University Guide 2019
Welcome to Fine Art Wolverhampton
The Fine Art course at the Wolverhampton School of Art is a practice-led community of artists. We explore the tools of studio based production, fusing making and material-led thinking with critical and contextual investigation and research. We provide students with time and space to independently shape the direction of their practice, working alongside students to consider art and the role of artists within contemporary society.
WHAT WE DO
SUSTAINABLE
STUDIO PRACTICE
VENICE, MADRID, BERLIN
A practice-based approach to learning and teaching in purpose-built studio spaces.
Enhancing the student experience and expanding practice and thinking through international trips.
FACING THE OUTSIDE
Working with the public realm, employability and enterprise are essential parts of the course.
WOOD/METAL/GLASS
Material practices:
High class extensive facilities and workshops linked to technical expertise.
Contact the Fine Art course leader
University Guide 2019
Year 1
You will be encouraged to play and experiment with media and materials, find your feet in the studio and uncover alternative ways of making and thinking about art practice. Specialist workshops in printmaking, wood, metal, digital media and ceramics will underpin and push your work in new directions
Year 2
Progressing from your first year of study, relationships between ideas and making are challenged further in the studio and through contextual studies. This year you will also undertake an off-site project - working in the public realm, in response to a site or context so that you may acquire skills in project development and working as an artist.
Year 3
This year is focused towards realising who you are as an artist and where you can apply the skills for your future. You will complete an ambitious body of work that will be exhibited in the Degree Show.
COURSE STRUCTURE
MEET THE TEAM
The members of staff teaching on the Fine Art course come from a range of backgrounds and experiences working as artists in different contexts. Take a look at the staff profiles below and do not hesitate to get in contact with us.
Dr Euripides Altintzoglou
Senior Lecturer Fine Art
(Photography, Sculpture)
E.Altintzoglou@wlv.ac.uk
Euripides Altintzoglou’s practice explores the correlation of being, politics, and change. He is the co-editor (with Martin Fredriksson) of Revolt and Revolution: The Protester in the 21st Century (Oxford, UK). His work is shown internationally in private galleries, public museums, and biennales.
Maggie Ayliffe
Head of Visual Arts, Senior Senior Lecturer Fine Art
M.C.Ayliffe@wlv.ac.uk
Ayliffe’s work focuses upon questions of gender and the feminine within the broad field of visual culture. She is an experienced lecturer in both Visual Culture theory and Fine Art practice and is an active member of a wider research community – having contributed to numerous symposia and public debates.
Sarah Byrne
Graduate Teacher - Fine Art & Foundation
SL.Byrne@wlv.ac.uk
Belonging and Not Belonging is a collection of personal stories with conflicting elements of nostalgia and resent. Together they reflect on culture and experience through photography, text, and painting.
Dr Simon Harris
Senior Lecturer Fine Art (Printmaking)
Simon.Harris2@wlv.ac.uk
Dr Simon Harris is a painter whose PhD research provides a distinct focus for a studio-based investigation. The main aim of the research is the re-negotiation of formalist modes of painting practice through an exploration of Gilles Deleuze’s philosophical processes. Contextually the research acknowledges the critiques of painting, specifically the genealogy of the pictorial plane as it advances from an Albertian perspective to a Modernist flatness and the Post-Modern arrest.
Paul Harrison
Fine Art
(Installation and Video Art)
P.A.Harrison@wlv.ac.uk
Paul Harrison and John Wood make video works that elegantly fuse advanced aesthetic research and existential comedy. The artists’ spare, to-the point works combine the actions of their own bodies and a wide range of static and kinetic props to humorously illuminate the triumphs and tribulations of making art and a life.
Dr Dean Kelland
Course Leader MA Fine Art and MA by Research
(Art and Design)
dean.kelland@wlv.ac.uk
Dean's practice follows an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates performance film, live performance techniques and photography as well as other media and methods.
Dr Christian Mieves
Course leader Fine Art, Senior Lecturer Fine Art (Painting) Christian.Mieves@wlv.ac.uk
Christian Mieves is a painter and cultural theorist.
Research themes in Christian’s work to date have included the beach and other border spaces as metaphors for semantically uncertain fields, the trope of cannibalism, and representations of the exotic and Arcadia. He has published journal articles on the work of Tuymans and Dana Schutz.
Laura Onions
Lecturer Fine Art
L.J.Onions@wlv.ac.uk
I am an artist and educator based in the West Midlands. I make work to investigate the relationship between the formal, visual qualities of writing and the disruption of meaning in text. A consideration of how new patterns of meaning are generated and are always incomplete or changeable. This is reflective of my attitude towards education – the continual co-emergence of making, thinking and learning which is inherently connected to material mattering and ‘doing.’
Dr Alexei Penzin
Reader in Fine Art (Theory)
A.Penzin@wlv.ac.uk
Alexei Penzin is Reader in Art at the University of Wolverhampton, Wolverhampton and Research Fellow at the Institute of Philosophy, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow. His major fields of interest are philosophical anthropology, Marxism, Soviet and post-Soviet studies, and the philosophy of art. He has published his research in numerous journal articles in such journals as Rethinking Marxism, Mediations, South Atlantic Quarterly, Manifesta Journal, as well as in many edited collections.
