This month we ran with two open calls, as they are both very different, firstly
What they don’t teach you in art school School, College, or Uni.
Teaching in these institutions is not always what we expect it to be, so this month our open call is for artwork, and writing that defines what we are or are not taught or draws attention to what we should have been taught.
We also asked for three points to go with the work explaining your reasons.
Two things we are passionate about are inclusion and celebration so with June being Pride month, we didn’t want to miss out on all the artwork that is created and asked for your submissions…
Artist name - Sean Alistair
Website - www.seanalistair.ca
Instagram - instagram.com/sean.alistair
1. What I learned in school or from art classes were the rules and techniques on how to draw and understand proportions, mix and apply colours or paints, and the elements and principles of design. I was given many foundational skills that guide me in my artistic practices.
2. What I learned on my own are the embroidery and beadwork skills used by the couture houses to construct and embellish garments. These skills are not taught in regular art schools; to learn these techniques you must first complete fashion school and then intern at these couture houses in Paris. However, through YouTube and other social media platforms, I taught myself these skills.
3. The other most important skills I use daily within my art career are how to run an art business; from taxes, maintaining and developing a website to client relations. These skills I learned while working at high fashion department stores or from those within the industry who have more experience. In school there is a lot of time spent on developing ideas or finding your own voice, however minimal time spent to really explain how hard it is to have an set career and how much work it takes to succeed.
Artist name - Ido Eshed
Instagram account - https://www.instagram.com/ido.esh
Description
"BURST" is a collection that celebrates the inherent diversity and uniqueness within individuals.
Time to BURST!
Artists name - Claudia Tong
Website - https://linktr.ee/claudiaxt
Instagram account - https://www.instagram.com/cxt.art
Description
1. People are more different than we could possibly imagine. Be kind.
2. Art is not only a profession, it is also a way of life.
3. Always remember to breathe.
Artist name: Tom Aberneithie
Instagram: @tom_aberneithie
A series of copper-plate etchings/aquatints which flip the script on past British, Indian and Australian colonial 'heroes' and 'villains' presenting them in alternative ways. Highly political and sometimes causing offense, these image experiments challenge the boundaries advocated by university lecturers on MFA courses who are nervous about they're own political correctness within the institutions they work. These boundaries are then imposed upon students who must self-censor or else be vilified which inevitably leads to a stifling of creativity and free speech.
Title: Decolonial Deformation II: Ned Kelly (Victoria Bitter)
Provocative and anachronistic, I aggravated the image of Australian colonial ‘hero’ Ned Kelly presenting him as a figure with both male and female anatomy taking a selfie The well-known photograph of Kelly taken before his hanging headed a seated, tattooed, hermaphroditic figure, poised masturbating into Queen Victoria’s crown, viewing something to do with ‘Aboriginal Resistance against English invasion’ on a mobile. The background takes labelling from a popular Australian beer- ‘Victoria Bitter’ - which also gave the etching its title. Queen Victoria’s signature authorises the situation. For me, this collaging of imagery reflects a comic vulgarity and irreverence of the Australian psyche.
Artist: Ruth Dillon
Website: https://www.ruthdillonstudio.com/
Instagram: @ruth.dillon
Description:
*What does making art have to do with Clement Greenberg?
*Who chooses what I can do in class?
*Why did the teacher steal my ideas?
Artist: Sally Taylor
www.sallytaylorart.com
Instagram: @sallytaylor543
Description: Art school was just the beginning. It gave me basic skills and opened up a different view of life and people.
I’ve learnt that there’s no single path to being an artist and my life and art have been shaped by my creativity, love of making and materials. Also through working collaboratively with others, feeds and energises my studio practice. It gives me a work/life/art balance. I’ve been using textiles and stitch for some years, through it I find I can express and convey ideas in a way I could never do at art school. My piece reflects that journey over 40 plus years.
Artist: Philip Vaughan-Williams
Instagram: @portiphillio
Description: 'On your knees' (Parts I)
'Of course being gay you are likely to be able to further your career as an artist through the people you meet' . 'I would put on my best clothes and wait for him to arrive. When he left, he would leave a cheque on the mantlepiece'. 'Looking back I would have gotten further with my work if I had continued along that route'.
