to improve myEnglish and decided that I needed to stay.”

It worked. Arnaud-Guerin’s English is nowvery good and she has a group of friendsboth French (two more Erasmus studentshave come from her home institution, sinceshe did) and English-speaking in Cardiff,which she now calls her home.

“I will finish my degree here this year and thenafter that I'm going to see where I can find ajob. I've got a placement in a card company inCaerphilly,” she says. “I've also got anotherplacement in Toulouse which will take placeafter the degree. That's with a wallpaperdesign company. I won't focus on staying inany one country - I'll go where there's a job.”

Arnaud-Guerin’s undergraduate dissertationwas completed in January 2013 and looks atthe way that public spaces can be designedto encourage communication betweenpeople.

“I was focusing on a means of interactivedesign, where people can come and draw onthe walls of a space, for example. That way,they can begin to have a discussion aroundand about a space,” she says. She iscontinuing the idea that she developed in herdissertation as her final project.

“I was really inspired by the dissertationbecause now I'm looking at a game similar toConsequences. I'm taking Simon andGarfunkel's 'Sound of Silence' and will beginby illustrating the song. I did a lot of testswith the song. For example, I cut all of thewords out and mixed them up in order tomake a new song,” she continues. “Also, ifyou pass the song through differentlanguages by translating, when you bring itback into the English language, the song haschanged totally. I did that and created


Justine Arnaud-GuerinBA Textiles (2011 - Present)

pages 26 - 27


Despite being well-known for his writing onthe artist, having written several books andcontributed to many others on the subject,Short is concerned about his reputation as apracticing artist.

“A big difference, which I'm working on in thenext 12 months, is - whereas the Kandinskystuff generates research all the time and Ihave a significant profile in this area - in therealm of my artistic practice, I'm yet togenerate that profile,” he explains. “Peopledon't come to me for an exhibition often. Myplan is to get some significant exhibitions andsome critical responses in my work. In arthistory, I'm an established researcher, in mypractice I'm an emergent researcher. I've gotto get the visual up to the same speed as thehistorical stuff.”

Despite his worries about being more wellknown for his writing than his artistic practice,Short isn't afraid to try new things in his work,including reviving his interest in ceramics.

“One of the difficulties is the expectation thatyour work always has a clear focus, style orbrand - and that's not always obvious as youlook across the different forms my work takes.I want things to connect. I don't want thingsto be totally fragmented. What I find is thatwhen I throw on the wheel, I think: 'Is thistotally irrelevant to what I'm doing with mywriting or with my camera?’” he says.

“I think that on one level, it probably is. It's sodifferent from it, yet, at the same time, I feellike somehow as a creative person, thatshifting from one thing to another informspart of what I do. But I can't yet describe howthis connectedness works. It's something todo with going back to the most fundamentalaspects of things, and building from there -that's true of my photographic works and thetexts I produce in relation to them, just as it isof the ceramic works I've just started workingon again recently.”

In finishing, Short distils the essence of whathe feels about the question 'Who are you andwhat do you do?' into a well-crafted mantra:

“I'm interested in maintaining those aspects ofwhat I do and the possibility of those thingsbecoming valued.”


CSAD MAGAZINE

Chris Short laughs whenasked “For my interview

tape, who are you andwhat do you do?” He's just

got back from droppinghis children off at school

and is having troubleswitching back into

academic mode, but that's very much

Chris Short's character.

“I'm Chris Short. I teach Fine Art at CardiffSchool of Art & Design,” he says. “Principallyin photo-media, but I teach across the boardin Fine Art.”

It was as far back as his undergraduatedegree when Chris Short first realised he wasbalancing many different interests andpractices.

“My first degree was in teaching, after which Itaught for a couple of years. I then did an MAin art history at the University of Essex. Mysupervisor was Peter Virgo who is the leadingfigure in Kandinsky studies. Under him, Iachieved well (a distinction) and then had aBritish Academy studentship for three yearswhich paid for my PhD,” he explains. “I hadgone back to do an MA, thinking that at theend of it I would be a better artist. Then witha PhD, I ended up on track to teach art history.All along the way, I kept making art and I'mfinally back to where I should have been 20years ago.”

This path led Short onto two tracks: academicresearch about the work of Russian artistWassily Kandinsky and a practice thatexplores the relationship between peopleand nature.

“In the studio, I'm working on a series of'image and text' pieces that relate to myresearch on Kandinsky. My work grows froman interest in natural forces and their effectson the world around us. Increasingly, I'vecome to recognise a connectedness betweenthings, as well as between things and me.”

Short explains the way that the work ofKandinsky affects his practice. “It's hard toportray this sense but that's what I'm trying todo. A photograph is a fairly static thing evenwith a long exposure. I do a lot of longexposure shots, but what I'm now working onis sequences of images and text in relation tothese. This is based on one aspect ofKandinsky's work in which he'd bringdisparate things together and try to suggestformal and structural connections.”

His work frequently portrays the force ofnature with a particular interest in the sea,where Short, a keen surfer, spends a largeamount of his time. This complements hisnear obsession with the ideas of Kandinsky:

“Kandinsky is just what I got into as anundergrad, when I did a dissertation onMondrian and Kandinsky. The sea comesfrom the amount of time I spend in the seasurfing. The idea of the movement andrhythm of the tides and the connectionbetween the sea, moon and wind,” he says,when asked why both his academic andartistic work is based around these topics.

“There's the simple activity of going to thebeach and surfing - and then there's aconnection of things, which is interesting topursue through the work of art. I sometimesfeel like I've written enough and then I try todo everything visually, but then I realise Ihaven't written enough. There's a conflictbetween the two, but for the first time they'restarting to work together.”

Chris ShortKandinsky and the sea

CSAD Staff

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CSAD MAGAZINE

ideas and perspectives. Then, from theirpoints of view, being professionals in theirindividual fields, as artists, designers andmakers, they give us their response to thecity.”

“What's especially good about the fieldproject is that in the first year, we have theworld of collaboration and creative practice.As a part of the project, we asked students toget into interdisciplinary groups and come upwith collaborative research or work about thecity.”

This started with students in groups of sevenmaking a film about any part of the city theychose. The student feedback was good.Their comments suggest they enjoyed thepossibilities as it opened up their practicethrough learning to collaborate with oneanother:

“[It was a] great way to interact with othergroups or people from other subjects…learning new technology and methods,” saidone student.

“The whole experience was thrilling. Everyonehad such a positive mind set, as everyonehad a say,” said another participant.

“Students researched the city centre usingfour different themes, for example migration.They could explore the migration of people,ideas etc.,” says Kotsifa. “There was also theideas of materiality and fabric so you couldlook at a site from a materiality point of view.Then there was power: political, religious,energy, ability, technology. Students choseone particular site to work with andresearched it, responding to that specificthing.”

The challenge for the staff of CSAD was howto exhibit 260 students' work in a way thattruly captured their inventiveness and theexperience of the project. They have electedto create a digital exhibition, which will beavailable to the public online, but alsothrough the city itself.

“Matt Leighfield, Chris Dennis and I areworking on a website where one photo orone document or one visual project fromeach student will be uploaded. We'repointing out the 25 specific sites in Cardiffthat students had been given. We'll have 260results to show hopefully. Those will all goonto the website,” she says.

Originally from Greece,Olivia Kotsifa got her first

taste of British life whenshe studied architecture

at Oxford Brookes.

“I spent all my time in that beautiful place,playing volleyball, meeting people from allover the world and learning languages. Thenafter my six-years studying architecture, I dida Master’s degree in Energy EfficientBuilding.”

“I left Greece when I was 18 and I liked beingabroad, so when I went back home, it wasn'tthe same," she explains. "I worked in Greecefor a few years as a freelance architect, I hadmy own office and worked with friends,doing quite well, but I missed beingcosmopolitan. So, I looked for a job in Italy orFrance because I speak the languages; but Icouldn't find one there, as the times were abit difficult for the construction industry. So one day, I packed my bag and went toBarcelona. I spent two years there and Iworked in the office of my dreams!"

Before too long, Kotsifa - who after living inso many different countries, speaks fivelanguages - found herself in the middle of theeconomic downturn which hit Spainparticularly hard and needed to move againto find new work.

“I was living in a sunny place - a paradise forarchitects - and that changed my designthinking. Architecture in Spain is differentfrom what architecture is in the UK, I guess.There are still regulations, but somehow, inSpain, it's not that strict. Or maybe they'remore creative, playful or colourful in thatplace. I just wanted to share this with theworld,” she continues.

“I happened to be in the right place at theright time because my partner found a jobhere in the UK. I came and was going to lookfor a job in an architects’ office, but then this

opportunity to become a lecturer here cameup. I hadn't even considered that as a career.It was low on my list of possible things I coulddo. Working in a café was higher than beinga lecturer. I hadn't thought about it.”

Kotsifa, who has now been at the School forjust over three and a half years, says thatthere isn't anyone at the School who shewouldn't want to work with or share an office with.

“I started as an hourly paid lecturer but thenmore opportunities came up. I was teachingarchitectural design and technology and wasthere, as a lecturer, for a year. Then, mycontract was renewed for two years and nowI'm being made permanent,” she recalls.

“I get to do different things every year. I alsolearn a lot of things that I wouldn't get tolearn working in an architects’ office. I mightnot do as much creative work anymore, but Itry to keep it up on the weekends. I miss it.”

One of Kotsifa's biggest projects at theSchool of Art & Design is her role directingand co-ordinating the Cardiff Project, which is a first-year 40 credit module, calledthe Field.

“I call it the field of opportunities andexperiences. The field module is undertakenby all the different disciplines in the School.Each year, they undertake a different brief.This year we've taken the Cardiff Project,which has been inspired by Cardiff&Co. It involves all first-years developing andpresenting ideas and creative responses tothe city of Cardiff,” she says. “They are askedto go out and explore and observe and seeand smell. They come back with a wealth of

Olivia KotsifaCardiff Project

“I hope that we'll be able to locate QR codes inthe different parts of the city where thestudents worked. Using these codes, peoplewill be able to scan and get all the students’response to that specific site. We reallywanted to encourage collaboration withpeople in Cardiff.”

Kotsifa has led students to carry out a reallyremarkable project. There is no doubting thatthe students’ energy and creativity has beenboth tested and enabled by the project andthe School looks forward to sharing all theyhave achieved with the City itself.

CSAD Feature

pages 10 - 11


their representatives come to the SummerShow exhibition and choose. Traditionally,the selection panel includes, Neil Gregorywho is Helen’s brother and now the maintrustee.”

The second prize is the Evan and FelicityCharlton Travel Award that is made inmemory of Evan Charlton, Head of CardiffSchool of Art between 1938 and 1945, aswell as his wife Felicity Charlton who was alsoan artist. Both Evan and Felicity were widelyrespected, with Evan particularly well knownas one of Britain's first Surrealists. TheCharlton Award has been establishedthrough the generosity of Isabel Hitchman.Isabel, who was a friend of the Charltons,worked for the Arts Council of Wales for overthirty years and continues to write onpainting in Wales.

The Dulcie Mayne Stephens Trust Award wasset up in 1998 by Nicola Mortimer and HenryStephens in memory of their mother, Dulciean accomplished artist, who studied atCardiff Art School in the 1920s. The DulcieMayne Stephens Art Trust provides travelscholarships every year to assist severaltalented Fine Art students to fulfil their artisticpotential.

According to Fitzjohn, these awards areinvaluable to the Fine Art students. Last year,it funded a total of 11 students to travelabroad and two sold work because of theprizes.

“A lot of people go on holiday and I ask themwhat they did while away. ‘You went to NewYork? Did you happen to go to MOMA?’ ‘Oh,no, no! I went shopping and saw my friends…’These awards bring back the idea that youcan engage with a different culture andachieve a very different perspective,” he saysof the importance of these prizes. “There's areally good reason to go to St Petersburg (orelsewhere), other than it just being a goodcity. There's a chance to look to theRembrandts and the Velásquezes. I thinkthat's what the prizes do. The students whoget these awards tend to be high achievers.They are still forming their identities as youngartists and the opportunity to travel broadenstheir perspectives on art and stimulates theircreative practice in important ways.


CSAD MAGAZINE

David Fitzjohn's office ison the fourth floor of

Howard Gardens andwhen he opens the door,

blazing sunshine burstsout from inside it. The

view onto Newport Roadhas rarely looked as good

as it did that day, throughthe huge windows in theSubject Leader for Fine

Art's office.

“I was in the right place at the right time. I hadworked mostly as a freelancer and I hadn'tworked in education too much. I worked inthe film industry and I designed sets andpainted backdrops and stuff like that,” herecalls. “I would usually work for six monthsand then have six months in the studio. But15 years ago, I got a bit tired of that work, as Ifound it quite taxing.”

Although he had been teaching since he wasan MA student at the Royal College of ArtLondon, he says that he hadn't ever reallylooked for opportunities to teach.

“I really enjoyed teaching though. I moved toWales about 10 years ago and I startedworking in Carmarthen and the West WalesSchool of the Arts. I was part-time and reallyenjoyed being in Wales. The art scene inWales is much more accessible than the onein London and my work was developing quitenicely in Wales. Then a fixed-term post for apainting tutor came up at Cardiff and I waslucky enough to get it. During that time,changes in the course were being made and Iwas subsequently asked to take on the role ofSubject Leader and I said 'yes.'”

Fitzjohn's recent practice has centred onpaper cutting and has led to large worksentitled Fimbulwinter. “I am interested indefining something by the space around it.That evolved from painting the negativespace around a figure continuously,” heexplains of the origin of Fimbulwinter.

“The idea was that you have a big sheet ofpaper and you draw on it with a knife. It'sabout precision and decision-making andunderstanding what it is going to be. In a lot

of art-making processes, there's so muchroom for correction and revision that the ideaof the intensity and having to do it first timegets lost sometimes. I've been interested inthat idea for a long time.”

As well as his own practice, Fitzjohn ispartially responsible for the administration ofa number of endowed sponsorships andprizes that have been generously establishedat the School of Art & Design over the years.

“These were gifted to the School before mytime and I am the inheritor of them. There arethree main awards,” he explains. “The HelenGregory Memorial Trust is the first one. Shewas a student at the school, who wastragically killed the year after she graduated.Many of the fine art students and peoplefrom the school went to her memorial serviceand on the strength of that and Helen’s loveof art, the family set up a trust in her memory.”

To reflect Helen Gregory's own love oftravelling a set of travel awards are madeeach year by the Trust. These are open tosecond year Fine Art students, who can applyfor sponsorship to travel for self-definedprojects that will promote their developmentas artists. Each year, between three and fiveawards are made, with the successfulapplicants reporting back to the trustees ontheir journeys and the artwork that resultedfrom them.

In addition, the Helen Gregory Trust funds apurchase prize. “We have a collection ofworks from 1989 because of that,” Fitzjohnsays. “Last year it was won by Sarah Walkerfrom the photo visual area. The trustees or

David FitzjohnFine art prizes and sponsors

CSAD Feature

Fine Art in the School has been veryfortunate to have been supported sogenerously over the years. Because of them,talented second year students have exploredart collections from Madrid to New York,have been able to interview and work withcontemporary artists from all over the worldand have engaged in bold creative projectsthat have stretched their imagination andvision. It sounds like a remarkably good deal.

‘Was it your mind or your body that prevented you, Carrie?’ by Lydia Meehan.

Will Preston.

Drawing for a sculpture, 'eyn koteret' by David Evans.

Simon Brooker.

pages 16 - 17


“That started because Gareth Barham, a seniorlecturer in the Cardiff School of Art & Design,visited the University of Korea. One of theprofessors there - a good friend of mine -mentioned SADI and that there might besomething interesting that we might be ableto do together. At SADI, we needed tomodernise the curriculum because Samsungbelieved that the Korean universities’ liberaldesign education was not up-to-date; thathad a lot to do with the MDes programmestarting. We discussed it with CSAD for a fewmonths in Summer 2009. After six months,we opened the programme.” The first cohortstarted in the autumn of 2010.

In recognition of his international significancein the field of product design, Park has beenawarded an honorary professorship at CardiffMetropolitan University. His official title is stillto be decided but it will be focused on theidea of design innovation and advocacy -particularly, how designers can be better atbusiness.

“After coming back to Korea, I studied anMBA out of boredom! There was a lot of talkat that time about designers and business. Ithought to myself, if I don't know aboutbusiness, how can I talk to my students aboutit? I know engineering and have practiced

design over many years, but not business,”he explains of the origin of his interest indesign innovation. “So I decided to take theMBA. I followed on from the MBA with aPhD. I now have a PhD in businessmanagement.”

Samsung is one of the best-known designfirms in the world. But still, Park had noticedthat it was quite difficult to see into the firmfrom the outside because of how secretivethey are.

“I wanted to do a PhD dissertation on theirinnovation processes. I interviewed a lot ofengineers, managers and founders. Thepractice of design in hi-tech companies isvery different from that in small companies. Iwanted to learn about the in-house designprocess and how it involves so manydifferent people,” he explains.

“I documented the different perspectives andtheoretic positions involved in the process,because I wanted to teach my students whatdesigners should be doing to be successful.Particularly, I wanted to know much aboutthe process of integrating the management ofdesigners, engineers and marketeers,especially as many of the critical decisions aremade by business people without designers.My ultimate goal is to give a better voice to

designers and engineers by understandingbusiness managers and marketeers. I want todevelop the design process, so that itempowers designers to communicateeffectively.”

In closing, Park has some interesting things tosay about the designers of the future.

“Samsung is now in a position to be the 'firstmover.' They're putting more emphasis ondesign, but they should spend more money!Their stock has increased over 50 times andthe number of designers too, over the last 10years; yet their understanding and trust ofdesign is not enough,” he explains. “Theyneed the designers to prove how and why aconcept works and why they should choose aparticular design. That's sad. Lots ofdecisions are made on emotional factors. Iwant to help designers develop theircreativity, but also their ability to convinceand persuade others of the importance ofdesign.”


CSAD MAGAZINE

Professor Rich Park isVice President of SADI

(Samsung Art and DesignInstitute) which is linkedwith the Cardiff School of

Art and Design in the delivery of an MDes in

Experience Design.

Park now lives in South Korea, in the capitalSeoul, but his path to living in the countrywhere he was born is a winding one, full ofchanges and interesting choices, beginningwith his family's decision to emigrate toAmerica in 1977 while he was still a studentof engineering in Korea.

“I went before I finished my engineeringdegree. I worked with my father for a coupleof months and then became independent. Idon't know whether it was a good choice ornot now, but I decided to join the US Army. Iwas in Frankfurt, Germany, for two years andthen in Colorado Springs for one year,” hesays laughing at his decision to becomeindependent. “That gave me the money to goto the Philadelphia College of Art in 1984 tostudy painting. I didn't know of the existenceof design at that time. Then, after onesemester, I studied graphic design and thenindustrial design, graduating in 1987.”

Park undertook the industrial designprogramme in order that he could make aliving whilst supporting his passion forpainting. When asked by his tutor why hedidn't pursue his other passion, architecture,Park replied:

“I told him that, 'I wanted to study architecturebut that it takes too long to see the fruit ofthat.” He continues, “So I found that inindustrial design, you can make manyproducts in less time and share it with manypeople.”

After graduating, Park worked as an industrialdesigner in New Jersey with InnovationDevelopment Incorporated and then later ina more managerial role at the world-famousDonald Deskey Associates.

“Then I was offered a job at the Faculty ofProduct Design at Parsons School of Design.That was 1991-1994. In 1993, the Deancalled me and said, 'You're the only Koreanfaculty member working in our School. Thedaughter of the Chairman of Samsung is inthe Fashion Design school and her parentswant to start a design school in Seoul.' Theyasked me to be President of SADI and I saidno because I didn't want to be anadministrator. I also wasn't ready to emigrateback to Korea,” he explains. “Eventually, Idecided I was working too hard and becameunhappy at work - my first offer of work as anadministrator wasn't too enticing, but hecalled again a few months later and offeredme a teaching post. I went back to Korea andstarted up the SADI foundation programmeand had to recruit 11 faculty members.”

Over the course of the past ten years, SADIhas grown to incorporate more programmesand now houses Communication Design,Fashion Design and Product Designdepartments, as well as a link with the CardiffSchool of Art & Design offering an exchangescheme and a validated MDes programme.

Rich Park Pushing the frontiers of design innovation

CSAD Feature

pages 22 - 23


“I like engaging with people and learningabout different things and finding out moreabout a subject that I don't know too muchabout. That fits very well. I'm alwaysinterviewing people, engaging with peoplethat I otherwise wouldn't meet. It's far betterthan just looking at a screen all day,” he saysexcitedly of his new job. “When I joinedKinneir Dufort three months ago, within thefirst two weeks they had sent me off to theUS for a week to run the research over there.I was leading the project and I visited Bostonand San Francisco. The job gives youopportunities to do stuff like that too. For me,that's attractive.”

Talking to Culverhouse, it's easy to see thathe is what you might call a people person: hethrives on relationships above screens,meetings above redrafts.

“I like being able to identify things wherepeople's lives could be made easier or better.Product design is a conduit for expressingthose needs. It sounds cheesy, but it's justdoing a bit of good somewhere.” he explainshumbly. “In terms of product design, I knew Iwasn't the world's greatest product stylist orengineer. I enjoyed the design process andthe part of things where people can get a feelfor how it might work. That's where theprototyping comes in.”

When someone is as happy in his job asCulverhouse, it seems silly to ask him,

“What's next in your career?” However,Culverhouse is more than willing to indulgethe thought of where he will be in 20 years time.

“I'd like to be involved in design still. I enjoythe hands-on, so I'd like to be Head ofDepartment or Lead on a group and reallytrying to push the capabilities of the peoplebelow me,” Culverhouse says. “That's whereI aim to be. Twenty years is a long way ahead,but if I look back 10 years ago, I didn't thinkI'd be where I am today.”

Finally, Culverhouse brings everything backto the essence of his success: realising hispotential right at the beginning of his career.

“A lot of what I am now is down to the paththat I took when I was at CSAD. There weredefinitely opportunities that I wasn't aware ofbefore I was told about them by the staff,” hecontinues. “They opened a pathway forwardthat I could carve a career out of and helpedme develop a pretty unique skill-set, which isa valuable asset. I like doing my job becauseit's making people's lives a bit better.”


