Hi Margaret and all,
some thoughts and info on Life Drawing at LUSAD....
I am a lecturer in Illustration and Animation at Loughborough
University School of Art and Design (LUSAD) within the Department of
Visual Communications (VisCom) and Co Chair of the Drawing Research
Group. As such I am responsible for the delivery of Life Drawing
modules to Illustration and Animation students. Life drawing is a
mandatory component of the first two years with a full day session,
9.30-3.30, for each year on either Monday or Friday. We have two
Drawing Centres within the school, one used for PG Research and a
large, light, galleried space for the students. This is shared across
the school and is used by Textiles, Foundation and Vis Com students.
Foundation use the life room solidly for the first ten weeks of
semester one and on busy days two session run simultaneously with up
to 100 students life drawing at one time from three models. From my
experience I think problems arise when lecturers don't have the
facilities, time and space or don't know how to incorporate life
drawing within a higher level of contemporary visual study.
Life Drawing has remained and is maintained within Illustration and
Animation due to the structure of the course. Along with a thorough
workout on the fundamentals of draughtsmanship, first years need to
experience and develop strong observational skills in order to
sustain engagement, develop a personal visual language and
interrogate a visual situation from a personalised perspective. Life
drawing works hand in hand with an appropriate range of studio briefs
and is intended to nurture a rich, sophisticated and inventive image-
making. In the first year the life room is seen as a playground for
visual experimentation and anatomical observation.
During the second year students start to interpret the model in a
variety of different ways according to their own developing
illustrative language. Inventiveness is still paramount but in order
to develop students need to find a way of visually employing content
and personalised ideas within an appropriate context. As contemporary
Illustration is now seen to move across a range of disciplines this
causes the students to question how traditional life drawing fits as
part of modern illustrative practice. Rather than dump it at this
point because it doesn't fit, life room briefs are structured to
engage this. For the minority of more traditional students life
drawing remains an observational excercise whereas those who wish to
construct imagery using photography, animation or movement as part of
their image making process have to think harder. As illustration
conveys a message often relating to individuals or humanity students
are encouraged to find personalised ways of representing or employing
people or the human form as part of a greater narrative. Consequently
illustration students not only seek to depict the model but direct,
construct, design and perform outcomes involving the human figure.
For many the second year is a confusing and enlightening time (as it
should be at this level of study) however when approached
successfully in this way the results are rich, contemporary, diverse
and far reaching. Loughborough's Vis Com students go off to work
successfully in a wide range of occupations. One ex student I spoke
to recently, who now works for a leading advertising agency, missed
the practice of life drawing so much that she arranged classes for
her self and her agency colleges.
I'm aware that only those with a positive experience of life drawing
will post. In the interest of balanced debate I think it would be
good to hear interesting contradictory arguments too.
Cheers all,
Alastair Adams
P.S. I also taught in the room Steve mentioned, went to Leicester
Poly 89-92 like Emma and could certainly make space for the rest of
Berry's Norton Commando.
On 29 Aug 2007, at 10:01, Margaret Mayhew wrote:
> Dear All,
>
> I was just going over some old postings on this list and thought I'd
> conduct a quick 'straw poll'.
>
> I'm assuming most of the members on this list are associated with
> some form
> of art institution, either as students or staff.
>
> I was wondering how many *hours* of life drawing are actually
> offered per
> week/semester in various institutions?
>
> Is it compulsory/optional (including foundation year) and
> has it changed?
> and if so when?
>
> I realise that a lot of this information exists in academic
> calenders but
> I'm more interested in people's perceptions and recollections of the
> amount and extent of life drawing within art schools.
>
> cheers
>
> Margaret Mayhew
> PhD Candidate
> Department of Gender and Cultural Studies
> University of Sydney, Australia
>
>
>
>
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