Artist: Britney Fraser
Instagram: @britneyf.art
Description: ‘Nowt’ is a northern slang word which means ‘nothing’ usually used in phrases of frustration. This piece explores political frustration and unrest especially within the education system.
• What differences are there between ‘Red Brick’ universities and standard universities? “Nowt.”
• What will I do if I don’t achieve a first class degree from art school? “Nowt.”
•What do I do with my art degree now? “Nowt.”
•What did I do after graduating? “Nowt.”
Artist: James Padgham
Instagram: @Lost_nor_found
Description: My work centres around my life as an Art teacher in secondary education, using moments in the day and frustrations with a system that often reduces creativity in favour of results and statistics.
Artist: Andree Adley
Instagram: @andreeadleyartist
Description: At Central Saint Martins Art college I was taught to be serious and intellectual..... To absolutely never smile in photos.
Artist: Sadie Hennessy
Instagram: @memphishennessy
Website: www.sadiehennessy.co.uk
Description: > 'Ditch the humour', > 'Ditch the humour'
> 'Ditch the humour',
Advice given by my tutor whilst on MAFA course. Have gone on to have a moderately successful art career incorporating humour in my work.
Artist: Hannah Kate Absalom
Instagram: @hkaart
Website: www.hannahkateabsalom.com
Description: The oil painting, / THE SEA WAS HERS FOR IT WAS HER WHO MADE IT / is a tense and uncanny image of myself, stripped bare with my head covered by the clothing of my partner, who protectively sits guard next to me, challenging the gaze of the viewer. This painting was the first in a new series of work in which I am confronting different aspects of my identity, a considerably uncomfortable and vulnerable approach to my practice which I have not previously delved into, but feels cathartic to begin.
Artist: Philip Vaughan-Williams
Instagram: @portiphilliohttps://www.instagram.com/portiphillio/
Description: 'Pride is Power'. We march. We protest. We celebrate. Protest banners continue to be a democratic means of sharing a message, expressing a point of view and making our voices heard. With Pride, we each have the opportunity to express ourselves, project our power, show up and represent our beautifully diverse community.
Artist: Terry Gregoraschuk
Instagram: @terrygregoraschuk_art
Website: www.terrygregoraschuk.com
Description: “Trapped” Mixed Media on Canvas 48” X 48”.
Statement: “I am a man trapped inside a woman’s body”
Artist: Jonathan Straight
Instagram: @straightpix
Website: www.instagram.com/straqightpix
Description: Candid and posed black and white photographs taken at pride events in Leeds and Tel Aviv. I made the piece to share the drama that unfolds in front of my eyes. The challenge was to keep my hand steady and not to get punched.
Artist: Claudia Tong
Instagram: @cxt.art
Website: https://linktr.ee/claudiaxt
Description: Love is diverse, open and free. It is unveiled in streets, alleyways and corners which are often overlooked in our seemingly plain daily lives, if we observe closely with an open mind. Let's celebrate pride, love and inclusion, regardless of the form it takes.
Artist: Emma Aldridge
Instagram : @Aldridge_emma_printmaker
Description: Description: This mixed media print celebrates the first time my trans daughter and I walked together at at Pride. The image of a Sikh funeral undertaker at Nottingham pride stuck with me. During lockdown I supported my daughter by zoom and phone after her gender affirmation surgery.
Artist: Environmental Art
Instagram: @hermionecrowetextiles
Description: I am queer, neurodivergent, disabled textile artist working with a queer neuro-funky blacksmith to create collaborative sculptures. This collection is called Threads of Identity and celebrates diversity and how we represent identity using coloured cloth (such as flags that represent our nationality, sexuality, gender identity etc).
Artist: Jim McLean
Instagram: @jim.mclean.art
Description: As an LGBTQ+ ally I wanted to paint a classic image that reflected on the past but emphasised the forward movement in UK Pride.
Painting is called: UK Pride