CSAD MAGAZINE

Ian Culverhouse is apeople person who

realised at an early stagethat he had developed a

great skill-set thatemployers wanted.

“I grew up in Bodmin. I moved to Cardiff at 18to study product design at UWIC. That was10 years ago,” he explains. “I graduated witha BSc Product Design in 2006, MScAdvanced Product Design in 2007 and then Iwas lucky enough to get a scholarship for aPhD at Cardiff Met too.”

Now, a Senior Design Researcher at KinneirDufort, a design and innovation companybased in Bristol and running since 1977,Culverhouse has worked his way into a roleof which many product designers would beenvious.

“During my Master’s, the last module I didwas an industrial placement, wheregraduates are positioned in industry to givethem exposure to what it's like,” he explainsof his path to that fortunate position. “Myplacement was within PDR (The NationalCentre for Product Design & DevelopmentResearch) to transfer my knowledge ofinteractive prototyping to projects in PDR. Idid three months of that and it went reallywell. Afterwards, they said they wanted meto carry on in that area. They found somePhD funding that I could apply for, ifinterested.”

It was the expertise in interactive prototypingthat he gained and the skills which he honedwhile at Cardiff School of Art & Design andmore specifically, PDR, which helped him tomake the leap from research to practice.

“Interactive prototyping is developingtechniques and tools to allow people toengage with digital products at an early stagein the process. Traditionally if you design achair, it's easy to go to a workshop and carveout a chair. If it was comfy, you'd be fine andcould carry on with it, but if it wasuncomfortable you could just sculpt anotherone,” he explains. “Interactive prototyping isabout finding ways to engage with a digitalproduct, without needing to get the finishedproduct at the end.”

However, knowledge without strategy isworth little. Fortunately for Culverhouse, heworked out his strategy in parallel with hiswork on interactive prototyping.

“My PhD focused on how that could beintegrated early on in the process. From thatpoint forward, I recognised that there werecertain industries for which this type ofknowledge and expertise was moreinteresting and more applicable,” he explains.

“Typically, something like medical andhealthcare sectors have more rigour,regulatory demands and bigger R&D budgets,so they really engage with this sort of thingmore.”

It was this realisation that helped him tounderstand that he could make the leap toindustry and just before Christmas 2012,Culverhouse took his first Senior DesignResearcher job at Kinneir Dufort.

Ian CulverhouseMSC Advanced Product Design (2006 - 2007) CSADPhD Product Design (2007 - 2012) PDR

CSAD Graduate

pages 28 - 29


As well as being incredibly busy with writingher dissertation, Burrage is finishing off herassignments for her course.

“I am doing a project for a design on theWaterfront in Newport. There’s a car parkthat will be replaced with a multi-purposebuilding. Our specification was to designsomething multi-purpose for this site,” sheexplains of her most recent project. “I did it tothe extreme. I went for a café and deli on theground floor, a gymnasium on the fourth floor,two floors of car parking, an alternativetherapy/health centre and three floors ofluxury residential apartments which willencourage arty people and creatives to move in.”

But it’s not just huge multi-purpose buildingsthat Amy is excited by. For almost two yearsshe has also been working part-time for asmall architecture firm called BMac Designand Development Ltd in Whitchurch.

“I’ve worked there now for 18 months and theowner is very supportive and allows me towork very flexibly. Over the summer, Iworked full-time and then last year I did part-time. It depends on the university workload,”she explains. “We work mainly on the spaceutilisation of existing dwellings and do a lot ofplanning applications and drawings for loftconversions and extensions. That’s our niche.Hopefully, when I leave university I’ll workwith him to get a bit more experience, butwho knows what’s in store for the long term.”

One of the most remarkable things aboutBurrage though is that she has struggled withME for many years. Asked how she managesto do all the things that she has on her plateat the moment, she answers,


CSAD MAGAZINE

Amy Burrage is quite aremarkable person.

She’s a mature studentwho has battled her way

through recurring bouts ofME and still manages to

be a mother, fiancée,housewife and work

part-time.

Originally from Whitchurch in Cardiff,Burrage became a single mother at the age of21. She took a break from studying andbegan to work part-time.

“I trained to become a secretary after I leftschool. I did an administration and secretarialskills course at Coleg Glan Hafren,” sheexplains. “There’s only so far you can go inadministrative office work.”

Following a period at Coleg Morgannwg andthe University of Glamorgan her healthdeteriorated. Burrage took time out to reassess.

“I did some research and found the BScCourse in Architectural Design andTechnology at Cardiff School of Art & Designand thought that covered both aspects ofwhat I wanted to be doing: technology anddesign. That was three years ago! Here I amnow in my final year.”

She is now busy writing her dissertation on alittle known architect from South Wales bythe name of John Coates Carter.

“Carter is responsible for a lot of key piecesaround the South Wales area which peopledon’t recognise as being as significant as theyare. The Arts and Crafts movement is whathas influenced Carter’s work and there iscontinued interest in Arts and Crafts ideasand techniques,” she explains. “It’s having arenaissance. I’ve taken photos of thebuildings, cheekily knocked on the door ofthe Red House in Penarth, which Carterdesigned, and had a chat with the currentowner who has lived there for ten years.”

Carter, an English architect who lived themajority of his life in South Wales, up until hisdeath in 1927, proved to be an elusivecharacter and an intriguing subject forBurrage’s dissertation.

“I found a book on Herbert Luck North, whowas from North Wales and wanted to do acomparison of his work and South Walianarchitecture. I typed South Wales Architectsinto Google and his name popped up. Therearen’t many South Wales architects whowere renowned for working in this area,” she says of the origins of her interest.

“The Herbert Luck North book had obviouslyalready been written and I didn’t just want toreiterate everything that was written in thebook. There was only very little informationon John Coates Carter and my tutor justencouraged me to find out what I could.”

One of the things that interests her about thelife and work of John Coates Carter is that hiswork is all around us, but so unnoticed, inSouth Wales.

“John Coates Carter designed The PagetRooms in Penarth, All Saints Church Hall justdown the road from that and numerousdwellings in Penarth as well as his mostfamous piece, Caldey Island Monastery, justoff the coast of Tenby,” she says listing someof his achievements. “Also, there’s All SaintsChurch in Adamsdown which has beenconverted into flats, St Paul’s Church inGrangetown which is currently up for saleand St Luke’s in Abercarn, which is derelict,with applications sought to knock it down.With him being so unrecognised there is adanger that his work will continue to beunprotected and undervalued.”

Amy BurrageBSc Architectural Design and Technology (2009 - Present)

“I have no idea! With great difficulty at times.I honestly don’t know the answer. There aretimes when I think, ‘I don’t know how I’mgoing to do it,’ and there are other timeswhen I think, ‘I’m so close to the end of mycourse now, I’ve just got to finish.’ Themotivation that pushes me is theachievement of a vocational degree and thatthe end is now in sight. I have a massiveamount of support from my family andfriends - even if their support is to sometimesjust leave me alone to study in peace!”

Burrage is a great role model for people whosuffer from ME and want to study.

“The disability team at the University havebeen amazing this year and have puteverything in place to provide supportshould I need it,” she says. “At the moment, Ihaven’t needed to call on an amanuensis. Ihaven’t had to do it, but if I do need it it’sthere! You should do it! Battle through. It’sone of those difficult, challenging illnesses,but if you’ve got the motivation then carry on,it is definitely worth it in the end.”


pages 6 - 7


CSAD MAGAZINE

Arthur Lanyon, a fineartist who now lives in

Penzance, grew uparound painting.

Son of renowned artistMatthew Lanyon and

grandson of Peter Lanyon,Arthur comes from a

dynasty of painters.

“I guess it must have had an impact. I wasalways drawing and painting when I waslittle,” he says. “That's got to have somethingto do with it. If your brain is being wired inthat way then it's only natural that you'll carryon in that way. There's quite a few of us in thefamily. My Dad's brother is an artist as well.”

“When I was little, I watched my dad and mycousin and they were able to just make thingsbecause they were older than me. I couldnever make an object or something in theway that they could because I was so little,”he recalls. “There's something I love aboutthe buzz that you get from just makingsomething, that makes me happy.”

Arthur's path to becoming a painter was afairly straight forward one.

“I started off with a foundation diploma inFalmouth, a BA in Cardiff School of Art &Design for three years - that was good - andthen moved to Bristol for a bit. Now I'm downin Penzance, Cornwall,” he explains. “I wasaway in India for six months last year. When Igot back, I got a new studio in Marazion. It's alovely place. Right out my window, I can seethe north eastern side of Saint Michael'sMount. It's great. I really enjoy it down here.”

Lanyon's career took off very soon afterleaving the School of Art & Design in 2008having received a first in BA Fine Art. Thesame year that he graduated, he appeared ina group show at the Saatchi Gallery inLondon.

“It was a really good experience and veryexciting too. That was a competition. Thereare a lot of competitions now and it feels likethere are more than there ever were,” he laughs.

This early success was followed byexhibitions at the Saatchi and Edgar Modern(Bath) in 2009, View Art Gallery (Bristol) in2010, Bay Art (Cardiff) in 2011 and on theSaatchi website in 2012. This year, Lanyonwill have another exhibition in Plymouthwhich will give a first airing to his new work.

“I'm working on some monochromatic pieces -one colour - as a way to deal with the formaland structural issues of painting rather thangetting bogged down with colour balanceand everything," he says. "I've kept it starkand simple. I've made loads of thesemonochromatic yellow pieces over the pastfew weeks. It's great because when you cutout the colour balance, you can justconcentrate on the structure really quicklyand easily in the decision making process ofwhat to do next. I'm just priming up canvasesand staying on the same patch for a littlewhile.”

Given Lanyon's reputation for producingpowerful, high impact pieces using colour toa maximum, this move towards using a singlecolour and concentrating on structure, ratherthan colour balance, seems radical.

“[All of the new paintings] are quite hardedged and I'm trying to think about opposites.Opposites attract and embellish oneanother's potency formally,” he explains ofhis new work. “I want to get more than justone hard edged powerful structure. Line and

“I prefer to let the work to the talking. I'mconstantly figuring out in my head and tryingto verbalise my work,” he says and thenlaughing continues: “Someone came into thestudio the other day and saw a paintingcalled Mining for Lemons and they said that itlooked like a still from a sort of post-apocalyptic cartoon animation. That's notwhat I was going for, but that's what theyseemed to think of it.”

Lanyon is sure to have a long career in fine artand hopefully continue the dynasty of greatpainting that has come from his family line.

structure then come together. It seems to beworking with these ones. It's slightly differentfor me.”

The work is partly influenced by Lanyon'srecent trip to India.

“The trip was a bit of everything really. Achange of scene. I did a lot of drawing thereand that was quite overwhelming: thesubjects, the sources of imagery. We did a lotof drawing and travelled all around,” he says.

“I think that influenced what I'm doing now.We went right out into the desert, on camels,on boats with flying fish. There were goodand bad points and I'm just giving you theglossy version.”

Despite his strong style, Lanyon is reluctantto describe his work in any kind of verbalterms.

ArthurLanyonBA Fine Art (2005 - 2008)

CSAD Graduate

pages 12 - 13


His age is important here because in recentyears, his work has been remarkably calmer.

“There wasn't much of a challenge aboutanything I was involved in. Many of theinvitations that I was getting were to all sortsof countries and situations and organisationsbut there didn't seem to be room for me todevelop as a human being,” Stitt says,explaining why his work has been morereserved in recent years. “At that point,something had to change. I think like mostthings, it was quite intuitive and probably hadsomething to do with coming up to middleage. I had quite a lot of injuries and therewere quite a lot of health issues involved. So I had to think differently about how I used my body. My performance art was quite physical.”

Wary of the increasing prevalence ofperformance in popular culture, Stitt's view ofthe field has changed somewhat.

“The thing with performance is that peoplemight look at it as being somethingalternative and outside of convention,” hesays. “It's been subsumed into dominantculture to a large extent: you see it all overYouTube, advertising etc. so there's reallynothing very radical about it anymore.”

But it's not just the work that has becomesubdued with age, it's also Stitt as anindividual.

“It actually felt more radical for me to walkback into painting again, with all theexperiences I have as a performance artist.It's very visceral, painting. It has a lot ofrelationship to the body. Thinking about thesubstance of the body in paint - I suppose insome way it has something to do with beingmiddle aged and considering death and themeaning of everything,” he explains laughingvery hard. “So, you know, it's been a way toengage with things in a way that I haven'tbefore.”

Stitt is married to Eddie Ladd, the famousWelsh dancer. His recent work In The Westhas focused around reflections on place andwas based on his experiences of his wife'sfamily farm in Maesglas (near Cardigan).

“I was brought into this Welsh community andI had access to that, which absolutelyfascinated me. The way that I was accepted,although I was an outsider, I feel very close tothat culture,” he explains. “Also, because ofgoing out to Maesglas farm, we would oftengo for very long walks up the coast and that'ssomething I've always done. My father was abig hiker, my mother and father met inScotland hiking in the 1950s. It's pretty muchin the blood: walking and being in the land.I've always felt like I'm inside the land and notwalking upon it.”

Stitt's painting takes the form of wonderfulabstract expressionist landscapes. Thoselandscapes were ones he painted during ayear in which his father-in-law Sam was inhospital. Sam's death also played a large partin In The West.

“My father-in-law Sam was alive when Istarted thinking about this. I got some ArtsCouncil of Wales money to create the projectand over that year, Sam had been taken tohospital and spent most of his time in hospital.There was a decline in terms of his physicalbeing and presence. Although he was in thehospital, his presence would be feltthroughout the farm, of course,” he recalls.

“You could argue that it was just us projectingemotionally into that space, but he was sucha big presence on the farm. When I wentthere and we went out for trips, we hung outtogether. We had a very close relationship.This is happening at a time of my life whenI'm thinking about what it means, when youhave to come to terms with death andsuddenly friends around me are dying - threeclose friends of mine died in the last twoyears. In a way, that contemplation wasactually quite comforting.”

Woven throughout Stitt's work is thelandscape of a man coming to grips with hisown mortality and spirituality. He has awonderful way of telling the story of hisconnection to the world around him. It leavesus all wondering how the next act in hisgrand play will work out.


CSAD MAGAZINE

Dotted around AndréStitt's room in Howard

Gardens are prints,postcards, photographs

and other works withvarious political messages.

Some are pieces ofexhibitions in which he

participated - includingone early one featuring a

much younger Stitt.

“I left Belfast Art College in 1980 because ofthe situation I was living in. I grew up in aperiod of extreme conflict and civil war really,”he says of his earliest years. “I pretty muchhad to leave Belfast and so I moved toLondon and established my performance artpractice. You could call that an alternativelifestyle, with squatting and doing things inclubs and organising events with otherartists.”

Stitt, born in Belfast, a performance artist inpractice and a Professor of performance andinterdisciplinary art by trade, has so far had acareer that has taken him to all continentsand corners of the world.

“I spent the 1980s travelling all over the placeand doing performance festivals and galleryshows. I did all sorts of interesting andexciting projects. Then increasingly throughthe 1990s I went global: Japan, Australia, FarEast, south-east Asia and all over Europe andEastern Europe,” he recalls. “I covered a lot ofterritory. I was very well connected in termsof making my own art work and I gained areputation for what I did, which was prettymuch socially engaged and politically activeperformance. It was confrontational indealing with those issues. That was related toNorthern Ireland of course.”

In 1999, Stitt was head-hunted to take overthe timebased work of the Fine Artprogramme at CSAD.

“That was performance, video installation andexperimental interdisciplinary art. I ran thatfor a number of years. Pretty much by thefourth year I was here (2004), I was madeProfessor,” he explains. “I've been Professorsince and I've always had a very strongpractice. It was predicated on research,without me really realising that it wasresearch. I would have seen it as informationgathering and discursive investigation. Manyof the performance projects must have thatkind of authoritative research in them. WhenI started teaching in the School of Art &Design, I was pretty much able to locate whatwas coming out my practice as research.”

Stitt's reputation precedes him wherever hegoes. In many circles, he remarks, there's anervous gasp when his name crops up.Asked how he feels about this 'bad boy'image, he laughs deeply and warmly.

“I've just turned 55, so am I still the bad boy ofperformance art? It's interesting because lastweekend I was in Belfast organising aperformance. It's very much a performanceproject that looks at performance history inrelation to Northern Ireland and it'sinteresting that people still treat me like that,”he chuckles. “I'm quite playful about it. I thinkthere was a point in the 1980s where I sawmyself as the Iggy Pop of performance art,but not anymore. My practice has changedconsiderably since then. I find it amusing.”

André Stitt Inside the land, not walking upon it

CSAD Staff

pages 18 - 19


Glynn's teaching career graduated fromsecondary to tertiary education through aseries of opportunities that presentedthemselves to teach animation and drawing,alongside his freelance work.

“Working in animation led to working in anidyllic studio in the south of France for a year.There was a guy working next to me and hewas teaching in Denmark and he said that hecouldn't make one of the sessions and askedif I could cover for him. I went to Denmarkand kept being invited back,” Glynncontinues. “In the freelancer’s world you'realways setting up the next gig from the oneyou're working on. You do a good job andhope people recommend you. The teachingin Denmark led to a conversation with aFrench-Canadian man. He got in touch withme six months later and asked me to do ananimation course in Reunion Island, in themedium of French. It was quite a challengebecause I'd never taught in French before.Later I covered for someone who wasteaching animation in graphics here at CSADand that led to someone saying that I shouldgo for a job in the new course that they weresetting up. So I applied for it and got the job.”

Music continues to play a part in his career asdo the many strings to his illustrative bow:new projects, freelancing and teaching.Glynn’s work has also included visual inputfor numerous interdisciplinary arts educationprojects.

“I recently revisited this ‘portfolio strand’through a project with London SymphonyOrchestra Discovery Team, helping adultswith learning difficulties create visuals for amusical story, which they performed in theBarbican foyer as part of film composer John

Williams’ birthday celebrations,” he saysbefore moving on to his current interests.

“With CSAD Illustration Lecturer AmeliaJohnstone and colleagues at Manchester Met,the Universities of Westminster, Solent andUAL Camberwell, we set up the journalIllustration Research as a catalyst for researchand practice-led initiatives. To date we've runthree international symposia, on alchemy (inCardiff), writing (in Manchester) and folk (inKrakow). We currently have a Call for Papersout for our fourth edition: Science,Imagination and the Illustration of Knowledge,in partnership with the Oxford UniversityMuseums (7 - 8 Nov 2013).

“We’re now extending our field ofengagement outwards to psychology,pharmacology, medicine, theatre, maths, etc.It’s a big discipline and its contexts reachbeyond pure artistic and design purposes:people who may not think of themselves asillustrators are illustrating within their owndisciplines, as clients, sometimes as authors,finding ways of putting ideas into images.When words fail, people look to images (alsomusic, ritual and theatre), and that’s wherewe come in.”

Glynn's practice often sees him organisingcollaborations between groups of people andputting illustration within the context of theirinteractions.

“We talk about the serendipity of the careerand how expertise leads others to directopportunities your way. Sometimes thoseconversations can be fostered. Gaynor hasbrought together the CSAD and the CardiffUniversity School of Medicine, and we'reillustrating those dialogues which in turn leadto commissions and collaborations.

I’ve never really settled to sitting alone in thestudio 8+ hours a day. I have done it, butgregariousness takes over.”

Glynn's closing remarks say a lot about thekind of person he is. He is forever coming upwith ideas and trying to make collaborationhappen.

“What we're doing is mapping opportunities.I'd like to do a symposium about illustrationand music,” he says and continues to talkabout future plans with names that sound likedocumentary films. Look out for ‘Walkingwith Illustrators’ and ‘Academics on a Train.’We aim to pilot things, get them going thenhand them on. In that sense, I'm more of ahunter-gatherer than a farmer.”

As if to further cement his closing statements,after the dictaphone has been switched off,Glynn pulls out a notepad and says, “Let's talkbusiness. What are you working on at themoment?”


CSAD MAGAZINE

‘Interesting’ does not feellike enough of an adjective

to describe Chris Glynn.

“I'm Subject Leader for Illustration at CardiffSchool of Art & Design. We set up the coursein 2007, so it’s been developing for 6 years,”he says. “I'm an illustrator first, then amusician. It's interesting this idea of being anillustrator or being a teacher. It’s notsomething to get hung-up on, easier to say ‘Iillustrate, I teach, I notice things’, activitiesrather than identities.”

Glynn's interest in illustration began early on,with his father bringing home drafting paperfrom the engineering firm where he worked.

“I once asked Philippa Lawrence [principallecturer in CSAD], who wrapped trees nearthe A48 as one of her commissions, what shewas doing when she was seven years old andshe said that she was climbing trees! It's veryinteresting,” muses Glynn. “You often findthe essence of your interest by examiningwhat you were doing when you were seven. I used to fill these massive sheets withelaborate battlescapes; I was always doodlingat school and drawing in the margins. I’d gettold off for gazing out of the window, yet thathelped me to listen and filter out other ‘visualnoise.’ Drawing was the thing that wasalways there.”

Glynn’s family is a musical one - he has apiano in his office which he uses to thrash outideas - but his secondary school preventedhim from studying both music and art: ‘soft’subjects. He followed the musical path atcollege and then went into teacher training.

“At 14 - that time when you start editing yourchoices - I discovered that I really wanted toact and as soon as I got to AberystwythUniversity, I switched to joint honours music

and drama. I then did a couple of years of artsadministration in a box office, music directionin fringe theatre, and small illustrationprojects: it was a real cocktail of stuff. ThePGCE at Goldsmiths was really challenging.”he recalls. “But it was the passport to workinganywhere. I secured a job in Caerleonteaching music, but two years in foundmyself in assembly, playing hymns in my V-neck jumper, thinking that this wasn't reallythe plan. I knew what I wanted to do was todraw and I thought to myself that I was quitea good music teacher, but the unique thing Ihad was the drawing.”

Glynn left teaching temporarily and took anentry-level animation job in Cardiff.

