The recent Art and Photography trip to London’s galleries inspired students to gain a deeper understanding of the processes behind their A-level work:
“Sixth Form artists visited the National Gallery for the Caravaggio and Picasso exhibitions last Tuesday. The contrast between exhibitions allowed us to appreciate the beauty of Caravaggio’s oil painted pieces and also Picasso’s variety and innovative work. Especially for those of us basing our projects on artists similar to Picasso, seeing his work first-hand was crucial in understanding the subject matter, techniques and scale. We all took sketchbooks to make quick studies and notes which we have added straight to our portfolios. We were very lucky to be able to go with the Art Department to London because we were guided to interesting exhibitions which aided our understanding of some of the most important artists in history.
The photographers went to the National Portrait Gallery to see the Taylor Wessing Portrait Prize. This increased our technical understanding of taking portraits and how to present them. It also enhanced our understanding of the importance of context and background stories in what otherwise looked like quite simple images. There was also the opportunity to take some street photography in Trafalgar Square exploring the difference between staged work and taking images in public and experimenting with exposure settings. The Caravaggio exhibition helped us to expand our views on the topic of Chiaroscuro by looking at portrait paintings and the dramatic effect lighting has on the subject which will be useful when creating our own pieces.”
Review by Hannah and William