Zoe and Jim
Originally uploaded by FADLive.

Zoe, Jim and Calum
Originally uploaded by FADLive.

Jim and Calum
Originally uploaded by FADLive.

Jaspers Adventures: The Degree Show

The time of year is upon us when art colleges throughout the UK open the doors and spawn their latest offspring. It may have taken anything between three and five years for fine art graduates to become fully formed, and able to fend for themselves in the outside world, and with little help on hand, and countless obstacles, the chances of survival are extremely slim. As for those that do survive, and manage to make it as artists the cost may be great.

PHOTOGRAPH

June brings with it the arrival of the final year degree shows. For seven short days, and one dizzy night, art students are expected to showcase the fruits of their labours for all to see. In order to successfully reach this important career stage, it is reasonable to expect that the art student produces work of a high standard. Work that demonstrates a grasp of matters concerning the aesthetic, an ability to contextualise both art object and practice, some understanding of art history and critical theory and a capability to realise or facilitate the production of art. Clearly there appears to be a lot at stake and an air of excited anticipation and uncertainty hangs in the air. However for some graduates there is a visible sense of relief as years of art school training are concentrated and culminate upon this single event.

On a Thursday evening in mid summer Brick Lane, at the heart of London’s East End, has a strange appeal. Every few yards colourful and exotic interiors beckon the passing horde with the promise of exciting delicacies and new delights. In the midst of this bacchanalian revelry lies the Truman brewery. A labyrinth of gleaming white converted warehouses play host to some of newest talent to emerge from UK art schools. The whole area appears to pulse as enthusiastic friends, relatives and party goers muse and enjoy the spectacle before them; a scene which is repeated and played out at countless venues across the country.

I always feel that attending a Fine art degree show is a bit like being a guest at a wedding reception. The experience is not an unhappy one, but never the less I find myself filled with a sense of foreboding and worrying unrest. Having greeted my hosts, I make some favourable comment and wish them all the luck in the world knowing deep down inside that they are going to need it and a lot more besides. There is absolutely nothing sycophantic in my actions. On the whole I genuinely believe that my hosts (I should state that we are back at the private view) fully deserve a measure of success and are entitled to at least one night of unchallenged celebration. A once only, never to be repeated opportunity where, be the work good or otherwise, criticism is withheld. Why I hear you ask do I extend such a privilege, what could warrant such a bizarre amnesty? I will therefore attempt to provide an explanation. The quality of the art on offer at graduate degree shows must in part reflect the merits , if indeed there are any, of a formal art school education. To survive and finish art school is no small achievement. In some cases I suspect that undergraduates have been hard pressed to find anyone capable of teaching them anything at all; studying under tutors who belong to a lost generation and were barely taught themselves. A three year stint in art schools is extremely hard work; learning to interpret vague innuendo and follow that which is implied but never stated. Even when students manage, against the odds, to produce some decent work it is overwhelmingly clear that they are blissfully unaware of what lies ahead of them if they hope to sustain even a modest practice as an artist. The briefest of encounters with the few who look as though they might achieve a measure of success, quickly reveals that they have no idea of just how low the stakes really are, but for one evening alone, I can think of no good reason why I or any one else should piss on their bonfire and tell them the disappointing truth.

So there you have it; go along to the party, enjoy a glass of wine, smile and be nice because in all probability by this time next year most of the graduates whose work you have been looking at will be no longer be practicing having abandoned art in favour of a profession that provides work and pays a salary upon which it is possible to live. And finally for all those of you that have been pondering the question, were we this clueless when we left art school? The answer is almost certainly yes.

Met up with the FAD crew - me, Jim, Zoe, Wayne and someone newish, Holly. We started at The Coach and Horses (or Norman), and then went over to Cork Street to a show at Beauxarts - great show, see pictures below. I don’t have any other info on artists etc. but Jim says he’ll give me all the details tonight. Either way, you can find out more at www.beauxartslondon.co.uk. Ended up eating at The Stockpot, and I kinda remember having another drink with Wayne and Holly, I think….

The Kiss
Originally uploaded by FADLive.

Marilene Oliver
The Kiss 2004Gold ink printed on acrylic50 x 50 x 50 cmEdition of 6

beauxarts
Originally uploaded by FADLive.

beauxarts
Originally uploaded by FADLive.