“Perhaps it was easier then to get in with asmall portfolio. Through the 90s, much of thetime-consuming work went to the Far Eastand Eastern Europe. Entry-level positions arestill there, but not in such quantity. They saidit would take five years to become a goodanimator and I thought ‘I've got to makesome money’ because I’d left a full-timeteaching job,” he explains. “I enjoyed the factthat every day was different and perhapsbecause I was a bit nosy they gave me pre-production work: storyboard, characterdesigns and layouts. None of this wasplanned, but in a funny kind of way I'vealways been in the right place to make theshift. Then I went ‘freelance’ because in 1992there was a recession and everyone went

‘freelance.’ That led to working for a range ofanimation producers including Cosgrove Hall,Telemagination and TVCartoons, plus studiosin France and Germany.”

Chris GlynnSubject Leader Illustration

CSAD Staff

pages 24 - 25


“We're the last in the UK really, in terms ofstrength and depth and in terms of it being asingle subject. There are lots of places whereyou can study ceramics as a broader degreecourse. This is the last significant place in theUK where you can study ceramics intensively,as a single subject, and I think that gives awonderful working experience to thestudents who come here,” he says.

“The subject area of ceramics is a greatstrength within the School. It's a real credit tothe staff that it's survived and a credit also toCSAD who have continued to support it at atime when other ceramics courses in the UKhave disappeared or struggled.”


CSAD MAGAZINE

You would be forgiven for not understandingthe difference between sculpture andceramics. In fact, it's a question that manypeople have.

“The main difference is that ceramics isdefined according to the material. Ceramicsmeans things made out of clay. There is ahuge range of things that ceramicists make:some will make traditional vessel forms, somewill make work that can be legitimatelydescribed as sculpture, but it all comes underthe umbrella term of ceramics,” he says.

“There are societies and foundations, journalsand magazines that all support ceramics. It'squite a thriving discipline. Whereas whenyou think about sculpture, it's not defined byits material. A long time ago it might havebeen expected that sculptors carve stone,but that's not the case now. The termsculpture covers so much and it's not limitedin any sense. Ceramics is defined because ithas to be made in a particular material,whereas sculpture has no such requirement.”

This question of material will also form thebasis for the future of Jones' research inceramics.

“I want to look much closer at the attitudestowards the use of clay. Going back to the1920s and 1930s, I want to look at the kindsof ways that people were using clay and theattitudes that critics and commentators hadtowards the use of clay,” he says. “I want totry and trace a history of that through to thepresent day and see what's happened there.My focus is much more on the material itself.That's the way it's going.”

Given his post at the School of Art & Design,it's only natural that ceramics is a subjectclose to Jones' heart. He's full of praise for theUniversity's continued support for theceramics courses.

Jeffrey Jones is sitting inhis office on the second

floor of Cardiff School ofArt & Design's Howard

Gardens Campus. In front of him is a

meticulously arrangedstack of paper.

“I did a degree in Fine Art a long time ago. That was in Trent Polytechnic in Nottingham.Afterwards I did a teacher training course andthen did various things. I ended up workingin the Health Service as an Art Therapist inmental health for nearly 20 years,” he says inan incredibly soft Bridgend accent. “Towardsthe end of that time I took a year out andcame here to CSAD to do an MA Ceramics. Iwent back to the job at the Health Servicepart-time and started to do a PhD. That wason the history of 20th Century studioceramics. I did that in Aberystwyth University.As I was finishing my PhD, a post came uphere as a Research Fellow. That was in 1998. Iwas in the fortunate position of changingcareer at a late stage in my life. It's workedout fine for me.”

Research has formed the majority of Jones'recent work within the School. That meansthat he hasn't practiced as an artist for a long time.

“I originally trained as a fine artist in sculpture.When I did my MA, it was in ceramics andstudio practice. My background is in making,but my PhD was an entirely theoretical pieceof work,” he says. “One of the things thathappened when I came to CSAD to do myMA was that I discovered I like writing. Thatwas quite a surprise to me. Ever since, myresearch has been written rather thanpractical. Perhaps in my retirement years,practice as an artist might be something that Ireturn to.”

Jones' research for the last few years hasbeen about the relationship betweenceramics and sculpture. This interest stemsfrom the research that went into Jones' bookStudio Pottery in Britain 1900-2005, whichwas published in 2007 and revealed thatduring the 105 years discussed, the interestsof potters and sculptors in Britain hasoverlapped on several occasions.

“I was fortunate to be awarded a visitingresearch fellowship at the Henry MooreInstitute in Leeds, which is an institute for thestudy of sculpture. They are very interestedin exploring how sculpture relates to othervisual arts disciplines; so they are interestedin, for example, the relationship betweensculpture and architecture,” he explains. “Itappealed to them that I wanted to look at therelationship between ceramics and sculpture.”

The interest in the relationship betweenceramicists and sculptors centres around theidea that ceramicists often struggle tobecome part of the world of sculpture,despite their disciplines being convergent toa large degree.

“There are lots of examples of potters andceramists who make work they consider tobe sculpture. They find it difficult to beaccepted and place it in those galleries andexhibitions where sculpture is normallyshown,” Jones says. “I'm interested in thereasons why that's the case. It's partly to dowith the suspicion of the material. It's astrange thing to say, but clay as a materialisn't always accepted as an authentic materialfor sculpture. Or if it is, it's transformed intosomething else: made in clay, cast in bronze.”

Jeffrey JonesExploring ceramics and sculpture

CSAD Staff

pages 30 - 31


For the moment, Stockley's concentrating onhis degree show work. When he graduates,he would like to pursue the possibility ofteaching - which was a major part of his roleas a physician. Regardless of what he doesnext, there's one thing that is clear forStockley - his thinking on ceramics isilluminating:

“What astonished me during my Accesscourse was that we'd be ten in the room allgiven the same kernel of an idea and we'dcome back a few days later having all made astaggering variety of stuff. Consciousnesshad become concrete. The invisible becomevisible.”


CSAD MAGAZINE

which in itself can cause repetition or evensilences. It's just the beginning of the quest todo this, but that's what is informing the formsthat I make.”

The Western musical scale is based partlyupon mathematics, but also partly on the ideathat there are certain notes which soundpleasing to the ears. Asked whether this isreflected in the form of ceramics, Stockleyneeds little time to respond.

“I think it is. In ceramics, there are body forms.In some way, the ceramics that mimic thehuman body are intrinsically pleasing,” hesays. “You speak of bottles, jars and jugs ashaving necks, bodies and feet. It's a similarquestion to why humans see faces andrecognise attributes.”

The idea of using musical ideas to informartistic practice is not an entirely new one.

“I suppose my main inspiration is Kandinsky.Some may think that it's listening to musicand copying somehow. That's not what I'msaying. In order to structure what I'm making,I may start with musical architecture. Buteven in an octave scale only the octaves andthe 4th and 5th of the scale are actuallymathematically precise notes,” he explains.

“That's why a piano is described as welltempered - it is a compromise. In the sameway, the other thing I like is the performanceissue. Each time you're playing, it's going tobe different. Each time you throw a pot, it'sgoing to be different. Each one is aperformance. Each one is different.”

Robert Stockley has spenthis life looking after

people with serious andoften fatal diseases.

Now he is turning hisattention towards

ceramics and following along held desire to make

his work somethingpermanent.

“I was a hospital specialist in leukaemia,working as a consultant haematologist. I haveworked in London, Bristol and for a shorttime in Seattle. I was a haematologist inWorcester for 17 years. I stopped about fiveyears ago, through illness, and during myconvalescence joined a local potter whotaught me the fundamentals of throwing. I decided to try and pursue more of an artscareer,” he says. “So I went to Stroud Collegeof Art and undertook an Access course.When I was there, I had a choice of pursuinga degree in ceramics or photography - I'vehad a dark room since I was 10. In the end, Idecided I wanted to do ceramics and when itcame to the choices of where to go, I decidedthat I wanted to come to Cardiff.”

Stockley, originally from London, has spenthis life in medicine. He is a Fellow of theRoyal College of Physicians and of the RoyalCollege of Pathologists too - both of whichhave complex entry procedures andcommand a high level of professional respect.So why did he give it all up to start an entry-level career in ceramics?

“I made the leap [to ceramics] because I got ill.I had to have a big operation and debilitatingfurther treatment and couldn't go back towork. I was 56. I had always wanted to makethings that were permanent. I play the violinand am in an amateur orchestra,” he explains,

“but the problem with music is that it's veryephemeral: you make it and then it's gone. So I like the idea of making objects. Ceramicsis about as permanent as you get. Even whenit's broken, it still lasts thousands of years.”

Stockley places himself into the category ofceramicists who make objects that are neither

narrative nor functional, but instead arecreated for their aesthetic value.

“Everyone in my year group has sort ofgrouped themselves around the variouswords we thought appropriate to the way wesaw ceramics. There are 35 in the year andsome are narrative (ceramics which tell astory), others are decorative, others arefunctional (jugs and casseroles) and thenthere's the formal group. We like to makeobjects that are valued for their shape, colourand texture,” he explains of his practice.

“I make objects on the wheel - so they startsymmetrical. At the moment, they are prettystrictly bottle shaped and there are alsocylindrical jar shapes. I place them togetherin colours and textures in formal groups.”

“I try to make objects that respond to thestructure and metaphors of music. In mymind, I will have specific chords or rhythmsor discords that I am trying to turn from beingephemeral into something solid andpermanent,” he says. “It's very difficult to doit and I'm trying with a combination of formsand material and colour. I tend not to workmuch with glazes, but more with slips andcolour.”

This idea may sound very ephemeral in itself,but there's logic behind Stockley's choice andhis thinking on the subject of music is veryinteresting.

“This is done with difficulty, but there aresome forms that will be consonant and gotogether well. There will be others that reactwith each other and also the repetition,” hesays. “When two bottles are placed next toone another, they create negative space

Robert StockleyConsciousness becomes concreteBA Ceramics (2010 - Present)

CSAD Student

pages 32 - 33Cardiff School of Art & Design 35

“Maybe the good thing about being freelanceis that I am able to be very senior in one placeand then not very senior in another place,which means I have access to a wide range oflevels in an agency. In the current agency, Iam digital creative director of a department.In terms of Imagination, they're massivelyheavyweight. I could equally say that I wantto take a senior design role, in which case Icould go to a boutique agency and do somelovely little digital microsite experiences,” hesays. “You can pick and choose your level ofinvolvement and balance your working lifebetween having the good bits of being seniorand then get back to some straightforward,clean art direction. That's really nice.”


CSAD MAGAZINE

Palmer describes his work as conceptual. He values the ability to participate in the earlystages of a project and to help define theideas for the project before others contributeto it.

“I work conceptually and develop sort ofworlds around how things look and feel andhow you feel when using them. Back when Iwas on the course, digital was really justemerging. It was interesting for everyone Ithink. The good thing about the GraphicCommunication course is that it didn't seek tomake you specialist in one particular area.From early secondary school, I knew I wasdestined to do graphic design in one form oranother. Art direction is a little bit more thebirth of an idea and a project,” he explains.

“The kind of thing I do at the moment is madespecial by the people that make the stuff(programmers, film makers, 3D and postproduction etc.) I'm before that stage. I'llcome up with the concepts and decide howthey should look and then guide those guysthough to the end result, so it's not traditionalgraphic design. It's more conceptual.”

Palmer seems to be one of the rare peoplewho is perfectly happy freelancing, despiteall of the uncertainty and twists and turns thatthe lifestyle brings with it. In closing, heexplains why he's so happy to continue likethat.

Tom Palmer's a busy man.He's currently planning

a series of hugeautomotive shows for car

manufacturer Ford.

“When I left the CSAD GraphicCommunication course, I got my first job inone of the top three agencies in Bristol at thetime, converting their work from mediumformat slides to digital,” he recalls. “This isold tech! They were just moving over todigitising everything and needed someone toscan them and create a digital library from it.It was basically donkey work.”

Whilst studying for his degree in GraphicCommunication at Cardiff School of Art &Design, he worked for BBM Carlson.

“The great thing about it was that it was in astudio, working with other people. I tried toinvolve myself with the creative work that thestudio was doing. Over the course of thesummer, I became more and more involvedand by the end of the summer, I becamemore part of the studio,” he explains.

“Every summer, when there was a break in thecourse, I went back there as a dogsbody anddesigner and when I left the course at CSAD,I went back and became a junior designer.”

After several years at BBM Carlson, Palmerdecided that he was in a good place to start afreelance career. His wife is a secondaryschool teacher and so they were free to movewherever there was work for him.

“Although the scene up around Cardiff, Bristol,Bath and the South West generally isreasonably good, if you go in with one of therelatively respected agencies, the peoplewho work in them tend to move aroundwithin them and until eventually they'd workfor them all. It’s a bit incestuous” he says ofhis decision to move to South West Londonin order to freelance.

“I thought that I could probably go freelancein London, with a good portfolio and goodclients. I wanted variety and insight andexperience into how different agencies work.”

But it was not just variety and new peoplethat Palmer was looking for when he madethe decision to go freelance.

“I also thought that the idea of freelance was avery healthy way to do business. You'rewanted by an agency and you want to workwith them. If that changes you or they canchange it, it's no big deal,” he explains. “Youdon't get caught in office politics or that kindof thing because you're basically immune to it.Also, the money's great and you can taketime off whenever.”

The majority of Palmer's clients employ himto work on long contracts of around sixmonths. He enjoys working like this and iscurrently in the middle of a big contract atImagination, an agency based in London.

“I'm doing 6 - 8 months at Imagination inLondon who have automotive clients. I'mDigital Creative Director of one of Ford's autoshows in Geneva. We use every possiblekind of digital deployment that you canimagine. We have massive LED walls that are6x40m, apps, projection mapping,” he says ofhis work. “It's really just creating a digitalworld that's fully interactive and social.Within that six-month timeframe, I'll do 3 - 4shows. We just did Detroit which was a reallybig one and then NYC and Shanghai.”

Tom PalmerGraphic Communication (1999 - 2002)

CSAD Graduate

pages 34 - 35Cardiff School of Art & Design 37

André in the West and Pigs & RabbitsProfessor André Stitt exhibited newpaintings and drawings in a number oflocations during 2013. The work was aculmination of a site-specific researchproject concerning post-colonial identity,migration, community, location andbelonging. Based on a residency atMaesglas Farm in West Wales during2011-2012, the work evolved from aseries of walks and journeys throughWelsh speaking communities in coastaland rural locations between Cardigan andMachynlleth. The work went on show atOriel Myrddin Gallery, Carmarthen andMaesglas Farm, Cardigan during Januaryand February 2013 and was opened byProfessor Mike Pearson (AberystwythUniversity). The exhibition then moved toLeeds College of Art Gallery.

André also presented ‘Murmur’, apainting performance, and two furthersite-specific works at other locations inNorthern Poland as part of January’s Pigs& Rabbits, an international performanceevent being held at Sopot NationalMuseum in Poland.

Claire Curneen New Blue and WhiteClaire Curneen exhibited her work ‘BlueStudy’ as part of New Blue and White atthe Museum of Fine Arts Boston from 20February – 14 July 2013. Blue and whitemeans, at its simplest, cobalt pigmentapplied to white clay. Curated by EmilyZilber, the exhibition takes its inspiration

from global blue-and-white traditions, andinvited 37 international artists to examinethe ways in which contemporary makershave explored this rich body of materialculture.

Sally presents her research on Ossie ClarkSally Grant, Senior Lecturer in TextilesDesign presented a paper on theinfluence of ethnic clothes and thecounter culture (1968 – 1977) at CreativeCut, the first International Conference onthe subject of creative pattern cutting infashion. Hosted by the University ofHuddersfield in February 2013, theconference aimed to provide a platformfor pattern cutters, fashion designers,students, and educators to explore theimpact and direction for creative patterncutting. Sally’s participation at theconference was supported by a HigherEducation Academy Travel Fund and aCSAD Research Small Award.

Open Heart Research AssistantappointedCongratulations to Leah McLaughlin whowas recently appointed as the ResearchAssistant for the Centre for AppliedResearch in Inclusive Arts and Design(CARIAD). Leah’s role will be to combinethe use of video ethnographic methodswith exploratory film-making to capturecreativity and innovate inclusive designoutputs. The post is funded by a CardiffMetropolitan University Research

Innovation Award (RIA) and will form thebasis of the Open Heart project.

Dr Cathy Treadaway updateDr Cathy Treadaway has been awardedCEWN funding for the research projectshe is leading called i-Magine, to scopedevelopment of an interactiveenvironment for the new Paediatric Unit atMorriston Hospital. Cathy is working withPrue Thimbleby, Arts in Healthcoordinator for Abertawe Bro MorgannwgUniversity Health Board, Karen Yunqiu Lifrom Swansea University and RichardCrandon from On Par Productions Ltd.Cathy has also been awarded Cardiff MetSeed Funding to host two eventsassociated with this project.

In addition, Cathy has been working withGwalia Cyf Housing Association on a SIPplacement. She has been visitingresidential care homes for the elderly toscope further research on playfulness inlater life and meeting with managers andcare workers involved with care forelderly residents with dementia inGwalia’s homes in the Swansea area.

CARIAD NominatedThe Centre for Applied Research inInclusive Arts and Design (CARIAD) hasbeen nominated to represent Cardiff Metin the Queens Anniversary Prize forFurther and Higher Education. The Trustcurrently works to promote world-classexcellence in UK universities and colleges


CSAD MAGAZINE

CSAD is host to a wide variety of exciting

research & enterpriseactivities. The School

strives to build links andshare its expertise,

creativity and innovationwith academic, industry

and community partners.

Research

Creative Wales successCongratulations to Paul Granjon, SeniorLecturer, Associate Tutor Davida Hewlettand CSAD graduates Matt Cook andRebecca Spooner, who are all recipients ofthe 2012/13 Creative Wales Awards. Paulwill use his award to explore arts andcreative technology initiatives foralternative futures and experiment withelectronic circuits and rapid prototypingmethods with a view to includingcommonly found electronic parts ininstallations, workshop projects andsustainable energy systems. Davida willuse her award to learn new skills andevaluate and integrate new workingmethods into her practice.

School of Medicine meetingThe School was delighted to welcomestaff from the Cardiff School of Medicineto an evening event on the 21 March2013 at Howard Gardens Gallery. Theevent encouraged staff from bothinstitutions to share research interests,identify synergies and potentialcollaborations over a glass of wine andcrudités. The unique setting also allowedresearchers from CSAD to showcasesome of their outputs in the form of a miniexhibition of artworks and posters. Thisvisual display offered insights into ourprojects and a variety of art and designresearch practices. CSAD is excited bythe opportunity to engage with ourmedical partners and predict there will bemany interactive events, projects andproducts to come.

New ProfessorshipsCongratulations to Jeffrey Jones, who hasrecently become the School’s firstProfessor of Ceramics. Prof. Jones’sresearch focuses on historical andcontemporary developments in ceramics,with a specific interest in the sharedconcerns of British post-war studioceramicists and sculptors, most notablydeveloped through a Research Fellowshipat the Henry Moore Institute andconference convened with AndrewRenton (National Museum Cardiff). Othernew Professorial appointments for theSchool include on Honorary Professorshipmade to Prof. Richard Park (Samsung Artand Design Institute), and a VisitingProfessorship to Prof. Alan Dix as aVisiting Professor of Human ComputerInteraction. Prof. Dix contributed toCardiff Met’s Professorial Lecture series inApril with his presentation Treading OutTechnology: Exploring The Edges Duringa Thousand Mile Walk Round Wales.

Dr Cathy Treadaway Fellowship atthe Royal Society of the ArtsDr. Cathy Treadaway, Reader in CreativePractice, has been awarded a Fellowshipof the Royal Society of Arts. The citationfor her nomination as Fellow was for her‘invaluable contribution to HigherEducation.’ The RSA is an enlightenmentorganisation committed to findinginnovative practical solutions to today’ssocial challenges.

IN BRIEFClaire Curneen, Blue Study, 2008.

pages 36 - 44

CSAD’s new building will house Wales’ first

Massachusetts Institute ofTechnology (MIT)

accredited Fab Lab. We will be full members

of the global Fab Labnetwork and this will bethe first official UK Fab

Lab attached to auniversity. It represents

the fourth such provisionin the UK, after Belfast,

Londonderry/Derry and Manchester.

The term ‘Fab Lab’ is shorthand forfabrication laboratory. Fab Labs are a globalnetwork of local labs, linked through videoconferencing technology, operating to anethos and specification established andmaintained by MIT. The network has beendeveloped to promote invention andinnovation through easy access to specialisedtools for digital fabrication, prototyping andmanufacture, stimulated by discussion andcross-global initiatives.

MIT Fab Labs have been designed to linkindustry, inventors, business, schools andresearch facilities across the globe. From ourFab Lab in Cardiff, we will be linking withpeople doing remarkable things in Fab Labsfrom Boston to Lima, from Oslo toAhmedabad, and from Jalalabad to Montreal.

The Cardiff Fab Lab will carry the same rangeof equipment as Fab Lab centres around theworld. Olivia Kotsifa, Lecturer, is currentlyundertaking the required MIT training to runand develop CSAD’s Fab Lab within thenetwork. Other members of staff are alsobeing scheduled for the training.

The Cardiff Fab Lab will extend the School’sexisting digital prototyping facilities and willoffer computer controlled circuit boardmanufacture, a large CNC router capable ofdealing with 2.4 metre x 1.2 metre sheets ofdiverse materials, a large and powerful lasercutter, as well as numerous CNC machines,various 3D printers, large format digitalprinters, a CNC vinyl cutter, 3D scanners andmuch else.

It will be run to meet the needs of designersand manufacturers in the development and

prototyping of products and design solutions.In this, the Fab Lab can boost the strength ofdesign in Wales and make a contribution toits reputation as a clever country. CSAD willbe running short courses for designers,deploying Fab Lab facilities, through its newdevelopment, Cardiff Open Design School.

In tandem with its deployment for industry,the Fab Lab will be available for use byschools and, through this, will inspire thenext generation of designers and problemsolvers. They will be able to join with schoolsacross the network on design andmanufacturing projects, fully enabled by thekind of equipment to which access may notbe possible in any other way.

Flexible provision for industry and schoolswill ensure that our students also have accessto world-class facilities. It will be used, forexample, for the study of robotics andmusical instrument design. It will also bedeployed for research at research degreelevel, not least in computer-embeddedproduct prototyping.

