For 600 hours, over 3 months, in 2010, Marina Abramovic invited gallery visitors to take turns sitting opposite her without speaking to her or making physical contact. Abramovic, considered by many to be the Goddess of performance art, uses her…
Fine Art
Student log of the week
by Jane • • 6 Comments
Here are some pages from the exemplary learning log of OCA watercolour student Margaret O’Brien. We don’t normally highlight student’s learning logs (as opposed to blogs) since they are more difficult to convey in digital form, but the quality of…
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Accidents, appliances and horse hair
by Gerald • • 2 Comments
We’ve just had a visit to the debated Judy Chicago exhibition, at Ben Uri, where there was much discussion about the Jewish and Christian imagery in her work and whether her bright colours, organic shapes and references to the human…
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Isn’t technology wonderful…
by Nigel • • 12 Comments
Here I am sitting in a café, typing on a tiny computer and sending the words via a strange ‘cloud’ to anyone who might want to read it! As I sip my coffee (white, no sugar, thank you), I’ll take…
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Student work uncovered: painting prize winner Stephen Powell
by Jane • • 10 Comments
Here’s a peep into the painting world of Stephen Powell, dedicated OCA student, with a tremendously strong focus on his work. He won OCA’s painting prize last year, for outstanding work, demonstrating a huge amount of background research and preparatory…
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OCA students on flying carpets and fairy tales
by Gerald • • 1 Comment
An OCA study group is just back from a sumptuous exhibition that brings together works by the London based artist, Raqib Shaw, who mixes imagery taken from his Indian background with rococo decorative devices and comic book monsters. One of…
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Student blog of the week
by Jane • • 1 Comment
Here is a great student blog by Aylish Giamei. She is a student on Drawing 1, and has just got to her first assignment submission, studying alongside working as a vet and travelling between Leeds and Italy. She clearly works…
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The art of social commentary
by India • • 16 Comments
Commenting critically on social issues through art has for many artists become their artistic focus and for some has ultimately become the area which they are most renowned. Take Francisco Goya for example. Goya was a court painter in the…
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Observing and moving on: student work uncovered
by Jane • • 8 Comments
OCA tutor and assessor David Winning talks about OCA printmaking student Christine Bruce’s submission for assessment, and what he liked about it. Christine has been a student with OCA since 2009.
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Popping over with work: Popova on show
by Jane • • 0 Comments
OCA tutor Hayley Lock reports: ‘Yelena Popova has been busy. With shows open at Cole Gallery, London; works in ‘Gaiety is the Most Outstanding Feature of the Soviet Union’ at The Saatchi Gallery also in London and with a brief…
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Ayla Morten’s Superbulb
by Emma • • 23 Comments
Ayla Morten has just sent her first assignment in for Exploring Concepts which included this beautiful drawing of a garlic bulb which I wanted to share with the wider student body. The assignment is an exploration of detailed observation, so…
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Hangout with the MoMA
by Paul • • 2 Comments
Google’s ‘Hangouts on Air’ have been gaining popularity over the last year as an easy and effective means of holding informal online discussions through a webcam. The OCA’s MA Fine Art has made extensive educational use of Hangouts throughout its…