Gavin Rogers
Senior Lecturer Fine Art
(Art in the Public Realm)
Gavin.Rogers@wlv.ac.uk
Gavin Rogers is an international artist, performer and socially engaged researcher living and working in the United Kingdom. His practice is situated across a range of media from performance to sculpture. Gavin has particular interest in the area of identity; juxtaposing, stereotyping and discovering personal, social and psycho-geographical identities though visual, textual and verbal languages.
Print and Intaglio Workshop
School of Art Woodworkshop
Fine Art Life Drawing Room
International Symposium: Arena Theatre 2016
Studio Space Greenhouse Studios
Glassblowing Workshop School of Art
Glass /Ceramic Workshops
Fine Art Alumni Event 2016
School of Art Foundry: Bronze Pour 2016
FACILITIES/ SPACES
Housed in the Wolverhampton School of Art - a purpose-built art school which opened in 1969. Studios are located on the top floor to take advantage of the light and airy space and the extensive workshops and facilities can be found throughout the building. From ceramics and glass, printmaking, wood, metal and plastics workshops and photography darkrooms. Visit us on an open day to have the full tour.
STUDY TRIPS
VENICE, NOV 2017
MADRID, MAY 2018
Berlin, Oct 2018
BERLIN, APRIL 2O15
FINE ART STUDY TRIPS
Recent study trips to Berlin (2015), Venice (2015), Amsterdam (Nov 2016), Madrid (March 2017), Venice (Nov 2017) have attracted a high number of Fine Art students. Students joining the trips benefit from exploring art in some of the most prestigious galleries and museums. The regular trips also have an extremely positive impact on the studies and the artistic development of the students.
Find out what is happening now.
RESEARCH
Maker Centric
The Maker-Centric, an AHRC funded research project led by Prof Fiona Hackney, explores how the act of making can help bring communities together to form and shape a sense of identity and heritage.
Wonder in Contemporary Practice
Wonder has an established link to the history and philosophy of science. However, there is little acknowledgment of the relationship between the visual arts and wonder. This research project, led by Christian Mieves and Irene Brown (Newcastle University), presents a new perspective on this overlooked connection, allowing a unique insight into the role of wonder in contemporary visual practice.
Dirty Practice
This research project, led by Maggie Ayliffe and Christian Mieves, sets out to explore critically the current artistic framework where manual skills and studio based practices are increasingly denigrated in favour of conceptual or socially engaged art practices.
Digital mythologies, virtual ambulations and the cyberflâneur
Dean Kelland
“Floating Worlds” International Exhibition Centre Bahrain
Dean Kelland's practice explores portraiture as a performative practice. His process follows an interdisciplinary approach that incorporates performance film, live performance techniques and photography as well as other media and methods
Alcoholism 1965
Gavin Rogers presents a series of exhibitions with his newly formed artist collective Bermuda.
‘Alcoholism 1965’ marks the launch of a ongoing project which transposes themes and graphic elements of 1960s and 70s Pelican books onto the landscape of contemporary post-utopian Birmingham. It takes inspiration from the identically titled book by Neil Kessel and Henry Walton, which discusses the epidemic of alcoholism in 1960s America and Britain, presenting descriptions, problems and solutions for drug related addictions.
Erosion and Legibility
New Art Gallery Walsall
The research project, led by Christian Mieves, sets out to interrogate the trope of illegibility and erosion in contemporary artistic practice. By looking at painting, photography and sculpture/ architecture the symposium explores the extent to which contemporary art denies ‘a palpable legibility’. Artists including Jane and Louise Wilson, Idris Khan and Maria Chevska will offer an original insight into the restriction of vision and legibility.
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OFF SITE PROJECT
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OFF-SITE 2017/18
OFF SITE PROJECT 2017/18
OFF SITE PROJECT 2017/19
OFF SITE PROJECT 2015/16 Old Post office
OFF SITE PROJECT 2017/18 Maker Centric
OFF SITE PROJECT 20116/17 Cannock Chase
OFF SITE PROJECT
As part of the Off Site Projects students take part in a professional experience with partnered venues in the art world. A series of Off Site Projects underscores the importance of planning, organising and presenting work in a professional context and enable you to engage with your art community by hosting an exhibition, be an artist in residence or work in a school.
2017/18 partners and venues include e.g. Funny Things Festival Wolverhampton; Stryx Gallery Birmingham (an artist-led studio and exhibition space in Digbeth); Grammar School Wolverhampton; Past venues included Black Country Museum, Old Post Office, Cannock Chase.
RESEARCH
STUDENT TESTIMONIALS
Study Fine Art at the No. 1 Art School in the Region
“I have found the organised trips a lovely surprise and addition to the course”
BA (Hons) Fine Art Year 1 Student 2017/18
“I have noticed a significant change in the process and execution of my work since I finished sixth form”
BA (Hons) Fine Art Year 1 Student 2017/18
"Dirty Practice was informative, inspirational and productive. I’ve found the experience invaluable… without the workshop I would probably have struggled to get going during the first few weeks of the new semester, taking time to get back into the swing of things, now I’m itching to get back into the studio…excited at the prospect of hitting the ground running."