The Cardiff Fab Lab represents yet anotheropportunity for CSAD to fuse its commitmentto research, enterprise and learning. Like thenew building on the Llandaff Campus, inwhich it will be housed, it marks yet anotherturning point in the life of the School andpromises much for the future. Both the FabLab and Cardiff Open Design School will beformally launched at the end of September 2014.

Professor Gaynor Kavanagh DPhil MPhil FMADean, Cardiff School of Art & Design


CSAD to open Wales’ first official MIT Fab Lab


CSAD MAGAZINE

Building an art anddesign school requires a

dizzying amount ofdetailed planning. It's notjust the bricks and mortar

that go into the structurethat matters. What's also

needed is a heap ofthinking, plus a bunch of

great ideas, about howstudents will best use the

new facilities.

With the School of Art & Design's plans formoving to the new accommodation on theLlandaff Campus well underway, RichardMorris, whose background is in furnituredesign, is the perfect person to explain what'shappening at this stage in the build.

“I've been Head of Undergraduate Studies forthe last two years and Director of Enterprisesince September 2012,” he explains. “I’m onthe CSAD Project Group, working with thearchitects, Austin-Smith:Lord, theUniversity’s Estates Department and a teamof specialists, creating the brand newLlandaff Campus location for the whole ofCardiff School of Art & Design.”

“Gaynor Kavanagh, Dean of CSAD, MartinWilliams, CSAD’s Resources Manager and Iare all on the Project Group and we bringtogether the specialist conversations andsome of the quirky things that are naturallynot within the remits of the architects and thefacilities and estates departments,” heexplains. “As a School of Art & Design, weneed vast open spaces, where students cancreate work that is not dictated by scale ormateriality. We need spaces where they canlet their creative imaginations run riot. Myresearch background in design and highereducation has been about that. My interest inlearning space and spaces for creativity issomething that is a natural fit for this project.”

A really interesting and, indeed key part ofthe planning is the idea that you can designspaces that inspire work and promotedifferent ways of thinking.

“We're building a school that is three largefloors of studio spaces over a ground floor ofworkshop facilities. The studios are as open

and as flexible as we can make them. We arecreating spaces that will work for ourstudents, because they can be reconfiguredand adjusted with multiple variables. Forexample, every year, six or seven weeksbefore the date of the graduating summershow, we have to collapse everything we doto get spaces ready," he continues. “We'vetried to think about how best to use furnitureand spaces to meet all kinds of needs andeventualities, including the radical transitionto the summer show.”

One of the ideas that the architects at Austin-Smith:Lord proposed, in order to try toreduce the amount of disruption that theSchool experiences when it needs to stopwork and clean up for the summer exhibition,takes the form of 'disposable' wall linings.

“All of the spaces are having special linings, sothat if the wall is damaged or we cut a holefor a monitor, we can just replace it for thebeginning of the new academic year. We'rejust preaching the obvious: we don't need tomake the spaces look like office spaces,"Morris explains. “What students should beconcerned about is not the space they'reworking in, but the work that they're making.It's adaptable, flexible and more thananything, a space that is not treated in anoverly precious manner. That means we don'tdictate the scale of student work.”

There's no ignoring the fact that manygenerations of artists have spent some of thebest years of their lives in the Cardiff Schoolof Art & Design campus at Howard Gardens.It's natural that there's an emotionalattachment to it, but fortunately, Morris issomeone who understands that attachment.

RichardMorrisFurnishing the future

CSAD Feature

Reception desk.


“What we wanted to work out is how to takeand transplant the feeling of Cardiff School ofArt & Design onto the Llandaff Campus.When you walk through Howard Gardens,you can smell and sense the activity going onin each zone: screen printing, oil basedpigments, casting facilities, things burning,wax, the wood shop. Is it possible totransplant that into a new build? You can'tbottle it and take it with you, but you canmake a space that is truly flexible so thatstudents can create work from the word go.”

“One of the key parts of the brief to thearchitects at the beginning was 'How do youcreate a building that still says from theoutside: Cardiff School of Art & Design?' I think they've done that with the saw-toothroof with the north facing roof lights floodingthe top floor through some small atrium voids.There's natural light and ventilation. It's areally good design that says School of Art &

Design,” he explains. While he's keen toensure that the new building is instantlyrecognisable as a School of Art & Design,Morris is also aware that it would be veryeasy to play to the stereotypes of an artschool when choosing furnishings for thenew space.

“It's easy to get carried away and specify LeCorbusier sofas for the reception area orCharles + Ray Eames chairs for the tutorialrooms. That would be lovely… in a perfectworld that’s the correct fit for what we do!But, we're realists. Part of my remit is to offerideas for the way that we want to use spaces,”he says. “There's a space in the centre of thenew building called the Heart Space. Thatallows everyone in the School to cometogether, interact socially, as well as worktogether. It will be a space where there willbe performances, lectures and film showings,so we have put in a stage area. We're

currently looking at how people should beseated in that area. It's very easy to getcarried away with a project like this, but youare reined back by the purpose of the space.We want it to look good and inviting andattractive, but at the same time it must behighly serviceable and comfortable."

It's evident from talking to Morris that theteam behind the design decisions that go intothe new building at Llandaff are intimatelyaware of the problems they must overcomein order to make the new building as good aspossible. It's also easy to see that it's not justexisting problems to which they can offersolutions, but that they are also thinkingahead, trying to make the building as futureproof as possible and that's exciting.

CSAD’s new building plans.

Caption to go here.


CSAD MAGAZINE

Chris Short laughs whenasked “For my interview

tape, who are you andwhat do you do?” He's just

got back from droppinghis children off at school

and is having troubleswitching back into

academic mode, but that's very much

Chris Short's character.

“I'm Chris Short. I teach Fine Art at CardiffSchool of Art & Design,” he says. “Principallyin photo-media, but I teach across the boardin Fine Art.”

It was as far back as his undergraduatedegree when Chris Short first realised he wasbalancing many different interests andpractices.

“My first degree was in teaching, after which Itaught for a couple of years. I then did an MAin art history at the University of Essex. Mysupervisor was Peter Virgo who is the leadingfigure in Kandinsky studies. Under him, Iachieved well (a distinction) and then had aBritish Academy studentship for three yearswhich paid for my PhD,” he explains. “I hadgone back to do an MA, thinking that at theend of it I would be a better artist. Then witha PhD, I ended up on track to teach art history.All along the way, I kept making art and I'mfinally back to where I should have been 20years ago.”

This path led Short onto two tracks: academicresearch about the work of Russian artistWassily Kandinsky and a practice thatexplores the relationship between peopleand nature.

“In the studio, I'm working on a series of'image and text' pieces that relate to myresearch on Kandinsky. My work grows froman interest in natural forces and their effectson the world around us. Increasingly, I'vecome to recognise a connectedness betweenthings, as well as between things and me.”

Short explains the way that the work ofKandinsky affects his practice. “It's hard toportray this sense but that's what I'm trying todo. A photograph is a fairly static thing evenwith a long exposure. I do a lot of longexposure shots, but what I'm now working onis sequences of images and text in relation tothese. This is based on one aspect ofKandinsky's work in which he'd bringdisparate things together and try to suggestformal and structural connections.”

His work frequently portrays the force ofnature with a particular interest in the sea,where Short, a keen surfer, spends a largeamount of his time. This complements hisnear obsession with the ideas of Kandinsky:

“Kandinsky is just what I got into as anundergrad, when I did a dissertation onMondrian and Kandinsky. The sea comesfrom the amount of time I spend in the seasurfing. The idea of the movement andrhythm of the tides and the connectionbetween the sea, moon and wind,” he says,when asked why both his academic andartistic work is based around these topics.

“There's the simple activity of going to thebeach and surfing - and then there's aconnection of things, which is interesting topursue through the work of art. I sometimesfeel like I've written enough and then I try todo everything visually, but then I realise Ihaven't written enough. There's a conflictbetween the two, but for the first time they'restarting to work together.”

Chris ShortKandinsky and the sea

CSAD Staff


Despite being well-known for his writing onthe artist, having written several books andcontributed to many others on the subject,Short is concerned about his reputation as apracticing artist.

“A big difference, which I'm working on in thenext 12 months, is - whereas the Kandinskystuff generates research all the time and Ihave a significant profile in this area - in therealm of my artistic practice, I'm yet togenerate that profile,” he explains. “Peopledon't come to me for an exhibition often. Myplan is to get some significant exhibitions andsome critical responses in my work. In arthistory, I'm an established researcher, in mypractice I'm an emergent researcher. I've gotto get the visual up to the same speed as thehistorical stuff.”

Despite his worries about being more wellknown for his writing than his artistic practice,Short isn't afraid to try new things in his work,including reviving his interest in ceramics.

“One of the difficulties is the expectation thatyour work always has a clear focus, style orbrand - and that's not always obvious as youlook across the different forms my work takes.I want things to connect. I don't want thingsto be totally fragmented. What I find is thatwhen I throw on the wheel, I think: 'Is thistotally irrelevant to what I'm doing with mywriting or with my camera?’” he says.

“I think that on one level, it probably is. It's sodifferent from it, yet, at the same time, I feellike somehow as a creative person, thatshifting from one thing to another informspart of what I do. But I can't yet describe howthis connectedness works. It's something todo with going back to the most fundamentalaspects of things, and building from there -that's true of my photographic works and thetexts I produce in relation to them, just as it isof the ceramic works I've just started workingon again recently.”

In finishing, Short distils the essence of whathe feels about the question 'Who are you andwhat do you do?' into a well-crafted mantra:

“I'm interested in maintaining those aspects ofwhat I do and the possibility of those thingsbecoming valued.”


CSAD MAGAZINE

Amy Burrage is quite aremarkable person.

She’s a mature studentwho has battled her way

through recurring bouts ofME and still manages to

be a mother, fiancée,housewife and work

part-time.

Originally from Whitchurch in Cardiff,Burrage became a single mother at the age of21. She took a break from studying andbegan to work part-time.

“I trained to become a secretary after I leftschool. I did an administration and secretarialskills course at Coleg Glan Hafren,” sheexplains. “There’s only so far you can go inadministrative office work.”

Following a period at Coleg Morgannwg andthe University of Glamorgan her healthdeteriorated. Burrage took time out to reassess.

“I did some research and found the BScCourse in Architectural Design andTechnology at Cardiff School of Art & Designand thought that covered both aspects ofwhat I wanted to be doing: technology anddesign. That was three years ago! Here I amnow in my final year.”

She is now busy writing her dissertation on alittle known architect from South Wales bythe name of John Coates Carter.

“Carter is responsible for a lot of key piecesaround the South Wales area which peopledon’t recognise as being as significant as theyare. The Arts and Crafts movement is whathas influenced Carter’s work and there iscontinued interest in Arts and Crafts ideasand techniques,” she explains. “It’s having arenaissance. I’ve taken photos of thebuildings, cheekily knocked on the door ofthe Red House in Penarth, which Carterdesigned, and had a chat with the currentowner who has lived there for ten years.”

Carter, an English architect who lived themajority of his life in South Wales, up until hisdeath in 1927, proved to be an elusivecharacter and an intriguing subject forBurrage’s dissertation.

“I found a book on Herbert Luck North, whowas from North Wales and wanted to do acomparison of his work and South Walianarchitecture. I typed South Wales Architectsinto Google and his name popped up. Therearen’t many South Wales architects whowere renowned for working in this area,” she says of the origins of her interest.

“The Herbert Luck North book had obviouslyalready been written and I didn’t just want toreiterate everything that was written in thebook. There was only very little informationon John Coates Carter and my tutor justencouraged me to find out what I could.”

One of the things that interests her about thelife and work of John Coates Carter is that hiswork is all around us, but so unnoticed, inSouth Wales.

“John Coates Carter designed The PagetRooms in Penarth, All Saints Church Hall justdown the road from that and numerousdwellings in Penarth as well as his mostfamous piece, Caldey Island Monastery, justoff the coast of Tenby,” she says listing someof his achievements. “Also, there’s All SaintsChurch in Adamsdown which has beenconverted into flats, St Paul’s Church inGrangetown which is currently up for saleand St Luke’s in Abercarn, which is derelict,with applications sought to knock it down.With him being so unrecognised there is adanger that his work will continue to beunprotected and undervalued.”

Amy BurrageBSc Architectural Design and Technology (2009 - Present)



As well as being incredibly busy with writingher dissertation, Burrage is finishing off herassignments for her course.

“I am doing a project for a design on theWaterfront in Newport. There’s a car parkthat will be replaced with a multi-purposebuilding. Our specification was to designsomething multi-purpose for this site,” sheexplains of her most recent project. “I did it tothe extreme. I went for a café and deli on theground floor, a gymnasium on the fourth floor,two floors of car parking, an alternativetherapy/health centre and three floors ofluxury residential apartments which willencourage arty people and creatives to move in.”

But it’s not just huge multi-purpose buildingsthat Amy is excited by. For almost two yearsshe has also been working part-time for asmall architecture firm called BMac Designand Development Ltd in Whitchurch.

“I’ve worked there now for 18 months and theowner is very supportive and allows me towork very flexibly. Over the summer, Iworked full-time and then last year I did part-time. It depends on the university workload,”she explains. “We work mainly on the spaceutilisation of existing dwellings and do a lot ofplanning applications and drawings for loftconversions and extensions. That’s our niche.Hopefully, when I leave university I’ll workwith him to get a bit more experience, butwho knows what’s in store for the long term.”

One of the most remarkable things aboutBurrage though is that she has struggled withME for many years. Asked how she managesto do all the things that she has on her plateat the moment, she answers,

“I have no idea! With great difficulty at times.I honestly don’t know the answer. There aretimes when I think, ‘I don’t know how I’mgoing to do it,’ and there are other timeswhen I think, ‘I’m so close to the end of mycourse now, I’ve just got to finish.’ Themotivation that pushes me is theachievement of a vocational degree and thatthe end is now in sight. I have a massiveamount of support from my family andfriends - even if their support is to sometimesjust leave me alone to study in peace!”

Burrage is a great role model for people whosuffer from ME and want to study.

“The disability team at the University havebeen amazing this year and have puteverything in place to provide supportshould I need it,” she says. “At the moment, Ihaven’t needed to call on an amanuensis. Ihaven’t had to do it, but if I do need it it’sthere! You should do it! Battle through. It’sone of those difficult, challenging illnesses,but if you’ve got the motivation then carry on,it is definitely worth it in the end.”


CSAD MAGAZINE

Stephen Madoc Pierce isfrom Porthmadog,

a very small town inNorth Wales. Not a lot

happens on Porthmadog'smain high street, which is

set at the feet of theSnowdonia Mountains

and surrounded by marshland on one side. Growing

up in a sleepy townprobably goes a long way

to explain the dynamic,energetic personality of

this young illustrator.

“It's weird. I started off by doing maths,chemistry, physics and biology at A-Level. I think I was a bit too spontaneous to dosomething like that. It didn't work out,” heexplains.

“I did an Art Foundation at Coleg Menai andthat pushed me in the right direction. I wassort of rebelling against my family thing: dadwas an artist and my sister got a distinction inher MA Illustration. I always said to myself,I'm not going to do that! I thought I wouldstick to the academic stuff, but then all of asudden I'm here and I love it!”

Pierce's path to becoming an illustrator was,he says, the result of a series of happyaccidents.

“I didn't have a clue when I finished my A-levels. I thought I would just do an ArtFoundation to see how it worked out. Mywork just fell into illustration straight away,”he explains. “It's not very illustrative in thenarrative sense, but my work contains a lot ofnarrative in one image. The images don'tillustrate a story, it's the other way around. I use the underlying topics that the imageshave in them, rather than the imageillustrating a narrative.”

What's interesting about Pierce's illustration isthat despite his bright, bubbly character, hiswork paints a very dark and disturbingpicture.

“When you see my work you notice a darkundertone even though the images are quitehappy. It was a bad thing when I started outbecause when I was given projects inFoundation, I would always give this uncannyfeeling,” he explains. “Now, I'm trying toembrace that feeling. I want to take thedisturbing things away from an image, butalso leave the feeling behind.”

What Pierce is trying to do is to portray theFreudian idea of the uncanny: something isnot quite right, but it's unclear what is awry.

“I am trying to create a disturbing image that isnot disturbing. I want to create somethingthat sticks in people's minds,” he explains.

“I don't want it to be something that you lookat and forget, but something that you look atand the feeling of the image hangs aroundand inside you. Either an unsettling feeling orone that throws you off.”

This is a notion that has been theorised foralmost a century. Its relevance is nowaugmented by a technological era in whichit's possible to be watched without proximitybeing an issue.

“I did one image and there's a girl sitting in apicnic scene and in the background there'san image of a paedophile/predator. It's areally simple image - I think it only took me aminute to make it. The idea is about thepower of social media and how you can findsomeone's location easily,” he says.

StephenMadoc PierceIllustration (2010 - Present)



“I like topics like that and I pick up stuff aboutthe internet and online world. I'm interestedin awareness of boundaries in the digitalworld: you find yourself doing things onFacebook and you're being sort of stalkerish.If you apply that to the real world, I'minterested in what's right in an online worldand what can be applied in the real world.”

Despite his scepticism about the intrusion ofsocial media into the everyday lives of all ofhis peers, Pierce freely admits the hypocrisythat's lying just behind his work,

“I contradicted myself. I wrote an essay onhow much Facebook is taking over our livesand how much we're broadcasting: butequally, I use Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr,”he says. “I have so many arguments against it,but it's about getting a balance. You couldportray yourself as anyone you like.”

Although it's hard to see any of Pierce's workwithout also noticing the ideas ofpsychoanalysis that go into the work itself, heis reluctant to blindly accept the ideas that heis interested in.

“I can't say I believe in all of the Freudiantheories, but they are fun to play with. At theend of the day, we are all animals and we'll dowhat we need to do. Playing withpreconceptions of what we are is interestingfor me,” he laughs. “A lot of our theoriestoday are based on feminism, so it's quite funto get a reaction from people who think thatthe ideas in my work are wrong. I'm a big fanof mixed reviews. Creating things thatunsettle me is the best thing.”

Interestingly, the (normally) unpleasantfeeling of coming across something uncannyis the thing against which Pierce measuresthe quality of his work.

“That's the most important thing for me - andmost of the time it's a dark one. I like thefeeling of creating something and getting theuncanny feeling myself,” he says. “I knowthat I've created something good then. It'ssort of scary because you startpsychoanalysing yourself.”

Asked where he might like to take hispractice next, Pierce answers almost straightaway.

“I want to move into video. I've always saidthat an image can capture so much that youdon't need video. Images can do it all!“ hesays. “But I also like proving myself wrong, soI'm going to try and move into film and seewhere it takes me. I might lose the uncannybecause it gets lost in everything else, but I'mkeeping my options open.”

Pierce's world-view is incredibly interesting. It is rare to meet someone who takespleasure in uncanny experiences and enjoystranslating them into their work. Good art israrely produced by people holding middle ofthe road world-views.


CSAD MAGAZINE

Originally from Greece,Olivia Kotsifa got her first

taste of British life whenshe studied architecture

at Oxford Brookes.

“I spent all my time in that beautiful place,playing volleyball, meeting people from allover the world and learning languages. Thenafter my six-years studying architecture, I dida Master’s degree in Energy EfficientBuilding.”

“I left Greece when I was 18 and I liked beingabroad, so when I went back home, it wasn'tthe same," she explains. "I worked in Greecefor a few years as a freelance architect, I hadmy own office and worked with friends,doing quite well, but I missed beingcosmopolitan. So, I looked for a job in Italy orFrance because I speak the languages; but Icouldn't find one there, as the times were abit difficult for the construction industry. So one day, I packed my bag and went toBarcelona. I spent two years there and Iworked in the office of my dreams!"

Before too long, Kotsifa - who after living inso many different countries, speaks fivelanguages - found herself in the middle of theeconomic downturn which hit Spainparticularly hard and needed to move againto find new work.

“I was living in a sunny place - a paradise forarchitects - and that changed my designthinking. Architecture in Spain is differentfrom what architecture is in the UK, I guess.There are still regulations, but somehow, inSpain, it's not that strict. Or maybe they'remore creative, playful or colourful in thatplace. I just wanted to share this with theworld,” she continues.

“I happened to be in the right place at theright time because my partner found a jobhere in the UK. I came and was going to lookfor a job in an architects’ office, but then this

opportunity to become a lecturer here cameup. I hadn't even considered that as a career.It was low on my list of possible things I coulddo. Working in a café was higher than beinga lecturer. I hadn't thought about it.”

Kotsifa, who has now been at the School forjust over three and a half years, says thatthere isn't anyone at the School who shewouldn't want to work with or share an office with.

“I started as an hourly paid lecturer but thenmore opportunities came up. I was teachingarchitectural design and technology and wasthere, as a lecturer, for a year. Then, mycontract was renewed for two years and nowI'm being made permanent,” she recalls.

“I get to do different things every year. I alsolearn a lot of things that I wouldn't get tolearn working in an architects’ office. I mightnot do as much creative work anymore, but Itry to keep it up on the weekends. I miss it.”

One of Kotsifa's biggest projects at theSchool of Art & Design is her role directingand co-ordinating the Cardiff Project, which is a first-year 40 credit module, calledthe Field.

“I call it the field of opportunities andexperiences. The field module is undertakenby all the different disciplines in the School.Each year, they undertake a different brief.This year we've taken the Cardiff Project,which has been inspired by Cardiff&Co. It involves all first-years developing andpresenting ideas and creative responses tothe city of Cardiff,” she says. “They are askedto go out and explore and observe and seeand smell. They come back with a wealth of

Olivia KotsifaCardiff Project

CSAD Feature


ideas and perspectives. Then, from theirpoints of view, being professionals in theirindividual fields, as artists, designers andmakers, they give us their response to thecity.”

“What's especially good about the fieldproject is that in the first year, we have theworld of collaboration and creative practice.As a part of the project, we asked students toget into interdisciplinary groups and come upwith collaborative research or work about thecity.”

