RED CARPET
Or, the Final Year Art Degree Show

Peter Scott Gallery,
University of Lancaster
Tuesday 14 to Thursday 23 June 2005

"By all standards, an excellent crop of students'

So said the head of the University's Art Department, Prof Nigel Whiteley – and I wholeheartedly agree with him. As well as countless exhibitions, I have now seen three graduate art shows, at Leeds Metropolitan University and at a constituent college of the University of York, and this Lancaster show beats the others hands down.

It also puts into the shade – and shame – a number of other art exhibitions I have seen here in Lancaster, and in well-funded and supposedly ‘reputable' galleries too. (Oh come on, you know where I mean..)

Diversity …
What struck me was the sheer variety of the work – from marquetry (remember that? - my spell-check certainly hadn't heard of it) to ‘walk-in' installations, pencil-drawing to video and sculpture, in the broader sense of that latter term.

It was evident that, whatever the style, idiom, medium or materials, every single work demonstrated a mastery of the techniques and disciplines required, from innovative and contemporary, right back through older styles to the ‘traditional' (arts and crafts, dare I say, or even ‘craftsmanship'? – perhaps not, one exhibitor advised me …).

… humour …
Another theme that came to mind was the sheer exuberance – even wit! – of some of the work. Particularly notable was Kerry Shillito's questioning of our selfish, throwaway consumer culture, which can be summed up in the words on one of her pieces: "He who buys what he does not need steals from himself.' Yes, and from everyone else too, as her other pieces make clear.

David Robinson has a sense of humour in the way he apes the over-protective, blame-avoidance prissiness that dogs our age. ‘Danger – falling leaves', and other works, including the audio-visual promotions to avoid being impaled whist playing darts (blow whistle, retreat behind barrier, wear goggles etc).

Also in multi-media is ‘The Safer Drinking Programme' complete with three-step fliers ("Tip glass, not neck'; "Always use strongest arm', and "Check your posture'). Get the CD-Rom! - you know it makes sense. This is where the wacky world of arts meets the horrors of the health-and-safety police, with Terry Gilliam in the chair.

… technique …
There is not space to highlight all that my partner and I found attractive, impressive or appealing, so I shall mention but a small few more exhibitors to give a further taste of just how varied the show is. Glenn Judge's wood veneer marquetry pieces, based on a range of visual images recent and otherwise, are a sheer joy to behold.

The now-unfamiliar medium of finely-worked wood takes a new life when ideas from elsewhere are ‘appropriated' and given new meaning. And the end result – in the two dozen or more pieces on show – are great to look at. Jack Hutchinson's pencil drawings likewise show painstaking care and technique.

… form, and content
Helen Grove-White uses photography and projection in unusual ways, which give added dimensions to her subject matter. Nathan Beddoes' ‘Dreamscape' triptych is remarkable in both form and content, and Anna Neville's wicked satire on the contemporary curse of our vending machine/junk food lifestyle also contributes to the political/radical/green aspects of this exhibition.

Politics, culture, variety, technique, questioning – they're all there. This is a rich, diverse and immensely enjoyable show, with hardly a trace of the awful, pretentious and retentive ‘art-speak' that bedevil so many similar events (even the theatre is falling for it ….). That alone speaks volumes for the ability, integrity and sheer professionalism of these students.

A "must-see'
This is unusual for fine art events in Lancaster, a show with wide appeal. It is therefore a must-see. Whatever your tastes in the arts, you will not be disappointed. See it here first – I am sure that many, if not most, of these artists will move onwards an upwards, and succeed in the wider world.

And before they do, I do hope that the local galleries in Lancaster and out of town will snap these students up, before the bigger fish elsewhere do.

Copyright © 19 June 2005 Michael Nunn

Red Carpet can be seen at the Peter Scott Gallery, Lancaster University,
Mon – Sat 11am, - 4pm; Thur 11am – 9pm.
Free Admission.
Tel: 01524 593057

E-mail enquiries to: galleryenquiries@lancaster.ac.uk

Postscript:
Whilst completing this review, I recalled that there has been some concern since this time last year about the possible closure of the Art Department at Lancaster University. Despite achieving rankings in the top ten in the league tables of both The [national] Guardian and The Times, it seems that cuts and a shifting of emphasis and resources into more ‘worthwhile' (or maybe commercially more financially attractive?) subjects were due.

Given the excellence of Red Carpet, I was amazed by this proposal. So I went to see Prof Nigel Whiteley for an update on the situation and, I hoped, some reassurances.

Click here to link on and read Michael's interview with Prof Whiteley.