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RCA SHOW part two
Graphic Design, Illustration, Music Video / Film, Type / Typography
Posted by Gavin Lucas, 2 July 2010, 17:57 Permalink Comments (14)
Here's the promised second part of our round up of great work spotted at the Royal College of Art's SHOW Two yesterday...
Paul Scattergood displayed this series of untitled lenticular images which were, in part, the fruit of his research project, Materiality and Space in Illusionist Pictures. The lenticular display helps to fool the viewer into believing that the flat print conveys spatial depth...
Geetika Alok created these typographic posters that warranted closer inspection:
Rebecca Davies produced a newsprint publication called The Elephant which contains observations made of the residents of Elephant and Castle prior to the demolition of the areas landmark shopping centre and the neighbouring Heygate Estate. Great drawings and transcripts of overheard conversations:
Mark El-Khatib and Ray O'Meara created these posters combined digital type with handwritten text:
Oscar Bauer (of Oscar & Ewan design studio) displayed several images by layering photogrphic images and overlaying illustrations on acetate:
Je Baak displayed three looping animations comprised of video footage of fairground rides cleverly comped together to create weird looking mechanical creatures...
The Structure Of (2010) from Je Baak on Vimeo.
Louise O'Connor explored the idea of creating a scale model that showed the vastness of the solar system in a more accurate way than the diagrams in text books. She created a walkable scale model and installed it along Kingsland Road in London. Various shopkeepers who happened to occupy the appropriate spot along the route acted as guardians of the planets - hosting models represented by everyday objects at their correct sizes on this 3.1km scale. Mark Henderson photographed the shopkeepers with the planets as part of the project:
We wandered into the product design section of the RCA show and spotted a few things of interest:
Robert Maslin's Edible Games really appealed. Here are some photos of the battleship version (outer packaging, above, inner (foil) package and the chocolate bar itself, below). The idea is that on removing the outer paper wrapping, you can rub the foil to see the game grid and rub individual squares on the foil packaging to find out if you've hit a boat or not:
Jamie Tunnard's dual function Desklamp/Projector can be used as a normal lamp or as a projector. The lamphead contains a replacable LED bulb for use as a normal desk lamp. It also houses a miniature LED projector enabling moving image to be displayed. It can be connected to a TV receiver box or DVD player via ports housed in the base of the lamp. The projector is capable of screening an image up to one metre wide:
Hye-Yeon Park's Mr. Clock project also caught our attention:
The large flip clock only tells the time when you stand in front of it / pay attention to it. When left to its own devices it displays nonsensical abstract configurations. Watch what happens when people stop looking at it:
Mr.Clock_Hye-yeon.park_Design Product_2010 RCA from hye-yeon.park on Vimeo.
The work shown here really is the tip of a hugely impressive iceberg - there's lots of really strong work (including some really great animation) and it's well worth a visit to the RCA to check out the work on display in the flesh. The show is running until July 4 at the RCA, Kensington Gore, London SW7 2EU.
Details on SHOW Two on the RCA website rca.ac.uk/
Thanks to Cali Blackwell for helping with the images
14 Comments
It's amazing how non 'brand' name institutions have much more striking, and groundbreaking visual communication work - whose aesthetics are fresh and thinking more intuitive - than the more reputed establishments - whose work is increasingly become devoid of substance, overly introspective-artistis-abstract in it's communication of a message and whose technical proficiency seems rather limp.
I'm quite disappointed with the selection from the RCA show....
2010-07-03 00:49:42
@MAN: could you do much better? I doubt it.
take a moment to look around the show and see the work in person and I think you'll find it to be some of the most impressive, innovative and 'fresh' graduate work going — and if you cant recognise that, i'm afraid you're the one with the problem, not them.
2010-07-04 01:51:30
Yeh, it's lame to cut people down from your computer at home.. BORING.
2010-07-04 22:22:00
@John Ouch. The old argument that you're only allowed to critisise if you can 'do better'. Sorry, it doesn't work like that. It just doesn't.
2010-07-05 11:17:18
true, it doesn't work like that, but, MAN's comments smack of bitterness. The fairground video is beautiful and unsettling - please don't tell me thats no good... its brilliant, best thing I've seen in ages.
DOUG
2010-07-05 23:21:50
@John S. I did actually and stand by my personal opinion, which I don't appreciate being met with such childish cynicism of 'could you do better, I doubt it...' given your assessment that I should see the work in person (which I have actually), I'm surprised you yourself would then jump to the conclusion that my work would 'not be any better.' Irony. I respect opinions of every kind, but not ones that attempt to cut down the opinion of another, let alone an opinion that attempts to cut down the character of another person who voices their opinion.
@Turlough If you read my comment you'll see that I don't cut 'people' down at all, I'm giving my opinion on the current state of big name institutions against what are seen to be 'lesser' Metropolitans -and the quality between of the work between the two. I'd never single out a student's work in such an assessment, that would be very unfair. Check yourself.
@Justin Tell me about it - this is supposed to be the comments section for discussion, not a 'slapping' match. Offer your opinion by all means, but respect that people have opinons that differ from yours.
Peace.
2010-07-06 08:34:13
Another interseting group of projects. Particularly liked Rebecca Davies drawings and videos.
What will be interesting to note is how this course will change over the next couple of years with Neville Brody in charge.
2010-07-06 11:43:36
How about a little spell check! lol..."Roycal College of Art's"!?
2010-07-06 12:06:39
No mention of animation?? Thought it was a strong year, and worthy of some CR critique. Animation's too often overlooked and left un-discussed. Anyone else see the films this year?
2010-07-06 13:23:28
@Steve
Gav did mention that there's "some really great animation", but as we can't link to anything yet (we're getting hold of an RCA Animation reel very soon) we thought we'd save the covereage for another post. There is some really good stuff though...
Mark Sinclair
2010-07-06 13:35:00
Rebecca Davis' work is very intelligent, the Eric video on her website is really very brilliant.
2010-07-06 15:42:39
wow for Hye-Yeon Park;s work. clock porn at its finest!
2010-07-07 15:13:14
Lovely work by Lou, O'Connor! as always Design Interactions work is most compelling.
Really disappointing work from communications, over-styled illustration and painfully boring, unimaginative posters ...
An excellent project missed on this post is one from Design Products, Platform 13's Hwang Kim's 'Star Pizza' '
2010-07-07 22:48:26
Design Products was universally derivative, lazy, weak, hackneyed and awful.
There was absolutely nothing fresh there, I just don't what some of these people are on about praising it, unless their trying to prove to the inter-web just how terribly design-cogniscent they are.
It was appalling. I honestly couldn't even believe my eyes. I thought I'd wandered into a boot-sale; or someone's design shed of rejects; or some Foundation Year [1st term] project.
What on Earth could possibly have happened? It's supposed to be the RCA and it was tragic - and Design Products was not the only weak course, oh no, not by a long way. I had to bite my knuckles on more than one occasion as the thought came to me that this is a POST-GRADUATE institution. Most of the time, you wouldn't have thought so.
"MAN" called it absolutely correctly. Probably a Designer.
2010-07-17 16:45:19
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