This started with students in groups of sevenmaking a film about any part of the city theychose. The student feedback was good.Their comments suggest they enjoyed thepossibilities as it opened up their practicethrough learning to collaborate with oneanother:

“[It was a] great way to interact with othergroups or people from other subjects…learning new technology and methods,” saidone student.

“The whole experience was thrilling. Everyonehad such a positive mind set, as everyonehad a say,” said another participant.

“Students researched the city centre usingfour different themes, for example migration.They could explore the migration of people,ideas etc.,” says Kotsifa. “There was also theideas of materiality and fabric so you couldlook at a site from a materiality point of view.Then there was power: political, religious,energy, ability, technology. Students choseone particular site to work with andresearched it, responding to that specificthing.”

The challenge for the staff of CSAD was howto exhibit 260 students' work in a way thattruly captured their inventiveness and theexperience of the project. They have electedto create a digital exhibition, which will beavailable to the public online, but alsothrough the city itself.

“Matt Leighfield, Chris Dennis and I areworking on a website where one photo orone document or one visual project fromeach student will be uploaded. We'repointing out the 25 specific sites in Cardiffthat students had been given. We'll have 260results to show hopefully. Those will all goonto the website,” she says.

“I hope that we'll be able to locate QR codes inthe different parts of the city where thestudents worked. Using these codes, peoplewill be able to scan and get all the students’response to that specific site. We reallywanted to encourage collaboration withpeople in Cardiff.”

Kotsifa has led students to carry out a reallyremarkable project. There is no doubting thatthe students’ energy and creativity has beenboth tested and enabled by the project andthe School looks forward to sharing all theyhave achieved with the City itself.


CSAD MAGAZINE

Arthur Lanyon, a fineartist who now lives in

Penzance, grew uparound painting.

Son of renowned artistMatthew Lanyon and

grandson of Peter Lanyon,Arthur comes from a

dynasty of painters.

“I guess it must have had an impact. I wasalways drawing and painting when I waslittle,” he says. “That's got to have somethingto do with it. If your brain is being wired inthat way then it's only natural that you'll carryon in that way. There's quite a few of us in thefamily. My Dad's brother is an artist as well.”

“When I was little, I watched my dad and mycousin and they were able to just make thingsbecause they were older than me. I couldnever make an object or something in theway that they could because I was so little,”he recalls. “There's something I love aboutthe buzz that you get from just makingsomething, that makes me happy.”

Arthur's path to becoming a painter was afairly straight forward one.

“I started off with a foundation diploma inFalmouth, a BA in Cardiff School of Art &Design for three years - that was good - andthen moved to Bristol for a bit. Now I'm downin Penzance, Cornwall,” he explains. “I wasaway in India for six months last year. When Igot back, I got a new studio in Marazion. It's alovely place. Right out my window, I can seethe north eastern side of Saint Michael'sMount. It's great. I really enjoy it down here.”

Lanyon's career took off very soon afterleaving the School of Art & Design in 2008having received a first in BA Fine Art. Thesame year that he graduated, he appeared ina group show at the Saatchi Gallery inLondon.

“It was a really good experience and veryexciting too. That was a competition. Thereare a lot of competitions now and it feels likethere are more than there ever were,” he laughs.

This early success was followed byexhibitions at the Saatchi and Edgar Modern(Bath) in 2009, View Art Gallery (Bristol) in2010, Bay Art (Cardiff) in 2011 and on theSaatchi website in 2012. This year, Lanyonwill have another exhibition in Plymouthwhich will give a first airing to his new work.

“I'm working on some monochromatic pieces -one colour - as a way to deal with the formaland structural issues of painting rather thangetting bogged down with colour balanceand everything," he says. "I've kept it starkand simple. I've made loads of thesemonochromatic yellow pieces over the pastfew weeks. It's great because when you cutout the colour balance, you can justconcentrate on the structure really quicklyand easily in the decision making process ofwhat to do next. I'm just priming up canvasesand staying on the same patch for a littlewhile.”

Given Lanyon's reputation for producingpowerful, high impact pieces using colour toa maximum, this move towards using a singlecolour and concentrating on structure, ratherthan colour balance, seems radical.

“[All of the new paintings] are quite hardedged and I'm trying to think about opposites.Opposites attract and embellish oneanother's potency formally,” he explains ofhis new work. “I want to get more than justone hard edged powerful structure. Line and

ArthurLanyonBA Fine Art (2005 - 2008)

CSAD Graduate


“I prefer to let the work to the talking. I'mconstantly figuring out in my head and tryingto verbalise my work,” he says and thenlaughing continues: “Someone came into thestudio the other day and saw a paintingcalled Mining for Lemons and they said that itlooked like a still from a sort of post-apocalyptic cartoon animation. That's notwhat I was going for, but that's what theyseemed to think of it.”

Lanyon is sure to have a long career in fine artand hopefully continue the dynasty of greatpainting that has come from his family line.

structure then come together. It seems to beworking with these ones. It's slightly differentfor me.”

The work is partly influenced by Lanyon'srecent trip to India.

“The trip was a bit of everything really. Achange of scene. I did a lot of drawing thereand that was quite overwhelming: thesubjects, the sources of imagery. We did a lotof drawing and travelled all around,” he says.

“I think that influenced what I'm doing now.We went right out into the desert, on camels,on boats with flying fish. There were goodand bad points and I'm just giving you theglossy version.”

Despite his strong style, Lanyon is reluctantto describe his work in any kind of verbalterms.


CSAD MAGAZINE

Senior Administrator:Finance and Resources.

What’s a typical day at CSAD like for you?My day can be extremely varied, for exampleI can either be out at meetings all day, givingtraining or working on a project. I also tend tospend a lot of time sorting out problems ortrying to find out the best way to make thingswork.

What is your favourite piece ofart/design/making/architecture?My favourite piece is the bomb on my safe(not a real one, it is a student installation). It isalways quite amusing when people cominginto the office notice it for the first time!

Five records for a desert island?This is really difficult as my favourite musicchanges all the time. If I had to chooseanything it would have to include somethingbouncy like MSI, Florence and the Machine(can't choose a song), my long runningfavourite band Soundgarden and Simon andGarfunkel's Bridge Over Troubled Water(reminds me of my happy childhood).

What’s the best bit of advice you’veever been given?Life is what you make it.

Name one of your heroes and tell us why?I really admire my Mum's old teacher. She was one of the first woman universitylecturers and did so many amazing thingswith her life. She is currently a vicar and anarchivist but has been a teacher and anauthor, but was also involved in the war. The stories she told about being dropped behind enemy lines in France were hair-raising!

Name one of your villains and tell us why?I don't really believe in villains.

What’s the best thing about working for CSAD?The people and the variety. I never get boredworking here!

Louise PadfieldWho are you?

Meet our Administration Team


What’s a typical day at CSAD like for you?There are no typical days in CSAD! I workclosely with the Dean and my work verymuch depends on the type of work she iscurrently involved in. However, a typicalweek would involve answering emails, typingup minutes, answering, sometimes quiterandom queries from staff, students and thepublic, scheduling meetings and receivingcalls from people wanting Podiatry! I’m alsoinvolved in the design of the office spaces inthe new building, which is extremelyexciting!

What is your favourite piece ofart/design/making/architecture?My new favourite piece of sculpture is Verityby Damien Hirst. Verity is mounted on thepier at Ilfracombe Harbour and has causedquite a stir amongst the locals! The statuefeatures peeled back skin which revealsmuscles and an unborn baby. The amount ofdetail is incredible. When seen from the rightangle with the light behind her, her silhouetteappears magical. Oh, and I love her feet!

Is there a book/film/album/artwork thathas had an impact on your life in someway?There isn’t a specific book that has had animpact on my life, but my all-time favouritebook is Bird Song by Sebastian Faulks. Itfollows an English soldier, fighting in thetrenches during World War I and hisforbidden love for a French woman. I’ve readBird Song several times, and fresh aspects ofthe story are revealed with each read. Irecently saw the stage play and it was trulymoving.

Five records for a desert island?My favourite records change every minute!My list of records changed several timeswhilst writing this! Chicken Payback - The BeesOne Day Like This - ElbowDrive - IncubusCalifornication - Red Hot Chili Peppers Mr Blue Sky - ELOBy the time you read this I will have changedmy mind again!

What’s the best bit of advice you’veever been given?Best bit of advice from my Dad: “life is not adress rehearsal.”

Name one of your heroes and tell us why?A very dear family friend, Lynne Price, is myhero. She suffered with cancer, on and off,for 20 years and I never heard her complain.She lived life to the full and was always happy.She was an inspiration and I admired her forher bravery and courage.

Name one your villains and tell us why?I don’t have any time for people who takeadvantage of the vulnerable. Just becausesomeone isn’t strong enough to stand up forthemselves, it doesn’t give someone the rightto shatter their dreams or cause them harm.

What’s the best thing about working for CSAD?I feel proud to be working with such creative,passionate and talented people, both staffand students. Watching the studentsblossom over their time with CSAD andseeing their parents explode with pride atgraduation - you wouldn’t get that anywhere else.

Senior SchoolAdministrator.

MichelleBrown

Who are you?

Meet our Administration Team


CSAD MAGAZINE

David Fitzjohn's office ison the fourth floor of

Howard Gardens andwhen he opens the door,

blazing sunshine burstsout from inside it. The

view onto Newport Roadhas rarely looked as good

as it did that day, throughthe huge windows in theSubject Leader for Fine

Art's office.

“I was in the right place at the right time. I hadworked mostly as a freelancer and I hadn'tworked in education too much. I worked inthe film industry and I designed sets andpainted backdrops and stuff like that,” herecalls. “I would usually work for six monthsand then have six months in the studio. But15 years ago, I got a bit tired of that work, as Ifound it quite taxing.”

Although he had been teaching since he wasan MA student at the Royal College of ArtLondon, he says that he hadn't ever reallylooked for opportunities to teach.

“I really enjoyed teaching though. I moved toWales about 10 years ago and I startedworking in Carmarthen and the West WalesSchool of the Arts. I was part-time and reallyenjoyed being in Wales. The art scene inWales is much more accessible than the onein London and my work was developing quitenicely in Wales. Then a fixed-term post for apainting tutor came up at Cardiff and I waslucky enough to get it. During that time,changes in the course were being made and Iwas subsequently asked to take on the role ofSubject Leader and I said 'yes.'”

Fitzjohn's recent practice has centred onpaper cutting and has led to large worksentitled Fimbulwinter. “I am interested indefining something by the space around it.That evolved from painting the negativespace around a figure continuously,” heexplains of the origin of Fimbulwinter.

“The idea was that you have a big sheet ofpaper and you draw on it with a knife. It'sabout precision and decision-making andunderstanding what it is going to be. In a lot

of art-making processes, there's so muchroom for correction and revision that the ideaof the intensity and having to do it first timegets lost sometimes. I've been interested inthat idea for a long time.”

As well as his own practice, Fitzjohn ispartially responsible for the administration ofa number of endowed sponsorships andprizes that have been generously establishedat the School of Art & Design over the years.

“These were gifted to the School before mytime and I am the inheritor of them. There arethree main awards,” he explains. “The HelenGregory Memorial Trust is the first one. Shewas a student at the school, who wastragically killed the year after she graduated.Many of the fine art students and peoplefrom the school went to her memorial serviceand on the strength of that and Helen’s loveof art, the family set up a trust in her memory.”

To reflect Helen Gregory's own love oftravelling a set of travel awards are madeeach year by the Trust. These are open tosecond year Fine Art students, who can applyfor sponsorship to travel for self-definedprojects that will promote their developmentas artists. Each year, between three and fiveawards are made, with the successfulapplicants reporting back to the trustees ontheir journeys and the artwork that resultedfrom them.

In addition, the Helen Gregory Trust funds apurchase prize. “We have a collection ofworks from 1989 because of that,” Fitzjohnsays. “Last year it was won by Sarah Walkerfrom the photo visual area. The trustees or

David FitzjohnFine art prizes and sponsors

CSAD Feature

‘Was it your mind or your body that prevented you, Carrie?’ by Lydia Meehan.


their representatives come to the SummerShow exhibition and choose. Traditionally,the selection panel includes, Neil Gregorywho is Helen’s brother and now the maintrustee.”

The second prize is the Evan and FelicityCharlton Travel Award that is made inmemory of Evan Charlton, Head of CardiffSchool of Art between 1938 and 1945, aswell as his wife Felicity Charlton who was alsoan artist. Both Evan and Felicity were widelyrespected, with Evan particularly well knownas one of Britain's first Surrealists. TheCharlton Award has been establishedthrough the generosity of Isabel Hitchman.Isabel, who was a friend of the Charltons,worked for the Arts Council of Wales for overthirty years and continues to write onpainting in Wales.

The Dulcie Mayne Stephens Trust Award wasset up in 1998 by Nicola Mortimer and HenryStephens in memory of their mother, Dulciean accomplished artist, who studied atCardiff Art School in the 1920s. The DulcieMayne Stephens Art Trust provides travelscholarships every year to assist severaltalented Fine Art students to fulfil their artisticpotential.

According to Fitzjohn, these awards areinvaluable to the Fine Art students. Last year,it funded a total of 11 students to travelabroad and two sold work because of theprizes.

“A lot of people go on holiday and I ask themwhat they did while away. ‘You went to NewYork? Did you happen to go to MOMA?’ ‘Oh,no, no! I went shopping and saw my friends…’These awards bring back the idea that youcan engage with a different culture andachieve a very different perspective,” he saysof the importance of these prizes. “There's areally good reason to go to St Petersburg (orelsewhere), other than it just being a goodcity. There's a chance to look to theRembrandts and the Velásquezes. I thinkthat's what the prizes do. The students whoget these awards tend to be high achievers.They are still forming their identities as youngartists and the opportunity to travel broadenstheir perspectives on art and stimulates theircreative practice in important ways.

Fine Art in the School has been veryfortunate to have been supported sogenerously over the years. Because of them,talented second year students have exploredart collections from Madrid to New York,have been able to interview and work withcontemporary artists from all over the worldand have engaged in bold creative projectsthat have stretched their imagination andvision. It sounds like a remarkably good deal.

Will Preston.

Drawing for a sculpture, 'eyn koteret' by David Evans.

Simon Brooker.


CSAD MAGAZINE

Dotted around AndréStitt's room in Howard

Gardens are prints,postcards, photographs

and other works withvarious political messages.

Some are pieces ofexhibitions in which he

participated - includingone early one featuring a

much younger Stitt.

“I left Belfast Art College in 1980 because ofthe situation I was living in. I grew up in aperiod of extreme conflict and civil war really,”he says of his earliest years. “I pretty muchhad to leave Belfast and so I moved toLondon and established my performance artpractice. You could call that an alternativelifestyle, with squatting and doing things inclubs and organising events with otherartists.”

Stitt, born in Belfast, a performance artist inpractice and a Professor of performance andinterdisciplinary art by trade, has so far had acareer that has taken him to all continentsand corners of the world.

“I spent the 1980s travelling all over the placeand doing performance festivals and galleryshows. I did all sorts of interesting andexciting projects. Then increasingly throughthe 1990s I went global: Japan, Australia, FarEast, south-east Asia and all over Europe andEastern Europe,” he recalls. “I covered a lot ofterritory. I was very well connected in termsof making my own art work and I gained areputation for what I did, which was prettymuch socially engaged and politically activeperformance. It was confrontational indealing with those issues. That was related toNorthern Ireland of course.”

In 1999, Stitt was head-hunted to take overthe timebased work of the Fine Artprogramme at CSAD.

“That was performance, video installation andexperimental interdisciplinary art. I ran thatfor a number of years. Pretty much by thefourth year I was here (2004), I was madeProfessor,” he explains. “I've been Professorsince and I've always had a very strongpractice. It was predicated on research,without me really realising that it wasresearch. I would have seen it as informationgathering and discursive investigation. Manyof the performance projects must have thatkind of authoritative research in them. WhenI started teaching in the School of Art &Design, I was pretty much able to locate whatwas coming out my practice as research.”

Stitt's reputation precedes him wherever hegoes. In many circles, he remarks, there's anervous gasp when his name crops up.Asked how he feels about this 'bad boy'image, he laughs deeply and warmly.

“I've just turned 55, so am I still the bad boy ofperformance art? It's interesting because lastweekend I was in Belfast organising aperformance. It's very much a performanceproject that looks at performance history inrelation to Northern Ireland and it'sinteresting that people still treat me like that,”he chuckles. “I'm quite playful about it. I thinkthere was a point in the 1980s where I sawmyself as the Iggy Pop of performance art,but not anymore. My practice has changedconsiderably since then. I find it amusing.”

André Stitt Inside the land, not walking upon it

CSAD Staff


His age is important here because in recentyears, his work has been remarkably calmer.

“There wasn't much of a challenge aboutanything I was involved in. Many of theinvitations that I was getting were to all sortsof countries and situations and organisationsbut there didn't seem to be room for me todevelop as a human being,” Stitt says,explaining why his work has been morereserved in recent years. “At that point,something had to change. I think like mostthings, it was quite intuitive and probably hadsomething to do with coming up to middleage. I had quite a lot of injuries and therewere quite a lot of health issues involved. So I had to think differently about how I used my body. My performance art was quite physical.”

Wary of the increasing prevalence ofperformance in popular culture, Stitt's view ofthe field has changed somewhat.

“The thing with performance is that peoplemight look at it as being somethingalternative and outside of convention,” hesays. “It's been subsumed into dominantculture to a large extent: you see it all overYouTube, advertising etc. so there's reallynothing very radical about it anymore.”

But it's not just the work that has becomesubdued with age, it's also Stitt as anindividual.

“It actually felt more radical for me to walkback into painting again, with all theexperiences I have as a performance artist.It's very visceral, painting. It has a lot ofrelationship to the body. Thinking about thesubstance of the body in paint - I suppose insome way it has something to do with beingmiddle aged and considering death and themeaning of everything,” he explains laughingvery hard. “So, you know, it's been a way toengage with things in a way that I haven'tbefore.”

Stitt is married to Eddie Ladd, the famousWelsh dancer. His recent work In The Westhas focused around reflections on place andwas based on his experiences of his wife'sfamily farm in Maesglas (near Cardigan).

“I was brought into this Welsh community andI had access to that, which absolutelyfascinated me. The way that I was accepted,although I was an outsider, I feel very close tothat culture,” he explains. “Also, because ofgoing out to Maesglas farm, we would oftengo for very long walks up the coast and that'ssomething I've always done. My father was abig hiker, my mother and father met inScotland hiking in the 1950s. It's pretty muchin the blood: walking and being in the land.I've always felt like I'm inside the land and notwalking upon it.”

Stitt's painting takes the form of wonderfulabstract expressionist landscapes. Thoselandscapes were ones he painted during ayear in which his father-in-law Sam was inhospital. Sam's death also played a large partin In The West.

“My father-in-law Sam was alive when Istarted thinking about this. I got some ArtsCouncil of Wales money to create the projectand over that year, Sam had been taken tohospital and spent most of his time in hospital.There was a decline in terms of his physicalbeing and presence. Although he was in thehospital, his presence would be feltthroughout the farm, of course,” he recalls.

“You could argue that it was just us projectingemotionally into that space, but he was sucha big presence on the farm. When I wentthere and we went out for trips, we hung outtogether. We had a very close relationship.This is happening at a time of my life whenI'm thinking about what it means, when youhave to come to terms with death andsuddenly friends around me are dying - threeclose friends of mine died in the last twoyears. In a way, that contemplation wasactually quite comforting.”

Woven throughout Stitt's work is thelandscape of a man coming to grips with hisown mortality and spirituality. He has awonderful way of telling the story of hisconnection to the world around him. It leavesus all wondering how the next act in hisgrand play will work out.


CSAD MAGAZINE

Lauren Nicholas is anillustrator from

Southampton. She graduated from

Cardiff School of Art &Design last year with

a BA Illustration underher belt.

“I've just finished a YMCA commission whichwas great. I did some work with them while Iwas at Uni and then afterwards they askedme to make them a short video for childrenabout recycling,” she says. “At the momentI'm just doing some work for a woman who'sopening a new art café and I'm giving hersome ideas. Other than that, I'm doing workexperience at Hattie and Flora. They're anevents company and they make everythingthemselves. Hopefully they'll employ mesoon, but they haven't yet.”

Nicholas has long had an interest inillustration, but she traces it back to thebeginning of her degree in the School of Art& Design.

“I think my interest really began when I choseto do illustration after foundation. I went toCardiff School of Art & Design and mylecturer Amelia Johnstone really encouragedme and I got on with her well,” she recalls.

“That helped a lot because when someoneunderstands where you're coming from, itgives you motivation. Probably not until lastyear did I really start enjoying it completely.”

Nicholas' work is a warm mixture ofillustration and stop motion animation, whichfrequently deals with topics such as old ageand ecological ideas.

“I started trying to make my own animationsnearer to the end of my degree, but I'm notgreat at it technically. I just enjoy it,” she sayswhen asked about how she came uponfinding this particular style of illustration. “Ithink it's because my dissertation was aboutobjects and how things are attached to them.

Then I started using the objects and trying tomake animations out of them. At the time Iwas trying to help my Granddad experiencemy work because he is blind. It needed to be interactive.”

In fact, it was this train of thought and theresulting work that lead Nicholas to beawarded First Prize at the Shape OpenAwards in 2012 for her piece An AgeingThing which deals with the daily life of her Granddad.

“It was lucky because in our third year thelecturers told us to enter every competitionthat we could. I had started making a pieceabout disability and about my Granddad,”she says of the prize-winning work. “Ientered it into the Shape Open Awardscompetition and they were really nice. I wentup to see the exhibition and there were quitea few people from Cardiff, which was good,because it was in London. I got to know a lotof people through that. And I won! Theyshowed the work on a big screen. It was veryexciting to see my work up there.”

For Nicholas, illustration could be anythingthat relates a feeling or idea to a person in away that they can easily understand.

“I think that's why it's so hard to get astraightforward job. Illustration isn't reallyone thing. It's sort of tapped into everything.I think there's a wide range of possibilities forillustration. I don't like the thought of it beingonly decorative. It's important. I think what Iwant my work to do is to look at a big pictureand tell personal stories from it. I want peopleto look at something and feel personallyconnected to it,” she explains. “Illustration is

LaurenNicholasBA Illustration (2009 - 2012)

CSAD Graduate


about telling a story that is relevant. If yousaw a news story about elderly abuse in carehomes, you might think it was awful, but thenif your Grandma got hit in a home, you'd feela lot more outraged. You can relate to it.”