VERY ENJOYABLE WEEK, THANK YOU.
2. Year BA student Fine Art
Just to say how enjoyable the painting workshop was – nice to get a buzz out of working with a group. I thought this was a successful idea with a lovely positive attitude and social interaction with a superb mix of creativity, discussion, crits, fun, excellent refreshments which acted to bring us together and all topped off with an exhibition that really showed the variety and range of work – all produced within an active week. The cost was also set within an affordable range which seemed to be reflected in the popularity of those who took part. Well done. Former Fine Art MA Student Many thanks once again to you, Christian, Simon and your team, for a brilliant week. Let me know if you repeat this next year as I would really like to be involved again if you have availability. Alumni, Faculty of Arts, University of Wolverhampton “Attending this course has really been life changing for me”BA (Hons) Fine Art Year 1 Student 2017/18
By presenting themselves as ‘living sculptures' they challenge the distinction between art and life; sacrificing their separate identities and turning the notion of creativity on its head. Gilbert and George's approach to art has always been anti-elitist. Adopting the slogan ‘Art for All', they aimed to be relevant beyond the narrow confines of the art world. Although they work in a variety of media, they have always referred to all of their works as "sculpture".
They will be in conversation with Stephen Snoddy, Director of the The New Art Gallery, Walsall on Wednesday 19 September, 2.30 – 4pm at the Chancellor's Hall, Wolverhampton City Campus.
We'd be delighted if as many of our students as possible could attend, so we are giving you first refusal on the exclusive tickets.
Tickets are free, but must be booked in advance. To secure your place please book using the link below.
Image credit: Early morning. The Artists set out for breakfast at Jeff's Café in nearby Brune Street. Seated are the Artist's friends George Crompton and Tara McKerr. Image courtesy Gilbert & George / White Cube
Weds 19 September,
2.30 – 4pm,
Chancellor's Hall, Wolverhampton City Campus.
Dieter Blum:
a Pragmatist at Work
26 June 2018
You are invited to Dieter Blum: a Pragmatist at Work, on Tuesday 26th of June, MK045 (17.00-19.00). The talk accompanies the exhibition Dieter Blum. XTC: Dance and Eros. Selected Photographs, 1994–98 which is currently being hosted at the Wolverhampton School of Art (foyer). The exhibition presents the work of Dieter Blum for the first time in the UK, and has been organized by Daimler AG’s Art Department and Wolverhampton School of Art’s Photography Department. Blum will discuss his work and provide insights into his practice in conversation with Dr Renate Wiehager, Curator and Head of the Daimler Art Collection (Stuttgart/Berlin). Working in the fields of applied and fine art photography, Dieter Blum (born 1936, lives and works in Düsseldorf, Germany), is counted amongst Germany’s most esteemed photographers. He has earned recognition over the course of a career spanning more than 50 years and a body of work that won him the Médaille de Vermeil from the Paris-based Société Arts-Sciences-Lettres in 2015. From his self-taught beginnings in commercial photography, he brought international advertising photography and brand identity to a new level in the context of the Marlboro advertising campaign as the only non-American photographer to participate. Another highlight among the many facets of his creative endeavours is marked by long-term projects dedicated to culture, music and dance.
THE GEORGE WALLISBUILDING, MK045. 5-7PM.
The Granary Art Gallery, Weston Park (near Birmingham). Photograph, Jürgen Altmann, Stuttgart
MA Fine Art/MA Art & Design by Research
Amazing things can happen at art school. Amazing things can happen on a Masters programme. Sometimes it seems that those amazing things are somewhat intangible or maybe taken for granted. So what does it mean to be a Master of Art? What is it exactly that you master over the duration of the course? All of our students here engage with techniques and methods of production that they have been previously unfamiliar with and examine ways in which those new strategies may or may not feed into their practice. They engage with conceptual issues that have arisen from previously unfamiliar research material and interrogate the implications of applying those concepts to their practice.
Our students test their work externally on suspecting and unsuspecting audiences and scrutinize the results in order to gauge exactly where the work they produce sits in the world. These experiences are to a certain extent a given though, this is what they should do…here on the MA Fine Art & MA Arts & Design by Research courses when we consider what it is to master a subject it is in what they shouldn’t do that counts as much. When an artist steps out onto a ledge, just far enough so that it feels slightly dangerous, far enough to feel out of their comfort zone and where control is uncertain - a moment of risk is created. In this moment they are in a place where something really exciting can happen. Along with all those shoulds and shouldn’ts harnessing that moment of risk is what being a master is about. What students prove here is that amazing things happen at their art school…at our art school.
MA Fine Art/
MA Art & Design by Research
Contact MA Fine Art Course leader
GET IN TOUCH
If you want to speak to us, meet a member of staff, arrange a visit to an open day or sit down to have a chat about your work over a cup of tea,.... get in touch.
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