Asked if she might eventually like to move toLondon to continue client work, she replies:

“Hopefully, not eventually! Hopefully, prettysoon! The absolute dream would be to get astudio and start a collective, illustrating forcharities. The reality is that I'll probably beworking in McDonalds,” she laughs. “I wasoffered a job yesterday decorating biscuits

part-time - I don't think I'd like to end-updecorating biscuits. A friend and I have beentalking about setting up an events business.That's option B if illustration doesn't work out.I'd also like to try floristry.”

Nicholas looks to have a promising future byusing her skills to illustrate problems that themost vulnerable parts of our society faceregularly. She believes this is important andthat illustration has a big role to play in that.

Nicholas in closing says, “Make the most ofuniversity, especially your final year, make asmany contacts as you can, talk to everybody,be creative and have fun. Use it as a platformand make the most of every opportunitybecause you really miss it when it is over.”

Since this interview was originally published,Nicholas has been voted 'Highly Regarded'by The Guardian for her entry into thenewspaper's If film competition. She is alsocurrently working on a commission for theRoyal National Institute of Blind People(RNIB).


CSAD MAGAZINE

Professor Rich Park isVice President of SADI

(Samsung Art and DesignInstitute) which is linkedwith the Cardiff School of

Art and Design in the delivery of an MDes in

Experience Design.

Park now lives in South Korea, in the capitalSeoul, but his path to living in the countrywhere he was born is a winding one, full ofchanges and interesting choices, beginningwith his family's decision to emigrate toAmerica in 1977 while he was still a studentof engineering in Korea.

“I went before I finished my engineeringdegree. I worked with my father for a coupleof months and then became independent. Idon't know whether it was a good choice ornot now, but I decided to join the US Army. Iwas in Frankfurt, Germany, for two years andthen in Colorado Springs for one year,” hesays laughing at his decision to becomeindependent. “That gave me the money to goto the Philadelphia College of Art in 1984 tostudy painting. I didn't know of the existenceof design at that time. Then, after onesemester, I studied graphic design and thenindustrial design, graduating in 1987.”

Park undertook the industrial designprogramme in order that he could make aliving whilst supporting his passion forpainting. When asked by his tutor why hedidn't pursue his other passion, architecture,Park replied:

“I told him that, 'I wanted to study architecturebut that it takes too long to see the fruit ofthat.” He continues, “So I found that inindustrial design, you can make manyproducts in less time and share it with manypeople.”

After graduating, Park worked as an industrialdesigner in New Jersey with InnovationDevelopment Incorporated and then later ina more managerial role at the world-famousDonald Deskey Associates.

“Then I was offered a job at the Faculty ofProduct Design at Parsons School of Design.That was 1991-1994. In 1993, the Deancalled me and said, 'You're the only Koreanfaculty member working in our School. Thedaughter of the Chairman of Samsung is inthe Fashion Design school and her parentswant to start a design school in Seoul.' Theyasked me to be President of SADI and I saidno because I didn't want to be anadministrator. I also wasn't ready to emigrateback to Korea,” he explains. “Eventually, Idecided I was working too hard and becameunhappy at work - my first offer of work as anadministrator wasn't too enticing, but hecalled again a few months later and offeredme a teaching post. I went back to Korea andstarted up the SADI foundation programmeand had to recruit 11 faculty members.”

Over the course of the past ten years, SADIhas grown to incorporate more programmesand now houses Communication Design,Fashion Design and Product Designdepartments, as well as a link with the CardiffSchool of Art & Design offering an exchangescheme and a validated MDes programme.

Rich Park Pushing the frontiers of design innovation

CSAD Feature


“That started because Gareth Barham, a seniorlecturer in the Cardiff School of Art & Design,visited the University of Korea. One of theprofessors there - a good friend of mine -mentioned SADI and that there might besomething interesting that we might be ableto do together. At SADI, we needed tomodernise the curriculum because Samsungbelieved that the Korean universities’ liberaldesign education was not up-to-date; thathad a lot to do with the MDes programmestarting. We discussed it with CSAD for a fewmonths in Summer 2009. After six months,we opened the programme.” The first cohortstarted in the autumn of 2010.

In recognition of his international significancein the field of product design, Park has beenawarded an honorary professorship at CardiffMetropolitan University. His official title is stillto be decided but it will be focused on theidea of design innovation and advocacy -particularly, how designers can be better atbusiness.

“After coming back to Korea, I studied anMBA out of boredom! There was a lot of talkat that time about designers and business. Ithought to myself, if I don't know aboutbusiness, how can I talk to my students aboutit? I know engineering and have practiced

design over many years, but not business,”he explains of the origin of his interest indesign innovation. “So I decided to take theMBA. I followed on from the MBA with aPhD. I now have a PhD in businessmanagement.”

Samsung is one of the best-known designfirms in the world. But still, Park had noticedthat it was quite difficult to see into the firmfrom the outside because of how secretivethey are.

“I wanted to do a PhD dissertation on theirinnovation processes. I interviewed a lot ofengineers, managers and founders. Thepractice of design in hi-tech companies isvery different from that in small companies. Iwanted to learn about the in-house designprocess and how it involves so manydifferent people,” he explains.

“I documented the different perspectives andtheoretic positions involved in the process,because I wanted to teach my students whatdesigners should be doing to be successful.Particularly, I wanted to know much aboutthe process of integrating the management ofdesigners, engineers and marketeers,especially as many of the critical decisions aremade by business people without designers.My ultimate goal is to give a better voice to

designers and engineers by understandingbusiness managers and marketeers. I want todevelop the design process, so that itempowers designers to communicateeffectively.”

In closing, Park has some interesting things tosay about the designers of the future.

“Samsung is now in a position to be the 'firstmover.' They're putting more emphasis ondesign, but they should spend more money!Their stock has increased over 50 times andthe number of designers too, over the last 10years; yet their understanding and trust ofdesign is not enough,” he explains. “Theyneed the designers to prove how and why aconcept works and why they should choose aparticular design. That's sad. Lots ofdecisions are made on emotional factors. Iwant to help designers develop theircreativity, but also their ability to convinceand persuade others of the importance ofdesign.”


CSAD MAGAZINE

‘Interesting’ does not feellike enough of an adjective

to describe Chris Glynn.

“I'm Subject Leader for Illustration at CardiffSchool of Art & Design. We set up the coursein 2007, so it’s been developing for 6 years,”he says. “I'm an illustrator first, then amusician. It's interesting this idea of being anillustrator or being a teacher. It’s notsomething to get hung-up on, easier to say ‘Iillustrate, I teach, I notice things’, activitiesrather than identities.”

Glynn's interest in illustration began early on,with his father bringing home drafting paperfrom the engineering firm where he worked.

“I once asked Philippa Lawrence [principallecturer in CSAD], who wrapped trees nearthe A48 as one of her commissions, what shewas doing when she was seven years old andshe said that she was climbing trees! It's veryinteresting,” muses Glynn. “You often findthe essence of your interest by examiningwhat you were doing when you were seven. I used to fill these massive sheets withelaborate battlescapes; I was always doodlingat school and drawing in the margins. I’d gettold off for gazing out of the window, yet thathelped me to listen and filter out other ‘visualnoise.’ Drawing was the thing that wasalways there.”

Glynn’s family is a musical one - he has apiano in his office which he uses to thrash outideas - but his secondary school preventedhim from studying both music and art: ‘soft’subjects. He followed the musical path atcollege and then went into teacher training.

“At 14 - that time when you start editing yourchoices - I discovered that I really wanted toact and as soon as I got to AberystwythUniversity, I switched to joint honours music

and drama. I then did a couple of years of artsadministration in a box office, music directionin fringe theatre, and small illustrationprojects: it was a real cocktail of stuff. ThePGCE at Goldsmiths was really challenging.”he recalls. “But it was the passport to workinganywhere. I secured a job in Caerleonteaching music, but two years in foundmyself in assembly, playing hymns in my V-neck jumper, thinking that this wasn't reallythe plan. I knew what I wanted to do was todraw and I thought to myself that I was quitea good music teacher, but the unique thing Ihad was the drawing.”

Glynn left teaching temporarily and took anentry-level animation job in Cardiff.

“Perhaps it was easier then to get in with asmall portfolio. Through the 90s, much of thetime-consuming work went to the Far Eastand Eastern Europe. Entry-level positions arestill there, but not in such quantity. They saidit would take five years to become a goodanimator and I thought ‘I've got to makesome money’ because I’d left a full-timeteaching job,” he explains. “I enjoyed the factthat every day was different and perhapsbecause I was a bit nosy they gave me pre-production work: storyboard, characterdesigns and layouts. None of this wasplanned, but in a funny kind of way I'vealways been in the right place to make theshift. Then I went ‘freelance’ because in 1992there was a recession and everyone went

‘freelance.’ That led to working for a range ofanimation producers including Cosgrove Hall,Telemagination and TVCartoons, plus studiosin France and Germany.”

Chris GlynnSubject Leader Illustration

CSAD Staff


Glynn's teaching career graduated fromsecondary to tertiary education through aseries of opportunities that presentedthemselves to teach animation and drawing,alongside his freelance work.

“Working in animation led to working in anidyllic studio in the south of France for a year.There was a guy working next to me and hewas teaching in Denmark and he said that hecouldn't make one of the sessions and askedif I could cover for him. I went to Denmarkand kept being invited back,” Glynncontinues. “In the freelancer’s world you'realways setting up the next gig from the oneyou're working on. You do a good job andhope people recommend you. The teachingin Denmark led to a conversation with aFrench-Canadian man. He got in touch withme six months later and asked me to do ananimation course in Reunion Island, in themedium of French. It was quite a challengebecause I'd never taught in French before.Later I covered for someone who wasteaching animation in graphics here at CSADand that led to someone saying that I shouldgo for a job in the new course that they weresetting up. So I applied for it and got the job.”

Music continues to play a part in his career asdo the many strings to his illustrative bow:new projects, freelancing and teaching.Glynn’s work has also included visual inputfor numerous interdisciplinary arts educationprojects.

“I recently revisited this ‘portfolio strand’through a project with London SymphonyOrchestra Discovery Team, helping adultswith learning difficulties create visuals for amusical story, which they performed in theBarbican foyer as part of film composer John

Williams’ birthday celebrations,” he saysbefore moving on to his current interests.

“With CSAD Illustration Lecturer AmeliaJohnstone and colleagues at Manchester Met,the Universities of Westminster, Solent andUAL Camberwell, we set up the journalIllustration Research as a catalyst for researchand practice-led initiatives. To date we've runthree international symposia, on alchemy (inCardiff), writing (in Manchester) and folk (inKrakow). We currently have a Call for Papersout for our fourth edition: Science,Imagination and the Illustration of Knowledge,in partnership with the Oxford UniversityMuseums (7 - 8 Nov 2013).

“We’re now extending our field ofengagement outwards to psychology,pharmacology, medicine, theatre, maths, etc.It’s a big discipline and its contexts reachbeyond pure artistic and design purposes:people who may not think of themselves asillustrators are illustrating within their owndisciplines, as clients, sometimes as authors,finding ways of putting ideas into images.When words fail, people look to images (alsomusic, ritual and theatre), and that’s wherewe come in.”

Glynn's practice often sees him organisingcollaborations between groups of people andputting illustration within the context of theirinteractions.

“We talk about the serendipity of the careerand how expertise leads others to directopportunities your way. Sometimes thoseconversations can be fostered. Gaynor hasbrought together the CSAD and the CardiffUniversity School of Medicine, and we'reillustrating those dialogues which in turn leadto commissions and collaborations.

I’ve never really settled to sitting alone in thestudio 8+ hours a day. I have done it, butgregariousness takes over.”

Glynn's closing remarks say a lot about thekind of person he is. He is forever coming upwith ideas and trying to make collaborationhappen.

“What we're doing is mapping opportunities.I'd like to do a symposium about illustrationand music,” he says and continues to talkabout future plans with names that sound likedocumentary films. Look out for ‘Walkingwith Illustrators’ and ‘Academics on a Train.’We aim to pilot things, get them going thenhand them on. In that sense, I'm more of ahunter-gatherer than a farmer.”

As if to further cement his closing statements,after the dictaphone has been switched off,Glynn pulls out a notepad and says, “Let's talkbusiness. What are you working on at themoment?”


CSAD MAGAZINE

Justine Arnaud-Guerinstarted her time in

Cardiff as an Erasmusstudent in 2011. She came

on the Erasmus (the European Union'seducational exchange)

programme from herhome institution in Paris.

“I come from France, originally Toulouse. I studied there and did my A-Levels there inart,” she says in the Textiles space on theLlandaff Campus. “Before that I studiedeconomics. In Paris, I went to a school of artcalled Ecolé Duperré. I did more weavingthan textiles.”

Arnaud-Guerin joined the thousands ofstudents who make the exciting move tostudy abroad each year through the Erasmusprogramme. Her school of art in Franceoffered her an Erasmus placement at eitherCardiff or Leeds. She says, ‘I didn't knowreally, but I thought maybe Wales would bedifferent to England and that I would try it.I'm really glad that I did.”

“Cardiff is really nice. I like small cities and it'sthe perfect size. There are lots of students,”she says. “It's pretty much the same size asToulouse.”

However, unlike the majority of students(who are nearly always sad to leave theirErasmus placements), Justine decided not toreturn to Ecolé Duperré, but to stay at CardiffSchool of Art & Design. She explains,

“In Wales, there's a lot of help for students,because the government is really good. I managed to get a grant to stay this year, butif I was in England it would be impossible.”

“My Erasmus year was really amazing. Youmeet a lot of people from around the world.It's not just English-speaking people, butthere are also people from Spain etc.,” shesays of her experience. “I think that I wasfrustrated by the thought of going back toFrance. I wanted to continue to improve myEnglish and decided that I needed to stay.”

It worked. Arnaud-Guerin’s English is nowvery good and she has a group of friendsboth French (two more Erasmus studentshave come from her home institution, sinceshe did) and English-speaking in Cardiff,which she now calls her home.

“I will finish my degree here this year and thenafter that I'm going to see where I can find ajob. I've got a placement in a card company inCaerphilly,” she says. “I've also got anotherplacement in Toulouse which will take placeafter the degree. That's with a wallpaperdesign company. I won't focus on staying inany one country - I'll go where there's a job.”

Arnaud-Guerin’s undergraduate dissertationwas completed in January 2013 and looks atthe way that public spaces can be designedto encourage communication betweenpeople.

“I was focusing on a means of interactivedesign, where people can come and draw onthe walls of a space, for example. That way,they can begin to have a discussion aroundand about a space,” she says. She iscontinuing the idea that she developed in herdissertation as her final project.

“I was really inspired by the dissertationbecause now I'm looking at a game similar toConsequences. I'm taking Simon andGarfunkel's 'Sound of Silence' and will beginby illustrating the song. I did a lot of testswith the song. For example, I cut all of thewords out and mixed them up in order tomake a new song,” she continues. “Also, ifyou pass the song through differentlanguages by translating, when you bring itback into the English language, the song haschanged totally. I did that and created


Justine Arnaud-GuerinBA Textiles (2011 - 2013)


another new song with all of that stuff. I encouraged people to replace words in thesong too.”

Her interest in communication and languageis fitting, given her background and status asan international student.

“I really like it when you create something orwhen you look at a piece of work - forexample, a designer who hangs pens on atree and then makes a drawing with thewind,” Arnaud-Guerin explains. “Also, when Ifirst arrived here and wanted to saysomething, I would go to translate the Frenchexpression directly and people would tell methat what I had said meant nothing. It's a mixof those ideas.”

Her final piece of work relates to these ideasby taking the songs which she has createdfrom her 'consequences' exercise, illustratingthem and creating a textiles collection basedaround them.

“For the first piece, I'm illustrating 'Sounds ofSilence' and that brings out lots of shades ofwhite for me, with maybe some stitchedwhite,” she says, excitedly. “For the secondone, I might add some more colour (becausethe song is more playful) and some imagestoo. I'll illustrate things like that and putpatterns onto fabrics.”

Arnaud-Guerin is a great example for peoplewho wish to come to CSAD to study on ayear abroad of their own.

“I think what I can say about Wales is thatthere was a lot of funny stuff that I had tolearn. Sometimes I don't understand whatpeople are saying or people don't understandme,” she says. “A lot of French expressionsdon't translate exactly: ‘I'm going to turn intoa goat’ (I'm going to go crazy) or ‘I had awhite night’ (I didn't sleep last night).Learning about the difference between thosethings was fun. That's why I want to be in the UK.”


CSAD MAGAZINE

Ian Culverhouse is apeople person who

realised at an early stagethat he had developed a

great skill-set thatemployers wanted.

“I grew up in Bodmin. I moved to Cardiff at 18to study product design at UWIC. That was10 years ago,” he explains. “I graduated witha BSc Product Design in 2006, MScAdvanced Product Design in 2007 and then Iwas lucky enough to get a scholarship for aPhD at Cardiff Met too.”

Now, a Senior Design Researcher at KinneirDufort, a design and innovation companybased in Bristol and running since 1977,Culverhouse has worked his way into a roleof which many product designers would beenvious.

“During my Master’s, the last module I didwas an industrial placement, wheregraduates are positioned in industry to givethem exposure to what it's like,” he explainsof his path to that fortunate position. “Myplacement was within PDR (The NationalCentre for Product Design & DevelopmentResearch) to transfer my knowledge ofinteractive prototyping to projects in PDR. Idid three months of that and it went reallywell. Afterwards, they said they wanted meto carry on in that area. They found somePhD funding that I could apply for, ifinterested.”

It was the expertise in interactive prototypingthat he gained and the skills which he honedwhile at Cardiff School of Art & Design andmore specifically, PDR, which helped him tomake the leap from research to practice.

“Interactive prototyping is developingtechniques and tools to allow people toengage with digital products at an early stagein the process. Traditionally if you design achair, it's easy to go to a workshop and carveout a chair. If it was comfy, you'd be fine andcould carry on with it, but if it wasuncomfortable you could just sculpt anotherone,” he explains. “Interactive prototyping isabout finding ways to engage with a digitalproduct, without needing to get the finishedproduct at the end.”

However, knowledge without strategy isworth little. Fortunately for Culverhouse, heworked out his strategy in parallel with hiswork on interactive prototyping.

“My PhD focused on how that could beintegrated early on in the process. From thatpoint forward, I recognised that there werecertain industries for which this type ofknowledge and expertise was moreinteresting and more applicable,” he explains.

“Typically, something like medical andhealthcare sectors have more rigour,regulatory demands and bigger R&D budgets,so they really engage with this sort of thingmore.”

It was this realisation that helped him tounderstand that he could make the leap toindustry and just before Christmas 2012,Culverhouse took his first Senior DesignResearcher job at Kinneir Dufort.

Ian CulverhouseMSC Advanced Product Design (2006 - 2007) CSADPhD Product Design (2007 - 2012) PDR

CSAD Graduate


“I like engaging with people and learningabout different things and finding out moreabout a subject that I don't know too muchabout. That fits very well. I'm alwaysinterviewing people, engaging with peoplethat I otherwise wouldn't meet. It's far betterthan just looking at a screen all day,” he saysexcitedly of his new job. “When I joinedKinneir Dufort three months ago, within thefirst two weeks they had sent me off to theUS for a week to run the research over there.I was leading the project and I visited Bostonand San Francisco. The job gives youopportunities to do stuff like that too. For me,that's attractive.”

Talking to Culverhouse, it's easy to see thathe is what you might call a people person: hethrives on relationships above screens,meetings above redrafts.

“I like being able to identify things wherepeople's lives could be made easier or better.Product design is a conduit for expressingthose needs. It sounds cheesy, but it's justdoing a bit of good somewhere.” he explainshumbly. “In terms of product design, I knew Iwasn't the world's greatest product stylist orengineer. I enjoyed the design process andthe part of things where people can get a feelfor how it might work. That's where theprototyping comes in.”

When someone is as happy in his job asCulverhouse, it seems silly to ask him,

“What's next in your career?” However,Culverhouse is more than willing to indulgethe thought of where he will be in 20 years time.

“I'd like to be involved in design still. I enjoythe hands-on, so I'd like to be Head ofDepartment or Lead on a group and reallytrying to push the capabilities of the peoplebelow me,” Culverhouse says. “That's whereI aim to be. Twenty years is a long way ahead,but if I look back 10 years ago, I didn't thinkI'd be where I am today.”

Finally, Culverhouse brings everything backto the essence of his success: realising hispotential right at the beginning of his career.

“A lot of what I am now is down to the paththat I took when I was at CSAD. There weredefinitely opportunities that I wasn't aware ofbefore I was told about them by the staff,” hecontinues. “They opened a pathway forwardthat I could carve a career out of and helpedme develop a pretty unique skill-set, which isa valuable asset. I like doing my job becauseit's making people's lives a bit better.”


CSAD MAGAZINE

Jeffrey Jones is sitting inhis office on the second

floor of Cardiff School ofArt & Design's Howard

Gardens Campus. In front of him is a

meticulously arrangedstack of paper.

“I did a degree in Fine Art a long time ago. That was in Trent Polytechnic in Nottingham.Afterwards I did a teacher training course andthen did various things. I ended up workingin the Health Service as an Art Therapist inmental health for nearly 20 years,” he says inan incredibly soft Bridgend accent. “Towardsthe end of that time I took a year out andcame here to CSAD to do an MA Ceramics. Iwent back to the job at the Health Servicepart-time and started to do a PhD. That wason the history of 20th Century studioceramics. I did that in Aberystwyth University.As I was finishing my PhD, a post came uphere as a Research Fellow. That was in 1998. Iwas in the fortunate position of changingcareer at a late stage in my life. It's workedout fine for me.”

Research has formed the majority of Jones'recent work within the School. That meansthat he hasn't practiced as an artist for a long time.

“I originally trained as a fine artist in sculpture.When I did my MA, it was in ceramics andstudio practice. My background is in making,but my PhD was an entirely theoretical pieceof work,” he says. “One of the things thathappened when I came to CSAD to do myMA was that I discovered I like writing. Thatwas quite a surprise to me. Ever since, myresearch has been written rather thanpractical. Perhaps in my retirement years,practice as an artist might be something that Ireturn to.”

Jones' research for the last few years hasbeen about the relationship betweenceramics and sculpture. This interest stemsfrom the research that went into Jones' bookStudio Pottery in Britain 1900-2005, whichwas published in 2007 and revealed thatduring the 105 years discussed, the interestsof potters and sculptors in Britain hasoverlapped on several occasions.

“I was fortunate to be awarded a visitingresearch fellowship at the Henry MooreInstitute in Leeds, which is an institute for thestudy of sculpture. They are very interestedin exploring how sculpture relates to othervisual arts disciplines; so they are interestedin, for example, the relationship betweensculpture and architecture,” he explains. “Itappealed to them that I wanted to look at therelationship between ceramics and sculpture.”

The interest in the relationship betweenceramicists and sculptors centres around theidea that ceramicists often struggle tobecome part of the world of sculpture,despite their disciplines being convergent toa large degree.

“There are lots of examples of potters andceramists who make work they consider tobe sculpture. They find it difficult to beaccepted and place it in those galleries andexhibitions where sculpture is normallyshown,” Jones says. “I'm interested in thereasons why that's the case. It's partly to dowith the suspicion of the material. It's astrange thing to say, but clay as a materialisn't always accepted as an authentic materialfor sculpture. Or if it is, it's transformed intosomething else: made in clay, cast in bronze.”

Jeffrey JonesExploring ceramics and sculpture

CSAD Staff


“We're the last in the UK really, in terms ofstrength and depth and in terms of it being asingle subject. There are lots of places whereyou can study ceramics as a broader degreecourse. This is the last significant place in theUK where you can study ceramics intensively,as a single subject, and I think that gives awonderful working experience to thestudents who come here,” he says.

“The subject area of ceramics is a greatstrength within the School. It's a real credit tothe staff that it's survived and a credit also toCSAD who have continued to support it at atime when other ceramics courses in the UKhave disappeared or struggled.”

You would be forgiven for not understandingthe difference between sculpture andceramics. In fact, it's a question that manypeople have.

“The main difference is that ceramics isdefined according to the material. Ceramicsmeans things made out of clay. There is ahuge range of things that ceramicists make:some will make traditional vessel forms, somewill make work that can be legitimatelydescribed as sculpture, but it all comes underthe umbrella term of ceramics,” he says.

“There are societies and foundations, journalsand magazines that all support ceramics. It'squite a thriving discipline. Whereas whenyou think about sculpture, it's not defined byits material. A long time ago it might havebeen expected that sculptors carve stone,but that's not the case now. The termsculpture covers so much and it's not limitedin any sense. Ceramics is defined because ithas to be made in a particular material,whereas sculpture has no such requirement.”

This question of material will also form thebasis for the future of Jones' research inceramics.

“I want to look much closer at the attitudestowards the use of clay. Going back to the1920s and 1930s, I want to look at the kindsof ways that people were using clay and theattitudes that critics and commentators hadtowards the use of clay,” he says. “I want totry and trace a history of that through to thepresent day and see what's happened there.My focus is much more on the material itself.That's the way it's going.”

Given his post at the School of Art & Design,it's only natural that ceramics is a subjectclose to Jones' heart. He's full of praise for theUniversity's continued support for theceramics courses.


CSAD MAGAZINE

Robert Stockley has spenthis life looking after

people with serious andoften fatal diseases.

Now he is turning hisattention towards

ceramics and following along held desire to make

his work somethingpermanent.

“I was a hospital specialist in leukaemia,working as a consultant haematologist. I haveworked in London, Bristol and for a shorttime in Seattle. I was a haematologist inWorcester for 17 years. I stopped about fiveyears ago, through illness, and during myconvalescence joined a local potter whotaught me the fundamentals of throwing. I decided to try and pursue more of an artscareer,” he says. “So I went to Stroud Collegeof Art and undertook an Access course.When I was there, I had a choice of pursuinga degree in ceramics or photography - I'vehad a dark room since I was 10. In the end, Idecided I wanted to do ceramics and when itcame to the choices of where to go, I decidedthat I wanted to come to Cardiff.”

Stockley, originally from London, has spenthis life in medicine. He is a Fellow of theRoyal College of Physicians and of the RoyalCollege of Pathologists too - both of whichhave complex entry procedures andcommand a high level of professional respect.So why did he give it all up to start an entry-level career in ceramics?

“I made the leap [to ceramics] because I got ill.I had to have a big operation and debilitatingfurther treatment and couldn't go back towork. I was 56. I had always wanted to makethings that were permanent. I play the violinand am in an amateur orchestra,” he explains,

“but the problem with music is that it's veryephemeral: you make it and then it's gone. So I like the idea of making objects. Ceramicsis about as permanent as you get. Even whenit's broken, it still lasts thousands of years.”

Stockley places himself into the category ofceramicists who make objects that are neither

narrative nor functional, but instead arecreated for their aesthetic value.

“Everyone in my year group has sort ofgrouped themselves around the variouswords we thought appropriate to the way wesaw ceramics. There are 35 in the year andsome are narrative (ceramics which tell astory), others are decorative, others arefunctional (jugs and casseroles) and thenthere's the formal group. We like to makeobjects that are valued for their shape, colourand texture,” he explains of his practice.

“I make objects on the wheel - so they startsymmetrical. At the moment, they are prettystrictly bottle shaped and there are alsocylindrical jar shapes. I place them togetherin colours and textures in formal groups.”

“I try to make objects that respond to thestructure and metaphors of music. In mymind, I will have specific chords or rhythmsor discords that I am trying to turn from beingephemeral into something solid andpermanent,” he says. “It's very difficult to doit and I'm trying with a combination of formsand material and colour. I tend not to workmuch with glazes, but more with slips andcolour.”

This idea may sound very ephemeral in itself,but there's logic behind Stockley's choice andhis thinking on the subject of music is veryinteresting.

“This is done with difficulty, but there aresome forms that will be consonant and gotogether well. There will be others that reactwith each other and also the repetition,” hesays. “When two bottles are placed next toone another, they create negative space

Robert StockleyConsciousness becomes concreteBA Ceramics (2010 - Present)

CSAD Student


For the moment, Stockley's concentrating onhis degree show work. When he graduates,he would like to pursue the possibility ofteaching - which was a major part of his roleas a physician. Regardless of what he doesnext, there's one thing that is clear forStockley - his thinking on ceramics isilluminating:

“What astonished me during my Accesscourse was that we'd be ten in the room allgiven the same kernel of an idea and we'dcome back a few days later having all made astaggering variety of stuff. Consciousnesshad become concrete. The invisible becomevisible.”

which in itself can cause repetition or evensilences. It's just the beginning of the quest todo this, but that's what is informing the formsthat I make.”

The Western musical scale is based partlyupon mathematics, but also partly on the ideathat there are certain notes which soundpleasing to the ears. Asked whether this isreflected in the form of ceramics, Stockleyneeds little time to respond.

“I think it is. In ceramics, there are body forms.In some way, the ceramics that mimic thehuman body are intrinsically pleasing,” hesays. “You speak of bottles, jars and jugs ashaving necks, bodies and feet. It's a similarquestion to why humans see faces andrecognise attributes.”

The idea of using musical ideas to informartistic practice is not an entirely new one.

“I suppose my main inspiration is Kandinsky.Some may think that it's listening to musicand copying somehow. That's not what I'msaying. In order to structure what I'm making,I may start with musical architecture. Buteven in an octave scale only the octaves andthe 4th and 5th of the scale are actuallymathematically precise notes,” he explains.

“That's why a piano is described as welltempered - it is a compromise. In the sameway, the other thing I like is the performanceissue. Each time you're playing, it's going tobe different. Each time you throw a pot, it'sgoing to be different. Each one is aperformance. Each one is different.”


CSAD MAGAZINE

Tom Palmer's a busy man.He's currently planning

a series of hugeautomotive shows for car

manufacturer Ford.

“When I left the CSAD GraphicCommunication course, I got my first job inone of the top three agencies in Bristol at thetime, converting their work from mediumformat slides to digital,” he recalls. “This isold tech! They were just moving over todigitising everything and needed someone toscan them and create a digital library from it.It was basically donkey work.”

Whilst studying for his degree in GraphicCommunication at Cardiff School of Art &Design, he worked for BBM Carlson.

“The great thing about it was that it was in astudio, working with other people. I tried toinvolve myself with the creative work that thestudio was doing. Over the course of thesummer, I became more and more involvedand by the end of the summer, I becamemore part of the studio,” he explains.

“Every summer, when there was a break in thecourse, I went back there as a dogsbody anddesigner and when I left the course at CSAD,I went back and became a junior designer.”

After several years at BBM Carlson, Palmerdecided that he was in a good place to start afreelance career. His wife is a secondaryschool teacher and so they were free to movewherever there was work for him.

“Although the scene up around Cardiff, Bristol,Bath and the South West generally isreasonably good, if you go in with one of therelatively respected agencies, the peoplewho work in them tend to move aroundwithin them and until eventually they'd workfor them all. It’s a bit incestuous” he says ofhis decision to move to South West Londonin order to freelance.

“I thought that I could probably go freelancein London, with a good portfolio and goodclients. I wanted variety and insight andexperience into how different agencies work.”

But it was not just variety and new peoplethat Palmer was looking for when he madethe decision to go freelance.

“I also thought that the idea of freelance was avery healthy way to do business. You'rewanted by an agency and you want to workwith them. If that changes you or they canchange it, it's no big deal,” he explains. “Youdon't get caught in office politics or that kindof thing because you're basically immune to it.Also, the money's great and you can taketime off whenever.”

The majority of Palmer's clients employ himto work on long contracts of around sixmonths. He enjoys working like this and iscurrently in the middle of a big contract atImagination, an agency based in London.

“I'm doing 6 - 8 months at Imagination inLondon who have automotive clients. I'mDigital Creative Director of one of Ford's autoshows in Geneva. We use every possiblekind of digital deployment that you canimagine. We have massive LED walls that are6x40m, apps, projection mapping,” he says ofhis work. “It's really just creating a digitalworld that's fully interactive and social.Within that six-month timeframe, I'll do 3 - 4shows. We just did Detroit which was a reallybig one and then NYC and Shanghai.”

Tom PalmerGraphic Communication (1999 - 2002)

CSAD Graduate


“Maybe the good thing about being freelanceis that I am able to be very senior in one placeand then not very senior in another place,which means I have access to a wide range oflevels in an agency. In the current agency, Iam digital creative director of a department.In terms of Imagination, they're massivelyheavyweight. I could equally say that I wantto take a senior design role, in which case Icould go to a boutique agency and do somelovely little digital microsite experiences,” hesays. “You can pick and choose your level ofinvolvement and balance your working lifebetween having the good bits of being seniorand then get back to some straightforward,clean art direction. That's really nice.”

Palmer describes his work as conceptual. He values the ability to participate in the earlystages of a project and to help define theideas for the project before others contributeto it.

“I work conceptually and develop sort ofworlds around how things look and feel andhow you feel when using them. Back when Iwas on the course, digital was really justemerging. It was interesting for everyone Ithink. The good thing about the GraphicCommunication course is that it didn't seek tomake you specialist in one particular area.From early secondary school, I knew I wasdestined to do graphic design in one form oranother. Art direction is a little bit more thebirth of an idea and a project,” he explains.

“The kind of thing I do at the moment is madespecial by the people that make the stuff(programmers, film makers, 3D and postproduction etc.) I'm before that stage. I'llcome up with the concepts and decide howthey should look and then guide those guysthough to the end result, so it's not traditionalgraphic design. It's more conceptual.”

Palmer seems to be one of the rare peoplewho is perfectly happy freelancing, despiteall of the uncertainty and twists and turns thatthe lifestyle brings with it. In closing, heexplains why he's so happy to continue likethat.


CSAD MAGAZINE

CSAD is host to a wide variety of exciting

research & enterpriseactivities. The School

strives to build links andshare its expertise,

creativity and innovationwith academic, industry

and community partners.

Research

Creative Wales successCongratulations to Paul Granjon, SeniorLecturer, Associate Tutor Davida Hewlettand CSAD graduates Matt Cook andRebecca Spooner, who are all recipients ofthe 2012/13 Creative Wales Awards. Paulwill use his award to explore arts andcreative technology initiatives foralternative futures and experiment withelectronic circuits and rapid prototypingmethods with a view to includingcommonly found electronic parts ininstallations, workshop projects andsustainable energy systems. Davida willuse her award to learn new skills andevaluate and integrate new workingmethods into her practice.

School of Medicine meetingThe School was delighted to welcomestaff from the Cardiff School of Medicineto an evening event on the 21 March2013 at Howard Gardens Gallery. Theevent encouraged staff from bothinstitutions to share research interests,identify synergies and potentialcollaborations over a glass of wine andcrudités. The unique setting also allowedresearchers from CSAD to showcasesome of their outputs in the form of a miniexhibition of artworks and posters. Thisvisual display offered insights into ourprojects and a variety of art and designresearch practices. CSAD is excited bythe opportunity to engage with ourmedical partners and predict there will bemany interactive events, projects andproducts to come.

New ProfessorshipsCongratulations to Jeffrey Jones, who hasrecently become the School’s firstProfessor of Ceramics. Prof. Jones’sresearch focuses on historical andcontemporary developments in ceramics,with a specific interest in the sharedconcerns of British post-war studioceramicists and sculptors, most notablydeveloped through a Research Fellowshipat the Henry Moore Institute andconference convened with AndrewRenton (National Museum Cardiff). Othernew Professorial appointments for theSchool include on Honorary Professorshipmade to Prof. Richard Park (Samsung Artand Design Institute), and a VisitingProfessorship to Prof. Alan Dix as aVisiting Professor of Human ComputerInteraction. Prof. Dix contributed toCardiff Met’s Professorial Lecture series inApril with his presentation Treading OutTechnology: Exploring The Edges Duringa Thousand Mile Walk Round Wales.

Dr Cathy Treadaway Fellowship atthe Royal Society of the ArtsDr. Cathy Treadaway, Reader in CreativePractice, has been awarded a Fellowshipof the Royal Society of Arts. The citationfor her nomination as Fellow was for her‘invaluable contribution to HigherEducation.’ The RSA is an enlightenmentorganisation committed to findinginnovative practical solutions to today’ssocial challenges.

IN BRIEF


André in the West and Pigs & RabbitsProfessor André Stitt exhibited newpaintings and drawings in a number oflocations during 2013. The work was aculmination of a site-specific researchproject concerning post-colonial identity,migration, community, location andbelonging. Based on a residency atMaesglas Farm in West Wales during2011-2012, the work evolved from aseries of walks and journeys throughWelsh speaking communities in coastaland rural locations between Cardigan andMachynlleth. The work went on show atOriel Myrddin Gallery, Carmarthen andMaesglas Farm, Cardigan during Januaryand February 2013 and was opened byProfessor Mike Pearson (AberystwythUniversity). The exhibition then moved toLeeds College of Art Gallery.

André also presented ‘Murmur’, apainting performance, and two furthersite-specific works at other locations inNorthern Poland as part of January’s Pigs& Rabbits, an international performanceevent being held at Sopot NationalMuseum in Poland.

Claire Curneen New Blue and WhiteClaire Curneen exhibited her work ‘BlueStudy’ as part of New Blue and White atthe Museum of Fine Arts Boston from 20February – 14 July 2013. Blue and whitemeans, at its simplest, cobalt pigmentapplied to white clay. Curated by EmilyZilber, the exhibition takes its inspiration

from global blue-and-white traditions, andinvited 37 international artists to examinethe ways in which contemporary makershave explored this rich body of materialculture.

Sally presents her research on Ossie ClarkSally Grant, Senior Lecturer in TextilesDesign presented a paper on theinfluence of ethnic clothes and thecounter culture (1968 – 1977) at CreativeCut, the first International Conference onthe subject of creative pattern cutting infashion. Hosted by the University ofHuddersfield in February 2013, theconference aimed to provide a platformfor pattern cutters, fashion designers,students, and educators to explore theimpact and direction for creative patterncutting. Sally’s participation at theconference was supported by a HigherEducation Academy Travel Fund and aCSAD Research Small Award.

Open Heart Research AssistantappointedCongratulations to Leah McLaughlin whowas recently appointed as the ResearchAssistant for the Centre for AppliedResearch in Inclusive Arts and Design(CARIAD). Leah’s role will be to combinethe use of video ethnographic methodswith exploratory film-making to capturecreativity and innovate inclusive designoutputs. The post is funded by a CardiffMetropolitan University Research

Innovation Award (RIA) and will form thebasis of the Open Heart project.

Dr Cathy Treadaway updateDr Cathy Treadaway has been awardedCEWN funding for the research projectshe is leading called i-Magine, to scopedevelopment of an interactiveenvironment for the new Paediatric Unit atMorriston Hospital. Cathy is working withPrue Thimbleby, Arts in Healthcoordinator for Abertawe Bro MorgannwgUniversity Health Board, Karen Yunqiu Lifrom Swansea University and RichardCrandon from On Par Productions Ltd.Cathy has also been awarded Cardiff MetSeed Funding to host two eventsassociated with this project.

In addition, Cathy has been working withGwalia Cyf Housing Association on a SIPplacement. She has been visitingresidential care homes for the elderly toscope further research on playfulness inlater life and meeting with managers andcare workers involved with care forelderly residents with dementia inGwalia’s homes in the Swansea area.

CARIAD NominatedThe Centre for Applied Research inInclusive Arts and Design (CARIAD) hasbeen nominated to represent Cardiff Metin the Queens Anniversary Prize forFurther and Higher Education. The Trustcurrently works to promote world-classexcellence in UK universities and colleges

Claire Curneen, Blue Study, 2008.


CSAD MAGAZINE

and this biennial prize is the UK’s mostprestigious form of national recognitionopen to a UK academic or vocationalinstitution.

Research SeminarsCSAD’s programme of Research Seminarshas continued in the spring term with aninteresting line-up of speakers. Open to allstaff and students, the seminars tookplace on Wednesday evenings at HowardGarden’s Tommy’s Bar. Speakers includedProfessor Clive Cazeaux on metaphor,Product Design research students ClaraWatkins and Claire Andrews, ProfessorGaynor Kavanagh on memory, ceramicistsDr Natasha Mayo and Leah McLaughlin,followed by Paul Granjon on hand-mademachines.

Live NotationProfessor André Stitt is continuing todevelop links with the ‘Live Notation’research group. The group is acollaboration between the Department ofFine Art & C3RI, Sheffield HallamUniversity, live digital coders at theDepartment of Computer Science,University of Sheffield, and an invitedgroup of practitioners from both fields.The group’s aim is to take a novelapproach to the fields of performance, liveart and live coding.

Cloth and Memory Philippa Lawrence is starting site-specificresearch for a new commission as part ofthe Cloth and Memory 2 exhibition, to beheld at Salts Mill, Yorkshire in 2013. Shewas invited to submit a proposal bycurators June Hill, Jennifer Hallam andProfessor Lesley Millar. The new work willextend links with British industry bydrawing on expertise from WilliamHalstead, Bradford-based weavers ofluxury suiting fabrics for many of the topfashion houses. The project is supportedby Cardiff Met Seed funding.

Dr Canavan PresentsDr Keireine Canavan presented herresearch at the Endangered TextileTradition Symposium & Exhibition.Organised by WEFT (World Eco Fibre &Textiles), the symposium took place atBrunei Gallery SOAS, London in Januaryand brought together international textileartists and scholars. Keireine’s paper, ‘AlSadu Textiles from Kuwait: lost meaningsand future prospects’, focused on herresearch into traditional weavingtechniques and symbolism in Al SaduTextiles.

André’s Back catalogueAn interview with André Stitt has beenfeatured on Girona University’s EuropeanLive Art Archive (ELAA) website, whichaims to share knowledge, experience anddocumentation of live art throughout theEuropean Union. André’s work has alsobeen featured in the recent issue ofScope: Contemporary Research Topics,which focused on the documentation ofand responses to the 2011 ‘AAA’residency at Dunedin School of Art, NewZealand.

Finally, through spoken word, text, soundand projected image André Stitt reflectedon the place of performance art in his lifeduring May’s Hitparaden - the best of liveart which was held at Pumpehuset,Copenhagen, Denmark. From hischildhood, and the civil conflict in Belfast,Northern Ireland, to a life spent travellingand making art around the world, Andréconsidered how memory and recall,allegory, communal narrative, conflict,codes and myth inform the present.

Salts Roof Space and Salts Mill.


Student News

Success for Jan BennettCongratulations to Jan Bennett, who hassuccessfully completed her PhD. Jan’sthesis Visions of Human Enhancement:Art, Popular Science Imagery, and PublicOpinion was praised by the viva panel anddescribed as a ‘ground-breaking piece ofwork’ and unique in its approach which‘thoughtfully engages with the visualelements of science communication, whileattending to understanding howaudiences react to imagery, taking intoaccount the potential for artists to occupya more critical space in the milieu ofscientific, public engagement’.

Painting the town yellowThird year Illustration student Pip Walterrecently painted a mural on the windowsof local creative hub, Milgi Lounge,Cardiff. Pip chose for her design to createa warm, happy and comfortableatmosphere and was delighted when twoweeks after she had completed her muralthat the café then painted the outsideyellow, perfectly setting off her work.

Second year Illustration students ElleBarnard and Florence Jackson have alsorecently illustrated a knockout window forMilgi in City Road as has third yearIllustration student Aimee Watling.

Illustration is getting it out thereGeorge Moreton (Illustration Year 3) wasfeatured in Plastik Magazine talking aboutthe inspiration behind his work, includingthe pieces that he’s preparing for aforthcoming exhibition at Urban Outfittersin Cardiff city centre on the theme ofAlzheimer’s. George met PlastikMagazine’s editor Marc Thomas at theContent: Magazine in a Day event thatMarc organised in October as a part ofCardiff Design Festival. Lindsey Gibbs(Illustration Year 3) recently came secondin the Barbican’s Where the Wild ThingsAre drawing competition and Anna LisaBissett (Illustration Year 3) exhibited apiece as a part of The Sylvanian Families -A Study in Art at The Strand Gallery. Allthe work exhibited was available to buyvia a silent auction. First year illustrationstudents presented The Snow Goose, ashadow puppet show based on the storyby Paul Gallico in Tommy’s Bar.

Textiles showsLevel Six Makers exhibited at WashingtonGallery, Penarth, during the early part ofthe spring term. The exhibition includedwork by Rachel Davies, Sophia Griffiths,Bethy Helliwell, Jennifer Kirkham, JulieMorse, Natasha O'Connor, Julie Rees andFiona Trumper.

Textiles students showed work atMilkwood Gallery, Cardiff, during January.Melin Tregwynt, woolen mill andmanufacturer, also exhibited work byeight students during the autumn term.

Also in January, Becca Tudor Price saw hertextile hangings exhibited at theHarrogate Gift Fair as part of the tradestand for Festive Productions Ltd. Becca’swork was selected by Jonathan Hughes,Production Manager for FestiveProductions Ltd from work produced aspart of a collaborative consultancy projectin the autumn term. Louise Webber alsohad a series of laser cut wood designsselected for use by the company.

Textiles NewsThird year Textile students recentlywelcomed University of Glamorgan’sFashion students to CSAD when they tookpart in a very successful joint project. Theevent was part of a collaborative elementof the CSAD Textiles ‘Consultancy’Module. The programme also hosted aday dedicated to looking at sustainabilityin the Textiles Industry in Wales. Speakingabout the event, Senior Lecturer SallyGrant said, “We have worked with CYLCH[the Wales Community RecyclingNetwork] to bring together differentaspects of this fascinating area of Textilesof the future. Speakers from VintageVision came offering placements and talksto our students, and two designcompanies held up-cycling workshopsusing donated woollen goods. The dayended with a ‘swishing’ event, wherestudents exchanged clothes through atariff system where no money changedhands, to promote the idea of relovingclothes.”

Pip Walter - Illustration.


CSAD MAGAZINE

Product Design student raises money for Ty Hafan children’s hospiceGethin Ceidiog Hughes and headlining DJMikey-Ro, recruited a host of DJs for adrum’n’bass night in aid of Tŷ Hafanchildren’s hospice. Gethin, a ProductDesign student at CSAD, said: “Achildren’s hospice certainly putseverything else into perspective - wereally don’t know how lucky we are.” Theevent, Pitch Presents Mikey-Ro took placeat the Moon Club in Womanby Street.

Three 2nd year Fine Art studentswork with Jeremy DellerHelen Bur, Gabrielle Moore and RuthHitchens spent a week working on a largescale painting for the artist Jeremy Deller.The painting is part of an installation byDeller called 'So many ways to hurt you,the life and times of Adrian Street'.The work tells the story of Adrian Street,the son of a coal miner who became a prowrestler. The piece was shown in theTramshed, Grangetown, Cardiff as part ofthe Diffusion Festival an internationalfestival of photography that took placethroughout May.

Group show ‘Seven’A group of Illustration students hasrecently had a show ‘Seven’ aboutAlzheimer’s disease at Urban Outfitters inCardiff city centre.

Enterprise

Coasting to successAndré Stitt’s painting The Little Summerof St. Michael was on view as part of theprestigious John Moores exhibition at theWalker Art Gallery in Liverpool until 6January. André’s painting has also beenimmortalised in the form of a coaster setand as a set of greetings cards, souvenirsto accompany the show.

The social potentials of creative thinkingSenior Lecturer Natasha Mayo hasrecently undertaken a placement withValley and Vale Community Arts as part ofthe HEFCW funded Strategic InsightProgramme Project. The purpose of theplacement was to determine sharedapproaches between the ways in whichcommunity arts based projects facilitateexploration of thought and creativity byusing methods identified by the Makingthe Creative Process Visible researchproject, which seeks to identify patternsand tendencies in creative thinking.

Spectrum exhibitionCardiff Open Art School (COAS) studentJulie Parker, inspired by taking part in theDeveloping your Portfolio and the LifeDrawing courses, has organised theSpectrum exhibition with her daughterNatasha, which ran in the spring atRumney Library in Cardiff.

School News

Professor Perivoliotis visits CSADProfessor Margaret Perivoliotis, Professorwith Tenure from the Faculty of Fine Artand Design of the TechnologicalEducational Institution (TEI) of Athens,Greece, recently visited the Cardiff Schoolof Art & Design for a four day Erasmus TSMobility visit. Dr Perivoliotis was hostedby the Textile Department at LlandaffCampus and visited Fine Arts at HowardGardens Campus. The meeting secured abilateral agreement between the twoinstitutions, and concluded with ProfessorPerivoliotis delivering a lecture aboutHellenic Textiles to final year students.

Annie exhibits at the EuropeanParliamentAnnie Giles Hobbs’s work has been onshow at the Welsh Office in Brussels aspart of an invited exhibition. The workthen moved to the European Parliament.

CSAD students help create a giant version of Charles Byrd’s Cardiff CastleCSAD Fine Art and Illustration studentsvolunteered to help with the BBC’s BigCanvas Day at Cardiff Central Library tohelp the public create a giant version ofCharles Byrd’s painting of Cardiff Castle inAutumn. The day was organised by theBBC to publicise the launch of the YourPainting’s website. The giant painting wasdisplayed at The Cardiff Story throughoutMarch.

Professor Andre Stitt’s The Little Summer of St. Michaelcoaster collection.

CSAD students working on a large scale painting for theartist Jeremy Deller.

^


Howard Gardens Gallery Two exhibitions were on display duringthe spring in the Howard Gardens Gallery.Portfolio brought together staff from theCSAD with staff and students fromMontclair State University’s (New Jersey)MFA Printmaking Department. Theexhibition explored several different andcontrasting approaches to work on paper,including printmaking, collage, drawing,papermaking and artists’ books. CSADteam members taking part included ChrisGlynn, Sue Hunt and Tom Martin.

Light Over the Horizon, an exhibition ofwork by Avtarjeet Dhabjal, took placefrom 15 February until 14 March.Avtarjeet has a long and distinguishedhistory of working in the public art sectorin the UK and internationally since the1970s. He has completed numerouscommissions working in mixed mediaincluding stone carving, drawing,photography and light installation.

FimbulwinterDavid Fitzjohn’s work Fimbulwinter wasselected as part of a call for artistsresponding to the idea of Tall Tales.Curated by Rachel McManus, theexhibition was shown at Oriel DaviesGallery, in Newtown, in April. In thispiece, David references lost ideas whilstimagining an uncertain future. Theexhibition formed part of the gallery’sTestBed programme, which supports newand experimental work by artists based inWales and the Borders.

Chris Glynn at Children’s Literature Festival In the run-up to the inaugural CardiffChildren’s Literature Festival, Chris Glynnran a workshop on author-illustratorcollaboration with Ruth Morgan, withwhom he has just published a new book,The Gardening Pirates. The workshoptook place as part of a conference onwriting for children at Glamorgan’sTreforest Campus in February. Theconference included an hour’s speeddating for illustrators and authors, andChris documented some of the othertalks. CSAD Illustration students were alsoinvolved as audience and illustrators-in-residence.

Duncan Ayscough: Guest Maker showcaseBetween 8 March and 28 April 2013CSAD staff member and ceramicistDuncan Ayscough was featured as GuestMaker at an exhibition at Cardiff’s Craft inthe Bay gallery.

Fab LabPlans for Fab Lab’s initial activities are alsobeing planned as project leader OliviaKotsifa completes her training. It isanticipated that the first courses will belaunched in autumn 2013.

Project CardiffFebruary saw part two of Project Cardiff,an exhibition that gave recognition tosome of the 50 most influential moversand shakers in the Cardiff creativecommunity as nominated by their peers,on show at Milkwood Gallery, Cardiff. Theinitiative was organised jointly by CSAD’sChris Dennis and photographer LannNiziblian and the exhibition includedphotographic portraits of Cardiff residentsinvolved in art, design, photography andperforming arts, highlighting the manypeople behind Cardiff’s thriving creativescene including CSAD’s own OlwenMoseley and Angie Dutton.

Chris Dennis and Pack of WolvesThe artists’ collective, the Pack of Wolves,exhibited at Milkwood Gallery, Cardiff,during February and March. Once UponAgain included work by Chris Dennis,Amelia Johnstone and Illustration studentLayla Holzer amongst others.

Chris also exhibited at Hemmed In(Contemporary Embroidery), MK Gallery,Milton Keynes, December 2012 - January2013 and Stitchgasm (ContemporaryEmbroidery), Hive Gallery in February2013.

David Fitzjohn, Fimbulwinter.


CSAD MAGAZINE

Mothers of Africa - Zumbathon,jumpers and OBEAngharad Jones and Vikki Jenkins’Zumbathon raised £1,065 for Mothers ofAfrica. Around 40 participants from CSADand Cardiff University took part.

Second year Fine Art student LydiaSpurrier-Dawes has been busy knittingjumpers for Mothers of Africa, which weretaken out by the team from Cardiff Schoolof Medicine to the projects they areworking on in Zambia.

The School was also delighted to learnthat Professor Judith Hall, founder ofMothers of Africa, was awarded an OBE inthe New Year’s Honours List.

Print International 2013 InvitationProfessor David Ferry RE was invited to bethe sole selector for the 2013 PrintInternational. Working with the ArtsManager of the Wrexham International,David was instrumental in establishing thestructure and concept of the exhibition.We are delighted that CSAD students andstaff Amanda Agyei, Bill Chambers, JamesGreen, Florence Walkey and recent MAIan Wilkins are among the featuredexhibitors. David also wrote the catalogueessay and will showcase some of his ownprints in the exhibition, which will touraround the UK after the initial Wrexhamdates.

Graduate news

The Cat Who Wore A HatIllustration graduate Lucy Freegard haspublished The Cat Who Wore a Hat, achildren’s eBook, in conjunction withauthor Rob Horlock. The book is thesecond in the Creature Teachers series ofbooks aimed at children aged 18 monthsto 6 years. Both books are available todownload from Amazon.

Colossal feature Work by Illustration graduate Ed Fairburnhas been recently featured in the press,both on the popular art and design blogColossal and in the Daily Mail. Ed workswith a patchwork of patterns made by thefeatures on the map to create large scaleportraits that emerge from thetopographical features.

A talk at the castle2012 graduate Dan Peterson gave a talkon his experiences as the War Artist of 1stThe Queen’s Dragoon Guards inAfghanistan at Cardiff Castle inNovember. As well as studying withCSAD and having worked as an illustratorand graphic designer for over twenty fiveyears, Dan was also a member of thearmed forces for nearly 14 years. Herecorded his experiences using pens,paints, sketches and his camera to createa visual diary of day-to-day life on thefront line. In January, Dan also exhibitedhis portraits of former Welsh PrimeMinister Lloyd George and leading Britishpolitical contemporaries at the NationalAssembly for Wales' Senedd building.

Fine Art graduates commissionedfor hospital artworkThree CSAD graduates are working on apioneering art therapy project to treatmental illness in South Wales.Commissioned by The Gwanwyn ArtsFestival from Age Cymru, and the Cardiffand the Vale University Health Board,Adam McGee-Abe, Joseph Simon Murrayand Elizabeth Alison are producing apiece of tactile artwork for LlandoughHospital. Philip Thomas of the GwanwynFestival explained: “We came up with theidea of asking some up-and-coming talentto contribute their ideas to help make thisproject a reality, and so we approachedthe Cardiff School of Art and Design.There were a lot of really good andimaginative submissions and it wasn’t aneasy decision for us when it came toawarding the commission, but we finallychose Adam, Joseph and Elizabeth’s ideaof producing four, three-dimensional andtactile wall panels on the theme of thefour seasons.” The artwork will beinstalled at the new mental health facilitiesbeing developed at Llandough Hospitalwhich will open this year.

Waddesdon Manor PlacementCongratulations to 2012 BA Textilesgraduate Stephanie Bastin, who recentlyundertook a two-week placement at theprestigious National Trust andRothschild’s property, Waddesdon Manorin Buckinghamshire. The placement wasorganised by Textiles Lecturer PhilippaLawrence.

Lydia Spurrier-Dawes jumpers. Dan Peterson illustration.


David Ferry: Desirable Ridge IntrusionsProfessor David Ferry’s latest exhibitionDesirable Ridge Intrusions was on show atthe Gallery Petit, London this spring.The exhibition, curated by Sandra Higginsin association with the National PrintGallery, included ten new montages ofmountain idylls. The landscapes are more‘Sound of Music’ than classic landscapesand Ferry explained, “we could be lookingat an act of post-apocalyptic restructure ofa pastoral scene that no longer exists.”

OPAN TreadawayDr Cathy Treadaway has recently beenawarded funding from the Older Peopleand Ageing research and developmentNetwork (OPAN Cymru) to support aResearch Development Group toinvestigate the ways in which ludicdevices (toys for older adults) can supportwellbeing in later life. OPAN is funded bythe National Institute of Social Care andHealth Research (NISCHR) in Wales,which, in part, aims to increase Wales’capacity for ageing research and strokeresearch. Cathy will use this funding tobuild on previous Arts and HumanitiesResearch Council (AHRC) fundedresearch to examine traditionalhandcrafting activities such as knitting,crochet, sketching etc., and use this datato inform the development of playfuldigital craft tools/interfaces that have thepotential to bridge the gap betweenmaking by hand and digital technology.

Welsh CrucibleAlexandros Kontogeorgakopoulos hasbeen selected as one of 30 researchers tojoin the Welsh Crucible. Alexandros willjoin participants from across the HigherEducation sector and Industry in Wales ona programme of training and networkingopportunities for talented early- to mid-career researchers. The Welsh Crucible isdesigned to aid personal, professional andleadership development for researchleaders of the future, and this year, threeapplications were received for everyplace. Applicants were chosen for theirexcellence in the field of research andcommitment to interdisciplinary work.

European Art Science andTechnology Network (EASTN)Congratulations to AlexandrosKontogeorgakopoulos and Olivia Kotsifa,who are part of a new European networkawarded 200,000€ by the EU’s CultureProgramme to promote the use of scienceand technology in the arts. After scoring100/100 for their successful application,the project partners aim to increaseaccessibility to digital creativity bypromoting awareness of current artistictrends and technologies. The funding willbe used to support artistic creation anddissemination at a trans-national level byfostering the development and exchangeof knowledge, experimenting withtangible artefacts and promotingEuropean artistic digital innovations to awider audience.

Led by the Association pour la Création etla Recherche sur les Outils d’Expression inFrance, the other project partners are; FabLab Barcelona in Institute for AdvancedArchitecture of Catalonia in Spain;Department of Audio and Visual Arts inIonian University in Greece; and Institutfür Musik und Akustik in Zentrum fürKunst und Medientechnologie inGermany.

Pip Lawrence Waddesdon Manor updatePhilippa Lawrence will be presenting apublic talk on Darning the Land: Sewn atWaddesdon Manor in July 2013. The talkwill focus on the results of her SIP projectwith the Manor, which resulted in site-specific installations inspired by study ofunseen aspects of the textile collections.An extended flowerbed has been sownwith a wildflower mix that includesCalifornian Poppy, African Daisy, GoldenTickseed, Corn Marigold and BlueCornflower, which is designed to producea stunning display until November,starting with blues before turning agolden hue in the late summer andautumn. Also blooming from June, thesummer carpet bedding on the Parterrewill also reflect a feminine collection,Baroness Edmond de Rothschild’s 17th-and 18th-century lace, with the plantingfollowing the patterns made by thethreads.

David Ferry. Darning the Land: Sewn at Waddesdon Manor.

Staff news


CSAD MAGAZINE

CSAD staff running drawingworkshop at V&ACSAD staff Dr Natasha Mayo and ChrisGlynn will soon be running a drawingworkshop at the Sackler Centre at theVictoria and Albert Museum for Art &Design staff. Mapping Conversations willextend Glynn and Mayo’s respectiveresearch by exploring ways in whichdrawing can be employed as a communalor conversational activity by visualisingthoughts, enabling the sharing of ideasand building new knowledge.

As Seen: Modern British Paintingand Visual ExperienceHeld at the National Museum Cardiff, thesymposium explored the contributionmade by British artists to ourunderstanding of visual perception. Inparticular, the participants consideredwhether there is something unique aboutthe way modern British artists haveapproached the task of recording visualexperience. Taking as a starting point theextraordinary late work of the Wales bornpainter Evan Walters, the symposiumpresented the results of a collaborativestudy undertaken between staff at CardiffSchool of Art & Design, AmgueddfaCymru - National Museum Wales,Swansea Metropolitan, and BristolUniversity. Symposium contributorsincluded Emma Chambers (Curator forModern British Art, Tate), David Ferry(Professor of Printmaking and Book Arts,CSAD), Dr Robert Pepperell (Professor of

Fine Art, CSAD), James Green (PhDCandidate) and Dr Nick Wade (EmeritusProfessor, University of Dundee).A group of CSAD staff and students wentto do some plenary doodles at CardiffUniversity. Jorge Cham (creator of PhDComics) packed the house with a talk tograduate students on the Art ofProcrastination.

NHSChris Glynn has undertaken his firstIllustrated University day for the NHS withan event organised by the new Centre forWork Based Learning.

Model makingPaul Wilgeroth lead a project to make amodel of a camper van for Fizz Creationswhich will be turned into a toaster.Paul is also working on initial plans for aspin out project following his studentshaving undertaken some market researchas a live project in preparation for it.

Microworld : Arcadia CSAD staff including Wendy Keay-Brightorganised Microworld : Arcadia in Cardiffin May, a big experiment in interactive art.Paul Granjon showed some robots andAlexandros Kontogeorgakopoulosexhibited an interactive performancesound piece.

Credits:Journalism:Marc Thomas(@iammarcthomas)

Design: Sarah Garwood, Creative Services, CardiffMetropolitan University

Images:Mal Bennett, CSAD, CardiffMetropolitan University

Proofreading:Red Ribbon Communications

Chris Glynn.

SummerHolidays 2013

Screen printing masterclass with Chris Lloyd To be announced

Snake Mountain Publishing: Learn How to Make Your Own Comics with James Green 22 July

Painting in oil or acrylic with Chris Holloway 22 to 23 July

3, 2, 1… DRAW! A Three Day Summer Drawing Course with James Green 23 July to 25 July

Life Drawing with Chris Holloway 24 to 25 July

Learn to use the Potter's Wheeland Decorate your Pots withMorgen Hall 27 July for five Saturdays

Letterpress Printmaking Workshop with Laura Lilley 27 July

Exploring Drawing with Chris Holloway 29 to 30 July

Cardiff Open Art School

It doesn’t matter if you’re an experienced artist, are preparinga portfolio to apply for an art, design, architecture or creative

industries course or if you’ve never picked up a pencil orpaintbrush before, we’ve got something to offer you. What allour staff and students have in common is their passion for art

and design so here’s what we’ve got planned for spring andsummer 2013 - it would be great if you could join us.

All the courses are run at our Howard Gardens Campus and

unless otherwise stated run for tenevening sessions.

Full course details, profiles of our tutorsand lots of images of student work

can be found at

bit.ly/csad-coas

You can simply book and pay over the phone on

029 2041 6628 or send in a chequemade payable to Cardiff Metropolitan

University with the enrolment formavailable on the website to

Cardiff Open Art School, Cardiff School ofArt & Design, Howard Gardens Campus,

Howard Gardens, Cardiff, CF24 0SP.

Follow COAS on Twitter at@CardiffCOAS or join our Facebook

group Cardiff Open Art School atCardiff Metropolitan University.

Did you know?COAS has attracted 126 students thisterm, breaking records for summerterm attendance. A number of newcourses are being launched this termincluding a short Make a Documentaryon Your iPad class and a portraitpainting and drawing class.

Plans to launch Cardiff Open DesignSchool are being developed with thefirst courses due to take place thisautumn.

CSAD MAGAZINE

Taught Postgraduate• Postgraduate Certificate in Professional &

Research Skills: Art & Design• Master of Fine Art (MFA)• Master of Design (MDes)• Master of Design (MDes) SADI• MA (Cardiff School of Art & Design)

• Fine Art• Communication• Illustration• Artist Designer Maker• Product Design• Textiles• Photographic Practice• Art & Science• Philosophy• Ecologies

• MA Ceramics• MSc Advanced Product Design• MSc Environmental Change and Practice

Research Degrees• MPhil• PhD• Professional Doctorate in Art• Professional Doctorate in Design• Professional Doctorate in Ecological

Building Practices

Undergraduate• HNC Building Technology and

Management (Ystrad Mynach)

• HND Architectural Design & Technology

• BSc (Hons) Architectural Design &Technology

• BA (Hons) Artist Designer: Maker• BA (Hons) Fine Art• BA (Hons) Ceramics• BA (Hons) Textiles• BA (Hons) Graphic Communication• BA (Hons) Illustration• BA (Hons) Product Design• BSc (Hons) Product Design• BA (Hons) Photographic Practice

(Bridgend)

www.cardiffmet.ac.uk/csadwww.cardiffmet.ac.uk/studywithus

Cardiff School of Art & Design, Howard Gardens Campus, Cardiff, CF24 0SP

Tel: +44 (0)29 2041 6154 Fax: +44 (0)29 2041 6944 email: [email protected]

Cardiff School of Art & Design, Llandaff Campus, Western Avenue, Cardiff, CF5 2YB

Tel: +44 (0)29 2041 6070 Fax: +44 (0)29 2041 6640 email: [email protected]

Foundation• Cardiff Diploma in Foundation Studies

(Art & Design) (Bridgend) - allied programme only

• Foundation Degree in Applied Art &Design (Bridgend)

• Foundation Degree in Ceramics (Cardiffand The Vale College)

• Foundation Degree in ContemporaryTextiles Practice (Cardiff and The Vale College)

• Foundation Degree in GraphicCommunication (Cardiff and The Vale College)

• Foundation Degree in SustainableBuilding Practice (Bridgend, Pembrokeshire, LlandrilloCollege, & Coleg Powys)

cardiff school of art & design magazine - issue 4

Documents

art anddesign school

thenew space

intothe new building

design decisions

areally good design

heart space

centre of thenew building

new accommodation